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3。　I　am　outside　of　cause；　since　I　feel　myself　the　cause　of　every　phenomenon　of　my　life。
Reason　gives　expression　to　the　laws　of　necessity。　Consciousness　gives　expression　to　the　reality　of　free　will。
Freedom　unlimited　by　anything　is　the　essence　of　life　in　man’s　consciousness。　Necessity　without　content　is　man’s　reason　with　its　three　forms　of　thought。
Free　will　is　what　is　examined：　Necessity　is　what　examines。　Free　will　is　content：　Necessity　is　form。
It　is　only　by　the　analysis　of　the　two　sources　of　knowledge；　standing　to　one　another　in　the　relation　of　form　and　content；　that　the　mutually　exclusive；　and　separately　inconceivable　ideas　of　free　will　and　necessity　are　formed。
Only　by　their　synthesis　is　a　clear　conception　of　the　life　of　man　gained。
Outside　these　two　ideas—in　their　synthesis　mutually　definitive　as　form　and　content—no　conception　of　life　is　possible。
All　that　we　know　of　men’s　life　is　only　a　certain　relation　of　free　will　to　necessity；　that　is；　of　consciousness　to　the　laws　of　reason。
All　that　we　know　of　the　external　world　of　nature　is　only　a　certain　relation　of　the　forces　of　nature　to　necessity；　or　of　the　essence　of　life　to　the　laws　of　reason。
The　forces　of　the　life　of　nature　lie　outside　us；　and　not　subject　to　our　consciousness；　and　we　call　these　forces　gravity；　inertia；　electricity；　vital　force；　and　so　on。　But　the　force　of　the　life　of　man　is　the　subject　of　our　consciousness；　and　we　call　it　free　will。
But　just　as　the　force　of　gravitation—in　itself　incomprehensible；　though　felt　by　every　man—is　only　so　far　understood　by　us　as　we　know　the　laws　of　necessity　to　which　it　is　subject　（from　the　first　knowledge　that　all　bodies　are　heavy　down　to　Newton’s　law）；　so　too　the　force　of　free　will；　unthinkable　in　itself；　but　recognised　by　the　consciousness　of　every　man；　is　only　so　far　understood　as　we　know　the　laws　of　necessity　to　which　it　is　subject　（from　the　fact　that　every　man　dies　up　to　the　knowledge　of　the　most　complex　economic　or　historic　laws）。
All　knowledge　is　simply　bringing　the　essence　of　life　under　the　laws　of　reason。
Man’s　free　will　is　distinguished　from　every　other　force　by　the　fact　that　it　is　the　subject　of　man’s　consciousness。　But　in　the　eyes　of　reason　it　is　not　distinguished　from　any　other　force。
The　forces　of　gravitation；　of　electricity；　or　of　chemical　affinity；　are　only　distinguished　from　one　another　by　being　differently　defined　by　reason。　In　the　same　way　the　force　of　man’s　free　will　is　only　distinguished　by　reason　from　the　other　forces　of　nature　by　the　definition　given　it　by　reason。　Free　will　apart　from　necessity；　that　is；　apart　from　the　laws　of　reason　defining　it；　is　in　no　way　different　from　gravitation；　or　heat；　or　the　force　of　vegetation；　for　reason；　it　is　only　a　momentary；　indefinite　sensation　of　life。
And　as　the　undefined　essence　of　the　force　moving　the　heavenly　bodies；　the　undefined　essence　of　the　force　of　heat；　of　electricity；　or　of　chemical　affinity；　or　of　vital　force；　forms　the　subject　of　astronomy；　physics；　chemistry；　botany；　zoology；　and　so　on；　so　the　essence　of　the　force　of　free　will　forms　the　subject　matter　of　history。　But　even　as　the　subject　of　every　science　is　the　manifestation　of　that　unknown　essence　of　life；　yet　that　essence　itself　can　only　be　the　subject　of　metaphysics；　so　too　the　manifestation　of　the　force　of　free　will　in　space；　and　time；　and　dependence　on　cause；　forms　the　subject　of　history；　but　free　will　itself　is　the　subject　of　metaphysics。
In　the　experimental　sciences；　what　is　known　to　us　we　call　the　laws　of　necessity；　what　is　unknown　to　us　we　call　vital　force。　Vital　force　is　simply　an　expression　for　what　remains　unexplained　by　what　we　know　of　the　essence　of　life。　So　in　history　what　is　known　to　us　we　call　the　laws　of　necessity；　what　is　unknown；　we　call　free　will。　Free　will　is　for　history　simply　an　expression　for　what　remains　unexplained　by　the　laws　of　men’s　life　that　we　know。


Chapter　11
HISTORY　examines　the　manifestations　of　man’s　free　will　in　connection　with　the　external　world　in　time　and　in　dependence　on　cause；　that　is；　defines　that　freedom　by　the　laws　of　reason；　and　so　history　is　only　a　science　in　so　far　as　that　freedom　is　defined　by　those　laws。
To　history　the　recognition　of　the　free　wills　of　men　as　forces　able　to　influence　historical　events；　that　is；　not　subject　to　laws；　is　the　same　as　would　be　to　astronomy　the　recognition　of　free　will　in　the　movements　of　the　heavenly　bodies。
This　recognition　destroys　the　possibility　of　the　existence　of　laws；　that　is；　of　any　science　whatever。　If　there　is　so　much　as　one　body　moving　at　its　free　will；　the　laws　of　Kepler　and　of　Newton　are　annulled；　and　every　conception　of　the　movement　of　the　heavenly　bodies　is　destroyed。　If　there　is　a　single　human　action　due　to　free　will；　no　historical　law　exists；　and　no　conception　of　historical　events　can　be　formed。
For　history　there　exist　lines　of　movement　of　human　wills；　one　extremity　of　which　vanishes　in　the　unknowable；　and　at　the　other　extremity　of　which　in　space；　in　time；　and　in　dependence　on　cause；　there　moves　men’s　consciousness　of　free　will　in　the　present。
The　more　this　curve　of　movement　is　analysed　before　our　eyes；　the　clearer　are　the　laws　of　its　movement。　To　discover　and　define　those　laws　is　the　problem　of　history。
From　the　point　of　view　from　which　the　science　of　history　now　approaches　its　subject；　by　the　method　it　now　follows；　seeking　the　causes　of　phenomena　in　the　free　will　of　men；　the　expression　of　laws　by　science　is　impossible；　since　however　we　limit　the　free　will　of　men；　so　long　as　we　recognise　it　as　a　force　not　subject　to　law；　the　existence　of　law　becomes　impossible。
Only　limiting　this　element　of　free　will　to　infinity；　that　is；　regarding　it　as　an　infinitesimal　minimum；　we　are　convinced　of　the　complete　unattainability　of　causes；　and　then；　instead　of　seeking　causes；　history　sees　before　itself　the　task　of　seeking　laws。
The　seeking　of　those　laws　has　been　begun　long　ago；　and　the　new　lines　of　thought　which　history　must　adopt　are　being　worked　out　simultaneously　with　the　self…destruction　towards　which　the　old…fashioned　history　is　going；　forever　dissecting　and　dissecting　the　causes　of　phenomena。
All　human　sciences　have　followed　the　same　course。　Reaching　infinitesimals；　mathematics；　the　most　exact　of　the　sciences；　leaves　the　process　of　analysis　and　enters　on　a　new　process　of　approximating　to　summing　up　the　unknown　infinitesimals。　Forsaking　the　conception　of　cause；　mathematics　seeks　law；　that　is；　properties　common　to　all　unknown；　infinitesimal　quantities。
The　other　sciences；　too；　have　followed　the　same　course；　though　under　another　form。　When　Newton　formulated　the　law　of　gravity；　he　did　not　say　that　the　sun　or　the　earth　has　the　property　of　attraction。　He　said　that　all　bodies—from　the　greatest　to　the　smallest—have　the　property　of　attracting　one　another；　that　is；　leaving　on　one　side　the　question　of　the　cause　of　the　movements　of　bodies；　he　expressed　the　property　common　to　all　bodies；　from　the　infinitely　great　to　the　infinitely　small。　The　natural　sciences　do　the　same　thing；　leaving　on　one　side　the　question　of　cause；　they　seek　for　laws。　History；　too；　is　entered　on　the　same　course。　And　if　the　subject　of　history　is　to　be　the　study　of　the　movements　of　peoples　and　of　humanity；　and　not　episodes　from　the　lives　of　individual　men；　it　too　is　bound　to　lay　aside　the　idea　of　cause；　and　to　seek　the　laws　common　to　all　the　equal　and　inseparably　interconnected；　infinitesimal　elements　of　free　will。


Chapter　12
EVER　SINCE　the　law　of　Copernicus　was　discovered　and　proved；　the　mere　recognition　that　not　the　sun；　but　the　earth　moves；　has　destroyed　the　whole　cosmography　of　the　ancients。　By　disproving　the　law；　it　might　have　been　possible　to　retain　the　old　conception　of　the　movements　of　the　heavenly　bodies；　but　without　disproving　it；　it　would　seem　to　be　impossible　to　continue　studying　the　Ptolemaic　worlds。　But　as　a　fact　even　after　the　discovery　of　the　law　of　Copernicus；　the　Ptolemaic　worlds　long　continued　to　be　a　subject　of　study。
Ever　since　the　first　person　said　and　proved　that　the　number　of　births　or　crimes　is　subject　to　mathematical　laws；　that　certain　geographical　and　politico…economical　laws　determine　this　or　that　form　of　government；　that　certain　relations　of　the　population　to　the　soil　lead　to　migrations　of　peoples—from　that　moment　the　foundations　on　which　history　was　built　were　destroyed　in　their　essence。
By　disproving　those　new　laws；　the　old　view　of　history　might　have　been　retained。　But　without　disproving　them；　it　would　seem　impossible　to　continue　studying　historical　events；　merely　as　the　arbitrary　product　of　the　free　will　of　individual　men。　For　if　a　certain　type　of　government　is　established；　or　a　certain　movement　of　peoples　takes　place　in　consequence　of　certain　geographical；　ethnographical；　or　economic　conditions；　the　free　will　of　those　persons　who　are　described　to　us　as　setting　up　that　type　of　government　or　leading　that　movement　cannot　be　regarded　as　the　cause。
And　yet　history　goes　on　being　studied　as　of　old；　side　by　side　with　laws　of　statistics；　of　geography；　of　political　economy；　of　comparative　philology　and　geology；　that　flatly　contradict　its　assumptions。
The　struggle　between　the　new　views　and　the　old　was　long　and　stubborn　in　physical　philosophy。　Theology　stood　on　guard　over　the　old　view；　and　accused　the　new