THOMAS HOBBES (1588-1679)

Leviathan provoked an immediate storm of controversy - one that was to long outlive its provocateur by its refutation of Aristotle's doctrine of the essential "sociability" of man and by its contradiction of the individualist tendencies of both the Renaissance and the Reformation. The philosophies espoused in Leviathan have never been wholly embraced by either the political left or right, yet the powerful influence they exerted on the philosophies of Spinoza, Leibniz, Bentham, and Mill is undeniable.

By the time of the publication of Leviathan, Hobbes was already a famous and somewhat controversial personality. His translation of Thucydides (1629) and his publications, De Cive (1642), Human Nature (1650), and De Corpore Politico (1650) had gained him wide notoriety and respect, as well as a considerable number of opponents, especially for his much criticized De Cive. Hobbes made the acquaintance of and corresponded with a number of noted personalities of his time, including Galileo and Descartes. He was tutor to Charles II and patronized by the powerful Cavendish family. Despite being well connected, however, he provoked the enmity of both the English court and the French clergy, and continued to gain detractors among both his countrymen and abroad. His works were censored and condemned, some finding their way onto the Index of prohibited books.

Leviathan was instantly attacked by republicans, royalists and clergy alike. After the appearance of the first edition, the Licensers forbade any further printing. Of course, banning a book is the surest way of creating a greater demand than the supply can fill. With many censored works, spurious editions begin to circulate to meet the demand. And so with Hobbes' Leviathan, there are three editions bearing the imprint "Printed for Andrew Crooke at the Green Dragon in St. Paul's Church-yard, 1651." The true first edition can be identified by the woodcut ornament on the printed title page, which shows a winged head flanked by pots of flowers within a device of scrolls and tassels.

The copy exhibited is a first edition that once belonged to Sir Philip Warwick, a political writer and contemporary of Hobbes. Sir Philip's signature appears on either side of the winged head ornament, with commentary written in the same hand in the lower margin.

Gift of the University of Delaware Library Associates