BOOK I PART II
supposition of any farther correction, it is of
such-a-one as is either useless or imaginary. In
vain should we have recourse to the common
topic, and employ the supposition of a deity,
whose omnipotence may enable him to form a
perfect geometrical figure, and describe a right
line without any curve or inflexion. As the ulti-
mate standard of these figures is derived from
nothing but the senses and imagination, it is
absurd to talk of any perfection beyond what
these faculties can judge of; since the true per-
fection of any thing consists in its conformity to
its standard.
Now since these ideas are so loose and un-
certain, I would fain ask any mathematician
what infallible assurance he has, not only of
the more intricate, and obscure propositions
of his science, but of the most vulgar and ob-