An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 66
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: 0.93.
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The machine reads it as
- Retention
- Sieht, Wrhen ther vere verr zouns; in irhom the ideas of Colours,
- havino been but Righely tatcen notice oF, and ceasino to be repeated, d0
- quite rear out; (o that lome rears alter, there is no more Notion, nor
- Memory oF Colours lese in their Minds, chan in thole of Pcople born
- blind. TheMemory in LomeMen, tis truc, is very tenacious cven, 102
- Miracle: But vet there secms to be a constant decay oF aIl our Ideas, c-
- ven those irhich are Sruck decpest, and in the Minds themost retentive;
- S0 that il ther be not lometimes renemed by repeated Fixercile ot the Sen-
- les, or Reflection about chose kind of Objects, Which at tirst occationed
- them, the Print wears out, and at last there remains nothins eo De scen.
- Thus the Ideas, as Well as Children oE our Vouth, osten die betore u5:
- And our Minds reprelent tous thole Tombs, tonhich re are approach-
- ins; Where thoush the Brass and Marble remain, vet the Inscriptions
- are ettacedby time, and the lmasery moulders avray. The Pitures drain
- in our Minds, are laid in fadine Colours; and il not lometimes retreMed,
- ranimt and dilappear. No much the Consticution ol our Bodies are
- concerned in this; and Whether the Temper of the Spirits and Brain
- make this difference, that lome retain the Characters dramn on it litre
- Marble, others like tree Scone, and others lictle better than Sand, I MalI
- not here enguire, thoush it mas seem probable, chat the Constitution
- ofthe Body, does lomerimes influence the Memory; lince re oltentimes
- find a Disease quite Arip the Mind oFallits Ideas, and the Aames of a Fe-
- ver in a seur daz s, caleines all thole Imases to dust and contusion, whietu
- scem d. to b0as lastins, as il carved in Marble.
- 5. 6. Buc concernins the Ldeas themselves, it is casie to remarke, That
- those that are ofrenest refrested Camonsst erhich are thole that are con-
- veyed into theMindby more razs chan onc) by a trequent return ol che
- Obieets or Actionschat producethem, fix themselves best in the Memory,
- and remain clearest and lonsest there; and theretore thole which are ot
- the orisinal Oualities of Bodies, viz. Solidity, Extension, Fieure, Motion,
- and est, and those that almost constantlis affect our Bocies, aS Lleat
- and. Cold; and chole wrhich are the Afections oFall kind oF Bcins5, 25
- Fxistence, Duration, and Number, Which almost every Object thac
- allects our Senses, evers Thousht which implors our Minds, brins alone
- with chem: Thele, ICay, and the like Ideas, are seldom quite lost, Wrhilst
- theMind retains any Ideas at aII.
- 5. 7. In thissecundars Perception, as Lmay so call ic, or vicwing again
- the Ideas, chat are lode d in the Memory, the Mind is oftentimes more than
- barely passive, the appearance oFthose dormant Pictures, dependins lome-
- rimes on the WilI. The Mind very otten sets it self on orke in scarch ot
- forme hidden Idea, and turns, as it vore, the Fise ot the soul upon it;
- choush ometimes toothes Cart up in our Minds ot their oun accord,
- and ofter themselvesto the Onderstandins; and very olten arcrouzed and
- tumbled out ottheir darks Cells, into open Day. lictut, by some turbu-
- lent and tempettuous Passion, our iAffections brinsins Ideas to our Me-
- mory, erhich had otherrile lain quiet and unresarded.
- 6. 8. Memory, in an intellectual Creature, is necelsary in the next de-
- sree to Perception. Itis oE (o great moment, chat ihero iE iS WanEIHE
- aII the rest o our Faculties are in a great meature ulcless: And rre in our
- Thoushs, Reasoninss, and Rnow ledse, could not proceed berond pre
- seut Objects, vere it noc tor the assittance ot our Memories, Wherein
- chere may be tuo defects:
- B
Cite
An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 66. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0082?run=74