105 



law that dictateth to men that have no civil government, 

 what they ought to do, and what to avoid in regard of one an- 

 other, dictateth the same to commonwealths, that is, to the 

 consciences of sovereign princes and sovereign assemblies; 

 there being no court of natural justice, but in the conscience 

 only; where not man, but God reigneth; whose laws, such of 

 them as oblige all mankind, in respect of the same God, as he 

 is King of kings, are laws." 1 



It will have been noticed that Hobbes is mainly concerned 

 with the nature of the commonwealth, and the morality 

 which is the natural outcome of the relations between citi- 

 zens and sovereign therein involved. A condition of mere 

 nature in which no commonwealth exists is a condition of 

 anarchy. Men are saved from this condition, however, by 

 the use of the laws of nature, which are made by reason, and 

 constitute the moral virtues. But, as Hobbes points out, 

 when men desire to live together in an organized society, it 

 is imperative that "the immutable and eternal laws of nature" 

 should not be left to the chance interpretation of every indi- 

 vidual. Such interpretation and the consequent rules of 

 conduct must be left solely to the civil authority. 



The state, or commonwealth, however, for Hobbes, is a 

 purely artificial, though rational, construction. " It is true, " 

 he says, "that certain living creatures, as bees and ants, live 

 sociably one with another, which are therefore, by Aristotle, 

 numbered amongst political creatures; and yet have no 

 other direction than their particular judgments and appe- 

 tites; nor speech, whereby one of them can signify to another 

 what he thinks expedient for the common benefit: and there- 

 fore some man may desire to know why mankind cannot do 

 the same." With man, however, the case is different. "The 

 agreement of these creatures is natural; that of men, is by 

 covenant only, which is artificial : and therefore it is no wonder 

 if there be somewhat else required, besides covenant, to make 

 their agreement constant and lasting; which is a common 

 power, to keep men in awe, and to direct their minds to the 

 common benefit." 2 



Hobbes' work made a strong impression upon the men of 

 his day, so much so that for the next half century efforts in 

 the direction of moral construction were more or less in answer 

 to the theory which he had advanced. On account of the 

 artificial or rational foundation upon which society is based, it 

 was charged by the opponents of Hobbes that the individual 



'O.C. p. 342. 

 >O.C. pp. 156-7. 



