John Locke (1632-1704) philosopher and politician
It is pointless on the part of the educator to talk about the curbing of passions if he gives free rein to any of his own passions; and fruitless will be his efforts to eradicate in his pupil the vice or obscene trait that he admits in himself.
Politeness is the first and most pleasant virtue.
The great art of learning a lot is to take on a little at once.
...Things are good and evil only in relation to pleasure and pain. We call good that which is capable of causing or increasing our pleasure… Evil… we call that which is capable of causing us or increasing some kind of suffering…
Gymnastics prolongs a person's youth.
Will and desire must not be confused... I want action that pulls in one direction, while my desire pulls in the opposite direction.
Twenty offenses can be forgiven faster than one violation of the truth.
Nine-tenths of the people we meet are what they are—good or bad, helpful or useless—by upbringing.
People's actions are the best translators of their thoughts.
Bad examples are certainly stronger than good rules.
There is hardly anything more necessary for knowledge, for a quiet life and for the success of any business, than the ability of a person to control his thoughts.
If strictness leads to a cure for a bad inclination, then this result is often achieved by planting another, even worse and more dangerous ailment - spiritual bruising.
There are two kinds of bad manners: the first is timid shyness, the second is obscene carelessness and irreverence in manner. Both can be avoided by observing one rule: not to have a low opinion of yourself or others.
Envy is the restlessness of the soul, caused by the consciousness that the good we desire has been taken over by another, who, in our opinion, should not have it before us.
True courage is expressed in calm self-control and in the imperturbable performance of one's duty, in spite of any disasters and dangers.
True courage is ready to face any danger and remains steadfast, no matter what calamity threatens.
Eloquence has, like the fair sex, such significant charms that it does not tolerate attacks on itself. And it would be useless to scold the art of deception when people enjoy this kind of deception.
Courage is the guardian and support of all other virtues, and one who is deprived of courage can hardly be firm in the performance of duty and show all the qualities of a truly worthy person.
Nothing penetrates so imperceptibly and deeply into a person’s soul as an example: no matter what bad trait people overlook in themselves and forgive themselves, it can only inspire them with disgust and shame when it appears before them in other people.
... They do not always blush when they experience shame, which is the restlessness of the mind at the thought that something indecent has been done or such that it will reduce the respect for us from others.
Ridicule is the most subtle way to expose the faults of others.
There is no greater rudeness than interrupting another during his speech.
No one has yet managed to be so cunning as to hide this quality of his.
No one knows the strength of his abilities until he has tested them.
Nothing is so beautiful to the eye as the truth is to the mind; nothing is so ugly and irreconcilable with reason as a lie.
Moral rules need proof, hence they are not innate.
Teaching the sciences promotes the development of virtue in people with good spiritual inclinations; in people who do not have such inclinations, it only leads to the fact that they become even more stupid and bad.
The basis of all virtue and all dignity lies in the ability of a person to refuse to satisfy his desires when reason does not approve of them.
The well-being of the entire nation depends on the proper upbringing of children.
The vice is not in having desires, but in the inability to subordinate them to the rules of reason; it's not about whether or not you experience the cravings themselves, but about the ability to manage them and refuse them.
Memory is a copper plate, covered with letters, which time imperceptibly smooths out, if sometimes they are not renewed with a chisel.
Pretense tries to correct natural flaws. Its goal is to please, but it never achieves it.
Tell a man passionately in love that his beloved is deceiving him, present him with twenty witnesses to his beloved's infidelity, and you can bet ten to one that a few kind words from her will refute all the evidence of the accusers.
Create only a few laws, but make sure they are respected.
Fear is the anxiety of the soul at the thought of future evil, which is likely to fall upon us.
Happiness in its full extent is the highest pleasure of which we are capable, and unhappiness is the highest pain.
Lies have a constant companion - cunning.
I cannot consider any punishment useful for a child, in which the shame of suffering for a committed offense does not affect him more than the suffering itself.
In an ill-bred man, boldness takes the form of rudeness; learning becomes in him pedantry; wit - buffoonery, simplicity - uncouthness, good nature - flattery.
Cunning is only the absence of reason: not being able to achieve its goals in direct ways, it tries to achieve them in picaresque and roundabout ways; and her trouble lies in the fact that cunning helps only once, and then always only hinders.
Logic is the anatomy of thought.
The one whom the child does not love has no right to punish the child.
It is easier for a mentor to command than to teach.
John Locke, (1632-1704), philosopher and politician
It is pointless on the part of the educator to talk about the curbing of passions if he gives free rein to any of his own passions; and fruitless will be his efforts to eradicate in his pupil the vice or obscene trait that he admits in himself.
Politeness is the first and most agreeable virtue.
The great art of learning a lot is to take on a little at once.
Things are good and evil only in relation to pleasure and pain. We call good that which is capable of evoking or increasing our pleasure. Evil. we name something that is capable of causing us or increasing some kind of suffering.
Gymnastics prolongs a person's youth.
Will and desire should not be confused. I want action that pulls in one direction, while my desire pulls in the opposite direction.
Twenty wrongdoings are faster than one wrongdoing.
Nine-tenths of the people we meet are what they are - good or bad, useful or useless - thanks to their upbringing.
The actions of people are the best translators of their thoughts.
Bad examples are certainly stronger than good rules.
There is hardly anything more necessary for knowledge, for a quiet life and for the success of any business, than the ability of a person to control his thoughts.
If strictness leads to a cure for a bad inclination, then this result is often achieved by planting another, even worse and more dangerous ailment - spiritual bruising.
There are two kinds of bad manners: the first consists in timid shyness, the second in obscene carelessness and irreverence in manner. Both can be avoided by observing one rule: not to have a low opinion of yourself or others.
Envy is the restlessness of the soul, caused by the consciousness that the good we desire has been taken over by another, who, in our opinion, should not have it before us.
True courage is expressed in calm self-control and in the imperturbable performance of one's duty, in spite of any disasters and dangers.
True courage is ready to face any danger and remains steadfast, no matter what calamity threatens.
Eloquence has, like the fair sex, such significant charms that it does not tolerate attacks on itself. And it would be useless to scold the art of deception when people enjoy this kind of deception.
Courage is the guardian and support of all other virtues, and one who is deprived of courage can hardly be firm in the performance of duty and show all the qualities of a truly worthy person.
Nothing penetrates so imperceptibly and deeply into a person’s soul as an example: no matter what bad trait people overlook in themselves and forgive themselves, it can only inspire them with disgust and shame when it appears before them in other people.
... They do not always blush when they experience shame, which is the restlessness of the mind at the thought that something indecent has been done or such that it will reduce the respect for us from others.
Ridicule is the most subtle way to expose the faults of others.
There is no greater rudeness than interrupting another during his speech.
No one has yet managed to be so cunning as to hide this quality of his.
No one knows the strength of his abilities until he has tested them.
Nothing is so beautiful to the eye as the truth is to the mind; nothing is so ugly and irreconcilable with reason as a lie.
Moral rules need proof, hence they are not innate.
Teaching the sciences promotes the development of virtue in people with good spiritual inclinations; in people who do not have such inclinations, it only leads to the fact that they become even more stupid and bad.
The basis of all virtue and all dignity lies in the ability of a person to refuse to satisfy his desires when reason does not approve of them.
The well-being of the entire people depends on proper education.
The vice is not in having, but in the inability to subordinate them to the rules of reason; it's not about whether or not you experience the cravings themselves, but about the ability to manage them and refuse them.
Memory is a copper plate, covered with letters, which time imperceptibly smooths out, if sometimes they are not renewed with a chisel.
Pretense tries to correct natural flaws. Its goal is to please, but it never achieves it.
Tell a man passionately in love that his beloved is deceiving him, present him with twenty witnesses to his beloved's infidelity, and you can bet ten to one that a few kind words from her will refute all the evidence of the accusers.
Create only a few laws, but make sure they are respected.
Fear is the anxiety of the soul at the thought of future evil, which is likely to fall upon us.
Happiness in its full extent is the highest pleasure of which we are capable, and unhappiness is the highest suffering.
Lies have a constant companion - cunning.
I cannot consider any punishment useful for a child, in which the shame of suffering for a committed offense does not affect him more than the suffering itself.
In an ill-bred man, boldness takes the form of rudeness; learning becomes in him pedantry; wit - buffoonery, simplicity - uncouthness, good nature - flattery.
Cunning is only the absence of reason: not being able to achieve its goals in direct ways, it tries to achieve them in picaresque and roundabout ways; and her trouble lies in the fact that cunning helps only once, and then always only hinders.
Logic is the anatomy of thought.
The one whom the child does not love has no right to punish the child.
It is easier for a mentor to command than to teach.
John Locke is an English philosopher, teacher, a prominent representative of empiricism and liberalism. Locke made a significant contribution to the development of political philosophy. John Locke's quotes influenced the views and work of Voltaire and Rousseau, as well as many famous Scottish Enlightenment thinkers. The first of the thinkers revealed the personality through the continuity of consciousness.
Justice does not allow punishment, no matter where it is carried out. For, entering society, a person is subject not to the laws of nature, but to human laws, the purpose of which is the prosperity of mankind as a whole.
The great art of learning a lot is to take on a little at once.
Pressure and violence may cause disgust, but cannot cure it.
Twenty deeds can be forgiven faster than one violation of the truth.
A healthy mind in a healthy body is a brief but complete description of a happy state in this world.
The only way to protect yourself from the outside world is to know it deeply.
In no area does the mind need more careful and careful guidance than in the use of books.
Any passion originates in pleasure or pain.
It is easier for a mentor to command than to teach.
The happiness or unhappiness of a man is mainly the work of his own hands.
Nothing is so beautiful to the eye as the truth is to the mind; nothing is so ugly and irreconcilable with reason as a lie.
Education creates a difference between people.
The well-being of the entire nation depends on the proper upbringing of children.
The well-being of the entire nation depends on the proper upbringing of children.
True courage is expressed in calm self-control and in the imperturbable performance of one's duty, in spite of any disasters and dangers.
Lies have a constant companion - cunning.
Courage is the guardian and support of all other virtues, and one who is deprived of courage can hardly be firm in the performance of duty and show all the qualities of a truly worthy person.
Bad examples are certainly stronger than good rules.
Thinking right is more valuable than knowing a lot.
The reason why people create a society is the preservation of their property.
The sooner you start treating your son like a man, the sooner he will become one.
The one whom the child does not love has no right to punish the child.
In an ill-bred man, boldness takes the form of rudeness; learning becomes pedantry in him; wit - buffoonery, simplicity - uncouthness, good nature - flattery.
Memory is a copper plate, covered with letters, which time imperceptibly smooths out, if sometimes they are not renewed with a chisel.
Pretense tries to correct natural flaws. Its goal is to please, but it never achieves it.
Once upon a time at a good friend's house John Locke, on that moment Peer Anthony Ashley-Cooper, a few aristocratic friends gathered. They were all in a much higher position than Locke, and intended to spend the evening playing cards, chatting to their heart's content. Locke was unpleasantly struck by the idleness of the conversations of such high-ranking persons, took out a notebook and began to write down what he heard. Ashley's guests became interested and asked a friend of the host what he was recording. Locke noticed that this was the first time he was in the company of such noble men, and therefore he did not want to miss a single word of them. After that, he read them everything he had written down. The guests appreciated Locke's subtle hint, left the game and changed the topic of conversation to one more befitting of their status.
John Locke. Not later than 1704. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
This episode characterizes John Locke both as a person who kept himself on an equal footing and did not grovel before his superiors, and as a subtle thinker who was better than most who knew how to observe. The sprouts of these qualities were sown in him by his father, who very skillfully raised the future philosopher. He gradually let the boy close to him, did not indulge or overpraise him, but did not punish him beyond measure. After leaving school, Locke entered the University of Oxford, where he became first a bachelor and then a master of arts. At the same time, a university education weighed heavily on Locke. Oxford did not satisfy his curiosity in the least, but only took away precious time that he could devote to self-education. Years later, ideas about learning that originated at the university would spill out into the pages of Thoughts on Education.
About education
"In a healthy body healthy mind". It is from these words Juvenal Locke began his work, where he outlined his vision of the gentleman's upbringing system. In it, Locke opposed the "hard labor" of the school education that existed at that time, when children were forced to spend hours cramming Latin and Greek, the necessity of which the philosopher questioned. Primary, in his opinion, was moral education, and education stood in the background. First, it was necessary to raise a noble and physically developed person, and then fill him with knowledge, the philosopher was sure.
In addition, Locke considered the approach of teachers to students very important. The teacher must first of all capture the attention of the child, interest him in the reported topic. “We,” wrote Locke, “love freedom from the cradle. We know a lot of things that disgust us just because they were imposed on us in childhood. I always thought that any serious occupation can turn into pleasure. These words seem relevant today, and not at all because they have become common truth for every teacher.
Tramp Aristocrat
Locke met Anthony Ashley in 1666, shortly before he became Lord Chancellor. The future Earl of Shaftesbury was pleasantly surprised when he found a wonderful and worthy interlocutor in Locke. They became very attached to each other, and soon Ashley invited Locke to settle in his house, becoming the family doctor - the thinker was well versed in medicine - and at the same time the teacher of the sons of the Lord Chancellor. In such wanderings through strange houses, the philosopher spent his whole life - he, in fact, never had his own house.
Locke can be considered a unique person not only because of his work, but also because of his lifestyle. By the age of 34, when he met Ashley, Locke did not make a solid career - he simply did not aspire to this, did not earn the fame of a prominent scientist, did not increase his fortune. The thinker was a stranger to ambition and careerism, did not try to "sell" his ideas at a higher price, did not shout about them. All he cared about was the search for truth. And therefore, for a long time, Locke was simply not noticed against the background of much more noisy "wise men", whose ideas subsequently sunk into oblivion. It is unlikely that he would have been noticed in our almost even more noisy time. Locke was modest, did not aspire to titles and positions, he helped friends then and in that place, when and where he was asked about it. At various times, for a short time, he was a doctor, a statesman, and a teacher.
About the Board
John Locke. Engraving. Not later than 1704. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
The high-ranking Ashley, who spent much time talking with his family doctor, soon introduced him to politics, which Locke had never been particularly interested in, and to theology. As a result, Locke comprehended them to such an extent that he went further than the count in his knowledge. One of Locke's major works eventually became known as Two Treatises on Government, in which he outlined his theory of constitutional monarchy. The philosopher says that the king should be at the head of the state, but his power is limited by the government and the constitution. The liberal ideas of Locke, outlined there, do not lose their relevance to this day. He was an ardent opponent of any form of tyranny, where the authorities neglect the rights of their citizens and legislate according to their own needs, and not the interests of the people. Locke believed that the most important thing was that the state had to come from a social contract and only with the voluntary consent of people. In addition, the goal of any state was to care for the common good. And the laws were recognized by him as just only when they were aimed at the same common good. Locke's most wild idea for our contemporaries is about the sovereignty of the people, which he placed above the sovereignty of the state. The protection of the latter can lead to the usurpation and destruction of the population, without which there will be no state, said the Briton. Locke saw the way to fight against the "presumptuous" power in the revolution.
About religious tolerance
After meeting Ashley, Locke lived and traveled for a long time with the earl and his family - sometimes at court, sometimes falling out of favor, Shaftesbury often rushed between Britain and Holland. Locke followed the same path.
Settling in Amsterdam after the death of his faithful friend - Ashley-Cooper died in 1683 - the philosopher turns to the topic of religion. In Two Treatises on Government, Locke argues with Sir Robert Filmer, who in his work "Patriarchy" argued that any power is an absolute monarchy, the roots of which lead to Adam, and any person is therefore not free from birth. “God commanded that Adam's sovereignty should be unlimited,” Filmer was sure. Combining these theses, he said that any person, in fact, from birth was doomed to be a slave of the monarch-father. And the rulers, thus, stood above any laws. Locke brilliantly managed to refute Filmer's thoughts.
Shortly before the "Two Treatises" the philosopher published several pamphlets "on religious tolerance", which would certainly have unpleasantly struck the current "Orthodox activists." There he insisted that the church should be separated from the state, and every person has the right to freedom of religion. The church, according to Locke, was supposed to win people over to its side by piety, and not by violent means.
Locke's ideas were appreciated at their true worth at the end of his life. He was on very good terms with William of Orange who ascended the British throne after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. In recent years, Locke published almost all of his works, which in one way or another subsequently influenced Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume and other smartest representatives of mankind.
