Sherlock, William (1639/40-1707)

A Discourse Concerning the Happiness of Good Men, and the Punishment of the Wicked, in the Next World.

London

Printed for W. Rogers

1704

"Has this Old Man, who was once an admirable Scholar, no Ideas left in his mind? Is his Soul become a Rasa Tabula again?"

[...] Why may not a Child have such Ideas as he never did perceive, as well as a Man have Ideas which he has no actual Perception of? What difference is there between a Child who never had a Perception of his Ideas, and a Man who once had such a Perception, but by Sickness or Old Age has now utterly lost all Perception of them? Has this Old Man, who was once an admirable Scholar, no Ideas left in his mind? Is his Soul become a Rasa Tabula again? If not, why may not a Child have Ideas which it never perceiv'd yet, as well as a Man have Ideas, which he has lost the Perception of? If there may be Ideas in the Mind without Perception, they may as well be there before they are perceiv'd, as after their Perception is lost.
(p. 138)

Writing::Tabula Rasa

Searching "tabula rasa" in ECCO; found again in 6th edition of 1760.

14 entries in ESTC (1704, 1705, 1713, 1719, 1726, 1735, 1744, 1751, 1753, 1760, 1761, 1764, 1776).

Sherlock, William. A Discourse Concerning the Happiness of Good Men, and the Punishment of the Wicked, in the Next World. (London: Printed for W. Rogers, 1704). <Link to ESTC>

Also found searching in ECCO: A Discourse Concerning the Happiness of Good Men, and the Punishment of the Wicked, in the Next World, &c., 6th ed. (London: Printed for J. Walthoe, D. Browne, C. Hitch and L. Hawes, J. Clarke, J. Hinton [and 11 others], 1760).

Blank Slate; Lockean Philosophy

10/09/2006