Thomas Hobbes Quotes
The life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.
Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry... no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.
The privilege of absurdity; to which no living creature is subject but man only.
The secret thoughts of a man run over all things, holy, profane, clean, obscene, grave, and light, without shame or blame.
In Nature, Profit is the measure of Right.
Forasmuch as all knowledge beginneth from experience, therefore also new experience is the beginning of new knowledge, and the increase of experience the beginning of the increase of knowledge. Whatsoever, therefore, happeneth new to a man, giveth him matter of hope of knowing somewhat that he knew not before. And this hope and expectation of future knowledge from anything that happeneth new and strange is that passion which we commonly call admiration; and the same considered as appetite is called curiosity, which is appetite of knowledge.
During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that conditions called war; and such a war, as if of every man, against every man.
For a man's conscience and his judgement is the same thing; and as the judgement, so also the conscience may be erroneous.
No Discourse whatsoever, can End in absolute Knowledge of Fact.
Felicity is a continual progress of the desire from one object to another, the attaining of the former being still but the way to the latter.
The aim of Punishment is not a revenge, but terror.
Curiosity draws a man from consideration of the effect, to seek the cause.
Science is the knowledge of Consequences, and dependence of one fact upon another.
Give an inch, he'll take an ell.
For to accuse requires less eloquence, such is man's nature, than to excuse; and condemnation, than absolution, more resembles justice.
In the very shadows of doubt a thread of reason (so to speak) begins, by whose guidance we shall escape to the clearest light.
Emulation is grief arising from seeing one’s self exceeded or excelled by his concurrent, together with hope to equal or exceed him, in time to come, by his own ability. But envy is the same grief joined with pleasure conceived in the imagination of some ill fortune that may befall him.
In the first place, I put for a general inclination of all mankind a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death.
The "value" or "worth" of a man is, as of all other things, his price; that is to say, so much as would be given for the use of his power.
The source of every crime, is some defect of the understanding; or some error in reasoning; or some sudden force of the passions.
Words are wise men’s counters, they do but reckon by them; but they are the money of fools, that value them by the authority of an Aristotle, a Cicero, or a Thomas, or any other doctor whatsoever, if but a man.
They that are discontented under monarchy, call it tyranny; and they that are displeased with aristocracy, call it oligarchy: so also, they which find themselves grieved under a democracy, call it anarchy, which signifies the want of government; and yet I think no man believes, that want of government, is any new kind of government.
Man gives indifferent names to one and the same thing from the difference of their own passions; as they that approve a private opinion call it opinion; but they that mislike it, heresy: and yet heresy signifies no more than private opinion.
For such is the nature of man, that howsoever they may acknowledge many others to be more witty, or more eloquent, or more learned; Yet they will hardly believe there be many so wise as themselves: For they see their own wit at hand, and other mens at a distance.
Curiosity is the lust of the mind.
Do not that to another, which thou wouldst not have done to thyself.
Leisure is the mother of philosophy.
Now I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.