[27] This word has been used by English writers in various ways—generally as a synonym for _universe_. Of late, however, there has perhaps been a slight tendency to differentiate it by making it mean the universe _as seen and felt by a particular individual or body of individuals_—‘the cosmos of our experience.’ This distinction appears to be a fruitful one and will be adopted here. As the words are used in this book, therefore, we should say that there is only one _universe_, but as many _cosmoses_ as there are individuals. In this way the word _cosmos_ becomes a sort of tool with which we can detach, and objectify for the purpose of inspection, the purely subjective _consciousness_ or _outlook_ (see pp. 72 and 73, notes). [28] See p. 8. [29] It is curious how many of these would-be precise terms have since reversed their meanings. For the adjective derived from _subject_ see p. 159; _virtual_, which was once allied with _potential_ as the opposite of _actual_, is now practically a synonym for the latter term; and the Greek word from which _instance_ is taken was originally an objection to an argument, not an example of it. [30] The striking exception is the fifth-century philosopher, Democritus, who definitely foreshadowed the Atomic Theory and, in fact, gave to the word _atom_ its modern meaning. With his exclusively _quantitative_ explanation of all phenomena, he was far more “scientific,” in the now accepted sense of the word than Aristotle. [31] Matchless. [32] Chose. [33] Forgave. [34] Stands. [35] Birds. [36] More direct products of the Crusades may be found in our language in the words _azure_, _cotton_, _orange_, _saffron_, _scarlet_, _sugar_ and _damask_ (from the town of Damascus), all of which come to us either from Arabic or, through Arabic, from some Oriental language. _Miscreant_ (misbeliever) was applied to the Mohammedans by the French Crusaders. _Assassin_ (hashish-eaters) was used by the Christians to describe the secret murderers sent out by the Old Man of the Mountains against their leaders, because they used to intoxicate themselves with hashish before the interview. _Hazard_—originally a game played with dice—has been traced to Asart, the name of a castle in Palestine, during the siege of which it is said to have been invented; and _termagant_ was first used in medieval romances as the name of one of the idols which the Saracens were supposed to worship. [37] In many cases, such as “the _premises_,” _predicament_, _non-entity_, ... these austere old words have acquired colloquial meanings a long way removed from the exact philosophical thoughts which they were originally coined to express. [38] Hence _animal spirits_. It is interesting to observe how this word, and the phrase, practically reversed their meanings in the seventeenth century.