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Show 160 Abufe- of Words, ·Book IJJ. lignification of comrrlon Words; within fom~ rolemble latitude, that may ferve for ordinary Converfation; and fo a Man cannot be fuppofed wholly ignorant of the Ideas which are annexed to Words~ by common Ufe, in a Language familiar to him. But commdn Ufe, bemg but. a very Ull' certain Rule which redEces it felf at lafi to the Ideas ol particular Men, proves often' but a very variable Standard. But though fuch a Dictionary, as I have above mentioned, will rcquir~ too n;uch time, co{\, and pains, to be hoped for in this Age; y<t, methmks, 1t IS not unreafonable to propofe, that Words !landing tor Things which are known, and diflinguilhed by their outward lhapes, lhould be exprelfed b~ httle Draughts and Prints made of them. A Vocabulary made after tlus lafl11on, would, perhaps, with more eafe,and in lefs time, teach the true_ lignification of rna• nyTerms, efpecially in Lang;uogcs of remote Countnes or Ages, and fetle truer Ideas in Merrs Minds,<>! feveral Things, whereof we read the Name.; in ancient Authors, than all the large and laborions Comments of learned Criticks. Naturalifls, that treat of Plants and· Animals, have found the benefit of this way: And he that has had occafion to confute them1 will have reafon to confefs, that he has a clearer Idea of Apium, or lhx; from a little Print of that Herb, or Beafi, than he could have from along definition of the Names of either of them. And fo, rio doubt, he would l1ave of Strigil and Sijlrum, if infiead of a Curry-comb, and Cymbal, which are the Englilh names Dictionaries render them by , he could fee namp'd in the Margin, fmall PiCtures of t!;efe Inflruments, as they were in ule amongfi the Ancients. 7oga, 7unica, Pallium, are Words eafily mnflated by Gown, Coat, and Cloak; but we have thereby no more true ldw of the falhion of thofe Habits amongfi the Roma11s, than we have of the Faces of the Taylors who made the111. Such Things as thefe, which the Eye diflinguifi,esvby their fi1apes, would be befi fet into the Mind by Draughts made of them, and more determine the fignification of fuch Words, than any other Words fetfor them, or made ufe of to define-hem. But this only by the bye. 9:16. Fifthly, If Men will nor be at rhe pains to declare rhe meaning oftheir Words, and Definitions of their Terms, arc not to be had; yet tlus1s theleafi that can be expected, that in all Difcourfes,wherein one Man pretends to inflruc.t or convince another, he lhould ufe th' fame Word conflant!J in the j.Jn, fon/e, If this were done, ( which no body can refufe Without great difingenuity,) many of the Books extant, might bo fpared; many of the Conrroverftes in Diftmte would be at an end; lcve• ral ofthofe great Volumes, fwollen with ambiguous Words; now ufed ill one fenfe, and by and by in another, would lhrink into a very na•·row compafs, and many of the Philofophers, ( to mention no others,) as 11 ell as Poets Works, might be contained in a Nut-lhcll. • . ~- 17: But after all, Words are fo fcanty in refpect of that infinite va• f!ety ISm Men~ Thoug~rs, tha~Men, wanting Terms to fuit their precJfe NotJons, W11l, notWithfiandtng theJr utmofi caution, be forced often W ufe the fame Wo~d, 111 fomewhat different fenfcs: And though in the connnuauon of a D1fcourfe, o! the purfuit of an Argument, there be hardlyroomrod'f; refs tnto a parttcular Definition, as often as a Man vaneS the figmficatton of any Term; yet the import of the Difcourfe will, for ~he mo([ part, 1f ther~ be no defigne.!. f.11lacy, fufficienrly lead candid and mtelhgent Readers, mto the true rneaning of it : but where that " not fuffietent to gUJde the Reader, there it concerns the Writer to explain lu9 moaning, and lhew in what fenfe h~ there ufcs that Term. nO OJ< BOO·K IV. cHAP. -;1. '. Of .1\!zowledge i11 general. h Since the Mi"'l, iri ali iis thoughis and Reafoni~gs, hatb no • otber immediate Ohjdl hut tts own Ideas, wluch 1t alone does or can contemplate, it is evident, that our !{now ledge IS only cqnverfant about them. . . §. i. Knowledge then feems to me to be notlung but tbe perctpttoJJ of the connexion ana agreement, or ili_(ag_reeln~nt and ret•g~lancy of a.'!Y of our Jde4s. In this alone it confifu, \\here thiS Perceptton Js, there ts Knowledge . and where it is not, there, though we ll)ay fanfie, guefs, or believe,' et we always come !hart of Knowledge .. For when we know that Whit! is not Black, what do we elfe but p~rce1ve; that thefe two Ideas do not agree! When we polfc:fs our felvcs With th~ utmofi fecunty of the bemo!lflrarion, that the three Angles of a Tnangle •are equal to ~wo · ht es What do we more but percet ve , that Equahty to two nght ~;es, d~es' necelfarily agree to, and is infeparable from the three Angles of a Triangle' . . · h' A §. 3. But to underfland a little more d1fimC1:!y, wherem t IS gree-ment or Difagreement conlifis, I think we may reduce It all to thefe four forts: r. Identity, or Diwrfity. 2.. Relatiof{. . . 3· Co-exifitnce, or Jteceffary Comte).'Jo!l. 4· Real Exiflence. . . ~- 4. Filjl, As to the firfi fort of Agreement o: Dtfagrccmenr, vm ]d,ntity, or Diverfity. 'Tis the firfi Act. of the M1nd, when tt has any Sentiments, or Ideas at all, to perce1ve tts Id,aJ, and fo far as 1t l'erceivcs them, to know each what it is, and tl!ercby alfo to perce1ve their aifference, and that one is not another. Tim IS fo abfolutel.J: necef• fary, that without it there could be no Knowledge_, no Reafomog, no Imagination, no difiinc.t Thoughts at :ill .. By_ tillS the Mmd clearly and infallibly perceives each /Jea to agree II'Jth tt felf, and to be what it is . and all diflinCl: /Jeas to difagrcc .' i. e. the one not to be the other', And this it docs without any patns, labour, or deductwn; but at firfl view by its natural power of Perceptton and D1fimctwn. _And though Me; of Art have reduced this into thofe general Rules, _WI;at " •. ~; and it is impojTiMe for tbe fame thing to be, and not to /;e, for ready apphc~tioD in all cafes, wherein there may be occaf1on to refleCt on It; yet y IS Certain, that the fir([ exercife of this Facult)', IS about portJculard I< fas. A Man infallibly knows, as foon as ever he has them 111 Ius Mm , t 1at the Jde.1J he calls White and Round , are the \'ery /Jem they ~e, and that they a~e oot other I deas whir.h he calls Red or Square. 1 or can any Maxi1~ or Propofition in !he World make l1im hnow lt c ear~ |