Who was Thomas Hobbes?
Philosopher.
Date and Place of Birth:
5th April 1588, Westport, Wiltshire, England.
Family Background:
Son of the Vicar of Charlton and Westport who
disappeared after a fight at his church door, leaving the care of
his three children to his brother.
Education:
Westport School and a private school. Magdalen
Hall, Oxford.
Chronology/Biography of Thomas Hobbes:
1608: Completed
his degree at Oxford.
1610: Hobbes toured
Europe and studied the Greek and Latin authors.
1628: Translation
of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War from the Greek.
Made friends with thinkers such as Francis Bacon
and writers such as Ben Jonson.
1628: His recently
widowed employer the Countess of Cavendish dismissed him but he
soon found work as a tutor to the son of Sir Gervase Clifton.
1629: Began thinking
of philosophy and went on a second tour of the continent.
1631: Went back
to work as a tutor for the Cavendish family.
1634: Went on his
third tour to the continent.
1636: Visited Florence.
1637: He now considered
himself a philosopher and scholar. Returned to England.
1640: The Long Parliament
gave way to the Short Parliament and Hobbes fled to Paris as his
writings were not in favour.
1641: His Correspondence
with Renee Descartes terminated as the two came into disagreement.
1642: Start of the
English Civil War. In later years many Royalists fled to Paris and
became known to Hobbes.
1647: Taken on as
a mathematical instructor to the young Charles, Prince of Wales.
Taken ill and laid low for six months.
1648: Charles goes
to Holland.
1649: (30th January)
Execution of King Charles the First.
1651: He became
reviled by the English Royalists and French Catholics over the secularism
shown in his new book "Leviathan" and he sought protection
form the English Puritan State. He returned to London to live a
private life in Fetter Lane.
1660: Return of
the Monarchy to England under King Charles Second, Hobbes's former
pupil. Despite it being fashionable to decry "Hobbism"
the King took pity on him and gave him a pension of £100.
1665: The Great
Plague of London.
1666: The Great
Fire of London. Parliament brought in a
Bill against atheism and profaneness and suppressed books on atheism
such as "Leviathan". Worried that he be declared a heretic
he burned some of his papers. In the end it only meant that Hobbes
could no longer publish any books on philosophy. His other works,
chiefly on historical subjects and translations rom the Greek were
published after his death.
Written Works:
- 1629:
“The Peloponnesian War of Thucydides” (Translation).
- 1637:
“The Art of Rhetoric”. (Translation of Aristotle).
- 1642: "Elementa
philosophica De Cive".
- 1650:
“De Corporo Politico, or the Elements of Law, Moral and Politic”.
“Human Nature”.
- 1651:
“Epistle to Davenant on Gondibert”. “Leviathan”.
- 1654:
“Of Liberty and Necessity”.
- 1674:
“Odyssey” (Translation).
- 1681:
“Behemoth”.
Marriage:
Never married.
Places of Interest:
Derbyshire:
Hardwick Hall
Date and Place of Death:
4th December 1679, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire,
England of a bladder disorder which caused a stroke.
Age at Death:
90.
Site of Grave:
St. John the Baptist Church, Ault Hucknall,
Derbyshire, England.
