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An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 31

Machine transcription. Not an edition. Errors are expected: about 8% character error rate on Latin and French lines, higher on German. Mean line confidence on this page: 0.92.

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The machine reads it as

  1. Noinnate Principles
  2. tiath furnisted Nan wichthole Faculties, wrtrick will serve Forthe sussiciend
  3. discovery oF all thinss requisite to the end of luch a Beins; and P douDe
  4. not but io Mher, that a Man by the rightule oFhis natural Abilicies, may.
  5. vithout any innate Principles, attain the bnomledse of a God, and ottier
  6. thines that concern him. Ciod having endued Man ith thole Laculties ot
  7. tnorring which he hath, Was no more obliged by his Coodnels, to im-
  8. plant thole innate Notions in his Minc, chan that havins siven him RCaIOr,
  9. Fands, and MaterialS, he Bould build him Bridses, or FTouses; Wrtrieh
  10. some people in the World, horever of good paris, do cither totally rant, or
  11. arebut illprorided of, as Wellas others are wrholly rithour Ldea 5of God, and
  12. Principles otMoraliey; or at leasthave but very ill ones. The reason in
  13. boch cales Deins; That ther never employ d their Parts, Faculties, and
  14. Povers, industriousy that ay, but contented themlelre W ith the Opi
  15. nions, Fastions, and Thines ot cheir Country, as ther tound them, with.
  16. ont looline any sarther. FTad you or lbeen born at the Bar ol Soldania-
  17. possiblr oux ThousHES, and Notions, had not excecded those bruitilli ones
  18. oF the FTorentors that inhabit chere: And had the Verginia RinS Apo-
  19. chancana, been educated in Fncland, he hac, perhaps, been as tnomiro a
  20. Dirine, and as g00d a Mathematician, as any in IF. The difference Be-
  21. crcenhim, auda more improved Finglist. man, lyins Barely in this, That
  22. the exercise of his Faculties, as bounded within the Ways, Modes, and
  23. Notions of his omn Connery, and nerer directed to any otter, or Farther
  24. Enguiries: And if he had not any Idea ol a Giod, it ras onty becaule he
  25. pursued not those Thoussus that irould have led him toit.
  26. 6. 23. PSrant, That is there vere any Ideas to be Found imprinted on
  27. EEMInAS OFMen, We have reaIOn LO exPECt, it Bould be the notion of his
  28. Maker, as a arks GO D sec on his orn Worhmanctix, eo mind Man
  29. ofhis dependence and Dury; and that herein ould appear the sirst in-
  30. stances ofhumane Rnomledoe. Buthor lateisit belore any such notion
  31. is discoverable in Children: And when we sind it there, PTo much
  32. more dees it relemble the Opinion, and Norion, of the Teacher, than re-
  33. presentthe Fruc Cod. Ise that Mall observe in Children, tho proeress
  34. Whereby cheir Minas actain the bnomledse ther have, will think, THaE
  35. the Objects cher do tirst, and most tamiliarty converse wich, are thole
  36. chac matce ehe tirst impressions on their Understandines: Nor will he
  37. find the least sootsteps os any other. It is calie totatre notice, hou thoir
  38. Thouxhrs enlarse chiemlelves, only as ther come to be acquainted itha
  39. greater variets ot sensible Objects, to retain the Ideas oF them in their
  40. memories; and to get thestill to compound and enlarse them, and several
  41. vazs put them together. Irow by chelemeans, tliey come to frame in
  42. their minds an Ldea of a DeitY, P Mallhereaster Mew.
  43. 8. 29. Can it De thouBHE, that the Ldeas Men hare oF God, are the
  44. Characters, and Marts oF FTim(elF, engraren in their Minds by his omn
  45. singer, Wten ve seo, chat in the same Country, under one and the same
  46. Name, Nen have far different, nay, Otten contrary and inconsistent Ideas,
  47. and conceptions of him: Their aerecins in a name, or Pound, ill (CarCe
  48. prove an innate notion of LTim.
  49. 5. F5. What true or tolerable notion oF a Deity, couldther have, rho aC.
  50. Hnorledsed, and worthirped hundreds: P.very Deiry that they orned
  51. abore one, Was an infallible evidence ot their ignorance of Him, and
  52. a proot thar they had no true norion of Ciod, Where Units, Infinier, and
  53. Fiternity, vere alrars excluded. To ihich il we add their grols COn
  54. ceptions oF Corporieer, expressed in their Imases, and Representari-
  55. Ons oFTheir Deities; Fhe AmOUrS, Marriases, Copulations, Lusts, Ouar-

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 31. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0047?run=74