130 HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY. 



resolutely and successfully his Table, and the no- 

 tions which it implies. 



The value of such a tabulation was immense at 

 the time, and is even still very great ; it enabled 

 the chemist to trace beforehand the results of any 

 operation; since, when the ingredients were given, 

 he could see which were the strongest of the affini- 

 ties brought into play, and, consequently, what com- 

 pounds would be formed. Geoffrey himself gave 

 several good examples of this use of his table. It 

 was speedily adopted into works on chemistry. For 

 instance, Macquer 2 places it at the end of his book; 

 " taking it," as he says, " to be of great use at the 

 end of an elementary tract, as it collects into one 

 point of view, the most essential and fundamental 

 doctrines which are dispersed through the work." 



The doctrine of Elective Attractions, as thus 

 promulgated, contained so large a mass of truth, 

 that it was never seriously shaken, though it required 

 further developement and correction. In particular 

 the celebrated work of Torbern Bergman, professor 

 at Upsala, On Elective Attractions, published in 

 1775, introduced into it material improvements. 

 Bergman observed, that not only the order of 

 attractions, but the sum of those attractions which 

 had to form the new compounds, must be taken 

 account of, in order to judge of the result. Thus 3 , 

 if we have a combination of two elements, P, s, 

 (potassa and vitriolic acid,) and another combina- 

 2 Pref., p. 13. 3 Elect. Attract., p. 19. 



