c to the deaf. It is because we have had experience
of it in our own breasts that we recognize and respond to the
descriptions which others give of it. Every one knows what it is to be
_certain_ in regard to many things, just because, constituted as he is,
he cannot doubt or disbelieve them. He is _certain_ of his own
existence, of the existence of other men, of the facts of his familiar
consciousness, of many events long since past which are still clearly
remembered, of certain abstract truths which are intuitively discerned
or logically demonstrated. These various objects of his thought may
differ in other respects, and may occasion a corresponding difference in
the _kind_ of Certitude which is conceived to belong to them; but they
all possess the same generic character, and admit, therefore, of being
classified under the same comprehensive category, as objects of our
_certain_ knowledge.

In the current use both of philosophical and popular language, Certitude
is spoken of in a twofold sense. We speak of a belief or conviction of
our own minds as possessing the character of Certitude, when it is so
strong, and so firmly rooted that it excludes all doubt or
hesitation;--we speak also of an object or event as possessing the same
character, when it is so presented to our minds as to produce the full
assurance of its reality. Hence the distinction between _subjective_ and
_objective_ Certitude. The former is a fact of consciousness; it is
simply the undoubting assent which we yield to certain judgments,
whether these judgments be true or false; it exists in us, and not in
the objects of thought; it denotes a condition of our minds, which may,
or may not, be in accordance with the actual state of things. The latter
is truth or certainty considered _objectively_, as existing in the
objects of our knowledge; it is independent of us and of our
conceptions; it is _as_ it is, whether it be known or unknown to us; our
belief cannot add to its reality, nor can our unbelief diminish or
destroy it. Certitude, considered as a mental state, denotes simply the
strength of our conviction or belief, as distinguished from doubt or
mere opinion; but, considered as an objective reality, it denotes the
ground or reason existing in the nature of things for the convictions
which we cherish. _Subjective certitude_ is not always the index or the
proof of _objective truth_, for men often believe with the strongest
assurance what they find reaso