Locke

Extract :
LOCKE'S life is one of those, not rare in the history
of English letters and science, in which the
scholar is doubled with the man of the world and
of public affairs. His instinct for speculation and
his delicate health marked him out for a life of
academic retirement; his talent for business and
his practical capacity secured him weight in
politics, and put within his reach, had he chosen
to accept them, important state employments.
He combined scholarly seclusion with public in-
fluence. In his latest years he held for a time
high office as a commissioner of trade; and all
his life he was in the background of politics, the
trusted adviser of Shaftesbury, of the party who
aimed at the establishment of William of Orange,
and finally, of Somers and Charles Montague. .