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Title Page of Hobbes's Translation of Thucydides

Thucydides · 1629

The title page of Hobbes's 1629 English translation of Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War.

Hobbes is named as the translator on this title page, from one of his earliest major published works.

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Engraved title page of Hobbes's 1629 translation of Thucydides' Eight Bookes of the Peloponnesian Warre. Central text panel lists title, author, translator and London imprint. Flanking figures of Archidamus and Pericles, town and map vignettes, and a medallion portrait with a book appear around it. Handwritten note at top.
Title page, Eight Bookes of the Peloponnesian Warre, translated by Thomas Hobbes, 1629. Houghton Library, Harvard University.

About this source

What it is

This is the engraved title page of Eight Bookes of the Peloponnesian Warre, the ancient Greek historian Thucydides' history, translated into English by Thomas Hobbes. It was printed in London in 1629 and sold near St Paul's Churchyard. This copy is held at the Houghton Library, Harvard University.

Why it matters

This was one of Hobbes's earliest published works, made while he was secretary to the Earl of Devonshire, long before he wrote his famous political works. It shows his skill in classical languages and his early interest in politics and war, themes that would shape his later philosophy.

Look closer

  • Why might a young Hobbes have chosen to translate a history of war and political conflict?
  • What do the decorative figures and map vignettes around the title suggest about how books were presented to readers in the 1600s?
  • What does the title page tell us about who paid for and sold books in this period?

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

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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

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Portrait of Thomas Hobbes, Line Engraving

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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

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

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