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Primary sourceBook1651

Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes · 1651

Hobbes's 1651 treatise on the social contract and absolute sovereignty, written amid the English Civil War.

Hobbes wrote this book, his most famous and influential work of political philosophy.

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Engraved title page of Hobbes's Leviathan: a giant crowned figure made of many tiny people holds a sword and crozier over a landscape of hills and a city. Below, a central banner bears the title and author's name, flanked by vignettes of castle, church, crown, mitre, cannon, weapons, battle, and a council.
Abraham Bosse (engraver), frontispiece to Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, 1651.

About this source

What it is

Leviathan is a work of political philosophy written by Thomas Hobbes and published in 1651 in London. Its famous engraved frontispiece, made by the Parisian artist Abraham Bosse after discussion with Hobbes, shows a giant crowned figure made up of many small people holding a sword and a bishop's staff over a landscape.

Why it matters

Written during the English Civil War, the book argues that without a strong, unified government people would live in a 'war of all against all'. It is one of the most influential works of social contract theory and shaped later political thought about the state, authority and obedience.

Look closer

  • Why might Hobbes have chosen a giant made of many tiny people to represent the state?
  • What do the small scenes of castle, church, cannon and battle around the border suggest about power in Hobbes's time?
  • How might living through a civil war have shaped the ideas in this book?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Thomas Hobbes on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Engraved frontispiece of the 1642 Paris edition of Hobbes's De Cive. Top panel shows a crowded scene of figures in clouds and a fiery landscape with a winged angel and a group of people. Bottom panel has a central banner titled Elementorum Philosophiae Sectio Tertia De Cive with Latin text, flanked by a crowned female figure holding scales labeled Imperium and a figure with a bow and spear labeled Libertas, with a landscape and the word Religio across the middle.Book

Primary source

De Cive

Thomas Hobbes · 1642

Line engraving portrait of Thomas Hobbes, a man with long wavy hair, a large white collar, and dark robes, shown in an oval frame inscribed with his name in Latin. Below is a Latin inscription and the printer's line 'London, Printed for Will. Crooke'.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Thomas Hobbes, Line Engraving

Book

Primary source

The Elements of Law

Thomas Hobbes · 1640

Engraved title page reading 'The Workes of Homer Engl: by T: Hobbes', with a bust of Homer above, two armoured warriors with spears flanking the title, and an oval portrait of Hobbes below. Imprint reads London, printed for W. Crooke, 1677.Artifact

Secondary source

Title Page of The Workes of Homer, Translated by Thomas Hobbes

1677

Oil portrait of an older man with long grey hair, a receding hairline, moustache and small grey beard, wearing a dark coat and a white collar against a dark background, one hand visible at lower right.Painting

Primary source

Thomas Hobbes

John Michael Wright · 1650

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