Camden gazette. (Camden, S.C.) 1816-1818, June 09, 1817, Image 4
Arorn the JVezU'ILngland Journal of yiedi
cine auci Surgery*
Address deli vered on the Induction of John
Gorham, M. O. as Erving Professor of
Chemistry in Harvard University, Dcc.
1816.
(continued.)
The System which was erected
on the ruins of that of Scahl, origi
nated in France, and its author was
Lavoisier. - No man, perhaps was
better calculated to give currency
to new opinions. ' Enjoying all the
influence which political distinc
tion, a splendid fortune, and the re
putation of uncommon talents can
bestow ; uained for the severer siu
cation ; well acquainted with the
scicnce of the age, and already dis
tinguished as a zealous cultivator of
philosophy, he carried into chemis
try all the precision of the exact
sciences, and reasoned on their phe
nomena with the caution of the geo
metrician. . He knew how to avail
himself of the laboyrs of others,
and his doctrines were founded on
the discoveries of Black, Cavendish,
Priesriy and Schcble. The basts of
his theocy is founded on the pheno
mena which oxygen exhibits in its
combinations with other bodies ;
and the enunciation of the doctrine
Itself is unfolded ih the -simple pro^J
positions* ,
- /That combustion \till not on
without the presence of oxygen.
That in eVery cas?? of combustion
this air disappears, the burnt body
increases in weight, and the weights
thus lost by the one and gained by
the other, are precisely equal ; that
combustion therefore, is the act of
union of the inflammable body with
oxygen. .
'I'haC oxygen is th$ principle of
acidity. , ? i
That it may be transferred from
the usual phfcnomina of inflamma
tion, and ? -?
That the heat and l'rght, both of
which are regarded by him as ma
terial, ahd which* are v disengaged
during the (combinations of this gas,'
are the results of the difference of
capacity between oxygen air, and
the" product of its union.
Such was the simple, consistent,
tnd beautiful system of Lavoisier -9
but notirithstai)ding the high repu
tation of iu author, and its adaption
to the feets which were at that time
accumulated, he could not, for a
long time, boast of a single convert.
It was at length embraced by tl*
distinguished cherfcists of Francc ;
it gradually forced its way into G.
Britaih, and Was finally .adopted, al
though not without opposition,
throughout Europe. This revolu
tion, however, in the philosophy of
chemistry was not yet completed.
The language employed in this sci
ence Was derived, either from the,
Arabic^ or from the more fantastic
*nd barbarous phraseology of the
alchemists. The names imposed
tipon recently discovered bodies
were perfectly arbitrary. The en
tire change, or at least the reform of
nomenclature was universally ac
knowledge to be necessary, and the
period chosen for this ehange was
peculiarly favourable to its diffusion
and adoption. The labour was nn
dertaken by I^avoisier, and, in con
junction with Morveauy Fourcroy,
and Berthoilet,. he published, in
17S6, anew nomenclature founded
on his o-wr> system, and deriving its
radicals from the language of the
Greeks. From this time,, the re?
putation of French philosophy was
identified with the succcss of the
new system, and by methods, equal
ly judicious and ingenious, it gradu
ally becamc the language of all the
chemists of Europe,
This nomenclature is founded on
the nature and the number of tne
elements of which bodies are com
po^cd, and it must be acknowledged, j
that it was simple and uniform, |
adapted with exquisite skill to the
state of chemical knowledge at that
period, and applied with the great -
I est ingenuity to the different forri)s |
| of matter. Had chemistry boeW 1
; circumscribed, and its limits accu- ]
rately known, it would have remain*
ed an everlasting monument of the
, Science and sagacity of Lavoisier
I and his Associates. But it was pre- ;
! mature. In proportion as novel 1
! facts are developed, and as new elc
| ments are discovered ; in proportion
! as the art of analysis is refined, and j
j we approxin>atc to the knowledge j
I of the real nature of bodies, it is
| obvious, that a theoretical and com
posite nomenclature must be equally
varied to correspohd with these
changes. As'cHemistry is a science
founded on experimeqt, no bounds
Can be sfct to its progress, nor,con
sequenrly^ to the language which,
like that of the French system, is j
intended to illustrate the nature and
composition of bodies ; and "it must,
therefore, sooner or later, lose, with
the theory itself, the qualities which
led to its adoption, simplicity, pre
cision, and consistency. Such will
?be, nay, I may venture to say, has
bten the fate of the system of La
voisier. Oxygen is not the only
Supporter of combustion ; it is not
the principle of acidity ; it is not the
Source of the light, nor^in all cases,
of the heat, evolved during its com*
blnations. and it is hardly the rival
of hydrogen, or the phlogiston of
Kirwan and Priestly, in the number
of its combinations, or the impor
tance of its phenomenar. ~ It is alrea
cty fallen, and the future chemist ]
will regar^TT sariye mix?d 1
feeling of admiration and regret, !
with which the scholar contemplates 1
the ruins of the Grecian temple over I
which time has passed his Relentless I
hand, has Withered its l>eauty, and I
levelled the harmonioui stfuctur4 1
with the dust. ' I
. To account for this rapid down* 1
fall of the French philosophy, it will l
be necessary to take a cursory viewc]
gf the present stlte of ch^Ynical 1
knowledge. * |
Since the commencement of the I
19th century, more has been done<J
to place the science on a permanent I
basis, than had been effected by all I
the labours of preceding chefaists, |
The grand discovery ofJVolta, rhat 1
Gilvanism, by certain arrangements I
of different metals, may be accumu* I
lated to an almost indefinite extent, 1
has given to the chemist an agent of 1
great power in producing decompo- I
sirions, and in arriving to the ele- I
ments of bodies ; and the application 1
of voltaic electricity to different!
forms of matter, opened to Sir 1
Humphrey Davy ^ glorious career, I
?and clowned him with unfading re- I
putation. He has not only distov. I
ered* a number of important ele- I
ments, and given probability to the I
hypothesis of an universal inflam- 1
mable principle, t>ut, what is of more I
consequence, he has nearlyestablish- I
ed the general truths, that the rau- I
timl attractions of the particles of I
different matter are proportionar to 1
their electrical energies ; *nd that |
those which obviously have the [
greatest tendency to combine, are I
such as also exhibit the most oppo- I
site states of electricity. So great ]
and decided is the number of , facts I
to support this opinion, that Ber- I
zelius, the distinguished chemist of I
Sweden, has boJdJy published a sys- I
tem founded upon the ciectro-che- I
mical energies of bodies. 1 his may I
b<; considered an important step
toward the completion ot the sci
ence for, instead of the obscure arid
indefinite idea, of attraction, and of
a power which is unseen arid un
known, chemists will now recog
nize the agency of a principle, which
may be accumulated or discharged
at will, the properties, of which may
be accurately demonstrated, and
which, when it acts on masses, in
known to produce some ot the most
sublime and magnificent phenome
na of nature.
Tl is not a little remarkable, that
chemistry, although it is founded on
experiment, should not, until the
present moment, have assumed the
form of an exact science. The
pJay of attractions has been sup
posed to var^ so much by the cir
cumstances in which bodies are
placed, and s"> much uncertainty
has appeared to exist; relative,
either to the general results^ or to
the proportions in which they unite,
that it has been said, experiment
alone can enable us to acquire any
positive knowledge on the sublet.
T his uncertainty will no longer exist,
and by far the greatest improvement
which^ has yet been made in this
science, is the discovery of the gen
eral truth, that bodies combine in
definite prpportions, TH? atomick
theoty is the pfodtietton of the pre
sent age ; for although some of the
facts were unfolded by Dr. Higgins,
the merit of the generalization be
longs to Mr; Dalton of Manchester.
[ It inters, that bodies are composed
of atoms, which ate not mathema-4
| tical, but phyTicat points, and arc,
I consequently, possessed of exten
sion and gravity ; that these atoms |
unite with each other in one or more
pn^ortions in simple ratios, and;
as has been proved by eitpcfimcnt,
that the, higher proportions arc
muftiples of the first. By this sim
j pic law, chemistry is at oncc made
to take rank with' tive physical
sciences which ^re founded on the
mathematicks. The relative weights
ot the atoms of different: bodies'
may be estimated, the proportion's
ilfr whiah they coqibind may be ac
curately denned, and calculation
'may thus b? made to correct, or
supply the deficiencies of experi
ment. The theory of volumes
which has arisen from the discove
ries of Di. Higgins,' and of Gay
Lussac, and been adopted by Sir.
H. Davy, is equally founded on
the laws of4 defuiite proportions,
dhd applicable to all the phenomena^
of true chemical cosribinatiort.
Another subject which appears
. tdrbe connecud with the electrical
energiet of bodies is crystallization.
The fact, that the immense variety
of crystals which are disseminated
throughout nature, may be reduced,
by mechanical division, to a few I
primitive and elementary, fortps,
which was suspected by Bergman
and De Lisle, has been' demonstrat
ed by Haiiy i ami the crystallogra
phical reseafches of this philosopher
have unfolded to us one of the
most beautiful and recondite pro
cesses of nature. ' The cause which
produces thes? crystals, is with
out doubt, the power which gives
polarity to their atoms. It is thus
connected, on the one h and, with
mechanical philosophy, and on the
other, with chemical science. . The
laws of, crystallization, of definite
proportions and of the clectrical
energies of bodies, sa^s Sir H Dar
vy, seem to be intimately related,
and the complete illustration of
their connexion will probably con
stitute the mature age of chemis
try*
y it r <t/u9
7
U la^kiolc Ir.stjw rf Pj end*hi+\ .
One Mesippus reUies \n Lucian,
that he one day seeing a man come
lv, and of eminent condition, pas
sing along in a coach with a wo
man extremely ordinary, he was
much amazed, and said, cc He could
not understand wl,y a man of prime
should be seen to stir abroad in the
company of a monster. " Here
upon one that followed the coach ,
overhearing him, said, " Sir, you
^eem to ponder at what you now
see 5 but if I tell you the cayses~aixt
Circumstance* thereof, you will
much- more admire. Know, this
gentleman .whom .you sec in the
coach is called Zenothcmis, and
born in the city of Marseilles,
where lie heretofore contracted a
firm amity with a neighbour of his
name.] Menecrates, who was at
that time one of the chi^f men of
the city, as well in wealth as digni-, -
ties. But, as all things in the world
.are exposed to the inconstancy of
fortune, it happened, that (as it is
thought) having given a false sent
ence, he was degraded of honour;
and all his ^oods were confiscated.
Vl?very man avoided htm as 3 mon
ster in this change of fortune, but
Zenothemis, hi? good friend, viho,
as if he had loved miseries, not
men, more esteemed him irf his ad
, , 1
versity than he haddon? in prospe
rity, andjbringing hirtt to his heuse,
shewed hkn his treasures*' &ici con
jured him to share them with him*
The other weeping for jojr t6 see
himself thus entertained in such
sharp necessities1, said, " He was
not so apprehensive of the want of
worldly wealth, as of the burden:
He had in a daughter ripe for lhar
fiage,* and willing enough, but .
blemished with many defornudefc'*
She was, saitli the history, but half
a woman; a body misshapen, limp
ing arid blear-eyed, a face disfigur
ed, and besides, she had the falhng
sickness,j with horrible convul
sions." Nevertheles^y thte 4 gene
rous man said unto Kim,: '?Trou
ble not yourself about: the marriage
of y6tir daughter, for 1 will be her
husband." The other astonished
at siich goodn<;st,' " God forbid,
?aid he,- ? ttofc I stioidd lay such 4
a burden upon jfau." , u No/* rt r*
plied the other,' ^sht shail bt
mine." And fristaiitly He married
her, malting great feasts at the riwp-'
rials. Being married, he honouif^th
her, With much regard, and mtfkeff
it his glory to shew her in the best
of company as a trophy of hjs ;
friendship. In the end she brought
him a .son, who restored his gtand-*
father to his estate, and wa* tho
honour of his family.
A lady ' at tea, full of delidbte
apprehensions in a gale of wind,
cried out, among other pretty ex
clamations tl We shall all go to ??
the bottom ; mercy on us, how my, ,4
head swims !,# t? Zounds, madam*
never fear/' said one of the sailors^
?t you can never go to the bottom *
while your bead
. ~ ^ . i
* Parricide.-^TheLqpdonComier
of the 2d ultimo contains the trials
condemnation and execution of two
brothers in Ireland, for the horrid
crime of murde/ing then; own fa
ther? ? Their names were f George
and John Greer# On the Gallowa
they confes&d' the crime, prayed
fervently to God for forgiveness,
raclasped their hands, and were
launched into eternity**