Volume 2

An essay about the origine & virtues of gems. : Wherein are propos'd and historically illustrated some conjectures about the consistence of the matter of precious stones, and the subjects wherein their chiefest virtues reside. By the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq; Fellow of the Royal Society.

  • Boyle, Robert, 1627-1691.
Date:
1672
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay about the origine & virtues of gems. : Wherein are propos'd and historically illustrated some conjectures about the consistence of the matter of precious stones, and the subjects wherein their chiefest virtues reside. By the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq; Fellow of the Royal Society. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    not indifcriminately reje@ all the Medi- cinal Virtues, that Tradition and the Writers about pretious Stones have afcribed to thofe Noble Minerals : Con- tenting my felf to declare in a word , that fufpecting moft of them to be fa- bulous, my Conjectures aim only at giving one of the Caufes of thofe Vir- tues afcrib'd to Gems which Experience warrants to be real and true. | “Having thus explain’d in what fenfe my Conjecture about the Virtues of pretious Stones is tobe underftodd ; it follows that I propofe the Conje@ure Or Hypothefis it felf; the fubftance of which may be compriz’d inthefe Two particulars: Firft, That many of thee Gems, and Medical Stones, either were once finid Bodies, as the Tranfparent ones; or in part'made up of ‘fuch’ fub-' ftances as were once fluid :: And fecond- ly, That many-of the real Virtues ‘of fuch Stones may be probably deriv’d’ from the mixture of Metalline and other fufpeedly,) are ufually incorporated B 3 Vari-