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# Title: An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding (shelfmarks Leibn. Marg. 38; ZEN Leibn. Marg. 38)
# Folio 11, page id 778263916:0027
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Wo innate Prin
iples in the
and understandine their Terms; ris fit we first talse notico, Thac this, in
Read oF beine a marte thacther are innate, is a prooof the contrarr:
Since it suippoles, that sereral, r ho underctand and bnor ocher thins5, arc
ignorant oi these Principles, till they are propos deothem; and thatone
mas be unacquainted with chese Truths, till he herrs them Trom orhers.
For it chey Were innate, Whatnced thes be vroposd, in order to sainine
allent; Wrhen, by beins in the Underctandins, by a natural and oris inal
Imprestion (il there ere any luchi) ther could nocbut be lnomn betore:
Or, doch thepropolins them, prinethem elearer intheMlind than Naturo
did: IFso, chen the Consequence will be, Fhac a Ban lenows cheni bet
cer, alter he nas been ehus taushe them, than he did belore. Whenco it
Will Tollor, Fhat chese Principles may be made more crident to us by
othees teachine, chan Nature has made them by imprecsion: Which will
illagree rich ehe Opinion ol innate Principles, and sire but licile Authori-
Ey co Them; buc on the contrary, malses themunsit to be the tounctations
oF all our ocher Rnowlodoe, as they are prerended tobe. This cannotbe
deny d, that Nen sroir trst aequainted with mans ol these sel( evi-
dent Fruths, uxoncheir beins propoled: But itis clear, that Wholoever
does 10, tinds in himselE, That he then besins eo lnor a Propolition.
erhichhe lner not betore; and ihrich from thencetorth he never quelti-
OnS: not because it as imnate; buc, because the consideration Oi the Na-
ture ot thie thinos contained in chose Words, vould nor lulter him toThink
Oclierise, hor, or whensoerer he is brouste to restect on chem.
5. 22. IE it be laid, The Vnderstandins hach an implicit Rnowledee ot
these Principles, but not an explicit, betore this tirst hearins, (asthes muct.
Wrhoill Cay, Thatchey are in the Onderstandins belore chey are KnoWn)
it ill be hard to conceire what is meant by a Principle imprinted on the
understandine Implicitls; untels it be this, That themtind is capable of
understandine and assentins tirmly to such Propolitions. And thus alIMa-
thematical Demonstrations, as wellas rst Principles, mult be receiredas
native Impressions on the Mind: Wrhich, I sear they Will scarce allor them
to be, ulio tind it harder to demonstrate a Proposition, than alsene to il
erhen demonstrated: And Teur Mathematicians will beforward to beliere.
That all che Diaorams they have drarrn, ivere Due Copies olthole innate
Characters, which Nacure had ingraven uxon their MindS.
5. 23. Fhere is Ifear this farthermealnelsin che foresoins Arsument, rhucl
Would perlirade us, Thac therelore chose Maxims are ro be chouslit inmate,
erhich Men admit at first hearins, because thes aenE LO PFOPOSITIONS,
Wrhichther are nor tauslit, nor do receire trom the torce ol any Argu-
ment or Demonstration, but a bare Explication or Inderstandins of the
Ferms. Onder Which, there scems to me to lic this Callacy; That Men
are suppoled nottobe taucht, nor to learn ony chins de novo; wlen in
cruch, ches are taustic and do learn somethins they ere ignorant ol be
fore. For tirk it is evident, ther have learned the Terms andcheir Sis-
nitication: neither of erhichi vas born with them. Buc this is noc aII
che acquired Anomledocin che caso: The Idea s chemselres, about which
the Propolition is, are not born rith them, no more than their NaES,
but sor alterrards. S0, that in all Provoliions that are assented to, at
First hearins the Terms oF che Propolition, their Standins tor luch Ideas.
and the sdeas chemselres chat thes Rand for, beins neither ot them in-
nate, L ould fain lnom What there is remainins in such Propolitionsthat
is innate. For Prould slacy have any one name thar Proposition, irhole
Termsor Ideas vere cither of them innate. We by deorees Sec Ideas
aud NamES, ad lcarM Cheis apPrOPialea connedlion one Wich anothet
anC