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Thus, although he may suffer a little from the foreign garb, and the reader may be fatigued with deciphering enig- mas, lie will have an idea of the matter and of the form of the system, which he could not have, if we should take from the philosopher his extravagant originality, which, however, relates to the form, rather than to the substance. 130"This act, namely X=I am, is founded on no higher principle. " This is true to a certain extent, inasmuch as it affirms that in the series of the facts of consciousness, we come to our own existence as the last limit, and can go no farther. The reflex act, by which we perceive our existence, is ex- pressed by the proposition, am, or, I exist ; but this prop- osition by itself alone, tells us nothing as to the nature of the me, and is very far from proving our absolute indepen- dence. On the contrary, from the moment that we begin to reflect, internal facts are presented to us which incline us o believe that our being is dependent on another ; and in proportion as we continue to reflect, we acquire a deep con- viction of this truth, arising from a rigorous demonstration. prev next |