If it be said in reply, that these men tacitly assent in their minds to

what their practice contradicts, Locke answers, first, that men"s
actions must be held as the best interpreters of their thoughts; and if
many men"s practices, and some men"s open professions, have been
opposed to these principles, we cannot conclude them to be Innate
If it be said in reply, that these men tacitly assent in their minds to
what their practice contradicts, Locke answers, first, that men"s
actions must be held as the best interpreters of their thoughts; and if
many men"s practices, and some men"s open professions, have been
opposed to these principles, we cannot conclude them to be Innate.
Secondly, It is difficult for us to assent to Innate Practical
Principles, ending only in contemplation. Such principles either
influence our conduct, or they are nothing. There is no mistake as to
the Innate principles of the desire of happiness, and aversion to
misery; these do not stop short in tacit assent, but urge every man"s
conduct every hour of his life. If there were anything corresponding to
these in the sense of Right and Wrong, we should have no dispute about
them.