LOCKE. 
T5-as appointed, by the king, one of the commiffioners of 
trade and plantations, which obliged him to be more fre¬ 
quently in London than he had been for fome time pad. 
In the fame year he publifhed his excellent treatife, enti¬ 
tled the Reafonablenefs of Chriftianity as delivered in the 
Scriptures, of which he afterwards publifhed a vindication, 
in anfwer to a fcurrilous attack by Dr. Edwards, entitled 
Socinianifm unmafked. Scarcely was Mr. Locke difen- 
gaged from this controverfy, before he was drawn into 
another, occafioned by the publication of Mr. Toland’s 
Chriftianity not myfterious, in which he endeavoured to 
prove “that there is nothing in the Chriftian religion not 
only contrary to reafon, but even nothing above it;” 
and, in explaining his notions, he made ufe of feveral ar¬ 
guments from Mr. Locke’s Eflay. About the fame time, 
feveral treatifes were publifhed by fome Unitarian writers, 
maintaining that there was nothing in the Chriftian reli¬ 
gion but what was rational and intelligible, which fenti- 
ment had been advanced by Mr. Locke. The ufe which 
was made of his writings in thefe inftances, determined 
Dr. Stillingfleet, bifhop of Worcefter, to make an attack 
upon the author, in his Defence of the Doctrine of the 
Trinity, publifhed in 1697. Mr. Locke wrote an anfwer, 
and the'controverfy was carried on till the death of the 
bifhop. The candid of every party admitted that Mr. 
Locke was too powerful for the learned prelate: for ne¬ 
ver, perhaps, was a controverfy managed with fo much 
(kill and art on one fide; nor, on the other, fo unjuftly, 
confufedly, or fo little to the credit of the party. 
Mr. Locke’s publications in the controverfy above men¬ 
tioned were the laft which were committed by himfelf to 
the prefs. The aflhmatic complaint, to which he had 
been long fubjeft, increafing with his years, began now 
to fubdue his confutation, and rendered him very infirm. 
He, therefore, determined to refign his poll of commif- 
fioner of trade and plantations; but he acquainted none 
of his friends with his defign, till he had given up his 
commifhon into the king’s own hand. His majefty was 
very unwilling to receive it, and told Mr. Locke, that he 
would be well pleafed with his continuance in that office, 
though he (liould give little or no attendance; for that he 
did not defire him to flay in town one day to the injury 
of his health. But Mr. Locke told the king, that he could 
not in confidence hold a place to which a confiderable fa- 
lary was annexed, without difcharging the duties of it; 
upon which the king reluftantly accepted his relignation. 
Mr. Locke’s behaviour in this inftance, difcovered fuch a 
degree of integrity and virtue, as reflects more honour on 
his character than his extraordinary intellectual endow¬ 
ments. From this time Mr. Locke continued altogether 
at Oates, in which agreeable retirement he applied himfelf 
wholly to the ftudy of the facred fcriptures. In this em¬ 
ployment he found fo much pleafure, that he regretted 
his not having devoted more of his time to it in the former 
part of his life. And his great regard for the facred writ¬ 
ings appears from his anfwer to a relation who had en¬ 
quired of him, what was the thorteft and fureft way for a 
young gentleman to attain a true knowledge of the Chrif¬ 
tian religion. “Let him ftudy,” faid Mr..Locke, “the 
Holy Scripture, efpecially in the NewTeftament. Therein 
are contained the words of eternal life. It has God for 
its author; falvation for its end ; and truth, without 
any mixture of error, for its matter.” Mr. Locke now 
found his afthmatic diforder growing extremely trouble- 
fome, though it did not prevent him from enjoying great 
cheerfulnefs of mind. In this fituation his fufferings 
were greatly alleviated by the kind attention and agreeable 
converfation of the accomplift'.ed lady Matham, who was 
the daughter of the learned Dr. Cudworth. At the com¬ 
mencement of the fummer of the year 1703, a feafon, 
which, in former years, had always reftored him fome de¬ 
gree of ftrength, he perceived that it had begun to fail 
him more remarkably than ever. This convinced him 
that his diffolution was at no great diftance; and he often 
fpoke of it himfelf, but always with great compofure; 
875 
while he omitted none of the precautions which, from his 
{kill in phytic, he knew had a tendency to prolong his 
life. At length, his legs began tofwell; and, that 1 well¬ 
ing increafing every day, his ftrength vifibly diminifhed. 
He therefore prepared to take leave of the world, deeply 
imprefled with a fenfe of God’s manifold bleffings to him, 
which lie took delight in recounting to his friends, and 
full of a fincere refignation to the divine will, and of firm 
hopes in the promiles of future life. He expired, on the 
28th of Oftober, 1704, in the feventy-third year of his 
age. He was interred in the church of Oates, where 
there is a decent monument ereCted to his memory, 
with a modeft infcription in Latin, written by himfelf. 
Of Mr. Locke’s private character, an account was firft 
publifhed by Mr. Peter Cofte, who had lived with him as 
an amanuenfis, which was afterwards prefixed by M. des 
Maizeaux to A Collection of feveral Pieces of Mr. Locke 
never before printed, See. publifhed in 1720; from which, 
together with M. le Clerc’s Bibliotheque Choifie, we (hall 
pretent our readers with fome interefting particulars re¬ 
lating to this great man. Mr. Locke poflefted a great 
knowledge of the world, and was intimately converfant 
in the bufinefs of it. He was prudent, without cunning; 
he engaged men’s efteem by his probity; and took care to 
fecure himfelf from the attacks of falfe friends and fordid 
flatterers. Averfe to all mean compliance, his wifdom, 
his experience, and his gentle manner, gained him the 
refpeCt of his inferiors, the efteem of his equals, and the 
friendfhip and confidence of thofe of the higheft quality. 
He was remarkable for the eafe and politenefs of his beha¬ 
viour; and thofe who knew him only by his writings, or 
by the reputation which he had acquired, and who had 
fuppofed him a referved or auftere man, were furprifed, if 
they happened to be introduced to him, to find him all 
affability, good humour, and complaifance. He was exaCt 
to his word, and religioufly performed whatever he pro- 
mifed. Though he chiefly loved truths which were ufe- 
ful, and with fuch ftored his mind, and was belt pleated 
to make them the fubjeCts of converfation ; yet he ufed 
to fay, that, in order to employ one part of this life in 
ferious and important occupations, it was neceflary to 
fpend another in mere annifements ; and, when an occa- 
fion naturally offered, he gave himfelf up with pleafure to 
the charms of a free and facetious converfation. He re¬ 
membered many agreeahle ftories, which he always intro¬ 
duced with great propriety; and generally made them yet 
more delightful, by his natural and pleafant manner of 
telling them. He had a peculiar art, in converfation, of 
leading people to talk concerning what they beft under- 
ftood. With a gardener he converfed of gardening; with 
a jeweller of jewels; with a chemilt of chemiftry, Sec. 
“By this,” laid he, “I pleafS thofe men, who commonly 
can fpeak pertinently upon nothing elfe. As they believe 
I have an efteem for their profelfion, they .are charmed 
with thowing their abilities before me; and I, in the mean 
while, improve myfelf by their difeourfe.” And, indeed, 
he had by this method acquired a very good infight into 
all the arts. He ufed to lay too, that the knowledge of 
the arts contained more true philolophy, than all thofe 
fine learned hypothefes, which, having no relation to the 
nature of things, are fit only to make men lofe their time 
in inventing or comprehending them. By the feveral 
queltions which he would put to artificers, lie would find 
out the fecret of their art, which they did not underftand 
themfelves; and often give them views entirely new, 
which fometimes they put in practice to their profit. He 
was fo far from afl'uming thofe aftefted airs of gravity, by 
which fome perfons, as well learned as unlearned, love to 
diftinguifh themfelves from the reft of the world, that, on 
the contrary, he looked upon them as infallible marks of 
impertinence. Nay, fometimes he would divert himfelf 
with imitating that ftudied gravity, in order to turn it the 
better into ridicule; and upon fuch occafions he always 
recollefted this maxim of the duke de la Rochefoucault, 
which he particularly admired, “that gravity is. a myftery 
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