'He that is to govern a whole Nation must read inhimself not this or that particular man
but Man-kind.' Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan is not just one of the greatest philosophicaltexts
in the English language it is one of the most important works in thehistory of Western
political thought. Almost every major tradition in thecenturies after Hobbes - from radical
democracy to authoritarianism - hasbeen influenced by its arguments. Written in exile in a
period of dramaticdevelopments - civil war and regicide - Leviathan is in some ways theproduct
of its own special circumstances. And yet at the same time it deals with fundamental issues
that matter to all of us today: the natureand purpose of the state the relation between human
nature and politics the idea of natural rights the justification of authority the concept
ofrepresentation the nature of sovereignty the limits of obedience andthe relationship
between religious obligations and human ones. This new edition offers a definitive text drawn
from more than twentyyears of research by Noel Malcolm including in English translation
allthe most significant revisions made in Hobbes's later Latin translation of Leviathan as
well as extensive explanatory notes that elucidate Hobbes'slanguage and identify the many
Biblical classical and other allusionsthat are scattered through his text.
