Leviathan · Chapter
A Review, and Conclusion explained
Hobbes concludes his discourse by emphasizing the mutual relation between protection and obedience, warning against the dangers of justifying conquest by right rather than possession, and clarifying the nature of conquest and submission.
What happens
Hobbes concludes his discourse by emphasizing the mutual relation between protection and obedience, warning against the dangers of justifying conquest by right rather than possession, and clarifying the nature of conquest and submission. He revisits the commonwealth of the Jews, the role of Moses, and the proper execution of capital punishment, arguing against private zeal and for sovereign command. He also discusses the conditions under which a subject may lawfully submit to a conqueror, defining conquest as the acquisition of sovereignty by victory through the people's submission.
Themes in this chapter
Liberty and Obligation
Hobbes discusses the liberty of subjects to submit to a conqueror when protection is no longer available, and the obligation that arises from a lawful contract of submission.
Sovereignty and Absolute Power
The chapter emphasizes the need for an absolute and arbitrary legislative power to prevent the dissolution of commonwealths, and clarifies that the right of a conqueror stems from possession, not the justification of war.
Justice and Law
Hobbes examines the execution of capital punishment in the Jewish commonwealth, arguing that it must proceed from sovereign command, not private zeal, and that witnesses and judges play specific roles in the process.
Characters to notice
- Moses
Moses is described as God's lieutenant on earth in the kingdom of the Jews, who commanded the Levites to execute those who worshipped the golden calf, and who brought blasphemers before God for judgment.
- William the Conqueror
Hobbes uses the example of William the Conqueror to argue that the right of kings of England should not depend on the goodness of his cause but on possession, warning against justifying successful rebellions.
Key passages
“And thus I have brought to an end my Discourse of Civil and Ecclesiastical Government, occasioned by the disorders of the present time, without partiality, without application, and without other design than to set before men’s eyes the mutual relation between protection and obedience; of which the condition of human nature and the laws divine, both natural and positive, require an inviolable observation.”
Hobbes concludes his work on civil and ecclesiastical government, stating that his only aim is to clarify the reciprocal relationship between protection and obedience, which is demanded by human nature and divine laws.
This summarizes the core thesis of the chapter and the entire work.
“Therefore I put down for one of the most effectual seeds of the death of any state, that the conquerors require not only a submission of men’s actions to them for the future, but also an approbation of all their actions past; when there is scarce a commonwealth in the world, whose beginnings can in conscience be justified.”
Hobbes argues that a major cause of a state's downfall is when conquerors demand approval of their past actions, since almost no commonwealth has a justifiable origin.
This highlights Hobbes's view on the dangers of seeking moral justification for conquest.
“Conquest, is not the victory itself; but the acquisition, by victory, of a right over the persons of men.”
Conquest is not merely winning a battle, but gaining rightful authority over people through victory.
Hobbes defines conquest in terms of acquired sovereignty, not military success alone.