Barbeyrac tells us that Bacon was a major influence on Grotius, and Cumberland claims that his own work answers Bacon's call for empirical investigation of morals. We have seen how important the empiricist outlook was for both Grotius and Cumberland; but Bacon held views that neither would have accepted. In his “Confession of Faith” he declared his belief

Bacon was not alone in combining empiricism, voluntarism, and the belief that pride is what moves us to insist that we must be able to understand God's commands by our own lights. Pufendorf's system presents the fullest modern exposition of the implications for morality of a view like this, and Locke recommended Pufendorf's work for the education of any gentleman's son.