Notices respecting New Books. 147 



found conformable to the refined operations of art. The 

 more (lie phsenoniena of llic miivtr^e are studied, the more 

 distinct their coiiiuction appears, the iTioce simple their 

 canse>i, the more magniticent their design, and the more 

 Wonci( rhil ihe' wisdom and po\\er of their Author." 



Part 1. of thejie Elements is "on the laws of chemical 

 changes, on inulecom)ioimd' d bodies and their prirnary 

 combinations." Divisiwn [. *' on the powers and properties 

 of matter, and the general laws of chemical changes," in 

 ■which " the forms of matter, i;raviiation, cohesiMii, heat or 

 caloriiic re]iulsion (a new term), chemical attraction, laws 

 of co:nbiiiation and decomposition, electrical attraction 

 and repulsion, with their relations to chemical eha ges,'* 

 are inveaiioated in a manner etjn illy original and perspi- 

 cuous. Division II. treats of " radiant or ethereal matter, 

 iii etfccis in producing the phaenomena of vision, of heat, 

 chemical changes, and its motions or afi'eciions." Divi- 

 sion fll. of "empvieal undeCompoundcd substances, or 

 undecompounded substances that support cond)iistionj and 

 their condjinaiion uiih eaehoiher;" in which ox.ygen gas, 

 and chlorine or oxymunatic gas are coitsidered. Division 

 IV, of " undecompounded inflamntable or acidiferous sub- 

 stances not iTietallic, and their binary combinations with 

 oxvgcn an<l chlorine, or with each other." Here the na- 

 ture and properties of hvdrogcn, azote, sulphur, phosphorus, 

 carbon and duimond, and boron or the boracic basis, are 

 explained. Division V. is of '• iTietals, their primary coni- 

 binati'ins with other imdecomposed bodies, and with each 

 other." Divi.^ion VI. <.f '• some substances, the nature of 

 which is not yet certainly known;" these are the fluoric 

 princ:|)le, and the ain.iigam from ammoniacal compounds. 

 TheVl.th and last divisi'ni i-! devoted to "the analogies 

 between the undtcompoundcd Substance*, s|iCculati'ons re- 

 Bpecling their nature, on the modes of separating them, 

 and on the relations of their compnmul-." 



These divisioiis are perf'ecllv arl)iirarv. and inav he aug- 

 mented at pleasure, although each seems to be toiinded on 

 •oine gcncr.il principle, or received a-socialion of pnneiple.s. 

 So tar IS Sir lluin|)hry hostile to all systems in the present 

 Slate tit our cheuncal knowledge, except that ol Baconian 

 indnetion. He begins with the " fnrrt/s of matter," (a 

 f'-tni much loo limited and definite for hi-; other views,) 

 \ idcs iluni into four cla-!«e«, as solids, Huids flKpi'ds], 

 i^hc fluids or gases, and ff/ninjl substances. The latter 

 1 m he prrlcrs u> imfxiii'leral/t sul)4tances for ili'tij '' forms 

 ^pefliapa knid.j of mailer, which arc known lo us only n^ 

 K ■2 iheit 



