MINE AND THINE 81 



The discovery of the qualities and relations of objects, 

 of their differences and their unity and the construction of 

 the whole architecture of the objective order, is the work 

 of the intelligence. But on that very account the objective 

 order attains rights over the intelligence ; and man, as he 

 learns, obeys ever the more implicitly the work of his own 

 hands. The day on which modern science was born was 

 the day on which man learnt to stoop in order to conquer, 

 to give up dictating to nature his a priori notions, and to 

 sit listening at her feet. And all knowledge grows by the 

 same method. Every object, in the degree in which it is 

 known is found to possess qualities of its own, and in 

 the degree in which it is understood takes its place in a 

 necessary order. The mind can deny neither the distinct 

 qualities nor the necessary connection without doing 

 violence to itself. They are its manifestations as the one- 

 sided subjective Idealism of the day recognises ; but they 

 are also the manifestations of its objective, outgoing 

 moment which Idealism ignores. Their necessary inter- 

 relation is the expression of its free enterprise ; and it is 

 because their concrete being and necessary relations are the 

 work of mind that the mind must respect them. 



To overlook this outgoing movement of spirit, to reduce 

 all things into thoughts, feelings, volitions, is not to show 

 that " Reality is Experience," but that it is only one aspect 

 of Experience ; for experience never consisted of this 

 barren assertion of sameness, nor was its trend ever merely 

 inward. 



On the side of the human will, in the realm of morality, 

 the outgoing, self-negating movement is still more evident. 

 Man starts from caprice. ' When thou wast young, thou 

 girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest ; but 



