186 MEMOIE OF DR. DALTON, AND 



CHAPTER IX. 



RICHTER. 



During the disputes as to Dalton's priority of discovery, it 

 was frequently asserted that his atomic laws were not new, 

 and they were, as is usual in such cases, attributed to various 

 persons. Of these persons, Higgins, in this country, and 

 Richter, in Germany, have been the most prominent. I have 

 endeavoured to show exactly the position of Higgins ; I shall 

 do the same with Richter. Higgins came first with clearness 

 and simplicity, uttering a beautiful idea which he failed to 

 follow up ; Richter came close after him, with great labour 

 and enthusiasm, filled with a great idea of the study in which 

 he was engaged, and obtained a law which he failed to follow 

 up ; he lost himself in complicated theories, having no idea 

 how simple w^as the truth he sought for. Both were 

 neglected, as happens when men fail to give completeness 

 to their inquiries, even in the eyes of those who study 

 and are willing to learn. 



Richter's books are — *' Anfangsgriinde der Stoechyometrie 

 oder Messkunst Chymischer Elemente." 3 vols. Bresslau 

 und Hirschberg, 1792-4 ; and " Ueber die Neuern Gegen- 

 stande der Chymie," 1791-1802. 



I shall give rather copious extracts from his works, shewing 

 the direction of his inquiries, and the ends he attained. 



Richter, Vol. I., Preface. 



" Mathematics includes all those sciences which refer to 

 magnitude, and consequently a science lies more or less in the 

 province of mathematics (geometry), according as it requires 

 the determination of magnitudes. In chemical experiments 



