The moral philosopher Anthony Ashley Cooper, Third Earl of Shaftesbury (1671-1713), made his chief contributions in the fields of moral philosophy and esthetics. On February 26, 1671, Anthony Ashley Cooper was born in London. His grandfather gave the responsibility for the boy's education to John Locke. Locke hired a tutor, Mrs. Elizabeth Birch, for young Anthony, and her efforts met with such success that before his twelfth birthday he could easily read both Latin and Greek. Following the death of his grandfather in 1683, his parents enrolled him in Winchester College. Here, however, he was insulted and abused, perhaps because of his grandfather's activities as a Whig. After three years at Winchester, he persuaded his father to allow him to travel abroad. Together with two friends and tutors he spent three years on the Continent (1686-1689) before returning to England.

Cooper's health was poor, and the climate of London served to...