An author is whoever owns the actions of any one person. Inanimate objects cannot be authors, nor can those lacking natural reason, like “Children, Fooles, or Mad-men.” There are two kinds of authors: those who own the actions of another provisionally, like a lawyer or guardian, and those who own the actions of another unconditionally, like a civil sovereign. When any number of people unite in a common-wealth under a single sovereign power, those people, or subjects, are represented by a single author. A sovereign power is the author of a subject’s actions, as the subject of a common-wealth is only permitted to do those things approved by the sovereign; however, since a sovereign gathers authority and power directly from the people, the subjects are likewise the authors of everything a sovereign does.
Author Quotes in Leviathan
The Leviathan quotes below are all either spoken by Author or refer to Author. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 18
Quotes
Fifthly, and consequently to that which was sayd last, no man that hath Soveraigne power can justly be put to death, or otherwise in any manner by his Subjects punished. For seeing every Subject is Author of the actions of his Soveraigne; he punisheth another, for the actions committed by himselfe.
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Author Term Timeline in Leviathan
The timeline below shows where the term Author appears in Leviathan. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 16: Of PERSONS, AUTHORS, and things Personated
...and in real life. Whoever owns the actions of a person or actor is the author, but inanimate things cannot be authors, as they cannot assume any authority over actors. Nor...
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Many people can become one when they are represented by a single author, but that unity is found in the author, not those who are represented. If there...
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Chapter 17: Of the Causes, Generation, and Definition of a COMMON-WEALTH
...which in turn reduces the multitude to a voice of one and elects a single author to act in the collective best interest of the multitude. “This is the Generation of...
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The author within a common-wealth is the sovereign, and those whom the sovereign has power over are...
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Chapter 21: Of the Liberty of Subjects
...subject can ever be considered an injury or injustice. This is because the subject is author of everything the sovereign does. In this vein, a sovereign can even put a subject...
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Chapter 23: Of the PUBLIQUE MINISTERS of Soveraign Power
Public ministers employed by the sovereign power have authority to apprehend, judge, punish, and imprison subjects of a common-wealth. Public ministers who work abroad...
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Chapter 33: of the Number, Antiquity, Scope, Authority, and Interpreters of the Books of Holy SCRIPTURE
...not Moses’s. Thus, Moses was not alive at the time and could not be the author of the words.
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