228 THE KIDDLE OF THE UNIVERSE. 



modern atomism assumed a definite and acceptable 

 form, and was furnished with an empirical basis by 

 Dalton, who formulated the " law of simple and 

 multiple proportions " in the formationfpf chemical 

 combinations. He first determined|the atomic weight 

 of the different elements, and thus created the solid 

 and exact foundation on which more recent chemical 

 theories are based; these are all atomistic, r Jn the sense 

 that they assume the elements to be|made up of homo- 

 geneous, infinitesimally small, distinct particles, which 

 are incapable of further analysis. That does not touch 

 the question of the real nature of the atoms — their 

 form, size, psychology, etc. These atomic qualities 

 are merely hypothetical ; while the chemistry of the 

 atoms, their " chemical affinity " — that is, the 

 constant proportion in which they ^combine with the 

 atoms of other elements — is empirical. 1 



The different relation of the various elements 

 towards each other, which chemistry a calls " affinity," 

 is one of the most important propertiesfof ^ponderable 

 matter ; it is manifested in the different • relative 

 quantities or proportions of their combination in the 

 intensity of its consummation. Every shade of 

 inclination, from complete indifference^to the fiercest 

 passion, is exemplified in the chemical relation of 

 the various elements towards each other,just as we 

 find in the psychology of man, and especially in the 

 life of the sexes. Goethe, in his classical ^romance, 

 Affinities, compared the relations of pairs|of lovers 

 with the phenomenon of the same name in the 

 formation of chemical combinations. The irre- 

 sistible passion that draws Edward to the sympathetic 



1 Cf. Monism, by E. Haeckel. 



