Circles of Virtuosi and " Charity under Different Opinion" : The Crucible of Locke 's Last Writings

It was principally through the correspondence which Locke maintained with numerous exponents of English and Continental culture that we can picture to ourselves at Oates a "virtual salon" in which the matters discussed ranged over religion, pedagogical, political and economic ideas and much besides. But it was also thanks to the hospitality and the intellectual curiosity (the writings and the letters) of Damaris Cudworth Masham--the inspiring muse of the intellectual life of the manor of Oates --that the house became a port of call for former Continental acquaintances and for their families, and a haven for English friends, providing the opportunity for visits marked by study and learned conversation, as in the case of Isaac Newton. The periodic meetings of the Dry Club, which brought together philosopher friends, Latitudinarians and Unitarians with some regularity, generally took place in London in the house of one of the participants. The meetings were devoted to open discussion of questions of political and religious liberty, and metaphysical, philosophical and ethical matters:--for example, the correct mode of behaviour in specific situations, or questions regarding the power of the imagination as a means of communicating ideas.