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# Title: An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding (shelfmarks Leibn. Marg. 38; ZEN Leibn. Marg. 38)
# Folio 239, page id 778263916:0255
# Original at the GWLB: https://digitale-sammlungen.gwlb.de/resolve?id=778263916&page=255
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# Model: FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74, 2026-09-06T16:05:13Z — 55 lines, status machine
# Lines: 55 recognised, mean confidence 0.92
# Machine transcription. Not an edition. Errors are expected: about 8% character error rate on Latin and French lines, higher on German.
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# After the first blank line: the recognised lines in reading order, one per line.

Imperfecton osn ords.
chrough wrhich vilible Objects pals, cheir Obseurity and Disorder docc
not seldom cast a mist betore our Fves, and impose upon our Understan-
dings. IEe consider, in the Fallacies Men put. upon themselves as ell
as others, and the Mistatres in Mens Dispures and Notions, hoW great a
part is owins to Words, and their uncertain or mistakien Significations.
ire Mall have reason to thinls this no (naIl obstacle in the way to Rnom
ledse; Wrhich, P conclude re arethe more caresul to be marned os because
it. has been (o tar srom beins taten notice of as an Inconvenienco, chat the
Arts of improvins ir, have been made the businels ofMens sudy; and at
tained the Repuration ot Learnins and Subtiler, as Wve Mall sec in ehe Fol-
lorins Chapter. Buc Lam aptro imagine, thativere che imperfections
oF Language, as the Instrument of Rnomledse, more chrouxhls wreighed,
a great mans ofthe Controverties, that makce such a noise in che Worid,
ould ot chemselres cease; and the ar to Rnowledec, and, PerHaPS,
Peace too, lie a great deal opener ehian it docs.
9. 22. Sure lam, thar the Cignitication oF Words, in aIl Languages, de-
pendins very much on che Thorghes, Notions, and Ideas ot him Fhat
ules them, must unaroidablr be ol great uncertaines, to Men ol thelame
Languase and Connerr. This is so crident in the Crceke Authors, that
he that hall peruse their Writings, Will fnd in almost evers onc ol them,
adiltinet Language, thouoh thelame Words. But when to chis natural
disficuler in every Counery, there Mail be added different Couneries, and
remote Ages, Wwierein the Speakers and Writers had verr difterent No-
tions, Tempers, Cultoms. Ornaments, and Fisures of Specch, (5c. every
one ofirhich, intluenced che signification ot cheir Words chen, though 10
us no, they are lost and untenovn, it vould become us to be charitabbe
one to another in our Interpretations or Misunderstandines of ehole ancient
Vritines, Which thouchos great concernment to us to be underttood,
are liable co the unavoidable difficulties ot Specch, Which (it WC exCCPE
the Namies oF simple Ldcas, and lome very obvious Phings) is not ca-
Pable, irithout a constant detinins che terms, os converins the sense and
intention ofthe Speatcer, ithout any manner of doube and uncertaintr.
tothe FTearer. And in Discourles of Religion, Lar, and Moralitr, a5
they are masters ofthie highest concernment, (o there ill be the greatest
disticuler.
5. 23. The Volumes ot Interpreters, and Commentators on the OId
anden Testament, are but t00 maniles proois ofthis. Thoush every
thins said in the Pext be infallibls true, vet the Reader may be, nay.
cannot chuse but be very fallible in che understandins of it. Nor is it to
De rondred, chat the WiII OF COD, When cloathed in Words Mould
beliable eo that doube and uncertainer, Which unavoidably artends chac
Tort oF Converance, when even his Son, Whilst cloached in FleM, Was
subject to all the Frailcies and Inconveniencies ot humane Waturo, Sin ex-
cepted. And e oushero magnihie his Croodness, that he hath spread Be-
Fore all thie Worid, such lesible Characters of his Wortes and Providence.
arid siveri all Mantind (o sufficiene a light oF Reason, that they to whom
this Wrritten Word never came, could nor (When- ever they set themselves
eo searchi) cicher doubt olthe Beins ot a GOD, or ol the Obedience due
EoFrim. Since chen che Precepts of Natural Relision are plain, and very
intellisible to al Mankind, and seldom come to be controverted; and
other rerealed Truchs, which are convezed to us by Boolis and Lan-
suases, are liable to the common and natural obscurities and difficulties in-
cident to Words, methints it would become us to be more caretul and
dili