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Principle I. Whatever is written on the board shall be asserted to be true of the Universe in question.
This is clear. We all know what it is to assert anything. An act of assertion is a contract, the effect of which is that id what is asserted is not true, the assertor forfeits in a measure his reputation for veracity. The lilacs are in bloom. Here is an example. It is asserted that in my universe the lilacs are in bloom. Now I wish to assert something else. But to enable me to do that, I shall ask you to agree to a second principle. Principle II. Anything written shall leave its meaning independently of anything else that maybe written on another part of the board and that is not joined to it by any line of connection. If so joined the meaning shall only be such modification as that line imports
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Our principles must be perfectly strict; and therefore, in order to conform to this one, I must modify The lilacs are in bloom and make it The lilacs are in bloom For if the words were seperate, they would have to be understood independently of one another. I will exemplify this principle by making some additional assertion about my universe The lilacs are in bloom Something moves over something Something is the ground Something if rustling No matter how near together they are written, those assertions are nevertheless written on different parts of the board, and are disconnected. They are therefore asserted seperately.
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I have therefore asserted that the lilacs are in bloon in my universe, that there is a ground in my universe, that something moves over something in my universe, and that something rustles in my universe.
I want to free myself from the necessity of writing so often this long word "something". I therefore propose for adoption the provisional principle the A heavy dash shall stand for an indefinite individual existing object. I call this principle provisional, not because I do not mean to stick to it but because I mean to extend it. We can by virtue of this rule write The lilacs are in bloom -moves over -is the ground -rustles But now I wish to add two more assertions. Namely, I wish to assert that that
