An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 227
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: 0.90.
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The machine reads it as
- Wames of Substances.
- to malie a necessary part of the complex Idea Signihed by the COmMON
- Name siven it, it must follo, thar Nen must suppose ctic lame W ord tO
- sionitie difterent Things in different Mlen: Since ther cannor doubt, bur
- ditterent Men may have dilcorered several ualities in Substances of the
- same Denomination, Which ottiers tindr nochine of.
- 5 48. F0 avoid ehis cherctore, ther have supposed a reat essence, be-
- longine to every species, trom which chese Properties all Ao, atd rould
- have their nare ofthe Species Sand for that: But ther not havinq anv
- Idea oF that real Fssence in Substances, and cheir. Nords signilyine no-
- chins but thie Fdeas ther have, that whiehis done by this ACreP is On-
- lr to put the name or sound, in the placo and Acadi ol che chine havine
- that real Fsserice, rithout lnowins wrharthac real PPence is; and this is
- chat wrhich Men do, Wrhen cher spcats of Spocies of Phires, as luPPOsine
- them made by Nature, and distinguistied by real Psences.
- 8. 49. For let us consider, When prealtirm, thar all Crold is lixed, cicherit
- means chat Fixednels is a part of the Detinition, part oF. the nominal Fssence
- thc Word Cold stands tor; and (0 this Afrmation, aII Cold is Axed, con-
- tainsnochins but ehe signitication ot the Torm Crold. Or else it means,
- chat Fixecness not beirss a part ol the detinition ot the Word Cold, IS a
- PrOPerEY OF Fhat Substance it selF: in irtrich Case, it is plaiis HaE thC
- Nord Gold stands in the place ot a Substance, having the real Fsence oF
- a Species ol Thines, made by Nature; in Which Wras oE Substitution, ic
- has (o confuled and uricerrain a Signitication, that choushi this Propolition,
- Cold is fixed, be in thar sense an AAirmation of lomethins real: vet tis
- a Fruch will alvars Fail us in ies particular Application, and (0 is coF. no
- realse ror Certainer. Por let it be never (o true, that all God, 1. c. 2lI
- that has thereal Fssence oF Gold, is fixed, What serves chis For, WrhilA
- tre kron nor in this sense, irhiat is or is not Oold: Por il e lno not
- the real Fssence oF Cold, tis impossible e ould Hnow erhtat parcel ot
- Macter has thatEsence, and so irhether it be true Cold or no.
- 5. 50. Fo conclude; what liberes Adam had at tirst to make any com-
- plex Ideas oE mixed Modes, by no other Partern, but br his omn Thoushis.
- thesame have all Men ever since had. And ehie same sccestity oF con
- formino his Ideas oF Substances to Things Without him, as to Archatrpes
- made by Nature, that Adam as under, il he rould noc riltully impose
- uxon himselt, che same arc all Men ever since under 1o0. Thelamo Li
- verer al(o, that Adam had of aftixins any ner name to ans idea; the
- laine has any one still, (especially the beginners oE Languases, it re can
- imasine any such,) buc orls wich this difterenco, that in Places, irhere
- Men in Society have already establithed a Languase amonsst them, etio
- lixnitication oF Nords are very warils and sparingly to be alter d: because
- Men beins turnised alreads with names Por their Ldeas, and common Vle
- travins appropriated hnoun names to cerrain Ldeas, an affected milappli-
- carion ofthem cannot bur be very ridiculous. Ile thar hath nem NorionS-
- Will, perhaps, venture sometimes on the coining neu Terms, to express them:
- Men chink it a Boldness, and ris uncertain, Whether common Dse will
- ever makse ehem pals for currant. Bue in Comrunication with others, it
- is necellary, that we contorm che Ideas e make the vulsar Nords ol any
- Language cand Cor, ro cheir hnomn proper Signitications, (whrich Lhave
- explain d at larse alreacy.) or el(e ro make knomn chat new Signitication,
- We applu chem +O.
Cite
An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 227. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0243?run=74