Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours

Experiments and Considerations
Touching Colours

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Experiments and Considerations
Touching
Colours (1664), by Robert Boyle This eBook is for the use of anyone
anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You
may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project
Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
www.gutenberg.net
Title: Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours (1664)
Author: Robert Boyle
Release Date: December 28, 2004 [EBook #14504]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK
TOUCHING COLOURS ***

Produced by Robert Shimmin, Keith Edkins and the PG Online
Distributed Proofreading Team

EXPERIMENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS Touching COLOURS.
First occasionally Written, among some other Essays, to a Friend; and
now suffer'd to come abroad as
THE BEGINNING Of An Experimental History OF COLOURS.
By the Honourable ROBERT BOYLE, Fellow of the ROYAL

SOCIETY.
_Non fingendum, aut excogitandum, sed inveniendum, quid Natura
faciat, aut ferat._ Bacon.
_LONDON._
Printed for Henry Herringman at the Anchor on the Lower walk of the
_New Exchange._ MDCLXIV.
* * * * *
THE PREFACE.
Having in convenient places of the following Treatise, mention'd the
Motives, that induc'd me to write it, and the Scope I propos'd to my self
in it; I think it superfluous to entertain the Reader now, with what he
will meet with hereafter. And I should judge it needless, to trouble
others, or my self, with any thing of Preface: were it not that I can
scarce doubt, but this Book will fall into the hands of some Readers,
who being unacquainted with the difficulty of attempts of this nature,
will think itn strange that I should publish any thing about Colours,
without a particular Theory of them. But I dare expect that Intelligent
and Equitable Readers will consider on my behalf: That the professed
Design of this Treatise is to deliver things rather Historical than
Dogmatical, and consequently if I have added divers new speculative
Considerations and hints, which perhaps may afford no despicable
Assistance, towards the framing of a solid and comprehensive
Hypothesis, I have done at least as much as I promis'd, or as the nature
of my undertaking exacted. But another thing there is, which if it
should be objected, I fear I should not be able so easily to answer it,
and that is; That in the following treatise (especially in the Third part of
it) the Experiments might have been better Marshall'd, and some of
them deliver'd in fewer words. For I must confess that this Essay was
written to a private Friend, and that too, by snatches, at several times,
and places, and (after my manner) in loose sheets, of which I
oftentimes had not all by me that I had already written, when I was
writing more, so that it needs be no wonder if all the Experiments be
not rang'd to the best Advantage, and if some connections and
consecutions of them might easily have been mended. Especially since
having carelessly laid by the loose Papers, for several years after they
were written, when I came to put them together to dispatch them to the
Press, I found some of those I reckon'd upon, to be very unseasonably

wanting. And to make any great change in the order of the rest, was
more than the Printers importunity, and that, of my own avocations
(and perhaps also considerabler solicitations) would permit. But though
some few preambles of the particular Experiments might have
(perchance) been spar'd, or shorten'd, if I had had all my Papers under
my View at once; Yet in the most of those Introductory passages, the
Reader will (I hope) find hints, or Advertisements, as well as
Transitions. If I sometimes seem to insist long upon the circumstances
of a Tryall, I hope I shall be easily excused by those that both know,
how nice divers experiments of Colours are, and consider that I was not
barely to relate them, but so as to teach a young Gentleman to make
them. And if I was not sollicitous, to make a nicer division of the whole
Treatise, than into three parts, whereof the One contains some
Considerations about Colours in general. The Other exhibits a
specimen of an Account of particular Colours, Exemplifi'd in
Whiteness and Blackness. And the Third promiscuous Experiments
about the remaining Colours (especially Red) in order to a Theory of
them. If, I say, I contented my self with this easie Division of my
Discourse, it was perhaps because I did not think it so necessary to be
Curious about the Method or Contrivance of a Treatise, wherein I do
not pretend to present my Reader with a compleat Fabrick, or so much
as Modell; but only to bring in Materials