A history of chemical theory from the age of Lavoisier to the present time / by AD. Wurtz, translated and edited by Henry Watts.

  • Wurtz, Ad. (Adolphe), 1817-1884.
Date:
1869
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A history of chemical theory from the age of Lavoisier to the present time / by AD. Wurtz, translated and edited by Henry Watts. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    3 tlie year 1830; but from that time it bas been carried on witb vigour and success. It is not yet fmished. But what a mass of facts bas been accu- mulated during tbis long space of time ! ]STo memory can at présent retain them ail ; and it may be said, witliout exagg’eration, tbat, since tbe time of Lavoisier, tbe wealtb of tbe science bas been in- creased a bundredfold. Hence, tbe frame in wbicb tbat great genius enclosed bis System bas be- come too narrow. An enlarged horizon reveals new points of view. Is it, tben, astonisbing tbat théories suggested by tbe study of organic compounds, and at first restricted within tbe domain wbicb gave tbem birth, bave taken wing, and striven to clear tbe bounds wbicb separate organic from minerai chemistry? Tbis tliey bave done ; they now em- brace tbe wbole field of tbe science ; and, tbanks to tbem, it may be said tbat there is but one chemistry. So great a resuit is not tbe work of one day or tbe conquest of a révolution ; it is tbe resuit of slow and continued progress. But if we forget for a moment tbe successive stages, and carry our ideas back to tbe starting-point, we must avow tbat tbe progress is immense. Compared witb tbe science of tbat time, tbe science of tbe présent day appears to us not only enlarged, but transformed and regene- rated. Is it complété, as regards its doctrines ; and are