when we come to construct those of ethics. In the Grundlegung, p. 81 (R., p. 67), the following sentence occurs: “The principle of always acting in accordance with that precept which you can also wish were universally established as law — this is the only condition under which a man's will can never be in antagonism with itself.” From what has been said above, it will be apparent that the true meaning of the word “antagonism” may be thus explained: if a man should sanction the precept of injustice and hard-heartedness, he would subsequently, in the event of his playing a passive part, recall it, and so his will would contradict itself.

From this analysis it is abundantly clear that Kant's famous leading principle is not — as he maintains with tireless repetition — a