Milton, Paradise Lost , Book III Chemistry is much more than structures and equations.
Chemistry has a history.
This is a living science which is as fluid and dynamic as many of the processes it studies. To study chemistry without an understanding of its past is akin to living one's life without any ancestral knowledge. One cannot fully understand the now without the then. In the stream of knowledge that bombards the chemist every day, the rich history and roots of chemisty get pushed to the wayside. Also, as the demand for applied science and technology increases at the currently wild rate, chemistry becomes less of an entity and more of a means-a means for a paycheck or a means to pass a requirement for graduation.