BOYLE. 



wns designated in the age in which he lived " The 

 great earl of Cork." 



BOYLE, Roger, earl of Orrery, fifth son of the pre- 

 ceding. He was born in 1621, and, when only seven 

 years old was created baron Broghill, by which 

 'itle he is usually known. He was educated at Tri- 

 nity college, Dublin ; after which he travelled on the 

 continent, and returned home at the commencement 

 of the Irish rebellion. He commanded a troop of 

 cavalry raised by his father, was employed in the de- 

 fence of the castle of Lismore, and displayed his 

 courage and ability on many occasions in the service 

 of Charles I. ; on the cessation of whose authority he 

 HCted under the parliamentary commissioners in Ire- 

 land. When the king was put to death, he retired 

 for a while from public life ; but being courted by 

 Cromwell, he accepted a commission from him, and 

 assisted him materially in reducing the Irish to sub- 

 jection. He served his new master with zeal and fidel- 

 ity, and few persons were more trusted or distinguish- 

 ed by him. Oliver becoming protector, made lord 

 Broghill one of his privy-council and a member of 

 his house of lords. In 1656, he sent him to Scotland, 

 with a commission to govern there with absolute autho- 

 rity for one year ; and his conduct was such as 

 proved satisfactory both to the Scots and the protec- 

 tor. On the death of Cromwell, he at first supported 

 the interests of his son, but perceiving the instability 

 of his government, he retired to his estates in Ireland, 

 to watch the progress of events. Becoming aware 

 of the approaching restoration of regal power, he 

 exerted himself with such dexterity and success in 

 promoting it as to obtain much credit for his conduct. 

 Charles II. rewarded him with the title of earl of 

 Orrery, and he was appointed one of the lords .jus- 

 tices for Ireland. In 1667, he became involved in 

 an unhappy dispute with the lord-lieutenant, the 

 duke of Ormond, which led to a charge of high trea- 

 son against him in parliament, but it was not prose- 

 cuted, and he continued to enjoy the royal favour and 

 confidence. The concluding years of his life were 

 partly devoted to literature, though with little advan- 

 tage to the world or his own reputation. He wrote 

 poems, plays, a romance, and tracts on controversial 

 divinity, which have all long since passed into 

 oblivion; but there is a collection of his "State 

 Letters," published in 1742, which affords much 

 interesting information. He died, October 16, 

 1679. 



BOYLE, Robert ; a celebrated natural philosopher ; 

 was born at Lismore, in Ireland, 1627, and was the se- 

 venth son of Richard the great earl of Cork. In 1638, 

 he went to Geneva, under the care of a learned French 

 gentleman, where he continued to pursue his studies 

 for several years. In 1641, he made a journey to 

 Italy. In 1642, he was left at Marseilles destitute 

 of money, on account of the breaking out of the Irish 

 rebellion. This circumstance did not allow him to 

 return to England untill 1644. During this period, 

 his father haa died, leaving him considerable pro- 

 perty. He now went to his estate at Stalbridge, where 

 he devoted himself to the study of physics and chemis- 

 try. He was one of the first members of a learned 

 society, founded in 1645, which at first went under 

 the name of the philosophical college. On account of 

 the political disturbances, this society retired to 

 Oxford, but was revived after the restoration, under 

 the name of the royal society. B. occupied himself 

 at Oxford in making improvements in the air-pump. 

 Like Bacon, he esteemed observation the only road 

 to truth. He attributed to matter merely mechanical 

 properties. Every year of his life was marked by 

 new experiments. We are indebted to him for the 

 first certain knowledge of the absorption of air in 

 calcination and combustion, and of the increase of 



weight whijh metals gain by oxidation. He first 

 studied the chemical phenomena of the atmosphere, 

 and was thus the predecessor of Mayow, Hales, Ca~ 

 vendish, and Priestley. In all his philosophical in- 

 quiries, he displayed an accurate and methodical 

 mind, relying wholly upon experiments. At the 

 same time, his imagination was warm and lively, and 

 inclined to romantic notions, which were first pro- 

 duced, in his childhood, by the perusal of Amaais of 

 Gaul, and always exercised a visible influence on his 

 character. He was naturally inclined to melancholy, 

 and this temper of mind was increased by circum- 

 stances. The sight of the great Carthusian monas- 

 tery at Grenoble, the wildness of the country, as well 

 as the severe ascetic life of the monks, made a deep 

 impression upon him. The devil, as he said, taking 

 advantage of his melancholy disposition, filled his 

 soul with terror, and with doubts concerning the 

 fundamental doctrines of religion. This condition 

 was so insufferable, that he was tempted to free 

 himself from it by committing suicide, and was only 

 prevented by the fear of hell. While endeavouring 

 to settle his faith, he found those defences of the 

 Christian religion, which had been published before 

 his time, unsatisfactory. In order, therefore, to read 

 the original works, which are considered the founda- 

 tion of Christianity, he studied the Oriental languages, 

 and formed connexions with Pococke, Thomas Hyde, 

 Samuel Clarke, Thomas Barlow, &c. The result of 

 his studies was a conviction of its truth, which was 

 manifested not only by his theological writings, but 

 by his benevolence and generous disinterestedness. 

 He instituted public lectures for the defence of Chris- 

 tianity ; and to this endowment we owe the convinc- 

 ing arguments of Samuel Clarke, on the existence of 

 a God. B. did much for the support of the mission 

 in India, and caused Irish and Gaelic translations of 

 the Bible to be made and printed at his own expense. 

 To his religious principles were united the purest 

 morals, a rare modesty, and an active benevolence. 

 He died at London, in 1691, and was interred in 

 Westminster abbey. Birch published an edition of 

 his works, 5 vols. folio, London, 1744. 



BOYLE, Charles, the second son of Roger, earl of 

 Orrery, was born in 1676, at Chelsea, and at fifteen 

 entered a nobleman at Christ church, Oxford, under 

 the care of Dr Atterbury. While there, he published 

 a new edition of the epistles of Phalaris, of which Dr 

 Bentley questioning the authenticity, he wrote an 

 answer entitled "Dr Bentley's Dissertation on the 

 Epistles of Phalaris examined,'* which produced the 

 famous controversy alluded to in the article Bentley, 

 in which the wit was all on one side and the truth on 

 the other. On leaving the university in 1700, he 

 was chosen member for Huntingdon ; and on the 

 death of his brother succeeded to the earldom, and 

 was soon after elected a knight of the thistle, and 

 received the command of a regiment. In 1709, he 

 was promoted to the rank of a major-grneral, and 

 sworn of the queen's privy council ; ne was also 

 envoy extraordinary from the queen to the states of 

 Flanders and Brabant, at the critical period of the 

 treaty of Utrecht ; and on his return was raised to 

 the digni^ of a British peer, under the title of lord 

 Boyle. He retired from court soon after the acces- 

 sion of George I., and in 1722, was sent to the Tower 

 on suspicion of being concerned in Layer's plot, but 

 was discharged after six months' imprisonment. He 

 constantly attended the house of peers as before, but 

 never spoke, though he was often employed in draw- 

 ing up protests. Besides the edition of Plialaris, he 

 published a comedy called " As you find it ;" a copy 

 of verses to Dr Garth upon his dispensary ; and a 

 prologue to Southerne's play of the siege of Capua. 

 He died in 1781. His name of Orrery was given to 



