part of this life in fervices and important occupations, it was neceffary to spend another in mere amufements; and when an occafion naturally offered, he gave himself up with pleasure to the charms of a free and facetious converfation. He remembered a great many agreeable ftories, which he always brought in properly, and generally made them yet more delightful, by his natural and agreeable manner of telling them.

He had a peculiar art in conversation to lead people to talk of what they understood beft. With a gardener he discoursed of gardening; with a jeweller, of a diamond, &c.; with a chemist, of chemistry. "By this," faid he, "I please all those men who commonly can "speak pertinently upon nothing elfe. As they be"lieve I have an efteem for their profeffion, they are "charmed with showing their abilities before me; and "I in the meanwhile improve myself by their dif "courfe." And indeed, he had by this means acquired a very good infight into all the arts, of which he daily learned more and more. He used to say, too, that the knowledge of the arts contained more true philofophy than all thofe fine learned hypothefes, which having no relation to the nature of things, are fit only to make men lose their time in inventing or comprehending them. By the feveral questions which he would put to artificers, he would find out the fecret of their art, which they did not understand themselves; and often give them views entirely new, which fometimes they put in practice to their profit. He was fo far from affuming thofe airs of gravity, by which fome perfons, learned and unlearned, love to diftinguish themselves from the reft of the world, that, on the contrary, he looked on them as an infallible mark of impertinence. Nay, fometimes he would divert himself with imitating that studied gravity, in order to turn it the better into ridicule; and upon this occafion he always remembered this maxim of the Duke of La Rouchefoucault, which he admired above all others, "that gravity is a mystery of the body, invented to conceal the defects of the mind." One thing, which those who lived VOL. I.

E

for any time with Mr. Locke, could not help obferving of him was, that he used his reafon in every thing he did, and that nothing that was useful seemed unworthy of his care. He often used to fay, that there was an art in every thing, and it was eafy for any one to fee it, from the manner in which he went about the moft trifling things. As he always kept the useful in his eye in all his difquifitions, he esteemed the employments of men only in proportion to the good they were capable of producing. For which reafon he had no great value for those critics and mere grammarians who wafte their lives in comparing words and phrafes, and in coming to a determination in the choice of a various reading, in a paffage of no importance. He valued yet lefs thofe profeffed difputants, who, being wholly poffeffed with a defire of coming off with victory, fortify themselves behind the ambiguity of a word, to give their adverfaries the more trouble. And whenever he had to do with this fort of people, if he did not beforehand ftrongly refolve to keep his temper, he foon fell into paffion. For his natural temper was hot and choleric; but his anger never lafted long. If he retained any re fentment, it was against himself for having given way to fo ridiculous a paffion; which, as he ufed to fay, may do a great deal of harm, but never yet did the leaft good. He often would blame himself for his weaknefs. He difliked thofe authors who labour only to de ftroy, without establishing any thing themfelves. "A "building," faid he, "difpleafes them. They find great "fault in it, let them demolifh it, and welcome, if "they will, but endeavour to raise another in its place." He advised, that whenever we have meditated any thing new, we fhould throw it as foon as poffible upon paper," in order to be the better able to judge of it by feeing it altogether, because the mind of man is not capable of retaining clearly a long chain of confequences, and of feeing without confufion the relation of a great number of different ideas. Befides it often happens, that what we had most admired, when confidered in the grofs, and in a perplexed manner, appears to be ut

terly inconfiftent and infupportable when we fee every part of it distinctly.

He was naturally very active, and employed himself as much as his health would permit. Sometimes he diverted himself with working in the garden, which he very well understood. He loved walking, but not being able to walk much, through the disorder of his lungs, he used to ride out after dinner, and when he could not bear a horse he went in a chaife. He always chofe to have company with him, though it were but a child; for he took pleasure in talking with children of a good education. His bad health was a disturbance to none but himself; and any perfon might be with him, without any other concern than that of feeing him fuffer. He did not differ from others in his diet, but only in that his ufual drink was nothing but water; and he thought that was the means, under God, of lengther ing out his life. To this he alfo thought, the prefervation of his fight was in a great meafure owing; for he could read by candle-light all forts of books to the last, if they were not of a very small print, without the use of fpectacles. He had no other diftemper but his afthma, except a deafness for about fix months, which he la mented in a letter to one of his friends, telling him, "he thought it better to be blind than deaf, as it de"prived him of all converfation." He left feveral manufcripts behind him, befides his paraphrafe on some of St. Paul's epiftles, which were publifhed at different times, and are all now adeed to the collection of his works by M. Defmaizeaux, from whence this account of his life, and this edition of his Effay concerning Human Understanding, and his Thoughts on the Con duct of the Understanding are taken.

OF HUMAN UNDERSTANDING.

BOOK I.-CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

§ 1. An Inquiry into the Understanding, pleasant and

ufeful.

INCE it is the understanding that fets man above the rest of sensible beings, and gives him all the advantage and dominion, which he has over them, it is certainly a fubject, even for its noblenefs, worth our labour to inquire into. The understanding, like the eye, whilft it makes us fee and perceive all other things, takes no notice of itself; and it requires art and pains to fet it at a distance, and make it its own object. But, whatever be the difficulties that lie in the way of this inquiry; whatever it be that keeps us fo much in the dark to ourfelves, fure I am, that all the light we can let in upon our own minds, all the acquaintance we can make with our own understandings, will not only be very pleasant, but bring us great advantage, in directing our thoughts in the fearch of other things.

$ 2. Defign.

THIS, therefore, being my purpofe, to inquire into the original, certainty, and extent of human knowledge, together with the grounds and degrees of belief, opinion and affent, I fhall not at prefent meddle with the phyfical confideration of the mind, or trouble myfelf to examine, wherein its effence confifts, or by what motions of our fpirits, or alterations of our bodies, we come to have any fenfation by our organs, or any ideas in our understandings; and whether thofe ideas do, in their formation, any or all of them, depend on matter