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An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 108

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. and theretore he never comes at all to have a clear and posirive Ldea OE
  2. that Smalnels, Wrhich is consequene to infinice Divisibilier.
  3. 5. F9. Every onethac lools Forards Intinity, does, as l’have said, at trst
  4. slance makce lome verr larse Ldea ot that he applies it to, let it bc Space.
  5. OrDuration; and poltibly ercaries his Fhoustus, by mulciplyins in his mind
  6. that tirst larse Idea: But vet by thathe comes nonearer, havins apositive
  7. clear Idea ot Wrhrat remains, to malseup a positive Intinite, thanthe Coun.
  8. try. sellon had olthe Water Which Was vetto come, and pals the Channet
  9. Olthe Civer where he Aood:
  10. Rustieus expectat dum transeat amnis, at ille
  11. Labitur ( Tabetur per omne volubilis aevum.
  12. 5. 20. There are somet have met withr, that put so much disterence be-
  13. treen intinite Duration, andintinire Space, thar they persuade themlelves,
  14. chatthes have a positive Idea of Lternity; hut thac they have not, nOr Can
  15. have any. Idea of insinite Space. The reason oF which mistake, P suppose
  16. toDe chis, That findins by a due Contemplation ol Caules and F Hects,
  17. that it is necellary ro admit lome Pternal Beins. and so to consider che
  18. real existence of chat Beins, 25 talcins up, and commensurare to their Idea
  19. OE Fternitr. But on thie ocher side, not tindins it necellary, but on the
  20. contrary apparently absurd, chat Bod Mould De intinite, ther Formarcly
  21. conclude ther can have no Idea of intinire Spaco, becaule they can have
  22. no Fdea oFintinite Matter: Which Consequence, I conccire, is very ill col-
  23. lected, che Fxistence o( Matrer beins no mays pecessary ro the existence
  24. OE Spacc, no more chanthe Existence oFMotion, or the Sun, is neceltarr
  25. t0 Duration, though Duration uses to be meatured by it: And I douDe nOt
  26. But a Nan may have the Idea of r0000Miles square; rithout any Body
  27. (0 bis, a5 Well as tlic Ldea oF F000O Vears, Without anx Body 50 old.
  28. It seems as calieto me tohave the Ldea et Space empey of BOdY, 25 t0
  29. chink oFche Capacity oF his Bustrel ithout Corn, or the hollon ot a Nut.
  30. srell ithour a Kernelin it; it beins no more neceltars that there sould
  31. be exictine a solid Body infinitels extended, becaule e have anv Idea of
  32. theIntinity oF Space, than it is necellarr thar the W orld Mould be eternal,
  33. because re hare an Idea oF intinite Duration: And wrhy Mould we chinke
  34. our Ldea ol intinite Svaco, reguires the real existence of Matter tO lUDPOTE
  35. it, when re tind re hove as clear an Idea oE intinite DuratiOM tO COMC.
  36. as re have oFintinite Duration past: Thoushr, l suppose, no body chinls
  37. it conceivable, that any chins does or has existed in that future Duration.
  38. Nor is ic possible to join our Idea ot luture Duration, rith present or past
  39. tixistence, ans morethan it is poltible to malie the Ideas oF resterda, t0
  40. day, and to morrom to bethe lame; or brins Ases Past and future roge.
  41. ther, and malte them contemporarr. But il chese men are oi theMind,
  42. That cher have clearer Ldeas ot intinire Duration, than ol infinite Space,
  43. because it is past doube, that GOD has existed trom all Eternitr, buE
  44. there is no real Matter co extended ithr intinite Space; vet those Philo-
  45. Cophers who are of Opinion, Thac intinire Space is Posseed hy CODS
  46. intinte Ommiprelence, as vellas intinire Duracion by hus eternal Lxi
  47. stence, must be allored to have as elear Idea ot intinite Space, as oF inti.
  48. nite Duration; though neither ofthem, Ichinte, has any positive Ideaof
  49. Infnity in cither case. For Whatloerer polcive ideas a Man has in his
  50. Mlind olanr Ouantier, he can repeat it, and add it to the former, as calie
  51. a5 he can add together thC Ldeas OF EVO DaYS, Or tro Paces, Which are
  52. polucire Ldeas OtLenochis he has in his. Mind, aud lo on as lons a5 he
  53. pleale.

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 108. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0124?run=74