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# Title: An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding (shelfmarks Leibn. Marg. 38; ZEN Leibn. Marg. 38)
# Folio 92, page id 778263916:0108
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Duration, and its simple Modes.
5. 30. FTence We lec, that some Nen imagine the Duration of the W orid
trom its Arst existence, to this present rear 1689. to havebcen 5639Y CarS,
Or equal to 5639 annual Rerolutions ot the sun, and others a great deal
more; 25 the Ferptians oF old, Who in thetime ot alexander counted
23300Years, From cheReion of the Sun; and the Chineses no, who
account the Norid 3, 259,000 Tears old, or more; Which loneer dura-
tion of the Worid, accordins to their Computation, thouoh IMould
not beliere to be true, vet P can equalse imagine it with them, and as tru-
Iy understand, and lay one is longer chan the ocher, a5 Punderstand that
Methusalem Slite waslonger than FnochS: And il the common reckonins
OF 5639 Thould betrue, (as it maz be, as ell as any other altioned,) ithrin-
dersnot acall my imagimino whatochers mean, wrhenther malietheWorid
a 1000 rears older, since everr one mas with the same FPacility imagine
(1I do not lay beliere) the Worid to bc 50000 vears olc, 255639; and
may a5 W’ell conceive thie duration oF 5000OYCarS, 25 5639. Whereby
it appears, that to the measurine the duration of any thine by Time, it is
not requisite, thac that thing Mould Be co. existent to the Motion e mea.
sure br, or any other periodical Revolution; Dut it suffices to this purpole,
that ve have the Ideaof the leneth of any regular periodicat appearances,
wrtich ve can in our Ninds apply to Duration, with which the Morion
Or Appearance never co. existed.
3F. For as in the Fistory oF the Creation delivered Dy Moses, I can
imaxine that Lighe existed three dars betore the Sun ras, or had any mo-
tion, barely by thinkring, that che duration oF Lighe betore the sun as
created, was (0 lono as (iftho Sun hrad movedttien, as it dochnon,) vould
have been equal to chree ol his diurnal Revolutions; (0 by the same way
Pcan hare an Idea oFthe Chaos, Or Ansels, beins creared betore there ras
cither Lighr, or anz continued motion, a Minure, an TTOur, a DaY, 2 YCaF,
Ox TOOO XCarS. FOr it P ean but consider Duration equal to one Minute,
belore cither the Being or Motion of any Body, Pcan add one more Mi
nute till PCome t0 60. a And by the same ray ol addins Minutes, ITOuIS,
Or Vears, (1. c. Tuch or such parts of the suns revolution, or anr other pe-
riod whereotP havethe Idea,) procced in infinitum, a And suppole a du-
ration exceedinq as mans such periods as l can reckon, let me add whilst
P NilI, Wrhich Pthink isthe notion e have ol Pternier, ofwhose intinier
re hrave no ocher notion, than wehave oftheintinier of Number, to ntrich
re can add for ever Without end.
6. 32. And chus Fthink ic is plain, that from thosetro Fountains oF aII
Rnomledse belorementioned, (2i2.) Reflection and Sensation, me cet the
Ideas of Duration, and the meatures ot it.
For First, By observing erhatpasses in our Minds, hon our Ideas there in
train constants lomeranis, and others besin ro appear, we come by the
Idea OF Succession.
Secondly, By observine a distance in the parrs ofthis Succestion, eget
the Idea OF Duration.
Thiraly, By Senlation obterrine certain appearances, at certain regular
and cemine equidictant periods, re set the ideas ot certain Lenoths or
Measures of Duration, as Minutes, FTOurS, DayS, PCarS, (5c.
Fourthly, Bybeins able ro repeat thole Measures oF Lime, Or Ideas of
Aated lenorh of Duration in our Minds, as oten as wewill, e can come
to imaxine Duration, vhere nothine does really endure or exist; and thus
We imasine tomorrow, nextrcar, or seren rears hence.
BOc
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