The Works of Robert Boyle (1999-2000)

Edited by Michael Hunter and Edward B Davis

14 vols., part of 'The Pickering Masters' series, published by Pickering & Chatto

• The first scholarly edition of Boyle's writings to be published since 1772, including all his published works
• Introduction to the edition as a whole surveys Boyle's intellectual career and provides important information about the growth of his reputation as reflected in his writings
• All texts collated with other contemporary editions where appropriate and annotated with relevant material from Boyle's manuscripts
• Final two volumes of edition comprise hitherto unpublished writings by Boyle, representing the most substantial publication of new material by him since his lifetime
• Fully annotated and comprehensively indexed
• Introductory matter provides a definitive account of the composition and publishing history of each work and a table itemising all manuscript material relevant to it

Contents

Volume 1

• General Introduction and Textual Notes
• Invitation to Free Communication (1655)
• Preface to Perreaud's Devil of Mascon (1658)
• de Bils's Large Act of Anatomy (1659)
• Seraphic Love (1659/1663)
• Spring of the Air (1660)

Volume 2

• Certain Physiological Essays (2nd ed., 1669)
• Sceptical Chymist (1661)
• Style of the Scriptures (1661)

Volume 3

• Defence and Examen (1662)
• Usefulness of Natural Philosophy, I and II, sect. 1 (1663)

Volume 4

• Experiments touching Colours (1664)
• New Experiments touching Cold (1665)

Volume 5

• Occasional Reflections (1665)
• Hydrostatical Paradoxes (1666)
• Origin of Forms and Qualities (1666, 1667)
• Phil. Trans. papers, 1665-7

Volume 6

• 'New Experiments', Phil. Trans. (1668, 1670)
• Spring of the Air, 1st Continuation (1669)
• Rarefaction of the Air (1670)
• Cosmical Qualities (1671)
• Usefulness of Natural Philosophy, II, sect. 2 (1671)

Volume 7

• Origin and Virtue of Gems (1672)
• Relations betwixt Flame and Air (1672)
• Essays of Effluviums (1673)
• Saltness of the Sea (1674)

Volume 8

• Excellency of Theology (1674)
• Hidden Qualities of the Air (1674)
• Reason and Religion (1675)
• Mechanical Origin of Qualities (1675)
• Phil. Trans. items, early 1670s

Volume 9

• Degradation of Gold (1678)
• Aerial Noctiluca (1680)
• Icy Noctiluca (1682)
• Producibleness of Chymical Principles (1680)
• Things above Reason (1681)
• Spring of the Air, 2nd Continuation (Eng. trans.) (1682)
• Items contributed to Hooke's Philosophical Collections and various Phil. Trans. articles, early 1680's
• Salt-water Sweetened (1683)

Volume 10

• Natural History of Human Blood (1684)
• Experiments about Porosity (1684)
• High Veneration to God (1685)
• Experimental History of Mineral Waters (1684-5)
• Languid and Unheeded Motion (1685)
• Specific Medicines (1685)
• Vulgarly Receiv'd Notion of Nature (1686)

Volume 11

• Martyrdom of Theodora (1687)
• Receits in Physic (1688)
• Final Causes (1688)
• Medicina Hydrostatica (1690)
• Christian Virtuoso (1690)
• Experimenta et Observationes Physicae (1691)

Volume 12

• Posthumous Phil. Trans. papers
• General History of the Air (1692)
• Medicinal Experiments (1692-4)
• Discourse against Customary Swearing (1695)
• Christian Virtuoso I, Appendix and II (1744)
• Papers in Birch's History of the Royal Society

Volumes 13-14

Unpublished Writings and Index

• Early writings, including original version of Martyrdom of Theodora, moral epistles and theological works
• Writings from Boyle's early scientific phase, including Of the Study of the Book of Nature, Of the Atomical Philosophy and Essay of the Holy Scriptures
• Suppressed sections of published works, including essays intended for Part 2 of Usefulness of Natural Philosophy, sections of Mechanical Origin of Qualities and Postscript to Vulgarly Receiv'd Notion of Nature
• Fragments of works never published, including Medical Prescription Communicated to Robert Boyle, Memoirs for the Natural History of Tin, papers on petrifaction and mineralogy, and dialogues on the limitation of human reason
• Complete test of Boyle's inventories of his unpublished writings, a key source for his intellectual evolution

An electronic version of The Works is in preparation by InteLex as part of their Past Masters series. It will be available in both on-line and CD versions. For details, see http://www.nlx.com.