Leviathan: Chapter 25 Summary & Analysis

A command is when one says to another: “Do this,” or “Do that.” A command benefits the one who makes the command, and it is given for no other reason than the will of the commander. Counsel, on the other hand, is when one says to anther: “Do this,” or “Do that,” but they say it for the benefit of the one they counsel. Another difference between commands and counsel is that one who is commanded is obligated to do something, whereas one who receives counsel is not obligated to follow said counsel. 

“EXHORTATION, and DEHORTATION,” Hobbes explains, is “Counsell vehemently pressed.” Counsel under exhortation and dehortation is for the benefit of the counselor, not the one seeking counsel. Such behavior is a contradiction to a counselor’s duties, as, by definition, a counselor has a duty to regard the benefit of the one who seeks their counsel. 

The difference between command and counsel can also be seen in Holy Scripture. “Sell all though hast; give it to the poore; and follow me” is an example of counsel, since the reason to give said counsel is the benefit of the people. “Go into the Village over against you, and you shall find an Asse tyed, and her Colt; loose her, and bring her to me” is a command, since it benefits the one who makes the command.

There is also a difference to be found between “apt, and inept Counsellours,” Hobbes says. The virtues and defects of a single counselor are the same as the virtues and defects of the intellectual that Hobbes outlines earlier in the book; however, a “good Counsellour” is one whose ends and interests are the same as those whom they counsel. A good counselor also makes their advice known in clear and understandable speech that does not rely on inference or assumption. Yet a counselor can only be deemed “good” if they give advice in business they are well-versed and studied in.

If there are fail-safe procedures in the doing of any one thing, as there are “in Engines, and Edifices, [and] the rules of Geometry,” Hobbes says, “all the experience in the world cannot equall his Counsell, that has learnt, or found out the Rule.” Additionally, If a counselor wishes to give counsel to a common-wealth, it is necessary that the counselor speak the same language as the common-wealth. And lastly, if any one person or entity such as a common-wealth has more than one counselor, it is best to hear them separately, so they do not influence or encourage each other. In short, one who does business with the help of many informed and experienced counselors does it better than those who do not seek counsel.