Mathematical philosophy, a study of fate and freedom; lectures for educated laymen, by Cassius J. Keyser.

TRUTH AND THE CRITIC'S ART 139
mous. A doctrine is the off-spring of a marriage-the
marriage of subject-matter and pure form; the latter is
the mother and transmits its own autonomy to all its children. If the doctrine be true, we may call it an autonomous truth,-the most beautiful and most precious thing
in the world,-for it has the doctrinal function's beauty
of form; it has the beauty of truth; and is, besides, tinged
with the warmth and living colors of some species of
subject-matter in which our practical life is immersed and
finds its interests and its sustenance; if, on the other hand,
the doctrine be untrue, then it is not a falsehood merely,
but is an autonomous falsehood; this is indeed not a
precious thing, it is the very opposite; and yet, strange
to say,-for so pervasive is beauty in our world,-an
autonomous falsehood, despite its having the ugliness of
intruth, has all the beauty of perfect form-the form
of the doctrinal function whence it was derived.
An autonomous falsehood's perfection of form is
both a great advantage, and a minor disadvantage, in
the quest of truth, for it makes it in one respect much
easier, and in one respect somewhat harder, to detect the
falsity. It makes it easier, for, as you know, an autonomous doctrine consists of a set of propositions [p], derived from the doctrinal -function's postulates, and a set
[p'], derived from the function's theorems; and hence
two ways,-a direct way and an indirect way,-are open
in which to try whether the postulates are satisfied: the
direct way, by comparing the known facts in the field of
the doctrine's subject-matter with [p]; the indirect way,
by comparing them with [p']. It makes it harder, for
formal perfection is in itself a thing so impressive, so
fascinating, so pleasing, that it tends to camouflage a defect of content and thus to deceive by a kind of agreeable