Search the Nachlass

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 213

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.

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

The machine reads it as

  1. Names et Substances.
  2. vares oF our Bodies; ve can no ochererise distinguistr in our Conceptions
  3. the several Species oF Spirits, one From another, but by acrributins those
  4. Operations and Porvers, e find in our selves, co them; in a higher or
  5. loirer derree; and so hare neither distinct specitickE Ldeas ot Spirius, ex-
  6. cept only oF COD, tomhom We actribure borh Duration, and all thole
  7. ocher Ideas with Intinier; eo the ocher Spirits, with limitation, amonest
  8. irhich, e malce no distinction: Nor do Wve, betreen COD and them
  9. in our Ideas, pur anz difference by anr number of simple Ideos, Which we
  10. have oF one, and not of the other, buc onlr that ot Infinier. AII the par-
  11. ticular Ideas oF Existence, Knowledse, Will, Porer, and Motion, (5c.
  12. beins Ideas derived trom the Operations ol our Minds, we actribure aII
  13. oEehem io all sorts oF Spirits, ith the difference only ol degrees, to the
  14. utmost ve can imaginc, even Intinier When ve vould frame, a5. vell 20
  15. WWe can, an Pdea oF the Arst Being; Wrho yet, tis certain, is infinicelr more
  16. remore. in the real Excellener ot his Nacure, trom the hichest and per-
  17. fectes of all created Beings, much more from wtrat our narro Vnder-
  18. Pandinos can conceire ot FTim, than ehe DrCaFCA MTaH, nay, purest Se-
  19. raphim, is fromthe most contemptible part ot Matter.
  20. 5. F2. TE is not impossible to conceire, nor repugnant to Realon, that
  21. there mar De many Species of Spirits, as much separated and diversitied
  22. one trom another br distinet Properties, Wrhereotire have no Ideas, a5
  23. the Species ot senlible Thinss are distinguithred one trom another, by
  24. Oualicies, which e bno, and obserre inthem. That there Mould BC
  25. more Species ot intelligent Creatures above us, than there are ot senli-
  26. ble and material belor us, is probable to me trom henco; That in aII the
  27. visible corporeal WVorid, We sec no Chalms, Or CTapS. AII quire down
  28. FrOm uS, the descent is by easie Repo, and a continued series oF Things
  29. thac in cach remove, difter very little one trom the otter. There are
  30. Filbres that have Wings, and are noc Strangers tothe airy Region: and
  31. there are some Birds, that are Inhabitants of the Water; Whole Bloud is
  32. cold as Fistes, and their Fles in taste so near akrin, that the Scrupulous
  33. are allo d them on Fistr. daYS. There are AnimalS (O near OF Kin BOtH
  34. to Birds and Beals, that ther are in the middle betreen both: Amphi-
  35. bious Animals linte the Terrestrial and Aquarique tosether; Scales live
  36. aE Land and at Sea, and Porpoiles have ihe varm Blond and Entrails of
  37. an FTOS, noc to mention what is considently reported of Mermaids, or
  38. Sea-en. There are lome Brutes, that scem to have as much Rnomledse
  39. and Reason, as lome that are called Mer: and the Animal and Vegetabse
  40. Ringdoms, are loncarty join dthat il rou ill talle che lorrest ot onc, and
  41. chehisheit of the other, chere will scarce be perceived aur great diste.
  42. rence betreen them; and so on till e come to the lorrest and the most
  43. inorganical parES OF NaLEer, ive Mall find everr-WherO, that the several
  44. Species are liritced together, and ditter bur in almost insenlible desrees. And
  45. ertien re consider the infinite Porver and Wisdom oftheMater, we have
  46. reason to thintu, thar it is suirable ro the magnificent LParmony or the
  47. Vniverse, and the great Delign atid infinire Coodness of the Architect,
  48. Ehat the Species ot Creatures Phould alo, by sentlo deorces, alcend up.
  49. ward trom us tomards his intinire Perfection, as we sec ther gradually
  50. descend tromus downrards: Wrhich is it be probable, re have reason
  51. then tobe perliraded, thae there are tar more Species ol Creatures above
  52. us, than chere are beneath; Wre beitis, in desrees of Pertection, much
  53. riore remiote from the intinite Bcing OE GOD, than We are from thc
  54. loest ctate oF Beirs, and that Which approaches nearest tonothins. And
  55. vec otali chose distinet Species, sor ehe realeris above Paidi; We haveno di
  56. Ideas.
  57. diit

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 213. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0229?run=74