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Chapter 13
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Leviathan, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Nature, War, and Civil Society
Power, Common-wealths, and Monarchies
Religion
Fear
Reason, Fact, and Philosophy
Summary
Analysis
It is the right of every human being in nature to use one’s own power as they see fit to preserve one’s life. Everyone is at liberty, which is to say their movements are not obstructed. The Laws of Nature, according to Hobbes, include a “generall Rule, found out by Reason,” under which a human being is forbidden to do anything that is destructive to one’s own life. It is important not to confuse “Right” with “Law”: a right means that one is at liberty to do something, while a law means that one is obligated to do something.
This general rule within the Laws of Nature gives people certain rights, but it is not in itself a right. Under the Laws of Nature, one is obligated to protect and preserve their life. This is not simply a “right” one has, meaning they are allowed to defend their life if they want under certain circumstances; it is a duty that must be observed at all times. While this law is naturally occurring, it is not naturally known and must be “found out by Reason.” Hobbes offers that reason in Leviathan.
Themes
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Humans’ natural condition is one in which everyone is at war with everyone else. Everyone is guided by the same reason—an obligation to preserve their life by any means necessary, as well as a right to anything and anyone that makes self-preservation possible or more likely. These natural rights mean there can never be any real security for human beings in nature; thus, it is a central Law of Nature that everyone must seek peace as long as peace is reasonable. If peace is deemed unreasonable, one may use every advantage possible to defend their life in a state of war.
Again, just because it is in the Laws of Nature to always seek peace does not mean that people always follow it, hence the need for a centralized power. In nature, humans are in constant competition with one another for the very same resources, and since there is no one to enforce laws, peace cannot be reasonably expected. This again comes full circle and reinforces war—if peace is not reasonable, war is.
Themes
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To ensure peace, one must “lay down” their right to violently defend their life, and others must do the same. To “lay down” a right is to deny one’s self the benefit of the right being forfeited. A right can be forfeited either by renouncing it or transferring it to someone else. If a right is renounced, said right is given to no one in particular; however, if a right is transferred, it is given to certain person or group of people. After a right is forfeited, the one who forfeited the right is obligated not to interfere with whoever is granted the right. The interference of a voluntary act after the fact is an injustice.
When one “lays down” their right to violently defend their life to another, they do so with the understanding that whomever they give that right to will exercise it on their behalf. The underlying idea again is this: if one is not strong enough on their own to ensure peace, they join forces with others and pool their power, thereby increasing their strength, power, and ability to protect themselves.
Themes
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Whenever a right is transferred from one person to another, it is a voluntary act in which the purpose is some perceived good for the preservation of one’s life. As such, there are some rights that can never be transferred to another, like the right to harm or kill another. The same can be said for imprisonment, as there is no benefit for the one who is imprisoned. Whenever a right is mutually passed from one to another, it is called a contract. In a contract is a pact, or covenant, that must be respected by both parties. When the transfer is not mutual, such as the forfeiture of a right in hopes of receiving friendship or favor in return, it is a free gift given with grace.
The right to harm or kill someone can never be transferred to another power because it goes against the Laws of Nature, which obligate everyone to defend their life with violence if necessary. If one is obligated to protect their life, they cannot possibly give another the power to end it. In this way, imprisonment, too, violates the Laws of Nature. Imprisonment is not entered through a voluntary covenant, and it hinders one’s ability to protect their life.
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Covenants are made either verbally (“I Give, I Grant”) or through inference, which can include the presence or absence of gestures and actions and even silence. As the state of nature is a state of war, it is not reasonable to expect a covenant to be honored in nature. There must be some common power over those who enter into a contract to compel them not to void the contract, as there is in civil society. To enter into a contract with savages is not possible, as there is no foundational understanding of speech and language. Nor is it possible to enter into a contract with God, as it is impossible to know if the terms are accepted.
Hobbes argues later that only the people of Israel entered into a covenant with God, and they did it through Moses, God’s first Lieutenant. Hobbes maintains that God’s power, including his voice, is infinite and cannot be understood by earthly ears, even if God’s voice could somehow be heard on Earth. God and his power are incomprehensible to earthly humans; thus, they cannot possibly enter into a contract with him.
Themes
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A person is released from a covenant in one of two ways: either they perform the terms of the contract to its end, or they are forgiven the obligation by the one who transferred the right. A contract that is enter into in a state of fear is still valid, but a contract that begins under a state of torture is not, as one will do or say anything to preserve their life.
According to Hobbes, people are always in some state of fear—fear of violence and death, fear of God, or fear of one’s government or sovereign power—thus, fear does not void a contract. If fear did void a contract, no contract would ever be valid.
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Words alone are too weak to bind people in a covenant, but this weakness is strengthened by fear of the consequences of breaking a contract. Fear of consequences comes in the form of fear of “The Power of Spirits Invisible” and of the power of those who will be offended if the contract is broken. In the absence of a common power and civil society, the only way a contract can be ensured is to swear an oath to God, but who or what one considers a god varies. An oath sworn where there is no belief in a god is not an oath. In general, the swearing of an oath does nothing to strengthen a contract, as a covenant is bound before God regardless of an oath.
This too speaks to Hobbes’s own belief in God, as he argues that all contracts and covenants are sealed before the eyes of God. The fear of God (the fear of “The Power of Spirits Invisible”) can be enough to make some people honor a contract, while others require the fear of a centralized power to keep them honest. Either way, Hobbes contends that it is largely fear that keeps contracts valid—one of the few passions he considers common to all people.
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