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Show Our Ideas of SubjJt~nces. which Words, every one who underfiands the Language, frames in his Mind a Combination of thofe feveral limple Id-.s, wh~ch !1e has ufu ~lly obferved, or fancied co exifi toge~her under that dcnommanon ; all whtch be fuppofes to refr in, and be, as t.t were, a~herent to that unknown com· rnon Srtbjed, which inheres not m any thmg dfe : Though m the mean time it be manifefi and every one, upon EnqUtry mto his own thoughts, will find, that he has no other Idea of any Subfiancc, v : g. let it be Gold, Horfe Iron, Mao, Vitriol, Bread, b?t what he has barely _of thofc fen· tible Qgalities, which he fuppofes to mhere wuh a fuppolinon of fuch a Subj/ratum, as gives as it were a fupport to thofe Qjlalltles, or lim pie IJear which he has obferved to extfi umted together. Thus the /de a of Sun, Wh;t is it, but an aggregate of thefe fev7'"allimp!e Ide~s, Bright, Hot, Roundilh having a confiant regular monon, at a certam difiance from us and perhaps feme other ! As he who thi!lks and difcourfes of the Sdn h;s been m~re or lcfs accurate, in obferving thofe fenlible ~alities, Ide;, or Properties, which are in thaJ thing, which he calls the Sun. ~- j, For he has the pcrfectell Idea of any particular Subllance, who has gatlrered,and put togecher,moll of thofe lim pie Ideas, which do exi(t in it, among which are to be reckoned tts acttve Power~, an~ pailive Capacities ; which though not firictly timple Ideas, yet, m thiS rcfpect, for brevities fake, may conveniently enough be reckoned amongfi them. Thus the power of drawing Iron, is one of the Ideas of the Complex one of that fubllance we tall a Load-fione,and a Power to be fo drawn is a part of the Complex one w~ call Iron; which Powers pafs for inherent Qgali· ties in thofe Subjects. Becaufe every Subfiance, being as apt by the Pow· ers we obferve in it, to change fome fenftble ~alities in other Subjeds, as it il; to produce in us thofe limple IJe•s, we receive immediately from it,. ·does by thofe rtew fenlible Qgalities, introduced into other Subjeds, difcover to us thofe Powers, which do thereby mediately affect our Senfes, <IS regularly as its fenlibleQ]Ja!ities do it immediately, v. g. we imme· diately by oilr Senfes perceive in Fire its Heat and Colour ; which are, if tightly confidered, nothing bu~ Powers in it,to produce thofe Ideas in us: We alfo by our Senfes perceive the colour and brittl~nefs of Charcoal; whereby we come by the Knowledge of another Power in Fire, which it hns to<:hange the colour and conlillency of Wood: By the former Fire immediately , by the later it' mediately difcovcrs to us thefe fever:tl Powers; which therefore we look upon 'to be a patt of the Qjlalities of Fire, and fo make them a part of the complex Ideas of it. For all thofe Powers that we take Cognizance of, terminating on! y in the alteration of lOme fenlible Qyalities, in thofe Subjects, on which they operate, and fo making them exhibit to us new fenfible ftfeas1 therefore it is, tim I ha ve retktmed thefe Powers amoogll: the limple ltJeas, which make the com· ple!C .6nes of the fults {)f Subfiances ; though thefe Powc'l"s coniidered in themfelves, are truly complex Ideas. And in this loQfer fenfc, I crave leave to be undcrftood, When t name any of thcfe Pon:Jtialities amongjl tbr /i>hpte !d•ar, which we recqllect in our Minds, when we tl1ink of par·. ~icular Sulif/ances. t'or the Powers that are f5verally in them, are ncccifa· ry to be confidered, if we will have true dinintt Notions of Subfiances. • ~- 8. Nor are we to Wonder, that ,Powt'rt make a great parr of our com· pfex 'ldeas of Sulifl••m; ftnce their fecon<lary Qjlalities are chafe, wluch in moll: of them furve princl):lally to dillinguifh Subfiances one from a no· ther,, and commonly make a confiderablepart of the complex Idea of the fe~ttal forts of them .. For our Senfes fuiling us, 1n the difcovcry of th~ llulk, Textute, and ftgure o1 the minute parts of Bodies, on which rhctr ' .• ml Chap. XXIII. Our Ideas of Subjlances. · real Confritutions and Qifferences depend, we are fain to make ufe of their fecondary Qjlalities, as thecharacteri!lical Notes and Marks, whereby to frame ltleas of them in our Minds, and difiinguifl1 them one from another: All which fecondary Qgalities, as has been fhe\vn, are nothing but bare Powers. For the Colour and Tafie of Opium, are, as well as itsfoporifick or. anodyn Vlrtues,meer Powers depending on its p_rimaryQ]Jalities, whereby it is fitted to produce different Operattons,on dtffercnc pares of our Bodtes. Tbe Ideas that make our complex ones of corporeal Subf/ances,are of thefe three forts. Firfl, The Ideas of the primary Q..ualities of things, which are difcovered by our Senfes, and are in them even when we perceive them nor, fuch are the Eulk, Figure, Number , Situation, and Motion of the Parts of Bodies, which are really in them, whether we perceive them or no. Sec011dly, The fenlible fecondary ~alicies, which depending on thefe, arc nothing but the Powers,thofeSubfian.ces have to produce fevera] Ideas in us by our Senfes ; Whtch IdeaJarcnot m the thmgs themfelves, otherwife than as any thing is in its Caufe. ·Third!J, The aptnefs we confider in any Subfiance,to give or receive fuch alterations of primary Qgalities, as that the Subfiance fo altered, lhould produce in us different Ideas from what it did before,rhefe are called acttve and pailive Powers: all which Powers as far as we have any Notice or Notion of them, terminate only in fenlibl~limple Ideas; for whatever alteration a Load-fione has the Power to make in the mmute Parttclesof Iron, we lhould have noNocwn of any Power it had at all to operate on Iron, did not its fenlible Motion difcover it; and I doubt not but there are a thoufand Changes, that Bodtes ~daily handle,have a Power to cauf~ in one another,which we never fu• fpect, becaufe they never appear in fenlible elfects. ~- 1 o. Powers therefore, jullly make a great part of our complex Ideas of SuM••ces. He, that will examine his complex Idea of Gold, will find feveral of its Ideas, that make it up, to be only Powers, as the Power of being melted, but of keeping its weight in the Fire, of being dilfolved in Af, Regia, are Ideas, as nccelfary to make up our complex Idea of ?old, as its Colour and Weight; which if duly confidered,_ are alfo nothmg but different Powers. For to fpeak truly, Yellownefs ts not actually m Gold; but is a Power in Gold, to produce that Idea in us by our Eyes, when pill· ced in a due Light; and the Heat, which we cannot leave out of ~ur. Idea ofthe Sun, is no more really in the Sun, than the whtte Colour It mtro· du<;es. in Wax. Thefe are both equally Powers in the Sun, opera ring by the Motion, and Figure of its infenfible Parts ; fo on a Ma~, as to make him have the Idea of Heat ; and fo on Wax, as to make It capable to produce in a Man the Idea of White. ~- r,. Had we Senfes acute enough to dif~ern the minut~ particles of Bodies and the real Confiitution on wluch thetr fenlible Qjlalmes depend, I daub~ not but they would produce quite different Idea~ in us ; and that which is now the yellow Colour of Gold, would then difappear, ~nd m• !lead of it we fhould fee an admirable Texture of parts of a certam Stze and Figure. This Microfcopes plainl_y difcover to us; for what to our naked Eyes produces a certain C.olour,_ IS by thus augmentmg the acute· nefs of our Senfcs difcovered to be qmte a dtfferent dung; and the thus altering, as it we;e, the proportion of the Bulk of the minute parts of a c~· loured ObjeCt to our ufual .Sight, produces dtfferent ideas from what. It did bCIO.e. Thus Sand, or pounded Glafs, wluch ts opa.que, and wlutc to the naked Eye, is pellucid in a Microfcope; and a Hatr fe.en dus way, Joofcs its form er Colour, and is in a great me1fure pelluctd, wtrh a mtxture of fame bright fparkling Colours, tilch as appear from the refractiOn of T :z. Dlllmoods, -13.9 |