| Show C REFERENCE TO firs fars TS HISTORY ti BY ALEXANDER OTT f t A knowledge of the most common COMMOD principles of cb i mastry is important to every one whether a scholar or not in europe it is coast const pons dons kaer katr eMed bd an essential branch of or education U tely connected with natural A phi or physics and a stranger to the taffe sabi would prove his ignorance egregiously restive to the most common phenomena of ture daure everything 1 has has haa to be learned systematical systematically lyt 1 abid with a good understanding ont of gits its rudi lin irn tia enta thus step bj step new principles are being unfolded to the mind of the student without becoming confused and mystified by things which ought to tb have been explained in it a regular rutine r the idea of picking up here a little and there a little of having for instance a smattering of organic chemistry or of optics without a knowledge of the th preliminary principles prin cip es is absurd and wll will always brur show Ein nin ern lintal tal tai shallowness i far better to k and that little well joi A toi f only I 1 the peculiar condition 0 of f the apa aoa rid ria T but OY al also 0 our isolated position demand r emptor ily lly a development of the natural re ill til feour ces of the country we ve inhabit hence the cassity of familiarizing familiari ging xing ourselves ours oura elvea and othera others with alth eulth those principles which will enable us to benefit t benefit both ourselves and othera others and thus y assist in building up the kingdom of god A with this view I 1 I 1 will treat in a series of sketches li sketches on the most essential parts 0 of f ehe che ia agis igis esry iry ity and physics chemistry as i a science was wan known to 0 o lafia ancients such as aristotle Hip ua ptolemy mac fee the celebrated library which aras is established at athens before christ 6 said sald to have contained interesting documents b chemistry bat but singular sin guar guan to say a people hnat pnat tat have now sank into the d depths athi of barbar pirt esst IM like the arabs knew according to aver s I 1 of cordova the great commentator of r otis and tal jal farabi more of this im science than the greeks romans and other her contemporaneous nations inmee ince the seventeenth century however more discoveries have been made in the fields of chemistry and physics than ever and the present age bids fair that still greater more inte interesting and more important tant principles will be brought to light it is frequently erroneously asserted that the hindus had bad been very expert in chemistry that their writings contain much valuable information on this thin subject but the sanskrit Sans crit literature is oni only a wild fantastic speculative absurd theory theary void of every scientific principle whatever seas of milk and curd curds and spirit and butter and sugar juice with mountains miles high bearing trees or miles tall seab seas and continents conti ranged in succession rou tou a a central nucleus or navel like the peela peels of an onion an ion ron and other similar extravagancies and fooleries fool eries form the staple of sanskrit Sans crit lore fore tae tue chinese who are said to have made many discoveries even previous to the christian eras erat era prove proves according to recent critical investigations by professor dr bernst bernet bendtin in boar bowring and other orienta lists not in me tte least their heir having much contributed to the development and enrichment of chemistry even the assertion of the chinese having invented gunpowder pud pun powder long before Bert berthoid berthold hold bold schwa z the german germai monk monks was born cannot bear a strict criticism according to the tho testimony of mr IT 11 i wilton the celebrated professor of sanskrit Sans crit in oxford university there are thousands in germany who understand oriental ton tongues gues gnes i and the mythology thereof at men of great genius and learning like hii william von humbold brother of alexander von humbold Hum bod professors drs middel florland norf flor adorf tand fand and oters have been traveling extensively by order of their governments govern lovern menta to examine tug tua literature aia topography of oriel otier tal nations for the purpose of ascertaining the scientific standard stand rg of those distant couri coun mes meg and the result hag haa generally been the same whatsoever the annaia annala of oriental literature contain it is nothing but a philosophy of or fancy lot cot of reality fabulous and extravagant legends ara are ar all that is european penetration and perseverance may indeed by bi dint of hard hird and cont continued aued labor elicit a few isolated facts here and there and comparison of dates and circumstances I 1 rejecting t 1 g t the h crudities and absurdities that kie hae have kave v e g gathered a tb rep round them bring them to bear upon uron some point of ancient story yet in the depth sot of obscurity but nothing is certain all ail if is tr only biily chappy guess guers or probable pro babe inference albest at best beat the deiy pr of historic hig hit narra harra noa hoa appears either never neven to have entered the minds of the earty early writers of oriental languages 9 es or else a base and selfish policy led theia them to falsify obscure and everything I 1 in order to conceal their own usurpations usurpation i vioenca vio yio ence and injustice to sum up the matter relative to the merits of oriental literature all science is at zero E rules the day united with absurd quackery I 1 could say much more and quote many authorities hori thorl ties to show the error of believing the or eastern easten nations much expert in yem lemstra yem iem lem stry suffice it to say bay it was the anglo anio saxon axon racey race the intellectual develop de celop jentof the different nations took the lead england germany and abd lately franca france and have looe lone nanch ranch for the stud study of chemistry end ind physics and it is to zose yose those natio patio nations nis that depwe ve owe pwe the wonderful discoveries which hava have aten mait maia within the tha domain of these sciences sc w it Is very etue true irue that in the tho seventeenth and evan as far as ho the eighteenth century societies i existed ov anthe the continent of E burp und aud in d e erthe name of the knights af tho the 0 osbu be the rosary who pretended t 0 u iq ed t the b e mysteries of chemistry the elixir 0 of f life by means of which they expected to live eternally and that so great were the influence superstition and ignorance of those times that even persona persons of the highest rank agthe aa the beautiful ayd and accomplished complis hed marle marie antoinette wife of louis louia xvi were duped by the famous famosa ca cagliostro I 1 liistro alias count st germain Ger roain one of the greatest harss hares liars swindlers lers quacks and impostors of his big age it will almost sound incredible to mention the fact that even one oneff of the keenest and most cunning men of his age mr rohan koban geneal general superior of the jesuits became a tool of that imp impostor ator with wito all due deference to the in j genuit gennity y rf mr air barr bari lam tam of new york his wonderful buffalo hunt and his exhibition woman who never crew rew old I 1 really believe that count cagliostro did beat him he had access c to all ali 1 1 the crowned heads of europe could make himself invisible and when banished by frederic 11 II of prussia from berlin I 1 left it that capital by all the gates at the same time chemistry Ch at those times waa was almost ey by noni with magic or the black art and nd the professors prof essora of 0 the same were generally supposed to be leagued with the evil one whenever Wn enever a chemist was reported to be in town he was sure to have been bee n 8 sen ben en with the necess necessary appendages of a cloven foot and the ag smell ameil of brimstone ri matone about him yet with all these imperfections of the human h u mind that is but too apt to beil bell believe belleve teve in anything marvelous and supernatural gradual enlightenment made its slow but steady march the clouds of mental darkness and buh sub superstition sub bub dispersed before the ilg light b t of some men of genius who showed the true merits of chmisl cha che chemistry Torri celi cell a pupil of the celebrated Galil galileo lek yeo Sebee schee leDr dr priestley La lavoisier tower rower laplace and others improved rapidly on the principles of chemistry chemis chemistry trl tri already discovered published valuable wor woi works 9 delivered lectures to crowded houses and directed the atten attention ion lon of the people to the importance of studying chemistry che cht thus thug after having passed through the ordeal of ignorance superstition and persecution se it received the citizenship as a science became re erected as such and forms now a connecting connection link ia in the philosophical studies of a liberal education no medical student on the continent of en ell rope can take the degree of doctor and become a practitioner without having a perfect knowledge of chemistry and physics pharmacy is ii not confined to mere empiricism bilt but it ia is guarded by the light of science which la 15 contumacy by some ot the most moat t tal tai alewe ened men no person is allowed to act in the b capacity it y of a sj su called or apte apothecary ejary unless he has passed a strict examination iri iti t in chemistry and physics an betenz extensive rei vei che chemical buical laboratory is attached to every college and university where every principle is properly illustrated by a variety of interesting experiments rho rh engish fogash term college does not allt interpret me be greek term used in the german lan lau for a chool school where the classical and modern languages with the leading sciences of the age are being taug taught ht and the pupil is 13 prepared for professional gin sin lies at uni ani the educational standard at american and english high schools differs much troia froia that la in ger mau amny as every one well knows who hab has been a at berlin barlin ney daiber dalber bonn boon or bom som other U ilver sity which Is frequented by english and Americ americana ansy angy who gone gene ge neally neaily rally raily have to prepare themselves for some time before they are competent to nas pas ha tho pro abitu and be legitimately tal Ft rabi the great arabic author whom I 1 nent ment ionel lonel 1 in a former article wa was a it prodigy of his age ile he spoke 70 and wrote upon all the iha sciences ills nis en dio dlo Is said baid to be still in the Em prial library of parts paris MIddel dart darf the great and one of rhe tho best beat st hebrew scholars la in wag was lor for many years doan of or the faculty at the he university of berlin lils hla bible translations which were generally performed performs without the all aid ot of a lext text cun are pron pronia need acol neol neel by the tha mst competent critics as correct and classi clas cias sc |
