86 NAMES AND PROPOSITIONS. 



the presence of the object cause this sensation in me, 

 I cannot tell : I can only say that such is my nature, 

 and the nature of the object : the constitution of 

 things, the scheme of the universe, will have it so. 

 And to this we must at last come, even after interpo- 

 lating the imaginary entity. Whatever number of 

 links the chain of causes and effects may consist [of, 

 how any one link produces the one which is next to 

 it remains equally inexplicable to us. It is as easy to 

 comprehend that the object should produce the sensa- 

 tion directly and at once, as that it should produce 

 the same sensation by the aid of something else called 

 the power of producing it. 



But as the difficulties which may be felt in adopt- 

 ing this view of the subject cannot be removed with- 

 out discussions transcending the bounds of -our 

 science, I content myself with a passing indication, 

 and shall, for the purposes of logic, adopt a language 

 compatible with either view of the nature of qualities. 

 I shall say, what at least admits of no dispute, that 

 the quality of whiteness ascribed to the object snow, 

 is grounded upon its exciting in us the sensation of 

 white ; and, adopting the language already used by 

 the school logicians in the case of the kind of attri- 

 butes called Relations, I shall term the sensation of 

 white the foundation of the quality whiteness. For 

 logical purposes the sensation is the only essential 

 part of what is meant by the word ; the only part 

 which we ever can be concerned in proving. When 

 that is proved the quality is proved; if an object 

 excites a sensation, it has, of course, the power of 

 exciting it. 



