OF THE ORIGIN OF CHEMISTRY. 



in. The State of Cbcmijlry in 



THAT we may proceed in order, we fliall iiril 

 flightly touch upon the fortunate and unhappy 

 fates of natural philofophy ; afterwards we (hall 

 confidcr the various chemical arts; then the 

 moil celebrated authors in the fciencc of chc- 

 miftry ; and laflly, we fiiall review their princi- 

 pal theories, 



Every body knows, that Egypt was in 

 the poflcfiion of Cham the fon of Mizraim : And 

 Plutarch mentions, that it v/as called Cbcinia * 

 in thecariieil times, perhaps from Cham the fon 

 of Noah f. But it is oftcncr the land of Mi/.- 

 raim, Gen. xiii. 10. xli. 41. xlv. 18. 



in consulting thofe writings of antiquity that 

 have withitood the ravages of time, we have 

 found mention made of a certain man, whom 

 the Egyptians call Tbojtb, the Phoenicians, 

 Taunt, the Greeks ^/u, and the Romans Mer- 

 cury, and to wham they all attribute the inven- 

 tion of letters, and many arts and fcicnccs. 

 From the tcllimony of Diodorus Siculus, he was 

 liighly honoured by Ofnis the king of Egypt, 

 and cltccmed above all others for his penetrat- 

 ing genius in difcovcring every thing that could 

 be ufeful in common life. The king, accompa- 



nied 



4 Oflfis and Ofiris, 0.5. 



j- ?fal. Jxxxviii. 51. cv. 23. 27. cvi. 22, 



