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1898
THE MONADOLOGY
by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
translated by Robert Latta
1. The Monad, of which we shall here speak, is nothing but a
simple substance, which enters into compounds. By 'simple' is meant
'without parts.' (Theod. 10.)
2. And there must be simple substances, since there are compounds;
for a compound is nothing but a collection or aggregatum of simple
things.
3. Now where there are no parts, there can be neither extension
nor form [figure] nor divisibility. These Monads are the real atoms of
nature and, in a word, the elements of things.
4. No dissolution of these elements need be feared, and there is
no conceivable way in which a simple substance can be destroyed by
natural means. (Theod. 89.)
5. For the same reason there is no conceivable way in which a simple
substance can come into being by natural means, since it cannot be
formed by . . .