Named in memory of the great British political philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679). In 1651 he published his masterpiece
Leviathan, wherein he insisted that the first requirement of political and moral institutions is that they should provide citizens with security. He analyzed the conditions for peace and security and gave a recipe for constructing an ideal state: men can only live together in peace if they agree to subject themselves to an absolute and individual sovereign. He made a severe attack on the attempt of papists and presbyterians to challenge the rights of this sovereign. Citation prepared by S. Elst at the request of the discoverer.