ESSAY-REVIEWS 109 



vastly outnumber the positive ones, we reach the negative 

 infinity of absolute impossibility. Now, when a thing is just 

 possible, we really mean that it stands almost, but not quite, at 

 negative infinity, that is, that there are a few positive reasons in 

 favour of it in opposition to a large number of negative ones ; 

 but in order to turn a possibility into an absolute certainty we 

 have to reverse the process just figured and add so many positive 

 reason-units that the negative ones are entirely swamped, as in 

 x — 1, when x is positively infinite. 



But our triumphant logicians do not trouble to make 

 this laborious accumulation of positive units. They take 

 their stand to begin with on the mere possibility, and then 

 with a single jump clear the whole range of negative great- 

 ness, zero, and positive finity, and land themselves triumphantly 

 in a moment in absolute certainty! This feat is a very 

 agreeable one at public tournaments. It creates vociferous 

 applause, and the endless clapping of hands and waving of 

 handkerchiefs among the fair sex especially. It is all done in a 

 trice ; and the Paynim adversary who is standing painfully at 

 the barrier of zero is left looking like a fool while the successful 

 competitor leaps right over his head. For example, suppose 

 that A maintains that there are elephants in the moon. He asks 

 his adversary B whether the latter can prove with certainty that 

 there are no elephants in the moon. When B admits that he 

 cannot, A triumphantly explains that, as B cannot deny it, there 

 must be elephants in the moon. We have noted that this form 

 of argument is constantly being used in numerous controversies 

 by the philosophers of the day. For instance Sir Oliver is 

 inquiring about inspiration and concludes that " it is a possi- 

 bility." In the very next sentence however he adds, " it is in 

 my belief a fact." Here he has performed this feat — though he 

 does not tell us what has converted with such speed the 

 possibility into the certainty. Again, he argues very rightly that 

 we must not believe man on the earth to be necessarily the 

 highest existence possible. Of course we must not, for there 

 may be very many higher intelligences, let us say in Venus, or 

 Mars, or outside the Solar System. Quite rightly, he maintains 

 that if we assert that there are no higher intelligences we are 

 dogmatising in a negative direction. So we should be ; but 

 immediately he takes a flying leap over the whole of the 

 intervening difficulties and declares, because we cannot make 



