2S4 Reflections on some Miner alogical Systems, 



I neglepted no means of forming to myself a distinct idea 

 of the former. Sometimes they spoke to me of the che^ 

 mical composition ; but when I cited the zircon and hy- 

 acinth, I was answered, that the external characters made 

 the difference. If heavy spar and eel es tine were the subject, 

 they again referred to chemistry. Often they spoke to me 

 of approximate characters (caractcres des rapprochemens), 

 or characters of agreement and disagreement, of which no 

 mention has been made in the enumeration ; and they 

 quoted to me, as a reason for placing potter's clay (glaise) 

 and schistose avgil in the same species, that both are disunited 

 in water. To justify the separation of chalk from mineral 

 agaric [rock milk, Jameson ; and spongy carbonated lime, 

 Haiiy], of foaming earth [or schaum earth of Jameson, 

 silvery chalk of Kirwan, talcous pearly carbonated lime of 

 Haiiy] from schiejferspatk [slate spar of Jameson, argentine 

 of Kirwan], they relied on the external characters; and to 

 prove that bitter spath [muricalcite, Kirwan ; chaux carbo- 

 natee inagnesifere, Haiiy ; chaux carbonatee lone picrite, 

 Brogniart] justly makes a species different from calcareous 

 spar, they turned about to chemistry without daring openly 

 to claim its support. Sometimes the colours were but 

 shades or accidents; sometimes they offered characters of 

 the highest importance. At other moments they confessed 

 to me that they made species by instinct: and when I com- 

 plained of not being satisfied with some conclusions indi- 

 cated by this guide, they answered, " One is not always 

 in his instinct.^ Finally, after being detected in every 

 manner, they referred the specification to the tact of the 

 observer*. But, in this respect, who should venture to 

 make species if not M. Werner alone? 



If I have spoken of these details which I often collected 



* True philosophers are deeply indebted to Mr. C. for this clear and 

 manly exposition of a system not of science but of delusion worthy only of 

 the lowest religious jugglers and fanatics. The " mineralogical instinct" is 

 certainly a new faculty discovered in the human mind by, the philosophers 

 of Freybcrg, whose ardent zeal in propagating their opinions furnishes a 

 better proof of their passions than of their logic or reasoning powers. It 

 may, perhaps, be laid down as a general truism, applicable in every branch 

 of natural philosophy, that all schemes or systems of natural knowledge 

 may be esteemed scientific or dogmatic just in proportion as their followers 

 embrace them by reason or by passion. Science is properly a creature of 

 reason, and modestly retires whenever the passions or affections appear: 

 opinions, being originally suggested by the feelings, are naturally supported 

 and propagated bv the passions, while science can only be maintained and 

 disseminated by close abstract reasoning. Hence it is not difficult to con- 

 ceive why some of the more imprudent WVrnerians have expressed them- 

 selves with so much violence against the volume containing the above state- 

 ment of facts and reflections.— Tran»» 



in 



