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Untitled Article
foniid e , upon ! his ; returhtb -England , lo ^ admitted into- the iti timacy and confidence-of ^ Lord 'Bacon ; a circumstance which , we may ; pre « u < ne , conrribated not a little to encourage that
bold spirit of inquiry , and that aversion to scholastic learning , which characterize his writings . Happy , if he had , at the ; same time ^ imbibed some portion ( if that love of truth and ^ eal for the advancement of knowledge , which « cem to have been Bacon ' s rating ;
passion ^! But such was obstinacy of his temper , and his overweening selfcdncelt , that , instead of co-operating with 'Bicon in the execution of hrs magnificent desiga , he resolved to rear , on a foundation exclusively his own ,
« complete structure both of moral and physical science ; disdaining to avail 'himself even or the materials collected by his predecessors , and treattorg the expervtnentaricm philosophers'as objects only of contempt and ridicule 1
In the political writings of Hobbes , we tuay perceive the influence also of other motives . From his earliest vears , he seems to ^ baveibeen decidedly Wile to all the forms of * popular ; overnment ; and it is said to have > een with the design of impressing i » countrymen with a just sense of the disorders incident to democratical
establishments , that he ^ published , in 1618 , < an English translation ofThucydides . In these opinions he was mote and more confirmed by the erents > he afterwards witnessed in England ; the fatal consequences of * hich * he early foresaw with so much alarm , that , in 1640 , be withdrew from the approaching 3 torna , to enjoy the society of his philosophical frietods at Paris . It was here he wrote his
" ° ok De Qwe , a few copies of which R e printed , and privately circulated Jn I ( & 2 . The ' same work was after-Wa ^ given to the public , with material corYectiqns and improvements , 111 1647 , when the author ' * attach-^ at to the royal cao&e beine strength-^•^ it ^ tiis per soival con nexio n with ftHited ki
^ ng ^ he thought it incum-^ lAion thim tb stand forth Avowedly te w ^ advoci 3 j * e for those principles J ™* be had Ibng professea . The ^ ^ bjfe ct < jf thfs pertbrniAncfe ^ wa ^ to Ib ^ fc t ^ n thfe ^ ath d ^ bf sovereign s JJ"W thfe rising ^ sp ^ rit df democ racy , S ^ iSK * hem ith th ^ w * ap < m * of
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The fundamental doctrines incut * cated iri the political works of Hobbes , « ie contained in the following propositions . All men are by nature equal ; and , prior to government , they had all an equal right to enjoy the good things of this world . jVlan , too , i&
( according to Hobbes ) by nature a solitary and purely selfish animal ; the social union being entirely an interested league , suggested by prudential views of personal advantage . The necessary consequence is , that a state of nature must be a state of perpetual warfare , in which no individual hai
any other means of safety than his own strength or ingenuity ; and in which there Is no room for regular industry , because no secure enjoyment of its fruits . In confirmation of this view of the origin of society , Hobbe $ appeals to facts falling daily within *
the circle of our own experience . " Does n <> t a man ( he asks ) when taking a journey , arm himself and seek to go well accompanied ? When going to sleep , does he not lock his doors ? Nay , even in his own house * does he not lock his chests ? Does
he not there as much accuse mankind by his actions , as 1 do by my words ? " * An additional argument to the same purpose may , according to some later Hobbists , be derived from the instinctive aversion of infants for strangers 5 tfnd'from the apprehension which ( ii is alleged ^ every person feels , when he hears the tread of an unknown foot
in the dark . Kot the sake of peace and SecuritJ * , It is necessary that- each individual should surrender a part of his natural right , and be contented with siteh ^ a share of liberty as he is -willing to allow to others : or , to use Hobbes-s
own language , " every man must Au ' vest himsehfof the right he has to all things r by nature ; the right of all rheVi to all thhigs being in effect no better ( h&n if no ma ' n had a right to any thing /' -f * In consequence of , tfci $ transference Of natural rights to aax
individual , or to a body of individuals , the multitude become one person , under the name of a State or Repufrlio , by which person the common Will and ^ power ^ ne exetcrsed for tl » p common defence The ruling povptsr
* W / Mato * WAI Wzetf * . idfc . f TTt Corpor * Politico , IPwrt I . ctop i . § JQ ,
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Estimate of the FfiUosepteml ChAraMer of Holies . 631
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1816, page 631, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2458/page/3/
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