Lot no. 9
HOBBES (Thomas). Set of two pirated editions, published in 1679, of his work Behemoth the history of the causes of the civil-wars of england . . . from the year 1640 to the year 1660, of which the original authorised edition appeared in 1682. Originally written in 1668 by the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679), this text did not obtain the privilege of King Charles II, and was published for the first time in 1679, clandestinely after the author's death, and then officially in 1682. - The history of the civil wars of england from the year 1640 to 1660, by T. H. Printed in the year 1679. In-12, [1] bl. f., title, 286 pages. Modern half brown cloth binding, fawn morocco title-piece. Edges of last leaf a little foxed, otherwise good condition inside. - Behemoth; or an Epitome of the Civil Wars of England. From 1640 to 1660 by Thomas Hobs of Malmsbury. London, Anno dom. 1679. In-12, title, 214 p. Early 20th century binding, seam broken, leaves heavily foxed, paper brittle, small ink stains on the two leaves following the title. Behemoth forms a kind of utopia-dystopia diptych with Hobbes' other polemical work, Leviathan, published in 1651. While Leviathan depicts an ideal political world, Behemoth deals with what would happen if the worst abuses of government were tolerated. Behemoth is a rare work, but its pirate editions (three in all, 2 in 1679, 1 in 1680) are even rarer. As for Leviathan, it was publicly burnt by the hangman at Oxford University in 1683.
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05/28/2025
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