An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 277
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The machine reads it as
- Fxtent ot Llumane Pnomledee
- verse may have, by che Altistence oF Senses and Faculcies, more or per-
- fecter than ire lare, or different trom ours, tis not For us to derermine.
- Buc 10 PaY, Or chink there are no such, becaule e conceive nochine oF
- ehem, is no better an Arsument, than il a blind Man Mould be politire
- in it, char chere ras no such thins as Sislit and Colours, because. hie had
- no manner oF Idea ot any such thing, nor could by any means Fraime to
- himselt any Notions about Secins. Thelgnorance, and Dartinels that is
- in us, no more hinders nor contines the Rnom ledse chatis in ottiers, than
- the Blindnels of a Mole is an argument against the quick lichrednels oF
- an Fagle. He thar Will consider ehe intinire Porer, Wisdom, and Good.
- hess ot ehe Crearor oF all Things, Will find Reason eo think it Wvas noc all
- laid out upon so inconsiderable, mean, and impotent a Creature, as HC
- Wwill And Nan Eo be; Who in aII probabilitr, is one ot the lowest ot al
- intellectual Beings. What Faculties cheretore other Species ol Creatures
- have to penetrate into the Nature, and inmost Constitutions ol Things;
- Whac Ideas they may receive of them, tar different trom ours, We rnon
- nOt. This we Know, and certainy tind, that re rrant several otter viens
- oF them, besides those re hare, to malie Dilcoveries oF them more per-
- fect. And We may be convinced thac the Pdeas we can attain toby our
- Faculcies, are very disproportionare ro Thines themlelres, wrhen a politive
- clear distinet onc oF Substarice it selE, Wrhieh is the Foundarion of aII
- the rest, is concealed trom us. But want of Ideas oF this bind,
- Deins a Part, as vell as Cause oF our lgnorance, cannor be described.
- Onty chis, Tthink, Imay contidently Pay ot ic; Thacthe incellectual and
- sensible Worid, are in ehis perfectiy aliko; Thac thac pare ertrich we sce
- oF cirtrer of ehem holds no provortion wich what e sec not; And What
- loerer re can reach with our Lyes, or our Thouxtus ol cither ol them,
- is bur a point, almost nochins, in comparison of the rest.
- 8. 24. Secondly. Another Great C aule OF LgnOranCC, is the vant of Ideas
- veare capable of. ASthe vant oF Ideas, Wrhich our Faculcies arenot able
- eo sive us, Muts usiholly trom thole viers oF Things, irhich tis reaso-
- nable tothink, other pertecter Beings than me hare, ot irhich e lnoir
- nothing; (0 che Want of Ideas, Pnow speak oF, Keeps us in Tenorance ot
- Thinos, e conceire capable of beins bnomnto us. Bulk, tigure, and
- Morion, We have Ideas ot. But though re are not wichoue Ideas of thiele
- primary Jualicies of Bodies in general; vet not knomins erhat is the par-
- cicular Bulk, Figure, and Motion, ot the srearest part ol the Bodies ot the
- Universe, Wve are ignorant ot che several Povers, PAicacies, and Ways ot
- Operacion, Wrhereby the Lfects re daily sec, are produced. Thele are
- hid fromus in some Thines. By Beine 10o remote; and in others, by beine
- 500minute. When re considerthe rast diltance of the knoun and vili.
- ble parrs ofthie Worid, andche Realons we have tothinte, chat ihat lies
- richin our Ren, is but a Imall part of the immense Vniverle, We Mall
- chen discover an huse AByIs oF Tonorance. What are the particular La
- bricles ofthe great Masses oF Macter, Which malre ux the itiole supendi
- ous frame ot corporeal Beines; hor tar they are extended; What is their
- Notion, and hou continued, orcommunicared; and wrhat Influence they
- nave one upon another, are Conremplatioris, thar at tirst slimpse our
- Thouotes lose chemlelres in. IE e narror our Contemplarion, ind
- contine our Thoughes to this little Canton, I mean this Syltem ot oije
- Sun, and the grosser Masses otMaeter, that visibly more about it, irtat
- several soris ot Vegetables, Animals, and intellectual corporeal Beines, in
- Ainitely different trom chole oF our licrle spor ot Farrh, may probably be in
- che other Planets; to the Knomledee otwhich, even ot icir outrard
- Fixures
- t
Cite
An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 277. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0293?run=74