PROP. II.————
that that which we know always is and must be object plus subject, object cum alio,—thing or thought with an addition to it,—which addition is the me. Self; therefore, is an integral and essential part of every object of cognition.
Or, again. Suppose a case in which a thing or a thought is apprehended without the me being apprehended along with it. This would contradict Proposition I., which has fixed the knowledge of self as the condition of all knowledge. But Proposition I. is established; and therefore the me must in all cases form part of that which we know; and the only object which any intelligence ever has, or ever can have any cognisance of is, itself-in-union-with-whatever-it-apprehends.
OBSERVATIONS AND EXPLANATIONS.
Reason for printing "itself-in-union-with-whatever-it-apprehends" as one word.1. By printing as one word the seven last words of the Demonstration, a higher degree of intelligibility seems to be secured for what is here laid down as the universal object of knowledge, than might have been attained by printing these words as separate. Whether our position should be agreed with or not, it can scarcely be misunderstood.
2. By the object of knowledge, we are, of course, to understand the whole object of knowledge, what-