Pierre Nicole was a major figure in the Jansenist controversy in seventeenth-century France. His essays, which were widely read and appeared in various editions during his lifetime, cover a broad range of religious subjects. John Locke first came across Nicole's work during his visit to France in the 1670s, and was so struck by it that he intended to translate all the Essais de morale into English. When he had translated three of them, however he learned that the work had been done already, so he abandoned the project and presented what he had done so far to the countess of Shaftesbury, wife of his patron. Locke's translation, in a neatly written presentation copy, is now housed in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York. The three essays that he translated - 'Discours (...) de l'existence de Dieu & l'immortalite de l'ame', 'Traite de la faiblesse de l'homme', and 'Traite des moyens de conserver la paix avec les hommes' - deal with topics that he later discusses at length in his own writings: society, morality, toleration and opinion. This volume reproduces the text of Nicole's three essays from an early edition facing Locke's deliberately free and impressionistic rendering into English, a style which he hoped might convey the sense of the author better than a literal translation. The choice of these three essays to translate first, out of the whole of the Essais de morale, and the changes that Locke made to his French original in the course of translation, illuminate our understanding of his thought and of its development.

One of the major works of John Locke (1632-1704), this detailed and comprehensive guide is mainly concerned with moral education. While concentrating on its role in creating a responsible adult and on the importance of virtue as a transmitter of culture, it also ranges over such practical topics as the effectiveness of physical punishment, how best to teach foreign languages, table manners, and varieties of crying. This critical edition is based on the third (1695) edition, and includes variants from the first five editions, from the Harvard University Library and the British Library drafts, and from Locke's correspondence to Edward Clarke and his wife.

..."it is a genuine pleasure to state that here for once is a volume that is truly a consummation of a lifetime's work and that really will be the definitive book in its field for many years to come....the publishers have made the presentation as good in its way as the contents: which is high praise indeed."Ian Harris--"The British Journal for the History of Philosophy
"Jean Yolton's bibliography of John Locke, completed over a period of more than twenty years, is based on an examination of an unprecedented number of copies of Locke's works in major libraries and private collections all over Europe and north America. The result is the most comprehensive bibliographical examination accorded any major English-speaking philosopher, the publication of which will mark a landmark in both Locke scholarship and bibliographical research."--G.A.J. Rogers, Editor, "British Journal for the History of Philosophy

Cette monumentale bibliographie, commencee en 1975, ne peut que forcer l'admiration. Offrant pour la premiere fois une description detaillee et systematique de toutes les editions et traductions des oeuvres de Locke entre 1654 et 1800, elle sera desormais incontournable pour tout travail serieux sur l'histoire de la pensee du philosophe anglais.
...sur cette piste de recherche, la bibliographie de Jean Yolton constitue une etape non seulement precieuse, mais tout simplement necessaire.
Jorn Schosler--"Canadian Philosophical Review
It is difficult to imagine a book of more use to Locke scholarship than Jean S. Yolton's "John Locke: A Descriptive Bibliography...As a reference tool, however, Yolton's bibliography will become the standard guide.--Mark G. Spencer,"Eighteenth-Century Studies Volume 34, Number 4, Summer 2001
This hugely detailed analytic and descriptive bibliography documents John Locke's works published from 1654 through 1800.
Jean Yolton is a professional librarian who was a cataloguer at the Robarts Library of the University of Toronto, and Rare Books Cataloguer at the Van Pelt Library, University of Pennsylvania. She and her husband, John, are recognized as leading Locke scholars and have, between them, published a variety of books on Locke, including their authoritative work, "Locke: A Reference Guide and a critical edition of "Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1989). Jean is also editor of "A Locke Miscellany (1990).
Compiled by Jean S. Yolton over the last twenty years, it includes the publishing history of all known editions and translations, as well as material published in journals, and posthumous materials whenever published. Separate sections are devoted to a chronology of Locke's life, with special emphasis on dates of composition and publication; doubtful and false attributions of his authorship; a brief listing of criticism through 1800; and numerous indexes. The enormous research includes the study of copies in some seventy-five libraries in the British Isles, Europe and North America; exemplars on record at other libraries, chiefly in the former East Germany, are also recorded.

Some Thoughts concerning Education, originally published in 1693, is one of John Locke's major works, a classic text in the philosophy of education; this is the definitive scholarly edition. The work mainly concerns moral education and its role in creating a responsible adult, and the importance of virtue as a transmitter of culture; but Locke ranges also over a wide range of practical topics.