Leviathan

In a common-wealth of acquisition, a sovereign power is instituted by the multitudes, who fear death or injury without the establishment of a central power. This power is established because the multitudes fear each other, not the person or persons whom they elect to power. Dominion, or territories and people, can be acquired in one of two ways: either by generation or by conquest.

Dominion by generation is also known as paternal dominion, and it is passed down from parents to their children. If one’s parents are part of a common-wealth, so is their child, and that child’s children, and so on. If there is no covenant, the power of dominion is with the mother, as the father of a child can only be known by a mother’s word. If the mother is herself the subject of a man who also fathers her children, the power of dominion is with the father, as he has power over the mother.

Dominion by conquest, which is through victory in a war, is known as “despoticall,” and it signifies a master with dominion over subjects. Dominion of the victor over the vanquished is obtained when the vanquished enter into a covenant, either through words or actions, and submit to the sovereign power of the victor. This is not to say that the vanquished are held captive as prisoners. On the contrary, the vanquished are allowed the same rights and liberties afforded to all subjects.

Thus, Hobbes argues, it is not victory in war that gives the victor power over the vanquished—it is the covenant that transfers this power. Therefore, dominion, whether it be “Paternall” or “Desposticall,” is precisely the same. A family that is not part of a common-wealth is not unlike “a little Monarchy”; however, a family is not a proper common-wealth unless that family is of significant size. When any number of people are too weak together to defend themselves as a group, they have the right to defend themselves on their own, or flee if that is the better option. 

Now, Hobbes considers what Holy Scripture says concerning the rights of a monarch and sovereign power. The children of Israel said to Moses: “Speak thou to us, and we will heare thee; but let not God speak to us, lest we dye.” The children of Israel were completely obedient to Moses, not God. According to Samuel, God said: “This shall be the Right of the King you will have reign over you. He shall take your sons, and set them to drive his Chariots, […] and shall take your daughters to make perfumes, to be his Cookes, and Bakers. […] He shall take your fields, […] and you shall be his servants.” This passage, too, reflects the absolute power of the sovereign.

It is Hobbes’s understanding from reason and scripture that the sovereign power—whether that power is placed in a monarch, a democratic body, or an aristocratic body—is as great as can be conceived by any one person. Life will never be without inconveniences, Hobbes admits, and a common-wealth is no different. The making and keeping of a common-wealth involves “certain Rules,” just as in arithmetic and geometry.