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THE STORY OF A WORKING HTPOTHESIS Israël than for anybody else; and that wandering off into irregular un-rhythmic freaks is more bad for the people of Israël than for anybody else.

This, again, you will observe, is purely imaginary hypothesis. I had not the faintest warrant for saying anything of the kind; therefore I did not say it; but I experimented at treating my Hebrew friends and acquaintance as if they were natural born ministers, or servants, of the principle of rhythmic beat; as if it was their business to introduce respect for rhythm and an orderly arrangement of time into the general morals of the world; and as if they would, of course, become degraded more than other people, if they allowed themselves to drift into being irregular and disorderly. Now you will observe that, though all this was purely imaginary hypothesis, it was of a harmless kind; there is nothing contrary to the ten commandments, or to any other register of safe rules, in treating one's Hebrew acquaintance as if one expected them to be more orderly as to time than other people.

The registered rules allowed me to consider this 59