Universa Philosophia

The a priori reason, because voices and writing are signs of things as they are apprehended by the mind, by which we signify both the things which we conceive and the acts by which we conceive them: and precisely they are propositions insofar as they are signs, and instrumental speech of our concepts, and through the former we speak precisely because through the latter as through instruments we cause others to come into cognition of things: but all these things are according to our will: therefore they are propositions from our will alone. Nay, they are not more propositions than a painted man is a man, who is a man by extrinsic denomination of the true man whom he represents: thus utterances are significative propositions only because they are signs of mental propositions; nay, a painted man is more a man than a vocal proposition is a proposition: because this represents propositions by the mere will of men, but a painted man represents a man, who cannot signify a horse, nor does he depend in representing on the will of men.