"Common sense," he says, "is the art of resolving questions, not the art
of posing them.

"When taking the initiative it is rarely on trial.

"But the moment it is a case of applying practically that which
ingenuity, science or genius have invented, it intervenes in the happiest
and most decisive manner.

"Common sense is the principle element of discernment.

"Therefore, without this quality, it is impossible to judge either of the
proposition or the importance of the subject.

"It is only with the aid of common sense that it is possible to
distinguish the exact nature of the proposition, submitted for a just
appreciation, and to render a solution of it which conforms to perfect
accuracy of interpretation.

"The last point is essential and has its judicial function in all the
circumstances of life. Without accuracy, common sense can not be
satisfactorily developed, because it finds itself continually shocked by
incoherency, resulting from a lack of exactness in the expression of
opinions."

If we wish to know what the principal qualities are which form common
sense, we shall turn over a few pages and we shall read:

"Common sense is the synthesis of many sentiments, all of which converge
in forming it.