511. Now by the philosophical view we have first attained to the very remarkable import of the acids. They are forsooth nothing else than oxydized elements and mineral classes. In the nitric acid it is evident that, as the acid of nitrogen, it is the aerial acid; as sulphuric acid is the inflammable acid; arsenic acid the metallic acid. Upon this ground we may expect that the other acids also have a similar origin. Without much hesitation hydrochloric acid may be viewed as the aqueous acid, which is associated with the sea; the carbonic acid as æther- or igneous-acid, as well on account of its constituent parts and gaseous character, as chiefly on account of its general diffusion. There remain then only two that have been called mineral acids, the fluoric and boracic acids, the first of which, as conqueress of the earths is the earth acid, the last being thus the acid of the salts. We have accordingly—
| a. Elemental acids. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. The oxydized æther | is | Carbonic acid. |
| 2. The oxydized air | Nitric acid. | |
| 3. The oxydized water | Hydrochloric acid. | |
| b. Mineral acids. | ||
| 4. The oxydized earth | is | Fluoric acid. |
| 5. The oxydized salt | Boracic acid. | |
| 6. The oxydized inflammable | Sulphuric acid. | |
| 7. The oxydized metal | Arsenic acid. | |
512. The vegetable and animal acids are none other than repetitions of the elemental and mineral acids. They may perhaps be parallelized in the following manner.
| Fire-acid | (Carbonic acid) | Acetic acid | Hæmatosine. |
| Air-acid | (Nitric acid) | Malic acid | Lactic acid. |
| Water-acid | (Hydrochloric acid) | Saccharine acid | Mucic acid. |
| Earth-acid | (Fluoric acid) | Tartaric acid | Phosphoric ac. |
| Salt-acid | (Boracic acid) | Tannic acid | Uric acid. |
| Inflammable-acid | (Sulphuric acid) | Succinic acid | Sebacic acid. |
| Ore-acid | (Arsenic acid) | Indic acid | Formic acid. |
All the remaining acids must be viewed as subordinate to, or as kinds of these.
513. The alkalies appear to follow the same course, though it does not admit of being so completely demonstrated.
| Fire-alkali | Ammonia | Vegetable, | and | Animal alkalies. |
| Air-alkali | Potash | Alcaloids | Alcaloids. | |
| Water | Soda | Urea. | ||
| Earth | Lithium | Bile, &c. | ||
| Salt | ||||
| Inflammable | ||||
| Ore-alkali |
514. The earths proper do not consist of two principles, and do not, therefore admit of being chemically divided.
515. This division is only incorrect in a naturo-historical sense, because it has no reference to the totality. Inasmuch as every mineral class is viewed as having originated out of only one or two elements, it divides by the chemical method only into constituent parts or fractions, as the acids and alkalies, which are obviously only moieties, and taken in a strict sense are not true minerals.
b. Genetic Division of the Classes.