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# Title: An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding (shelfmarks Leibn. Marg. 38; ZEN Leibn. Marg. 38)
# Folio 289, page id 778263916:0305
# Original at the GWLB: https://digitale-sammlungen.gwlb.de/resolve?id=778263916&page=305
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# Model: FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74, 2026-09-06T16:05:13Z — 53 lines, status machine
# Lines: 53 recognised, mean confidence 0.90
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dit biot ab
Of Truth in Setarab.
TFTat is Truth, Wras an Enguiey many ases sinée; and il
Deine that wrhich ali Marikind cicher do, or precend to
search atrer, it cannot but be worthi our wrhile caresully to examine Where.
in it consilts; and (0 acquaint our selves irich the Naturo oF it, 25 t0 ob.
serre hou the Mind distinguistres it From Falstiood.
5. 2. Fruth then Peemsto me, in the proper impori ot the WVord, tO
sionitie nothins buc the joinins or separatine of Siens, as the Thines sieni-
fied by them, do acree or disacree one with anotber; Wrhrichray oljoinins
or separatins oF Signs, We CaII Propostion. S0 that Pruth proverty be
lones ontr to Propolitions: Whereol there are two POrES, viz. Mental and
Verbal; as there are tro Corts ofsisns commonls madeuse ot, viz. Ideas
and WVordS.
5. 3. To Form a clear Notion ol Truth, it is rery necessaris to consider
Truch OF ThoughE, and Fruth of Words, distinctly one trom another:
Duc ret it is very difficule to treat ot them asunder. Becaule it is un-
avoidable, in treatins ot mental Propositions, to malie ule of Nords;
and then the instances siven ot Mental Propositions, cease immediavelr i0
De barely Mental, and become Verbal. Por a mental Propolition beine
nothins hut a bare consideration ol the Ideas, as thes are in our Mincs
Aripr d oF Names, they lose the Nature oF Purely mental ProPOlItiOnS,
as soon as they are put into Words.
8. 4. And chat irhich malres it ret harder to treat of mentat and verbal
Propositions separately, is, That most Men, il not aUl, in their Thinlcine
and Reasonines trithin themselres, mabe ule of Words instead ol Ideas;
at least when the subject oP their Meditation contains in it complex Ideas.
Which is a great cridence of the impersection and uncertainty ot our Ideas
Ol ehat Kind, and mas, ilaccentively made ule ot, serve tor a martito Ber
us, irhat are thole Things, We hareclear and pertect establited Ideas Ot,
and WHaENOE. For il re will curiousr oblerve the may our Mind catres
in Thinkine and Reasonino, We alI And, I suxpose, that when re mate
anz Provolitions mithrin our omn Thouohts, about Wtite or BlackE, Sreet
Or Bitter, a Triansle or a Circle, ecan, and olten do frame in our Minds
the Ideas themselres, Without reflecting on the Names: But When We
vould consider, or matre Propolitions about the more complex Ldeas, a5
ot a Man, Virriol, Fortitude, Glory, e usuallr pur the Name Cor the
Edea; becaule theideas these Names Cand for beins for the most part im-
versect, contuled, and undetermined, e reheet on the Names chemselVes,
Becaule thes are more clear, certain, and distinet, and readier occurr to
Our ThousHES, than the pure Ideas; and so we makreuse of chese Words
instead ot the Ideas themselres, even when re ould meditate and rea-
Pon ichin oux selves, and makre tacit mental Propositions. In Subltances,
as has been alreads noted, this is occalioned by the imperfection ol our
Edeas, Wemakins the Name Stand Por the real FSence, oFrrhich vehave
no Idea at all. In Modes, it is occalioned by the great number oF simple
Edeas, that 80 to che matins them up. For mans ol them beins very
much compounded, the Hame occurrs much calier, than the complex
Idea iE selF, Wvtich requires time and artention to be recollected, and ex-
acly represented to the Mind, even in thole Men, Who have formerir
been at the pains to do it; aud is urterly impossible to be done by chole,
Wrho choush thes have ready, in their Memory, the preatest part oF thC
COr3.