Thomas Hobbes

The Register of Knowledge of Fact is called History.

The secret thoughts of a man run over all things, holy, prophane, clean, obscene, grave, and light, without shame, or blame…

When two, or more men, know of one and the same fact, they are said to be CONSCIOUS of it one to another; which is as much as to know it together.

Of all Discourse, governed by desire of Knowledge, there is at last an End, either by attaining, or by giving over.

For there is no such thing as perpetual Tranquility of mind, while we live here; because Life it selfe is but Motion, and can never be without Desire, nor without Feare, no more than without Sense.

And Beasts that have Deliberation, must necessarily also have Will.

Sudden Glory, is the passion which maketh those Grimaces called LAUGHTER.

The same, without such opinion, DESPAIRE.

For Appetite with an opinion of attaining, is called HOPE.

But Aversion wee have for things, not only which we know have hurt us; but also that we do not know whether they will hurt us, or not.

But yet they that have no Science, are in better, and nobler condition with their naturall Prudence; than men, that by their mis-reasoning, or by trusting them that reason wrong, fall upon false and absurd generall rules.

Science is the knowledge of Consequences, and dependence of one fact upon another: by which, out of that we can presently do, we know how to do something else when we will, or the like, another time:

It is not easy to fall into any absurdity, unless it be by the length of an account; wherein he may perhaps forget what went before. For all men by nature reason alike, and well, when they have good principles.

The first cause of Absurd conclusions I ascribe to the want of Method; in that they begin not their Ratiocination from Definitions; that is, from settled significations of their words: as if they could cast account, without knowing the …

But this priviledge, is allayed by another; and that is, by the priviledge of Absurdity; to which no living creature is subject, but man only.

"Understanding being nothing else, but conception caused by Speech."

A naturall foole that could never learn by heart the order of numerall words, as one, two, and three, may observe every stroak of the Clock, and nod to it, or say one, one, one; but can never know what houre it strikes.

But all this language gotten, and augmented by Adam and his posterity, was again lost at the tower of Babel, when by the hand of God, every man was stricken for his rebellion, with an oblivion of his former language.

If this superstitious fear of Spirits were taken away, and with it, Prognostiques from Dreams, false Prophecies, and many other things depending thereon, by which, crafty ambitious persons abuse the simple people, men would be much more …

set together, and united, resemble that Fiat, or the Let us make man, pronounced by God in the Creation

which is but an Artificiall Man; though of greater stature and strength than the Naturall, for whose protection and defence it was intended

by Art is created that great Leviathan called a Common-Wealth or State

I know not how the world will receive it, nor how it may reflect on those that shall seem to favor it. For in a way beset with those that contend, on one side for too great Liberty, and on the other side for too much Authority, 'tis hard …

"For he that hath strength enough to protect all, wants not sufficiency to oppresse all."