Readnara
Leviathan — Thomas Hobbes

Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes

  • Essays
  • Book language: English
  • 590 pages

Leviathan is Thomas Hobbes's 1651 treatise of political philosophy. It examines the state of nature, the social contract, and the sovereign commonwealth. It is worth listening to as a foundational work on order, authority, and civil obligation.

Listen to the opening

Listen to the first 5 pages without signing up Listen to the whole book free

Already have an account? Sign in and listen

Free with a free account. The book is read by an AI-generated voice; the text follows along.

Embed on your site

For teachers and schools: paste the code into your site or blog.

Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).

Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.

Opening of the book

LEVIATHAN
By Thomas Hobbes
1651
LEVIATHAN OR THE MATTER,
FORME, & POWER OF A COMMON-WEALTH
ECCLESIASTICAL AND CIVILL
Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury
Printed for Andrew Crooke,
at the Green Dragon
in St. Paul’s Churchyard,
1651.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES ON THE E-TEXT:
This E-text was prepared from the Pelican Classics
edition of Leviathan, which in turn was prepared from the

Keep listening free

Contents

  1. LEVIATHAN
  2. 1651
  3. Contents
  4. THE INTRODUCTION
  5. PART I. OF MAN
  6. CHAPTER I. OF SENSE
  7. CHAPTER II. OF IMAGINATION
  8. CHAPTER III. OF THE CONSEQUENCE OR TRAYNE OF IMAGINATIONS
  9. CHAPTER IV. OF SPEECH
  10. CHAPTER V. OF REASON, AND SCIENCE.
  11. CHAPTER VI. OF THE INTERIOUR BEGINNINGS OF VOLUNTARY MOTIONS COMMONLY CALLED THE PASSIONS, AND THE SPEECHES BY WHICH THE
  12. CHAPTER VII. OF THE ENDS OR RESOLUTIONS OF DISCOURSE
  13. CHAPTER VIII. OF THE VERTUES COMMONLY CALLED INTELLECTUAL, AND THEIR CONTRARY DEFECTS
  14. CHAPTER IX. OF THE SEVERALL SUBJECTS OF KNOWLEDGE
  15. CHAPTER X. OF POWER, WORTH, DIGNITY, HONOUR AND WORTHINESS
  16. CHAPTER XI. OF THE DIFFERENCE OF MANNERS
  17. CHAPTER XII. OF RELIGION
  18. CHAPTER XIII. OF THE NATURALL CONDITION OF MANKIND, AS CONCERNING THEIR FELICITY, AND MISERY
  19. CHAPTER XIV. OF THE FIRST AND SECOND NATURALL LAWES, AND OF CONTRACTS
  20. CHAPTER XV. OF OTHER LAWES OF NATURE
  21. CHAPTER XVI. OF PERSONS, AUTHORS, AND THINGS PERSONATED
  22. PART II. OF COMMON-WEALTH
  23. CHAPTER XVII. OF THE CAUSES, GENERATION, AND DEFINITION OF A COMMON-WEALTH
  24. CHAPTER XVIII. OF THE RIGHTS OF SOVERAIGNES BY INSTITUTION
  25. CHAPTER XIX. OF THE SEVERALL KINDS OF COMMON-WEALTH BY INSTITUTION, AND OF SUCCESSION TO THE SOVERAIGNE POWER
  26. CHAPTER XX. OF DOMINION PATERNALL AND DESPOTICALL
  27. CHAPTER XXI. OF THE LIBERTY OF SUBJECTS
  28. CHAPTER XXII. OF SYSTEMES SUBJECT, POLITICALL, AND PRIVATE
  29. CHAPTER XXIII. OF THE PUBLIQUE MINISTERS OF SOVERAIGN POWER
  30. CHAPTER XXIV. OF THE NUTRITION, AND PROCREATION OF A COMMON-WEALTH

and 26 more chapters

You may also like