The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 01 (of 11) — Reading Notes

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In Category - Metaphysics

Authors: Hobbes, Thomas, 1588-1679, Molesworth, William, Sir, 1810-1855 [Editor] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2024 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Philosophy, English -- 17th century Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 172,561

Reading time 751 min

Text sections 26

The source record for The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 01 (of 11) — Reading Notes measures this digital text at 172,561 words, 12 hr 31 min estimated reading time, and 26 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 32.6 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Philosophy, English -- 17th century,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #73877

This volume opens Hobbes's collected English works with his Elements of Philosophy, Section I (Concerning Body), including the dedication to George Grote and the translator's note. The excerpts show Hobbes's geometrical method applied to motion and impetus, with detailed diagrams and proofs.

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1. The Introduction.—2. The Definition of Philosophy explained.—3. Ratiocination of the Mind.—4. Properties, what they are.—5. How Properties are known by Generation, and contrarily.—6. The Scope of Philosophy.—7. The Utility of it.—8. The Subject.—9. The Parts of it.—10. The Epilogue.

[Sidenote: Introduction.]

Philosophy seems to me to be amongst men now, in the same manner as corn and wine are said to have been in the world in ancient time. For from the beginning there were vines and ears of corn growing here and there in the fields; but no care was taken for the planting and sowing of them. Men lived therefore upon acorns; or if any were so bold as to venture upon the eating of those unknown and doubtful fruits, they did it with danger of their health. In like manner, every man brought Philosophy, that is, Natural Reason, into the world with him; for all men can reason to some degree, and concerning some things: but where there is need of a long series of reasons, there most men wander out of the way, and fall into error for want of method, as it were for want of sowing and planting, that is, of improving their reason. And from hence it comes to pass, that they who content themselves with daily experience, which may be likened to feeding upon acorns, and either reject, or not much regard philosophy, are commonly esteemed, and are, indeed, men of sounder judgment than those who, from opinions, though not vulgar, yet full of uncertainty, and carelessly received, do nothing but dispute and wrangle, like men that are not well in their wits. I confess, indeed, that that part of philosophy by which magnitudes and figures are computed, is highly improved. But because I have not observed the like advancement in the other parts of it, my purpose is, as far forth as I am able, to lay open the few and first Elements of Philosophy in general, as so many seeds from which pure and true Philosophy may hereafter spring up by little and little.

I am not ignorant how hard a thing it is to weed out of men's minds such inveterate opinions as have taken root there, and been confirmed in them by the authority of most eloquent writers; especially seeing true (that is, accurate) Philosophy professedly rejects not only the paint and false colours of language, but even the very ornaments and graces of the same; and the first grounds of all science are not only not beautiful, but poor, arid, and, in appearance, deformed. Nevertheless, there being certainly some men, though but few, who are delighted with truth and strength of reason in all things, I thought I might do well to take this pains for the sake even of those few. I proceed therefore to the matter, and take my beginning from the very definition of philosophy, which is this.

[Sidenote: Definition of Philosophy explained.]

2. PHILOSOPHY _is such knowledge of effects or appearances, as we acquire by true ratiocination from the knowledge we have first of their causes or generation; And again, of such causes or generations as may be from knowing first their effects_.

For the better understanding of which definition, we must consider, first, that although Sense and Memory of things, which are common to man and all living creatures, be knowledge, yet because they are given us immediately by nature, and not gotten by ratiocination, they are not philosophy.

Secondly, seeing Experience is nothing but memory; and Prudence, or prospect into the future time, nothing but expectation of such things as we have already had experience of, Prudence also is not to be esteemed philosophy.

By RATIOCINATION, I mean _computation_. Now to compute, is either to collect the sum of many things that are added together, or to know what remains when one thing is taken out of another. _Ratiocination_, therefore, is the same with _addition_ and _substraction_; and if any man add _multiplication_ and _division_, I will not be against it, seeing multiplication is nothing but addition of equals one to another, and division nothing but a substraction of equals one from another, as often as is possible. So that all ratiocination is comprehended in these two operations of the mind, addition and substraction.

[Sidenote: Ratiocination of the Mind.]

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The volume begins not with Hobbes's own preface but with a dedication letter from editor Sir William Molesworth to George Grote, dated February 25, 1839. Molesworth credits Grote for introducing him to Hobbes's speculations and expresses regret that Hobbes's works were "so scarce, and so much less read and studied than they deserved to be." This editorial framing immediately positions the collection as a revival effort. The first text proper is the Elements of Philosophy, Section I, Concerning Body, which Hobbes wrote in Latin and was translated into English. The translator's note to the reader follows, setting the stage for a work that blends natural philosophy with rigorous geometric demonstration.

Geometric Proofs as Philosophical Argument

The excerpts from the body of the work are dominated by geometric diagrams and proofs, such as the attempt to "find a strait line equal to the crooked line of the first semiparabolaster." Hobbes uses a method of concourse of motions—one uniform, one accelerated—to generate curves. For instance, he writes that the line ABC is "generated by the concourse of two motions, one uniform from A to E, the other in the same time accelerated from rest in A to D." This is not merely a mathematical exercise; it is central to Hobbes's materialist philosophy, where all phenomena reduce to motion and matter. Readers unfamiliar with 17th-century geometry may find these sections challenging, but they reveal Hobbes's core method: to demonstrate physical truths through geometric necessity.

The Role of Impetus and Time

Hobbes repeatedly ties his geometric constructions to physical concepts like impetus and time. He states that "the lengths transmitted are in proportion triplicate to that of the times of their transmission" and that the line AE "may serve to represent the time." This linkage between geometry and physics is characteristic of Hobbes's approach in Concerning Body. The excerpts show him defining impetus as proportional to the increase of time, and using ordinate lines to represent both time and the augmentation of impetus. For a first reading, note how Hobbes moves fluidly between geometric figures and physical interpretations, a technique that underpins his entire philosophical system.

Editorial and Textual Features

The Project Gutenberg edition includes several editorial interventions. The transcriber's note explains that "marginal paragraph notes were repeated" across pages and have been removed, and that "minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected." Corrections are indicated with underlined highlights or hyperlinks. This means the digital text is not a pure facsimile but a cleaned version. Additionally, the volume contains a single footnote following the translator's note. Readers should be aware that the text they encounter has been silently emended in places, and the original print errors are only accessible via the popup or hyperlink system.

Navigating the Mathematical Density

The excerpts include dense passages such as: "draw L N parallel to D C, cutting E C in N, and the parabolical line in M; and produce it on the other side to A D in I." This level of detail is typical. For a first reading, it is not necessary to follow every geometric step. Instead, focus on Hobbes's overall strategy: he uses geometry to model physical processes, and his proofs are meant to demonstrate necessary connections. The diagrams referenced (e.g., Figure 18.2) are not included in the text excerpts, so readers must infer the constructions from the verbal descriptions. Patience with the technical language will reward those interested in Hobbes's philosophical method.

This first volume of Hobbes's collected works presents his natural philosophy in its most formal, geometric guise. The excerpts from Concerning Body show a thinker committed to reducing all explanation to motion and figure, demonstrated through Euclidean-style proofs. Readers approaching Hobbes primarily through his political works will find here the metaphysical foundations of his system. The editorial apparatus by Molesworth and the Project Gutenberg team makes this a reliable text for study, though the geometric sections demand careful attention.

Some nights I still think about Hobbes’s patient diagrams—how motion becomes proof, one step at a time. It felt like watching someone build a bridge in the dark. Later I found a gentler echo of that same quiet persistence in On the Nature of Things — A Reader’s Guide. Strange, how two such different books can leave the same faint ache, a longing for order that almost comforts.