except nurse and breathe. They are able to nurse not from anything innate
but from continually sucking while they are in their mother’s womb.
They are able to breathe because they are alive—breathing is universal to
life. Their physical senses are in extreme darkness; by [encountering exter-
nal] objects they climb out of that obscurity bit by bit. Similarly, their
ability to move develops through habitual movement. As they learn to
babble words and sound them out, at first without any idea, a dim form
of visualization gradually arises. As this becomes clearer, a dim form of
imagination develops, and this leads to a dim form of thought. As this
state gradually develops, ideas develop, which as I said go hand in hand
with thought. Thought grows out of no thought as a result of education.
This is how people have ideas. Ideas are formed; they are not innate. From
these ideas flow people’s words and actions.”
On the point that people have nothing else innate except a faculty for
knowing, understanding, and becoming wise, as well as a tendency to
love not only knowledge, understanding, and wisdom but also their
neighbor and their God, see above in the memorable occurrence at § 48 ,
and also a memorable occurrence below [§ 692 ].
After that I looked around and saw Leibniz and Wolff nearby. They
were paying close attention to the reasoning put forward by the angelic
spirit. Leibniz then acceded and expressed his agreement, but Wolff went
away both denying it and affirming it. Wolff ’s inner judgment was not as
well developed as Leibniz’s.
§335 the ten commandments 401