An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 233
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
- Ibuse of
- uniced in Nature, nOr no Patterns to De Meun Wrhereby Nen may adju
- thems What the Word Murther, Or Sacrilese, (5c. Trsnitie, can never BC
- Hnoun trom Phinss themlelres. There De mans of the parrs of those
- complex Ideas, erhich are not visible in the Action it sCIF, the Incention
- ofche Mind, or theRelation oFholy Thinss, wtich make a part oF Mur-
- iber, Or Sacrilere, have no necestary connexion with che outmard and
- vilible accion ot him thac commits cither: and the pullins. the Prioser
- ofthe Cun, Wrich which the Murther is committed, and is all the Accion,
- that, perhaps, is vilible, has no natural connexion with those orher Ldeas
- that makseup the complex onc, ramed Murrher. Ther have their union
- aud combinarion onls Erom che Onderstandins, Which unites them under
- one Namme: but unitine cheni without any Kule, or Partern, it cannot be
- buc chac ehe signification oF che Name, chat Ctands For such voluntarr Col.
- lections, ould De osten various in the Minds of difterent Men, Who have
- scarce any Ctandins Ruleto regulate chemselres, and their Norions ol suct
- arbitrary Ideas by.
- 5. 8.Fiserue, common Dse, chat is che Rule oE Proprieti, may be sup-
- Poled here toaftord some aid, to seitle the signification ot Lansuase; and
- it cannoc be denied, but chat in some meature it does. Common usc
- regulates the Meanine of ords pretr ell for common Conversation;
- but no body havins an Auchoritr to eltablim the precile signitication of
- Nords, nor determine to wrhat Ideas any one all annex them, com-
- mon Vle is nor sufticient eo adjust chem to philolophical Discourtes; there
- beins scarce ans Name, ol any very complex Idea, (to lay nochins ot
- Ochers,) irtrichu, in common VI0, has noc a great lacitudo, and ertrich lce-
- Dins wichinthe bounds oF Propriety; may not be made the sien or far dit-
- ferent Ideas. Belides, the rule and meature ol Propricty it selF beins no
- wrhere establiched, it is olten macter of dispute, Whiecher this or that way
- OFulins a Word, De proprietr of Specch, or no. From all irhicli, it is evi
- dent, thac the Names of such kind of very complex Ideas, are naturally
- liable to this impersection, to be of doubetul and uncertain signitication;
- and even in Men, that hare aMind to understand onc anocher, do not al.
- ays Cand for the lame Idea in Speater and Elcarer. Phoushthonames
- Glory and Gratiende be the lame in evers Mans mouth, chroush a wrhiole
- Connerr, yet the complex collectire Idea, Wrhich every one thinks on, or
- intends by chat Name, is apparently very difterene by Men ulins ihe
- Pame Languagc.
- 6. 9. The may allo wherein the Names of mixed Modes are ordinarily
- Tearned, does not a licele contribute to the doubtfulness of their senifica-
- tion. For it re ill obserre hom Children learn Languages, we MaII
- find, thac eo makre themi understand what the Names, ol simple Ldeas, or
- Substances, Stand for, People ordinarily Mer them the chinq, Whereot
- ther vould hare them have the Ldea; and then reveat to them the Name
- that stands For ic, as White, Sreet, Mille, Sugar, Cat, D05. But as Formi-
- xed Modes, especially the most marerial oF them moral Nords, the
- Sounds are ulually learri d frst, and then to know what complex Ideas
- Ther Stand for, ther are cither Beholden eo the explication ot others, Or
- (rrtich happens For the most parE) are lest rorheir oivn Obserration and
- Industry; irhich being little laid out in che search of the true and precile
- meanins oFNames, thele moral Words are, in most Mens mouths, lictle
- iore than baroSounds; or When they have anr, ris for the inost pare but
- a very obscure and contused signification. And even those chemselves.
- irtio have with more actention setled cheir Notions, do vet hardly avoid
- cheinconretietee, 0 hare chem Manel tor cormplex Ideas, dicterent sro
- those
Cite
An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 233. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0249?run=74