Thomas Hobbes

Lore & Background

Thomas Hobbes was born prematurely on 5 April 1588 (Old Style) in Westport, now part of Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, when his mother heard of the coming invasion of the Spanish Armada; he later reported that 'my mother gave birth to twins: myself and fear.' His father, Thomas Sr., vicar of both Charlton and Westport, was involved in a fight with local clergy outside his church, forcing him to leave London, and the family was left in the care of Thomas Sr.'s older brother Francis, a wealthy glove manufacturer. Hobbes was educated at Westport church from age four, went to Malmesbury school, then to a private school kept by Robert Latimer, a University of Oxford graduate. Between 1601 and 1602 he went to Magdalen Hall, Oxford, where he was taught scholastic logic and mathematics. Before going up to Oxford, he translated Euripides's Medea from Greek into Latin verse. He completed his B.A. degree by incorporation at St John's College, Cambridge, in 1608. He became tutor to William, son of William Cavendish, Baron of Hardwick, beginning a lifelong connection with that family. Hobbes became a companion to the younger William Cavendish, and they took part in a grand tour of Europe between 1610 and 1615, where he was exposed to European scientific and critical methods. In Venice he met Fulgenzio Micanzio, an associate of Paolo Sarpi. In 1628 he published his edition of Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War, the first translation into English directly from a Greek manuscript. He briefly worked as Francis Bacon's amanuensis, translating several of his Essays into Latin. In June 1628, his employer Cavendish died of the plague, and Hobbes was dismissed. In 1629 he found work as a tutor to Gervase Clifton, spending most of this time in Paris until November 1630. He then again worked with the Cavendish family, tutoring William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire. He visited Galileo Galilei in Florence while under house arrest in 1636, and later debated in philosophic groups in Paris held together by Marin Mersenne.

Reader's Guide

Hobbes's significance lies in his formulation of social contract theory, particularly in Leviathan (1651), which popularised ideas such as the state of nature ('war of all against all') and laws of nature. After returning from France in 1637, he witnessed the English Civil War from 1642 to 1651 between Parliamentarians and Royalists, which heavily influenced his advocacy for governance by an absolute sovereign as the solution to human conflict and societal breakdown. By the end of the Short Parliament in 1640, he had written a short treatise called The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic, which circulated only as a manuscript. When the Long Parliament succeeded the Short in November 1640, he felt in disfavour and fled to Paris, not returning for 11 years. In Paris he rejoined the coterie around Mersenne and wrote a critique of Descartes's Meditations on First Philosophy, printed as third among the sets of 'Objections' in 1641. He finished De Cive in November 1641. His other major works include the trilogy De Corpore (1655) and De Homine (1658), as well as the posthumous Behemoth (1681). Hobbes contributed to diverse fields including history, jurisprudence, geometry, optics, theology, classical translations, ethics, and philosophy, marking him as a polymath. Despite controversies including accusations of atheism and contentious debates with contemporaries, his work profoundly influenced the understanding of political structure and human nature.

Did You Know?

• Hobbes was born prematurely when his mother heard of the coming invasion of the Spanish Armada; he later said 'my mother gave birth to twins: myself and fear.'
• Before going up to Oxford, Hobbes translated Euripides's Medea from Greek into Latin verse.
• In 1628, Hobbes published the first translation of Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War into English directly from a Greek manuscript.
• Hobbes visited Galileo Galilei in Florence while Galileo was under house arrest in 1636.
• Hobbes briefly worked as Francis Bacon's amanuensis, translating several of his Essays into Latin.