with these defenders of innate principles, that if they are innate they must needs have univerfal affent. For that a truth fhould be innate, and yet not affented to, is to me as unintelligible, as for a man to know a truth, and be ignorant of it, at the fame time. But then, by thefe men's own confeflion they cannot be innate ; fince they are not affented to by those who understand not the terms, nor by a greater part of those who do understand them, but have yet never heard nor thought of those propofitions; which, I think, is at leaft one half of mankind. But were the number far lefs, it would be enough to deftroy univerfal affent, and thereby fhow these propofitions not to be innate, if children alone were ignorant of them.

§ 25. Thefe Maxims not the first known.

BUT that I may not be accufed, to argue from the thoughts of infants, which are unknown to us, and to conclude, from what paffes in their understandings, before they exprefs it; I fay next, thefe two general propofitions are not the truths that firft poffefs the minds of children, nor are antecedent to all acquired and adventitious notions; which, if they were innate, they muft needs be. Whether we can determine it or no, it matters not, there is certainly a time when children begin to think; and their words and actions do affure us that they do fo. When therefore they are capable of thought, of knowledge, of affent, can it rationally be supposed they can be ignorant of those notions that nature has imprinted, were there any fuch? Can it be imagined, with any appearance of reason, that they perceive the impreffions from things without; and be at the fame time ignorant of thofe characters which nature itfelf has taken care to ftamp within? Can they receive and affent to adventitious notions, and be ignorant of those which are fuppofed woven into the very principles of their being, and imprinted there in indelible characters, to be the foundation and guide of all their acquired knowledge, and future reafonings? This would be to make nature take pains to no purpofe; or at leaft, to write very ill; fince its charrcters could not

be read by thofe eyes, which faw other things very well; and thofe are very ill fuppofed the cleareft parts of truth, and the foundations of all our knowledge, which are not first known, and without which the undoubted knowledge of feveral other things may be had. The child certainly knows that the nurse that feeds it, is neither the cat it plays with, nor the blackmoor it is afraid of; that the wormfeed or mustard it refuses, is not the apple or fugar it cries for; this it is certainly and undoubtedly affured of: but will any one fay, it is by virtue of this principle, that it is impoffible for the fame thing to be, and not to be, that it fo firmly affents to thefe, and other parts of its knowledge? Or that the child has any notion or apprehenfion of that propofition at an age, wherein yet it is plain, it knows a great many other truths? He that will fay, children join these general abstract fpeculations with their fucking bottles and their rattles, may, perhaps, with juftice, be thought to have more paffion and zeal for his opinion, but lefs fincerity and truth than one of that age.

§ 26. And fo not Innate.

THOUGH therefore there be feveral general propofitions, that meet with conftant and ready affent, as foon as proposed to men grown up, who have attained the ufe of more general and abstract ideas, and names standing for them; yet they not being to be found in those of tender years, who nevertheless know other things, they cannot pretend to univerfal affent of intelligent perfons, and fo by no means can be fuppofed innate; it being impoffible, that any truth which is innate (if there were any fuch) fhould be unknown,. at leaft to any one who knows any thing else: fince, if they are innate truths, they must be innate thoughts; there being nothing a truth in the mind, that it has never thought on. Whereby it is evident, if there be any innate truths in the mind, they must neceffarily be the firft of any thought on, the first that appear there.

§ 27. Not Innate, because they appear leaft, where what is Innate flows itself clearest.

THAT the general maxims, we are difcourfing of, are VOL. I.

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not known to children, idiots, and a great part of mankind, we have already fufficiently proved; whereby it is evident they have not an univerfal affent, nor are general impreffions. But there is this farther argument in it against their being innate, that these characters,if they were native and original impreffions, fhould appear faireft and cleareft in thofe perfons in whom yet we find no footsteps of them: and it is, in my opinion, a ftrong prefumption that they are not innate; fince they are least known to thofe, in whom, if they were innate, they must needs exert themselves with most force and vigour. For children, idiots, favages, and illiterate people, being of all others the least corrupted by cuftom or borrowed opinions; learning and education having not caft their native thoughts into new moulds, nor, by fuperinducing foreign and ftudied doctrines, confounded thofe fair characters nature had written there one might reasonably imagine, that in their minds these innate notions fhould lie open fairly to every one's view, as it is certain the thoughts of children do. It might very well be expected, that these principles fhould be perfectly known to naturals; which being ftamped immediately on the foul (as these men fuppofe) can have no dependence on the conftitutions, or organs of the body, the only confeffed difference between them and others. One would think, according to these men's principles, that all these native beams of light (were there any fuch) fhould, in thofe who have no referves, no arts of concealment, shine out in their full luftre, and leave us in no more doubt of their being there, than we are of their love of pleafure, and abhorrence of pain. But alas! amongst children, idiots, favages, and the grofsly illiterate, what general maxims are to be found? What univerfal principles of knowledge? Their notions are few and narrow, borrowed ̈ only from thofe objects they have had moft to do with, and which have made upon their fenfes the frequentest and ftrongest impreffions. A child knows his nurse and his cradle, and by degrees the playthings of a little nore advanced age: and a young favage has, perhaps,

his head filled with love and hunting, according to the fafhion of his tribe. But he that from a child untaught, or a wild inhabitant of the woods, will expect thefe abftract maxims and reputed principles of science, will, I fear, find himself mistaken. Such kind of general propofitions are feldom mentioned in the huts of Indians, much lefs are they to be found in the thoughts of children, or any impreffions of them on the minds of naturals. They are the language and business of the fchools, and academies of learned nations, accustomed to that fort of converfation or learning, where difputes are frequent thefe maxims being fuited to artificial argumentation, and useful for conviction; but not much conducing to the discovery of truth, or advancement of knowledge. But of their small ufe for the improvement of knowledge, I fhall have occafion to speak more at large, l. 4. c. 7.

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28. Recapitulation.

I KNOW not how abfurd this may feem to the mafters of demonstration: and probably it will hardly down with any body at first hearing. I must therefore beg a little truce with prejudice, and the forbearance of cenfure, till I have been heard out in the fequel of this difcourfe, being very willing to fubmit to better judg ments. And fince I impartially fearch after truth, I fhall not be forry to be convinced that I have been too fond of my own notions; which, I confefs, we are all apt to be, when application and ftudy have warmed our heads with them.

Upon the whole matter, I cannot fee any ground to think these two fpeculative maxims innate, fince they are not univerfally affented to; and the affent they for generally find,is no other than what feveral propofitions, not allowed to be innate, equally partake in with them; and fince the affent that is given them is produced another way, and comes not from natural infcription, as I doubt not but to make appear in the following difcourfe. And if thefe first principles of knowledge and fcience are found not to be innate, no other fpeculative maxims can (I suppose) with better right pretend to be fo

CHAP. III.

NO INNATE PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES.

1. No moral Principles fo clear and generally received, as the forementioned fpeculative Maxims.

IF thofe fpeculative maxims, whereof we difcourfed in the foregoing chapter, have not an actual univerfal affent from all mankind, as we there proved, it is much more vifible concerning practical principles, that they come fhort of an univerfal reception: and I think it will be hard to inftance any one moral rule, which can pretend to fo general and ready an affent, as, What is, is; or to be fo manifeft a truth as this, That it is impoffible for the fame thing to be, and not to be. Whereby it is evident, that they are farther removed from a title to be innate : and the doubt of their being native impreffions on the mind, is ftronger against those moral principles than the other. Not that it brings their truth at all in queftion they are equally true, though not equally evident. Thofe fpeculative maxims carry their own evidence with them; but moral principles require reafoning and difcourfe, and fome exercife of the mind, to discover the certainty of their truth. They lie not open as natural characters engraven on the mind; which if any fuch were, they muft needs be vifible by themselves, and by their own light be certain and known to every body. But this is no derogation to their truth and certainty, no more than it is to the truth or certainty of the three angles of a triangle being equal to two rights ones; because it is not fo evident, as, The whole is bigger than a part; nor fo apt to be affented to at first hearing. It may fuffice, that thefe moral rules are capable of demonftration; and therefore it is our own fault, if we come not to a certain knowledge of them. But the ignorance wherein many men are of them, and the flownefs of affent wherewith others receive them, are manifeft proofs that they are not innate, and fuch as offer themselves to their view without fearching.