The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 02 (of 11)

The text analyzes human nature and political order by starting from basic definitions and reasoning, treating justice as a product of agreement rather than a natural endowment. It argues that individual self-preservation and competing desires make life among unbound individuals insecure, producing conflict that only collective agreements and an authority can restrain. It outlines how covenants create obligations limited by deliberation and possibility, rejects unreliable moral speculation without precise principles, and advocates a methodical, almost geometrical approach to philosophy that proceeds from clear premises to practical conclusions about law, society, and governance.