that he was not ashamed to reckon up the many turns he had made; and that he did this with so much vanity and little discretion, that he lost many by it.10 It seems very improbable that so wise a man, so versed in affairs that required secrecy, should, for no reason, with no views, lay himself open to this censure. Besides, the bishop, in fact, gives an answer to himself, by what he says in the same sentence, " that Lord Shaftesbury was to the last much trusted by all the discontented party." I have some hopes that by the following sheets he will appear to have acted very consistently; that from the beginning to the end of his life he maintained the same principles; and that the changings and fluctuations, at the time he lived in, were in the government, but not in his conduct. As to later writers of the English history, I shall take no particular notice of them in this 10 In a note upon this passage of Burnet, written by the first Earl of Dartmouth, but published since this work was originally printed, his lordship says, "I was told by one that was very conversant with him, that he had a constant maxim never to fall out with anybody, let the provocation be never so great, which he said he had found great benefit by all his life; and the reason he gave for it was, that he did not know how soon it might be necessary to have them again for his best friends." place; because most of them have only repeated the accounts of Lord Shaftesbury which have been given by the authors already mentioned. Nothing is more difficult than to root out those prejudices which have been long growing in our minds; yet nothing more deserves the persevering attention of a rational creature, who must otherwise live in a constant subservience to the little passions of those who implanted them. In investigating the character of Shaftesbury, let us therefore exercise our own reason, and enter into a calm examination of the facts before us. These lie open to every one's understanding, and are the best, if not the only evidence, we can rely upon in our judgments of any man's public character. In his private one we must depend on the authority of his relations, his friends, and those who were chiefly about him. And these have concurred in the same testimony with regard to Lord Shaftesbury, that he filled up all the private offices of life, as a master, a friend, a husband, and a father, with great humanity, integrity, and affection. Some of his letters to his lady, that are still preserved, are proofs of the tenderness which he had for her. Though his engagements in public affairs were VOL. I. Ꭰ so various and incessant, he was strictly careful in the management of his own estate. He was exact in this to a surprising degree. He inspected all his accounts himself; and, as he had great skill in husbandry, he was as particular in his directions for the cultivation of his lands, as any country gentleman who had no other employment of his time or thoughts. He looked on the preservation of his estate as the best support of independency, and the best fund for his generosity, which many persons of worth and learning experienced, some by occasional, others by annual donations. If any facts mentioned in the present performance are proved to be false, or unfairly stated, they will be readily retracted. This work is written only from the love of truth, and to the lovers of truth it is addressed. 35 CHAPTER I. Account of Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper's birth, education, marriage, and first entrance into parliament. ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, Earl of Shaftesbury, A.D. 1621. who was born July 22, 1621, descended from His Birth. very ancient and considerable families. His father was Sir John Cooper, Bart. of Rockborne, in the county of Hants. His mother was Anne, the only daughter and heiress of Sir Anthony Ashley, Bart. of Wimborne St. Giles's, in the county of Dorset. The care of his education was first committed Education. to Mr. Guerdeau, a fellow of Queen's College in Cambridge, and afterwards doctor of physic in London, who was chosen by the grandfather for the strictness of his principles;* Sir Anthony saying, "Youth could not have too deep a dye of *After his father's death, Sir Anthony was four years under the tuition of a Mr. Fletcher, and one year under the care of a gentleman of A.D. 1621. religion; for business and conversation in the world would wear it to a just moderation." A.D. 1631. Early proof of his acti vity. By the death of Sir John Cooper, in 1631, he succeeded to the title of baronet, and an estate of 8000l. a year; the greatest part of which had been entailed on him by his grandfather, who died in the year 1627. The vivacity of his genius was conspicuous in his youth by the progress which he made in his studies; and the activity of his disposition soon found an opportunity of discovering itself in the following remarkable occasion. His father leaving his own estate charged with debts, some of his relations and neighbours, Sir Francis Ashley (his grandfather's brother), Mr. Tregonwell, Sir William Button, and others, formed a scheme for getting advantageous purchases, by procuring an immediate sale of great part of the estate. Sir Francis was the king's serjeant-at-law. By his means, and under pretence of being creditors, they engaged Sir Walter Pye, attorney of the Court of Wards, a corrupt man, who then had great influence in that court, to get a decree for the sale; and being with some of their friends made commissioners for this, they disposed of |