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Chapter 26
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
To sin is not merely to break a law; to break a law is also to hold a legislator (the sovereign power) in contempt. A crime is a sin that consists of breaking any law of the common-wealth. A crime is always a sin, Hobbes says, but a sin is not always a crime. Where there is no civil law forbidding a certain behavior or action, there can be no crime. Pleading ignorance of any given law is not sufficient excuse for committing a crime, unless said law has not been adequately professed and made known. Likewise, ignorance of the sovereign power is not an acceptable excuse for breaking the law, since everyone should know the power under which they live.
A crime is always a sin because the presence of a law indicates that a specific action is wrong and immoral. A sin that is not against the law—for example, neglecting to honor one’s mother or father—is not illegal, but it is still a sin. Sins that are not against the law do not count against one’s morality, as only the sovereign power, not God, is authorized within a common-wealth to determine what is good or bad.
Themes
Most people violate the law due to a “defect in Reason” in one of three ways: they assume “false Principles” and believe an unjust act is just, they misinterpret the law of nature because of a “false teacher,” or they make the wrong inferences from principles taught to them by true teachers. Crime is also caused by passions—lust, ambition, love, and hate—but rarely by fear.
According to Hobbes, fear keeps people in line and prevents them from breaking laws; it does not cause them to break laws. Thus, fear is rarely an acceptable reason for breaking a law. Crime is not always committed maliciously, but regardless of the reason, subjects are still responsible when they break the law, except in few circumstances.
Themes
Not all crimes are equal, and some crimes have extenuating circumstances that can be excused. However, to be wholly excused from a law, one must prove they were not obligated to follow it in the first place. For example, when one is completely impoverished and cannot sustain their life in any way other than to steal, such a crime is excused. A crime that comes from a sudden and unexpected rise in passions is not as great as a crime that is premediated, and crimes against the common-wealth are always thought greater than crimes committed against a private subject. Crimes involving bribery or the giving of false testimony are considered greater than other crimes, as are crimes that involve defrauding the common-wealth.
An impoverished person who breaks the law in order to survive is excused of their crime because of the Law of Nature, which obligates people to do whatever is necessary to sustain life. In the case of an impoverished person stealing to survive, their crime is excused because it was done in an effort to sustain life. Crimes against the common-wealth are never tolerated, as crimes against the common-wealth are akin to crimes committed against one’s self, which is technically a violation of the Laws of Nature.
Themes
Literary Devices
