The Early Essays and Ethics of Robert Boyle edited and annotated with an introduction by John T. Harwood

Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, first edition, 1991. Cloth, 8vo, 24 cm,. lxix, 330 pp. Although Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was one of the major figures of the early Royal Society, only half of his voluminous writings focus on natural philosophy. Because he delayed the publication of most early works for several years -and sometimes for several decades - we may initially be puzzled by his intellectual development and the relationships among his texts. Aside from the extensive discussion of Boyle's participation in the so-called Invisible College, his activities and development between his return to England in 1644 and the establishment of the Royal Society have been largely ignored. Such neglect is curious because so many manuscripts have survived. This volume illuminates some of us preoccupations during those years by examining his early work as a moralist." - from the introduction. Contents include: Introduction ( 1: Manuscript Evidence and the Early Career; 2 Sources and Contexts of Boyles Ethics; 3: Ethics and the Quest for Virtue; 4: Rhetoric and Ethics in the 1640s; 5: Editorial Policies); The Aretology (Books One and Two); Of Sin; Of Piety; ihe Doctrine of Thinking; The Dayly Reflection of Time and Idleness; Boyle's Library; Appendix A: Joseph's Mistresse; Textual Notes; Index. Several marks to covers, remainder mark to lower edge of textblock, otherwise Very Good.