With the publication of the Lovelace Collection in 1947 it became one of tasks for Locke study to explain the development of his political thought; from initial conservative-authoritarian thought (Two Tracts} to that of liberal inclination in his matured age (Two Treatises}. I now approach this development mainly from the aspect of his idea of human nature. Though Locke predicated these two works on the consensus populi theory, they are very different in their view of humanity. While Locke in Two Tracts, having a pessimistic idea of man's degeneration, assumed a sharp contrast between the rational magistrate and the irrational people (or the multitude), Locke in Two Treatises seemed to come to realize man's 'potential rationality' as well as 'actual partiality' (P. Abrams' terminology). It seems to follow from this that he overcame and resolved the initial pessimistic contrast of humanity and came to think of civil society to be the body of men who have a reasonable capacity of the same level. I conclude that in this development of his idea of human nature consists the evolution of his political thought.

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