An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 148
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.
Original at the GWLB · Page image · Annotations (IIIF) · Download text
The machine reads it as
- Our laeas of Substances.
- in e ascribe Existence, Pover, Wisdom, and all orner Perfection, (Whick
- e can have any Ideas OF) to that Sovereien Beins, Which we call Cod.
- beins all boundless and intinite, re trame the best idea ot him our Minds
- are capable oE; all erhichis done, Ilay, by enlargins thole simple Ideas,
- vehave talten trom theoperations ot our omn Mincs, by reflection; or
- by our Senles, trom exterior thines, to that vastness, to which Intiniti can
- extendthem.
- 6.35. For it is Infnity, Which, joined t0 our Ideas OF EXiCtenCC, POVer,
- Hnorrledse, (5c. makes that complex Idea, Whereby re represent to our
- selres the best e can, the supreme Beins. For though in his omn Fssence,
- CWhich certainis re do not hnow, noc hnominsthereal Fssence ot a Pe-
- Ble, or aFIY, or oF our own selves,) Crod De simple and uncompounded;
- vet, Ichinte, Imay laz re have no ocher Edea ot him, but a complex one
- os Existence, Rnomledre, Pover, PTappinels, (5c. intinire, and eternal:
- itrich are all dictinet Ideas, and lome ot enem beine relatire, are agaim
- compounded ot others; all Which being, as has been Mewn, originally
- sot trom sensarion and Reflection, 50 to make up the Idea Or Notion e
- have otcrod.
- 5. 36.This farther isto be observed, thatthere is no Idea we attribuie
- to Cod, batins Intiniey, Wrhich is nor allo2 part or our complex Idea ot
- Other Spirits. Becausebeine capable ot no other limple Ideas, belonsine
- to any thing but Body, but chose which by reflection e receiro trom
- the Operation of our omn Minds, e can actribute to Spirits no other,
- but wrtrat rre receire trom thence: And aII the difterence e can pur Bo-
- trcen them in our Conremplation of Spirits, is onls in the several fixtents
- and Degrees oF their Hnoirledse, Pover, Duratiom, Flappincls, (OC. FOr
- that in our Ideas, as vell of Spirits, asot orher chinss, ve are restrained
- eothose ve receive from sensarion and Reflection, is evident trom hence,
- that in our Ideas ot Spirits, ho much soever advanced in Perfection, be
- rond those of Bodies, even to chat ot Intinite, re cannot ret have any
- Idea ofthemanner, Wherein they discover their Thouchesone to another:
- Though e must necellarily conclude, that Spirits, erhich are Beines, chat
- hare pertecter Rnoledse, and greater Flappinels than ive, must necds
- have alo a perfecter ray of communicarins their Thoughes, chan re
- hare, vhoare fain to matie ule ot corporeal Sisns, and varticularly Sounds.
- Wrhich are therelore of most general use, as beins the belt, and quickest
- e are capable ot. But ot immediate Communication, havinz no tixpe
- riment in our selves, and consequently, noNorion oF it at all, re have
- sio Idea, horr Spirits, Which usc not Words, ean with quictenels, or much
- less, hor Spirits that haveno Bodies, can belasters oFtheir omn Thoushs
- and communicate, or conceal them at Pleasure, though we cannot but
- necestarils suppolether have tuch a Porer.
- 5. 37. And thus we have scen, what kind of Ideas ve have of Substances
- of alt kinds, Wherein thes consit, and hor re come by them. From
- irhence, Ichink, it is very evident,
- First, That all our Ldeas ofthe several sorts oF Substances, are nothine
- but Collections ot simple Ldeas, with a supposition of somethins, torhich
- chesbelons, andin which ches subsist; choush of chis suppoled some.
- thine, ve hravono clear dictinat Idea at aII.
- Secondly, Thar all the complex Ldeas e hrave ot Substances, are made
- up of no ocher simple Pdeas, Dur luchr, a5 ve have received tromm Sensarion
- Ot Reftection. So that even in those, wrhich we chink, we are molt inti
- inately acquainced vith, and come nearest the Comprehention ot, our
- most erlars ed Conceptions, cannor reach berond chose simple Ideas. And
- EVEI
- B
Cite
An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 148. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0164?run=74