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Show 'Trifling Propojltions. .Book IV. l'ofttion in it, vh. Lead is a Meol, to a Man, who !mows the complex idea the name Lead fiands fer. All the fimple !tleas that go to the complex one ficrnified by the term Metal, being nothing but 11 hat he before comprel;ended and fignificd by the name Lead. Indeed, to a Man that knows the lignification of the word Metal, and not of the word Lead it is a fllorter way to exploin the fi.gnificatidn of th: word Leur!, by fa/ ing it is a Metal, whtch at once expreffes feveraloflls fimple Me.rs, than to enumerate them one by one, telling him it is a Body very heavy, fulibk, and malleable. ~ 5.Aiike trifling it is,ro predic.rte any otbu p.rrt of tbe Drf•itio. of tbr ierm deftned, or toiffirm any one of the fimple Me as of a complex onel. of the name of the whole complex Idea; as all Gold is fulible: For Fu: fibility being one of the fimple ideas that goes to the making up the coin• p1ex one the found Gold !lands lor, what can it be but playing with Sounds by affirming that of the name Gold, which is comprehended in its recei; ved fignification. 'Twou!d be thought little b~tter than ridiculous, to affirm gravely as a Truth of moment, that Gold IS yellow; and I fee not how it is any jot more material, to fay, It is fufible, unlefs that ~ality be left out of the complex Idea, of which the found Gvld is the mark in ordinary fpecch. What lnllrucbon CJn 1t carry with it, to tell o:1c that whicld1e hath been told already, or he is fuppofed to know before: Fo; I ,am fuppofed to know the fignific•tion of the Word another ulCs to me, or elfe he is to tell me. And if l know that the name Gold fiands for this com.plex Idea of Body, 7(1/0iv, Heavy, F•fible, fllalleaNe, 'twill no~ mooh iQ(lru ;t me to put it folemnly afterwards in a Propofition , and gravely 1ay, AIIG•Id isf"fib/e, Such Propofit:o,. can only fcrve to fl,e,v the difingenuity of one, who will go from the definition of his own Terms by re-minding him fometimes of it; but carry no Knowledge with them; but of the fignification of Words, however cenain they be. . . §. 6. Every Man is an Animal, or living Body, is as certain a PropofitlOn as can be; but no more·conducmg to the Knowledge of Things, than tofay a Palfry is an ambling Horfe, or a neigl1ing ambling Animal, bod1 bewg only about the fignification of Words, and make me know but thiS ; That Body, Senfe, ·and Motion, or power of Senfation and Movmg, are three of thofe fimple Ideas that Ialways comprehend and figni· lie by the \lord 11'/an; and where they are not to be found together, the name ii'Jan be!o!1g• not to that Thing: And Co of the other, that Body, Scnfe, and Motion, and a certain way of going, with a cercain kind of Vorce, are fame of thofc fimple Ideas which I always comprehend, and figmfie by the word Palfiy; and when they are not to be found together, the name Palfry belongs not to that thing. 'Tis jufi the fame, and to the fame purpofe, when any term fianding for any one or more of the fimple Ideas, that altogether make up that complex Idea which is called. • Man, ' IS affirmed of the term Man: ,v. g. fuppofe a Rvman, fignified by the word Homo: all thcfe difiinCI: Ideas united in one fubjeCI:, Corporeitas, Se11ji/nilfa.s, Potenttafo mo11endi, Rationalitas, Rijibilitar, he might, no doubt, Wtth great certainty, univerfally affirm one more or all of thefe tog<thcr of the word Homo, but did no more than fay; that the word 1-lvmo, m Ius Country, ~omprehended in its fignification, all thefe idtas. Much ltkea Romanct l\111ght,who by the word Pa/fry,fignilied thefe !d<a•; 15ody ol ~ certam figure,lour-legg'd,with fenfe, motion, ambling, neigh· 111g, wlnte, ufed to haye_ a Woman on his back, might, with the fame cenarnty, umvcrfally a!lirm alfo any or all of thefe of the word Palfry: lmtd<d thereby teach no more, but that the word Paljry, in his, or Ro· rna nee· Chap. VIII. 'I rifting Propojitions. mance-Languagc, flood for all thefe, and was not to be applied t o ariy thing,. where any of the:e was wanting. But he that fl111l tell me, that in whatever thing Senfe, Motion, Reajun, and Ln•gbter, were united, that Thiug had aCtually a notion of G 0 D, or would be cafi into a Oeep by Opium, made indeed an infindive Propofition : bec:iufc neither having the notion of G 0 D, nor being cafi into fleep by Opi•rn, being ,contained in the Irlea ugnified by the word Man, we are by fuch Propofitions taught fomcrhing more than barely what the worJ /lfan fiands for: And therefor• the [{no\\' ledge cor.taincd in it, is more thao verbal &. 7· Before a Man makes any Propofition, he is fuppofcJ to underftand the terms hcufes in it, orclfe he qlks like a Parrot, only mal<ing a noife by imitation, and framing certajn Sounds he ha! learnt of others; but not, as a rational Creature, ufing them for figns of Ideas he has m his' Mind. T he Hearer alfo ts fuppofed to underfiand tile Terms as the Spcal<cr ufcs them .•. or clfc. he talks jargon , and makes an untelJ.giblo noifc. lind thcrdorc he mOes w1th Words, who makesfuch a Propofillon, w_hich when it is made, contains no more than one of th~ Terms docs, and which a Man wa> fu ppofed to know before : v.g. a fnargle hath three fides, or Saf!i·on is yellow. And this is no farther tolerable, than --:here a Man goes to explain his Terms, to one who IS fuppofed or de· dares himfclf not to underfiand !urn : and then 1t teachet oniJ the fgHijication of 1 hat Word, and the ufe of that Sign. §, 8. We can know then the Truth of nvo forts of ~ropoftti~ns, with perfeCt certainty 1 the o,ne IS, of thofe tnllmg Propofinons, wl~1ch ha~e a certainty in them, but tiS but a vabal Certamty , but not. u~firuCI:IVe. And, fecondly, we can know the Truth, and fo may_ be certa1n 1tl Propo· fit ions, which affirm fomething of another, wluch IS a ~eceffary confe" quence of its precife complex l~ea,. but not co~ta1ned m tt. As th~t the tx:ernal Angle of all Triangles, IS btgger than etther of tltc oppolite Inter· nal Angles; which relation of tlie cut ward Angle, to etther of the op· polite internal Angles, malnng no part of the complex idea'· figmfied b}' the name Triangle , this is a real truth, and conveys w1th 1t mfiruchve real /(noroldge. . . . . · §. 9• We having no knowledge of what Combmauo~s there be of fimple !dtas exifiing together in .Subfian~es, but by our Senfes, \Ve can-. not make any univcrfal ccrtam Propofiuon~ concernrng them , any farther than our nominal Eifences lead us : whtch bemg to a very few and inconfidcrable Truths, in refpefr of thofe which depend on thclt real Confiitutions, the gertcral Propojitions that are made abvut Subjlanm, if tbey are certain, art for the moH part l>u(.lrijlmg; and 1f they are mfirudive are uncertain, and fuch as we can have no knowledge of the<t real Truti1 how muc\1 foever confiant Obfervation and Analogy may aili!t our Jdd'•ment> in guetling. Hence it comes to pafs, that one may often meet wi~h very clear and coherent Difcqurfes , tl~at amounr yet to nO' d1ing. For 'tis plain, that Names of fub!lantta! Bemgs, as well ~s others, having coofiant and fetled fignifications affixed to tham .' rnay., With 19'C"t truth, be joined negatively and af!irmanvely 111 Propo!lnons, as their Definitions make them fit to be fo JOmed ; and Propofinons confi· fiing offuch Terms, may, with the fame clearncfs, be deduced '\ne from onother as thofc that convey the mofi real Truths; and all this, . with· out any' knowledge of the Nature or Reality of Things ~xr£\Jng Without us. By this method, one may make Demonfirauons and undou~ted Propofitions in Words, and yet thereby advance n?~ orie jot 'r1lh~ K~~vledge oj the Truth of Thirtgs ; -v. g. he that havmg learnt t 1e e \~wtdng 'YO! SJ |
