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An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 103

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: 0.91.

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The machine reads it as

  1. Tansiver, AII the Ldeas that are considered as havine Parts, arid are ca
  2. pable olincrease by the addirion of any equal or lels Darts, attord us by
  3. choir repetition the ldea of Intinity; becaule with this enalels repetition
  4. ehere is continued an enlarsement, of irhich there can be no end. BuE
  5. in other Ideas it is nor (o; For tothe larsest Idea oF Extention Or. Dura-
  6. tion thac P at present have, the addition of any the least part malces an in-
  7. creale; but torhe persectest Idea L have ofthe Whitest Whironess, is Tadd
  8. another oF a lels or equal Whitenels, (and oF a wrhriter than I have, I Can
  9. not add the Idea,) it malres no increale, and enlarses not my Idea at aIl;
  10. and theretore the differene Ideas ot Whitencls, (50. are called Degreos.
  11. For those Ideas that consist ot P’arts, are capable of being ausmented by
  12. everr addirion of the least part; but if vou take the Idea oFWhire, irhicle
  13. one parcel ot snoir vielded resterdar to our sistue, and another Idea ot
  14. Wrhite trom anocher parcel ot snon rou lec to day, and pur themtoge.
  15. ther in rour Minc, elies embody, as it vere, and run into onc, and che
  16. Idea oF Whirenels is not at all increased; and il we add a lels degree ot
  17. Whitenels to a oreater, ve are (0 far trom increasine, that ve diminimt it.
  18. Thole Ldeas that consist noc os Parts, cannot be augmented to What pro-
  19. portion Nen please, or De stretched berondrhat they have reccived by
  20. cheir Senses; but Space, Duration, and Number, beine capable ol increale
  21. by repetition, leare in the Mind an Ldea oF an endless room For more;
  22. Por can e conceive an prhere a Cop to a tarther Addition or Proorel
  23. Lion, and (o those Ideas alone lead our Minds towards the ThoughE OF
  24. Intinier.
  25. S. 7. Thoughour Pdea oF Intinity arise trom che contemplation oF Duan-
  26. ciry, and the endless increase the Mind is able eo malce in Ouanrity, by
  27. che repeated additions ol irhat Portions thereot ic pleases; Vet I guels We
  28. cause great contusion in our Thoughes, wrhen e join intinier toanr sup
  29. Poled Idea ot Ouantity the Mind can be thoushe tohave, and lo discourle
  30. Or realon about an intinite quantitr as an intinite Space, or an intinire
  31. Duration: For our Idea of Infiniey beins, as Tchinli, un endless crovine
  32. Idea but ehe idea otany Ouantity the Mind has, beins at that time
  33. terminated in that Idea, (For be it as Greatas it ill, it can be no greater
  34. than it is,) eo join Intinier toit, is to adjust a standins mealure tO a DrOW
  35. ins bulk; and cheretore Ichinte it is not an insisnificant subtiler it llay,
  36. chat re are caretulls to distinguish betreen the Idea oF the Intiniey ot
  37. Space, ardthe Idea of a Space intinite: The trst is nothine but a supposed
  38. endlels Prooression oE ttie Minch, over What repeated Ideas oF Space it
  39. pleases; Dut to have actually in the Mind the Idea oF a Space intinite, is
  40. to suppose the Mind already passed over, and actualls to have a vier ot
  41. all those repeated Ideas oF Spaco, Which an endlels repetition can never
  42. totalls reprelentto it, which carries in it a plain controdiction.
  43. 5. 8. This, pertraps, Will be a lictle plainer, il re consider it in Num.
  44. Ders. The infinitr ot Numbers, toche end ot irhole addirion evers one
  45. perccires thereis no approach, casily appears eo any one that reflectson
  46. it: But hor clear soerer this Sdea oF ehe Intinity of Number be, there is
  47. nothins ret more crident than the absurditr of che actual idea ot an Infi
  48. nice Number, Whatloever politire Ideas ve have in our Minds ot any
  49. Space, Duration, or Number, let them De never (0 great, they are AilI
  50. finire; but irhen e suppose an inexhaustible remainder, trom Wrhich Wo
  51. remove all bounds, and wrherein re allor the Mind an endlels progrel
  52. Tion oF ThoushE, Without ever compleatins the Idea, there We have our
  53. Idea oF Insinier; Which though it seem eo be pretty elear, When WNC COn-
  54. sider nochins else in ic, bur che resation ot an end, set when ve vould
  55. Trame

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 103. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0119?run=74