An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 107
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The machine reads it as
- Be
- Ve
- ere
- at
- Ihis Idea OF sill OrCaTer, to all the Ideas rou have, or ean be supvosed te
- tiave ot Ouantier; aud Whecher suchi an Idea as chac, be policire, L leave
- ans one to consicter.
- 8. L6. Pasle Chose who lay cher have 2 positive Idea of Pternity, Whether
- their Idea ot Duration includes in it Succertion, ernot: FF it do nOt, they
- ougheto ser the difterence ol their Notion ot Duration, Wrhen applied
- to an ciernal Beins, and to a finire; Lince, perhaps, there may be others
- as Well as I, Wto will omnto them cheir Weabness oF Onderltandine in
- ehis point, and acknomledse, That the Notions ther have ol Duration,
- Torcethem to conceive, ThatWharever has Duration, is oFa longer conri-
- nuance to dar, than it ras relterdar. IE to avoid Succession in eternal
- Existence, they recurro ehe Punctum Stans ol the Schools, I suppose ther
- Will thereby very livele mend the matrer, or help us eo a more elear and
- Positire Idea ot intinite Duration, there beins nothine more inconceirable
- to mio chan Durarion Without Succestion. Belides, that Punctum Stans, it
- it Cienitie anr chine, beine not ruantum, Anite or infinite, cannot belons Eo
- IF. BuF it Our rreak ApPrOhensIOnS CannOE separate SuCCeCTIOn FrOm aii
- Duration WrhatIOCVer, OuT Pdea OF Fternier can be nothing but ot inf-
- Hite SuCCesTIOn OF MOments oF Duration, Wrherein anz thins does exist;
- arid Whecher anr one has, or canhave, a politire Ldea of an actual infinite
- Number. Tleave himto consicler, till his infinite Number BC (O GreaE, FMaF
- he himselEcanadd no more toit; and as lons as he caninerease it, I doubE
- he himselE will chinh che Ldea hehathol ic, a lirtle t00 (canty Por polurire
- Infinier.
- 8. 27. Tchinte ic unavoictable for every considerins rational Creature.
- thac will buc examine his oirn, or any other Fxistenco, to hare the NO-
- tion of an eternal wise Being, irho had no beginmins: And such an Idea
- of infinite Duration, Tam sure Thave; but this Negation of a Bexinmine.
- Deins burthe Negation ol a politire thins, scaree sives me a posirive Idea
- of insinier; erhich Whenever Pendearour i0 extend my ThoughIS E0, Y
- contels my sel(at a lols, and sind P cannot attain any clear comprehension
- Otit.
- 5. 78. Hethat thintes he has a positive Idea ot intinite Space, illu
- hen heconsiders it, find that he can no more have a posicive Idea oF ehe
- Freatest, than he hasof rhe least Space: For in this latter, which scems
- the casIer DFFhCEVO, and more wittiin our comprehen(IOn, We are ca-
- pable orly ota comparative dea ot Smalness, trich ill alivays be less
- than anz one vhereos re have rhe politive Idea; For allour politire Ideas
- ot any Ouantier, Whether creat or licele, have altrays bounds, thougsi
- our comparative Idea, Whereby e can alvars add tothe oric, and
- tatce tromm the other, hath no bounds: For that etich remains cither great
- or lirtle, not beins comprehended in that polutire idea re hare, lies
- in obscurier; and we have no other Ldea ol it, but oF the pOrer oF
- entargins the one, and diministrins the other Without Cea(INS. FOr
- a Peltle and Mortar Will as soon brins ary Partiele of Marter to Indi
- visibilier, as the accurest Thoushe ot a Mathematician: And 2
- Surreyor may as soon wich his Chain, measure out intinite Space,
- as a Philosopher by the quickest AighE OF Mind reach ic, or by thinbins
- comprehend it, Wrhich is tohave a politive Idea of it. Fsethat thinkS on
- a Cube oF an Inch diametre, has à clear and polutire Idea ot it in his
- Mind, and (0 can Frame one oF = a = 3, and (o on rill he has the Idea in
- his Thouohusof Comethins very very little, but zet reaches not the Idea
- ot that incomprehenlible licrleness, irhich Dirision can produce. Whrat
- remaius oe duatress, is ao lac som his Lhonosio, as tehen he lia beeari
- ADC
Cite
An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 107. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0123?run=74