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An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 124

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: 0.92.

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The machine reads it as

  1. P0.
  2. B.
  3. Far hath not heard, nor hath entred intothe Fleart of Manto conceive. But
  4. Oflome deorees ot both, re have very livels impreltions made by leveral
  5. instances of Delight and Tor on the one side, and TOrmene and SOrroW
  6. on the other: Which, For Phortness sake, PMall comprehend under thenames
  7. OFPleasure and Pain, there being pleasure and pain of the Mind, a5 vell as
  8. the BodY: With Trim is fulness of Foy, and Pleasures for evermore: OP +0
  9. Speak truly, they are all of the Mind; thoueh fome have their rise in ehe
  10. Mind trom Thoughr, ochers in the Body trom Motion. FTapviness then
  11. isthe utmost Pleature e are capable ot, and Miserr the utmost Pain.
  12. Nor because Plealure and Pain are produced in, us, by the opcration ot
  13. certain Obicats, cither on our Minds, or our Bodies; and in ditterent
  14. decrees: theretore irhrat has an aptnessto proctuce pleature in us, is thae
  15. Wre labour For, and is that re callGood; andrhat is apt to procuce pain
  16. in us, re avoid and call Fvil, For no ocher reason, but for its aptnessto
  17. produce Pleature and Pain in us, Wrherein consilts our happinels or milery.
  18. Farther, because the degrees et Pleature and Pain have allo justy a prete-
  19. rence; thouoh wrhat is apt to produce ans degree olPleature, be in ir selF
  20. Sood; andihat is apt to produce any degrec ot Pain, becril; vet it of.
  21. ten happens, that we donot call ic lo, wrhen it comes in competition mitt
  22. a Freater oF its POrt. So that if we ill righels estimate irhrat we call
  23. 600d and Pvit, we Mall Aind it lies much in comparison: For the caule
  24. OE every less desree of Pain, as vell as every greater degree ot Pleature,
  25. has thenature ot crood, and vice versa, and is that wtrich determines our
  26. Choice, and challenses our Prelerence. C00d then, the grearer 600d is
  27. that alone which determines the WV ill.
  28. 6. 30. This is noc an imperfection in Nlan, it is the hiphest
  29. persection oF intellectuel Natures: it is (0 Par From beine a restraint
  30. or diminution of Freedom, that it is the very improvement and benefit
  31. OF it: tis not an Abriedmene, tis tho end and ule ot our Liberty:
  32. and the farther we are removed trom such a determination to Good,
  33. che nearer We are t0 Misery and Slavery. A perfect Inditteroney in the
  34. Will, Or Poer of Prelerrins, noc decerminable by the G00d or Lvil, that
  35. is thouoht to actend its Choice, vould be so tar trom beins an advantase
  36. and excellener of any intelleEtual Nature, that it vould be as preat an im-
  37. perfection, as the want os Inditferener to aet, or not to act, till determi-
  38. ned by che Will, vould be an impertection on che ocher side. A Man
  39. is at liberty to lit ux lris Frand eo his Hlead, or let it rest quiet: Ele is
  40. perlectls indifferent tocither; aud it mould be an imperfection in him, it
  41. he wanted thatPorer, it he wero deprived ot that Indifterener. But it
  42. ould beas preat an imperfection, il he had the same Indittereney, whe
  43. ther he rould preter the littins ux his Fand, or its remainins in relt,
  44. wrten ie irould sare his Flead or yes trom a blor he sees comins: tis
  45. 2ucn a perfection that the pover of Preferrine sould be determined by
  46. 60od as that the porver oF Actins Mould be determined by the Will; and
  47. the certainer such determination is, the sreater is the pertoction.
  48. G. 3F. IF re looh uponthose superiour Beines above us, Who enjoy per-
  49. Fect Flappinels, We Mall havereason to judse they are more Aeadily deter-
  50. mined in their choice of 600d than we: andz et re hare norcasonto thinte
  51. theyare less happr, or less trec, thanreare. And it it ere sic For luch
  52. poor tinite Creatures as re are, to pronounee ertiat intinite Wildom and
  53. Coodness could do, Tthink we miohe Pay, That Crod himsel(cannot choole
  54. wrhatis noc sood; the Fredom ot chie Almishus hinders nor his be
  55. ins determined by erhat is best.

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 124. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0140?run=74