The Sceptical Chymist — Robert Boyle
You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org . If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title : The Sceptical Chymist Author : Robert Boyle Release date : October 8, 2007 [eBook #22914] Language : English Other information and formats : www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22914 Credits : E-text prepared by Robert Shimmin, Linda Cantoni, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team *** START OF pgdp.net ). Color title-page images were generously provided by the University of Pennsylvania Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text & Image ( http://dewey.library.upenn.edu/sceti ). Transcriber’s Notes This e-book was prepared from a facsimile of the 1661 first edition and contains spelling, capitalization, and punctuation inconsistencies typical of the era. These have been preserved as they appear in the original. Printer errors have also been preserved. Those mentioned in the Errata at the end of the book are hyperlinked to that section. Other obvious printer errors, where the meaning might be unclear without correction, are marked with red dotted underlining; hover the mouse over the underlined word to see a pop-up transcriber’s note . See also the printer’s note containing material omitted from page 191 . Some of the page numbers in the original are misnumbered, though the text itself is in the proper order. The original page numbers have been preserved, and incorrect numbers are marked with red dotted underlining and a mouse-hover pop-up with the correct number. This e-text contains some Greek and Hebrew characters, which may not display properly in all browsers. Diacriticals have been omitted. Hover the mouse over the characters to see a pop-up transliteration, e.g., βιβλος . A table of contents has been provided for the reader’s convenience. THE SCEPTICAL CHYMIST: OR CHYMICO-PHYSICAL Doubts & Paradoxes, Touching the SPAGYRIST’S PRINCIPLES Commonly call’d HYPOSTATICAL , As they are wont to be Propos’d and Defended by the Generality of ALCHYMISTS . Whereunto is præmis’d Part of another Discourse relating to the same Subject. BY The Honourable ROBERT BOYLE , Esq; LONDON, Printed by J. Cadwell for J. Crooke , and are to be Sold at the Ship in St. Paul’s Church-Yard. MDCLXI . CONTENTS A Præface Introductory Physiological Considerations The First Part The Second Part The Third Part The Fourth Part The Fifth Part The Sixth Part The Conclusion Printer’s Note Errata A PRÆFACE INTRODUCTORY To the following Treatise. O give the Reader an account, Why the following Treatise is suffer’d to pass abroad so maim’d and imperfect, I must inform him that ’tis now long since, that to gratify an ingenious Gentleman, I set down some of the Reasons that kept me from fully acquiescing either in the Peripatetical, or in the Chymical Doctrine, of the Material Principles of mixt Bodies. This Discourse some years after falling into the hands of some Learned men, had the good luck to be so favourably receiv’d, and advantageously spoken of by them, that having had more then ordinary Invitations given me to make it publick, I thought fit to review it, that I might retrench some things that seem’d not so fit to be shewn to every Reader, And substitute some of those other things that occurr’d to me of the trials and observations I had since made. What became of my papers, I elsewhere mention in a Preface where I complain of it: But since I writ That, I found many sheets that belong’d to the subjects I am now about to discourse of. Wherefore seeing that I had then in my hands as much of the first Dialogue as was requisite to state the Case, and serve for an Introduction as well to the conference betwixt Carneades and Eleutherius, as to some other Dialogues, which for certain reasons are not now herewith publish’d, I resolv’d to supply, as well as I could, the Contents of a Paper belonging to the second of the following Discourses, which I could not possibly retrive, though it were the chief of them all. And having once more try’d the Opinion of Friends, but not of the same, about this imperfect work, I found it such, that I was content in complyance with their Desires; that not only it should be publish’d, but that it should be publish’d as soon as conveniently might be. I had indeed all along the Dialogues spoken of my self, as of a third Person; For, they containing Discourses which were among the first Treatises that I ventur’d long ago to write of matters Philosophical, I had reason to desire, with the Painter, to latere pone tabulam, and hear what men would say of them, before I own’d my self to be their Author. But besides that now I find, ’tis not unknown to many who it is that writ them, I am made to believe that ’tis not inexpedient, they should be known to come from a Person not altogether a stranger to Chymical Affairs. And I made the lesse scruple to let them come abroad uncompleated, partly, because my affairs and Præ-ingagements to publish divers other Treatises allow’d me small hopes of being able in a great while to compleat these Dialogues. And partly, because I am not unapt to think, that they may come abroad seasonably enough, though not for the Authors reputation, yet for other purposes. For I observe, that of late Chymistry begins, as indeed it deserves, to be cultivated by Learned Men who before despis’d it; and to be pretended to by many who never cultivated it, that they may be thought not to ignore it: Whence it is come to passe, that divers Chymical Notions about Matters Philosophical are taken for granted and employ’d, and so adopted by very eminent Writers both Naturalists and Physitians. Now this I fear may prove somewhat prejudicial to the Advancement of solid Philosophy: For though I am a great Lover of Chymical Experiments, and though I have no mean esteem of divers Chymical Remedies, yet