OCR Text |
Show 86 'Duration, and its Jimple Modes; &c. Book II. ~- 8. On the contrary, t!Jihg:,s_ tbat move fo f~ift, as not to. affect_ the Senfes dillin&ly with feveral d1lltn1;UJfhable d11lances of the1r Monon, and fo caufe not any train of ItleaJ m tl~e Mmd, ar< not alfo fercen•ed, For any thing, that moves round about m. a C1rcle, 10 lefs time than our Ideas are want to fucceed one another m our Mmds, 1s not perce1ved to move; but feems to be a perfe& entire Circle of that Matter,or Colour, and not a part of a Circle in Motion. . ~- 9· Hence I leave it to others to judge, whether It be not probable that our Ideas do whilllwe are awake, fucceed one another in our Minds at certain difian~es not much unlike the Images in the inlide of a Lanthorn turned round by the Heat of a Candle. This A pfeamncc of theirs'in train, tbough, perhaps, it may be fometirri~s faller, and fametimes Oower ; yet, I gnefs, vanes not very much m a wakmg Man : There feem to be certain Bounds to the quicknejJ and ./lowne.fs of the Sue' ce.lfion ofthofe Ideas one to another in our Minds, beyond which they ca11 neither delay nor hallen. ~- 10. The Reafon I have for this odd conjecture is, from obferving that in the Impre!lions made upon any of our Senfcs, we can but to ~ certain degree perceive any Succe!lion; which if exceeding quick, the Senfe of Succe!lion is loll, even in Cafes where it is evident, ·.that there is :i real Succe!lion. Let a Cannon-BuUet pafs through a Room, and in its way take with it any Limb, or flefhy Parts of a Man ; 'tis as clear as any De· monfiration can be, that it mull llrike fucce!lively the two fides of the Room: 'Tis alfo evident, that it mull touch one part df the Flelh fir/l, and another after; and fo in Succe!lion : And yet I believe , no Body, who ever felt the pain of fuch a /hot, or heard the blow againllthe two difiant Walls, could perceive any Succe!lion, either in the pain, o1' found of fo fwift a !hoke. Such a part of Duration as this, wherein we perceive no Succe!lion, is that which we may call an Inflant; and is tb•t 1vbicb takes up tile time of only one Idea in our Minds, without the Succeffion of another, wherein therefore we perceive no Succellion at all. §. 11. This alfo happens, w!Jere the Motion is fo ./low, as not to fupply a conllant train of frefl1 Ideas to the Senfes, as fall as the Mind is capable of receiving new ones into it; and fo other Idea.r of our own Thoughts having room to come into our Minds, between thofe offered to our Sen: fes by the moving Body, there tiJC S.nfe of Motion is loft; and the Body, though 1t really move, yet not changing perceivable di1lance with fame other Bodies, as fall as the Ideas of our own Minds do naturally follow one another in train , the thing feems to /land llill, as is evident in the Hand> of Clock<, and Shadows of Sun-dials, and other confiant, but flow Mo· ti~ms, where though after certain Intervals, we perceive by the change of d11lance, that 1t hath moved, yet the Mot1on 1t felf we perceive not. §. n. So that to me it feems, that the conflant and rq,ul•r SNcce.lfion of Ideas in a waking Man, are, as it were, the Meafore ani:! Standard of all ot!Jer_Succe.lfio"n, which if it either exceeds their pace, as where two founds or pams, f!fc. take up in their Succe!lion the Duration of but one Idea; or elfe where any Motion or Succe!lion is fo flow?as that it keeps not pace With the Ideas m our Mmds, or the qmckncfs, m which they take their turns, as when any one, or more Ideas in their ordinary courfe come in· to our Mind between thofe which are offered to the fight, by the diff'crent pcrcept•blechltances of<1 Body in Motion, or between Sounds, or Smells, followwg one another, there alfo the Senfc of a conllant continued Succe! lion is loll, and we perceive it not, but with certain gaps of rell between. · §. q. If Chap. XIV. 'Duration, and its Jimple Modes, 9-'3· If it be fo, that the Ideas of our Minds, whilll we ha~e any there do conllantly change, and fhift in n continual Succe!lion, it would be i~po!lible, may any one f~y, for a Man to think loll!\ of any one thing: By which if~t be meant, that a Man may hiZ'Ve one]elj-fame ,lingle Idea a IMg time alone iJt hLS Mmd, tvttbo~t an1 vanatzon_ at all, I dunk, m Matter of Fact it is not po.lfihle, for wluch ( not knowmg how the Ideas of our Minds are framed, of what Materials they are made, whence they have their Light and how they come to make their Appearances,) I can give no other R~liin but Experience : and! would have any one try, whether he can keep one unvaried lingle Idea m Ius Mmd Without a,ny other, fot any conliderable time together. . . . §. '4- For Trial, let him rake any F1gure, any Degree ofL1ghtor Wlute· nefs or what otl1er be pleafes ; and he w1ll, I fuppofe, find 1t d11licult to ~p oil other Jd,aJ out of. his Mind: But that lome, either of another kind, or various ConJideratJon of that Idea (each of wh1ch Confideronort is a new Idea) will cooJlaorly fucceed one another 10 Ius Thoughts, let him be as. '"ary as he can. , . . . . . § 15 All tba~ is in a Mans Power m tlus Cafe, I th10k, 1s only to mmd and ·obfervc what the !dear arc, that take their turns in his Under!lanlli g . or clfe to direct the for~, and callm fuch as he hath a defire or ufe ot but hinder the conf/ant Succe.lfion of frelh ~nes , I think he cannot, though he may commonly chufe; whether he w!Il heedfully obferve, and <:Onfiderthem. , · d be d b · , §. x6. Whether thefe feveralldeas in a._ Mans M1n rna e. y certam M ·0 1 will not here difpute: But thiS I am fure, that they mclude no IJ~~~ ~r' Motion in their Appearance; and if a Man had not the Idea of Motion otherwife, I think, he would have none at all, whtch 1senoughto my prefent Purpofe; and fulliciently /hews, that the nonce ~e take of the Idea; of our own Minds, appeanng there one after another? IS that wh1ch gives us the Idea of Succe!li,on and Durat1on, . Without wh1ch we fl1ould have no fuch Ideas at all. T!s not then, MotJow, but the confiant tram of JdeaJ in our Mincls, whilll we are wak1ng,_ th~t fornijheJ us IVJth.tbe Idea of Duration, whereof Motion no otherwtfe g1ves us any Perceptwn, than as it caufes in our Minds a conllant Succe!lion of Idea.r, as I have before !hewed : and we have as clear an IJea of Succe!lion, and Duratwn b the train of Ideas fucceeding one another m our Mmds, without the J;ea of any Motion, as by the tram of IdeaJ of the unmterrupted change f d'Jlance between two Bod1es, wh1ch we have from Monon; and thererore ~ve /hould as well have the Idea of Duration, were there no Senfe of Motion at all. · h' 1 §. 17. Having thus got the Mea of Duranon, the next t mg natura for the Mind to do, is to get fomemeafore of tlus common Durat1ow, whereb it mi ht judge of its diff'erent lengths,_ and confider the d!lhnct Order, J'hereingfeveralthings ex11l, Wlthoutwluchagreat part of our Knowledge would be con!ufed, and a great part of H11lory be rendered very ufelefs. This Conlideration of Durationl, as fet out by. certam Penods, and morkcd by certain Meafures or EpociJJ, is that, I thmk, wluch moll pro-perly we call Time. . · · db §. 1 8. In the meafuring of Extenlion,rhere IS not lung 111_0re requ~te , ut the Application of the Standard orMeafure\~emake ufe of, to the thmg of whole Exten/ion we would bcinformed.Butm themeafunng ofOuratwn, h t bed ne becaufc no two different parts of Succe!l!on can be put tt ogISf tchaner n ot o mca0f ur'e one anot l1 er.. An d no tl u.n g being a mea'Jr"u re o'Jl ' D•ra-tJon , ""t Doration. as nothing is of Extenlion, but Extcnlion, we can- ~"\ ' not |