758 
PROFESSOR MORTON’S 
causes which are concerned in the production of every, even the 
simplest chemical phenomenon. 
i now proceed to speak of some of the benefits that will be 
obtained from the study of chemistry. It is true, that the philo- 
sopher loves science for the truth’s sake ; but others will make 
inquiries into its usefulness ; nor can this be objected to, since, 
before any one undertakes the study of a science, he should have 
a well-grounded hope that the attainment of it will repay the 
labour of the investigation. Well has the learned Boyle observed, 
that “ nothing is unworthy of investigation that has not been 
thought unworthy of God to make and surely there is no 
pleasure equals that of scientific research. 
I will not expatiate on all the advantages that result from 
this beautiful and useful science. It is beautiful , inasmuch as 
its operations afford pleasure to the senses, while it tends to 
elevate the imagination by the development of the secrets of 
Nature, lifting the soul from Nature up to Nature’s God ! And 
it is useful, because it improves the necessaries and adds to the 
gratifications of life. It likewise contributes, more than any 
other science, to unfold to us the laws by which the universe is 
governed and which laws have continued in force since from out 
of chaotic darkness and confusion light and order first came. 
Many of the sublime phenomena with which Nature presents 
us are alone explicable by a reference to chemical laws. 
The awful earthquake, and the devastating volcano, in all pro- 
bability, are but the results of intense chemical action. 
To employ the language of an interesting writer, it may be 
said that, “ From the clouds which roll in interminable masses 
over our heads, to the smallest grain of earth that is trodden be- 
neath our feet, all are alike dependent on some chemical law 
for their existence under a definite and sensible form ; and the 
chemist is as capable of explaining the former as the latter, 
while he is equally interested in doing so ; for to him there is 
food for inquiry and contemplation in the smallest and most 
insignificant objects which can be presented to his senses. He 
sees that a single drop of water, or the ocean — that a spark of 
fire, or a mass of destroying lightning — are dependent for ac- 
tion on the same laws, and generated by the same cause.” 
The chemist, then, has to investigate matter in all its various 
forms. The bodies which are around may appear innumerable, 
but he reduces them to a comparatively few simple or elementary 
substances; and he proves that, although their size, figure, and 
colour, may differ; though some may be solid, others fluid and 
gaseous — some may possess hardness and others softness — some 
