Such a view
would only follow the rule that has proved elsewhere so fertile, of
assuming the vast and remote to conform to the laws of formation
that we can observe at work in the small and near.
For all utilitarian practical purposes these conceptions amply
suffice; but that they began at special points of discovery and only
gradually spread from one thing to another, seems proved by the
exceedingly dubious limits of their application to-day. We assume
for certain purposes one 'objective' Time that AEQUABILITER FLUIT,
but we don't livingly believe in or realize any such equally-flowing
time. 'Space' is a less vague notion; but 'things,' what are they?
Is a constellation properly a thing? or an army? or is an ENS
RATIONIS such as space or justice a thing? Is a knife whose handle
and blade are changed the 'same'? Is the 'changeling,' whom Locke so
seriously discusses, of the human 'kind'? Is 'telepathy' a 'fancy'
or a 'fact'? The moment you pass beyond the practical use of these
categories (a use usually suggested sufficiently by the
circumstances of the special case) to a merely curious or
speculative way of thinking, you find it impossible to say within
just what limits of fact any one of them shall apply.
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