74 Britain's Heritage of Science 



education partly at Eton, and then privately at his father's 

 newly-purchased property near Stalbridge in Dorsetshire. 

 At the age of eleven he was sent on a lengthy journey to 

 the continent, accompanied by an elder brother and a 

 French tutor, Marcombes; they reached Geneva, where 

 they stayed nearly two years before proceeding to Italy. 

 At Florence, Boyle became acquainted with the works of 

 Galileo, and one can imagine the impression the death of 

 that great man, which occurred during his stay, must have 

 made on his youthful mind. The party proceeded to Rome, 

 and ultimately set out on their return journey, but found 

 themselves at Marseilles without means, as a remittance 

 from Boyle's father had been stolen by the messenger. 

 Almost penniless, they made their way back to Geneva, 

 M. Marcombes' native place, and ultimately the two 

 brothers reached England in the summer of 1644. They 

 found their father dead, and the country in such confusion 

 that it was nearly four months before Robert Boyle, who 

 inherited the manor at Stalbridge, could make his way 

 thither. 1 In London, Robert Boyle made the acquaintance 

 of John Wallis, Christopher Wren, and other distinguished 

 men, whose weekly meetings were destined to lead to the 

 foundation of the Royal Society. Though his scientific 

 studies were interrupted by an enforced visit to his dis- 

 ordered Irish estates, which extended over two years, he 

 settled down in 1654 at Oxford, where, during the following 

 fourteen years, he devoted himself entirely to scientific 

 research. He spent the remainder of his life in London, 

 taking an active part in the affairs of the Royal Society 

 until two years before his death. Boyle had strong religious 

 views; but he refused to take orders on the ground that 

 he felt no inner call, and thereby lost the appointment as 

 Provost of Eton. He so strictly interpreted the command 

 of the New Testament not to swear " neither by heaven, 

 nor by earth, nor by any other oath," that he refused the 

 Presidency of the Royal Society, because the Charter pre- 

 scribed the taking of an oath on his accession to office. By 

 his will he founded the " Boyle Lectures " for the defence 



1 " Dictionary of National Biography." 



