Full Idea
Although memory gives the most irresistible evidence of my being the identical person that did such a thing, I may have other good evidence of things which befell me. I know who bare me and suckled me, but I do not remember those events.
Gist of Idea
Memory reveals my past identity - but so does testimony of other witnesses
Source
Thomas Reid (Essays on Intellectual Powers 3: Memory [1785], III.Ch 4)
A Reaction
A splendidly accurate and simple observation. Reid's criticisms of Locke are greatly superior to those of Butler. We now have vast collections of photographs showing our past identities.
Book Reference
'Personal Identity', ed/tr. Perry,John [University of California 1975], p.110