An Address to Men of Science: Calling Upon Them to Stand Forward and Vindicate the Truth....Carlile, Richard
Religion
An Address to Men of Science: Calling Upon Them to Stand Forward and Vindicate the Truth....
Carlile, Richard
Science; Superstition
The horror which was so lately expressed by the Emperor of Austria at
the progress of Science, and at the revolution which Sir Humphry Davy
had made in the science of Chemistry, is a specimen of that feeling
which pervades all such men. This imbecile idiot quivered at
an observation of his own physician about the state of his own
constitution, and forbade him ever to use the word in his presence
again! Yet it is by such men as this, that the inhabitants of Europe are
held in a state of bondage and degradation!
Will ye, Men of Science, continue to truckle before such animals? Will
ye any longer bend the knee to such Baals--to such Golden Calves as
these? Will ye bend your aspiring minds to prop the thrones of such
contemptible, such ignorant, such brutish despots? Shame on you, if you
can so far debase yourselves! Up, and play the man, boldly avow what
your minds comprehend as natural truths; and all the venom of all the
Despots and Priests on the face of the earth, shall fly before you as
chaff before the wind.
The science of Chemistry has so far explored the properties of matter
in all its variety, and has so far ascertained all its powers, purposes,
and combinations, as to banish the idea of its having been formed from
any chaotic state into its present form and fashion. The Chemist
would smile at such a notion in the present day, even if he feared to
encounter the Priest and his dogmas about the world having been created
out of nothing. Creation is an improper word when applied to matter.
Matter never was created--matter never can be destroyed. It is eternal
both as to the past and future. It is subject to a continual chemical
analysis, and as continual a new composition. For a full comprehension
of these assertions, it is necessary to have a knowledge of the elements
of Chemistry: therefore, if any other person, but those to whom this
letter is addressed, should read it, let him not hastily reject without
a full consideration and enquiry. Mr. Parke's Chemical Catechism, or
Dr. Ure's Chemical Dictionary, will explain all my assertions on the
properties of matter. The elements of Chemistry have been published by
a variety of other Chemists, to any of whom I would refer the reader,
as it will not answer the purport of my address to enter into a fuller
explanation on this important head, or to fill these pages with an
elemental description of Chemistry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account