



NAMES. 31 



name of all things whatever having the colour ; a name, not of 

 the quality whiteness, but of every white object. It is true, 

 this name was given to all those various objects on account of 

 the quality ; and we may therefore say, without impropriety, 

 that the quality forms part of its signification ; but a name 

 can only be said to stand for, or to be a name of, the things of 

 which it can be predicated. We shall presently see that all 

 names which can be said to have any signification, all names 

 by applying which to an individual we give any information 

 respecting that individual, may be said to imply an attribute 

 of some sort ; but they are not names of the attribute ; it has 

 its own proper abstract name. 



5. This leads to the consideration of a third great 

 division of names, into connotative and non-connotative, the 

 latter sometimes, but improperly, called absolute. This is one 

 of the most important distinctions which we shall have occa- 

 sion to point out, and one of those which go deepest into the 

 nature of language. 



A non-connotative term is one which signifies a subject 

 only, or an attribute only. A connotative term is one which 

 denotes a subject, and implies an attribute. By a subject is 

 here meant anything which possesses attributes. Thus John, 

 or London, or England, are names which signify a subject 

 only. Whiteness, length, virtue, signify an attribute only. 

 None of these names, therefore, are connotative. But white, 

 long, virtuous, are connotative. The word white, denotes all 

 white things, as snow, paper, the foam of the sea, &c., and 

 implies, or as it was termed by the schoolmen, connotes* the 

 attribute whiteness. The word white is not predicated of the 

 attribute, but of the subjects, snow, &c. ; but when we predi- 

 cate it of them, we imply, or connote, that the attribute white- 

 ness belongs to them. The same may be said of the other 

 words above cited. Virtuous, for example, is the name of a 

 class, which includes Socrates, Howard, the Man of Boss, and 



* Notare, to mark ; cownotare, to mark along with ; to mark one thing with 

 or in addition to another. 



