Leviathan | Page 9

of some like action past, and the events thereof one
after another; supposing like events will follow like actions. As he that
foresees what wil become of a Criminal, re-cons what he has seen
follow on the like Crime before; having this order of thoughts, The
Crime, the Officer, the Prison, the Judge, and the Gallowes. Which
kind of thoughts, is called Foresight, and Prudence, or Providence; and
sometimes Wisdome; though such conjecture, through the difficulty of
observing all circumstances, be very fallacious. But this is certain; by
how much one man has more experience of things past, than another;
by so much also he is more Prudent, and his expectations the seldomer
faile him. The Present onely has a being in Nature; things Past have a
being in the Memory onely, but things To Come have no being at all;
the Future being but a fiction of the mind, applying the sequels of
actions Past, to the actions that are Present; which with most certainty
is done by him that has most Experience; but not with certainty enough.
And though it be called Prudence, when the Event answereth our
Expectation; yet in its own nature, it is but Presumption. For the
foresight of things to come, which is Providence, belongs onely to him
by whose will they are to come. From him onely, and supernaturally,
proceeds Prophecy. The best Prophet naturally is the best guesser; and
the best guesser, he that is most versed and studied in the matters he
guesses at: for he hath most Signes to guesse by.
Signes A Signe, is the Event Antecedent, of the Consequent; and
contrarily, the Consequent of the Antecedent, when the like
Consequences have been observed, before: And the oftner they have
been observed, the lesse uncertain is the Signe. And therefore he that
has most experience in any kind of businesse, has most Signes,
whereby to guesse at the Future time, and consequently is the most
prudent: And so much more prudent than he that is new in that kind of
business, as not to be equalled by any advantage of naturall and
extemporary wit: though perhaps many young men think the contrary.
Neverthelesse it is not Prudence that distinguisheth man from beast.
There be beasts, that at a year old observe more, and pursue that which
is for their good, more prudently, than a child can do at ten.

Conjecture Of The Time Past As Prudence is a Praesumtion of the
Future, contracted from the Experience of time Past; So there is a
Praesumtion of things Past taken from other things (not future but) past
also. For he that hath seen by what courses and degrees, a flourishing
State hath first come into civill warre, and then to ruine; upon the sights
of the ruines of any other State, will guesse, the like warre, and the like
courses have been there also. But his conjecture, has the same
incertainty almost with the conjecture of the Future; both being
grounded onely upon Experience.
There is no other act of mans mind, that I can remember, naturally
planted in him, so, as to need no other thing, to the exercise of it, but to
be born a man, and live with the use of his five Senses. Those other
Faculties, of which I shall speak by and by, and which seem proper to
man onely, are acquired, and encreased by study and industry; and of
most men learned by instruction, and discipline; and proceed all from
the invention of Words, and Speech. For besides Sense, and Thoughts,
and the Trayne of thoughts, the mind of man has no other motion;
though by the help of Speech, and Method, the same Facultyes may be
improved to such a height, as to distinguish men from all other living
Creatures.
Whatsoever we imagine, is Finite. Therefore there is no Idea, or
conception of anything we call Infinite. No man can have in his mind
an Image of infinite magnitude; nor conceive the ends, and bounds of
the thing named; having no Conception of the thing, but of our own
inability. And therefore the Name of GOD is used, not to make us
conceive him; (for he is Incomprehensible; and his greatnesse, and
power are unconceivable;) but that we may honour him. Also because
whatsoever (as I said before,) we conceive, has been perceived first by
sense, either all at once, or by parts; a man can have no thought,
representing any thing, not subject to sense. No man therefore can
conceive any thing, but he must conceive it in some place; and indued
with some determinate magnitude; and which may be divided into parts;
nor that any thing is all in this place, and all in another place at the
same time; nor that two,