in its Relations to Physiology. 413 



The power of platinum to facilitate the combination of gaseous sub- 

 stances, — that of yeast to resolve sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid, — 

 that of sulphuric acid to resolve alcohol into ether and water, — differ 

 from the ordinary phenomena of affinity, as those, for instance, which 

 accompany the combustion of charcoal in oxygen gas, or the combina- 

 tion of sulphuric acid with potass. They were, at that time at least, or, 

 according to the notions of Berzelius, inexplicable phenomena. Now, 

 how did he facilitate our inquiries into these phenomena? Against all the 

 rules of rational inquiry, against all logic, he considered these proper- 

 ties of sulphuric acid, of platinum, and of yeast, not as the effects 

 of different causes, which was apparent to every one else, in such vari- 

 ous substances, but ascribed all these different effects to one and the 

 same cause, and this a new and unknown cause. He indeed, admits it 

 to be unknown, but he treats it, in discussing unexplained phenomena, 

 as a force with the properties of which we are perfectly acquainted. 



If any one will take the trouble to place in the following passages, 

 quoted from Berzelius, instead of the words catalytic force, the true 

 meaning of the words, namely, the unknown cause of phenomena not fur- 

 ther investigated, it will be seen how little has been gained by the 

 assumption of the catalytic force. It will, also, at once be evident that 

 with its admission all further inquiry into the true causes will be at an 

 end. 



To us it appeared, from the very outset, to be nothing better than 

 phlogiston resuscitated. 



" If, with this idea, we turn to the chemical processes in living na- 

 ture, a new light breaks in upon us. When nature has placed diastate 

 in the eyes of potatoes, this leads us to the way in which the insoluble 

 starch becomes converted by the catalytic force into gum and sugar ; but 

 it does not follow therefrom that this catalytic process is the only one 

 in vegetable life ; we on the contrary, are led to assume that in living 

 plants and animals thousands of catalytic processes take place between 

 the tissues and the fluids," — Berzelius, 15th Annual Report, p. 244. 



" Mitscherlich has shown that the catalytic force of sulphuric acid 

 becomes increased by concentration and elevation of temperature." — 

 15th Ann. Rep., p. 352. 



" Since a catalytic operation by contact is admitted (and this is at 

 present an undoubted fact), it is impossible to say where it does not take 

 place in chemical processes." — 20th Ann. Rep., p. 455. 



Certainly no one could consider it a crime in me that I did not deem 

 these views admissible, and that, following my own convictidn, I declar- 

 ed it to be a mistake to make our symbolic language an expression for 



