Leviathan

Leviathan

by

Thomas Hobbes

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Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher from the 17th century, and Leviathan is his discourse on politics and power, both civil and ecclesiastical. Through Leviathan, Hobbes focuses on the state of humankind in nature… read analysis of Thomas Hobbes

Aristotle

Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher from the fourth century BCE. Hobbes frequently refers to Aristotle in Leviathan and attempts to discount several of his theories. Hobbes’s main disagreement with Aristotle is Aristotle’s philosophy of… read analysis of Aristotle

God

According to Hobbes, God is the spiritual sovereign who has dominion over all of humankind. While Hobbes argues that God’s power is absolute, Hobbes ultimately maintains that the subjects of a common-wealth must obey… read analysis of God

Moses

Moses is a biblical figure in the Old Testament. Hobbes repeatedly refers to Moses at Mount Sinai, where Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt on God’s command, after which the Israelites entered into… read analysis of Moses

Cardinal Bellarmine

Robert Bellarmine was a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church during the 17th century, who wrote several books of Holy Scripture. Like Theodore Beza, Hobbes offers Cardinal Bellarmine as an example of a writer… read analysis of Cardinal Bellarmine
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Christ

In Christian belief, Christ is the son of God. Hobbes repeatedly refers to Christ in Leviathan, and he maintains that Christ, through the power of God, will serve as the sovereign of God’s… read analysis of Christ

Cicero

Cicero was a Roman philosopher from the first century BCE. Hobbes mentions Cicero multiple times in Leviathan, especially Cicero’s writings about an ancient judge who always asked criminals about the benefit of their illegal… read analysis of Cicero

Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I was sovereign queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until her death in 1603. Queen Elizabeth formally severed the Pope’s power over England and was excommunicated from the Catholic Church 1570. In… read analysis of Elizabeth I

Francis Godolphin

Francis Godolphin is the dedicatee of Leviathan. He was a royalist and a Member of Parliament. He was also the brother of Sidney Godolphin, Hobbes’s personal friend, who died fighting the parliamentarians… read analysis of Francis Godolphin

Sidney Godolphin

Sidney Godolphin was an English poet and Hobbes’s personal friend. Godolphin was a Member of Parliament, and like Hobbes, he was a royalist. Godolphin died fighting against the parliamentarians in 1643 during the English… read analysis of Sidney Godolphin

Judas Iscariot

Judas was one of Christ’s 12 original Disciples. Judas betrayed Christ to the Romans, which ultimately led to Christ’s arrest and crucifixion. Hobbes briefly mentions Judas and his betrayal when he cites Luke 22:4… read analysis of Judas Iscariot

Matthias

Matthias is a biblical figure and Apostle from the New Testament. Matthias was the first Apostle who was not a martyr, which means he did not witness the Resurrection of Christ. Like Paulread analysis of Matthias

Paul

Paul was an Apostle who taught Christ’s word in the first century. Saints Paul and Luke are the only writers of the New Testament who did not live during the time of Christ. Like… read analysis of Paul

Peter

Peter is a biblical figure, saint, and one Christ’s 12 Apostles. According to Cardinal Bellarmine, St. Peter was the first bishop in Rome, and all other Popes are his successors. Hobbes maintains that… read analysis of Peter

Samuel

Samuel is a biblical figure from the Old Testament who plays a key role in the transfer of God’s Kingdom in Israel to Saul, and later to David. Hobbes maintains that the Books… read analysis of Samuel

Saul

Saul was the first king of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible. Hobbes refers to Saul, who, in the Book of Judges in the Old Testament, was affected by the “Spirit of God.”… read analysis of Saul

Solomon

Solomon was one of the kings of Israel according to the Old Testament. Hobbes uses Solomon as an example of a civil sovereign in Leviathan, and Hobbes also refers to Solomon’s consecration of his… read analysis of Solomon
Minor Characters
Aaron
Aaron was a prophet and Moses’s brother, and he was the sovereign power of the Israelites after Moses. Hobbes uses Aaron and his Golden Calf as an example of idolatry.
Abraham
Abraham is a biblical figure from the Old Testament. Abraham was the first to make a covenant with God, in which he agreed to obey God in all things. According to Hobbes, God appeared to Abraham as three angels.
Adam
Adam is a biblical figure from the Old Testament. Adam and God had a covenant in which Adam was to live forever in the Garden of Eden; however, Adam did not obey God and the covenant was voided.
Barnabas
Barnabas was one of Christ’s Apostles according to the New Testament. Like Matthias and Paul, Barnabas was not selected as an Apostle by Christ and was instead selected by an assembly of people at the Church of Antioch, one of the earliest Christian churches.
Theodore Beza
Theodore Beza was a French theologian and Protestant from the 16th century, whom Hobbes offers as an example of a writer of erroneous Holy Scripture. Beza argues in his philosophy that the Kingdome of God began with Christ’s Resurrection.
Constantine
Constantine was Emperor of Rome from 306 to 337, and other than Moses, he was the first Christian sovereign of a common-wealth. According to Hobbes, the New Testament was not considered civil law until Constantine ordered it so during his reign.
Henry VIII
Henry VIII was King of England from 1509 to 1547. King Henry VIII separated the Church of England from papal authority and was excommunicated by Pope Clement VII. Hobbes briefly mentions Henry VIII as an example of unlawful excommunication.
Isaiah
Isaiah was an Israelite who appears in the Old Testament. Isaiah, along with Moses and Samuel, are Hobbes’s examples of true Prophets.
James VI and I
James VI and I was the King of England and Ireland from 1603 to 1625 and King of Scotland from 1567 to 1625. Hobbes briefly mentions King James as “the most wise King” who tried to unite England and Scotland.
Jacob
Jacob is a biblical figure and the grandson of Abraham. Hobbes frequently cites the Old Testament where Jacob appears, particularly the passages that are associated with angels.
John
John is one of Christ’s Disciples in the New Testament. Hobbes quotes the Gospel of John multiple times in Leviathan and uses John and the people of Samaria as an example of the “Imposition of hands,” which is often used in blessings or the ordaining of a new minister.
Joshua
Joshua was Moses’s assistant and the leader of the Israelites after Moses’s death. According to Hobbes, the Book of Joshua in the Old Testament was written well after Joshua’s time. This discrepancy is yet another dubious point of Holy Scripture for Hobbes.
Luke
Luke was a prominent Christian figure and is generally accepted as the main writer of the New Testament. Like Paul, Luke did not live during the time of Christ, which for Hobbes, gives Luke less authority than those biblical figures who lived during Christ’s time, like Saint Peter.
Necho
Necho was an Egyptian king from the 6th century BCE. Necho worshipped idolatry, but still God spoke through him. Necho is Hobbes’s example that all prophets are not pious, nor are they always Christian.
Nostradamus
Nostradamus was a French astronomer and seer whose 1555 book of poems, Les Prophéties, is said to predict the future. Hobbes uses Nostradamus as an example of a false prophet in Leviathan.
Plato
Plato was a Greek philosopher from the fourth century BCE and Aristotle’s teacher. Like Aristotle, Plato is one of the Gentiles whose false philosophies have led to the misinterpretation of Holy Scripture.