24 h 19 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What makes us accept a ruler’s power—and what happens when no one can keep the peace?
In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes builds his account of political power from the human body outward. Senses, appetites and fear lead him toward a stark question: how can people live together without turning against one another? His argument moves from what drives us to why we agree to be ruled.
Hobbes asks you to imagine life without a common power, where roughly equal people face a war of everyone against everyone. Against this danger, he sets the social contract and a sovereign with undivided power. Religion, protection and obedience all enter his demanding account of what holds a commonwealth together.
What you’ll discover
- The body before politics Follow Hobbes from senses and appetites to the desires that shape our lives together.
- Life without a ruler Enter a thought experiment where human equality brings conflict rather than lasting peace.
- A covenant for peace Explore why Hobbes makes mutual agreement the foundation of a common power.
- The case for sovereignty Confront his argument that keeping the peace demands strong and undivided authority.
- Religion within the commonwealth Examine how Hobbes draws on the Bible in his argument about religion and rule.
Is it for you?
This is for readers of politics, history and philosophy who want the core argument about why we obey governments. It suits anyone curious about the social contract. If you want a gentle defence of liberty and limited power, Hobbes may frustrate you.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- People are bodies in motion
- Desire drives everything we do
- Nature makes us equal enough to fight
- Without government, life is war
- Reason finds laws that point to peace
- We build a sovereign by mutual covenant
- The sovereign must hold undivided power
- Religion belongs inside the commonwealth
- Hobbes divides readers but remains in the argument
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 24 h 19 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 15 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Léviathan de Thomas Hobbes in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Léviathan de Thomas Hobbes
by Thomas Hobbes· 1651
Hobbes argues that peace requires a strong, undivided government.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: Français
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
People are bodies in motion
Hobbes opens with a claim that shapes everything after it. Human beings, he says, are bodies like any other, and everything they do can be explained by matter in motion. He was a keen reader of the new science of his time, and he admired the way geometry moves from simple definitions to firm conclusions. He wants politics to work the same way.
He starts with sense. When an object presses on our eyes, ears or skin, the pressure travels inward and causes a motion in the brain and heart. That motion is what we call a sensation. Imagination is only the fading of that motion once the object is gone, and memory is the same thing seen from another side.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
Thomas Hobbes
1588–1679 · English philosopher
Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher born in Westport, near Malmesbury, in 1588. He lived in England and spent several years in Paris. He wrote Leviathan, published in 1651, and other works on philosophy, politics, and geometry. He died at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire in 1679.
“And the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More like this
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Léviathan de Thomas Hobbes
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes about?
It is a work of political philosophy that argues people need a strong sovereign to escape a violent state of nature. Hobbes builds the case from human psychology, a social contract and the need for undivided authority.
What does the Leviathan mean in Hobbes's book?
The Leviathan is the commonwealth itself. Hobbes takes the name from the sea monster in the Book of Job and pictures the state as an artificial giant made up of all its people under one sovereign.
When was Leviathan written and why?
Hobbes published it in 1651, after the English Civil War and the execution of Charles I. He wrote it to explain why governments are needed and why citizens owe them obedience.
Popular in philosophy & ideas
See all
Free
Free
