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confounds our Conceptions of Being and Not-Being, our pofitive and negative Ideas.

4thly, I may add alfo, that there are some Words which are negative in their original Language, but feem pofitive to an Englishman, because the Negation is unknown; as Abyss, a Place without a Bottom; Anodyne, an eafing Medicine; Amnesty, an Unremembrance or general Pardon; Anarchy, a State without Government; Anonymous, i. e. namelefs; Inept, i. e. not fit; Iniquity, i. e. Unrighteousness; Infant, one that can't speak, (viz.) a Child; Injurious, not doing Juftice or Right.

The Way therefore to know whether any Idea be negative or not, is, to confider whether it priImarily imply the Abfence of any pofitive Being, or Mode of Being; if it doth, then it is a Negation or negative Idea; otherwife it is a pofitive one, whether the Word that expreffes it be pofitive or negative. Yet after all, in many Cafes this is very hard to determine, as in Amnesty, Infinite, Abyss, which are originally negative Terms, but they fignify Pardon, &c. which feem to be Pofitives. So Darkness, Madness, Clown, are positive Terms, but they imply the Want of Light, the Want of Reason, and the Want of Manners; and perhaps these may be rank'd among the negative Ideas.

Here note, that in the English Tongue two negative Terms are equal to one pofitive, and fignify the fame Thing, as not unhappy, fignifies happy; not immortal, fignifies mortal; he is no imprudent Man, i. e. he is a Man of Prudence: But the Senfe and Force of the Word in fuch a negative Way of Expreffion, feems to be a little diminish'd.

SECT.

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SECT. III.

Of fimple and complex Terms.

ERMS are divided into fimple or complex. A fimple Term is one Word, a complex Term is when more Words are used to fignify one Thing.

Some Terms are complex in Words, but not in Senfe, fuch is the fecond Emperor of Rome; for it excites in our Mind only the Idea of one Man (viz.) Auguftus.

Some Terms are complex in Senfe, but not in Words; fo when I fay an Army, a Foreft, I mean a Multitude of Men, or Trees; and almost all our moral Ideas, as well as many of our natural ones, are exprefs'd in this manner; Religion, Piety, Loyalty, Knavery, Theft, include a Variety of Ideas

in each Term.

There are other Terms which are complex both in Words and Senfe; fo when I fay, a fierce Dog, or a pious Man, it excites an Idea, not only of those two Creatures, but of their peculiar Characters alfo.

Among the Terms that are complex in Senfe, but not in Words, we may reckon those fimple Terms which contain a primary and a fecondary Idea in them ; as when I hear my Neighbour fpeak that which is not true, and I fay to him this is not true, or this is falfe, I only convey to him the naked Idea of his Error; this is the primary Idea: But if I fay it is a Lye, the Word Lye carries also a fecondary Idea in it, for it implies both the Falfhood of the Speech, and my Reproach and Cenfure of the Speaker. On the other hand, if I fay it is a Mistake, this carries also a secondary Idea with

it; for it not only refers to the Falfhood of his Speech, but includes my Tenderness and Civility to him at the fame Time. Another Inftance may be this; when I use the Word Incest, Adultery, and Murder, I convey to another not only the primary Idea of thofe Actions, but I include alfo the fecondary Idea of their Unlawfulness, and my Abhorrence of them.

Note, 1ft, Hence it comes to pass, that among Words which fignify the fame principal Ideas, fome are clean and decent, others unclean; fome chafte, others obscene; fome are kind, others are affronting and reproachful, because of the fecondary Idea which Cuftom has affix'd to them. And it is the Part of a wife Man, when there is a Neceffity of expreffing any evil Actions, to do it either by a Word that has a fecondary Idea of Kindnefs, or Softness; or a Word that carries in it an Idea of Rebuke and Severity, according as the Cafe requires: So when there is a Neceffity of expreffing Things unclean or obfcene, a wife Man will do it in the most decent Language, to excite as few uncleanly Ideas as poffible in the Minds of the Hearers,

Note, 2dly, In Length of Time, and by the Power of Custom, Words.fometimes change their primary Ideas, as fhall be declared, and fometimes: they have chang'd their fecondary Ideas, tho' the primary Ideas may remain: So Words that were once chafte, by frequent Use grow obscene and uncleanly; and Words that were once honourable, may in the next Generation grow mean and contemptible. So the Word Dame originally fignified a Mistress of a Family, who was a Lady, and it is used ftill in the English Law to fignify a Lady; but in common ufe now-a-days it reprefents a Farmer's Wife, or a Miftrefs of a Family

of

of the lower Rank in the Country. So thofe Words of Rabfbakeh, Ifa. xxxvi. 12. in our Translation, (Eat their own Dung, &c.) were doubtless decent and clean Language, when our Tranflators wrote them above a hundred Years ago. The Word Dung has maintain'd its old fecondary Idea and inoffenfive Sense to this Day; but the other Word in that Sentence has by Custom acquired a more uncleanly Idea, and fhould now rather be chang'd into a more decent Term, and fo it fhould be read in publick, unless it should be thought more proper to omit the Sentence *.

For this Reason it is, that the Jewish Rabbins have fupplied other chafte Words in the Margin of the Hebrew Bible, where the Words of the Text, thro' Time and Custom, are degenerated, fo as to carry any base and unclean Secondary Idea in them; and they read the Word which is in the Margin, which they call Keri, and not that which was written in the Text, which they call Chetib.

III

SECT. IV.

Of Words common and Proper.

WOR
WR proper.

ORDS and Names are either common or Common Names are fuch as stand for univerfal Ideas, or a whole Rank of Beings, whether general or fpecial. These are call'd Appellatives; fo Fish, Bird, Man, City, River, are common Names; and fo are Trout, Eel, Lobster, for they all agree to many Individuals, and fome of them to many Species: But Cicero, Virgil, Buce

So in fome Places of the facred Hiftorians, where it is written, Every one that piffes against the Wall, we should read Every Male.

phalus,

phalus, London, Rome, Etna, the Thames, are proper Names, for each of them agrees only to one Jingle Being.

Note here first, that a proper Name may become in fome Senfe common, when it hath been given to feveral Beings of the fame Kind; fo Cafar, which was the proper Name of the first Emperor Julius, became alfo a common Name to all the following Emperors. And Tea, which was the proper Name of one fort of Indian Leaf, is now-a-days become a common Name for many Infufions of Herbs, or Plants, in Water; as Sage-Tea, Alehoof Tea, Limon-Tea, &c. So Peter, Thomas, John, William, may be reckon'd common Names alfo, because they are given to many Perfons, unless they are determined to fignify a fingle Perfon at any particular Time or Place.

Note, in the fecond Place, that a common Name may become proper by Custom, or by the Time, or Place, or Persons that use it; as in Great Britain, when we fay the King, we mean our present rightful Sovereign King George, who now reigns; when we fpeak of the Prince, we intend his Royal Highness George Prince of Wales: If we mention the City when we are near London, we generally_mean the City of London; when in a Country Town, we fay the Parfon or the Efquire, all the Parish knows who are the fingle Perfons intended by it; fo when we are speaking of the History of the New Teftament, and use the Words Peter, Paul, John, we mean thofe three Apostles.

Note in the third Place, that any common Name whatsoever is made proper, by Terms of Particalarity added to it, as the common Words Pope, King, Horfe, Garden, Book, Knife, &c. are defign'd to fignify a fingular Idea, when we fay

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