Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Leviathan, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Nature, War, and Civil Society
Power, Common-wealths, and Monarchies
Religion
Fear
Reason, Fact, and Philosophy
Summary
Analysis
According to Hobbes, “Eternall life is greater reward, than the life present; and Eternall torment a greater punishment than the death of Nature.” Adam was created by God in a similar state. In the Garden of Eden, Adam was to enjoy life everlasting—as long as he ate from the Tree of Life, not the Tree of Knowledge. Of course, Adam disobeyed God and ate from the Tree of Knowledge and was promptly ejected from Paradise.
Hobbes argues that fear of punishment is what compels people to follow rules, and the fear of that punishment must be greater than the benefit of breaking said rule. Adam, living only in Paradise, did not know what he would lose if he disobeyed God; thus, Adam easily broke the covenant. Adam did not sufficiently fear God’s punishment.
Themes
As for the physical place where humankind will enjoy eternal life, Holy Scripture suggests this place is on Earth, not in Heaven. This is implied in the Book of Revelations. “I John saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned for her husband.” Hobbes argues that after the Resurrection, humans will live forever in “the Heavens,” but in this sense, “Heavens” is a remote place on Earth. Strictly speaking, the “Kingdome of Heaven” means only a Kingdome belonging to the King of Heaven—it does not necessarily mean that place is in Heaven.
Hobbes again argues that scripture has largely been misinterpreted and what is usually thought to be literal is actually metaphorical. For Hobbes, “Heaven” is not a place that exists in the sky—it’s a metaphor for a specific place on Earth that exists due to a specific covenant with God, much like the covenant shared between God and the Israelites. Hobbes’s point is reflected in Revelations 21:2, in which John sees “the Holy City, New Jerusalem.” The “Holy City” is on Earth, not in “Heaven.”
Themes
According to Holy Scripture, no one goes to Heaven. In John 3:13, it is stated that “no man hath ascended into Heaven, but he that came down from Heaven, even the Son of man, that is in Heaven.” In short, only God and Jesus Christ have ascended into Heaven. Furthermore, St. Peter says that after God’s coming, “we according to the promise look for new Heavens, and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth righteousnesse.” It is clear, Hobbes argues, that Heaven is meant to be on Earth.
Hobbes’s claim that no one other than God or Christ has ever ascended to Heaven again contradicts traditional Christian doctrine that assumes all believers go to Heaven after death, as long as they repent their sins and are saved. Hobbes instead argues that Heaven will be at some future time a common-wealth on Earth.
Themes
After God’s coming, even nonbelievers and those thought to be enemies of God will have a place on Earth. This place for God’s enemies is usually understood as being “under ground,” like a “bottomelesse pit” of fire and torture; however, Holy Scripture offers various descriptions of this place for God’s enemies. Hobbes cites Job 26:5 as an example: “Behold the Giants groan under water, and they that dwell with them.” He also references Revelation 21:8, in which the sinners and murderers “shall have their Part 1n the Lake that burneth with Fire, and Brimstone; which is the second Death.” Here, sinners are underwater, not underground.
Just as Hobbes argues that Heaven in the traditional sense is largely a metaphor, he argues the same for Hell. Hell is usually understood as “under ground” or some “bottomelesse pit” of fire, but Hobbes argues Hell is none of those things, and he uses the Bible and Holy Scripture to prove his point. Hell cannot be a place of fire and torture if it is described as “under water” in the Book of Job or as a “Lake that burneth with Fire” in the Book of Revelations.
Themes
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God’s enemies are also punished in scripture with eternal darkness. In Exodus 10:23, the Egyptians “saw not one another, neither rose any man from his place for three days; but all the Children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” As there is not one accepted definition of Hell, it is clear, Hobbes maintains, that Hell is a metaphorical place, not one with any true existence either on Earth or below. The Devil and all his demons are likewise metaphorical.
Again, Hobbes’s claim that Hell and the Devil do not exist contradicts widely accepted Christian doctrine and was considered by many to be blasphemous. For many, if the Devil does not exist, God cannot exist either, and Hobbes’s claims were easily misinterpreted. For Hobbes, however, Hell is any place that includes eternal torture.
Themes
Salvation is to be forgiven, saved, and protected against all evil, sickness, and death, which, Hobbes says again, will be on Earth. In the Book of Isaiah, Jerusalem is a place where “the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.” In Holy Scripture, there are three kinds of worlds mentioned: “the Old World, the Present World, and the World to come.” St. Peter speaks of the Old World with Noah and the flood, and Christ speaks of the present World in John 18:36, noting, “My Kingdome is not of this World.”
Holy scripture talks of three worlds, yet Hobbes only mentions two (the Old World in the Old Testament and the Present World in the New Testament), which implies the “World to come” will only arrive with God’s (or Christ’s) second coming. Thus, Heaven will be part of this “World to come,” which must be on Earth.
Themes
Redemption is available for the guilty who seek forgiveness and pay restitution. To pay restitution for some sin does not take the away sin. A sin can only be taken away by God upon payment of a penalty, which, in the Old Testament, is usually a form of sacrifice. Christ sacrificed himself to redeem the sins of humankind, and when God makes his next coming, all humans must repent; however, their redemption will come at a cost.
Hobbes again deviates from accepted Christian doctrine when he implies it is not enough for salvation to simply repent one’s sins. Sinners must also make some accepted sacrifice as restitution for their sins, as Christ did when he died for the sins of humankind. Hobbes implies that the second coming involves a new sacrifice and therefore a new agreement or covenant with God.
Themes
