THE DATA OF PHILOSOPHY. 143 



accepting the dictum of consciousness that certain of its 

 states are like or unlike. Whence, besides seeing that the 

 unified knowledge constituting a completed Philosophy, is 

 a knowledge composed of parts that are universally congru- 

 ous ; and besides seeing that it is the business of Philosophy 

 to establish their universal congruity ; we also see that every 

 act of the process by which this universal congruity is to be 

 established, down even to the components of every inference 

 and every observation, consists in the establishment of con- 

 gruity. 



Consequently, the assumption that a congruity or an in- 

 congruity exists when consciousness testifies to it, is an in- 

 evitable assumption. It is useless to say, as Sir W. Hamil- 

 ton does, that " consciousness is to be presumed trustworthy 

 until proved mendacious." It cannot be proved mendacious 

 in this, its primordial act ; since, as we see, proof involves a 

 repeated acceptance of this primordial act. Nay more, the 

 very thing supposed to be proved cannot be expressed with- 

 out recognizing this primordial act as valid ; since unless we 

 accept the verdict of consciousness that they differ, menda- 

 city and trustworthiness become identical. Process and 

 product of reasoning both disappear in the absence of this 

 assumption. 



It may, indeed, be often shown that what, after careless 

 comparison, were supposed to be like states of consciousness,* 

 are really unlike; or that what were carelessly supposed to 

 be unlike, are really like. But how is this shown ? Simply 

 by a more careful comparison, mediately or immediately 

 made. And what does acceptance of the revised conclusion 

 imply ? Simply that a deliberate verdict of consciousness is 

 preferable to a rash one ; or, to speak more definitely — that 

 a consciousness of likeness or difference which survives 

 critical examination must be accepted in place of one that 

 does not survive — the very survival being itself the accept- 

 ance. 



And here we get to the bottom of the matter. The 



