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An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 321

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.

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The machine reads it as

  1. a one) Lxistence of ether en
  2. by, thon what is is certain as his Actions chemselves. And if o
  3. Preamer pleases to ery Whether the slorins heat ol a elass tornace, be
  4. Barely a andrine lmagination in a dromsie Mans L’uner, by purtins his
  5. FTand into it, he may perhaps be Watcened into a certainty greater than
  6. he couid ista, thac it is Comethins more thanbare Imogination: So thae
  7. this evidence is as great as re can delire, beins as certain to us, as our
  8. Pleature or Pains i. c. Hlappinels or Misery; beyond whrich, re have no
  9. concernment, cither of Rnorins or Beins. Such an alturance ofthe fixi
  10. Rence ot Thinos ithout us, is suflicient to direet us in the accainine the
  11. Cood, and avoidine the Evil nrhrich is causcd by chem; vihich is the im-
  12. portant concernment re have ofbeins made aequainted rith ttiem.
  13. 5. 9. In sine chen, Wrhen our Senses do actually conrer into our Vnder-
  14. Aandings any Idea, we are well allured thar there doth Comething at rHat
  15. ime realiy exist itliour us, Which doth altect our Senses, and by them
  16. sive notice ot its selFto our apprehentive Faculcies, and actually pro-
  17. duce that Ldlea which e then perceive; and e cannot (o far distrust
  18. their Testimony, 25 to doube thac such Collections of limple Ldeas, 45
  19. nehave obserred by our senses 10 be united together, do really exist
  20. together. Bur this _nouledee extends as far as the present Testimony of
  21. our Sensesz cimploy d about particular Objects that do then affect them,
  22. and nofarther. For it I la such a Collection oElimple Ideas, 25 is Wont
  23. tobe called Man, exiltins rogether one minure linco, and am nor alonc,
  24. P cannorbe sure that thelame Man exists nor, linee there is no necessary
  25. connexion ol liis Fxistence a minure since, ich his tixiltence no: by a
  26. chouland nrays he mas cease ro be, lince lhact the Pestimony ol ny Sen-
  27. ses For his Existence. And it L cannot De sure, that the Man I saw las 1O
  28. dar, is nou in beins, I ean be less Ture that he is (0, Who hath been lon-
  29. ver remored trom my Senses, and Phavenor seen lince resterdar, or lince
  30. the last rear; and much less can Ibe certain ot the Existence ot Nen that
  31. I riever Parr. Andtheretore though it be hishly probable, that Millions
  32. ofMen do nom exist, yet whilst I’am alone irriting oF this, Phavenoun.
  33. queltionable Knomledee of ic; thoush the great lilcelihood of it puts me
  34. Past doube, and it be realonable for me to do several thiries upon the con-
  35. Sidence that thereare Men (and Men allo oF my acquaintance; mich erhom
  36. have t0 d0) nom in the World: Bur chis is bue Probabilier, not
  37. Bnomledee.
  38. 5. 10. Whereby yet e may obserre, hon Foolitti and vain a chins itis,
  39. For aMan oFnarror Knomledsc, Who havins Rcalon siven tuim to judee
  40. ofthe different evidence and probabilirs of Thines, and to be smay d ac.
  41. cordinoly; hon vain, I CaY, it is to exreet Demonstration and Certainti
  42. in thines noi capable of it; and retule ANent to rery rational Provolrions;
  43. and act contrary to very plain and clear Fructis, becaule thes cannor be
  44. macle out so evident, as to surmount every the lcast (P vill not lar Rei-
  45. son, but) precence of doubtins. Hle thac in ordinarr AHairs oF Lité, vould
  46. admit ofnochins but direct plain Demonstration, would be sure ot no-
  47. thins in chis Worla, buc perittins quiclls. The Wholesomness of his
  48. Neac or Brinl, vould De scarce capable ot certainty enourh to give him
  49. realon to venture on it: And Lvould fain bnor irhat tis hecoulddo up-
  50. on such grounds as vere capable of no doubr, no Objections.
  51. 6. TY. ASWten our SensOS are actualIy employ dabout aniy Object, we
  52. doknom that it does exict; l0 hy our Memory ve may be altured, that
  53. hererotore Thines thar aftected our senles, hiave existed. And thus ve
  54. have tnouledee ofthe past Fxistence of several Things, Whereofour Senles
  55. havine intormedus, our Memories Aill retain the Ideas; and Os Fis, We

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 321. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0337?run=74