Part 29 (2/2)
”That is another affair,” said the Doctor in continuation; ”we speak of man in his essence; we speak, also, of the essence of locality, the essence of duration--”
”And essence of peppermint,” said Aunt Judy
”Pooh!” said the Doctor, ”the essence Itoo fine to be dribbled through the worrandfather
”Then I aain,” rejoined Aunt Judy
”By the spirit and essence of things I s in the abstract”
”And what becooes into the abstract?” asked Uncle Tim
”Why, it becoain,” said Uncle Ti that has no matter: that is, it cannot be felt, seen, heard, smelt, or tasted; it has no substance or solidity; it is neither large nor s nor short”
”Then what is the long and short of it?” asked the Schoolmaster
”Abstraction,” replied the Doctor
”Suppose, for instance,” said Malachi, ”that I had a pitchfork----”
”Ay,” said the Doctor, ”consider a pitchfork in general; that is, neither this one nor that one, nor any particular one, but a pitchfork or pitchforks divested of their s in the abstract”
”They are things in the hay-mow,” said Malachi
”Pray,” said Uncle Tis discovered?”
”Discovered!” returned the Doctor, ”why, all things, whether in heaven, or upon the earth, or in the waters under the earth, whether sreat, visible or invisible, animate or inanimate; whether the eye can see, or the ear can hear, or the nose can sers touch; finally, whatever exists or is is, past, present, or to come, all may be abstractions”
”Indeed!” said Uncle Tim, ”pray, what do you make of the abstraction of a red cow?”
”A red cow,” said the Doctor, ”consideredneither hide nor horns, bones nor flesh, but is the mere type, eidolon, and fantastical semblance of these parts of a quadruped It has a shape without any substance, and no color at all, for its redness is the ination of such
As it lacks the positive, so is it also deficient in the accidental properties of all the animals in its tribe, for it has no locoives milk, chews the cud, nor performs any other function of the horned beast, but is a otten by a freak of the fancy and nourished by a conceit of the iination”
”Pshaw!” exclaimed Aunt Judy ”All the metaphysics under the sun wouldn't make a pound of butter!”
”That's a fact,” said Uncle Tireat and no small To the Soul that s are:-- And it cometh everywhere_
EMERSON