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Locke, John

"An Essay Concerning Human Understanding"

Their simple ones jumbled disorderly together. Secondly,
Another fault which makes our ideas confused is, when, though the
particulars that make up any idea are in number enough, yet they are
so jumbled together, that it is not easily discernible whether it more
belongs to the name that is given it than to any other. There is
nothing properer to make us conceive this confusion than a sort of
pictures, usually shown as surprising pieces of art, wherein the
colours, as they are laid by the pencil on the table itself, mark
out very odd and unusual figures, and have no discernible order in
their position. This draught, thus made up of parts wherein no
symmetry nor order appears, is in itself no more a confused thing,
than the picture of a cloudy sky; wherein, though there be as little
order of colours or figures to be found, yet nobody thinks it a
confused picture. What is it, then, that makes it be thought confused,
since the want of symmetry does not? As it is plain it does not: for
another draught made barely in imitation of this could not be called
confused. I answer, That which makes it be thought confused is, the
applying it to some name to which it does no more discernibly belong
than to some other: v.g. when it is said to be the picture of a man,
or Caesar, then any one with reason counts it confused; because it
is not discernible in that state to belong more to the name man, or
Caesar, than to the name baboon, or Pompey: which are supposed to
stand for different ideas from those signified by man, or Caesar.


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