Этюд в багровых тонах
The Conclusion.
“Ihavealreadyexplainedtoyouthatwhatisoutofthecommonisusuallyaguideratherthanahindrance. Insolvingaproblemofthissort,thegrandthingistobeabletoreasonbackwards. Thatisaveryusefulaccomplishment,andaveryeasyone,butpeopledonotpractiseitmuch. Intheevery-dayaffairsoflifeitismoreusefultoreasonforwards,andsotheothercomestobeneglected. Therearefiftywhocanreasonsyntheticallyforonewhocanreasonanalytically.”
“Iconfess,”saidI,“thatIdonotquitefollowyou.”
“Ihardlyexpectedthatyouwould. LetmeseeifIcanmakeitclearer. Mostpeople,ifyoudescribeatrainofeventstothem,willtellyouwhattheresultwouldbe. Theycanputthoseeventstogetherintheirminds,andarguefromthemthatsomethingwillcometopass. Therearefewpeople,however,who,ifyoutoldthemaresult,wouldbeabletoevolvefromtheirowninnerconsciousnesswhatthestepswerewhichleduptothatresult. ThispoweriswhatImeanwhenItalkofreasoningbackwards,oranalytically.”
“Iunderstand,”saidI.
“Nowthiswasacaseinwhichyouweregiventheresultandhadtofindeverythingelseforyourself. Nowletmeendeavourtoshowyouthedifferentstepsinmyreasoning. Tobeginatthebeginning. Iapproachedthehouse,asyouknow,onfoot,andwithmymindentirelyfreefromallimpressions.
