Two Treatises of Government, Book I

John Locke · English text · 49,917 words

Locke’s First Treatise challenges Robert Filmer’s claim that kings inherit absolute authority from Adam, examining the scriptural and political basis of that argument.

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Background

The first half of Two Treatises clears ground for Locke’s account of political legitimacy by attacking patriarchal absolutism.

Reading notes

Identify Filmer’s claim before following Locke’s rebuttal.
Notice how biblical interpretation becomes political argument.
Use the section structure to track each stage of the critique.

Version note

English text: Internet Archive scan of the 1764 edition of Two Treatises of Government; this is a public-domain historical text transcribed from the scanned volume. The Second Treatise is presented separately.