Everything must be studied from the point of view of itself, as near as
we can get to this, and from the point of view of its relations, as near
as we can get to them. If we try to see it absolutely in itself,
unalloyed with relations, we shall find, by and by, that we have, as it
were, whittled it away. If we try to see it in its relations to the
bitter end, we shall find that there is no corner of the universe into
which it does not enter. Either way the thing eludes us if we try to
grasp it with the horny hands of language and conscious thought. Either
way we can think it perfectly well—so long as we don’t think about
thinking about it. The pale cast of thought sicklies over everything.
Practically everything should be seen as itself pure and simple, so far
as we can comfortably see it, and at the same time as not itself, so far
as we can comfortably see it, and then the two views should be combined,
so far as we can comfortably combine them. If we cannot comfortably
combine them, we should think of something else.