Leibniz Legible

Machine transcription of the Leibniz Nachlass

Search the Nachlass

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 189

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.

Original at the GWLB · Page image · Annotations (IIIF) · Download text

The machine reads it as

  1. Generat Termo
  2. versectIr, it often happens, that Men, eren when they vould appl
  3. Themlelres to an attentire Consideration, do set their Thouxhes more
  4. on Nords than Thines. Naz, because Words are many of thiem learnd,
  5. betore the Ldeas are knomn For Which they Ctand: Theretore IOme, noc
  6. onty Children. bur Men, speak several Words, no ochervile than
  7. Parrots do, only because ther have learnd them, and have been ac-
  8. cultomed to thole Sounds. But (0 far as Nords are oF VsC and
  9. Significarion, 10 far is there a constane connexion between thie Sound
  10. and the Ldea; and a Designation, thar the one Cand for the orher: with.
  11. out erhich application of them, thes are nothine, but so much in-
  12. Signiticant Noise.
  13. 6. 8. Woras by lors and familiar use, as has been Caid, come eo
  14. excire in Nen certain Ldeas LO constantty and readily, THaL they
  15. are apE tO suppole a natural connexion between cheM. BUL thaE
  16. they sienifie only Mens peculiar Ideas, aud that by a perfectlr arbitrary
  17. Imposition, is evident, in that they otten fail ro excite in others (even
  18. thât ule the same Languase) the lame Ideas ve tale them to be the
  19. Sionsot: And erery Man has lo inviolable a Liberty, to malre Words
  20. Stand For Wrhat Ldeas he pleales, that no one hach the Pouer eo mate
  21. others have the same Ideas in their Minds, that hehas, Wrhen thes use
  22. the same Norcis, that he docs. And theretore the oreat Aueustus him-
  23. TCl(, in the Possession oF that Pover, irtich ruled the Worid, actenON-
  24. ledeed he could not malce a nem Latin Word: Wtrich iras as muck
  25. a5 to lay, char he coula noc arbirrarily appoine, whac Idea any
  26. Sound Mould bea Sien oP, in the Mouths and common Language oF nis
  27. Subjects. Tistrue, common ule, by a cacie Consent, appropriates cer-
  28. tain Sounds ro certain Ideas in all Languages; Which lo Par limits che
  29. sonification os that Sound, that unless a Man applies ie tothe same Idea,
  30. he cannor speake proverir. And ir is alsotrue, that unless a Nan S Nords
  31. excite the lame Ideas in the FPearer, Which he males them stand for in
  32. speattins, he cannor speake intellisibly. But Wrhateverbe theconsequences
  33. othisule of any Words, different cither from ehe Dublick, or thât Per-
  34. Con to whom he addresses them: This is certain, their significarion in
  35. his use otchem, is limited to his Ldeas, and cher can be Sisns of no-
  36. etl C.
  37. 6) Generao Lermo.
  38. B. T. A LL Thines chat exist, Beins Parriculars, il may, pertaps, be
  39. a thoushit realonable, cal nroico, inen ouxur ce de centermed
  40. eo Things, Bould be(0 t00, lmeals sit citent enacon. vut fel me
  41. Lauguases, are generat Terms: Wrtuch hias not been che uttest ol Neslect,
  42. Or Charice, but of Reason, and Necestuy.
  43. distinet reculiar Name. For ene limedcoaa ueol notas, depenamE
  44. on that connection, Wrhichthe Mind malies berween its Ideas, and ttie
  45. Sounds ic uses, as Siens ol them, it is necestury in che Aeplication ol
  46. NVAMES
  47. tindhe quilecenars. Li ac stenest part os troras, lac Make ail
  48. 6. L. L Et is impossible that every particular Thine Mould have a

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 189. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0205?run=74