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inhabitants of Boston. Were the city to be devastated
and not one inhabitant left, still, as long as
it remained Boston, the ‘sam,
or sum total, of the inhabitants of Boston’ would have
a being, although it would under
those circumstances have ceased to exist.
It would continue to be, since the description
would retain its meaning. The essence of
the sam would remain, although its existence
had departed. But as for the gath, since
it has no other being than existence, and its
existence consists in the existence of its
members; and since under those circumstances
no members would exist, the gath
would altogether cease to be. It is important to