An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 312
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The machine reads it as
- Knomledee of ihe Fxistense of a 6OD. B00K IV.
- hal infallible Perception that Weare. In every Aet OE SenlatiOn, ReaIO.
- nins or Thinkins, ere are conscious to our selres ot our omn Beins; an d
- in ehis Matter, come not More os cheliphet dexree oE C’errainty.
- H A P. 2.
- Of our Rnomledze of che Fexistence of a GDD.
- 6. T. FTouch God has siven us noinnate Ideas os Him sels; choust he
- has stamped no original Characters in our Minds, Wherein e
- may read nis Beins: yet havins turnisted us wich thole Faculties, oux
- Minds areendowed ith, he hath not lele himself Without wirness: spice
- e have senle, Perception, and Realon, and cannor vant a clear proot
- ofhim, 25 lonq as We carry our selres about us. Nor can We justy com-
- plain of our Tgnorance in this great Point, since he has (0 plentitully pros
- videdus with the means to dileover, and knor him, (o tar asis necessare
- tothe end oF our Beine, andthe great concerument of our Frappiness. But
- chouch ehis be the most obrious Pruth ehat Realon discovers; andthonoh
- its Pvidence be (ifI miltake noc) equal to mathematical Certainty: yet
- it requires Thoughe and Aetention; and the Mind must apelr its selE +o
- 2 regular deduction ot it trom lome unqueltionable parts of ourknom ledge,
- Orelse e Mallbe as uncertain, and ignorant ot this, as oF other Propoli-
- cions, Wrhiehare in themselres capable of clear Demonstration. To Mhe
- theretore, etiat ve are capable of knovine, certaintr Knorine that there is
- aCod, and hon ve come by it, Pchink we rieed lool no Parcher chanour
- selves; and thai undoubted Rnow ledse rehare of our omn lxistence.
- 9. 2. Ichinle it is beyond Ouection, that Man has a clear Perception of
- his oon Beine; hebnows cerrainly, thar he exists, and that he is some-
- thiro. FTe that can doubt, Whether he beans thing, or no, I speale noE
- to, no more than P vould argue rith pure noching; or endeavour tocor
- vince Nonentir, thar it vere lomethiins. Ilany one pretendto be l0
- Sceprical, as to deny his orn Existence, (Tor realIy to doube ot it, is ma-
- nitestly impossible,) lec him Por me enjoy his beloved FTappinels of beine
- nothins, until Iunger, or Pome orher P’ain convince hum oE the contra-
- rY. Fnis then, L tinHE, L may tate For a Fruth, Wrtieh every ones cex-
- tain Rnoledee assures him of, bexond the liberts of douhrins, viz. That
- heis lomething thac actually exilts.
- 6. 3. In the next place, Man bnors by an intuitire Certaintr, that bare
- nothine can no more produce any real Beine, than it can be equal to rwo rieht
- Ancles. IFa Man LNOWS NOE That NOn entity, or the Ablence oF all Bein
- cannot be equal to tworighe Angles, it is impossible he Mould bnor any
- demonstration in Fuclid. IF theretore e lnor there is some real Beine,
- and FhaF Non entity canmot produce any real Being, ic is an evident de
- monstration, that trom Fternies there has been fomething. Since What
- as not trom Eternity, hada Beginnins; and what had a Beginmins, must
- De produced by Lomething elsc.
- 6. 4. Next, it is evident, that erhat had ies Beire and Beginnins from
- ancther, must also have all chat erhich is in, and belones to ies Beins
- from anorher t00. AIIthe Porersit has, mustbe orineto, and receired
- trom thelame Source. This eterral Source then of all beino must also
- Dethe Source and Origina l OE aII Porer; and (0 this eternat Being must
- be also the most poverful.
Cite
An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 312. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0328?run=74