John Locke Quotes

On this page you can find the TOP of John Locke's best quotes! We hope you will find some sayings from Philosopher John Locke's in our collection, which will inspire you to new achievements! There are currently 296 quotes on this page collected since August 29, 1632! Share our collection of quotes with your friends on social media so that they can find something to inspire them!
  • To understand political power right, and derive it from its original, we must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave, or depending upon the will of any other man.

    Men   Thinking  
    John Locke (1821). “Two treatises of government”, p.189
  • Practice conquers the habit of doing, without reflecting on the rule.

  • God is the place of spirits, as spaces are the places of bodies.

    John Locke (1706). “Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke ...”, p.160
  • There are a thousand ways to Wealth, but only one way to Heaven.

    John Locke (2012). “The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration”, p.153, Courier Corporation
  • To ask at what time a man has first any ideas is to ask when he begins to perceive; having ideas and perception being the same thing.

    Men  
    John Locke (1996). “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”, p.36, Hackett Publishing
  • Don't tell me what I can't do!

  • Where all is but dream, reasoning and arguments are of no use, truth and knowledge nothing.

    John Locke, John W. Yolton (1977). “The Locke Reader: Selections from the Works of John Locke with a General Introduction and Commentary”, p.42, CUP Archive
  • Though the familiar use of things about us take off our wonder, yet it cures not our ignorance.

    John Locke (1706). “An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding: In Four Books”, p.379
  • The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it.

    John Locke (1821). “Two treatises of government”, p.191
  • One unerring mark of the love of truth is not entertaining any proposition with greater assurance than the proofs it is built upon will warrant.

    As paraphrased in "Peter's Quotations : Ideas for our Time" by Laurence J. Peter, (p. 500), 1979.
  • As much land as a man tills, plants, improves, cultivated, and can use the product of, so much is his property. He by his labour does, as it were, enclose it from the common.

    Men  
    John Locke (2012). “The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration”, p.27, Courier Corporation
  • A king is a mortal god on earth, unto whom the living God hath lent his own name as a great honour; but withal told him, he should die like a man, lest he should be proud, and flatter himself that God hath with his name imparted unto him his nature also.

    Men  
    John Locke, Francis Bacon (1825). “The Conduct of the Understanding: Essays, Moral, Economical, and Political”, p.135
  • Who are we to tell anyone what they can or can't do?

  • The least and most imperceptible impressions received in our infancy have consequences very important and of long duration.

  • Brutes abstract not. -- If it may be doubted, whether beasts compound and enlarge their ideas, that way, to any degree; this, I think, I may be positive in, that the power of abstracting is not at all in them; and that the having of general ideas is that which puts a perfect distinction betwixt man and brutes, and is an excellency which the faculties of brutes do by no means attain to.

    Men   Thinking  
    John Locke (1721). “An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding (Complete)”, p.153, Library of Alexandria
  • Defects and weakness in men's understandings, as well as other faculties, come from want of a right use of their own minds; I am apt to think, the fault is generally mislaid upon nature, and there is often a complaint of want of parts, when the fault lies in want of a due improvement of them.

    Lying   Men   Thinking  
    John Locke (2007). “Some Thoughts Concerning Education: (Including Of the Conduct of the Understanding)”, p.192, Courier Corporation
  • If we trace the progress of our minds, and with attention observe how it repeats, adds together, and unites its simple ideas received from sensation or reflection, it will lead us farther than at first, perhaps, we should have imagined.

    John Locke (1836). “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”, p.98
  • Where there is no law there is no freedom.

    John Locke (1821). “Two treatises of government”, p.234
  • ..every Man has a Property in his own Person. This no Body has any Right to but himself. The Labour of his Body, and the Work of his Hands, we may say, are properly his. .... The great and chief end therefore, of Mens uniting into Commonwealths, and putting themselves under Government, is the Preservation of their Property.

    Men  
    Second Treatise of Civil Government ch. 9, sec. 124 (1690)
  • The reservedness and distance that fathers keep, often deprive their sons of that refuge which would be of more advantage to them than an hundred rebukes or chidings.

    John Locke, Ruth Weissbourd Grant, Nathan Tarcov (1996). “Some Thoughts Concerning Education: And, Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, Hackett Publishing
  • He that has his chains knocked off, and the prison doors set open to him, is perfectly at liberty, because he may either go or stay, as he best likes; though his preference be determined to stay, by the darkness of the night, or illness of the weather, or want of other lodging.

    John Locke (1836). “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”, p.171
  • The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom.

    John Locke (1821). “Two treatises of government”, p.234
  • The Legislative cannot transfer the Power of Making Laws to any other hands. For it being but a delegated Power from the People, they who have it, cannot pass it over to others. The People alone can appoint the Form of the Commonwealth, which is by Constituting the Legislative, and appointing in whose hands that shall be.

    John Locke (1759). “THE WORKS OF JOHN LOCKE, Esq;: In THREE VOLUMES. To which is Added, The LIFE of the AUTHOR; AND A COLLECTION of Several of His PIECES Published by Mr. DESMAIZEAUX.”, p.208
  • When the sacredness of property is talked of, it should be remembered that any such sacredness does not belong in the same degree to landed property.

  • In short, herein seems to lie the difference between idiots and madmen, that madmen put wrong ideas together, and so make wrong propositions, but argue and reason right from them: but idiots make very few or no propositions, and reason scarce at all.

    Lying  
    John Locke (1828). “An essay concerning human understanding ... The twentieth edition, etc”, p.100
  • Affectation is an awkward and forced imitation of what should be genuine and easy, wanting the beauty that accompanies what is natural.

    John Locke, John Milton (1830). “Some thoughts concerning education”, p.79
  • Nature never makes excellent things, for mean or no uses: and it is hardly to be conceived, that our infinitely wise Creator, should make so admirable a Faculty, as the power of Thinking, that Faculty which comes nearest the Excellency of his own incomprehensible Being, to be so idlely and uselesly employ'd, at least 1/4 part of its time here, as to think constantly, without remembering any of those Thoughts, without doing any good to it self or others, or being anyway useful to any other part of Creation.

    John Locke (1815). “An essay concerning human understanding. Also extr. from the author's works, i. Analysis of mr. Locke's doctrine of ideas [&c.].”, p.96
  • Who lies for you will lie against you.

    Lying  
  • The people cannot delegate to government the power to do anything which would be unlawful for them to do themselves.

  • Reason, if consulted with, would advise, that their children's time should be spent in acquiring what might be useful to them when they come to be men, rather than to have their heads stuff'd with a deal of trash, a great part whereof they usually never do ('tis certain they never need to) think on again as long as they live: and so much of it as does stick by them they are only the worse for.

    Children   Men   Thinking  
    John Locke, George Berkeley (2010). “Locke, Berkely and Hume”, p.84, Cosimo, Inc.
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  • We hope you have found the saying you were looking for in our collection! At the moment, we have collected 296 quotes from the Philosopher John Locke, starting from August 29, 1632! We periodically replenish our collection so that visitors of our website can always find inspirational quotes by authors from all over the world! Come back to us again!