Boyle Papers Volume 8

Extent: 212 folios
Date: Late 17th century
Description: Folio-size volume; foliated; 19th century contents leaf: Philosophy
Physical description: Manuscript document
Note: The following wholly blank openings are omitted: fols. 45v-46r, 212v [final page]. There is a fol. 192A as well as 192.

In the list below, click on the document that you wish to see. This will open a page showing an image of the first opening of the document in question. Accompanying this is a full description of the item, taken from the catalogue of the Boyle Papers. After the title, this tells you whether the document is published and, if so, where. For details of the texts cited in this section, see Abbreviations. The rest of the description gives details of date, handwriting, etc. For further elucidation, see Collection Notes.

Fol. 1 (1 leaf): Contents of the (as yet) unpublished parts of Usefulness, endorsed by Henry Oldenburg as having been received by him on 25 April 1666.
Fols. 3-28 (26 leaves): 'Essay III Containeing a further Declaration of the Usefullnes of Naturall Philosophy by manifesting that Physiologie much conduces to promote the Empire of Man over the Creatures'.
Fols. 29-45 (17 leaves): 'Notes upon the 27th Section'.
Fol. 46v (1 leaf): Untitled list of heads on porosity.
Fols. 47-59 (13 leaves): Fragment of original version of Usefulness.
Fol. 60 (1 leaf): Title and first two paragraphs of 'Essay the VIII: That a Ground of expecting considerable things from Exper Philosophie is given by those things which have been found out by illiterate Trades-men of lighted on by change' (Usefulness).
Fol. 61 (1 leaf): Material relating to Usefulness.
Fols. 62-3 (2 leaves): Cover sheets. Fol. 62v endorsed 'Rough Papers belonging to the Vth Essay'; fol. 63, 'Promiscuous Addenda to my severall Treatises' [Title-page of Workdiary 22].
Fol. 64v (1 leaf): 'The Order of My Severall Treatises'.
Fols. 65-91(27 leaves): 'Promiscuous Addenda to my severall Treatises' [Workdiary 22, part 1].
Fols. 92-116 (25 leaves): 'A Continuation of (Printed) Addenda to my severall Treatises' [Workdiary 22, part 2].
Fol. 117 (1 leaf): List of Raymond Lull's books.
Fols. 118-22 (5 leaves): 'A Diurnall Miscellaneous Collection, Begun March the 25th 1648/9' [Workdiary 4].
Fols. 123-39 (17 leaves): 'Of the Study of the Booke of Nature. For the First Section of my Treatise of Occasional Reflections.'
Fols. 140-8 (9 leaves): 'A Philosophical Diary. Begun this first of January 1654/5' [Workdiary 12].
Fols. 149-52 (4 leaves): MS version of part of Notion of Nature.
Fols. 153-9 (7 leaves): MS version of part of Excellency of Theology
Fols. 160-4 (5 leaves): Fragment of 'Dialogue on the Generation and Transmutation of Metals'.
Fols. 165-70 (6 leaves): Sections of 'An Essay of various Degrees or kinds of the Knowledge of natural things' interspersed by material on sense, reason and authority (fols. 167-8).
Fol. 171 (1 leaf): Early version of publisher's note to Degradation of Gold.
Fols. 172-9 (8 leaves): MS version of experiment XVIII in Spring, 1st Continuation.
Fols. 180-3 (4 leaves): Unpublished Latin translation of part of Exp & Obs Physicae.
Fols. 184-7 (4 leaves): Sections of 'An Essay of various Degrees or kinds of the Knowledge of natural things' interspersed by 'Explications by real Qualities and substantial Formes' (fol. 186).
Fols. 188-9 (3 leaves): Extract from Wallis' Opera Mathematica concerning Euclid.
Fols. 190-5 (6 leaves): MS version of section 7 of Essay I of Usefulness, II, sect. 2.
Fols. 196-203 (8 leaves): Latin treatise attacking van Helmont in favour of Paracelsus.
Fol. 204 (1 leaf): Text concerning 'judiciary astrology' and celestial influences.
Fol. 205 (1 leaf): Copy of first three paragraphs of published text of 'Natural History of a Country' (Phil. Trans., 1666).
Fols. 206-7 (2 leaves): 'A Fragment of The Aspireing Naturalist (A Philosophical Romance)'.
Fols. 208-9 (2 leaves): List of scientific projects/desiderata.
Fols. 210-212 (3 leaves): Sections of text, including introductory comments to 'Cogitationes Physicae'