NATURE OF THE GROUNDWORK OF SCIENCE 309
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above observed, that "space" is, and must be, "infinite."
Mistaking the impotence of their imagination for a perception
of objective reality, they affirm the real, and even infinite,
existence of what has no real being at all, and is nothing
in reality beyond a creation of the mind.
Space is but an abstraction from abstractions a doubly
abstract idea. There is, of course, no such thing even as
"extension" as such That is but an abstract idea gained
from a perception of that property which every extended
thing possesses, and which real objective property is the
foundation in the thing itself of the abstract idea extension.
Similarly, " space " is an abstract idea drawn from the
different extensions of all the extended things we know,
from inter-sidereal ether to the densest mass of metal. It
is, as we said, a doubly abstract idea, and is abstracted from,
and denotes the extension of, all extended things taken to-
gether, and united in one highly abstract idea.
"Time" is, similarly, but another highly abstract idea
gained from things which succeed each other, and which
are said to follow each other " in succession." But, of course,
there is and can be no such thing as " succession " by itself.
Succession is but a term expressing our idea of a real con-
dition possessed by each thing which happens after another
which occurred before, and which condition is the foundation
in the thing itself of that abstract idea. Similarly, " time "
is a doubly abstract idea, since it is drawn from the different
successions of all the succeeding things we know. It denotes
the succession of all succeeding things taken together and
united in one highly abstract idea.
Of course, for ordinary scientific work, the common con-
ceptions as to space and time, as well as motion, molar
and molecular, ethereal undulations, etc., serve every needful
purpose, and are most valuable, just as the commonly-used
physical hypotheses as to atoms, molecules, etc., serve, as
above observed, that "space" is, and must be, "infinite."
Mistaking the impotence of their imagination for a perception
of objective reality, they affirm the real, and even infinite,
existence of what has no real being at all, and is nothing
in reality beyond a creation of the mind.
Space is but an abstraction from abstractions a doubly
abstract idea. There is, of course, no such thing even as
"extension" as such That is but an abstract idea gained
from a perception of that property which every extended
thing possesses, and which real objective property is the
foundation in the thing itself of the abstract idea extension.
Similarly, " space " is an abstract idea drawn from the
different extensions of all the extended things we know,
from inter-sidereal ether to the densest mass of metal. It
is, as we said, a doubly abstract idea, and is abstracted from,
and denotes the extension of, all extended things taken to-
gether, and united in one highly abstract idea.
"Time" is, similarly, but another highly abstract idea
gained from things which succeed each other, and which
are said to follow each other " in succession." But, of course,
there is and can be no such thing as " succession " by itself.
Succession is but a term expressing our idea of a real con-
dition possessed by each thing which happens after another
which occurred before, and which condition is the foundation
in the thing itself of that abstract idea. Similarly, " time "
is a doubly abstract idea, since it is drawn from the different
successions of all the succeeding things we know. It denotes
the succession of all succeeding things taken together and
united in one highly abstract idea.
Of course, for ordinary scientific work, the common con-
ceptions as to space and time, as well as motion, molar
and molecular, ethereal undulations, etc., serve every needful
purpose, and are most valuable, just as the commonly-used
physical hypotheses as to atoms, molecules, etc., serve, as