INTRODUCTION. 76 



of matter. The former, as being more accessible to the exer 

 cise of thought, appertains to mathematics ; the latter, from 

 its apparent mysteries and greater difficulties, falls under the 

 domain of the chemical sciences. In order to submit phe- 

 nomena to calculation, recourse is had to a hypothetical con- 

 struction of matter by a combination of molecules and atoms, 

 whose number, form, position, and polarity determine, modify, 

 or vary phenomena. 



The mythical ideas long entertained of the imponderable 

 substances and vital forces peculiar to each mode of organiza- 

 tion, have complicated our views generally, and shed an un- 

 certain light on the path we ought to pursue. 



The most various forms of intuition have thus, age aftei 

 age, aided in augmenting the prodigious mass of empirical 

 knowledge, which in our own day has been enlarged with 

 ever-increasing rapidity. The investigating spirit of man 

 strives from time to time, with varying success, to break 

 through those ancient forms and symbols invented, to subject 

 rebellious matter to rules of mechanical construction. 



We are still very far from the time when it will be possi- 

 ble for us to reduce, by the operation of thought, all that we 

 perceive by the senses, to the unity of a rational principle. 

 It may even be doubted if such a victory could ever be 

 achieved in the field of natural philosophy. The complica- 

 tion of phenomena, and the vast extent of the Cosmos, would 

 seem to oppose such a result ; but even a partial solution of 

 the problem — the tendency toward a comprehension of the 

 phenomena of the universe — will not the less remain the eter- 

 nal and sublime aim of every investigation of nature. 



In conformity with the character of my former writings, as 

 well as with the labors in which I have been engaged during 

 my scientific career, in measurements, experiments, and the 

 investigation of facts, I limit myself to the domain of empirical 

 ideas. 



The exposition of mutually connected facts does not exclude 

 the classification of phenomena according to their rational con- 

 nection, the generalization of many specialities in the great 

 mass of observations, or the attempt to discover laws. Con- 

 ceptions of the universe solely based upon reason, and the 

 principles of speculative philosophy, would no doubt assign a 

 still more exalted aim to the science of the Cosmos. I am far 

 from blaming the efforts of others solely because their success 

 has hitherto remained very doubtful. Contrary to the wishes 

 and counsels of those profound and powerful thinkers who 



