THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



But before it can be understood, we must explain what is 

 meant by an atom. Suppose we had the power of dividing a 

 grain of iron an unlimited number of times, it is believed that 

 at last a particle would be reached, which would defy all power 

 either to divide it, or change it in any way. This -would be an 

 atom (a. Te/j.vi,not to be divided). These ultimate and unchange- 

 able particles were formed at the creation, and they will exist 

 unaltered until the Creator wills otherwise. Wo have no power 

 to change or destroy them. 



The most minute particle, which even the microscope can only 

 just discern, may contain millions of these atoms, so that they 

 are far beyond the reach of the recognition of our senses. 



A molecule (a little mass) will bear a definite meaning in these 

 pages namely, the least particle of a compound body which is 

 capable of existing by itself. In fact, it is the ultimate particle 

 of such a body. Thus we shall find that water is composed of 

 two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen ; hence the molecule 

 of water would be a group of these threo atoms. 



Of the extreme minuteness of these atoms we may gain scm: 

 idea, by the extent to which we can subdivide matter by 

 mechanical means. If a bar of silver be gilded and then 

 drawn out into a wire, the thread may be so fine that the 

 gold covering one foot weighs less than j^ of a grain ; an inch 

 of this wire will contain ^^ of a grain ; this may^be divided 

 into 100 parts, each visible to the eye, and each being covered 

 by yjfjLgg of a grain of gold. Under a microscope magnifying 

 500 times, each of these pieces may be subdivided by the eye 

 into 500 parts, the gold retaining its original appearance, and 

 showing no signs of dividing into its separate atoms ; and yet 

 the particle visible to the eye, that which covers the upper part 

 of the wire, is ^.^*w>o ot ' a grain- 

 One hundred cubic inches of a solution of common salt will 

 be rendered milky by adding to it a cube of silver, each side 

 of which measures T J 5J of an inch, dissolved in nitric acid. The 

 atoms of silver found their way into every particle of water, 

 and there with the salt formed the white chloride of silver, 

 which rendered the solution milky ; that is, the small cube of 

 metal has divided itself into at least 100 billion parts, a numbei 

 which the seconds' pendulum of a clock would beat in 31,688 

 years ! and even yet we are not sure that we have approached 

 the measure of an atom of silver we have only reached the 

 limit of our own powers of subdivision. 



Affinity is that force, in virtue of which two or more cf these 

 atoms combine to form a molecule of a compound body. This 

 body exhibits properties very different from those possessed by 

 the combining atoms, and is said to bo a chemical compound. 



We say, then, that chemical combination takes place when two 

 or more bodies so unite as to form a compound body, which 

 differs in its properties from its components. For example, if 

 we take a piece of chalk and put it in a glass of water, in due 

 time it will become softened, and if we stir the water the chalk 

 will render it milky ; but no change has taken place, for if we 

 let it stand the chalk will sink to the bottom, or if we evaporate 

 the water we shall recover the chalk unaltered. But had we 

 added a little nitric acid to the water, bubbles of gas would have 

 risen to the surface, and the water would have become clear. 

 Here a chemical change has taken place. The chalk was com- 

 posed of lime, and a gas called carbonic acid, held together by 

 affinity ; but the nitric acid had a stronger affinity for the lime 

 than the carbonic acid possessed, therefore it displaced the gas, 

 which came away in bubbles, and with the lime formed the 

 nitrate of lime, which is soluble in water, hence the water 

 became clear ; and if we now evaporate the solution we shall 

 find no longer chalk, but a transparent crystallised substance 

 nitrate of lime very different from either the lime or the nitrio 

 acid, of which it is composed. Here, then, chemical combina- 

 tion has taken place. 



The observing reader will have gathered from this experiment 

 that bodies differ in their affinities ; some have strong inclination 

 to combine with each other, while others exhibit little or no 

 desire to do so. It is this fact which enables us to carry on 

 chemical investigations. The difference between a mechanical 

 mixture and a chemical combination is so important, that we 

 select another illustration. 



If we take some flowers of sulphur and copper filings, and mix 

 them together, we shall produce a greenish powder ; looking at 

 it with a magnifying glass, the particles of copper will be seen 

 lying side by side with those of sulphur, both unchanged, and 



we can easily separate them again by throwing the powder into 

 water ; the heavier, copper, will sink to the bottom first. But if 

 we apply heat the whole will begin k> glow, and a black substance 

 will be the result, in which the microscope is unable to discern 

 any copper, for another substance has been formed the sul- 

 phide of copper which is as different in its properties from 

 sulphur and copper as they are from sand. The glow which 

 passed over the mixture when heat was applied, is an example 

 of a universal law namely, that whenever chemical combination 

 takes place heat is always developed. 



In summing up this chapter, it appears that the three forces, 

 gravity, cohesion, and affinity, act thus : 



Gravity attracts masses of matter at any distance. 



Cohesion attracts particles generally of the same kind, and 

 comes into play only at very limited distances. 



Affinity attracts atoms of different substances, producing new 

 bodies, and its action is infinitely more close and intimate than 

 either of tht> two other forces. 



LESSONS IN GREEK. I. 



INTBODUCTION. 



THE Qreek Language is the language of the Hellenes, or ancient 

 Greeks. The ancient Greeks were early divided into three great 

 races, each of which originally used a different dialect both in 

 poetry and in prose. The Ionic dialect was spoken by the Ionic 

 race in Asia Minor and in Attica, and latterly passed into the 

 Attic dialect. The JEolic dialect was spoken by the JEolians in 

 parts of Asia Minor, Boeotia, and Thessaly. The Doric dialect 

 was spoken by the Dorians, chiefly in Northern Greece, in the 

 Peloponnesus, as well as in Crete, Sicily, and Magna Grascia by 

 the Dorian colonists. The Greek language and the Latin lan- 

 guage form what are termed the classical languages. By the 

 term classical languages we designate those languages in which 

 are written the works which, in modern time's, learned men 

 have agreed to regard as classical ; that is, works that stand 

 in the first or highest class of the productions of the human 

 mind. The Greek language is a branch of the great family of 

 languages which, under the name of Indo-Germanic, is ndw 

 known to have extended from Scandinavia to the Indus, em- 

 bracing, as its two principal components, the Sanscrit, or ancient 

 language of the Brahmins, on the East ; and on the West, the 

 Teutonic, including the German, the Dutch, and the English. It 

 is thus seen that the Greek is allied to our own tongue. It is 

 allied to the English in regard to structure. What is more 

 obvious to the beginner is, that the Greek is allied to the English 

 in words : thus, for example, our word one is the Greek ev (hen) ; 

 two is the Greek 8uo (du'-o); three is the Greek rpeis (trice). The 

 English pronoun I is only an abbreviated form of the Greek eyw 

 (eg'-o), which signifies I. Our verb know is the Greek yvta (no) 

 in the verb JIJVUKTKU, to know ; the sound being identical, and 

 the variation existing only in the letters. Many instances of 

 identity between words in English and Greek will appear in the 

 'course of these instructions. At present, it is sufficient to state 

 the general fact. 



With the Latin the Greek is connected more intimately than 

 with the English. So much in common have the two, both in 

 words and in the inflection of words, that a knowledge of the one 

 affords great assistance in the study of the other. In general, 

 indeed, a thorough acquaintance with any one language conduces 

 to the attainment of others. But here the relationship is so close 

 that the aid is special. That aid may extend its operation to 

 the whole class of languages known as the Indo-Germanic ; sc 

 that tSiose who become familiar with Greek thereby acquire 

 facilities for studying not only Latin, but also Sanscrit, German 

 and English. 



The Greek is a very old language. Homer's works go bao& 

 to nearly a thousand years before the birth of Christ, and at the 

 time when they were produced the Greek language was already 

 a settled tongue ; and it must have existed and have been spoken 

 by persons of no small culture for centuries. Under the name 

 of the Romaic, the Greek language a good deal modified is 

 still spoken and written, being the vernacular or native tongue 

 of the modern Greeks, who are the descendants of the ancient 

 Greeks, and dwell on the same soil. 



The Greek language, as developed and perfected in its Attic 

 form, is the richest and most perfect and philosophical language 



