608 



LAVOISIER. 



Lavoisier, were printed in various periodical works. 



Y ' vations on the experiments made with a view to ni metllotl of nwmufiictnrina us- Lavoi,i e 



the possibility of converting water into earth, w?l be b nZ M ^"""^ "'T "/I 1 ^^ Having ^Y 

 found in the Memoirs of the Academy for 1770 In y * f ommitte% of the Constituent Assem- 



the course of various journies through different districts draw up a plan for ren*mng more 



of France, he found opportunities of collecting cop7o, s vahnble men "^^ ^ teXM he P^'uced a most 



materials for the mineralogy of that kingdom which er ^ " the . various productions of the coun- 



._ c i_t* -p t o> .*-! ot - LI y. itiHj iiiFir rnn<;Mm-itt,i-. -. /r 



, oun opporuntes o colecting copious 

 materials for the mineralogy of that kingdom, which ser- 

 ved as the foundation of a work on the revolutions of the 

 globe, and the formation of the strata of the earth of 

 which he gave interesting sketches in the Memoirs of 

 the French Academy for 1772 and 1787 



The brilliant discoveries in chemical science which 

 were made, about this period, particularly by the Bri- 

 tish philosophers, attracted the attention of Lavoisier 

 who seems to have been fully aware of the great im-' 

 portance of these discoveries in the further prosecution 

 of physical research . In his Opuscules Cfymiqucs, 

 which were published in 1774, he exhibited a clear and 

 eegant view of the h.story .of pneumatic chemistry 

 alon with some inen 



order 

 order 



the ass 

 , 



WaS 



the title 

 " 



print. 



, " . , j - pneumatic cnemistry, ntei 



along with some ingenious and accurate experiments of live 

 his own In the year 1778, he entered into an exami- 

 na uonof Dr. Priestley's dephlogisticated air, and p.Tb- 



shed his proofs that this substance is a constituent 

 >nnciple of all acids; and to this principle, therefore 

 he gave the name of oxygen. This was the first great 

 step in his progress towards a new system of chemical 

 science He next proceeded to make experiments on 

 the production of water, by burning oxygen gas with 

 hydrogen gas and on its decomposition into the same 

 elements; and he at length completed his system, by 



his theories of comhiistinn on,l .,J_: I 



A lite thus spent in the cultivation of science 



vfce f h * 3CtiVely a " d bcnefici *y devoted to the ser 

 vice of his country, ought to have secured for Lavoisier 

 the lasting esteem of his fellow-citizens, and the qu 

 enjoyment of that reputation which he had so weUW 

 eXertl had the attune to 



K o 



h ' when . talen 's> however eminent, 

 , however conspicuous, were insufficient to 

 protect their possessor from the wanton outrage, o 

 lawless power. During the horrors of RobeIpTerres 

 usurpation, he seems to have in part foreseen tht 

 fate that awaited him, and used t observe o la 

 lancle that when stript of his property he was ur^ 

 pared to earn his subsistence by'hisUur His opt 



wM e h ' T 1 ', u W3S his Chief c " me ' r th "t> -t least 

 winch marked him out as a proper victim to the rapac 

 ty of the existing rulers. Having been involved in 



" 



,. ., - " -"gwi Luiuijieieu nis system, bv tv of the pYi'sfinrr i-.,lo, u 



his theories of combustion and oxydation, his ana v sis chir* fchri ~i ' g been lnvolv ed in 



of atmospherical air, his doctrine of caloric &c ra l \hl "k**" 1 g"nst twenty-eight farmers-gene. 



the year 1789, he published his ElemensTcfymie a Sde to ton^^h 7 Con(lemne ' J - A v ^tempt was 



work which has been much admired as a model ol U , com P a f !onate feelln g s of the tribu- 



entific composition. In these elements, the author com: of ^meritf? ^ f - thC ^ and a ""P^lation 



CteB^jBB re=nS SS^^W=S 



^T^sSEESSSS S?AV?& he suf; 



out opposition ; but its merit has at length been geS-~ """ " " ' ~ 



rally acknowledged, and its principles were ultimately 

 adopted by the most eminent chemists of France anc^ 

 Great Britain. In order to complete the revolution in 

 chemical science, Lavoisier and his associates invented 

 a new nomenclature, which, after a violent controver- 

 sy, has been pretty generally adopted. 



he talents and scientific acquirements of Lavoisier, 

 pointed him out, upon several occasions, as a person 

 services might be employed for the benefit of the 

 public. In the year 1776, he was engaged by thaten- 

 bghtened minister, Turgot, to supe4fend the manu- 

 of the j ;^ u r n P owder ; an(1 hi 5 chemical investigations 



vt* v> <j vii ui l*Jay J / MT 



Such was the unmerited fate of Lavoisier ; a man no 

 less distinguished for the mildness and humanity of his 

 private character, than for his scientific attainments. 

 in his person he was tall, and his countenance indicat- 

 ed genius, intelligence, and benignity. The great in- 

 fluence he possessed, on account of his fortune, his ta- 

 ents, and Im situation in the treasury, was continual- 

 ly employed in doing good. He was married, in 1 77 1 

 to Mane-Anna-Pierette Paulze, the daughter of a far- 

 mer-general; a lady of pleasing manners, and consi, 

 derable talents and accomplishments. She engraved 

 with her own hand, the copperplates to his last" work' 

 Ihis lady afterwards gave her hand to the celebrated 

 Count Rumford. 



The merit of Lavoisier, as a philosopher, particular- 

 ly with regard to the services he rendered to chemical 

 science, are universally acknowledged. His own ex- 

 periments were generally simple and well chosen, and 

 performed with great accuracy; but his talents were 

 most conspicuous in the judicious use he made of the 

 discoveries of others, which his genius enabled him to 

 reduce into a lucid and connected system. In the Me. 

 moirs of the Academy of Sciences, from 1772 to 1793 

 there are forty papers of his writing, containing many 

 va uable observations on some of the most important 

 subjects of physical research. One of the last of his 

 philosophical works was a treatise on the perspiration of 

 animals, which was first read to the Academv on thp 



tention'was Erected' *^^^ "i ?* f M ^> 1791 which c ntai s the result 7a num! 



he allotted a track of 240 S 3 ]. ] P - ' T. ^ CU M experiments, made with great delicacy, 



^^VArfft^^JhTpu^rf^^S^ ndh, g h)y interesting to the science of physiology? 



He was consulted VV NS^SeS; K^lRtt^StSiFsF 



ceutha- g lS ar6 ' Were s 



successful that he increased its explosive force by one 



withrL ;!\ y re n rn ? ing the existi "S regulations 

 with regard to the collection of materials for the manu- 



art "ami m qU 7? led *? P rodacfc T the sc ^ 

 to, and manufactures, he rendered many other most 



unportant services, both in a public and private capa- 

 Havmg been appointed to the office of treasurer 

 to the academy he introduced order into the accounts, 

 and economy ,nto the exenditure. He was 





