The New Lifetime Reading Plan

But it is a remarkable book ali the same. It has swayed not only millions of God-fearing plain folk, but sophisticated intel- lects like Shaw [99]. Its prose is that of a born, surely not made, artist—muscular, hard as nails, powerful, even witty. Has a cer­tain kind of business morality ever been more neatly described than by the comfortable Mr. By-ends? "Yet my great-grandfa- ther was but a water-man, looking one way and rowing another; and I got most of my estate by the same occupation." And, if we cannot respond to the theology, it is hard not to respond to the strong rhythm and naked sincerity of that triumphant climax: "When the day that he must go hence was come, many accom- panied him to the river side, into which as he went, he said, 'Death, where is thy sting?' and as he went down deeper he said, 'Grave, where is thy victory?' So he passed over, and ali the trumpets sounded for him on the other side."

Of the writers, listed in this Plan, who had preceded him, Bunyan had read not a line. He merely quietly joined them.

C.F.

49

JOHN LOCKE

1632-1704

Second Treatise of Government

With the Restoration (1660) Locke's father, a Cromwell man, lost much of his fortune. This may have inclined his Oxford- trained son to balance his wide intellectual interests with vari- ous governmental and semigovernmental activities. As he had, among other things, studied medicine, he was able to serve as household physician, as well as personal secretary, to the first Earl of Shaftesbury. With the latters fali from power in 1675, Locke removed to France for four years; returned to England under Shaftesbury again; following the latters exile and death, sought refuge in Holland; and in 1689 was back in England, favorably received by the new regime of William and Mary. During these years he worked on his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which appeared, together with the Two Treatises of Civil Government, in 1690. The latter, how- ever, had been written twelve years before and are not, as has been thought, a defense of the Revolution of 1688, except by anticipation.

During the whole of the eighteenth century Locke's influ­ence was marked. Through Voltaire [53] and Rousseau [57] he provided some of the ideas that sparked the French Revolution. Through Jefferson and other Founding Fathers [60, 61] he determined to a considerable extent the ideas that went into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. His views on religious toleration, education, and politics, though not in every instance original, did much to establish the mental climate of the Industrial Revolution and to promote the advance of democratic government.

His major work, the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, is generally supposed to have founded the British empirical school of philosophy. This school rejects the doctrine that ideas are innate and derives them rather from experience. If you have a special interest in the fascinating history of theories of knowledge, you might tackle the famous Essay.

For the rest of us it is useful to have at least a rough idea of Locke's Second Treatise of Government. Like Hobbes [43], he addresses himself to the central question, What is the basis of legitimate power? His answer, though on many points open to criticism, clears the way for the development of representative government, just as Hobbes's answer does for authoritarian government. Hobbes's idea of a "contract" centers in the relin- quishment of an individual^ power to an absolute or almost absolute sovereign or assembly. Locke's "social contract" is made between equals (that is, property-holding male equals) who "join in and make one society." Government is not divinely instituted; it is not absolute; and its authority is limited by notions familiar to us: the separation of powers, checks and balances, and the permanent retention by the individual of cer­tain "inalienable rights." For Locke these latter include life, liberty, and property. Against a government that does not guar- antee such rights, rebellion is legitimate.

While Locke's specific political doctrines are of great his­torical importance to us, it is perhaps the general tenor of his thought that, through the Founding Fathers, has continued to influence the American conception of government. Locke is optimistic, as we are. He is relatively undogmatic. He hates bigotry and absolutism. He conceives of society as open and experimental. He believes the state should aim to further the happiness of ali its citizens. These may seem tame ideas today, but they were inflammatory in his time. And, though few peo- ple read Locke, his views continue to exert influence.

C.F.

50

MATSUO BASHХ

1644-1694

The Narrow Road to the Deep North