Now what would you make of such a Proposition as "The Cake you have
given me is nice"? Is it Particular or Universal?


"Particular, of course," you readily reply. "One single Cake is
hardly worth calling 'some,' even."


No, my dear impulsive Reader, it is 'Universal'. Remember that,
few as they are (and I grant you they couldn't well be fewer),
they are (or rather 'it is') ALL that you have given me! Thus, if
(leaving 'red' out of the question) I divide my Universe of Cakes
into two classes--the Cakes you have given me (to which I assign
the upper half of the cupboard), and those you HAVEN'T given me
(which are to go below)--I find the lower half fairly full, and the
upper one as nearly as possible empty. And then, when I am told
to put an upright division into each half, keeping the NICE Cakes
to the left, and the NOT-NICE ones to the right, I begin by carefully
collecting ALL the Cakes you have given me (saying to myself, from
time to time, "Generous creature! How shall I ever repay such
kindness?"), and piling them up in the left-hand compartment. AND
IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG TO DO IT!

Here is another Universal Proposition for you. "Barzillai Beckalegg
is an honest man." That means "ALL the Barzillai Beckaleggs, that
I am now considering, are honest men." (You think I invented that
name, now don't you? But I didn't. It's on a carrier's cart,
somewhere down in Cornwall.)