Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, Chapter 14 summary
Chapter 14 of 65 · Part 1: Of Man · 18 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 14, the argument distinguishes natural liberty from natural law and derives two rules: seek peace and mutually limit rights when others do likewise. It then explains contracts, gifts, and covenants, showing how consent creates obligations, why enforcement matters, and why no agreement can surrender the right of self-defense.
What happens
- Natural right permits self-preservation by any means, while natural law directs people toward peace and reciprocal limits on liberty.
- Renouncing or transferring rights creates duties, but people cannot abandon their right to resist violence against themselves.
- The argument distinguishes contracts, covenants, and gifts, explaining how words and actions signal transfers of rights.
- Covenants based on mutual trust fail under reasonable new suspicion without common enforcement, while civil power makes performance obligatory.
- Oaths strengthen fear of breaking promises but add no obligation to lawful covenants and cannot validate unlawful ones.
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In this chapter
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What does an oath add to the obligation of a lawful covenant?
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