Ideas on the Affirmative Principle of Life and the Negative Principle of Death

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If we dissect a body in descending order, we find in the absolute innermost part—or in the counterpoint of the extension original: "Kontrapunkt des Extensums". This uses musical and philosophical terminology (Spinoza’s extensio) to describe the material world's most concentrated physical point.—the highest, most fixed being known to us as carbon *).

The most volatile is therefore nitrogen original: "Stickgas". Literally "choking gas," a common historical term for nitrogen., the principle that generates stimuli.

The most fixed is carbon, the being susceptible to excitability original: "Erregbarkeit". A central concept in late 18th-century "Brownian" medicine, referring to a living tissue's ability to react to external stimuli..

Oxygen original: "Lebensluft," literally "life-air." is the medium in which the interaction of the stimulus and the receptivity of the matter occurs, and which produces all physical phenomena.

Observation.

The effect of nitrogen on carbon extracts a very fine, soapy being, and this soapy being is actual light matter.

*) Some French chemists Likely a reference to Antoine Lavoisier or his contemporaries who overhauled chemical nomenclature in the 1780s. called carbon the absorbent earth original: "la terre absorbente".. The Hebrews called it dust & ashes original: "pulvis & cinis"..