0wen—Interrogative Thought—Means of Its Expression. 385 
Conceptions are expressed by what may be roughly called sug¬ 
gestive phrases. In illustration all needs will be met by the in¬ 
finitive phrase, which alone accordingly will be considered. For 
the sake of saving labor, I select an infinitive phrase which offers 
a pair of terms and a relation named with maximum distinct- 
ness ; and I choose a relation as simple and tangible as may be. I 
omit the “article” for the sake of brevity, and treat the English 
infinitive as a single word. It will express in my illustrations 
no more or less than what is expressed by the one-word infinitives 
of other languages. Indeed the “to” may be regarded as the in¬ 
finitive inflection, merely isolated and prepositive. 
My immediate purpose, stated from the sentence-student’s 
point of view, is to determine how much meaning there may be in 
a typical suggestive phrase, for instance, “Orange to exceed 
lemon.” ISText I strive to find what further meaning lies in an 
expression assertive, but otherwise equivalent to the suggestive, 
for instance, “Orange exceeds lemon.” That is, a sort of sub¬ 
traction is expected to reveal, as a remainder, the distinctive as¬ 
sertive element of meaning, or in other words the element whose 
presence makes a judgment such. 
Its essential content. * 
This I find to be a duo of ideas, and their relation. For 
instance, in the thought expressed by “Orange to exceed lemon,” 
I find an idea of the first named fruit, an idea of the last named 
fruit, and a bulk-relation between them. I observe that, if any 
one of this idea-trio were omitted, the remainder would not con¬ 
stitute an idea-total worthy in my opinion to be ranked as 
thought. I also observe that, while other ideas might be added 
with advantage, their presence would not make the total a whit 
more worthy to rank as a thought of the lowest grade—that is, 
as a conception. 
Its associate truth or untruth. 
Examining further, I find in the conception an adjunctive 
idea of truth or untruth, put as an attribute of a total which con¬ 
sists of two ideas and their relation. To illustrate, I offer the 
two expressions: 
(1) “Lemon to exceed orange,” and 
(2) “Lemon not to exceed orange.” 
I cannot admit, and shall elsewhere antagonize, the opinion 
that “not to exceed” is meant to call up the idea of equality or in- 
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