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# Title: An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding (shelfmarks Leibn. Marg. 38; ZEN Leibn. Marg. 38)
# Folio 13, page id 778263916:0029
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No innate Principles in asc in
sent, can it rationally be suppolec, thes can beisnorant oF thole NOtions
that Nature has imprinced, ivere chere any such. Can it beimasind.
ichi any appearance oF RcalOn, That thes perceire the Impressions trom
thines erithout; and be at thie lame time isnorant ot those Characters,
irhrich Nature it selE has takcen care to stamprithin: Can ther receire and
allene to adventitious Notions, and beisnoranit ot Fhole, Which are sipi
Dosed roven into thevery Principles of cheir Beins, and imprinced there
in incelible Characters, to be thie Foundation, and Guide of aIl their aC=
quired Rnoledoe, and future Realoninss: This rould be, to matioNa-
ture tale Pains eo no Purpole; Or, at lcast, to vrice very ill; Since its
Charasters could noc be read by those Fyes, Wtich law ocher thines verr
vell; and thole are very ill suppoled the clearest parts of Truth, aud the
Foundations of all our Rnorrledse, erhichare noc tirst lenon, and ich-
out Wrhich, the undoubred Rnomledse oE several other thinss mar behad.
The Child cerrainy KnOrrS, that thie Nurse that Eceds it, is neither che
Car ic plars rich, nor the Blackemoor it is atraid OF; That theWormseed
Or Mastard IE reTuseS, iS HOE te Ipple Or Sucar it cries FOr: Ehis it is Cer
tainlz and undoubredlr assured oF: Bur Will any one lay, it is by Vircue ol
ehiserinciple, That it is impossible for the same thing to be, and not to be-
chat it so tirmly alsenes to chele, and ocher parts ol its Rnomledge: Or
chat the Child has any Norion or Apprehention oF chac Proposirion at an
Age, Wrherein vet ris plain, it lnoirs a great mans other Pruths: FTC
that Wrill Pay Children join chose oeneral abstract Speculatioris with their
suelrino Borcles, and their Rateles, naz, perhraps, ith Sultice be chouoRe
to have more Pastion and Zeal For his Opinion; but less Sincerity and
Truct, chanone oF THaL ABC.
5. 26. Thoush theretore there De several general Propositions, that
meet ith constant and ready alsent, as soon as propoled to Men GrOrrn
up, irho have actained the use ot more general and abstract Ideas, and
Names Standins For them: yet they not beins to be sound in thole oF ten-
der Vears, Wrho nevercheless hnow other things, ther cannot pretend to
universal altent of intelligent Perlons, and (o by no means can bc luppo-
sed innate: Ie beins impossible, that ans Truth which is innate (il ehere
avere any such) Mould be unknown, at least to ans one, vrtro lnoirs any
thins elle. Since, il they are innate Pruchs, cher mustbe innatethousts:
there beino nothino a Fruth in the Mind, chac iE has never thougHE On
hereby ic is crident, il there De ans innate Truths, thez must necessarili
be the first of any thourhe on; the Firt Fhat appear FherO.
5. 27. That the general Maxims, We are dilcoursins ot, are nor bnown
Eo Children Ldeots, and a great part ofMankind, re hrave already suf
cienely provec: Whereby it is evident, ther have not an univertal alsent,
nOr are general EmPresTIOnS. But there is this Parcher Argument in it a
sainsttheir beins innate: Phat thele Characters, il thes vere native and
Original Imprections, sould appear fairest and clear est in those Persons
in erhoin ver re And nO FOOE. SepS OF them: And tis, in my Opinion, a
Arono Presumption, tliat they are not innate; lince thes are leolERnOII
to Eliole, in rhiom, ilther rere innate, they mulcnceds exere themselves
rith MOSE FOrCO and VicOUT. FOr Children, Ldeots, Savaces. and illite-
rare Pcople, beins of all ochers the least corrupted by Custom, or Bor.
rored Opinions; Lcarnins, and Fducation, havins not cast their native
thouslus into ne Moulds; nor by super inducins foreion and Atudied
Doctrines, contounded those Pair Characters Nature had Wrirten there; OnC
mighe realonably imagine, Thac in their Minds chele innate Worions
Mould lic open tairty to erery onesvier, as ris cerrain thethoustus ot
Childrem