NOW FIRST COLLECTED AND EDITED
BY
SIR WILLIAM MOLESWORTH, BART. M.P.
Although the close reasoning of Hobbes, expressed in beautiful language, has created a host of admirers, yet, owing to the excessive rarity of his detached writings, many of which have never been reprinted, no complete set of his works is to be found in any one of our public or private libraries. To remedy this evil, and to present an edition worthy of the Author, the Editor has collected together the various pieces, and at his own cost has determined to reprint them uniformly, in the best style of modern typography. Five volumes (I. II. of the Latin, and I. III. and IV. of the English works) are already published, and the remainder will follow as speedily as a due regard to correctness will allow.
As the impression is limited, and the price of each volume (between 500 and 600 pages, with Engravings) is unusually low, the Publisher has every reason to expect that within a short period the whole of the copies will be subscribed for, and therefore would earnestly recommend an early application, to prevent disappointment.
An excellent analysis of this author’s writings will be found in Mr. Hallam’s able Introduction to the Literature of Europe, and the following testimonies in favour of his style will convey some idea of the estimation in which his writings are held.
“Hobbes’ language is so lucid and concise that it would almost be as improper to put an algebraical process in different terms as some of his metaphysical paragraphs.”—Hallam.
“A permanent foundation of his fame consists in his admirable style, which seems to be the very perfection of didactic language.“—Sir James Mackintosh.
“Here let us do justice to that great man’s memory, at a time his writings seem to be entirely neglected, who, with all his errors, we must allow to be one of the first men of his age, for a bright wit, a deep penetration, and a cultivated understanding.”—Bp. Warburton.