1651
NATURE (the art whereby God hath made and governs the world) is by the art of man, as in many other things, so in this also imitated, that it can make an artificial animal. For seeing life is but a motion of limbs, the beginning whereof is in some principal part within, why may we not say that all automata (engines that move themselves by springs and wheels as doth a watch) have an artificial life? For what is the heart, but a spring; and the nerves, but so many strings; and the joints, but so many wheels, giving motion to the whole body, such as was intended by the Artificer? Art goes yet further, imitating that rational and most excellent work of Nature, man. For by art is created that great LEVIATHAN called a COMMONWEALTH, or STATE (in Latin, CIVITAS), which is but an artificial man, though of greater stature and strength than the natural, for whose protection and defence it was intended; and in which the sovereignty is an artificial soul, as giving life and motion to the whole body; the magistrates and other officers of judicature and execution, artificial joints; reward and punishment (by which fastened to the seat of the sovereignty, every joint and member is moved to perform his duty) are the nerves, that do the same in the body natural; the wealth and riches of all the particular members are the strength; salus populi (the people's safety) its business; counsellors, by whom all things needful for it to know are suggested unto it, are the memory; equity and laws, an artificial reason and will; concord, health; sedition, sickness; and civil war, death. Lastly, the pacts and covenants, by which the parts of this body politic were at first made, set together, and united, resemble that fiat, or the Let us make man, pronounced by God in the Creation.
To describe the nature of this artificial man,
I will consider * First, the matter thereof,
and the artificer; both which is man. * Secondly,
how, and by what covenants it is made; what are
the rights and just power or authority of a sovereign;
and what it is that preserveth and dissolveth
it. * Thirdly, what is a Christian Commonwealth.
* Lastly, what is the Kingdom of Darkness.
Concerning the first, there is a saying much
usurped of late, that wisdom is acquired, not
by reading of books, but of men. Consequently
whereunto, those persons, that for the most part
can give no other proof of being wise, take great
delight to show what they think they have read
in men, by uncharitable censures of one another
behind their backs. But there is another saying
not of late understood, by which they might learn
truly to read one another, if they would take
the pains; and that is, Nosce teipsum, Read thyself:
which was not meant, as it is now used, to countenance
either the barbarous state of men in power towards
their inferiors, or to encourage men of low degree
to a saucy behaviour towards their betters; but
to teach us that for the similitude of the thoughts
and passions of one man, to the thoughts and
passions of another, whosoever looketh into himself
and considereth what he doth when he does think,
opine, reason, hope, fear, etc., and upon what
grounds; he shall thereby read and know what
are the thoughts and passions of all other men
upon the like occasions. I say the similitude
of passions, which are the same in all men,-
desire, fear, hope, etc.; not the similitude
of the objects of the passions, which are the
things desired, feared, hoped, etc.: for these
the constitution individual, and particular education,
do so vary, and they are so easy to be kept from
our knowledge, that the characters of man's heart,
blotted and confounded as they are with dissembling,
lying, counterfeiting, and erroneous doctrines,
are legible only to him that searcheth hearts.
And though by men's actions we do discover their
design sometimes; yet to do it without comparing
them with our own, and distinguishing all circumstances
by which the case may come to be altered, is
to decipher without a key, and be for the most
part deceived, by too much trust or by too much
diffidence, as he that reads is himself a good
or evil man.
But let one man read another by his actions never so perfectly, it serves him only with his acquaintance, which are but few. He that is to govern a whole nation must read in himself, not this, or that particular man; but mankind: which though it be hard to do, harder than to learn any language or science; yet, when I shall have set down my own reading orderly and perspicuously, the pains left another will be only to consider if he also find not the same in himself. For this kind of doctrine admitteth no other demonstration.
NATURE hath made men so equal in the faculties of body and mind as that, though there be found one man sometimes manifestly stronger in body or of quicker mind than another, yet when all is reckoned together the difference between man and man is not so considerable as that one man can thereupon claim to himself any benefit to which another may not pretend as well as he. For as to the strength of body, the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination or by confederacy with others that are in the same danger with himself.
And as to the faculties of the mind, setting aside the arts grounded upon words, and especially that skill of proceeding upon general and infallible rules, called science, which very few have and but in few things, as being not a native faculty born with us, nor attained, as prudence, while we look after somewhat else, I find yet a greater equality amongst men than that of strength. For prudence is but experience, which equal time equally bestows on all men in those things they equally apply themselves unto. That which may perhaps make such equality incredible is but a vain conceit of one's own wisdom, which almost all men think they have in a greater degree than the vulgar; that is, than all men but themselves, and a few others, whom by fame, or for concurring with themselves, they approve. For such is the nature of men that howsoever they may acknowledge many others to be more witty, or more eloquent or more learned, yet they will hardly believe there be many so wise as themselves; for they see their own wit at hand, and other men's at a distance. But this proveth rather that men are in that point equal, than unequal. For there is not ordinarily a greater sign of the equal distribution of anything than that every man is contented with his share.
From this equality of ability ariseth equality of hope in the attaining of our ends. And therefore if any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies; and in the way to their end (which is principally their own conservation, and sometimes their delectation only) endeavour to destroy or subdue one another. And from hence it comes to pass that where an invader hath no more to fear than another man's single power, if one plant, sow, build, or possess a convenient seat, others may probably be expected to come prepared with forces united to dispossess and deprive him, not only of the fruit of his labour, but also of his life or liberty. And the invader again is in the like danger of another.
And from this diffidence of one another, there is no way for any man to secure himself so reasonable as anticipation; that is, by force, or wiles, to master the persons of all men he can so long till he see no other power great enough to endanger him: and this is no more than his own conservation requireth, and is generally allowed. Also, because there be some that, taking pleasure in contemplating their own power in the acts of conquest, which they pursue farther than their security requires, if others, that otherwise would be glad to be at ease within modest bounds, should not by invasion increase their power, they would not be able, long time, by standing only on their defence, to subsist. And by consequence, such augmentation of dominion over men being necessary to a man's conservation, it ought to be allowed him.
Again, men have no pleasure (but on
the contrary a great deal of grief) in keeping
company where there is no power able to overawe
them all. For every man looketh that his companion
should value him at the same rate he sets upon
himself, and upon all signs of contempt or
undervaluing naturally endeavours, as far as
he dares (which amongst them that have no common
power to keep them in quiet is far enough to
make them destroy each other), to extort a
greater value from his contemners, by damage;
and from others, by the example.
So that in the nature of man, we find
three principal causes of quarrel. First,
competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly, glory.
The first maketh men invade for gain;
the second, for safety; and the third, for
reputation. The first use violence, to make
themselves masters of other men's persons,
wives, children, and cattle; the second, to
defend them; the third, for trifles, as a word,
a smile, a different opinion, and any other
sign of undervalue, either direct in their
persons or by reflection in their kindred,
their friends, their nation, their profession,
or their name.
Hereby it is manifest that during the
time men live without a common power to keep
them all in awe, they are in that condition
which is called war; and such a war as is
of every man against every man. For war consisteth
not in battle only, or the act of fighting,
but in a tract of time, wherein the will
to contend by battle is sufficiently known: and
therefore the notion of time is to be considered
in the nature of war, as it is in the nature
of weather. For as the nature of foul weather
lieth not in a shower or two of rain, but
in an inclination thereto of many days together:
so the nature of war consisteth not in actual
fighting, but in the known disposition thereto
during all the time there is no assurance
to the contrary. All other time is peace.
Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.
It may seem strange to some man that has not well weighed these things that Nature should thus dissociate and render men apt to invade and destroy one another: and he may therefore, not trusting to this inference, made from the passions, desire perhaps to have the same confirmed by experience. Let him therefore consider with himself: when taking a journey, he arms himself and seeks to go well accompanied; when going to sleep, he locks his doors; when even in his house he locks his chests; and this when he knows there be laws and public officers, armed, to revenge all injuries shall be done him; what opinion he has of his fellow subjects, when he rides armed; of his fellow citizens, when he locks his doors; and of his children, and servants, when he locks his chests. Does he not there as much accuse mankind by his actions as I do by my words? But neither of us accuse man's nature in it. The desires, and other passions of man, are in themselves no sin. No more are the actions that proceed from those passions till they know a law that forbids them; which till laws be made they cannot know, nor can any law be made till they have agreed upon the person that shall make it.
It may peradventure be thought there was never such a time nor condition of war as this; and I believe it was never generally so, over all the world: but there are many places where they live so now. For the savage people in many places of America, except the government of small families, the concord whereof dependeth on natural lust, have no government at all, and live at this day in that brutish manner, as I said before. Howsoever, it may be perceived what manner of life there would be, where there were no common power to fear, by the manner of life which men that have formerly lived under a peaceful government use to degenerate into a civil war.
But though there had never been any time wherein particular men were in a condition of war one against another, yet in all times kings and persons of sovereign authority, because of their independency, are in continual jealousies, and in the state and posture of gladiators, having their weapons pointing, and their eyes fixed on one another; that is, their forts, garrisons, and guns upon the frontiers of their kingdoms, and continual spies upon their neighbours, which is a posture of war. But because they uphold thereby the industry of their subjects, there does not follow from it that misery which accompanies the liberty of particular men.
To this war of every man against every man, this also is consequent; that nothing can be unjust. The notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice, have there no place. Where there is no common power, there is no law; where no law, no injustice. Force and fraud are in war the two cardinal virtues. Justice and injustice are none of the faculties neither of the body nor mind. If they were, they might be in a man that were alone in the world, as well as his senses and passions. They are qualities that relate to men in society, not in solitude. It is consequent also to the same condition that there be no propriety, no dominion, no mine and thine distinct; but only that to be every man's that he can get, and for so long as he can keep it. And thus much for the ill condition which man by mere nature is actually placed in; though with a possibility to come out of it, consisting partly in the passions, partly in his reason.
The passions that incline men to peace are: fear of death; desire of such things as are necessary to commodious living; and a hope by their industry to obtain them. And reason suggesteth convenient articles of peace upon which men may be drawn to agreement. These articles are they which otherwise are called the laws of nature, whereof I shall speak more particularly in the two following chapters.