Anthony Shaftesbury

From Philosopedia

Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper [1st Earl of] (22 July 1621 - 21 January 1683)

Earl Shaftesbury supported religious toleration during the Oliver Cromwell period, but in 1673 he renounced his earlier position because he was suspicious of the king’s favoring the Roman Catholics. A founder of the Whigs, he pressed for the exclusion bill to keep the Roman Catholic duke of York (later James II) from becoming king. When Charles dissolved the 1681 Parliament, Shaftesbury found it expedient to flee to Holland.

He is considered one of the most skillful and influential politicians of his day. According to Voltaire, the dominant influence on Pope came from Shaftesbury, particularly his deists’ prayer, “The Universal Prayer.”

The Earl did not parade his unbelief, for to do so would have been dangerous. But he was a champion of the deists because of his Letter Concerning Enthusiasm (1708), his Essay on the Freedom of Wit and Humour (1709), and his treatise The Moralists (1709).

The anecdote is told that he was overheard by a scrubwoman as he remarked to a number of friends that “All wise men have the same religion.” When the scrubwoman eagerly inquired what this religion of all wise men was, Lord Shaftesbury is said to have replied: “Wise men, madam, never tell.”