1686

Contents:

Draft C (early)

Pensilvania laws (mid-November)

Of ethick in general (unknown)

Division of the sciences (unknown)

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Draft C of the Essay concerning human understanding   (1685)

Location:   Morgan Library and Museum, New York, MA 998.

Description:   Draft C is the third extant draft of An essay concerning human understanding; the surviving volume includes only the first two books. The text is primarily in the hand of Sylvester Brounower, Locke’s manservant and amanuensis. It was probably written during the early months of 1686. The text seems to be a copy of another manuscript, and itself includes corrections in Locke’s hand; this text was most likely completed during the last months of 1685. Draft C represents a considerable expansion on Draft B, but the text printed in 1689 is a further revision.

8o, ca. 162 × 106 mm. Each book comprises a separate set of quires. Book 1 consists of 5 quires: A4 B-E8. Book 2 consists of 20 quires: A-V8.

The volume is bound in vellum. The figures “1.2” appear on the spine, presumably indicating that the volume contains books 1 and 2 of the Essay. The flyleaf is inscribed by Locke: “For Edward Clarke of Chipley Esq | James Tyrrell of Oakley Esq; | or Dr David Thomas of Salisbury”; there is also a bookplate of Henry B. H. Beaufoy, F.R.S. and the inscription “H.B.H. Beaufoy from Forster; Aug. 27 1849” (see below for explanation). The title page reads: “An Essay Concerning humane understanding in fower books 1685”; followed by a quotation from Cicero. Each of the two books has a title page, in Locke’s hand. The first reads: “An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding Lib: 1”; the second reads: “Liber 2 Of Ideas.” Page S8 of Book 2 is inscribed “Sic cogitavit JL” and bears Locke’s paraph. On the final leaf is a letter from Forster to Beaufoy, Bruges, 12 September 1849.

The provenance of the manuscript is described in the letter from Thomas Forster to Beaufoy. The manuscript came into the possession of John [i.e., Benjamin] Furly who gave or left it to Forster’s grandfather, together with “a parcel of letters from Algernon Sydney, Locke and Lord Shaftesbury.” It passed Forster, who gave it to Beaufoy in 1849, as indicated in the inscription on the flyleaf. It was sold to the Morgan Library by the Rosenbach Company in 1924.

A microfilm copy is available in the Bodleian Library (MS. Film 57).

Publications:

  1. [Quotations:] “Draft C of Locke’s Essay / [R.I. Aaron] (1955)
  2. [Excerpts:] “Locke on power and causation : excerpts from the 1685 draft of the Essay / Ruth Mattern (1981). – pp. 847-939.
  3. Drafts for the Essay concerning human understanding. Volume II, Draft C / John Locke ; edited by G.A.J. Rogers and J. R. Milton. – Oxford : Clarendon Press, 2021. – (The Clarendon edition of the works of John Locke) [Locke #942A]

Discussions:   Johnston & Laslett, “Locke’s Essay, a fourth manuscript” (1952); Aaron, publication #1 above.

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Pensilvania laws   (mid-November 1686)

Location:   Bodleian Library, MS. Locke f. 9, pp. 33-39.

Description:   Notes by Locke on William Penn’s Frame of Government for Pennsylvania, with the captions “Pensilvania laws” (p. 33) and “The frame of the Governmt: of Pensylvania 82” (p. 38). The notes are not dated, but the previous note (p. 30) is dated 8 November and the next note (p. 41) is dated 22 November.

Publications:

  1. [excerpts] A letter concerning toleration and other writings / John Locke ; edited and with an introduction by Mark Goldie. – Indianapolis : Liberty Fund, ©2010. – p. 182 [Locke #67B].

Discussions:   Goldie, publication #1, p. xl.

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Of ethick in general   [c. 1686-1687?]

Location:   Bodleian Library, MS. Locke c. 28, ff. 146-152.

Description:   A paper with the title “Of ethick in general” and the caption (f. 146r) “Ethica”. It is mostly in Locke’s hand, but with some passages copied from Draft B of the Essay by Sylvester Brounower. It is marked to be inserted at Book IV, chapter xxi of the Essay, but was never used. There are references to chapters numbered as in Draft C, indicating that the manuscript was written before the final text of the Essay was available in 1687.

The manuscript consists of four sheets of paper, each folded once to form a quire of 16 pages, measuring approximately 158 × 95 mm. The first leaf and the last page are blank.

Publications:

  1. [incomplete] The life of John Locke : with extracts from his correspondence, journals and common-place books / by Lord King. – London : H. Colburn, 1829. – pp. 306-312; London : H. Colburn and R. Bentley, 1830. – vol. 2:122-133.
  2. Political essays / Locke ; edited by Mark Goldie. – Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1997. – pp. 297-304. [Locke #867+]
  3. Writings on religion / John Locke ; edited by Victor Nuovo. – Oxford : Clarendon Press, 2002. – p. 9-14 [Locke 867+]
  4. The Digital Locke Project / Dr. Paul Schuurman, project director. – Amsterdam : Digital Production Centre of the University Library of the University of Amsterdam, 2006-  . – Normalized and diplomatic texts available.
  5. Drafts for the Essay concerning human understanding, and other philosophical writings. Volume 2 / John Locke ; edited by G.A.J. Rogers and J. R. Milton. – Oxford : Clarendon Press, in preparation. – (The Clarendon edition of the works of John Locke) [Locke #942A]
  6. [Polish translation] “Dwa fragmenty poświęcone etyce” / John Locke ; przeklad i opracowanie, Adam Grzeliński, Marcin T. Zdrenka. // IN: Studia z historii filozofii. – 2:9 (2018):9-18; translation of #3 above.

Discussions:   Von Leyden, Introduction to Essays on the law of nature (1954), pp. 69-73; G. H. Moulds, “The ‘right’ and the ‘good’ in Locke’s writings” (1972); Biddle, “A further note on that ‘puzzling point’ ” (1975); Goldie, publication #2 above, pp. 297-298; Nuovo, publication #3 above, pp. xxvii-xxxviii; Schuurman, Digital Locke project, text descriptions [viewed 2008/07/25]

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Division of the sciences   [c. 1686-1687?]

Location:   Bodleian Library, MS. Locke c. 28, ff. 155-156.

Description:   Notes on the division of the sciences in Locke’s hand. The main headings are Physica, Σεμιοτικὴ, Animalia, and Πρακτικὴ. Marked “l.4.c.23 20 21 20” but not used as the basis for the final text; they may therefore date from an earlier stage in the development of the Essay. Schuurman argues – based on similarities in size of sheets, layout, and content – that this paper is a continuation the paper (ff. 145-152) containing “Of Ethick in General,” and probably also dates from c. 1686-1687.

The manuscript consists of a single sheet of paper folded once to form 4 pages, approx. 155 × 93 mm.

Publications:

  1. The Digital Locke Project / Dr. Paul Schuurman, project director. – Amsterdam : Digital Production Centre of the University Library of the University of Amsterdam, 2006-  . – Normalized and diplomatic texts available.
  2. Drafts for the Essay concerning human understanding, and other philosophical writings. Volume 3 / John Locke ; edited by Paul Schuurman. – Oxford : Clarendon Press, forthcoming. – (The Clarendon edition of the works of John Locke)

Discussions:   Schuurman, Digital Locke project, text descriptions [viewed 2008/07/25]

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