The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 02 (of 11)

This volume presents a meticulously edited selection of Thomas Hobbes’s early English essays on political philosophy, first printed in the mid‑17th century. The editor has gathered footnotes, corrected printer’s slips, and linked every correction for smooth listening. Listeners receive a faithful rendering of the original text while enjoying modern navigational aids.

In the opening treatise Hobbes turns to the legacy of Rome, using the passionate speeches of Cato and the ruthless tactics of the Tarquins to illustrate a central paradox of human nature. He argues that people can be cooperative like “god‑like” citizens yet also turn on each other as “wolves,” a tension that makes stable government essential. From this tension he sketches a rational basis for authority, suggesting that only a sovereign power can restrain the instinctive scramble for self‑preservation.

The prose stays vivid yet accessible, weaving historical anecdotes with sharp logical analysis. As the argument unfolds, listeners glimpse the foundations that later become Hobbes’s famous social contract ideas, without reaching the climactic conclusions of his later works. The result is an engaging entry point into the mind of one of political theory’s most provocative thinkers.