374 A HISTORY OF 



Irishman and destined to mark the Society's apprecia- 

 tion of the scientific work of those happily still living 

 amongst us. The awarding of such a medal is a recent 

 addition to the functions of this Society. The value 

 of such an institution is unquestionable ; it is to the 

 Society a power of speech, a means of expressing her 

 measured opinion that the work of the recipient is 

 worthy of the highest honour. 



" But not only is this old Society thus enabled to 

 speak her thoughts and to place them upon record, 

 but as the roll of the Boyle medallists lengthens with 

 the passage of time, will not this roll be an honourable 

 record for her ? The greatest Irishmen will, as we 

 hope, have their names inscribed upon it, and be 

 numbered among those who have honoured her by 

 accepting her honours. 



" It was not without due consideration that the 

 life-work of the Hon. Robert Boyle was chosen as 

 that which might be most fitly commemorated by this 

 medal. That Boyle did more for science than any 

 other of the great Irishmen who have passed away is 

 not too much to maintain. His name is not indeed 

 associated with any profound discovery ; the celebrated 

 law by which it is known to every educated man might 

 have been achieved by a lesser mind. Boyle stands 

 before the world as the great pioneer in the applica- 

 tion of the experimental method. By its aid he shed 

 light on many dark places in science. Many valuable 

 methods and facts have their origin in Boyle's labours. 

 His wide intellect made its influence felt over the 

 entire range of the science of the seventeenth century. 



" Boyle first distinguished between a mixture and a 

 chemical compound. He defined the elements, in 

 a manner strangely prophetic of the most modern 



