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Portrait of Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes

(1588–1679) Philosopher Kingdom of England

285 quotes in 952 categories

Thomas Hobbes was a philosopher from the Kingdom of England.

Quick Facts About Thomas Hobbes

Born: April 5, 1588
Died: December 4, 1679
Nationality: Kingdom of England
Profession: Philosopher
Notable works: Leviathan: Or the Matter, Form, and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil
Known for: Leviathan, De Cive, De Corpore, De Homine

About Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher and political theorist, best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy.

Biography source: Wikipedia

Quotes by Thomas Hobbes · Page 5

Obligation is thraldom, and thraldom is hateful.

Hateful

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The original of all great and lasting societies consisted not in the mutual good will men had toward each other, but in…

Creativity

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Life in the state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

Liberty

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“And if this be madness in the multitude, it is the same in every particular man. For as in the midst of…

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Covenants without swords are but words.

Covenant

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For it is not the bare Words, but the Scope of the writer that giveth true light, by which any writing is…

Advantage

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True and false are attributes of speech not of things. And where speech is not, there is neither truth nor falsehood. Error…

Attributes

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For there are very few so foolish who would not rather govern themselves than be governed by others.

Foolish

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And if a man consider the original of this great Ecclesiastical Dominion, he will easily perceive, that the Papacy , is no…

Deceased

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This I know; God cannot sin, because his doing a thing makes it just, and consequently, no sin.... And therefore it is…

Blasphemy

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“Another doctrine repugnant to civil society, is that whatsoever a man does against his conscience, is sin; and it dependeth on the…

Civil society

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The end of knowledge is power ... the scope of all speculation is the performing of some action or thing to be done.

Action

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The privilege of absurdity; to which no living creature is subject, but man only.

Absurdity

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Laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from some sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmity…

Comparison

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Moral philosophy is nothing else but the science of what is good, and evil, in the conversation, and society of mankind. Good,…

Appetite

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The obligation of subjects to the sovereign is understood to last as long, and no longer, than the power lasteth by which…

Able

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But if one Subject giveth Counsell to another, to do anything contrary to the Lawes, whether that Counsell proceed from evil intention,…

Bounds

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When two, or more men, know of one and the same fact, they are said to be CONSCIOUS of it one to…

Conscious

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Because waking I often observe the absurdity of dreams, but never dream of the absurdities of my waking thoughts, I am well…

Absurdity

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The law is more easily understood by few than many words. For all words are subject to ambiguity, and therefore multiplication of…

Ambiguity

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There is more in Mersenne than in all the universities together.

Inspirational

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In the state of nature profit is the measure of right.

Measure

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Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the…

Accounts

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There is no such thing as perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here; because life itself is but motion, and can…

Desire

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Curiosity is the lust of the mind.

Curiosity

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Thomas Hobbes by topic

Men (105) Nature (27) May (21) Law (20) Ifs (20) Inspirational (19) Life (18) Time (17) Science (17) Reason (16) Psychology (15) Desire (15) Causes (15) Religion (14) War (13)