OE L O CKE S ANSWER T o L O RD KEEPER S OMER S . Feb . 1, 16967. MY L O RD I know n obody that can with so much rig ht promise himself to bring me o ver to his sentiments as your L ordship, for I know n ot any one that h as such a master reason to p re vail as your L ordship , n or any one to whom, without atten d ing th e c onvict ions Of that reas on, that I am so much disposed to submit to with implicit faith . Your Lords hip , I p erc eive, from several position s tak es a different view of the s ame thing ; an d since your L ordship , wh o always speaks reas on, is always also ready to hear it , I promise myself that th e p ro po sition s I made would n ot appear to yo ur Lordship alto g ether unfit, h a d I a n Opportunity to offer to your Lordship all t he considerations that moved and hold me to it . Th e oblig ing promise your Lo rdship h as been pleased to make me in th e hon our Of yours of th e 25th of January, that when I have h ad your Lordship s Opinion, y ou will

Untoward health, which c omplies n o more wit h g ood manners than with oth er oblig a tion s, must be my exc use to your L ordship for this last, as well as it was a g reat cause of my first request to you in this affair . If my ill lung s wo uld permit me n ow presently ( as bec omes me) to c ome to town and wait there th e Opportunity of discoursing your Lord

Th e g reat indulgenc e yo ur Lordship expresses to my infirm c onstitution, makes me hope it will extend itself further ; it cann ot , I think , do less than mak e your Lordship bethink yourself of a man to sub st it ut e in t he plac e of a shadow. I cannot make an equal return to your Lordship s concerns for my health , since my L I FE AND L E TTERS OF J OH N LOCKE . [ 1698 . for such business . That your Lordship may n ot think this an expression barely of modesty, I crave leave to explain it to your L ordship ( thoug h there I discover my Weakness) , that my temper, alway s shy of a crowd of strang ers, h as ma de ~ my acquaintan ces few, an d my c onversation too n arrow an d particular, to g et th e skill of dealing with men in their various humours, an d drawing Out their secrets . Whether this was a fault or n o to a man that desig ned n o bustle in t he world, I kn ow n ot . I am sure it will let

Though we are so Oddly placed h ere, that we have n o ordin ary conveyanc e for o ur letters from Monday till Friday, yet this delay h as n ot fallen out much amis s . The King was graciously pleased to order me to g o into th e c ountry to take care of my health these fo ur or five days here have given me a proof to what a low stat e my lung s are n ow broug ht, an d h ow little they can bear the least shock . I can lie down ag ain, indeed, in my bed, an d take my rest ; but , hat ing that , I find t he impression of th ese t wo day s in Lon don so heavy upon me still, which exten ds further than th e painfulness of breathing, an d makes me listless to everything, S O that methinks the writin g this letter h as been a g reat p er forman ce . My Lord, I should not trouble you with an account of the prevailin g decays of an Old pair of lung s, were it n o t my duty to take care his Maj esty s