DISCOURSE ON METHOD. 17 



possessed had he lived always among the Chinese or 

 with savages, and the circumstance that in dress 

 itself the fashion which pleased us ten years ago, 

 and which may again, perhaps, be received into 

 favour before ten years have gone, appears to us at 

 this moment extravagant and ridiculous. I was thus 

 led to infer that the ground of our opinions is far 

 more custom and example than any certain knowl 

 edge. And, finally, although such be the ground of 

 our opinions, I remarked that a plurality of suffrages 

 is no guarantee of truth where it is at all of difficult 

 discovery, as in such cases it is much more likely 

 that it will be found by one than by many. I 

 could, however, select from the crowd no one whose 

 opinions seemed worthy of preference, and thus I 

 found myself constrained, as it were, to use my own 

 Reason in the conduct of my life. 



But like one walking alone and in the dark, I 

 resolved to proceed so slowly and with such circum 

 spection, that if I did not advance far, I would at 

 least guard against falling. I did not even choose 

 to dismiss summarily any of the opinions that had 

 crept into my belief without having been introduced 

 by Reason, but first of all took sufficient time care 

 fully to satisfy myself of the general nature of the 

 task I was setting myself, and ascertain the true 

 Method by which to arrive at the knowledge of 

 whatever lay within the compass of my powers. 



Among the branches of Philosophy, I had, at an 

 earlier period, given some attention to Logic, and 

 among those of the Mathematics to Geometrical 

 Analysis and Algebra, three arts or Sciences 



