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An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 322

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: 0.92.

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The machine reads it as

  1. Rnomledse of Fxistence of other Thines. BoOk IV.
  2. are past all doubr, (o lonsas e remember nell. Buc this Knorlecse allo
  3. reaches ro Farcher than our Senles have formeriy altured us. Thus lecino
  4. Wacer at this instant, tis an unqueltionable Truth to me that Water doth
  5. exist: aud remembrins chat I CaW ic resterdar, it will also be alrays
  6. true; and as lono as my Memory retains it, altrays an undoubted Provo-
  7. stion eome, that Water did exist Foth. Fuly, 1688. as it will also be
  8. equall true, that a certain numter of very fine Colours did exist, whieh
  9. at the lame rime Isa upon a bubble ofthât Nater: But being no quite
  10. out of the sighe both oF the Water and Bubles too, it is no more certainty
  11. Bnown to me that thie Water dorh exist, than that the Bubbles or Colours
  12. therein; ie beins no more necelsary that Nater Mould existto dar, be-
  13. cause it existed resterdar, than thar the Colours or Bubbles exist to day,
  14. because cher exilted resterdar, though it be exccedingly much mOre pro-
  15. bable, because Water hath been observed io conrinue lons in Existence,
  16. Dut Bubbles, and the Colours on them quickIy cease EO BC.
  17. 6. F2. What Ideas ve have ot Spirits, and hor e come by chem, L
  18. have already Bewn: But chouch we tave thole Ldeas in our Mirics, and
  19. lno re have them chere, the havins the Ideas of Spirits, dees nor malie
  20. us knom that anz such Things do exilt without us, Or thas there are any
  21. finite Spirirs, or any other spiritual Being5, but the cternal. COD. We
  22. have cround trom revelation, and several ocher Reasons, to beliere rich
  23. asTurance, that there are luch Creatures; but our senles not being able 10
  24. discover them, ne vant the means ot knomine cheir particular Exilten.
  25. CeS. For e can nomore Hnom that there are tinite Spirits really exi-
  26. Ains, by the Idea ve have oE such Beings in our Minds, than by the
  27. Ideas any one has oftairies, or Centaurs, he can come i0 hnoW, that
  28. Thinos ansvering those Ideas, do really exist.
  29. And theretore concernine the FXistence oF finite Spirits, a5 ell as se-
  30. veral othier Thines, e mult content our selres rith the Fvidence of
  31. Faich, DuE universal certain Propolirions concerninq this aLter, are be-
  32. Vond our reach. For horerer true it mas be, 2. 8. thac all the intelligent
  33. Spirits that COD ever created, do Rill exist; ver it can never matie a
  34. part of our certain Rnomiedee. These, and the litce Propoluions, We
  35. aV astent to, as hrionir probablo, but are nor, Iscar, in this state, capable
  36. ot bnomins. Weare not then to put ochers upon demonstratine, nor
  37. our selres upon search oF universal Certaints in all those matters, Wherein
  38. e are not capable ofany ocher Rnowledge, but ertrat our senses sive us
  39. in ehis or that parricular.
  40. 6. 23. By Wrhich iE appearS, tlat Fhere are EO TOrIS OE PropositionS;
  41. orie concerninq the Existence ot ans thine ansiverable to such an ldea: 25
  42. havine the Idea oF an Flephant, Phaenix, Motion, or an Ansel, in my
  43. Mtind, the turst and natural enquiry is, Whether such a chins docs any
  44. Wrhere exist. And this Rnorledse is ontr ol Particulars. No exiltence
  45. Ofanv thino without us, but only ot COD, can certaintr De knorn
  46. Farther than our Senses inform us. There is anocher Fort ol Propositions,
  47. Wrherein is expressedthe Aereement, or Disagreement of our abstract ldeas,
  48. and their dependence orie on another; and such Propolitions may be
  49. univer sal and certain: So havine the Idea oE GOD and my seth, of Fcar
  50. and Obedience, Icannot but be sure that OD is to be scared and
  51. obered brme: and this Propolition svill be certain, concernine Man in
  52. General, iFP have made an abstraet Idea ot such a Species, hereot I am
  53. onc particular. But vec this Propolition, hor certain (OeVer, FHAE Men
  54. ouolt to scar and ober, GOD proves noc tome the Existence ol Men
  55. in che Nortc, bur will be crue ot all suc Crearures, Whenerer chey e0.
  56. exist:

Cite

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 322. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0338?run=74