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Show 3 20 Knowledge of Exiftence ol other 7'hings' Book IV, cal demon!l:rations depend not upon fenfe, yet the. ~xamining them by . · reaccredit to the Ev1denee ot our S1ght,andfecms to g1vo ~1agrams~g1ves g ching to that of the Dcmon!1ranon 1t felf. For it • It au?.!~~~~?, al!f:a~ge, that a Man (110uid allow it for an u~deniable v;o 1 !-vo Angles of a Figure, wh1ch he meafures by L1nes and Truth, t ;at D. m fhould be bigger one than the other; and yet Ad ngles 0f la Elagrance' "of thofe Lines and Angles, which by looking on; oubt 0 t lC XI fie he makes ufe of to meafure that by· . I ~ F, bl Our Seofes in many c•fes, bear w1tnefs to the T1:m 10f h. 7· 1 o~rt }> t concerni~g the Exi!1cnce of fenfible Tlungs Without eac oHtJerls trc;reo~ a' F"lrc may if he doubt whethc1"it be any thing more us e t Ja oe , , ' ' . ed b . I . H d th;n a bare Fancy, feel it t.oo; and be conv~nc , y' putting us. an · · Wh"ch certainly could never be put tnto fuel> exqudite patn '· by !Obit. o 1 a arc PlJantom unlefs tha~ the pain be a fancy too: Which wea or , ·r. ., ·t·· b · yet he cannot, when the llurnis well, by rautngthe /aea o 1t., nng upon himfelf again. 1 f J Tl 1 fee whil!l: I write this, I can chang~ ne Appearance o tle Pape;u_s and by defigning th<; Letters, tell belore-hand what new !tlr. it lhalt' exh~bit the very next moment, barely by my drawtng th~ Pen over it : which will neither appear (let me fanlie as mud1 as I Will), 1f m Hand !land !\ill; or though I move my Pen, 1f my Eyes be !hut : Nor h thofe Charaelers are once made on the Paper, .can I chufe after· ~a:ds but fee them as they are; that is, have the !de'as -of fuch L~ttcrs as 1 h ve made. Whence it is mamfe!l:, that they ar.e not barely the Sport and.,Play of my own Imagination, when I find, that the CharaUers. thnt were made at the pleafure of my own Thoughts, do not obey them , nor yet ce:tfe to be ;..henever I fi1all fanfie it, but contin.u~ to alfca: my Sen· fes co~!l:antly ;Qd regularly, according rot he Figur~$Jmade them. To W}tic\1 if we will apd, that the fight of thole fitoll, !rom ctnother Man,draw f4ch Sounds, ~s I before-hand defign they !hall_ !land for, there w1ll be little 'reafQO.\~ft to doubt, that thofe Words, I wJ1te,do really ex1!l: wahout me when they caufe a long ferics of regular ,·oun6~ to affect my Ears, which could not be the effect of my Imagination, nor could my Memory retain them in that order. . . ~- 8. But yet if, after all this, any one will be fo fcept!cal as to d1firufi his Senfes, and to affirm, that all we fee and hea_r, feel and t~fie, t111nk and do during aur whole Being, is but. the fer!CS and dclud1n(lappe:1· ranees 6f a long Dream, whereof there is no reality; and therctore will que!1ion the Exifience of all Things, or our Knowledge of any t\11ng: I mull: defire him to con.fider, that 1f all be a Dream, then he doth but dream that he makes the Qye!1ion; and fo it is not much matter tlwta Man fitould anfwer. But yet, if he pleafe, he may dream that I make th~ anfwcr, That the certainty ofThings exi!l:ing in rer•m Naturh, when we have the aj/imony of o•r Senfes for 1t, IS not only as great as our fram: can attain to, but as our Condition needs. For our Faculties being fu1ted OO• to toe lull extent of Being,nor to a perfeQ,clear,comprehenf!Ve Koowled~e of things, fw! from all doubt and fcruple; but to the prefervation of us11nf whom they are; and accommodated to the ufe of Life : they ferve ~~ 0ur pur pole '\"ell enough, if they will but give us certain notice of thofe Things, which are convenient or incon\"cnicnt to us. For he that fe~:S• Candle burning, and hath experimented the force of its FlaDJe, by puwng his Finger m it, will little doubt, that this is fomething exi!l:ing w:thout bim,which does him hann, and puts him to great pain; which is affuronce enough, when no Man rcqtmes greater certainty to go\'ern h1s Alhons by, Chap. XI. Knowledge of E'(iflence of.cther Things. by , thnn what is as certain a~ his Actions tl!emfelves. Aod if our Dreamer pleafes to try ~hetherthe g,lowing hea: of a glafs Forhace, be ~arely ~ wa_ndnng lmagmat1on m a drowlie Mans Fancy, by putting hls Hh ahd mto It, he may_ perhaps _be wakened into a certainty greoter than . e. could W1fi1! that 1t IS fomctlung more than bare Imagination. So that' th1s ev1dence IS asgreat as we can de fire , being as certain to us, as our Pleafurc or Pam; '·e. Happmcfs or M1fery ; beyond which we have no concernment, etthe_r of 1\nowing or Being. Such :tn alfura1;ce of the Exi• fienceof Thm?s. Without ~s, IS fuflic1ent to d11ed us in rhe attaining the Good, and avo1dmg the Ev1! whtch 1s caufed by them, which is the important concernment we have of being made acquainted with them. §. 9· In fine then, when our Senfes do actually convey into our Underfland1ng• any Ide,,, we are well aiTured that there doth fomething at that time really exi!l: without us, which doth affect our Senfes, and by them g1ve nbt1ce of 1ts !elf to our apprehenfive Faculties, and actually produce that /Jea which we then perceive; and we cannot fo far di!lruft their Te!limony, as to doubt that fuch Colle~ions of fimple Ideas as we have obferved by our Senfes 10 be united together, do really ;xlfi together. But t!JH Knowledge exteNds ar jar aJ t!Je prefent Tef/imony of ••r Senfes, tmploy'd about particular Objects that do then affect them ~nJ no farther. For if I faw fuch a OJ!leaion of fimple Ideas, as is won; to be called Man, exi!ling together one minute Iince, and am now alone 1 cannot be fure that the fit me Man exi!ls now, Iince there is no nece!Tary connexion of his Exiftence a minute Iince, with his Exi!lence now : by a rhoufand ways he may ceafe to be, Iince I had the Tefrimony of my Senfes for his Exi!lence. And if I cannot be fure, that the Man I faw Jaft to day, is now in being, I can be lefs fure that be is fo, who hath been longer removed from my Senfes, and I have not feen Iince ye!l:erday, orfince the Jail: year, and much lefs can I be certain of the Exiftence of Men that I never faw. And therefore though it be highly probable, that Millions of Men do now exi!l, yet whilfr I am alone writing of this, I have nounque! l:ionable 1\nowledge of it ; though the great likelihood of it puts me paft doubt, and it be reafonable for me to do feveral things upon the con· fidence that thercareMen(artd Men alfo ofmyacquaintancc, with whom I have to do) now in the World : llut this is but Probability, not Knowledge. , §.10. Whereby yet we may obferve, how fooli01 and vain a thing it is, for a Man of narrow Knowledge, who having Reafon given him co judge oftbe dilfcrent evidence and l?robability of Things, and to be fway"d accordmgly ; how vain, I fay, 1t IS to ex pet/ DemoMflr•t ion and Certainty '" tbings not cap~ble of it; and refufe Alfent to very rational Propofitions, and aCl contrary to very plain and clear Truths, becaufe they cannot be made out fo evident, as to furmount every the leal\ ( I will not fay Re;t· km, but) pretence of doubting. He that in ordinary Affairs of Life, would ~dmit of nothing but direct plain Demon!lration, would be fure of nothing in this World, but pcrifbing quickly. The wholefomnefs of his Meat or Drink, would be fcarce capable of certainty enough to give him reafon to venture on it: And I would fain know what 'tis he could do upon fuch grounds as were capable of no doubt, no Objechons. §. 11. As when our Senfes are actually employ'dabout any Object, we do know that it does exifr; fo bJ our Memory we may be aiTured, that heretofore Things that affeCted our Senfes, have exif\ed. And thus we IMve l11owledge oft /;e paf/ Exi}lence of feveral Things, whereof our Senfes having informed us, our Memories flill retain the ldw ; and of this, we Tt are |