Treatise on general and industrial inorganic chemistry / by Etore Molinari ; third revised and amplified Italian edition translated by Ernest Feilman.
- Ettore Molinari
- Date:
- 1912
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Treatise on general and industrial inorganic chemistry / by Etore Molinari ; third revised and amplified Italian edition translated by Ernest Feilman. Source: Wellcome Collection.
32/734
![manipulation of silk was alroady woll iinderstood 2200 yoars b.c. under Ilio Jn dynasty, and was in fact rapidly a|)proaclnn^ j)c'rfoction. Only 100 years b.c. thè dau^hter of a CI linose onì]xn’or inlrodneod silk inannfactnro into Japan, and from thcre it slowly oxtended fhiiìuglimit Asia : only in Ilio tliird centiiry of onr era was it imported into Ilaly, and Ilio cnlture of thè silkwonn only coinnionced in tliat country in thè yoar 000. i The niamifactiire of papor only coniinonccd to lic known in Europe about a.d. 1200 wliilst in China pa])cr inade from liemp and bamboo fibre was alroady known in 300 b.c. and in 105 b.c. a Chinose, Tsai-lun, tauglit thè nianufacturc of papcr from silk and linen rags. Gunpowder, which was first uscd in Europe about a.d. 1200, was preparcd in various ways in China maiiy years bcfore thè Christian era, and was introduccd into Europe by thè Arabs. I lie Cliinese were roal adepts in thè smclting of minerals and of bronzo 1800 years b.c. In thè lni]ìer!al Museum in Pckin therc are collectod thè historic trcasurcs of tho Chang dynasty (1700 b.c.) which testify to thè delicacy and perfection of thè sculpture and carving, equal, if not suporior, to thè bost art of Groece and Tuscany ; our modern Western ci\nlisa- tion, in its comparativcly recent vandalic invasion of thè City of Heaven, might at least havo refrained from laying its hands on thcse artistic and historic treasures. The working of wood and leathcr and thè preparation of varnishes are also extremely old in China. The production of porcelain, which datcs from thè eightcenth century in Europe, was alroady known in China ten centurics previously. But thè Chinese have prccedence not only in ancient, but also in comparatively modern, chemistry. We admire Priestley, who discovercd and isolatcd thè important element oxygcn in 1774, and we admire thè wnrk of thè eelebrated Lavoisier and of Cavendish in connection with thè discovery of thè composition of water in or about thè year 1783, but it Iras now been shown by Duckwnrth {Chem. News, 53, 1887, p. 250) that thè Chinese knew of oxygcn and thè composition of water mudi earlicr than Priestley and Lavoisier. The Chinese ivere very wcll aware of thè h^^gienic and domestic importance of water, and were thè first, alroady in very remote historic tiir.es, to drill nurnerous w'ells of thè kind now known as artesian wells in order to obtain good wnter from tire subsoil, W’hilst even to-day many Italian towns and country placcs arC; w'ithout potable water. Even in their philosophic disquisitions on thè essence of nature and of thè universe we find amongst this people idcas and conceptions inspired by very pure justice and irorals ; conceptions inuch clearer than those of tire Greek jrlrilosoplrers who livcd several centuries later. When Coirfucius, tire founder of tire philosophic rcligion of China, conccived thè essencc of nature to he “ matter inseparably united to a virtuc of matter itself. and to thè continuous iiiterchangc of ribatter and of this virtue ” he had realised thè origiir, essencc, and rule of life. EGYPTIAN CIVILISATION. After that of tire Chinese tire oldest civilisation is that of thè Egyptians, especially in rcferencc to tire origin of chemistry and to thè largo iiumber of exjrerimental observations niadc and ingeniously utiliscd in order to incrcase thè coniforts of life. During tire last ten years important discovcrics have bccir macie on thè ancient Egyptian civilisation which show' that even 4000 years b.c. it had in many points almost excelhal tire civilisation of China. If we turn to tire w'orks of art of this period (even 2000 b.c.) w'C find that tire Egyptians knew' how to jrrejrare various nietals and alloys ; they were W’ell acquainted with dyeing, glass manufacture, and also tire jrrepai'ation and employnrent of pharmaceutical })roducts and antiseptics. Chemistry w'as considered a sacred art ; it was cxcrcised by priests and was only accessible to tire clect. The temph's wt're connected w'ith laboratories in which every kind of (;h('mical oireration was conducted. Ev'en thè origin of thè mime “ chemistry,” now' so niuch discusseci and debated, must almost certainly 1k; sought in thè name which tire Egyptians gave to their country, Chemia, ' Tlio CliiiK'so woro \v('ll :u'(|uaintc(l willi thè dyc'mj' of fal)rìc.s. Tho uso of iiulij'o also ori<»inato(l with thi' old C'hiiioso civilisat ion, as Ilio iiidigo-bhic fahrios fmiiid in Fjiiropo, ovon at tho timo of tho dooadiMioo of Uomo, all Caino fioin tho l'hist ; this was pr ivod hy an analysis of tho roinains of tho inantlo of St. Andiroso hy l’rof. Frai>oli (IS72) and liy l’rof. Carnelutti (18H4) at tho Sooiotv for (ho Knoonragoniont of .\rts and Mannfaotnros of Milan.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28134187_0034.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
