 Frontispiece of De Cive, engraved by Jean Matheus. Between the state of nature and the civil life there is a large drape in the shape of amphora with the title of the work and a biblical quotation taken from Proverbs 8:15: Per me Reges regnant et legum conditores iusta decernunt; "By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just."[1][2] | |
| Author | Thomas Hobbes |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Jean Matheus |
| Language | Latin, English |
Publication date | 1642, 1647 |
| Publication place | France, Netherlands, England |
Published in English | 1651 |
| Media type | paper |
De Cive ("On the Citizen") is one of Thomas Hobbes's major works. The book was published originally in Latin from Paris in 1642, followed by two further Latin editions in 1647 from Amsterdam. The English translation of the work made its first appearance four years later (London 1651) under the title Philosophicall rudiments concerning government and society.[3]
It anticipates themes of the better-known Leviathan. The famous phrase bellum omnium contra omnes ("war of all against all") appeared first in De Cive.
- ^ Prov. 8:15
- ^ Bailone, Giuseppe (14 May 2012). "Hobbes: the frontispieces". homolaicus.com (in Italian). Torino. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ^ Hobbes, Thomas (1983). Warrender, Howard (ed.). De cive. The English version entitled, in the first edition, Philosophicall rudiments concerning government and society. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-198-24623-4. ISBN 978-0-19824-623-7.