And
it is for want of those real essences that our words convey so
little knowledge or certainty in our discourses about them; and
therefore the mind, to remove that imperfection as much as it can,
makes them, by a secret supposition, to stand for a thing having
that real essence, as if thereby it made some nearer approaches to it.
For, though the word man or gold signify nothing truly but a complex
idea of properties united together in one sort of substances; yet
there is scarce anybody, in the use of these words, but often supposes
each of those names to stand for a thing having the real essence on
which these properties depend. Which is so far from diminishing the
imperfection of our words, that by a plain abuse it adds to it, when
we would make them stand for something, which, not being in our
complex idea, the name we use can no ways be the sign of.
19. Hence we think change of our complex ideas of substances not
to change their species. This shows us the reason why in mixed modes
any of the ideas that make the composition of the complex one being
left out or changed, it is allowed to be another thing, i.e. to be
of another species, as is plain in chance-medley, manslaughter,
murder, parricide, &c. The reason whereof is, because the complex idea
signified by that name is the real as well as nominal essence; and
there is no secret reference of that name to any other essence but
that.
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