Revolution sent Thomas Hobbes into exile; reaction sent him back. In
1640 parliamentary opponents of Charles I such as John Pym were
denouncing anyone "preaching for absolute monarchy that the king may do
what he list." Hobbes had recently finished writing
The Elements of
Law, which did just that. After the king's top adviser and a
theologian of unlimited royal power were both arrested, Hobbes decided
it was time to go. Not waiting for his bags to be packed, he fled
England for France.
Eleven years and a civil war later, Hobbes fled France for England. This
time, he was running from the royalists. As before, Hobbes had just
finished a book.
Leviathan, he would later explain, "fights on
behalf of all kings and all those who under whatever name bear the
rights of kings." It was this seeming indifference about the identity of
the sovereign that was now getting him into trouble.
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