The Seventeenth Century 125 



one of the outstanding experimentalists in this field during the 

 seventeenth century. Light, heat, fire, and flame represent only a 

 few of his interests, which were universal, indeed truly remarkable, 

 and his conclusions were sound and far ahead of others of his time. 

 It is no wonder that cold light particularly intrigued him. The 

 title pages of two of his books are reproduced in figure 37. 



Boyle lived in Oxford from 1654 to 1668, and Gunther *^ has 

 quoted a contemporary opinion: 



His greatest delight is chymistrey. He haz at his sister's a noble labora- 

 tory, and severall servants (prentices to him) to looke to it. He is chari- 

 table to ingeniose men that are in want, and foreigne chymists have had 

 large proofs of his bountie, for he will not spare for cost to gett any 

 rare secret. Experiment, he declared, is the interrogation of Nature. 



Boyle's interest in acquiring knowledge was so great that he pre- 

 pared a small pamphlet *'^ for the use of explorers. It was published 

 after his death, and began as follows: 



And the great Disadvantage many Ingenious Men are at in their 

 Travels, by reason they know not beforehand, what things they are to 

 inform themselves of in every Country they come to, or by what Method 

 they may make Enquiries about things to be known there, I thought it 

 would not be unacceptable to such to have directions in General, relating 

 to all, and also in Particular, relating to Particular Countries, in as little 

 Bounds as possible, presented to their View ... as they were some Years 

 ago given to the Publick by the worthy and never to be forgotten Mr. 

 Boyle. . . . 



One of the questions which he suggested might be answered by 

 those who visit Virginia and the Bermudas was: " Where the shining 

 Flees, called Cucuyes, hide almost all their Light when taken, but 

 when at Liberty, afford it plentifully." Another concerned " the 

 shining of the sea in the night." 



Although not fortunate enough to obtain specimens of the cucuyo, 

 which would surely have astounded members of the Royal Society, 

 Boyle did find a glowworm, and in Tracts Touching the Relation 

 betwixt Flame and Air (1671) related how its light disappeared in a 

 vacuum and returned on admitting the air (see Chapter XVI, Fire- 

 flies) . 



Moreover, he particularly used the belief in a " liquor lucidus " 

 prepared from glowworms as an example of the absurd things 



"R. T. Gunther, Early science in Oxford 1: 10, 1923. 



** Boyle, R., General heads for the natural history of a country, London, 1691. This 

 was an outgrowth of questions published in the Phil. Trans. 1: 186-189, 315-316, 330- 

 343, 1666. 



