Theological Origins of Modernity

242 chapter seven
seeth every high thing below him; and is king of all the children of pride”
(Job 41:33–34). Human beings in Hobbes’ view are basically equal because
they are equally mortal. No one is so strong that he cannot be killed. Th e
Leviathan, like Machiavelli’s prince, is needed to control those who believe
they are more than human and thus deserve to rule over others. Th ey
need to have their pride affi rmed by the obedience and adoration of their
subjects. Th ere is a strong temptation to see these men as the warriors or
conquerors. 114 Hobbes, however, suggests that physical strength and prowess
is only one source of pride. Human beings also pride themselves because
of what they consider their superior intelligence or closeness to God. All of
these forms of superiority can have pernicious political consequences.
Hobbes’ notion of such a ruler as a prerequisite for peace was not surprising.
Indeed, the principal goal of the treaties of Prague (1635) and
Westphalia (1648) was to create and legitimate such sovereigns. It was less
apparent at the time, however, that such a sovereign needed be an absolute
monarch. While Hobbes believes there are strong prudential arguments
for a monarch, he admits in De cive that this cannot be demonstrated.
At the root of Hobbes’ preference for an absolute monarch is a nominalist
understanding of human relations. He believes that humans cooperate and
keep their covenants only because it is in their interest to do so and that they
will break them when they can achieve some benefi t by doing so. Th us they
must be forced to keep their promises. Th is argument rests on Hobbes’ assumption
that human beings are absolute individuals. It is important to see
that this idea is not rooted in experience. As Aristotle and others pointed
out, we all begin as members of families, tribes, villages, or cities and most
remain a part of such communities. We have children, parents, friends, and
loved ones whom we trust not merely with our wealth but with our lives.
Moreover, there are many for whom we would sacrifi ce our fortunes and
even our lives to save or to assist them in signifi cant ways. Hobbes’ emphasis
on human individuality is thus rooted not so much in his observation of everyday
social life but in the experience of the breakdown of social life in civil
war. He clearly has in mind events like the revolution in Corcyra, described
by Th ucydides, and the slaughter in Bohemia or Magdeburg. Th ese extreme
situations confi rm the truths he obtained from reading himself, that we put
preservation above all other things. He thus believes that in this worst case
scenario no human institution other than the sovereign can maintain order
and guarantee peace. In fact, all other institutions, families, churches, parties,
etc. become merely means to sustain the confl ict that endangers everyone.
Th e sovereign alone rises above the fray.
In “personating” God, the sovereign stands in the state just as the nomi-