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by the inferior gods to strengthen them in their fight with 
demons. Soma is the Sanskrit word for this drink, but 
there are many Semitic words the same in Sanskrit, and this 
evidently has the same root, which is seen in Egypt moving 
towards metals and general chemistry : it had more force in 
the far East in connection with the mystic drink, although 
the idea may have arisen in Egypt. The vessel into which 
the drink flowed, the receiver, was called kama (Indo-ger- 
manische Chrestomathie, by Ebel, Leskien, Joh. Schmidt 
and Aug. Schleicher). In old Bactrian the word appears as 
haoma, whilst in Bussian we find it returned, in all proba- 
bility, as koumiss, to more western lands. We have yet to 
learn fully the medical effects of the asclepias acida, or 
moon plant, from which the Soma was made. Ordinary 
alcoholic liquids made by fermentation are notwithstanding 
much condemned in the Institutes of Menu. 
The connection of the earliest thoughts of civilization 
and the later is remarkably seen in the history of this word. 
The hope of happiness from intoxicating liquids is evidently 
the direction which theory took in the minds of some 
searchers for truth, and constant deception seems not to 
have cured men entirely. We have removed the intense 
faith in the delusion and retained the name of the sub- 
stance, i.e., aqua vitae, eau de vie, uisge heatha, all meaning 
water of life. The Germans simplified the word by calling 
it burnt wine (Branntwein) or brandy, and we have cut 
down the latter and Celtic form into whisky. This history 
of the theory is believed to be correct, although quite apart 
from the derivation of the word chemistry. The connection 
of chemistry with moist or dry was considered as too 
slight to form a basis for an opinion, and the superstition 
concerning a plant that made gold was simply held to have 
no solid place in the history. The belief that the word kem 
in Arabic, alluded to the fifth element, or ether, as one of 
the five existences spoken of in an important part of Indian 
