178 THE ORIGIN OF HUMAN REASON 



be, since possible existence may still remain to it — as a fine 

 head of hair to a man who has just had his head shaved. 

 He says,* next : " When we bring these two judgments 

 (concepts) together in the proposition A is B, the new 

 judgment which we make has nothing to do with the 

 existence either of A or of B, nor has it really anything 

 to do with existence as such. The existence both of A 

 and of B has been already presupposed in the two con- 

 cepts, and when these two existing things are brought 

 into apposition, no third existence is thereby supposed 

 to have been created." Most certainly not. What mad- 

 man ever thought that by saying, " A cat is a carni- 

 vorous beast," he created even one existence ? But, 

 assuming that Mr. Romanes means, " No third existence 

 is thereby supposed to have been affirmed," we may 

 again ask, what madman ever thought that by saying, 

 " A cat is a carnivorous beast," he affirmed a " third 

 existence " } What is affirmed in such a predication is, 

 that a cat is a real creature which possesses those 

 attributes which distinguish the class of animals termed 

 carnivorous. Herein actual being or existence is 

 implied. But the assertion might have been, "A mer- 

 maid is a creature half a woman and half a fish," and 

 here again being or existence is implied. But it is 

 no longer actual, material existence, but ideal existence. 

 Nevertheless, such ideal existence is really existence of 

 a kind. There is such an idea : my mind possesses it 

 while I write, and whatever I actually possess must at 

 least be. Such reality in ideal existence must be 

 admitted by Mr. Romanes, since he tells us " the 



* p. 172. 



