Who was Robert Boyle, Fellow at the Royal Society of London?

Robert Boyle was a natural science philosopher and physician. After his father died, Robert dedicated the rest of his life to scientific research with the Invisible College. He’s most famous for Boyle’s Law in chemistry (discovered the previous year by Henry Power) yet his lesser known work in crystallography serves us as one of the foundations of the Scientific Method. After Charles II granted a charter to the Invisible College in 1663, Robert Boyle served as council member at the Royal Society of London. During his lifetime and for years afterwards, precious stones such as emeralds, rubies, and sapphires played a pharmacological role in medicine. Although never a follower of Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle adopted the principles set forward in the book, Novum Organum. As a form of comparison, Francis Bacon had said In Sylva Sylvarum that precious minerals provided comfort to the spirit by consent. Bacon’s belief was the equivalent of a cure by suggestion. The use of jewels in medicine may also be referred to as sympathetic magic though —more importantly — none are digestible. Robert Boyle on the other hand did not reject the idea of ingestion of leaf gold, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds as a cure. His idea was that less expensive minerals be substituted for gemstones, such as the remedies offered to the poorer sort of patients. His criticism of magical gemstones was the first development in the science of crystallography and deconstruction of legends regarding medieval gemstones. Similar to the theory of the origin of stones (by Albertus Magnus), transparent gems were once liquids then imbued by mineral tinctures giving them their qualities and virtues. Opaque stone having been once earth were imbued with mineral juices or copious proportion of metalline substance giving them their medical virtues. He recognized the long tradition of physicians incorporating precious gemstones in their compositions. He blamed the scarceness of transparent gemstones as being responsible for men’s foolishness yet regarded the reports by some physicians of a gem’s virtue as truthful. Why? He prescribed the softer, less noble gems himself. After Robert Boyle’s death, Fredrick Slare discussed the medical uses of the bezoar-stone, an indigestible rock. Fredrick Slare worked for Robert Boyle, attended meetings at the Royal Society, and demonstrated the presence of salt in the bloodstream. A compound named Gascoign Powder was presented an example of popular medicine made of bezoar-stone, white amber, crab’s eyes, red coral, and the black tips of crab‘s claw. It was proven to the Royal Society to have negative medical results. For three pounds and ten shillings one could purchase the bezoar-stone, yet an alternative cordial made of chalk and salt of wormwood was Dr. Slare’s suggestion because the price of fine gold was four pounds. The attempts by critics of medical lore to reconcile the virtues of gemstones with medical science came to an end. The medical use of gemstones was removed from the pharmacopoeia of Paris in the year 1774.

Robert Boyle spent large sums as director of the East India Company.

Typical coat of arms from the late-seventeenth century.