Locke, on the shoulders of giants

From Cicero was Locke's Greatest Inspiration by Paul Meany.

John Locke is one of the most frequently cited philosophers in the classical liberal tradition. But while much has been written about Locke’s legacy, little has been written about those who influenced Locke’s own work. Even the greatest genius does not work in a vacuum. We all borrow from others, whether consciously or unconsciously, and that includes John Locke. One of the most significant thinkers who shaped Locke’s philosophy, despite preceding him by eighteen centuries, is Marcus Tullius Cicero, the famed Roman lawyer, statesman and philosopher. Cicero influenced Locke’s thinking on natural law, property rights, and mixed government.

Locke and Cicero were well represented in my undergraduate education but for me, they were texts I learned, not really lessons I understood. That came with time and experience.

I have a large number of authors whom I formally regarded as tired and dusty to actually have excellent lessons for a less callow mind.