A Brief View and Survey of the Dangerous and pernicious Errors to Church and State, In Mr. Hobbes’s Book, Entitled Leviathan.

The Volume is in Very Good Condition Bound in blind ruled English calf, contemporary to the time of publication, with the spine divided into five compartments by four raised bands, with an early paper label in the second compartment from the top, with the board edges gilt and leaf edges marbled. Externally the boards and spine are lightly scuffed in general, with the front board holding by two cords, the rear hinge split, chipping to the head and tail of the spine, and with the board corners bumped a bit. Internally the leaves are generally clean and amply margined, with a tear to the last leaf of the preliminaries, with some mild toning otherwise, more significant in the advertisement, and little else in the way of stains or tears.

Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes stands as one of the most important political treatise in history. Written in the aftermath of the English Civil War, Hobbes decries the chaos of that conflict, advocating for strong central government to maintain peace. Hobbes primary contribution to political science from Leviathan is the principal of the social contract; the tacit concession, given by the majority population to the sovereign, to be ruled. Edward Hyde, First Earl of Clarendon was an important figure of the Restoration, having served Charles II before the return of the Stuarts to the English Throne. Hyde here answers Hobbes, advocating for the legal system and Parliament of England, presaging the principle of separation of powers which would be important to the authors of the Constitution of the United States.