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An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 123

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: 0.89.

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The machine reads it as

  1. 21
  2. ter
  3. EB
  4. 6. 25. Since then it is plain, a Ntan is noc at liberer, Whether he will
  5. Willu Or no; (For Wrhen a chins in his porrer is propoled tohis Thoushts.
  6. he cannot forbear Volition, he must determine onc tray or Orher;) the
  7. Dext chins to be demanded is, Trhether a Man be at liberty to will mhich
  8. of the rvo he pleases, Motion or Rest. This Ouection carries the absurdi.
  9. ty oF it (o manisesls in it sels, that onc mishe thereby susticiently be con-
  10. vinced, that Liberty concerns not the Will in any cale. For toask, WHe.
  11. ther a man be at liberey to will citherMotion, or Rest; Speakins, or Silence;
  12. irhich he pleases, is ro astc, Whether a Man ean Will, rhat he willS; Or B0
  13. pleased ith irhat he is pleasedrith. A Ouestion irhich, I chink, neccs no
  14. ansver: and cher, wrto can make a Duestion ofit, must suxpole one W iII
  15. to determine the acs of another, and anoctier to determinate chat; and
  16. Ioon in infinitum, an absurdity betore talien notiee ot.
  17. 6. 26. Toaroid chese, and the litre absurdiries, nothine can be ol greater
  18. ulc, than to establitr in ourMinds clear and Ceady Notions oF the things
  19. under Consideration it the Ideas of Liberty, and Volition, vere vellfixed in
  20. our Understandinss, and carried alone with us in our Mincs, as thoy
  21. oushE, chroush all ehe Ouections are raised about them, I suppole, a preat
  22. part oFthe Difticulties, that perplex Nens Thoughs, and entangle their
  23. Onderstandings, Would be much casier resolved; and we Mould perceive
  24. inliere the contused signification ol terms, or Where thenature olthe thins
  25. caused the obscuritr.
  26. 6. 27. First chen, it is caresully to be remembred, That Freedom con-
  27. sists in the dependence of the Fxistence, or not Fxistence of any Action, up-
  28. on our Volition of it, and not in the dependence of any action, or its contra-
  29. ry, on our preference. A Man Randins on a clift, is at liberty to leap
  30. erener Lards domnrardsintothe sea; notbecause he has a porver todo
  31. the concrari Action, Which is to leap tivener Vards uprards, For thathe
  32. Cannot do: buthe is theretore tree, because he has a porver to lcap, or
  33. nOt to lcap. But il a greater force than his, cither hold him talt, ortumble
  34. him dorn, he is no longer trec in thar case: becaule the doins, or Por-
  35. Bearance, ot that parricular Action, is no longer in his Porer. He that is
  36. a close Prisoner, in a Room tventy foot square, beine at the North. side OF
  37. his Chamber, is at liberts to nalk tirents foor Southwarc, becausche can
  38. Wrall, or not alkit: but is nor, at the lame time, at liberer, to do the eon
  39. trary; i. c. to Walkementy FootNorthward.
  40. In this then consiAS Freedom (Viz.) in our beins able to act, or nOt t0
  41. act accordins as we Mall choole, Or. Will.
  42. 28. Secondly, In the next place we must remember, that Volition or
  43. Willinc recardins only irhrat is in our pover, is nochins bur the prefer-
  44. rine che doing ot any chins, tothe nor doins ofit; action to Relt, (6 con-
  45. tra. Well, but rhat is this Preferring: It is nothins but the beine plea
  46. sed more miththe one; than the other. Is then a Man inditterent tob0
  47. pleasec, or notpleased, more ith onc thine than anorher: Is it in his
  48. choice, Whether tie ill, or Will not be better pleased with one thins than
  49. arocher: And to this, Ichink, every ones Experience is ready tomato
  50. anSIVer, NO. From WWhenCO it FOIIOWS,
  51. 6. 29. Thrraly, Lhatthe Nill, Ortreterence, is determined ) Jomethine
  52. viihour it selF. Let us sec then whar it is determinedby. IEillins he but
  53. ehie Deins becter pleascd, as has been Mern, it is casie to hnom whrat tis de-
  54. termines ehe Will, Wrhat tis pleales best: every one knoms tis Fappinels,
  55. Or Fhat Which makes any part ol Fappinels, or contributes to it; arid thaF
  56. is it re call 60od. FTarpinels and Misery are thC HaMES OF FWO CXtreICS,
  57. the utmost bounds irhereot We LNO nOE: TiS WhaE Lye hath not seen,
  58. FA
  59. over.

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 123. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0139?run=74