Locke contracted a friendship with Mr. Limborch, profeffor of divinity among the Remonftrants, and the most learned Mr. Le Clerc, which he cultivated after his return into England, and continued to the end of his life.

During his refidence in Holland, he was accused at Court of having written certain tracts against the government, which were afterwards difcovered to be written by another perfon; and upon that fufpicion he was deprived of his place of Student of Chrift Church,

After the death of King Charles II. Mr. William Penn, who had known our author at the University, ufed his intereft with King James to procure a pardon for him, and would have obtained it, if Mr. Locke had not answered that he had no occafion for a pardon, fince he had not been guilty of any crime. In the year 1685, when the Duke of Monmouth and his party were making preparations in Holland for his unfortunate enterprise, the English Envoy at the Hague had orders to demand Mr. Locke and eighty-three other perfons to be delivered up to the States General, upon which he lay concealed to the year following. During this confinement, our author wrote his letter of

Mr. Le Clerc observes, that Mr. Locke had no correfpondence with the Duke of Monmouth, having no great opinion of his undertaking; befides, his natural temper was timorous, not refolute, and he was far from being fond of commotions. He had been at the end of the year 1684 at Utrecht, and returned in the fpring to Amfterdam, with a defign to go again to Utrecht, as he actually did, to avoid being charged with having any fhare in the Duke of Monmouth's enterprife. He had before fome inclination to lodge with his friend M. Guencion, but he excused himself, it not being the cuftom of that city to admit ftrangers to lodge, though he received Mr. Locke with great civility. But when M. Guenelon faw that his friend was in real danger, he ferved him with great generosity. He spoke to Mr. Veen his father-in-law, and engaged him to receive Mr. Locke into his house. Upon this Mr. Locke came to Amfterdam, where he lay concealed at Mr. Veen's house two or three months. In the mean time, Mr. Limborch took care to deliver him the letters which were written to him, and had the cuftody of Mr. Locke's will, who defired him to fend it to fome of his relations, whom he named, if he should die. One of the principal magiftrates of the city was

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Toleration, which was first published in Latin, and intituled, "Epiftola de Tolerantia ad Clariffimum Vi❝rum, T. A. R. P. T. Q. L. A. Scripta a P. A. P. "O. I. L. A." The first letters fignify, "Theologiæ "apud Remonftrantes Profefforem, Tyrannidis Ofo"rem Limburguim Amftelodamenfem ;" and the latter, "Pacis Amico, Perfecutionis Ofore, Johanne Locke "Anglo." This letter he afterwards tranflated into English, and publifhed at London in the year 1690 *. At Amfterdam he formed a weekly affembly, confifting of Mr. Limborch, Mr. Le Clerc, and others, for converfation upon important fubjects; but thefe conferences were much interrupted by the frequent changes he was forced to make of the places of his refidence.

Our author's great work, the "Elay concerning Hu❝man Understanding," he had been employed about for fome years, and he finished it in Holland about the end of the year 1687. He made an abridgment of it himself, which his friend Mr. Le Clerc tranflated into French, and inferted in one of his "Bibliothiques."

confulted whether he might continue there in fafety, but that magiftate aufwered, That they could not proted him, if the King of England fhould den and him; however, that he fhould not be be"trayed, and that his landlord fhould have timely notice when there "fhould be occafion." This gave him fome kind of confidence, and he continued with Mr. Veen for fome time, without going abroad, except at night, for fear of being known. In the mean time he was perfuaded to go to Cleves, but returned in about two months time, and lodged again at Mr. Veen's. At the end of the year he went to live with M. Guenelon, where he was likewife the year following. In 1686 he began to appear again in public, because it was fufficiently known that he had no fhare in the Duke of Monmouth's invasion. In Autumn he went to Utrecht, and at the end of the year returned to Amfterdam, and lodged at M. Guenelon's as before.

*

• This letter was fo highly approved of in Holland, that it was immediately tranflated into Dutch; but it was very feverely attacked by a clergyman of Oxford, who wrote no lefs than three pamphlets against it, two of which our author answered, defending his principles with invincible ftrength of argument; and though he was in a declining ftate of health when his antagonist, after twelve years fie lence, published his third pamphlet against it, yet he began a reply to him in a "fourth letter concerning Toleration." Though this was not finished, yet the fragment is published in Defmaizeaux's, collestion of his works,

This abridgment was fo highly approved of by all perfons of understanding, and fincere lovers of truth, that they expreffed the ftrongeft defire to see the whole

work.

At length the happy Revolution in 1688, by the courage and good conduct of the Prince of Orange, opened a way for Mr. Locke's return into his own country, whither he came in the fleet which conveyed the Princefs of Orange; and upon the restoration of public liberty, he thought it proper to affert his own private rights. He endeavoured, therefore, to procure his reftoration to his place of Student of Christ Church; not that he defigned to return thither, but only that it might appear from thence that he had been unjustly deprived of it; but when he found that the College could not be prevailed on to difpoffefs the perfon who had been elected in his room, and that they would only admit him as a fupernumerary ftudent, he defifted' from his claim. He was now at full liberty to purfue his fpeculations; and accordingly, in the year 1689, he pub lithed his "Effay on Human Understanding." This work, which has made our author's name immortal, and which does honour to our country, gave great offence to many people at the first publication. It was propofed, at a meeting of the heads of houfes of the University of Oxford, to cenfure and difcourage the reading of it; and after various debates among themfelves, it was concluded that each head of an house fhould endeavour to prevent its being read in his college. The reafon of this is obvious, Mr. Locke had let in more light upon the minds of men than was confiftent with the dark defigns of fome perfons.

In the fame year, Mr. Locke alfo published his "Two Treatifes on Government," in which he fully vindicated the principles upon which "the Revolu"tion" was founded, and entirely overturned all the doctrines of flavery.

His writings had now procured him fuch high efteem, and he had merited fo much of the government, that it would have been eafy for him to have obtained a

very confiderable post; but he contented himself with that of "Commiffioner of Appeals," worth about 2001. per annum. He was offered to go abroad in a public character, and it was left to his choice whether he would be Envoy at the Court of the Emperor, the Elector of Brandenburg, or any other where he thought the gain most suitable to him; but he declined it, on account of his ill health.

About this time the public coin was very bad, having been fo much clipped, and no care used to remedy it, that it wanted about a third of its due value. The effect of this was, that the people thought themselves a great deal richer than indeed they were; for though the coin was yet raised in its value by public authority, it was put off in trade for above a third part more than it weighed. Mr. Locke had obferved this disorder ever fince his return to England, and he frequently spoke of it, that some measures might be taken to prevent it. He faid, " that the nation was in greater danger "from a fecret unobferved abuse, than from all those "other evils of which perfons were generally so ap"prehensive; and that if care was not taken to rec"tify the coin, that irregularity alone would prove fa"tal to us, though we should fucceed in every thing "elfe." One day when he seemed very much disturb ed about this matter, fome perfons rallied him, as if he tormented himself with a groundless fear; he anfwered, "that perfons might laugh if they pleased, "but they would find in a very short time, that if care "was not taken, we should want money in England to "buy bread." And accordingly there were fuch diforders on this account, that the Parliament took the matter into the moft ferious confideration. To affift the great men at the head of affairs (who are not always the best judges) to form a right understanding of this matter, and to excite them to rectify this fhameful abufe, Mr. Locke published a little treatise, intituled, "Some Confiderations of the Confequences of the "lowering of the Intereft, and raifing the Value of "Money," in which there are many nice and curious

obfervations on both these subjects, as well as on trade in general. This treatise was shortly followed by two more upon the fame fubject, in which he obviated all objections, and confuted all his opposers.

He fully fhowed to the world by thefe difcourfes that he was as able to reason on trade and business as on the most abstract points of science, and that he was none of these philofophers who fpent their lives in fearch of truths merely fpeculative, and who, by their ignorance of these things which concern the public good, are incapable of ferving their country. These writings recommended him to the notice of the greatest perfons, with whom he used to converfe very freely, He held weekly conferences with the Earl of Pembroke, then Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, and when the air of London began to affect his lungs, he went for fome days to the Earl of Peterborough's feat, near Fulham, where he always met with the most friendly reception; but he was obliged afterwards entirely to leave London, at leaft all the winter feafon, and go to fome place at a greater distance. He had made frequent vifits at different times to Sir Francis Masham's, whọ lived at Oates in Effex; where he found the air fo good, fo agreeable to his constitution, and the fociety there fo delightful, that he was easily prevailed with to become one of the family, and to fettle there during his life. He was received upon his own terms, that he might have his entire liberty, and look upon himself as at his own boufe. Here he applied himself to his studies as much as his weak health would allow, being seldom absent, because the air of London became more and more troublesome to him. He came to town only in the fummer for three or four months, and if he returned to Oates any thing indifpofed, the air of that place foon recovered him.

In 1693 he published his "Thoughts concerning "the Education of Children;" but he improved it confiderably afterwards.

In 1695 Mr. Locke published his treatife of "The * Reasonableness of Christianity," in which he has