When I speak of Mr. Locke, I speak not of the man, but of his principles. God will measure no man by his powers, but by his application of them. We must allow that he was a man of uncommon talents, and wise in his generation; but so much the worse, if his foundations were false, and his schemes dangerous. We must also allow that the world is gone after him: worse still, for they are a large body; and if they are out of the way, great must be the power to fetch them back again? We may add, which is worst of all, that he was the oracle to those who began and conducted the American Rebellion; which led to the French Revolution; which will lead (if God permit) to the total overthrow of Religion and Government in this kingdom, perhaps in the whole Christian world; and all this from Mr. Locke; the prime favourite, and grand instrument, with that mischievous infidel Voltaire; who knew what he was about, when he came forward to destroy Christianity, as he had threatened, with Mr. Locke in his hand; and it has answered his purpose: after which, let any person judge, whether the doctrines of Mr. Locke will prepare any young man for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "When I speak of Mr. Locke, I speak not of the man, but of his principles. God will measure no man by his powers, but by his application of them. We must allow that he was a man of uncommon talents, and wise in his generation; but so much the worse, if his foundations were false, and his schemes dangerous. We must also allow that the world is gone after him: worse still, for they are a large body; and if they are out of the way, great must be the power to fetch them back again? We may add, which is worst of all, that he was the oracle to those who began and conducted the American Rebellion; which led to the French Revolution; which will lead (if God permit) to the total overthrow of Religion and Government in this kingdom, perhaps in the whole Christian world; and all this from Mr. Locke; the prime favourite, and grand instrument, with that mischievous infidel Voltaire; who knew what he was about, when he came forward to destroy Christianity, as he had threatened, with Mr. Locke in his hand; and it has answered his purpose: after which, let any person judge, whether the doctrines of Mr. Locke will prepare any young man for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ." in the context of "William Jones, A Letter to the Church of England, By An Old Friend and Servant of the Church (1798), pp. 30-31" to mean that wisdom is timeless.