Quote by Thomas Hobbes

This edition of Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, part of the Longman Library of Primary Sources in Philosophy, offers readers a direct encounter with one of the most influential texts in Western political thought. Written during the English Civil War, the book argues for a social contract where individuals surrender certain freedoms to a sovereign authority in exchange for security and order. Hobbes famously describes the state of nature as a 'war of all against all,' leading to a life that is 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.' The work systematically examines human nature, the origins of government, and the rights and duties of rulers and subjects, establishing key concepts in modern political theory. This edition includes the full text along with scholarly apparatus designed to aid understanding, making it suitable for students and researchers. more