Excerpt from Sophistry Unmasked!: A Refutation of the Arguments Contained in a Pamphlet, Written and Published by John Brindley, Entitled "a Reply to the Infidelity and Atheism of Socialism," and Purporting to Be a "Judicious Summary," of the Evidences of Natural Theology and Revealed Rel If matter is in its atoms, what it is as a whole, then its ultimate atoms must have all the forms and properties which matter as a whole possesses. But the varied compounds which form parts of the whole have different properties; therefore all the ultimate atoms of matter must have all these properties. The varied compounds which form parts of the whole have also different forms some are round, some are square, some are oblong, some rectangular; therefore the ultimate atoms of these compounds must be round, and square, and oblong, and rectangular, and all at the same time too, which is a plain contradiction and absurdity. But not only is Mr. Brindley's assumption absurd and contradictory, but it is contrary to the facts with which chemical science has made us acquainted. Is it an extraordinary thing for two bodies to combine and produce a third, having properties entirely different to those which the two bodies possessed prior to their combination? Is it extraordinary for two bodies which are, when separate, comparatively inodorous, to produce by combination, a third body having power to affect our olfactory organs in a most powerful manner? Are not acids different from alkalies, and vice versa P Are not acids characterized by certain properties and alkalies the same Does not the union of these bodies destroy the properties both of the acid and the alkali, and produce a third body, having properties entirely the reverse of those which belonged to the acid and the alkali prior to their combination Now, here are a number of new properties which the acid body and the alkaline body possessed not in their separate state, and since the compound called an acid did not possess these properties, its ultimate atoms could not possess them, inasmuch as the aggregation of atoms instead of destroying a a principle would increase its intensity. Now, the ultimate atoms of the alkali, for the very same reason, did not possess these properties, and there fore, since the third body possesses them, it follows, that matter can acquire by combinaion properties which its atoms do not possess, considered separately, consequently matter is not in its atoms what it is as a whole as 1t regards size, shape, colour, and many other properties too numerous to mention. Mr. Brindley's argument therefore is absurd, because it is founded on an assumption directly opposed to the plainest deductions of chemical philosophy. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.