When John Locke died in 1704, he left an escritoire filled with his personal papers to his cousin Peter King, who rose to be Lord Chancellor of England.

Locke, by virtue of his temperament and mode of existence, was a man of great circumspection. He seldom spoke in the House of Lords. But he was an active pamphleteer on behalf of ecclesiastical and monetary reform. When he made his ideas publicly known, they were considered impractical and eccentric. At a later stage however, they were appreciated.

Locke was a shrewd sycophant from his very youth. Colonel Alexander Popham, his friend and patron, was with Locke at Oxford. After being in Oxford for some time, Colonel Popham left for London. Locke was a regular correspondent and wrote many flattering letters to his patron. In one such letter he assured his friend, Colonel Popham by saying, "Sir, to say I am obliged to you is no more than to profess myself an Englishman… The whole nation looks on you as a defender of its law and liberties." He further added in his letter that he would like to be of some or the other use to his patron. Undoubtedly, Locke involved himself in flattery.