Chap. II.] Chemical Philosophy. 139 



which the sanguine chenist affects to speak of his 

 axiomS;, .yQi how discCi daut are the resiiUs of dif- 

 ferent experiments ! These facts, it must be ac- 

 knowledged, " betray the huncuess of some re-, 

 ceived prmciples, and excite suspicions with re- 

 spect to the legitimacy of some capital analyses.'* 

 But tiie enlightened and enterprising philosopher 

 will not be discouraged by such proofs of the im- 

 perfection of human knowledge. The builders of 

 erroneous systems become indirectly the promoterj; 

 of truth, by contributing to the examination and 

 rejection of falsehood. The course of improve- 

 ment has always been found to make its way 

 through successive defiles of illusion, empiricism, 

 and false theory. In this course honesty, atten- 

 tion, and patient perseverance, are the great requi- 

 sites for obtaining success. With these, though we 

 cannot expect to develop all the mysteries of na- 

 ture, which is the prerogative of its Author alone; 

 yet we niay hope, in time, to detect analogies, to 

 ascertain laws, to systematise scattered fact?, and to 

 unlock treasures of science, which appear at present 

 far removed from human scrutiny, and against the 

 knowledge of which the feebleness of our powers 

 segms to raise an everlasting barrier. 



