F. H. Bradley Quote

We may agree, perhaps, to understand by Metaphysics an attempt to know reality as against mere appearance, or the study of first principles or ultimate truths, or again the effort to comprehend the universe, not simply piecemeal or by fragments, but somehow as a whole.

Appearance and Reality: A Metaphysical Essay (2nd edition), Introduction (p. 1), Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 1908