830. Between the acidified water and the Earthy a higher antagonism now emerges. The Earthy separates a part of its carbon from the carbonic acid and sulphur, so that the rest remains behind peroxydized, and makes its appearance as an alkali.
831. The alkali is to be regarded as the last conversion of calcareous earth in respect to water. It is an earth, whose oxygen has converted itself with a portion of its carbon into acid and been set free; a salt halved upon the basic side. This general alkali, that has originated in water, is soda or natrom.
832. Alkali and acid are the last antagonism in the earthy, moieties, which can never subsist without each other.
833. The alkali is corrosive, because it seeks water and acid, in order to perfect itself; acid is pungent to the taste, because it seeks earth or alkali.
834. Their antagonism is the highest antagonism between water and earth; it is also the representation of the antagonism between fire and the terrestrial elements, or also between light and gravity. Therefore this antagonism has a cosmic or universal signification.
835. The combination of this antagonism is the sea-or common salt.
836. Sea-salt is the universal salt. All other salts are to be regarded only as metamorphoses of it, as well as the acids only conversions of the acid of common salt, and the alkalies of soda.
837. The sea-salt is essential to water. It is the product of geogeny, has not entered the water from without, but been generated in it, and is constantly being regenerated, so long as light shines upon the sea. Properly speaking, sea-salt has been in the water from the beginning; but it was previously shrouded in the other earths, and could act substantially for the first time, when they had been separated from it. It has become salt, or water and earth-element by the agency of light.
838. The sea-salt has also been generated in opposition to the calcareous earths, and during its separation been rendered polar towards the latter. The salt mines are therefore associated with the last calcareous formation, the gypsum, and this it is also that determines their lamination.
839. As it may be said, that the metals separate into coal and sulphur, namely, pass over at their iron-extremity into coal, at their arsenical, into sulphur; so may it be said, that the earths separate into acids and alkalies; the one by the conversion of silica into fluoric acid, the other by that of calcareous earth into soda. Carbonic and sulphuric acid take possession of the calcareous earth; the hydro-oxide of the alkali.