Thomas Hobbes: Elements of Law

Hobbes''s Elements of Law was written in 1640, on the eve of the English Civil War. It circulated in manuscript, and eleven manuscripts now survive. Two of them contain a substantial amount of material in Hobbes''s own handwriting. Soon after writing it, Hobbes fled to France, while in England civil war broke out over many of the issues discussed by Hobbes in this book. In France he wrote a Latin version of his political theory (De Cive, on the Citizen), and then the English Leviathan, of which a Latin revision followed and in which he greatly expanded what he had to say about religion and church-state relations. The Elements of Law presents a complete but succinct version of Hobbes''s political theory and of his more general philosophy. It analyzes the nature of knowledge and science, discusses psychology and human nature, surveys the rights and duties of individuals, and argues for the need of states to be governed by sovereign authority. It discusses the relationship between politic