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An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 316

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. honen of the lxistence of a OD. BOKIV
  2. S. F5. Secona, TF aII Maeter do not think, PnexE asH, Whether it BC
  3. onty one atom that does so: This has as mans Ablurdities as the other;
  4. for chenthis Atom of Matter, mustbe alonc eternal, or not. IFthis alone
  5. De eternal, then this alone, by its porrertul Thouoht, or WiiI, made aII
  6. the Fest OFMatter. And Co rre have the crearion Of Matter bY a POIVer-
  7. Ful Thousht, Wrhich is that the Materialilts stick at. For it thier suppose
  8. one single chinkins Atom, to hare produced all the rest oF Matter, ihcy
  9. Cannot aseribe that Pre eminener to it uxon any other acconne, thian that
  10. oFits Thinking, the only suppoled ditterence. Bur allor it to be by
  11. lome other ar, Wrhich is abore our conception, it must De Hil Crea-
  12. tion; and these Men must sive up their creat axim, Fx nihilo nil sit.
  13. IEic be Caid, that all the rest of Matter is equalls eternal, as chat chiinkirs
  14. Atom, it will be to (ay any thing at pleature, thoush never (0 absurd:
  15. For to suppose allMatter eternal, and et one lmall particle in Unomledoc
  16. and Porer insinitelz above all the rest, is irhout any theleast appearance
  17. oF Reason to frame any FIypothelis: Fvery partiele oF Matter, aS Matter,
  18. iscapable oFall the same Fisures andMorions ol ans ocher; and Lchallense
  19. any one inhis Thoughes, to add any Fhins else to one abore another.
  20. 9. 16. Thiraly, IF thenneither one peculiar Atom alone, can bc this
  21. eternal chintinq Being; nor aII MaLTeN, 25 Matter: 1. C. every particle oF
  22. Matter can be ic, it only remains, that it is some certain System of Matier
  23. duly puttosether, that is this thinting eternal Beins. Thisis chac Wrhich, P
  24. imagino, is that Notion rhich Nen are aprest to have Os COD, W1O
  25. vould have him a material Being, as most readils susgested tothem, By
  26. the ordinary conceit cher hare ol themselres, and oeher Men, Which they
  27. talo to be material chinking BeinzS. Bur this Tmagination, horrerer riere
  28. natural, is no lels absurd chantheocter: Por eo suppole the eternal thinkririe
  29. Beins, to De nothing else but a compolition ol Particles of Matter, each
  30. Whereofis incogitarire, is en ascribe all no Wisdom and Rnomledee os
  31. that eternal Beins, only to the juxta Polition of parrs; than Wtrieh, nO-
  32. thing can bemore absurd. For unthinking Parricles of Matcer, hotverer
  33. Dut together, ean have nochins thereby ad ded tothem, bur a ner relation ot
  34. Polition, Which tisimpossible thould sive rhoushe andhnorlodoe torhem.
  35. 6. T7. But tarther, this corporeat System cicher has 2Il its parts at rest,
  36. Or it is a certain motion of the pares wherein its Thinkina consists. IF it
  37. be pertecly at rest, it is bur one lump, and (o can have no privileses abore
  38. Onc AtOM.
  39. IF it bethe motion of ies parts, on which irs Thinkins depends, aII
  40. the Thouxhrs there must be unaroidablr accidental, and limitted; snee aII
  41. the Particles that by Motion cause Thoustr, beine cach ot them in it
  42. (ClFWithont anv TPhouoht; Cannot reculate its oon Motions, mucti less
  43. be regulated by the Thoughe of the ivhole; since thar Thought is nOE
  44. the cause of Motion, (For then it must be antecedent to it, and sorrithout
  45. it,) bist the consequeneo ot it Wwherehy Preedom, P’over, Choice, and
  46. allrational and hrise chintins or actine, Will be quite taten avay: S0 that
  47. such a chintino Being, Will be no becter nor iser, than pure blind MaF
  48. ter; Sinee tO resolvo all into tho accidental unguided morions ot Blind
  49. Matter. Or into ThoughE dependine on unguided motions of blind Mar.
  50. ter is the sarrie thins; noc tomention the narromness ot such ThougHIS
  51. anl Rnow ledse phat must depend on the morion of such parts. But
  52. elore needs no enumerotion ot any more Absardicies and Imporivili.
  53. ties in Ehis FIYPOtHEMS, (however tull OEthem it Bes) than chac betore.
  54. mentioned; Linco let ehis chintcino System Be all, Or a Part ot the Mat-
  55. cer ot ihe Vniverse, ir is impolsible chat ans one Parcicle, Mouldeitter
  56. tinon

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 316. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0332?run=74