Epigrammes (1894)

Can I take a fact and reduce it to its very root? That fact has a meaning and has been passed from person to person, and, maybe, generation to generation. That fact could have been twisted to include meanings as we wish them to be, or not be. Or could I take a fact for which mankind has not yet found an answer, and return this fact to its original simple state? Can I take this fact, no matter how it should affect me in my belief or my desire to believe or disbelieve because of individual gains financially, or for any other reason, and put it in a reasonable presentation? There seems to be no sensible way of finding out, but to try, and try I shall. I wish to start with the facts that at this time have no definite answers. It is necessary that the reader understand that I am not a specialist in any field of knowledge. I am a graduate of the aSchool of Hard Knocks.a It is true that I know a lot about nothing, but nothing about a lot.