For I would fain know what substance exists, that has
not something in it which manifestly baffles our understandings. Other
spirits, who see and know the nature and inward constitution of
things, how much must they exceed us in knowledge? To which, if we add
larger comprehension, which enables them at one glance to see the
connexion and agreement of very many ideas, and readily supplies to
them the intermediate proofs, which we by single and slow steps, and
long poring in the dark, hardly at last find out, and are often
ready to forget one before we have hunted out another; we may guess at
some part of the happiness of superior ranks of spirits, who have a
quicker and more penetrating sight, as well as a larger field of
knowledge.
But to return to the argument in hand: our knowledge, I say, is
not only limited to the paucity and imperfections of the ideas we
have, and which we employ it about, but even comes short of that
too: but how far it reaches, let us now inquire.
7. How far our knowledge reaches. The affirmations or negations we
make concerning the ideas we have, may, as I have before intimated
in general, be reduced to these four sorts, viz. identity,
co-existence, relation, and real existence. I shall examine how far
our knowledge extends in each of these:
8. Our knowledge of identity and diversity in ideas extends as far
as our ideas themselves.
Pages:
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814