Owen—Hybrid Parts of Speech. 233 
that the expression “The sun revolves about the earth” no 
doubt exhibits an untruth, and yet for ages it and its equiva¬ 
lents unfalteringly employed the indicative mode. To this it 
may be answered that the statement made was true according 
to the lights of the maker, which is all that is expected of the 
language-user. 
Answering the answer, I offer the expression “The sun does 
not revolve, etc.” In this, the use of “does” may rank as a 
merely formal accident of the English language, the word being 
omitted even by that language as by others, in the poetical 
style. Accordingly “The sun revolves not,” which I have else¬ 
where (“Interrogatives,” pp. 386-392, etc.) sought to exhibit 
as by no means indicating any lack of belief, but as meaning 
“I believe the untruth of the sun’s revolving, etc.” According 
to this interpretation, the untruth is, in “The sun revolves not,” 
distinctly and solely expressed by the negative “not.” On the 
other hand, the antagonistic idea of truth is not in mind. Ac¬ 
cordingly truth, in this case, is not expressed by the indicative. 
Strictly interpreted, the indicative expresses only part of a 
thought which by “not” is posed before the mind in the aspect 
of untruth (or failure to be matched by external reality)— 
and belief (in that untruth). That is, the indicative expresses 
neither truth itself nor any part of aught that is posed before 
the mind as true. 
Given, on the other hand, “The earth revolves about the sun,” 
in the absence of a special “not” to indicate untruth, the idea 
of truth may be supposed to be incorporated in what is ex¬ 
pressed by the indicative, which accordingly in this case does 
express the idea of truth itself as well as part of what is posed 
as true. 
It appears then that indicative usage is not determined by 
the truth or untruth of what it cooperates in expressing. 
On the other hand, in (1) “I fear that he come” and (2) 
“I fear that he come not,” no belief is associated with his com¬ 
ing; but in one case the coming is posed in the aspect of truth, 
and, in the other, in the aspect of untruth. Of the meaning 
expressed by the “come” of (1) the idea of truth may be sup- 
