Matter. 53 



Section 3. The Classification of the Elements or the 

 Sexuality of the A tonis : 



In inquiring into the bottom combinations of matter, 

 obvious questions seem to be : — Do all the seventy 

 odd elements reciprocate and unite indiscriminately or 

 discriminately ? Are all combinations of atoms equally 

 fit and equally fertile ; or are some elements repellant 

 and sterile among themselves as well as with others of 

 a like class, and attractive and fruitful only with those 

 of a dissimilar class? Are there not in the material 

 alphabet, as in the linguistic, dual differences and dual 

 preferences, arranged as distinct classes of constituents 

 (similar to consonants and vowels), each with different 

 functions and affinities, so arranged that their com- 

 bined co-operation is absolutely essential to produc- 

 tion ? These points seem at one time to have been 

 thought of, for we find in many chemical text-books a 

 dual classification of the elements into Metallics and 

 Non-Metallics as follows: — 



Non-Metallics (15). — Oxygen (hydrogen), nitrogen, 

 carbon, boron, silicon, sulphur, selenium, tellurium, 

 phosphorus, arsenic, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, 

 iodine. 



Metallic (53). — Caesium, rubidium, sodium, lithium, 

 potassium, barium, strontium, calcium, magnesium, 

 aluminium, gallium, zirconium, thorium, yttrium, 

 erbium, ytterbium, cerium, lanthanum, didymium, 

 niobium, zinc, nickel, cobalt, manganese, chromium, 

 iron, cadmium, uranium, indium, copper, bismuth, 

 lead, thallium, tin, titanium, tantalum, molybdenum, 



