But far more important than their specific influence on other writers,
or even on the development of the subjects with which they deal, has
been the effect of Locke's writings on the history of progress and
civilization. In an age of excitement and prejudice, he set men the
example of thinking calmly and clearly. When philosophy was almost
synonymous with the arid discussion of scholastic subtleties, he wrote
so as to interest statesmen and men of the world. At a time when the
chains of dogma were far tighter, and the penalties of attempting to
loosen them far more stringent, than it is now easy to conceive, he
raised questions which stirred the very depths of human thought. And
all this he did in a spirit so candid, so tolerant, so liberal, and
so unselfish, that he seemed to be writing not for his own party or
his own times, but for the future of knowledge and of mankind. To
sound every question to the bottom, never to allow our convictions to
outstrip our evidence, to throw aside all prejudices and all interests
in the pursuit of truth, but to hold the truth, when found, in all
charity and with all consideration towards those who have been less
fortunate than we--these are the lessons which, faithfully transmitted
through two centuries by those who had eyes to see and ears to hear, he
has bequeathed to us and our posterity.
THE END.
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