Quotes by Thomas Hobbes

About Thomas Hobbes:

Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy. His 1651 book Leviathan established social contract theory, the foundation of most later Western political philosophy.
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No man's error becomes his own Law; nor obliges him to persist in it.

Thomas Hobbes

The privilege of absurdity; to which no living creature is subject, but man only.

Thomas Hobbes

The praise of ancient authors proceeds not from the reverence of the dead, but from the competition and mutual envy of the living.

Thomas Hobbes

A man's conscience and his judgment is the same thing; and as the judgment, so also the conscience, may be erroneous.

Thomas Hobbes

Curiosity is the lust of the mind.

Thomas Hobbes

Sudden glory is the passion which maketh those grimaces called laughter.

Thomas Hobbes

He that is taken and put into prison or chains is not conquered, though overcome; for he is still an enemy.

Thomas Hobbes

The Papacy is not other than the Ghost of the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof.

Thomas Hobbes

Understanding is nothing else than conception caused by speech.

Thomas Hobbes

The secret thoughts of a man run over all things, holy, profane, clean, obscene, grave, and light, without shame or blame.

Thomas Hobbes

They that approve a private opinion, call it opinion; but they that dislike it, heresy; and yet heresy signifies no more than private opinion.

Thomas Hobbes

Laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from some sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmity of others, or with our own formerly.

Thomas Hobbes

Now I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark

Thomas Hobbes

The Light of humane minds is Perspicuous Words, but by exact definitions first snuffed, and purged from ambiguity; Reason is the pace; Encrease of Science, the way; and the Benefit of man-kind, the end. And on the contrary, Metaphors, and senslesse a...

Thomas Hobbes

Therefor I doubt not but, if it had been a thing contrary to any man’s right of dominion, or to the interest of men that have dominion, ‘that the three angles of a triangle should be equal to two angles of a square,’ that doctrine should have b...

Thomas Hobbes

The first and fundamental law of Nature, which is, to seek peace and follow it.

Thomas Hobbes

Prudence is but experience, which equal time, equally bestows on all men, in those things they equally apply themselves unto.

Thomas Hobbes

I put for the general inclination of all mankind, a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death.

Thomas Hobbes

The disembodied spirit is immortal; there is nothing of it that can grow old or die. But the embodied spirit sees death on the horizon as soon as its day dawns.

Thomas Hobbes

I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.

Thomas Hobbes

Fear of things invisible in the natural seed of that which everyone in himself calleth religion.

Thomas Hobbes

Author Bio

  • NameThomas Hobbes
  • Descriptionphilosopher
  • AliasesThomas Hobbes of Malmesbury; Hobbes
  • BornApril 5, 1588
  • DiedDecember 4, 1679
  • CountryKingdom Of England
  • ProfessionActivist; Writer; Political Scientist