resented and desired
representation. Otherwise the consent of the voteless governed was
obviously non-existent, and government was carried on in defiance of the
absence of that consent.

It is not Locke's theories that have guided politically the great masses of
the people, for Locke's writings have had no very considerable popularity
in England. But it has happened that these theories have influenced the
conduct of statesmen, and with reason, since they offer an explanation of
political progress, and constrain politicians to act, experimentally
indeed, but with some reasonable anticipation of safety to the nation.
British statesmen and politicians have made no parade of Locke's opinions;
they have done nothing to incur the charge of "theorist," but the influence
of Locke can be seen all the same--chiefly in the loyal acceptance of
political change, in the refusal to be shocked or alarmed at a "leap in the
dark," and by a willingness to adjust the machinery of government to the
needs of the time. In England Locke's influence has been less dynamic than
static; it has helped us to preserve a moderation in politics; to be
content with piecemeal legislation, because to attempt too much might be to
alienate the sympathies of the majority; to keep our political eye, so to
speak, on the ebb and flow of public opinion--since it is public opinion
that is the final court of appeal; to tolerate abuses until it is quite
plain a great number of people are anxious to have the abuse removed; and
above all to settle down in easy contentment under political defeat, and
make the best of accomplished reforms, not because we like them, but
because a Parliamentary majority has decreed them.

For England, in fact, the essence of Locke's teaching has helped to produce
a deference almost servile to political majorities and to public opinion, a
reluctance to make any reform until public opinion has pronounced loudly
and often in favour of reform, and an emphatic assurance that every reform
enacted by Parliament is the unmistakable expression of the will of the
people. Locke has discouraged us from hasty legislation and from political
panics.

ROUSSEAU AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Locke's influence in France and in America has been altogether different.
Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot were all students and admirers of Locke,
and his political theories were at the base of Rousseau's "Social
Contract." A return to nature, a harking back to an ima