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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 noted with [Errata:
   corrected text]. Other obvious printer errors are noted with
   [Transcriber's Note: corrected text] where the meaning might
   be unclear without the correction. See also the printer's note
   preceding the Errata, which contains material omitted from the
   text (the place where it should be inserted is marked in the
   text with a Transcriber's Note).

   There are a number of sidenotes in this book, most of which
   function as footnotes (e.g., citations to other works) and some
   of which function as true sidenotes. For the sake of clarity,
   sidenotes functioning as footnotes have been converted to
   numbered footnotes, with number markers at appropriate places
   in the text.

   A character with a macron is represented by an equal sign.
   E.g., [=a] indicates "a" with macron.

   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 praemis'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 Praeface 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

PRAEFACE

INTRODUCTORY

_To the following Treatise._


_To 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
Prae-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 I distinguish these from their
Notions about the causes of things, and their manner of Generation.
And for ought I can hitherto discern, there are a thousand_ Phaenomena
_in Nature, besides a Multitude of Accidents relating to the humane
Body, which will scarcely be clearly & satisfactorily made out by them
that confine themselves to deduce things from Salt, Sulphur and
Mercury, and the other Notions peculiar to the Chymists, without
taking much more Notice than they are wont to do, of the Motions and
Figures, of the small Parts of Matter, and the other more Catholick
and Fruitful affections of Bodies. Wherefore it will not perhaps be
now unseasonable to let our_ Carneades _warne Men, not to subscribe to
the grand Doctrine of the Chymists touching their three Hypostatical
Principles, till they have a little examin'd it, and consider'd, how
they can clear it from his Objections, divers of which 'tis like they
may never have thought on; since a Chymist scarce would, and none but
a Chymist could propose them. I hope also it will not be unacceptable
to several Ingenious Persons, who are unwilling to determine of any
important Controversie, without a previous consideration of what may
be said on both sides, and yet have greater desires to understand
Chymical Matters, than Opportunities of learning them, to find here
together, besides several Experiments of my own purposely made to
Illustrate the Doctrine of the Elements, divers others scarce to be
met with, otherwise then Scatter'd among many Chymical Books. And to
Find these Associated Experiments so Deliver'd as that an Ordinary
Reader, if he be but Acquainted with the usuall Chymical Termes, may
easily enough Understand Them; and even a wary One may safely rely on
Them. These Things I add, because a Person any Thing vers'd in the
Writings of Chymists cannot but Discern by their obscure, Ambiguous,
and almost AEnigmatical Way of expressing what they pretend to Teach,
that they have no Mind, to be understood at all, but by_ the Sons of
Art _(as they call them) nor to be Understood even by these without
Difficulty And Hazardous Tryalls. Insomuch that some of Them Scarce
ever speak so candidly, as when they make use of that known Chymical
Sentence;_ Ubi palam locuti fumus, ibi nihil diximus. _And as the
obscurity of what some Writers deliver makes it very difficult to be
understood; so the Unfaithfulness of too many others makes it unfit to
be reli'd on. For though unwillingly, Yet I must for the truths sake,
and the Readers, warne him not to be forward to believe Chymical
Experiments when they are set down only by way of Prescriptions, and
not of Relations; that is, unless he that delivers them mentions his
doing it upon his own particular knowledge, or upon the Relation of
some credible person, avowing it upon his own experience. For I am
troubled, I must complain, that even Eminent Writers, both Physitians
and Philosophers, whom I can easily name, if it be requir'd, have of
late suffer'd themselves to be so far impos'd upon, as to Publish and
Build upon Chymical Experiments, which questionless they never try'd;
for if they had, they would, as well as I, have found them not to be
true. And indeed it were to be wish'd, that now that those begin to
quote Chymical Experiments that are not themselves Acquainted with
Chymical Operations, men would Leave off that Indefinite Way of
Vouching the Chymists say this, or the Chymists affirme that, and
would rather for each Experiment they alledge name the Author or
Authors, upon whose credit they relate it; For, by this means they
would secure themselves from the suspition of falshood (to which the
other Practice Exposes them) and they would Leave the Reader to Judge
of what is fit for him to Believe of what is Deliver'd, whilst they
employ not their own great names to Countenance doubtfull Relations;
and they will also do Justice to the Inventors or Publishers of true
Experiments, as well as upon the Obtruders of false ones. Whereas by
that general Way of quoting the Chymists, the candid Writer is
Defrauded of the particular Praise, and the Impostor escapes the
Personal Disgrace that is due to him._

_The remaining Part of this Praeface must be imploy'd in saying
something for_ Carneades, _and something for my Self._

_And first_, Carneades _hopes that he will be thought to have disputed
civilly and Modestly enough for one that was to play the Antagonist
and the Sceptick. And if he any where seem to sleight his Adversaries
Tenents and Arguments, he is willing to have it look'd upon as what he
was induc'd to, not so much by his Opinion of them, as the Examples
of_ Themistius _and_ Philoponus, _and the custom of such kind of
Disputes._

_Next, In case that some of his Arguments shall not be thought of the
most Cogent sort that may be, he hopes it will be consider'd that it
ought not to be Expected, that they should be So. For, his Part being
chiefly but to propose Doubts and Scruples, he does enough, if he
shews that his Adversaries Arguments are not strongly Concluding,
though his own be not so neither. And if there should appear any
disagreement betwixt the things he delivers in divers passages, he
hopes it will be consider'd, that it is not necessary that all the
things a Sceptick Proposes, should be consonant; since it being his
work to Suggest doubts against the Opinion he questions, it is
allowable for him to propose two or more severall_ Hypotheses _about
the same thing: And to say that it may be accounted for this way, or
that way, or the other Way, though these wayes be perhaps inconsistent
among Themselves. Because it is enough for him, if either of the
proposed_ Hypotheses _be but as probable as that he calls a question.
And if he proposes many that are Each of them probable, he does the
more satisfie his doubts, by making it appear the more difficult to be
sure, that that which they alwayes differ from is the true. And our_
Carneades _by holding the Negative, he has this Advantage, that if
among all the Instances he brings to invalidate all the Vulgar
Doctrine of those he Disputes with, any one be Irrefragable, that
alone is sufficient to overthrow a Doctrine which Universally asserts
what he opposes. For, it cannot be true, that all Bodies whatsoever
that are reckon'd among the Perfectly mixt Ones, are Compounded of
such a Determinate Number of such or such Ingredients, in case any one
such Body can be produc'd, that is not so compounded; and he hopes
too, that Accurateness will be the less expected from him, because his
undertaking obliges him to maintain such Opinions in Chymistry, and
that chiefly by Chymical Arguments, as are Contrary to the very
Principles of the Chymists; From whose writings it is not Therefore
like he should receive any intentionall Assistance, except from some
Passages of the Bold and Ingenious_ Helmont, _with whom he yet
disagrees in many things (which reduce him to explicate Divers
Chymical_ Phaenomena, _according to other Notions;) And of whose
Ratiocinations, not only some seem very Extravagant, but even the Rest
are not wont to be as considerable as his Experiments. And though it
be True indeed, that some_ Aristotelians _have occasionally written
against the Chymical Doctrine he Oppugnes, yet since they have done it
according to their Principles, And since our_ Carneades _must as well
oppose their_ Hypothesis _as that of the Spagyrist, he was fain to
fight his Adversaries with their own Weapons, Those of the
Peripatetick being Improper, if not hurtfull for a Person of his
Tenents; besides that those_ Aristotelians, _(at Least, those he met
with,) that have written against the Chymists, seem to have had so
little Experimental Knowledge in Chymical Matters, that by their
frequent Mistakes and unskilfull Way of Oppugning, they have too often
expos'd Themselves to the Derision of their Adversaries, for writing
so Confidently against what they appear so little to understand._

_And Lastly_, Carneades _hopes, he shall doe the Ingenious this Piece
of service, that by having Thus drawn the Chymists Doctrine out of
their Dark and Smoakie Laboratories, and both brought it into the open
light, and shewn the weakness of their Proofs, that have hitherto
been wont to be brought for it, either Judicious Men shall henceforth
be allowed calmly and after due information to disbelieve it, or those
abler Chymists, that are zealous for the reputation of it, will be
oblig'd to speak plainer then hitherto has been done, and maintain it
by better Experiments and Arguments then Those_ Carneades _hath
examin'd: so That he hopes, the Curious will one Way or other Derive
either satisfaction or instruction from his endeavours. And as he is
ready to make good the profession he makes in the close of his
Discourse, he being ready to be better inform'd, so he expects either
to be indeed inform'd, or to be let alone. For Though if any Truly
knowing Chymists shall Think fit in a civil and rational way to shew
him any truth touching the matter in Dispute That he yet discernes
not,_ Carneades _will not refuse either to admit, or to own a
Conviction: yet if any impertinent Person shall, either to get Himself
a Name, or for what other end soever, wilfully or carelesly mistake
the State of the Controversie, or the sence of his Arguments, or shall
rail instead of arguing, as hath been done of Late in Print by divers
Chymists;_[1] _or lastly, shall write against them in a canting way; I
mean, shall express himself in ambiguous or obscure termes, or argue
from experiments not intelligibly enough Deliver'd_, Carneades
_professes, That he values his time so much, as not to think the
answering such Trifles worth the loss of it._

[Footnote 1: G. and F. and H. and others, in their books against one
another.]

_And now having said thus much for_ Carneades, _I hope the Reader will
give me leave to say something too for my self._

_And first, if some morose Readers shall find fault with my having
made the Interlocutors upon occasion complement with one another, and
that I have almost all along written these Dialogues in a stile more
Fashionable then That of meer scholars is wont to be, I hope I shall
be excus'd by them that shall consider, that to keep a due_ decorum
_in the Discourses, it was fit that in a book written by a Gentleman,
and wherein only Gentlemen are introduc'd as speakers, the Language
should be more smooth, and the Expressions more civil than is usual in
the more Scholastick way of writing. And indeed, I am not sorry to
have this Opportunity of giving an example how to manage even Disputes
with Civility; whence perhaps some Readers will be assisted to discern
a Difference betwixt Bluntness of speech and Strength of reason, and
find that a man may be a Champion for Truth, without being an Enemy to