Full Idea
Nothing is permanent in a substance except the law itself which determines the continuous succession of its states and accords within the individual substance with the laws of nature that govern the whole world.
Gist of Idea
The law within something fixes its persistence, and accords with general laws of nature
Source
Gottfried Leibniz (works [1690], G II:263), quoted by David Wiggins - Sameness and Substance 3 epig
Book Reference
Wiggins,David: 'Sameness and Substance' [Blackwell 1980], p.76
A Reaction
An interesting link between the law-of-series within a substance, and the broader concept of laws outside it.
Related Idea
Idea 13093 The only permanence in things, constituting their substance, is a law of continuity [Leibniz]