rb "to shine" is the sign for the
feeling of brightness, and the mark of predication lies in the form
"shine-_s_."

Another result is brought about by the forms of verbs. By slight
modifications they are made to indicate that a belief, or predication,
is a memory, or is an expectation. Thus "silver _shone_" expresses a
memory; "silver _will_ shine" an expectation.

The form of words which expresses a predication is a proposition.
Hence, every predication is the verbal equivalent of a belief; and, as
every belief is either an immediate consciousness, a memory, or an
expectation, and as every expectation is traceable to a memory, it
follows that, in the long run, all propositions express either immediate
states of consciousness, or memories. The proposition which predicates A
of X must mean either, that the fact is testified by my present
consciousness, as when I say that two colours, visible at this moment,
resemble one another; or that A is indissolubly associated with X in
memory; or that A is indissolubly associated with X in expectation. But
it has already been shown that expectation is only an expression of
memory.

Hume does not discuss the nature of language, but so much of what
remains to be said, concerning his philosophical tenets, turns upon the
value and the origin of verbal propositions, that this summary sketch of
the relations of language to the thinking process will probably not be
deemed superfluous.

So large an extent of the field of thought is traversed by Hume, in his
discussion of the verbal propositions in which mankind enshrine their
beliefs, that it would be impossible to follow him throughout all the
windings of his long journey, within the limits of this essay. I
purpose, therefore, to limit myself to those propositions which
concern--1. Necessary Truths; 2. The Order of Nature; 3. The Soul; 4.
Theism; 5. The Passions and Volition; 6. The Principle of Morals.

Hume's views respecting necessary truths, and more particularly
concerning causation, have, more than any other part of his teaching,
contributed to give him a prominent place in the history of philosophy.

"All the objects of human reason and inquiry may naturally be
divided into two kinds, to wit, _relations of ideas_ and _matters
of fact_. Of the first kind are the sciences of geometry, algebra,
and arithmetic, and, in short, every affirmation which is either
intuitively or demonstratively certain. _Th