Essays on the Active Powers of the Human Mind

It would be very ftrange indeed, if mankind had always ufed thefe words fo familiarly, without perceiving that they had no meaning ; and that this difcovery fliould have been firft made by a Philofophcr of the prefent age. With equal reafon it might be maintained, that though there are words in all languages to exprefs fight, and words to fignify the various colours which are objeds of fight ; yet that all mankind from the beginning of the world had been blind, and never had an idea of fight or of colour. But there are no abfurdities fo grofs as thofe which Philofophers have advanced concerning ideas. The fame Subje£l. THERE are, I believe, no abftrad notions, that are to be found more early, or more univerfally, in the minds of men, than thofe of ading, and being aded upon. Every child that underftands *4 ESSAY I. CHAP. II. underftands the difllndlon between ftriking and being flruck, mufl have the conception of adlion and pailion. We find accordingly, that there Is no language fo Imperfed, but that it has adive and paffive verbs, and participles ; the one fignifying fome kind of adionj the other the being aded upon. This diftindion enters into the original contexture of all languages. Adive verbs have a form and conftrudtlon proper to themfelves ; paffive verbs a different fonn and a different conflru6lion. In all languages, the nominative to an adlive verb is the agent; the thing aded upon is put in an oblique cafe. In paffive verbs, the thing adted upon is the nominative, and the agent, if expreCfed, muit be in an oblique cafe ; as in this example : Raphael drew the Cartoons j the Cartoons were drawn by Raphael.…