COSMIC PHILOSOPHY 



where we can imagine no variation which shall 

 not at once alter the whole character of the case. 

 We cannot imagine nitrogen supporting com- 

 bustion, for as soon as it did so it would cease 

 to be nitrogen. That a is a, is an identical pro- 

 position only when the attributes of a are con- 

 stant. Now the incapacity to support combus- 

 tion is one of the attributes by the possession 

 of which nitrogen is nitrogen. And to say that 

 nitrogen may at some future time support com- 

 bustion, is to say that a will cease to be a, and 

 become something else. 



Now why are we compelled to think thus ? 

 Because we are incapable of transcending our ex- 

 perience. Our experience of nitrogen is that it 

 will not support combustion, and we are incapa- 

 ble of Imagining it to be otherwise in contra- 

 diction to our experience. Our conception of 

 nitrogen, formed by experience. Is that of a sub- 

 stance which will not support combustion, and 

 we cannot mentally sever the substance from 

 its attribute without destroying the conception 

 altogether. So we cannot conceive that a lump 

 of iron will float in water. Why ? Because our 

 conception of iron, formed solely by experience, 

 Is that of a substance which sinks in water ; and 

 to imagine It otherwise Is to suppress the con- 

 ception, either of iron or of water, and to sub- 

 stitute some other conception in its place. We 

 may try the experiment for ourselves. Try to 

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