Chemical Philosophy, 8t 



philosophical world. x\fter this publication by 

 MoRVEAU, several years elapsed before any thin^; 

 decisive was done. He continued to labour in the 

 improvement of his nomenclature; but at length, 

 sensible of the magnitude and difficulty of the un- 

 dertaking, he determined to avail himself of the ad- 

 vice and assistriuce of the members of the l^yal 

 Academy. For this purpose, he particularly as- 

 sociated with himself Messrs. Lavoisier, Ber- 

 THOLLRT, and De Fourcroy, These four gentle- 

 men, after spending much time on the subject; 

 after combining their learning and wisdom in many 

 patient consultations;" at length, in the month of 

 April, 1787, presented to the academy their new* 

 antiphlogistic theory^ accompanied w^ith a new 

 nomenclature, made out on the principles be- 

 fore laid down by De Morveau, and which 

 were both, in a few weeks afterw^ards, published 

 10 the world. ^'' About the same time was published 

 a new table of symbols and chemical characters, by 

 Messrs. Hassenfratz and Adet, formed upon 

 the principles of the proposed system, and fitted to 

 illustrate the learned labours of their countrymen, 

 which it accompanied. This table is generally 

 supposed to contain many improvements on those 

 of Geoffroy, Bergman, and Cltllen, 



To give in detail a distinct account of all the 

 changes included in this new plan, would far ex- 

 ceed the limits prescribed to the present sketch. 

 The following brief statement may suffice. Stahl 

 and his followers had always supposed the metals 

 to be compound substances, made -up of a certain 



See the Journal de Physique, for the month of May In that year. 



/ This body of chemical doctrines is sometimes called the Ln-joisicrija 

 system. Considering the agency he had in its formation, this is scarcciy 

 ascribing too much to Lavoisier : for though many of the leading expe- 

 riments on which the theory is founded were made by others, yet the task 

 of digesting, arranging, and combining the whole into a consistent and 

 regular iystem, was principally preformed by him. 



