Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"At least they interpose themselves so much between our understandings and the truth which it would contemplate and apprehend, that like the medium through which visible objects pass, their obscurity and disorder do not seldom cast a mist before our eyes, and impose upon our understandings."

— Locke, John (1632-1704)

Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"Passion, interest, inadvertency, mistake of his meaning, and a thousand odd reasons, or capricio's, men's minds are acted by (impossible to be discovered) may make one man quote another man's words or meaning wrong."

— Locke, John (1632-1704)

Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"But though we have, here and there, a little of this clear light, some sparks of bright knowledge; yet the greatest part of our ideas are such, that we cannot discern their agreement or disagreement by an immediate comparing them."

— Locke, John (1632-1704)

Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"When the spirit brings light into our minds, it dispels darkness. We see it, as we do that of the sun at noon, and need not the twilight of reason to show it us."

— Locke, John (1632-1704)

Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"This light from heaven is strong, clear, and pure carries its own demonstration with it; and we may as naturally take a glow-worm to assist us to discover the sun, as to examine the celestial ray by our dim candle, reason."

— Locke, John (1632-1704)

Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"But when a cylindrical mirrour, placed right, hath reduced those irregular lines on the table into their due order and proportion, then the confusion ceases, and the eye presently sees that it is a man, or Caesar, i.e. that it belongs to those names; and that it is sufficiently distinguishable f...

— Locke, John (1632-1704)

Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"It is true the perception produced by demonstration is also very clear, yet it is often with a great abatement of that evident lustre and full assurance, that always accompany that which I call intuitive; like a face reflected by several mirrors one to another, where as long as it retains the si...

— Locke, John (1632-1704)

Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"For the natural tendency of the Mind being towards Knowledge; and finding if it should proceed by, and dwell upon only particular Things, its Progress would be very slow, and its Work endless: Therefore to shorten its way to Knowledge, and make each Perception the more comprehensive; the first T...

— Locke, John (1632-1704)

Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"If therefore we will warily attend to the Motions of the Mind, and observe what Course it usually takes in its way to Knowledge, we shall, I think, find that the Mind having got any Idea, which it thinks it may have use of, either in Contemplation or Discourse; the first Thing it does, is to abs...

— Locke, John (1632-1704)

Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"Though God has given us no innate Ideas of himself; though he has stamped no original Characters in our Minds, wherein we may read his Being: yet having furnished us with those Faculties, our Minds are endowed with, he hath not left himself without witness: since we have Sense, Percepti...

— Locke, John (1632-1704)