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Primary sourceBook1640

The Elements of Law

Thomas Hobbes · 1640

A manuscript treatise by Hobbes whose circulation during a political crisis forced him to flee England for France.

Hobbes wrote this manuscript, whose circulation led him to flee England in fear of arrest.

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About this source

What it is

The Elements of Law is an early political treatise by Thomas Hobbes, dedicated to the Earl of Newcastle. It circulated in manuscript around 1640, before Hobbes's later printed works on the same subjects.

Why it matters

The treatise appeared during the crisis of the Short Parliament, a time of fierce political tension in England. Fearing he might be arrested for his controversial views on authority, Hobbes fled to France shortly afterward. The work shows the roots of the political theory he would later develop in De Cive and Leviathan.

Look closer

  • What does the fact that Hobbes fled the country over this text suggest about how dangerous political ideas could be at the time?
  • How does Hobbes's dedication to a nobleman shape who read his work and why?
  • What might it mean for an idea to be too risky to publish, only to circulate in manuscript?

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 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.Book

Primary source

Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes · 1651

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

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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