History Forum / General / British History / December 2003

Some years ago I read Locke's 1st and 2nd Treatise on Government.  The
edition I read noted that there were changes in different earlier editions
and then brought up an interesting question.  It said that during WWII Locke
was out of print because of the paper shortage so a lecturer (at Oxford?)
loaned his copy to a student.  Then the lecturer went to the library to
check some fine point or other and found the library's early edition had
long overlooked notes in the margin.  Checking the kind of notes and the
hand writing it seemed the notes were corrections to the text made by Locke
himself.  And checking various early editions it seems some obscure, usually
disregarded editions were true to these corrections but not that the first
edition used as the basis of modern reprints.  So what should now be used as
the "correct" text.

Adding to the issue is the fact that Locke is very important in
understanding the American revolution.  Much of our Declaration of
Independence, for example, is paraphrased Locke.  But checking the libraries
of the founding fathers (yes, some still exist) we find those who signed the
Declaration mostly owned an American printed edition and that edition was
based on the old, not corrected, first edition.  So which edition has
historical importance now?

What say ye?

Rod