On the Citizen (De Cive)
A Latin treatise in three parts, on liberty, dominion and religion. Hobbes derives the laws of nature from the need to escape the war of all against all, shows how a commonwealth is formed by agreement or by conquest, compares monarchy, aristocracy and democracy, and argues that the sovereign must settle disputed questions of religion.
Understanding the text
Planned as the third section of his Elements of Philosophy, it was published first, in a small private printing in Paris in 1642, because the disputes before the civil war made its subject urgent. An enlarged edition with a new preface and explanatory notes appeared in Amsterdam in 1647, and an English version followed in 1651.
Key points
- 01
Wolf and god
The dedication sets two sayings side by side: man is a god to man when citizens are compared with one another, and a wolf to man when commonwealths are compared, since these remain in a state of nature.
- 02
Taking the watch apart
The preface compares the study of the commonwealth to examining a watch: the state must be considered as if it were dissolved into its parts before its construction can be understood.
- 03
One necessary article
The third part argues that the only article of faith necessary to salvation is that Jesus is the Christ, so that other disputes can be left to the civil authority.
Explore the ideas in depth
Wolves, gods and citizens
Read De Cive as the first political system Hobbes published, from the laws of nature to the place of religion in a commonwealth.
Situating the text
Planned as the third section of his Elements of Philosophy, it was published first, in a small private printing in Paris in 1642, because the disputes before the civil war made its subject urgent. An enlarged edition with a new preface and explanatory notes appeared in Amsterdam in 1647, and an English version followed in 1651. A Latin treatise in three parts, on liberty, dominion and religion. Hobbes derives the laws of nature from the need to escape the war of all against all, shows how a commonwealth is formed by agreement or by conquest, compares monarchy, aristocracy and democracy, and argues that the sovereign must settle disputed questions of religion.
Following the arguments
Wolf and god : The dedication sets two sayings side by side: man is a god to man when citizens are compared with one another, and a wolf to man when commonwealths are compared, since these remain in a state of nature. Taking the watch apart : The preface compares the study of the commonwealth to examining a watch: the state must be considered as if it were dissolved into its parts before its construction can be understood. One necessary article : The third part argues that the only article of faith necessary to salvation is that Jesus is the Christ, so that other disputes can be left to the civil authority.
Continuing the reading
Read the preface to the readers and chapters 1 to 6, then compare the chapters on liberty and religion with the corresponding parts of Leviathan. Planned as the third section of his Elements of Philosophy, it was published first, in a small private printing in Paris in 1642, because the disputes before the civil war made its subject urgent. An enlarged edition with a new preface and explanatory notes appeared in Amsterdam in 1647, and an English version followed in 1651.
Questions to carry into your reading
- In what sense can a human being be both a god and a wolf to others?
- Why does Hobbes reduce the beliefs necessary to salvation to a single article?
De Cive shows that Hobbes’s politics took shape before Leviathan, and that the question of religious authority was part of the argument from the start.
How to read it
Read the preface to the readers and chapters 1 to 6, then compare the chapters on liberty and religion with the corresponding parts of Leviathan.
Editions & sources
Summaries and key points are original editorial interpretations. They accompany reading the work and do not replace an edition of the text. Editorial method →