"Treatise" - читать интересную книгу автора (Berkeley George)

24. But, these being known to be mistakes, a man may with greater
ease prevent his being imposed on by words. He that knows he has no
other than particular ideas, will not puzzle himself in vain to find
out and conceive the abstract idea annexed to any name. And he that
knows names do not always stand for ideas will spare himself the
labour of looking for ideas where there are none to be had. It were,
therefore, to be wished that everyone would use his utmost
endeavours to obtain a clear view of the ideas he would consider,
separating from them all that dress and incumbrance of words which
so much contribute to blind the judgment and divide the attention.
In vain do we extend our view into the heavens and pry into the
entrails of the earth, in vain do we consult the writings of learned
men and trace the dark footsteps of antiquity- we need only draw the
curtain of words, to hold the fairest tree of knowledge, whose fruit
is excellent, and within the reach of our hand.

25. Unless we take care to clear the First Principles of Knowledge
from the embarras and delusion of words, we may make infinite
reasonings upon them to no purpose; we may draw consequences from
consequences, and be never the wiser. The farther we go, we shall only
lose ourselves the more irrecoverably, and be the deeper entangled
in difficulties and mistakes. Whoever therefore designs to read the
following sheets, I entreat him to make my words the occasion of his
own thinking, and endeavour to attain the same train of thoughts in
reading that I had in writing them. By this means it will be easy
for him to discover the truth or falsity of what I say. He will be out
of all danger of being deceived by my words, and I do not see how he
can be led into an error by considering his own naked, undisguised
ideas.
TREATISE

A TREATISE

CONCERNING THE PRINCIPLES

OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE

1. It is evident to any one who takes a survey of the objects of
human knowledge, that they are either ideas actually imprinted on
the senses; or else such as are perceived by attending to the passions
and operations of the mind; or lastly, ideas formed by help of
memory and imagination- either compounding, dividing, or barely
representing those originally perceived in the aforesaid ways. By
sight I have the ideas of light and colours, with their several
degrees and variations. By touch I perceive hard and soft, heat and
cold, motion and resistance, and of all these more and less either
as to quantity or degree. Smelling furnishes me with odours; the
palate with tastes; and hearing conveys sounds to the mind in all
their variety of tone and composition. And as several of these are
observed to accompany each other, they come to be marked by one