Philosophic Evolution. 187 



brought to recognise that he has a knowledge of absolute, 

 objective truth. His eyes will thus be opened to the 

 supremely important truth, that he is endowed with an 

 intellect which is not shut up in a mere subjective know- 

 ledge of its own states and modifications, but which is 

 endowed with the wonderful capacity of knowing ab- 

 solute, objective truth external to these states. He will 

 learn this through his recognition of the "veracity of 

 memory," without accepting which he cannot advance 

 one step in knowledge. Consciousness is of the present, 

 but we cannot know our own continued existence without 

 at the same time knowing the past. This consideration 

 alone is sufficient to refute the whole experimental phil- 

 osophy which teaches that we become nothing but phe- 

 nomena. For " experience " itself is not possible, unless 

 memory can be relied on as trustworthy. My "ex- 

 perience " would be of small value indeed, if I could not 

 be absolutely certain that it was mine, and not that of 

 some other person.* 



Again, every one who recognises the truth of his know- 

 ledge of his own existence must equally recognise that 

 his intellect declares certain dicta (such, e.g., as that " what 

 thinks exists/' " the whole is greater than its part/' " in- 

 gratitude is blameworthy") to be absolutely and univer- 

 sally true. He must further see, on examining the de- 



* See " Lessons from Nature," p. 23. 



