LOCKE - BACKGROUND

<BODY> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=5><B><FONT SIZE=6>LOCKE</FONT><BR> PRACTICAL MAN OF THE WORLD</B></FONT></CENTER><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>Background</B></FONT><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>TROUBLED TIMES</B></FONT><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE>"I no sooner perceived myself in the world but I found myself in a storm which lasted almost hitherto".</BLOCKQUOTE> <CENTER><IMG SRC="1302a.gif" WIDTH="350" HEIGHT="207" ALT="ROUNDHEADS "></CENTER><P> Locke lived in troubled times. His father had lost most of his property in the Civil War between the Puritan Roundheads and the royalist Cavaliers. The religious divisions had continued even after the death of Cromwell and the restoration of the Stuart monarchy. Locke became embroiled, through association and through conviction, in bitter a conflict that involved more than political debate. His patron, Lord Shafstbury, escaped to Holland when impeached for treason. Locke also fled there, and for a time lived under an assumed name. He returned only after the Catholic James II was expelled and William of Orange replaced him as king of England. He then held important public positions until ill health forced him to retire to Essex. <P> <CENTER><IMG SRC="1302b.gif" WIDTH="193" HEIGHT="250" ALT="WOODCUT"></CENTER><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>SECRETIVE</B></FONT><BR> The issues Locke debated were real issues of the day. With people fighting and dying over religious dogma, it seemed important to identify how knowledge and truth could be confirmed. To the modern reader, the ideas of government by and for the people and of religious toleration seem far from radical. Yet these works were published anonymously. (It was only through his bequest of the manuscripts of the "Treatises" and "Letter Concerning Toleration" to the Bodleian Library at Oxford that their true authorship was confirmed. This is partly due to the political climate of the day, and partly due to Locke's secretive nature. His letters reveal that he kept secrets from even his closest friends. His notes use a form of shorthand and secret ciphers and on one occasion, he even used invisible ink. This eccentricity seems his one form of excess. In all his writings, he encourages moderation and toleration and condemns "enthusiasm", especially in religion. <BR clear=left><BR> <HR width=100%> <A HREF="http://www.creatorix.com.au"><IMG SRC="../creatorix.gif" WIDTH="85" HEIGHT="40" BORDER="0" ALT="Creatorix" align=right></A> </BODY>