Now Aphasia is the
opposite of [Greek: phasis] in its general signification, which,
as we said, comprises both affirmation and negation. It follows
that Aphasia is a condition of mind, according to which we say
that we neither affirm nor deny anything. It is evident from
this that we do not understand by Aphasia something that 193
inevitably results from the nature of things, but we mean that
we now find ourselves in the condition of mind expressed by it
in regard to the things that are under investigation. It is
necessary to remember that we do not say that we affirm or deny
any of those things that are dogmatically stated in regard to
the unknown, for we yield assent only to those things which
affect our feelings and oblige us to assent to them.
CHAPTER XXI.
_"Perhaps," and "It is possible," and "It may be."_
The formulae "Perhaps," and "Perhaps not," and "It is 194
possible," and "It is not possible," and "It may be," and "It
may not be," we use instead of "Perhaps it is," and "Perhaps it
is not," and "It is possible that it is," and "It is possible
that it is not," and "It may be that it is," and "It may be that
it is not." That is, we use the formula "It is not possible" for
the sake of brevity, instead of saying "It is not possible to
be," and "It may not be" instead of "It may not be that it is,"
and "Perhaps not" instead of "Perhaps it is not." Again, we do
not here dispute about words, neither do we question if the 195
formulae mean these things absolutely, but we use them loosely,
as I said before.
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