"The work of Mendeleev has lately thrown a new light upon the relations existing between the atomic weights of the elements and their properties. The latter are a function of the atomic weight, which function is periodic. It is not limited to such and such a group of elements, but embraces all of the elementary bodies of chemistry... thus dealing with the most varied and the most profound questions of science... in a word, regard the facts of chemistry from a lofty and comprehensive point of view."