200 CLUES AND SUGGESTIONS CHAP. 



spiritualistic readings of the world, 

 which have been evolved in the struc- 

 ture of human speech. 



But even if it were true that Mr. 

 Spencer's writings are as neutral as he 

 asserts them to be, nothing in favour of 

 their reasonings would be gained. A 

 philosophy which is avowedly indifferent 

 on the most fundamental of all questions 

 respecting the interpretation of the 

 Universe, cannot properly be said to be 

 a philosophy at all. Still less can it 

 claim to be pre-eminently " synthetic." 

 It may have made some and even large 

 contributions to philosophy. But the 

 contributions are very far indeed from 

 having been harmonised into any con- 

 sistent system. On the contrary, very 

 often any close analysis of its language 

 and of its highly artificial phraseology 

 will be found to break it up into in- 

 coherent fragments. Such at least has 



