Written during a moment in English history when the political and social structures were in flux and open to interpretation, Leviathan played an essential role in the development of the modern world.

The book's name derives from the biblical Leviathan. The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. Leviathan ranks as a classic western work on statecraft comparable to Machiavelli's The Prince. Written during the English Civil War (1642-1651), Leviathan argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Hobbes wrote that civil war and situations identified with a state of nature and the famous motto Bellum omnium contra omnes could only be averted by strong central government.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Mansfield's translation of this classic work, in combination with the new material added for this edition, makes it the definitive version of The Prince, indispensable to scholars, students, and lovers of the dark art of politics.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher considered one of the founders of modern political philosophy. His most famous work is Leviathan (1651), where he laid the foundations of contractualist theory, which had a significant influence on the development of Western political philosophy. Leviathan, as it is commonly known, is undoubtedly the most important and groundbreaking work of the 17th-century English philosopher, politician, and thinker Thomas Hobbes. Referencing and writing with splendid mastery, the author invokes the most feared biblical monster to explain and justify the existence of an absolutist State that subjugates its citizens. Written in 1651, his work has been a great inspiration in political sciences and, paradoxically, in the evolution of social law.

Leviathan, is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and published in 1651 (revised Latin edition 1668).

Anthology of a selection of early modern works on memory.