"THE ORIGIN OF MODERN IDEAS OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY": RARE FIRST EDITION OF LOCKE'S SOME THOUGHTS CONCERNING EDUCATION, 1693

(LOCKE, John). Some Thoughts Concerning Education. London: A. and J. Churchill, 1693. Small octavo, modern full brown calf, elaborately gilt-decorated spine, raised bands, burgundy morocco spine label; pp. (viii), 262 (2).

First edition of Locke's influential treatise, anonymously issued, considered "integral to the corpus of Locke's work, for it undertakes the practical formation of the view of man deployed in his theoretical writings," a splendid copy handsomely bound.

Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning Education, "together with his Conduct of the Understanding, occupies a place in the history of education similar to that of his Essay of Human Understanding in epistemology" (Pforzheimer 612). It is seen as "integral to the corpus of Locke's work, for it undertakes the practical formation of the view of man deployed in his theoretical writings" (Harris, Mind of John Locke, 280). Here, as in Two Treatises, Locke speaks to the "art of governing men." Just as "liberty itself can be the most powerful instrument of government; a teaching of rights can do more than a teaching of duties. In Some Thoughts, we learn of the basis for this in human nature: the fact that men want above all to be free or to be thought free" (Tarcov, Locke's Education, 7-8).

Some Thoughts "began as a series of letters written during 1684 to his friend Edward Clarke, giving advice on the upbringing of Clarke's children… full of practical advice from the pragmatic physician on such matters as clothing and diet. Locke was also concerned with the child's moral development… Locke's thoughts on education have maintained their popularity and influence since they were first published in 1693. He wrote during an era when children were coming to be seen as children, as human beings in a family and social setting who had not yet developed their bodies and minds. Historians and theorists of education trace the origin of modern ideas of developmental psychology to Locke" (Attig, 523, x). "The English editions of Thoughts which appeared in Locke's lifetime were anonymous" (Christophersen, 57), although some foreign translations listed Locke as the author. Locke bibliographer Jean Yolton concludes that "the Churchills completed printing the first edition before Locke had made corrections" and "he was so incensed by the errors that he insisted the whole first edition be suppressed and the barely distinguishable second edition be made" (Yolton 165). Experts differ on what constitutes the first edition of this work. Attig notes that "two nearly identical versions were published in 1693; it is not clear whether these actually constitute distinct editions" (Attig 523). In one 1693 issue, the misspelling "patronnage" appears on line 19 of the verso of leaf A3, as in this copy. In the other issue, "patronage" is correctly spelled. Yolton's researches, published in 1998, have uncovered other textual first edition issue points, all of which appear in the present copy (Yolton 165): most especially, the catchword ' I my' at the bottom of the verso of leaf A2 and the misspelling 'deferr' on line 3 of the same page, plus the correct numbering of page 29, indicate this copy is a first edition. Harrison & Laslett 1785. ESTC R7482. Lowndes, 1379. Early owner signature with small notation above title page. Tiny bit of occasional marginalia.

Text very fresh and crisp. A fine copy handsomely bound.