[Vocabulary] which had become clear to himself

[jacob123]

Does "become clear to himself" mean "become known to the author"?

If for a moment the author may strike a personal note he would say that, while his own loss had no effect upon his views, the sight of a world which was distraught with sorrow, and which was eagerly asking for help and knowledge, did certainly affect his mind and cause him to understand that these psychic studies, which he had so long pursued, were of immense practical importance and could no longer be regarded as a mere intellectual hobby or fascinating pursuit of a novel research. Evidence of the presence of the dead appeared in his own household, and the relief afforded by posthumous messages taught him how great a solace it would be to a tortured world if it could share in the knowledge which had become clear to himself.

"The History of Spiritualism," by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes. These days, the use of the reflexive pronoun there is considered incorrect. We would use "him".

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

One trick that often works is to ask whether the person has already been mentioned in the sentence. If not, the reflexive pronoun is probably wrong.

So these are correct:

- He did it himself.

- I don't mind trying that myself!

- To see if it would work, they tried it themselves.

- Fay refuses to go there by herself.

- Chad tasted it himself before serving it to anyone else.​

And these are wrong:

- Ed and myself went to the movie.

- It was himself who started the rumor.

- They blame herself for the damage.​