8vo (171 x 102 mm). (Toning, some spotting throughout.) Contemporary mottled calf with spine rebacked (rubbing, soiling). Provenance: George Baillie (1664-1738), Scottish and British politician and Lord of the Treasury (ownership bookplate); William A. Cole, American chemist and educator (ownership bookplate).

FIRST EDITION with the rare two blank leaves and all half-titles with gatherings in the correct order. Boyle was particularly fascinated by the idea of life as a slow-burning flame, a theme on which he expounded heavily in his writings, but here it is made a central concept of the works as a whole. Fulton 101; Norman 305; Madan 2090; Wing, B4060.