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# Title: An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding (shelfmarks Leibn. Marg. 38; ZEN Leibn. Marg. 38)
# Folio 164, page id 778263916:0180
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Distinct and Confused lubas.
or else a ealness inthe pemory, not able co retain them as receivec
For to return again to visible Objects, eo help us to apprehend this mat.
ter. IFthe Organs, or Faculties oF Perception, like Wax over- hardned wirh
Cold, Wrill noc receive the Imprection of ihe Scal, trom the ulual impulle
ont to imprint it; or, lile Wax of a cempertoo solr, will not holdit vell,
Wrtren Well imprinted; or esse suppoling the Wax oF a temper Ac, buethe
Seal not applied ich a sufficient force, to make a clear imprestion: In
any ofthele cales, the print lest by the Scal, will be obscure. This Tsux.
Pole, nceds no application to matce it plainer.
6. 4. A5 a Clear Idea is that Whereot the Mind has a FuIl and evident
perception, (0 a distinct Idea is thar Wherein the Mind perceires a disse-
rence trom all otter; and a confused Idea is such an onc, 25 IS nOL SUF.
sicienty distinguistable trom another, trom wrhich it oughe to be dif.
ferent.
8. 5. IE n0 Idea be consused, but such as is nor sufficiently distinouistr.
able trom avother, trom wrhich it Mould De ditterent, it will be hard, may
any onc lar, to tind anznrhere a contuled Idea. For let any idea De as
it will, it con be no ottier buc such as che Mind perccires it tobe; and
that very perception, susicienty distinguittes ie trom all otter Ideas,
erhich cannot be other, i. e. different, ithout being perceived to be 10.
No Idea theresore can be undiltinguishable trom another, trom which it
oushe robe ditterent, unlessy ou vould have ic difterene trom it selt: For
From all ocher, it is evidentiy difterent.
6. 6. Foremore this difficuler, and to help us to conceire ariphe, What
it is, that matces the contution, Ldeas are at any rime chargeable with, we
must consider, that Thinos are suppoled diflerent enoush cohave difterene
Names, Whereby eobe markred, and discoursed ot apart, upon any occq
ton: And there is nothins more crident, than that the greatest part ot
dilserent Names, are suppoled to stand for different Things. No every
Idea 2Man has, beino visibly irhat ic is, and distinct srom allother Ideas,
but it selF, chat wrhich matces it confused is, When ic is uch, that it mar a5
vell be called bV another Name, as that which it is expressed by: the dif-
ference trhich lcep the Things (to be ranted under thole trvo diffe.
rent Names) distinct, and mmatces them belone rather to the onc, than
the ocher of them, beine lest out; and so the dictinction, Wrhich vas in-
tended to be hert up by chose difterent Names, is quite lost.
9. 7. The Defaults Which ulually occasion this Confusion, lchinlr, are chieAty
these folloving:
First. When any complex Idea (For tis complex Ideas that are most
lioble to contusion) is made ux of 100 smalla number of simple Ideas, and
Tuch onty as are common to other Things, Whereby the differences, thac
make it deserve a ditterent Wame, are letr out. Thus he, that has an
Idea mace up ot barely the simple ones oF a BCast With SpOrS, has buEa
contuled Idea oF a Leopard, it not beino thereby susticienty distinoui
Med troma Lynx, and several ocher lorts ot Bealts chat are sported. 50
that Cuch an Idea, chouoh ic hach the peculiar Hmme Lcopard, is not di-
Stinonisable trom those deligned By the Names LynX, Or Panther, and
may as ell come under the Name Pynx, as Leopard. TTo muchthe
cultom of detinins of Words by general terms, contributes to matie the
Ideas we vould express by them, consuled and undetermined, I lcave o-
Chersto consider. This isevidene, chat contused Pdeas are luch as render
these oF Words uncertain, and catce awaz the benetit ot dictinet Names.
When the Ideas, For Whieh e used different terms, have noc a difference
ansverablero. their distinet Names, and so cannot be distinguistred bythem
chere ic is chat chey are truls contuled.