6

in such a state of things, a certain other similarly definite
state of things, equally a matter of the imagination, could
or could not, in the assumed range of possibility,
ever e̶x̶i̶s̶t̶ occur, would be one in response to which one of the two
answers Yes and No would be true, but never both. But
all pertinent facts would be within the [book?] and call of the
imagination; and consequently nothing but the operation
of thought would be necessary to render the true answer.
Nor [^?] supposing the answer to cover the whole range of possibility assumed, could this be rendered otherwise than by reasoning
w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ that would be apodictic, general, and exact. O̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶
o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶,.B̶u̶t̶ No knowledge of what actually is, no
positive knowledge, as we say, would result. On the other
hand, to assert that any source of information that is re-
stricted to actual facts could afford us a̶n̶ a necessary
knowledge, that is, knowledge relative to a whole,
general range of possibility, would be a flat contradic-
tion in terms