38

O.38

view whence the wonder shall be resolved. At length a conjecture arises that furnishes a possible Explanation, by which I mean a syllogism exhibiting the surprising fact as necessarily consequent upon the circumstances of its occurrence together with the truth of the credible conjecture, as premisses. On account of this Explanation, the inquirer is led to regard his conjecture, or Hypothesis, with favor. As I phrase it, he provisionally holds it to be 'Plausible'; this acceptance ranges, in different cases,—and reasonably so,—from a mere expression of it in the interrogative mood, as a question meriting attention and reply,