468 REMARKS ON MR. LOCKE'S ESSAY. SECT. II.-Of Succession and Duration. MR. LOCKE's doctrine of succession and duration pro- ceeding from the train of ideas in our minds, is new and in- genious ; hut his second argument for it, contained in the begin- ning of the fourth section, and taken from that opinion of his, that the mind cloth not think in sleep, I cannot approve of; and I think that the middle of that section does rather effectually prove the contrary position : For while a man is very intent upon one idea, he discerns not the succession of so many moments, as if his ideas had been often varied ; and since it comes to pass that in sleep we cannot recollect our ideas, but they vanish for the most part as soon as they are formed, it follows, that our ideas of that duration must be very short, since we are so far from recollecting any variety of ideas in that season, that we can scarce believe by mere recollection, that we had any ideas at all at that time : And I am persuaded, should a man all at once lose the memory of what he had clone this last week or month; so that the ideas which he'had a month past, or the ac- tions that lie then did, were the freshest in the recollection, it would scarce appear to him that those last actions or ideas were abovea few days Old ; so that the immediate vanishing and dis- appearance of our sleeping ideas :nay be as much to the purpose ínihis sentiment about duration, as though our sleep had no ideas at aTl. Mr. Locke's conjecture,.that the train Of ideas do succeed one another at certain distances of succession, which cannot be much delayed or hastened, I `must acknowledge to be an in- genious thought, and a pretty method of accounting for the original of our notions of duration and succession; and per- haps it may be the reason why motions exceeding swift or ex- ceeding slow, are not perceived by our senses, of 'which Mr. Locke speaks, book II. chap. 15, § 9, 10, 11. But here (as in many other places) he avoids distinguishing what part the ani- mal spirits or bodily powers may have,-and what the -mind, inthis succession of ideas, which perhaps might solve this question with more evidence. W-hat if we should :conceive thus, (viz ;) that it may be possible for a mind to -have ten successive ideas in a separate state in the time wherein it bath but one, when it is in union with this body? The fibres of the brain, -which subserve any of the operations of the soul, and the filaments Of the nerves, which reach to the outward organs of sense lying betwixt other fibres or filaments, or fleshy parts, can be mewedbut to a certain limited degree of swiftness; and consequently those motions of bodies which are swifter -than it is possible'for these fibres to be moved, cannot be discerned or-distinguished : But they appear like a long line quiescent rather than asitort body moved, -as a
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