him taken notice of by fome of the most eminent members of the republic of letters; fo that, in 1651, we find Dr. Nathaniel Highmore, a very eminent phyfician, dedicating to him his Hiftory of Generation; in which dedication he ftiles him both his patron and his friend.

In 1652, he went over to Ireland, in order to vifit and fettle his estates in that kingdom; and there, if I am not mistaken, he met with a fall from his horse in a watery place, which gave him a very grievous fit of fickness. He returned from Ireland to England in August, 1653, but was foon after obliged to return again into that kingdom, where he spent his time but very unpleasantly; and it would have been still more fo, if it had not been for the acquaintance of Dr. Petty, afterwards Sir William Petty, who was his intimate friend, and one of the greatest men of that or indeed other age.

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In the fummer of 1654, he returned to England, and put in execution a delign he had formed when he was last in this kingdom, of fettling at Oxford, as well for the fake of feveral of his ingenious friends, who refided there, as for the many and extraordinary conveniences which the place afforded, for the profecution of his beloved ftudies in peace. He chose to live there, in the houfe of Mr. Croffe, an apothecary, rather than in a college, for the fake of his health, and because he had more room for making experiments.

It was now that he found himself furrounded by a number of learned friends, who reforted thither chiefly for the fame reasons that he had done, the Invifible College, as he called it, or Philofophical Society, being now tranf ferred from London to Oxford. It was during his refidence here, that he invented the air-pump, which was perfected for him, by the ingenious Mr. Hooke, in the year 1658 or 1659; by the help of which he made fuch experiments as enabled him to discover and demonftrate feveral qualities of the air, by which he laid the foundations for a compleat theory.

He was not, however, fatisfied with this, but laboured inceffantly in collecting and digefting, chiefly from his own experiments, the materials requifite for this purpose. He declared against the philofophy of Ariftotle, as having in it more of words than things, promifing much and performing little; in fhort, giving the inventions of men' for indubitable proofs, instead of the refult of fuch enquiries as draw the knowledge of the works of nature from nature herself.

He was fo careful in, and fo zealous for, the true method of learning by experiment, that, though the Cartefian philofophy made then a great noife in the world, yet he would never be perfuaded to read the works of Des Cartes, for fear he should be amused and led away with a fair pretence of reasoning, and

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plaufible accounts of things grounded purely on conjecture.

But philofophy and enquiries into nature, though they engaged his attention deeply, did not occupy it entirely, fince we find that he ftill continued to purfue his critical studies, in which he had the affiftance of fome as great men as have ever flourished in this kingdom, particularly Dr. Edward Pococke, Mr. Thomas Hyde, and Mr. Samuel Clark. He had also a strict intimacy with Dr. Thomas Barlow, at that time head keeper of the Bodleian Library, and afterwards bishop of Lincoln, a man of various and extenfive learning. He was likewife the patron of the very learned Dr. John Pell, an eminent mathematician and the famous Dr. John Wallis, who diftinguished himself in that and other branches of learning, did him the honour to dedicate to him his excellent treatife on the Cycloid.

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In 1659, being acquainted with the cir cumftances of the learned Dr. Robert Sanderfon, afterwards bishop of Lincoln, he bestowed on him a ftipend of fifty pounds a year; and that great man thankfully acknowledged the obligations he was under to fo generous a patron, in a dedication of his Le&ures, which were printed at Oxford the fame year.

After the restoration, he was treated with great civility and refpect by the king, and with much affection and efteem by his two great minifters, the lord-treafurer Southampton, and, the lord-chancellor Clarendon, by

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whom he was preffed to enter into holy orders, of which he had very ferious thoughts, but at laft thought fit to decline it, upon very juft and difinterested motives. The fame year he published two of his firft pieces, one of which was printed at Oxford, and the other at London; the former was his New Experiments touching the spring of the air, which he addreffed to his nephew the lord Dungarvan, and this drew him into a controverfy with Francifcus Linus, and the famous Mr. Thomas Hobbes, whofe objections he refuted with equal candour, clearness, and civility. The fecond was his difcourfe on Seraphic Love, and both pieces were received with univerfal applause. The fame of his great learning and abilities extended itself, even at this time, beyond the bounds of our island, fo that the Grand Duke of Tufcany, a prince diftinguished for learning, defired Mr. Southwell, then Refident at Florence, to acquaint Mr. Boyle with his defire of holding a corref pondence with him.

In 1661, he published his Phyfiological Effays, and other tracts, which added greatly to the efteem, that all true lovers of learning had for his knowledge in things of this na ture. Some time after he fent abroad another curious and excellent work, intitled, The Sceptical Chymift, which was printed at Oxford; but feveral treatises that are mentioned in this and the former work, as being in great forwardnefs, and which the world very imVOL. VIII. patiently

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patiently expected, were afterwards loft in the hurry of removing his effects at the time of the great fire.

In 1662, a grant of the forfeited impropriations in the kingdom of Ireland, was obtained from the king in Mr. Boyle's name, tho' without his knowledge, which did not hinder his interefting himself very warmly, for procuring the application of thefe impropriations, to the promoting true religion and learning. He interpofed likewife in favour of the corporation for propagating the gospel in New England, and was very inftrumental in obtaining a decree in the court of Chancery, for reftoring to that corporation an estate, which had been injuriously repoffeffed by one colonel Bedingfield, a papift, who had fold it to them for a valuable confideration. His activity in matters of this nature was so much the more honourable, as he was naturally inclined to, and, generally fpeaking, followed that inclination in leading a private and retired life. But whenever the cause of virtue, learning, or religion required it, his intereft and endeavours were never wanting, and, by the peculiar bleffing of providence, were feldom employed but with fuccefs.

In 1663 the Royal Society being incorporated by king Charles II. by letters patent dated the twenty-fecond of April, Mr. Boyle was appointed one of the council, and as he might be juftly reckoned among the founders of that learned body, fo he continued one of