Leibniz Legible

Machine transcription of the Leibniz Nachlass

Search the Nachlass

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 297

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. their lruth and Certaindi.
  2. Keep all these curious Machines in motion and repair, how corivezed anc
  3. moditied, is berond our notice and apprehention; and the great Parts
  4. and Wheels, 25 I may (0Par, oE this Cupendious Structure ot the Vni-
  5. verle, may, for oustt me lnor, have sucti a connexion and dependence
  6. in their Insluences and Operations one upon anocher, chat, perhaps,
  7. Thinss in this our Mansion, nould put on quite another face, and ceale
  8. tobe Wwtat thez arc, if lome one oF the Stars, or great Bodies incom-
  9. prehensibly remote tromus, Pould cease to be, or move as it docs. This
  10. is certain, Thines, hovever absolure and entire they leem in themselves.
  11. are DuE RCtainers tO Othier Parts OF Nature, For chat Which ther are most
  12. talcen notice of by us: Their observable Oualicies, Actions, and POVerS,
  13. are orvine to lomethiine ithuuthem; and chere is noc so complere and
  14. Pertect a part, that wre lnor, ot Nature, which does nor ove the Beine
  15. it has, ard the Fxcellencies oPit, to irs Neishbours; and we must look a
  16. sreat deal farther thanthe Surface of any Body, to comprehend pertectly
  17. those Qualiries chat are in it.
  18. 5. T2. IF this be(0, it is not to be mondrod, that ve have very imper-
  19. fect Ideas of Substances; and that the real Fslences, on Which depend
  20. their Properties and Operations, are unknown to us. We cannot dil:
  21. cover (0 much as the size, figure, and texture oF their minute and active
  22. Pares, Which is really in ther; much less the ditterent Motions and Im-
  23. pulles made in and uponthem by Bodies trom Wichour, and the Ffects oF
  24. them, upon wrhich depend, and by wrhich is Formed the greatest and
  25. most remarteable part ot thole Oualities me observe in them, and ot
  26. Wtrich our complex Ideas of them aremade up: This consideration alone
  27. may set us at rest, as to all hopes ot our havirg thie Ideas oF their real FI
  28. sences; wtrich, Whilst re rane the nominal Essences re makre ule of in-
  29. Read ot them, will be able eo turnim us but very sparingly with ans
  30. general Rnorledse, or universal Propolitions capable ot real Certaintr.
  31. 5. F3. We are not therefore to monder, il Certaintr be to be found in
  32. very te ceneral Propolitions made concernine Subltances: Our Hno.
  33. lecse oftheir Oualities and Properties 80 very seldom Carcher than our
  34. Seules reach and inform us. Possibly inguilitire aud observins Nen may,
  35. by Arensch ot fudement, penetrate farther, and on Probabilities takeri
  36. from wary Oblervation, and Hlints iveil laid together, olten guess riote
  37. ac what lxperience has not vet discorered to chem. But this is BUE
  38. Zueltins sillsit amounes only to Opinion, and has not thatcerraines wrtrich
  39. is regnisite roknow ledge: For all general Rnomledse lies only in our
  40. own Thovohts, ayd consists barely in the contemplation ot our oon ab.
  41. Aract Ldeas. Wherever we pereeire ans aoreement or dilagreement a-
  42. monsst them, there rehave general Rnowledgesand by puctins theNames
  43. OF thole Ideas together accordinsly in Propoliions, can ith cerrainey
  44. pronounce general Truths. But Decaulethe abstract Ideas ofsubstances, for
  45. vhich their specilick Names Stand, Whenever ther have any distinct and
  46. determinate signification, have a dilcoverable connexion or inconsictenci
  47. ith a very fer otter Ideas, the corraintr ot universat Propositions con-
  48. cernins substances, is very narro and scaney in that part, wrtich is
  49. our principal enquirr concerninq them: and there is sCarce anv OF tO
  50. Names of Subltances, let the Idea it is applied eo be what it will, of wrhich
  51. ve can generally, anei wich certainey pronounce, thar it has or has nOt
  52. this or tliat other Oualiey belonsins to it, and constantls co existins
  53. Or inconsistent ith chat Idea, Where ever ic is tobetourid.
  54. CI

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 297. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0313?run=74