The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 05 (of 11)

This volume offers listeners a freshly edited glimpse into a lively early‑modern debate that once raged in the salons of Paris. Two learned men—one a bishop, the other a seasoned scholar—spar over the nature of liberty, necessity and chance, each drawing on Scripture, scholastic tradition and plain reason. The transcription has stripped away repetitive marginal notes and corrected printer’s slips, so the original arguments shine through clearly.

In the first act, the bishop defends a deterministic view where every event traces back to divine will, while his opponent argues for a genuine freedom of the human will to choose and to will itself. Their exchange is methodical, presenting each side’s logic before moving on to the next point, and it captures the theological turbulence of the Reformation era. Listeners interested in philosophy, theology, or the history of ideas will find the careful structure and historic flavor both illuminating and engaging.