sense, in
order to cover up the weakest point of his idealistic system. He
explains it, however, frankly, clearly, and unambiguously: "The
Concept or Notion (_Begriff_) may be always called 'abstract,' if the
term 'concrete' must be limited to the mere concrete of sensation and
immediate perception; the Notion as such cannot be grasped by the
hands, and, when we deal with it, eyes and ears are out of the
question. Yet, as was said before, the Notion is the only true
concrete." (_Encyklopaedie, Werke_, VI. 316.) Again: "Just as little is
the sensuous-concrete of Intuition a rational-concrete of the Idea."
(_Ibid., Werke_, VI. 404.) A score of similar passages can easily be
cited. That is to say, Hegel avowedly excludes from his _idealistic_
theory of universals the "concrete" of sensation, perception,
intuition, or _real experience_, and admits into it only the
"concrete" of _pure or non-empirical thought_; while I avowedly
exclude from my _realistic_ theory of universals the "concrete" of
_pure thought_, and admit into it only the "concrete" of _real
experience_. Hegel's "concrete" cannot be seen, heard, or touched;
while to me nothing which cannot be seen, heard, or touched is
"concrete" at all. A mere common school education is quite sufficient
for comprehension of the contradictoriness of these two uses of the
word. Yet, in order to found a malicious charge of plagiarism, Dr.
Royce has the hardihood to assure the uninformed general public that
Hegel and I use the word "concrete" in one and the same sense!

(2) The assertion that I have lived all my life in a Hegelian
"atmosphere" I can only meet with a short, sharp, and indignant
denial. I know of no such "atmosphere" in all America; if it anywhere
exists, I certainly never lived, moved, or worked in it. The statement
is a gratuitous, impertinent, and _totally false allegation of fact_,
wholly outside of my book and its contents, and is used in this
connection solely to feather an arrow shot at my reputation; it is a
pure invention, a manufactured assertion which is absolutely without
foundation, and, when thus artfully thrown out with apparent
artlessness (_ars celare artem_) as itself foundation for a false and
malicious charge of plagiarism, it becomes fabrication of evidence for
the purpose of defamation. The less said about such an offence as
that, the better for Dr. Royce, and I spare him the comment it
deserves.

Now, while it might be "fair criticism" _to