hearing, and smell quite, and his taste to a great degree, stopped up almost all the passages for new ones to enter; or if there be some of the inlets yet half open, the impressions made are scarce perceived, or not at all retained. How far such a one (notwithstanding all that is boasted of innate principles) is in his knowledge and intellectual faculties above the condition of a cockle or an oyster I leave to be considered. And if a man had

passed sixty years in such a state, as it is possible he might, as well as three days, I wonder what difference there would have been, in any intellectual perfections, between him and the lowest degree of animals.

Perception the inlet of knowledge.-Perception, then, being the first step and degree towards Knowledge, and the inlet of all the materials of it, the fewer senses any man, as well as any other creature, hath, and the fewer and duller the impressions are that are made by them, and the duller the faculties are that are employed about them, the more remote are they from that Knowledge which is to be found in some men. But this, being in great variety of degrees (as may be perceived amongst men) cannot certainly be discovered in the several species of animals, much less in their particular individuals. It suffices me only to have remarked here that Perception is the First Operation of all our intellectual Faculties, and the inlet of all Knowledge into our minds. And I imagine that it is Perception, in the lowest degree of it, which puts the boundaries between animals and the inferior ranks of creatures. But this I mention only as my conjecture, it being indifferent to the matter in hand which way the learned shall determine of it.

CHAPTER X.

OF RETENTION.

Contemplation. The next Faculty of the mind, whereby it makes a farther progress towards Knowledge, is that which I call Retention, or the keeping of those simple ideas which from Sensation or Reflection it hath received. This is done [in] two ways. First, by keeping the idea which is brought into it for some time actually in view, which is called Contemplation.

Memory.-[Secondly,] The other way of Retention is the power to revive again in our minds those ideas which after imprinting have disappeared, or have been, as it were, laid aside out of sight; and thus we do, when we conceive heat or light, yellow or sweet, the object being removed. This is Memory, which is, as it were, the store-house of our ideas. For the narrow mind of man not being capable of having many ideas under view and consideration at once, it was necessary to have a repository to lay up those ideas, which at another time it might have use of. But our ideas being nothing but actual perceptions in the mind, which cease to be anything when there is no perception of them, this laying up of our ideas in the repository of the Memory signifies no more than this, that the mind has a power, in many cases, to revive perceptions which it has once had, with this additional perception annexed to them that it has had them before. And in this sense it is that our ideas are said to be in our memories, when indeed they are actually nowhere, but only there is an ability in the mind, when it will, to

revive them again, and, as it were, paint them anew on itself, though some with more, some with less difficulty; some more lively, and others more obscurely. And thus it is by the assistance of this faculty that we are said to have all those ideas in our Understandings, which though we do not actually contemplate, yet we can bring in sight and make appear again and be the objects of our thoughts, without the help of those sensible qualities which first imprinted them there.

Attention, repetition, pleasure, and pain, fix ideas.-Attention and Repetition help much to the fixing any ideas in the Memory: but those which naturally at first make the deepest and most lasting impression are those which are accompanied with Pleasure or Pain. The great business of the senses being to make us take notice of what hurts or advantages the body, it is wisely ordered by nature (as has been shown) that Pain should accompany the reception of several ideas; which, supplying the place of consideration and reasoning in children, and acting quicker than consideration in grown men, makes both young and old avoid painful objects with that haste which is necessary for their preservation; and in both, settles in the memory a caution for the future.

Ideas fade in the memory.-Concerning the several degrees of lasting wherewith ideas are imprinted on the Memory, we may observe, that some of them have been produced in the Understanding by an object affecting the senses once only, and no more than once: others, that have more than once offered themselves to the senses, have yet been little taken notice of; the mind, either heedless as in children, or otherwise employed as in men,

CHAPTER X.

OF RETENTION.

Contemplation. The next Faculty of the mind, whereby it makes a farther progress towards Knowledge, is that which I call Retention, or the keeping of those simple ideas which from Sensation or Reflection it hath received. This is done [in] two ways. First, by keeping the idea which is brought into it for some time actually in view, which is called Contemplation.

Memory.-[Secondly,] The other way of Retention is the power to revive again in our minds those ideas which after imprinting have disappeared, or have been, as it were, laid aside out of sight; and thus we do, when we conceive heat or light, yellow or sweet, the object being removed. This is Memory, which is, as it were, the store-house of our ideas. For the narrow mind of man not being capable of having many ideas under view and consideration at once, it was necessary to have a repository to lay up those ideas, which at another time it might have use of. But our ideas being nothing but actual perceptions in the mind, which cease to be anything when there is no perception of them, this laying up of our ideas in the repository of the Memory signifies no more than this, that the mind has a power, in many cases, to revive perceptions which it has once had, with this additional perception annexed to them that it has had them before. And in this sense it is that our ideas are said to be in our memories, when indeed they are actually nowhere, but only there is an ability in the mind, when it will, to

revive them again, and, itself, though

some

with

as it were paint then cer a

amore, some will less cafib lively, and others more obscurer. And t it is by the assistance of this faculty that we are suit

some more

Understandings, which though. have all those ideas in our l we do not actually contemplate, yet we can bring in sight and make appear again and be the objects of our thoughts. without the help of those sensible qualities which first

imprinted them there.

Attention, repetition, pleasure, and pain, fix ideas.-Attention and Repetition help much to the fixing any ideas in the Memory: but those which naturally at first make the deepest and most lasting impression are those which are accompanied with Pleasure or Pain. The great busi

ness of the senses

being to make us take notice of what

hurts or advantages the body, it is wisely ordered by nature (as has been shown) that Pain should accompany the reception of several ideas; which, supplying the place of consideration and reasg children, and acting

quicker than considerations young and old avoid p

A men, makes both

with that haste

which is necessary for theion; and in both,

memory at Ideas fade in the degrees of lasting whe

settles in the

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with [It]: these, I say,