Full Idea
The cardinal number of M is the general idea which, by means of our active faculty of thought, is deduced from the collection M, by abstracting from the nature of its diverse elements and from the order in which they are given.
Gist of Idea
A cardinal is an abstraction, from the nature of a set's elements, and from their order
Source
George Cantor (works [1880]), quoted by Bertrand Russell - The Principles of Mathematics §284
Book Reference
Russell,Bertrand: 'Principles of Mathematics' [Routledge 1992], p.304
A Reaction
[Russell cites 'Math. Annalen, XLVI, §1'] See Fine 1998 on this.
Related Idea
Idea 9145 We form the image of a cardinal number by a double abstraction, from the elements and from their order [Cantor]