CHAPTER VI 



THE CHEMISTRY OF THE THREE 



ELEMENTS 



ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 



A HUNDRED years ago the firm belief 

 was held by all chemists that whatever 

 substance is synthesized within the body of 

 the living organism possesses special and pe- 

 culiar characteristics of its own, which mark 

 it off from all inorganic bodies, and divide 

 chemistry into the two great and perfectly 

 distinct departments of Organic Chemistry 

 and Inorganic Chemistry. To be sure, even 

 then many organic substances had been sep- 

 arated from the organism, purified, and sub- 

 jected to the usual experiments of the labora- 

 tory, without at any stage manifesting unique 

 properties. But, as Berzelius believed, a 

 special vital force had presided over their 

 formation, and this, therefore, he supposed 

 to be impossible under any other circum- 

 stances. 



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