Leviathan

• ISBN13: 9789372270075
• Binding: Paperback
• Subject: English Literature
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd
• Publisher Imprint: Peacock Books
• Publication Date: September 11, 2026
• Pages: 640
• Original Price: INR 650.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 450 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): Hispanic & Latino / Horror, Semiotics & Theory, and Subjects & Themes / General

“For it can never be that Warre shall preserve life, and Peace destroy it.”

Leviathan, first published in 1651, is one of the most influential texts in the history of political philosophy. Written during the English Civil War—a time of social upheaval, religious conflict and political chaos—Leviathan presents a grim but compelling account of human nature and society's need for a powerful sovereign authority. Hobbes begins by examining the mechanics of human thought, desire and fear. He famously concludes that in the absence of political order, human life would devolve into a brutal struggle where every person is against the other. Blending philosophy, science, theology and political theory, the text is both a reflection on the dangers of anarchy and a blueprint for stable governance. Its sweeping arguments address not only the nature of authority, but also the function of religion, the role of reason and the limitations of absolute autonomy. Hobbes' writing is replete with metaphors drawn from the natural world and preceding literary traditions. At once poetic and uncompromising, Leviathan remains a cornerstone of Western political thought.

“Leviathan is the founding document of the 'social contract theory' that would eventually flourish in the western intellectual tradition.”

—The Guardian

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) was an English philosopher and political theorist. Educated at Oxford, Hobbes spent much of his life as a tutor to the Cavendish family, which gave him access to prominent intellectual circles in England and Europe. Witnessing the turmoil of the English Civil War, Hobbes became convinced that strong, centralised authority was necessary to prevent societal collapse. Hobbes was one of the first thinkers to apply the methods of geometry and scientific reasoning to questions of ethics and politics, advancing a materialist and mechanistic view of human nature. Although his later years were marked by censorship, criticism and theological disputes, Hobbes continued to write prolifically, including translations of Homer and responses to his critics. He died at the age of 91, leaving behind a legacy that continues to shape debates about power and authority.

Noteworthy works by Thomas Hobbes:
• De Cive, or On the Citizen (1642)
• Elements of Law, Natural and Politic (1650)
• Of Libertie and Necessitie (1654)
• De Corpore, or On the Body (1655)

• The Introduction
Part I: Of Man
• 1. Of Sense
• 2. Of Imagination
• 3. Of the Consequence or Trayne of Imaginations
• 4. Of Speech
• 5. Of Reason, and Science
• 6. Of the Interiour Beginnings of Voluntary Motions Commonly Called the Passions, and the Speeches by Which They are Expressed
• 7. Of the Ends or Resolutions of Discourse
• 8. Of the Vertues Commonly Called Intellectual, and Their Contrary Defects
• 9. Of the Severall Subjects of Knowledge
• 10. Of Power, Worth, Dignity, Honour and Worthiness
• 11. Of the Difference of Manners
• 12. Of Religion
• 13. Of the Naturall Condition of Mankind, as Concerning Their Felicity, and Misery
• 14. Of the First and Second Naturall Lawes, and of Contracts
• 15. Of Other Lawes of Nature
• 16. Of Persons, Authors, And Things Personated
Part II: Of Common-Wealth
• 17. Of the Causes, Generation, and Definition of a Common-Wealth
• 18. Of the Rights of Soveraignes by Institution
• 19. Of the Severall Kinds of Common-Wealth by Institution, And of Succession to the Soveraigne Power
• 20. Of Dominion Paternall and Despoticall
• 21. Of the Liberty of Subjects
• 22. Of Systemes Subject, Politicall, and Private
• 23. Of the Publique Ministers of Soveraign Power
• 24. Of the Nutrition, and Procreation of a Common-Wealth
• 25. Of Counsell
• 26. Of Civill Lawes
• 27. Of Crimes, Excuses, and Extenuations
• 28. Of Punishments, and Rewards
• 29. Of Those Things that Weaken, or Tend to the Dissolution of a Common-Wealth
• 30. Of the Office of the Soveraign
• 31. Of the Kingdome of God by Nature
Part III: Of a Christian Common Wealth
• 32. Of the Principles of Christian Politiques
• 33. Of the Number, Antiquity, Scope, Authority, and Interpreters of the Books of Holy Scripture
• 34. Of the Signification of Spirit, Angel, and Inspiration in the Books
• 35. Of the Signification in Scripture of Kingdome of God, Of Holy, Sacred, and Sacrament
• 36. Of the Word of God, And of Prophets
• 37. Of Miracles, and Their Use
• 38. Of the Signification in Scripture of Eternall Life, Hell, Salvation, the World to Come, and Redemption
• 39. Of the Signification in Scripture of the Word Church
• 40. Of the Rights of the Kingdome of God, in Abraham, Moses, High Priests, and The Kings of Judah
• 41. Of the Office of Our Blessed Saviour
• 42. Of Power Ecclesiasticall
• 43. Of What is Necessary for a Mans Reception into the Kingdome of Heaven
Part IV: Of the Kindome of Darknesse
• 44. Of Spirituall Darknesse from Misinterpretation of Scripture
• 47. Of Daemonology, and Other Reliques of the Religion of the Gentiles
• 50. Of Darknesse From Vain Philosophy, And Fabulous Traditions
• 53. Of the Benefit that Proceedeth from Such Darknesse, and to Whom it Accreweth
• A Review, and Conclusion