An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 20

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1. Vo innate practicat Principles.
2. casions, excites and directs the ACtions oFaH Nen: Or else, that it i5 a
3. Truth, Wrtrich al Men have imprinted on their Minds, and wtrich there.
4. Forether Hno, and alsene to. But in neither of thele Sences is it innare.
5. First, That it is nor a Principle, Which instuences all Mens ActiOns, 15,
6. Wrtrat Ihare proved by the Lxariples belore cited: Nor need Wve seck (0
7. Far es Minerelia or Peru, to And instances of such as neslest, abuse, nay
8. and destroy cheir Children; or look on it only as the more than Bruta-
9. lity of lorme Pavase and barbarous Nations, When e remember, that it
10. ras a familiar, and uncondemned Practiceamong(t the Grecks and Romans,
11. to expole, without piey or remorse, cheir innocene Intants. Secondly. Lhat
12. it is an innare Truth, knomn eo all Men, is als0 FalsC. FOr, Parents
13. preserve jour Children, is (otar trom an innate Fruth, that it is no Prurt
14. at all; it beins a Command, and noc a Propolition, and (o not capable ot
15. Truth or Falshood. T0 malie it capable oF beins assented t0 as truc, it
16. must be reduced to some such Propolition as this: It is the Ducy of Pa-
17. renes to preserve their Children. But What Duty is, cannot be understood
18. Without a Larr; nor a Larr be hnon, or supposed mithout a Lavalier,
19. or without Remard and Punistiment: So thac it is impossible, that chis,
20. or anr other practical Principle Phould be innate; i. e. De imprinced on
21. the Mind as a Duer, ithout supposins the Ideas oF Cod, oF LaWV, Ot
22. Obligation, of Punistiment, ola Lise alter this, innate. For that Punistr-
23. ment Follors not, in this Lise, the breach ol this Rule; and consequentlr,
24. that it has not the Force ot a Larr in Conneries, where the generally al.
25. lon d Practiceruns counter to it, is in it selE evident. But thele Ideas
26. Certrich mmust beall os them innato, il any thins as a Duts b0 (0) are (0
27. tar From being innate, that tis noc every ltudious or thinking Man, mucti
28. dels every one that is born, in irtrom they are to De Found clear and di-
29. stinct: And that one of them, wrhich ot all others scems most likcelr to
30. De innate, is nOt (0, (I mean thC Sdea of C0d) Pchink, in tho next Cha-
31. Pter, rill appear very evident to any considering Man.
32. 9. 13. From What has been laid, I think wemar lasels concludo, That.
33. vhatever practical Rule is, in any Place, generally, and voith allovance broken,
34. cannot be sapposed innate, it beins impostible, that Men Mould, ithout
35. Strame or Fear, contidently and serenely break a Rule, irhich ther could
36. noc but evidenels bnor, that God had set up, and rould certainly pu-
37. nistr thebreach oF (Which chey must il it vere innate) to a degrec to malce
38. ic a very ill Barsain to the Fransgressor. Wichout such a Rnowledse as
39. this, a Man ean never becertain, chat ans thins is his Duty. Tenoranco
40. Or Doubt ot the Lar; hopes to escape the Rnomledse or Porver oF the
41. Tar-mater, or the like, may makie Men sire ray to a prelent Appetite:
42. But let ans onesee the Fault, and theRod by ic, and wich the Transorelli
43. On, a Pire ready eo punistr it; a Pleasure tempting, and the FTand oF ehO
44. Almioher visibly heldup, and prepared cotatie Vengeance EForthis must
45. be che Case, irhere any Duer is imprinted on the Mind) and then tolt.
46. me, Wrhether it De possible, for People, with tuch a Prospect, such a cer-
47. tain Rnowledse as this, rantonlr, and without scruple, to oftend asainst
48. a Ldr, erhich chey carry about ehem in indelible Characters, and that
49. Cares themin the Face, Wrhilst ther are brealcins it: Whecher Men, at
50. the same time that cher seel in themselres the imprinted Fdicts oF an
51. Omniporent LaWr-malcer, can, Wrich alturance and saitr, Aight and tram.
52. ple under Looc his most sacred Injunctions: And lastly, Whether it b0
53. Possible, that nhilt a Nan thus openty bids defrance to this innate LaW
54. and supreme Lar-siver, all the by-Randers; zea even the Governors and
55. Rulers OFche PeoplC, FuI of the same Sense, Voth ot the Law and LaV-
56. mater
57. BOC

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 20. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0036?run=74