132 NAMES AND PROPOSITIONS. 



latter set of attributes constantly accompany the former 

 set. Whatever has the attributes of man has the 

 attribute of mortality; mortality constantly accom- 

 panies the attributes of man. 



If it be remembered that every attribute is grounded 

 upon some fact or phenomenon, either of outward 

 sense or of inward consciousness, and that to possess 

 an attribute is another phrase for being the cause of, 

 or forming part of, the fact or phenomenon upon 

 which the attribute is grounded ; we may add one 

 more step to complete the analysis. The proposition 

 which asserts that one attribute always accompanies 

 another attribute, does really assert thereby no other 

 thing than this, that one phenomenon always accom- 

 panies another phenomenon ; insomuch that where we 



the one, we have assurance of the existence of the 

 other. Thus, in the proposition, All men are mortal, 

 the word man connotes the attributes which we 

 ascribe to a certain kind of living creatures, on the 

 ground of certain phenomena which they exhibit, and 

 which are partly physical phenomena, namely the 

 impressions made on our senses by their bodily form 

 and structure, and partly mental phenomena, namely 

 the sentient and intellectual life which they have of 

 their own. All this is understood when we utter the 

 word man, by any one to whom the meaning of the 

 word is known. Now, when we say, Man is mortal, 

 we mean that wherever these various physical and men- 

 tal phenomena are all found, there we have assurance 

 that the other physical and mental phenomenon, called 

 death, will not fail to take place. The proposition 

 does not affirm when; for the connotation of the word 

 mortal goes no farther than to the occurrence of the 

 phenomenon at some time or other, leaving the pre- 

 cise time undecided. 



