15. Instance in eternity.
Having frequently in our mouths the name Eternity, we are apt to think we have a positive
comprehensive idea of it, which is as much as to say, that there is no part of that duration which is not clearly
contained in our idea. It is true that he that thinks so may have a clear idea of duration; he may also have a clear
idea of a very great length of duration; he may also have a clear idea of the comparison of that great one with still
a greater: but it not being possible for him to include in his idea of any duration, let it be as great as it will, the
whole extent together of a duration, where he supposes no end, that part of his idea, which is still beyond the
bounds of that large duration he represents to his own thoughts, is very obscure and undetermined. And hence it is
that in disputes and reasonings concerning eternity, or any other infinite, we are very apt to blunder, and involve
ourselves in manifest absurdities.
