Leviathan

Citation

Hobbes, T. (1651). Leviathan, or the Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill. Andrew Crooke. Free official edition: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3207

Chapter Summary

Context and Argument

Leviathan was published in 1651, in the aftermath of the English Civil War. It is a long book of forty-seven chapters in four parts, followed by a "Review and Conclusion". The Introduction compares the commonwealth to an "Artificial Man", the "great Leviathan", made by human art as a watch is made, with sovereignty as its artificial soul, officials as joints, reward and punishment as nerves, concord as health, sedition as sickness and civil war as death. The plan announced there is to consider first the matter and maker of this artificial man, who is man, then how and by what covenants it is made, then what rights and just power a sovereign has, and what preserves or dissolves it.

The central argument is that people in a condition without a common power are in a war of every man against every man, that reason points them to peace through covenant, and that covenants need a sovereign with power to enforce them. The sovereign's authority is therefore very wide, and Hobbes spends a large part of the book showing that Scripture, correctly read, does not contradict this.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) entry on Hobbes's moral and political philosophy describes this as a social contract method that arrives at an absolutist conclusion: the argument proceeds from what individuals would agree to, yet ends by justifying an undivided and unlimited sovereign authority.

Introduction and Part I, Chapters 1–12: Of Man

Part I builds an account of human nature that the political argument depends on. It runs through sense, imagination, the train of thoughts, speech, reason and science, the passions (voluntary motions), the end of deliberation in will, intellectual virtues, the subjects of knowledge, power and honour, differences of manners, and religion. Chapter VI treats appetite and aversion as the beginnings of action, and Chapter X defines power and worth. Chapter XII traces religion to natural causes such as fear of unseen things and ignorance of causes.

Chapter XIII: Of the Naturall Condition of Mankind, as Concerning Their Felicity, and Misery

The best-known chapter. Hobbes argues that people are so equal in body and mind that no one can claim an advantage another cannot also claim. From equality comes distrust, from distrust competition, diffidence and glory, and from these a condition of war with no place for industry, arts or society. It is here that the life of man in this condition is described as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short". Notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice do not apply in this condition because they presuppose a common power.

Chapters XIV–XV: The Laws of Nature and Contracts

Chapter XIV defines the right of nature as each person's liberty to use their own power for self-preservation, and a law of nature as a rule found by reason. The first law is to seek peace where possible, and the second to lay down the right to all things where others do so too. It then treats covenants and when they bind. Chapter XV adds further laws, such as keeping covenants, gratitude and equity, and replies to the "Foole" who says there is no justice. The laws of nature bind in conscience always but in action only where there is security.

Chapter XVI: Of Persons, Authors, and Things Personated

Hobbes defines a person as someone whose words or actions are considered as his own or as representing another. This technical account of authorisation and representation is needed for the next part.

Chapters XVII–XIX: Making a Commonwealth

Chapter XVII explains that covenants without the sword are only words, so people give up their power to one man or assembly, creating the "Mortall God" to which we owe peace and defence. Chapter XVIII sets out the rights of a sovereign by institution: subjects cannot change the form of government, the sovereign cannot forfeit, is not bound by the covenant, is judge of doctrines and is the source of laws. Chapter XIX compares monarchy, aristocracy and democracy, and argues for monarchy and for the sovereign's control of succession.

Chapters XX–XXI: Dominion and Liberty of Subjects

Chapter XX distinguishes commonwealth by institution from commonwealth by acquisition and treats paternal and despotical dominion. Chapter XXI defines liberty as the absence of external impediments, so that fear and freedom are consistent, and lists the liberties that remain to subjects, including a right to resist when asked to kill themselves.

Chapters XXII–XXVIII: Parts of the Commonwealth, Counsel and Law

Chapters XXII–XXV deal with subordinate groups, public ministers, how a commonwealth is nourished and propagated, and counsel. Chapters XXVI–XXVIII treat civil laws, crimes and excuses, and punishments and rewards. The key claim of Chapter XXVI is that the civil law is the command of the sovereign and that the law of nature is part of it.

Chapters XXIX–XXXI: Dissolution, Duty of the Sovereign, and the Kingdom of God by Nature

Chapter XXIX lists the faults of institution that weaken or dissolve a commonwealth. Chapter XXX sets out the sovereign's office as procuring the safety of the people, understood as more than bare preservation. Chapter XXXI begins to turn to religion by treating God's natural kingdom.

Part III, Chapters XXXII–XLIII: Of a Christian Commonwealth

Hobbes extends the argument to Scripture. Chapter XXXII states that revelation and natural reason together are the principles. Chapters XXXIII–XXXIX examine the books of Scripture, the meaning of spirit, kingdom of God, prophecy, miracles, eternal life and the word "church". Chapters XL–XLIII treat the rights of the kingdom of God under Abraham and Moses, Christ's office, ecclesiastical power, and what a person needs to enter the kingdom of heaven, with the conclusion that the civil sovereign holds supreme authority in matters of religion.

Part IV, Chapters XLIV–XLVII: Of the Kingdom of Darkness

Part IV attacks what Hobbes regards as misreading of Scripture, remnants of pagan religion, vain philosophy and fabulous traditions. Chapter XLVII asks who benefits from this "darkness" and answers by naming the claims of clerical power.

Review and Conclusion

Hobbes returns to the question of whether one man can fulfil all civil duties and sums up the argument.

Key Concepts

Part I

• Artificial man: the commonwealth as a made thing whose parts correspond to the body.
• Natural condition of mankind: equality, competition and fear produce a war of every man against every man, in which life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short".

Part II

• Right of nature and laws of nature: liberty to preserve oneself, and rules of reason for peace: seek peace, lay down the right to all things when others do too, and keep covenants.
• Covenant and authorisation: how people create a sovereign who acts in their name.
• Sovereignty by institution and by acquisition: two distinct routes to sovereign authority.
• Sovereignty and liberty of subjects: the extent of authority and the liberty that remains.

Parts III–IV

• Christian commonwealth: the civil sovereign as head of religion within the state.
• Kingdom of darkness: error from false doctrine and the interests behind it.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• A single connected argument. Part I's psychology leads to the natural condition, to the laws of nature, to the covenant, to sovereign rights and to the dissolution of states, and each stage is defined before use.
• Precise definitions. The marginal headings and definitions of liberty, right, law, person and authority give a vocabulary used in later debates.
• Sustained engagement with Scripture. Parts III and IV show how Hobbes answers religious objections to his theory, which was central to its reception.

Limitations

• Length and proportion. Parts III and IV are nearly as long as Parts I and II together, and a reader interested only in political theory may find them heavy.
• Seventeenth-century spelling and conventions. The 1651 text keeps original spelling, capitals and italics, and the marginal notes appear in the text.
• Open questions. The case for an undivided sovereign with few limits is argued from a particular view of human nature, and readers disagree about whether the premises support so strong a conclusion.

The argument in four steps (following the SEP)

The SEP entry on Hobbes's moral and political philosophy gives a useful frame for checking your own reading. It can be summarised in four linked claims, each of which is a place where critics push back.

1. State of nature. Without a common power, the condition of mankind is a war of all against all. The force of the whole book depends on how convincing this picture is. If the natural condition is less dire than Chapter XIII claims, the price people should pay to leave it, an unlimited sovereign, looks less reasonable.
2. Right and laws of nature. Everyone has a right of nature to preserve themselves. Reason then yields laws of nature directing people to seek peace, to lay down their right to all things on condition that others do likewise, and to make and keep covenants. A good question for essays is how a liberty to do anything for self-preservation becomes a rational obligation to give that liberty up.
3. Absolutism. Whether sovereignty arises by institution, through mutual covenant, or by acquisition, through conquest or dominion, the SEP stresses that Hobbes gives the sovereign the same undivided and unlimited authority. This is the conclusion that most clearly separates Hobbes from Locke on limits to authority.
4. Retained liberties and the limits of obligation. Absolutism is not total. Subjects keep a liberty of self-defence that cannot be transferred. The SEP also notes that political obligation ends when the sovereign can no longer protect the subject. This is the textual basis of Chapter XXI's list of liberties. It also opens an analytical tension: an "absolute" sovereign whose subjects may still resist it under some conditions.

A caution on egoism. Many older accounts read Part I as a doctrine of psychological egoism, meaning that people only ever act from self-interest. The SEP reports that this was formerly the dominant interpretation but is now widely rejected. Do not treat it as settled when you write about Hobbes's psychology. Argue from what Chapters VI, X and XIII actually claim.

Where It Fits in the Course

Leviathan is the main counterpart to Locke's Second Treatise. Both start from a natural condition and consent but disagree on how far authority can be limited. It continues the break with Aristotle's Politics, which treats the political community as natural. It is also a useful follow-up to Machiavelli's The Prince, since both consider how order is created and kept. Rousseau's The Social Contract and Mill's On Liberty then respond to the contract tradition, and Marx and Engels's The Communist Manifesto and Tocqueville's Democracy in America move to different questions.

Within Hobbes's own work, the SEP lists Leviathan alongside his earlier political writings, the Elements and De Cive. Leviathan is the statement of the argument and the one the SEP recommends starting with. Its combination of a contract method with an absolutist conclusion makes it the natural reference point for comparing Locke's and Rousseau's versions of the contract.

Strauss and Cropsey's History of Political Philosophy and Wolin's Politics and Vision give accounts of Hobbes's place in the tradition.

How to Use This Book

Reading the whole book is demanding. A standard route for political theory is the Introduction, Chapters XIII–XXI, XXVI, XXIX–XXX and the Review and Conclusion. If time allows, add Chapters VI, X and XII for the psychology behind the argument. Parts III–IV are best read selectively, for example Chapters XXXII, XXXV, XLII and XLVII, to see how Hobbes handles religion.

While reading Chapter XIII, note what the premises are and where they are used later. Keep a list of what the sovereign can and cannot do, and test it against Chapter XXI. For coursework, a modern annotated edition, such as the Cambridge edition described below, modernises spelling and adds notes.

Parts One and Two, then Three and Four

A manageable first route concentrates on Parts One and Two. Be aware that the SEP advises new readers to begin with Leviathan and to read Parts Three and Four as well, not only the first half. If you are writing more than a short essay, or if your question touches on authority, obedience or the sovereign's control of doctrine, reading at least the selected chapters of Parts III–IV is worth the time. Hobbes's claims about the sovereign's power are incomplete without his account of religious authority.

Questions to carry through the reading

• In Chapter XIII, which features of human nature generate the war of all against all? Does the argument need people to be purely selfish? (See the caution on egoism above.)
• In Chapters XIV–XV, how does the right of nature relate to the laws of nature, and why does Hobbes think covenants need "the sword"?
• In Chapters XVIII and XX, are the sovereign's rights really the same whether sovereignty comes by institution or by acquisition?
• In Chapter XXI, which liberties survive, and what follows if protection ceases?

Edition and Sources

This guide is based on the 1651 text as reproduced in Project Gutenberg eBook #3207 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3207), which follows the Pelican Classics edition prepared from the first edition and keeps original spelling. The interpretive frame in Critical Analysis follows the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry "Hobbes's Moral and Political Philosophy" (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hobbes-moral/).

Edition and bibliographic source

The edition listed here is Richard Tuck’s Cambridge 1991 edition, a modern edition of the English Leviathan of 1651. Hobbes later produced a Latin revision of the work, published in 1668 according to the SEP. Neither this guide nor the Gutenberg text follows the Latin version.

The free text reproduces Hobbes’s historical Leviathan, including all four parts and the Review and Conclusion. Tuck’s introduction and modern editorial notes are not available free. The historical Gutenberg text is public domain in the United States; readers elsewhere should check local copyright conditions. It is not the modern edition and does not share its pagination.

Library catalogue entry

Common course assignments

Recent:

• UF Honors IDH2930, Spring 2024 (Collins): Close reading across Parts I–IV (e.g. I.i–vi through xii and xiv–xvi; II.xvii–xxi and later state chapters; selected Part III and IV chapters including xlii and xlv–xlvii, plus the Review and Conclusion). (syllabus PDF)
• UGA POLS 4020, Spring 2023: Selected chapters in Parts I–II (5, 6, 11, 13; 14–17; 18; 21). (syllabus PDF)

Older archived (full-book seminar):

• Bard PT 298, Spring 2021: Week-by-week reading of Parts I–IV in full. (syllabus PDF)