on schools, appears later. Locke’s final comment is comprehensively negative: “the whole is so far from a frame of government that it scarce contains a part of the materials.”
Pacific Christians (1688).
MS Locke c. 27, fol. 80. Headed “Pacifick Christians.” Apparently a set of guiding principles for a religious society. Compare “Rules of the Dry Club” (1692), whose members must declare that they believe “no person ought to be harmed in his body, name, or goods, for mere speculative opinions, or his external way of worship” (Locke, Works, 1801, vol. 10, pp. 312–14).
Sacerdos (1698).
In the notebook “Adversaria 1661,” p. 93. Locke’s heading. He begins with an account of ancient religion, out of Cicero, and then turns to stress the essential character of Christianity as holy living, not ritual performances. The passage is a commentary on Pierre Bayle’s Pensées diverses (1683), §127.
Error (1698).
In the notebook “Adversaria 1661,” pp. 320–21. Locke’s heading. He attacks elaborate doctrinal confessions of faith, unquestioning belief, and the tyranny of orthodoxy. He affirms the priority of sincerity in belief and morality in conduct.
Scriptures for Toleration (undated, ca. 1676–90).
MS Locke c. 33, fol. 24. Headed “Tolerantia Pro.” A series of biblical citations that Locke takes as favoring toleration.
| 1632 | Born at Wrington, Somerset, 29 August |
| 1642 | Outbreak of the Civil Wars |
| 1643 | Troops of Col. Popham, Locke’s future patron, despoil Wells Cathedral |
| 1645 | Defeat of Charles I at Naseby by Oliver Cromwell |
| 1647 | Admitted to Westminster School, London |
| 1648 | Treaty of Westphalia ends European Thirty Years’ War |
| 1649 | Execution of Charles I; England a republic |
| 1651 | Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan |
| 1652 | Elected a Student of Christ Church, Oxford |
| 1652–67 | Usually resident in Oxford |
| 1655 | Graduates as a bachelor of arts |
| 1658 | Graduates as a master of arts; death of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell |
| 1660 | Restoration of monarchy under Charles II |
| 1660–62 | Writes Two Tracts on Government, against toleration (published 1967) |
| 1661–64 | Lecturer in Greek, rhetoric, and moral philosophy |
| 1662 | Act of Uniformity reimposes Anglicanism; dissenting worship illegal |
| 1663 | Attends chemical and medical lectures |
| 1663–64 | Writes Essays on the Law of Nature (published 1954) |
| 1665–66 | Embassy secretary sent to the Elector of Brandenburg at Cleves (Kleve) |
| 1666 | Licensed to practice medicine |
| Granted dispensation to retain Studentship without taking holy orders | |
| Great Fire of London | |
| 1667 | Joins Lord Ashley’s household; usually resident in London until 1675. |
| Writes Essay Concerning Toleration (published 1876) | |
| 1668 | Oversees lifesaving operation on Ashley |
| Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society | |
| 1669 | Helps draft The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina |
| 1670 | Baruch Spinoza, Tractatus Theologico-Politicus |
| 1671 | Secretary to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina (until 1675) |
| First drafts of An Essay Concerning Human Understanding | |
| 1672 | Ashley created Earl of Shaftesbury and Lord Chancellor |
| Appointed secretary for ecclesiastical presentations (to 1673) | |
| First visit to France | |
| Samuel Pufendorf, On the Law of Nature and Nations | |
| 1673 | Secretary to the Council of Trade and Plantations (to 1674) |
| Charles II’s brother and heir, James, Duke of York, converts to Catholicism | |
| Shaftesbury ousted from office; begins to lead opposition | |
| 1675 | Shaftesburian manifesto, A Letter from a Person of Quality |
| Graduates as a bachelor of medicine | |
| To France; chiefly resident at Montpellier until 1677; then mainly Paris | |
| 1676 | Translates three of Pierre Nicole’s Essais de Morale |
| 1677 | Repeal of writ De haeretico comburendo, abolishing burning for heresy |
| Andrew Marvell, An Account of the Growth of Popery | |
| 1678 | Popish Plot revealed; executions of Catholics follow (to 1681) |
| 1679 | Returns to England |
| Habeas Corpus Act | |
| 1679–81 | Exclusion Crisis; Whigs seek to exclude Catholic heir from the throne |
| Whig victory in three general elections, but Whigs outmaneuvered by the king | |
| 1680 | Signs London’s “monster petition,” demanding sitting of Parliament |
| 1679–83 |
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