Elements of chemistry ... / Translated from the German [by Henry Stutzer].

  • Joseph Franz von Jacquin
Date:
1803
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Elements of chemistry ... / Translated from the German [by Henry Stutzer]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    21/436 page 5
    fver, ought not to be confounded with the elements of natural philosophers; for, where the Chemift leaves off, there the natural philofopher only begins: for inftance, when a body cannot further be refolved into diflimilar parts, the Chemift then terms it fimple, and confiders it as *an element; but, the natural philofo- pher proceeds to divide this body, which the Chemift confiders as fimple, into parts fimilar to each other, until he at length arrive at fuch as rejeft all further divifion; and thefe atoms he terms elements. Thefc elements, not being perceptible to the fenfes, can only be confidered as exifting in the imagination of the philofopher; but the contrary holds good with refpe6t to the elements of the Chemift. f XI. The old Chemifts, becaufe they defpaired of ever acquiring a knowledge of the elements by means of analyfis, indulged themfelves in mere fpe- culations, and adopted hypothetical elements, of which they infilled all the bodies of nature were com- pofed. Thus Ariflotle, and the peripatetic philofo- phers of his fchool, believed, that all bodies con- fifted of different modifications of fire, air, earth, and water. Paracelfus, and the Alchymifts of his time, adopted mercury, fulphur, fait, and earth. Becher confidered water, and three different fpecies of earth, as the elements of all bodies, viz. vitrifiable earth, inflammable earth, which was likevvife called phlogifton, and mercurial, or metallic earth. Although I fhall be filent as to the opinions of other philofophers, yet I fhall mention Meyer, who, in our own recolle6lion, propofed four elements, waterj earth, the matter of
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3