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An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 278

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

  1. Fxtent of Flumane Knomledge.
  2. BOOR
  3. Figures and Parts, We can no waz attain, Whilst ire are contined to rliis
  4. Farth, there beinsno natural Means, cither by Senlation or Reflection, t0
  5. conves their certain Ldeas into our Minds? J’hey are out ol the reach ot
  6. chose Inlets oFall our Hnomledge; and wrhat sores of Furniture and Inha-
  7. bicanes chole Mansions contain in ehem, we cannoc so muchasguess, much
  8. less have clear, and distinet Ldeas oF them.
  9. 6. 25. Is a Great, nay Por the greatest, part oF the several ranlis OF B0-
  10. dies in the Vniverse, Ccape our notice by cheir remoteness; thereare others
  11. chat are no less concealed from us by their Minuteness. These insensible
  12. Corpuseles, being ele actire parts oE Matrer, and the great Instruments oc
  13. Nature, on wrhich depend not omly all their secondary Oualicies, but al(0
  14. OlE OF chicir vatural Operations; our ane of precile distinet Ideas oE
  15. their primary Oualiries, lceps us in an uncureable lenorance oF irtrat we
  16. desire robnor about them. I doube not but il ve could discover the
  17. Figure, Sico, Connexion, and Morion ofthe minute constituent parts or
  18. any tiro Bocies, We hould hnor withont Trial several ot their Opera-
  19. tions orc upon another, as ve do now the Proverties ot a Square, Or 3
  20. Friangle; and re srould be able to tell belore Fland, that Rubarb would
  21. purse, Hlemlock kill, and Opium make 2 Man ACcD; 25 Well a5 a Watch.
  22. maker does that a licrle vicce ot Paper, laid on the Ballance, Will kecp the
  23. Wacch trom soins eill it be removed; orthat some linall Part OF it, beirs
  24. rubb d by a File, the Machin rould quire lose its Morion, and theWatct
  25. sononore Bid wehnon the mechanical Afections ot ehe Particles ol
  26. Rubarb, Hemlock, Opium, and a Man, a5 a Watch. malcer does thole oF 2
  27. Watch. Whereby it pertorms all its Operations; and ot a File, Whichby
  28. rutbins on ehem will alter the Figure oF any oF the Whecls; The dissol.
  29. vins oP Silver in aqua forris, and Cold in ag. regia, and not vice versa
  30. Would bethen, perhaps, no more disticult to kno, than it isto a Smitti
  31. tounderstand why the turmins ot oneler will open a LOck, and nocthe
  32. curnins of anocher. Bur whilst re are destiture ot Senses, acure enousl
  33. to dilcorer the minute Particles of Bodies, and to sive us Ideas of their
  34. mechanical Afections, We mustbe content to be ignorant ot their proper-
  35. ties and ways oF Opcration; nor can e be altured about them any
  36. farcher, than fome seir Trials crematie, are able toreach. But Whether
  37. chey wrill succeed asairi another time, we cannorbe certain. Thishinders
  38. our certain Rnoir ledge ot universal Fruchs, concerning natural Bodies. And
  39. our Renson carries us herein very sirle besond parrieular matrer oc
  40. Fact.
  41. 5. 26. And Cheresore T am apt to doube thaE, hou Car Coever humane
  42. industry may advance usetul and experimental. Philolophy in physical
  43. Thines, Ccientifical will Aill Be out ot our reach; because We WanE per-
  44. sect and adequate Ldeas ofthole very Bodies, Wrhich are nearest tous, and
  45. mostunder our Command. Thoserhich re have rantred into C lasses un-
  46. der names, and we think our selves best acquainted wich, we have but
  47. very impertect, and incompleat Ideas of. Distinet Ideas oF the several
  48. Torts oE Bodies, that fall under che Lxamination of our Senles, perhaps, we
  49. may hare; DuE adlequate Ideas, Psuspect, e have noc ot any one amonest
  50. them. Andthouxhi the former oF these ill serveus for common V se and
  51. Dilcourse; vec trhils e ant the latrer, ve arenot capable of scientisicat
  52. Unouledee; nor Mall ever be able to discover general, instructive Truths
  53. concernins them. Cerrainey and Demonstration, are Thinss re must
  54. noc, in these Matters, pretend 10. By the Colour, Figure, Faste, and Snell,
  55. and oetier sensible Oualities, We have as clear, and distinct Ldeas ot sage
  56. and Hemlocte, as We have ot a Circle anda Frianele: Duc harine no sdeas
  57. T
  58. ot

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 278. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0294?run=74