136 HUME VI 



In such a case as this, the verb expresses predi- 

 cation and nothing else, and is called a copula. 

 But, in the great majority of verbs, the word is 

 the sign of a complex idea, and the predication is 

 expressed only by its form. Thus in "silver 

 shines," the verb "to shine" is the sign for the 

 feeling of brightness, and the mark of predication 

 lies in the form " shine-s." 



Another result is brought about by the forms 

 of verbs. By slight modifications they are made 

 to indicate that a belief, or predication, is a 

 memory, or is an expectation. Thus " silver 

 shone " expresses a memory ; " silver will shine " 

 an expectation. 



The form of words which expresses a predication 

 is a proposition. Hence, every predication is the 

 verbal equivalent of a belief; and, as every belief is 

 either an immediate consciousness, a memory, or an 

 expectation, and as every expectation is traceable 

 to a memory, it follows that, in the long run, all 

 propositions express either immediate states of 

 consciousness, or memories. The proposition 

 which predicates A of X must mean either, that 

 the fact is testified by my present consciousness, 

 as when I say that two colours, visible at this 

 moment, resemble one another ; or that A is 

 indissolubly associated with X in memory ; or that 

 A is indissolubly associated with X in expectation. 

 But it has already been shown that expectation 

 is only an expression of memory. 



