In  doing  Uiis,  wo  may  advantngconsly  avail  oimelvcs  of

,  llie  method  followed  at  tho  outset,  of  separating  from  con-
eptions  that  arc  partially  or  mainly  erronooas,  the  element

'  of  tmth  they  contain.  As  in  tho  chapter  on  "  Ri-ligion  and
Science,"  it  was  inferred  that  religioiia  beliefa^  wrong  as
they  might  individually  bo  in  their  particiibr  forms,  n«vpr-
tlielc88  prohobly  c«ch  contained  an  essential  verity,  and  that
this  was  most  likely  common  to  them  all ;  so  in  this  place  it
is  to  bo  inferred  that  past  and  present  beliefs  respecting  the
jiaturo  of  Philosophy,  are  none  of  them  wholly  false,  and
that  tliat  in  whii-li  thej  aro  true  is  that  in  whicTi  they  agree.
We  have  lure,  then,  to  do  what  was  done  thero — "  to  com-
pare  all  opinions  of  the  taaaa  goaus ;  to  <9ct  aside  oa  more  or


128


tHiLOSormr  scrntTD.
