It  will  thus  be  understood  why  we  Brahmans  are  in
close  sympathy  with  your  distinguished  countrymen  in
rebuking  the  arrogant  encroachments  of  empiricism,  with
its  pitiable  groping  by  the  light  of  the  senses  after
ultimate  ideas.  For  ages  we  ourselves  have  maintained
that  of  all  false  guides  perceptive  experience  is  the  most
fallible,  that  it  carries  no  guarantee  whatever  of  its
veracity,  and  that  for  any  one  to  throw  ridicule  at  a
prodigy  or  a  dogma  because  it  is  contrary  to  inductions
from  experience  is  a  mere  confession  of  ignorance.  The
short  method  with  such  sciolists,  Mr  Balfour  remarks
with  unanswerable  lucidity,  is  to  ask  them  to  compare  "  the
causal  movement  from  object  to  perception,  with  the
cognitive  leap  through  perception  to  object."  As  sources
of  information,  he  adds  truly,  our  perceptions  are  habitu-
ally mendacious  ;  and  what  can  be  more  hollow  than
the  attempt  to  construct  any  reality  out  of  such  unsub-
stantial image-making?  The  deeper  you  delve  the  less
chance  there  is  of  finding  a  bottom  ;  you  only  unearth
greater  perplexities  and  contradictions.  And  it  is  know-
ledge of  this  sort  that  tampers  with  articles  of  religion !
So  long  as  empiricism  keeps  to  its  own  superficial  level
and  does  not  dabble  in  higher  things,  we  need  not  dispute

VOL  II.  D


60  ASIATIC  STUDIES  chap.  i.
its   every  -  day   usefulness.     The   naturalist  is   like   any
other  collector  of   samples  and   specimens,  good  enough
for  the  market  or  the  museum.     But  when  he  undertakes
not  only  to  invent  a  scheme  of  faith  and  morals,  but  also
to  dictate  terms  of  surrender  to  every  other  system,  we
must  turn  round  and  expose  his    own  essential  futility.
