The Sceptical Chymist

The Sceptical Chymist, by
Robert Boyle

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Title: 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.
Author: Robert Boyle

Release Date: October 8, 2007 [eBook #22914]
Language: English
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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
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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 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.
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