MINERALOGY. 97 



move, or whereby at least a constant individual cha- 

 racter of body, or one that is chemical, becomes apparent. 

 The changes undergone by the other three elements are 

 not constant, because of the atoms ceaselessly moving 

 and balancing themselves. They do not exist individually, 

 but only universally. There is only one water, one air, 

 and only one fire ; there are therefore no igneous, aerial, 

 and aqueous individuals. 



477. The changes of the earth-element can only take 

 place upon its fundamental or characteristic body, thus 

 on carbon. 



478. Nothing can, however, change of itself. All 

 change must proceed from external influence. All things 

 can be changed therefore by such influences only as are 

 already antecedent to or before them. The two other 

 bodies, however, are prior to carbon ; before the earth- 

 element only the three other elements. 



479. The earth can therefore be changed in only two 

 ways ; either the carbon by the other elemental bodies, 

 or the total earth- element by the other elements. 



480. The changes wrought by the influence of^these 

 bodies are, however, only partial or fractional changes. 

 Therefore partial or chemical diversities only originate, 

 and with them other different bodies or degrees of such. 

 The changes effected by the elements are, however, total 

 changes, which bear not only reference to the carbon, but 

 to all the constituent parts of the earth-element. 



481. Total changes or different conditions of the 

 earth-element are called Minerals, or earths. 



482. The genesis of minerals, thus their collective 

 character, as differently posited fixations of earth, deter- 

 mines the classes, orders, and genera. 



483. The genus is the product of a genetic moment, 

 and is therefore always a definite, chemical mixture, which 

 alone consequently expresses the essential character. 

 Hitherto there has been no definition of mineral genera. 



484. Species of minerals are successive developments 

 of the genetic moment, thus stochiometric subdivisions of 

 the genetic mixture, e. g. the different degrees of oxyda- 



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