175 



metaphysical term, he finds how much wiser his language is than the 

 wisest of those that use it.* More especially is this the case when 

 reading the works of Hobbes, Bentham, and that class of philosophers, 

 who have endeavoured to turn and twist the meaning of the words they 

 are obliged to use, so as to adapt them to their own preconceived 

 notions. There we see that not only facts, but words too, are *' stubborn 

 things ; " for words are, as Mr. Trench remarks, not only *' fossil 

 poetry," but "fossil ethics," and therefore not to be bent so as to 

 subserve £Uiy peculiar and individual system. Of this obstinacy of 

 words Jeremy Bentham was so well aware, that when he attempted to 

 introduce a new system of Metaphysics, instead of endeavouring to 

 impress a new meaning upon his words, as Hobbes had done, he coined 

 an entirely new set of words wherewith to express his theories, and in 

 reading his writings, we find " deontologies," " endaimonologies," 

 ** felicitarianisms," and " ipse-dixitisms," (to use his own favourite term 

 of reproach,) starting up in every page.f 



But to return to my subject ; I said that a consideration of the 

 terminology of Metaphysics may suggest to us many thoughts capable, 

 in the hands of a skilful master, of throwing much light upon the 

 science. First, to take this very word " Science" which has so aptly 

 fallen in our way. Is it not a very curious fact, and one well worthy of 

 notice, that almost all the words which express " seeing " or " knowing," 

 have their origin in some root signifying "division," or "separation?" 

 In this word " Science," for instance, we all know that the root SCI means 

 "to divide." We find it in the Greek <rx«^w, the Latin "scmrfo," and 

 in innumerable words derived from these, such as " schism" " scissors" 

 ** scion" and others.^ In the Anglo-Saxon, again, we find the same 

 root in various forms, two of the principal of which are " sci-ran" to cut, 

 and "sceadan" to divide. The former we still retain in the word 

 "score" used like the Latin "putare," in the two senses of cutting and 

 counting ; and by the very common change of c into h,§ we have the 

 words " shears " and " share " (in plough-share), making, with scissors, 

 and chisel, four instruments for cutting, taking their rise from this 



• Guesses at Truth, First Series, p. 324. 



f None of these terms have lasted, and why ? Because thej are not, like the common 

 home-words we all use, a counterpart of some mental quality, or interwoven with any of 

 those universal feelings which beat at the heart of humanity For the same reason, his 

 system, too, has come to nothing. 



t The se in <e-parate, <e-clude, <e-duce, (and perhaps in «a-cer and n'-ne,) b,I think, closely 

 allied with this root " SCI ;" and so also is the to in solvere, t e. <o.lv-ere, or «o-la-ere. 



§ We find c and h writlen indiflferently in the words " Hardux " and " CAarran," " AAaz" 

 and"AeAaz," "RaAab" and " RacAab," as they occur in our authorised version of the 

 Bible. Compare also hoxn and cornu, /till and collis, Aead and caput, Aalm and cal-amus. 



