and circulated in MS. his "De Cive," the main object of which is to demonstrate "the absolute necessity of leagues and contracts, and thence the rudiments both of moral and of civil prudence.' In this book he says, "I have also been very wary in the whole tenor of my discourse, not to meddle with the civil laws of any par ticular nation whatsoever; that is to say, I have avoided coming ashore, which these times have so infested both with shelves and tempests." This production, though not then printed, " occasioned much talk of the author, and had not his Majesty dissolved the Parliament, it had brought him into danger of his life." Hence when he saw the nature of the Parliament of 3rd November, 1640, "Mr. Hobbes, doubting how they would use him, went over to France, the first of all that fled, and there continued eleven years, to his damage some thousands of pounds deep." In England, these eleven years were full of mighty commotion. Within their space were contained-the impeachment and execution of Strafford, the abolition of the High Commission and the Star Chamber, the civil war, the adoption of the Scottish league and covenant, the self-denying ordinance, the execution of Laud, the surrender of the king to the Scots, the trial and execution of the Sovereign of England, the abolition of the House of Lords, the dominion of the Rump, the proclamation and flight of Charles II., &c. The surges of the parties during this period are indicated by the battle names of Edgehill and Braddock Down, Wakefield and Chalgrove Field, Bristol and Gloucester, Selby and Marston Moor, Naseby and Kilsyth; and the flow of the tide is shown by the words Preston, Drogheda, Dunbar and Worcester. Nor was the period much less eventful in France, where, on the death of Richelieu, Cardinal Mazarin became chief minister, and the party of the Fronde opposed the Queen mother (Anne of Austria), and Mazarin. These were the years of the wars of Turenne and Condé. The day of the barricades (26th August, 1648) was among them, and they saw in the peace of Westphalia the close of the thirty years' war, and the security, by Protestantism, of the freedom to worship God according to conscience, as the interpreter of Scripture. Louis XIV., too, was declared to be of kingly age. Amid the contentions of Parliamentarians and Royalists on the one hand, and of Frondeurs and Imperialists on the other, Hobbes sat at the problem of his philosophy-what is motive power?-with diligence and equanimity, serenely calm and sedately self-confident, Euclidizing, as he thought, and as Mersenne asserts, science, politics, and morals, from one inductively gained postulate, that "the law of nature is the dictate of right reason, conversant about those things which are either to be done or omitted, for the constant preservation of life and members as much as in us lies." These objects are to be attained by peace only. Man by nature is in a state of war; he enters into a state of peace by a pact or covenant of mutual concession or resignation of rights, and so man passes from the state of nature into civil society, whose duty and inverest it is to enforce the contracts implied in its incorporate being. "There is," he asserts, "a certain clue of reason whose beginning is in the dark; by the benefit of whose conduct we are led, as it were, by the hand into the clearest light. So that the principle of tractation is to be taken from that darkness, and then the light to be carried thither for irradiating the doubts." Under the investigations of right reason, "were the nature of human actions as distinctly known as the nature of quantity in geometrical figures, the strength of avarice and ambition, which is sustained by the erro neous opinions of the vulgar as touching the nature of right and wrong, would presently faint and languish; and mankind should enjoy such an immortal peace, that unless it were for habitation, on supposition that the earth should grow too narrow for her inhabitants, there would hardly be left any pretence for war." As, however, we intend to present the reader with an analysis of The Leviathan, in which Hobbes has incorporated "his thoughts concerning Civil Doctrine," we think it scarcely advisable to try to epitomize this exposition of liberty, dominion, and religion. As the error and terror of civil war increased around him, Hobbes more emphatically and enthusiastically engaged in his demonstration of the system of truth of which he held the clue, and very persistently held his own in argument against all comers. Hobbes is reported by Lord Clarendon, in his (controversial) "Survey of The Leviathan," as "a man of excellent parts, of great wit, some reading, and somewhat more thinking; one who has spent many years in foreign parts and observation, understands the learned as well as modern languages, hath long had the reputation of a great philosopher and mathematician, and in his age hath had conversation with many worthy and extraordinary men, to which, it may be, if he had been more indulgent in the more vigorous part of his life, it might have had a greater influence upon the temper of his mind; whereas age seldom submits to those questions, inquiries, and contradictions which the laws and liberty of conversation require; and it hath always been a lamentation amongst Mr. Hobbes' friends, that he spent too much time in thinking, and too little in exercising those thoughts in the company of other men of the same or of as good faculties; for want whereof his natural constitution, with age, contracted such a morosity that doubting and contradicting men were never grateful to him" (p. 2). The dogmatism of conviction is always strong, sometimes peremptory, and often disagreeable. To the charge of being con fidently entrenched in his opinions Hobbes has made reference in the following terms:-"This I am sure is false, that any man living did ever hear me brag of my science or praise myself but when my defence required it. Perhaps some of our philosophers that were at Paris, and were acquainted with the same learned men that I was acquainted with, might take for bragging the maintaining of my opinions and the not yielding to the reasons alleged against them. If that be ostentation they tell the truth;" and, "if I added . that my acquaintance know that I am naturally of moderate rather than of boasting speech, you would not believe it; because you distinguish not between that which is said upon provocation, and that which is said without provocation, from vain-glory." "Truly I remember not an angry word that ever I uttered in all my life to any man that came to see me, though some of them have troubled me with very impertinent discourse; and with those that argued with me, how impertinently soever, I always thought it more civility to be somewhat earnest in the defence of my opinion, than by obstinate and affected silence to let them see I contemned them, or hearkened not to what they said." In Paris he devoted himself very much to the study of Mathematics, holding intercourse on this subject with Descartes, Roberval, Hieronymus Verdusius. (an Aquitanian nobleman to whom in 1660 he dedicated his "Examinatio et Emendatio Mathematicæ,") Gassendi, Francis Nicero, Richard White, &c. Speaking of Mathematics, he had said in his "Human Nature," p. 72, 1649,"To this day was it never heard of that there was any controversy concerning any conclusion on this subject; the science whereof hath nevertheless been continually amplified and enriched by the conclusions of most difficult and profound speculation. The reason whereof is apparent to every man that looketh into their writings; for they proceed from most low and humble principles, evident even to the meanest capacity; going on slowly and with most scrupulous ratiocination, viz., from the imposition of names, they infer the truth of their first propositions; and from two of the first a third; and from any two of the three a fourth; and so on, according to the Steps of Science." Though Mersenne names him often in his "Cogitata" with honour, and he acquired a fair repu tation in Paris for mathematical ability, yet his own controversies on this subject are among the most bitter and the most disreputably conducted disputes in the records of the quarrels of authors. About the year 1645 he employed himself in an attempt at "the quadrature of the circle." "I have been asked," he says, "sometimes, by such as saw the figure before me, what I was doing, and I was not afraid to say that I was seeking for the solution of that problem; but not that I had done it. And afterwards being asked of the success, I have said I thought it done.” He subsequently upheld his claim, dogmatically, to having successfully accomplished this feat in the face of the clearest refutation. His method of quadrature may be seen at the end of the fourth volume of his Latin works in Molesworth's edition. A. De Morgan says, " Longomontanus, refuted by Pell), J. B. Porter, and Hobbes, (refuted by Wallis), are three names well known in other pursuits which must go down to posterity as having had distinguished success in false quadrature. The works of the last against Geometry and Geometers were the consequence of the mortification he felt at not being admitted to have succeeded in his attempt." * Article “Quadrature of the Circle," Penny Cyclopædia. When, after the delivery of Charles I. to the Parliamentary Commissioners, it was thought expedient that Prince Charles should, under the care of Lords Capel and Hopton, take a journey to Jersey, whence he passed to Paris, "Mr. Hobbes had the honour to initiate him in the Mathematics," and then won both the esteem and affection of the heir to the hotly-assailed Crown of England. Lord Clarendon and Hobbes held several discussions on Political Philosophy at different times in his several visits to the City of Letters and Pleasure, and resolutely opposed each other's views. Here, though enduring "all the straits, necessities, and discomforts which are inseparable from banishment," the Duke of Newcastle, "a gentleman with all the accomplishments of mind which he wanted of body, being in all other respects a wonderful person," received and entertained the most intellectual company of Paris; and amongst others, Hobbes and John Bramhall, the Lord Bishop of Derry, who acted as his Lordship's chaplain. These two persons, the Bishop and the Philosopher, afforded great intellectual enter tainment to the Earl by their controversial encounters and bickerings, and their eager polemical disputations. As there is now little notice taken in our literature of this Archiepiscopal critic of Hobbes, though in his own day Bramhall was little less noteworthy than Laud, we may take a brief glance of his career and his works. He was born of an ancient family in Pontefract, in Yorkshire, in 1593, educated in the Grammar School there, and at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. In 1623 he became Chaplain to the Archbishop of York. He was prebendary of York and Ripon, and took his degree as D.D. in 1630. He was invited by Thomas Viscount Wentworth (afterwards Lord Strafford) who had been appointed Lord-Lieutenant, to accompany him to Ireland. Here he was made Archdeacon of Meath, and in succession to George Davenham (1634), Bishop of Derry,-in both of which offices he greatly enriched himself, and laboured diligently, and with some success, to induce the Church of Ireland to accept the Articles and Canons of the Church of England, under the influence of Laud. He was impeached by the Irish House of Commons in March, 1640-1, and imprisoned along with some others of the coadjutors of Strafford, but, by the interference of the King, he was released, though not acquitted. He retired to Yorkshire till Cromwell and his "Ironsides" had defeated the Royalists at Marston Moor, July 2nd, 1644. Then in the train of William Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle, he made off to the Continent. The exiles shortly afterwards found their way to Paris, and there they formed a sort of colony of Royalists. In 1645 Hobbes and the ex-bishop of Londonderry were brought into contact at the residence of the Earl of Newcastle in Paris, and there the talk having fallen upon Philosophical topics, and notably, of course, on those subjects which had been specifically treated of in Hobbes' book "On Human Nature, or the Fundamental Elements of Policy," which, after having been circulated in MS. and much read and talked 66 of, had been, in May, 1640, dedicated to the Earl as Governor to the Prince, his highness (afterwards Charles II), and one of his Majesty's (Charles I.) most honourable privy council," and the still more recent work which Hobbes had written and published, being at Paris, "De Cive," of which Sorbière had written an epitome in French, for which Marsenne, Gassendi, &c., expressed a high admiration; and the English translation of which had been dedicated to Hobbes' patron, and the Earl's relative, William, Earl of Devonshire; the tenets contained in these works, though accepted by many clergy, did not gain the approval of Dr. Bramhall; and as Hobbes was very tenacious of his opinions, and not remarkable for yielding to the reasons alleged against them, even when urged mildly and calmly, much less when opposed in keen controversy, an exceedingly acrimonious disputation arose between the ex-bishop and the ex-tutor, in which the bishop wrote down some sixty objections to the Hobbesian philosophy;-besides these, a more aggravated and aggravating debate arose regarding Liberty and Necessity, in which, of course, Bramhall advocated the former, and Hobbes the latter. By the judicious advice of the Earl of Newcastle-considering that debates carried on by word of mouth in verbal conferences are apt to be passionate, and so subject to mistakes and mis-statements-the opponents were recommended to press home against each other, in writing, the arguments on which the strain of the discussion seemed most to rest. During the summer (April-August) of 1646, the written animadversions and contentions were placed before his lordship alone, and communicated thereafter to the respondents in either case. Hobbes in the meanwhile keeping hold of the Earl's friendship while controverting the opinions of his episcopal chaplain, by dedicating to him in MS. "A Minute or First Draught of the Optiques, in two parts. By Thomas Hobbes, at Paris, 1646," a written note of his ideas on a point which had formed the topic of discourse with his lordship about sixteen years previously at Welbeck. The first part of this tract, On Illumination, has not been published; the second part of it, On Vision, being "perfected" in Latin, has been incorporated into the treatise De Homine. The interest in the Philosophy of Necessity felt by a gentleman of Hobbes' acquaintance in Paris, who did not understand English, led to a request that Hobbes would permit him to see a copy of his notes on the question, that he might have them interpreted to him by a young Englishman. Hobbes, who was then, 1646, residing in Rouen, forwarded to his friend his copy of the matters he had written on the controversy with Bramhall, and the young Englishman who had been entrusted with the MS. having taken a copy, on hearing of the interest excited by the issue of the "Leviathan," had the treatise printed in 1652 to catch a share of the profits of notoriety. Hobbes published a proper edition of this work in 1654. Bramhall replied in "A Defence of True Liberty," in answer to Hobbes' "Treatise of Liberty and Necessity," which was |