In 1690 John Locke (1632-1704) published his Essay concerning Human Understanding, the greater part of which he wrote while living in Holland. Locke dealt with ¡®ideas and words as the great instruments of knowledge¡¯ and stated: ¡®the ends of language in our discourse with others being chiefly these three: first, to make known one man¡¯s thoughts or ideas to another. Secondly, to do it with as much ease and quickness as is possible; and thirdly, thereby to convey the knowledge of things. Language is either abused or deficient when it fails any of these.¡¯ To remedy these defects he made various suggestions. He concluded: ¡®It was therefore to be wished that men, versed in physical inquiries and acquainted with the several sorts of natural bodies, would set down those simple ideas wherein they observe the individuals of each sort constantly to agree. This would remedy a good deal of that confusion which comes from several persons applying the same name to a collection of a smaller or greater number of sensible qualities¡­ methinks it is not unreasonable to propose, that words standing for things that are known and distinguish by their outward shapes should be expressed by little draughts (i.e. outlines) and prints made of them. A vocabulary made after this fashion would perhaps, with more ease, and in less time, teach the signification of many terms than all the large and laborious comments of learned critics.¡¯ Lock added: ¡®In all discourses wherein one man pretends to instruct or convince another, he should use the same word constantly in the same sense.¡¯

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Ibid.