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Leviathan · Chapters

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Chapter companions for Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes.

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  1. Chapter 1

    Dedication

    Thomas Hobbes dedicates his work 'Leviathan' to Mr. Francis Godolphin, honoring his deceased brother Sidney Godolphin and explaining his intent to navigate between excessive liberty and excessive authority in advancing civil power.

  2. Chapter 2

    Leviathan

    The opening of Hobbes's Leviathan introduces the work's central concern: the matter, form, and power of a commonwealth, both ecclesiastical and civil. It sets the stage for a systematic inquiry into human nature, the social contract, and the necessity of a sovereign authority to prevent the war of all against all.

  3. Chapter 3

    Part I: Of Man

    Hobbes introduces his philosophical anthropology, beginning with sensation and imagination, then moving to the passions, speech, reason, and the voluntary motions that drive human action. He lays the groundwork for understanding human nature as the foundation for political philosophy.

  4. Chapter 4

    I: Of Sense

    Hobbes begins his examination of human thought by analyzing sense perception. He argues that all conceptions originate from sensory experience, where external objects press upon bodily organs, causing motions that produce appearances or 'fancies.' He contrasts this mechanistic view with the Aristotelian doctrine of 'visible species' and criticizes the universities for their reliance on insignificant speech.

  5. Chapter 5

    Of Imagination

    Hobbes defines imagination as 'decaying sense,' explaining how sensory impressions persist and fade over time. He distinguishes between simple and compound imagination, discusses dreams as products of bodily motions, and critiques superstitious beliefs in spirits and witches, arguing that such fancies undermine civil obedience.

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  1. Chapter 6III: Of the Consequence or Train of Imaginations
  2. Chapter 7Of Speech
  3. Chapter 8Of Reason and Science
  4. Chapter 9VI: Of the Interior Beginnings of Voluntary Motions; Commonly Called the Passions; and the Speeches by Which They Are Expressed
  5. Chapter 10VII: Of the Ends, or Resolutions of Discourse
  6. Chapter 11VIII: Of the Virtues Commonly Called Intellectual, and Their Contrary Defects
  7. Chapter 12Of the Several Subjects of Knowledge
  8. Chapter 13X: Of Power, Worth, Dignity, Honour, and Worthiness
  9. Chapter 14Of the Difference of Manners
  10. Chapter 15XII: Of Religion
  11. Chapter 16XIII: Of the Natural Condition of Mankind as Concerning Their Felicity and Misery
  12. Chapter 17Of the First and Second Natural Laws, and of Contracts
  13. Chapter 18XV: Of Other Laws of Nature
  14. Chapter 19Of Persons, Authors, and Things Personated
  15. Chapter 20Part II: Of Commonwealth
  16. Chapter 21Of the Causes, Generation, and Definition of a Commonwealth
  17. Chapter 22Of the Rights of Sovereigns by Institution
  18. Chapter 23XIX: Of the Several Kinds of Commonwealth by Institution, and of Succession to the Sovereign Power
  19. Chapter 24XX: Of Dominion Paternal, and Despotical
  20. Chapter 25XXI: Of the Liberty of Subjects
  21. Chapter 26Of Systems Subject, Political, and Private
  22. Chapter 27XXIII: Of the Public Ministers of Sovereign Power
  23. Chapter 28Of the Nutrition and Procreation of a Commonwealth
  24. Chapter 29Of Counsel
  25. Chapter 30Of Civil Laws
  26. Chapter 31Of Crimes, Excuses, and Extenuations
  27. Chapter 32Of Punishments and Rewards
  28. Chapter 33Of Those Things That Weaken, or Tend to the Dissolution of a Commonwealth
  29. Chapter 34Of the Office of the Sovereign Representative
  30. Chapter 35Of the Kingdom of God by Nature
  31. Chapter 36Part III: Of a Christian Commonwealth
  32. Chapter 37Of the Principles of Christian Politics
  33. Chapter 38XXXIII: Of the Number, Antiquity, Scope, Authority, and Interpreters of the Books of Holy Scripture
  34. Chapter 39XXXIV: Of the Signification of Spirit, Angel, and Inspiration in the Books of Holy Scripture
  35. Chapter 40Of the Signification in Scripture of Kingdom of God, of Holy, Sacred, and Sacrament
  36. Chapter 41XXXVI: Of the Word of God, and of Prophets
  37. Chapter 42XXXVII: Of Miracles, and Their Use
  38. Chapter 43XXXVIII: Of the Signification in Scripture of Eternal Life, Hell, Salvation, the World to Come, and Redemption
  39. Chapter 44Of the Signification in Scripture of the Word Church
  40. Chapter 45XL: Of the Rights of the Kingdom of God, in Abraham, Moses, the High Priests, and the Kings of Judah
  41. Chapter 46Of the Office of Our Blessed Saviour
  42. Chapter 47Of Power Ecclesiastical
  43. Chapter 48XLIII: Of What Is Necessary for a Man’s Reception Into the Kingdom of Heaven
  44. Chapter 49Part IV: Of the Kingdom of Darkness
  45. Chapter 50Of Spiritual Darkness, from Misinterpretation of Scripture
  46. Chapter 51Of Demonology, and Other Relics of the Religion of the Gentiles
  47. Chapter 52XLVI: Of Darkness from Vain Philosophy and Fabulous Traditions
  48. Chapter 53Of the Benefit That Proceedeth from Such Darkness, and to Whom It Accrueth
  49. Chapter 54A Review, and Conclusion
  50. Chapter 55List of Illustrations