A Letter Concerning Toleration

by John Locke, James H. Tully

Overview

John Locke's subtle and influential defense of religious toleration as argued in his seminal Letter Concerning Toleration (1685) appears in this edition as introduced by one of our most distinguished political theorists and historians of political thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603845366
Publisher:	Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/1983
Series:	Hackett Classics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	72
File size:	310 KB

About the Author

James H. Tully is the Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Law, Indigenous Governance and Philosophy at the University of Victoria.M

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
John Locke: A Brief Chronology
A Note on the Text

A Letter Concerning Toleration

Appendix A: Additional Writings on Toleration and Religion by Locke

1. From An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689)
2. From The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)

Appendix B: Locke’s Contemporaries on Religious Toleration

1. From William Penn, The Great Case of Liberty of Conscience Once More Briefly Debated and Defended (1670)
2. From Baruch Spinoza, Theological-Political Treatise (1670)
3. From Pierre Bayle, A Philosophical Commentary on These Words of the Gospel, Luke 14:23, “Compel them to come in, that my house may be full” (1686)
4. From Samuel von Pufendorf, Of the Nature and Qualification of Religion in Reference to Civil Society (1687)

Appendix C: Locke and His Critics

1. From Thomas Long, The Letter for Toleration Deciphered, and the Absurdity and Impiety of an Absolute Toleration Demonstrated (1689)
2. From Jonas Proast, The Argument of the Letter Concerning Toleration, Briefly Considered and Answered (1690)
3. From Philanthropus [John Locke], A Second Letter Concerning Toleration (1690)

Suggestions for Further Reading

Editorial Reviews

My guess is that this will shortly become the most used edition of Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration. The editor has an excellent introduction in which he describes the social context of the letter and the place it occupies in Locke’s thought. He has done a fine job of bringing up to date the standard translation of Locke’s Latin. And it is very useful to have, as an appendix, a few passages on toleration from Locke’s other writings and some of the criticisms lodged at the time against Locke’s views. All together, this is a fine publication of an important document in the history of religious toleration.” — Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale University

“This edition stands out as a superb pedagogic resource. The edition is especially valuable because it assembles many contributions to the debate on religious toleration by Locke’s contemporaries, including selections from the exchange between Locke and his most forceful critic Jonas Proast. It is very convenient to have these materials collected for the first time in a single volume. The edition will prove indispensable for courses that investigate the intellectual origins of religious toleration in the West.” — Sam Black, Simon Fraser University

From the Publisher

"This edition stands out as a superb pedagogic resource. The translation is highly readable and accompanied by illuminating footnotes. The edition is especially valuable because it assembles many contributions to the debate on religious toleration by Locke's contemporaries, including selections from the exchange between Locke and his most forceful critic Jonas Proast. It is very convenient to have these materials collected for the first time in a single volume. The edition will prove indispensable for courses that investigate the intellectual origins of religious toleration in the West."

Sam Black

"My guess is that this will shortly become the most used edition of Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration. The editor has an excellent introduction in which he describes the social context of the letter and the place it occupies in Locke's thought. He has done a fine job of bringing up to date the standard translation of Locke's Latin. And it is very useful to have, as an appendix, a few passages on toleration from Locke's other writings and some of the criticisms lodged at the time against Locke's views. All together, this is a fine publication of an important document in the history of religious toleration."

Nicholas Wolterstorff