bjects of desire are not superabundant, all possessing equal rights
to whatever may be agreeable or useful to them, by virtue of the same
capacity for enjoyment and suffering. This is a state of nature, which
is nothing less than a state of war, the anarchy of the passions, a
combat in which every man is arrayed against his neighbor. But this
state being opposed to the happiness of the majority of individuals who
share it, utility, the offspring of egotism itself, demands its
exchange for another, to wit, the social state. The social state is the
institution of a public power, stronger than all individuals, capable
of making peace succeed war, and imposing on all the accomplishment of
whatever it shall have judged to be useful, that is, just."

Before we dismiss the father of Freethought from our notice, there
remains a tribute of respect to be paid to one whom it is our duty
to associate with the author of the "Leviathan," and who has but
just passed away--one man amongst the British aristocracy with the
disposition of a tribune of the people, coupled with thoughts at once
elevated and free, and a position which rendered him of essential
service to struggling opinion. This man saw the greatness, the profound
depth, the attic style, and the immense importance of the works of
Hobbes, along with their systematic depreciation by those whose duty it
should be to explain them, especially at a time when those works were
not reprinted, and the public were obliged to glean their character
from the refutations (so called) by mangled quotations, and a distorted
meaning. Impelled by this thought, and anxious to protect the memory of
a philosopher, his devoted disciple, at a cost of L10,000, translated
the Latin, and edited the English works of Hobbes, in a manner worthy
alike of the genius of the author, and the discernment of his editor.
For this kindness, a seat in Parliament was lost by the organization of
the clergy in Cornwall. The name of this man was Sir William Molesworth.
Let Freethinkers cherish the memory of their benefactor.

We now take our leave of Thomas Hobbes. He had not the chivalry of
Herbert; the vivacity of Raleigh; the cumulative power of Bacon; or the
winning policy of Locke. If his physical deformities prevented him from
being as daring as Vane, he was as bold in thought and expression as
either Descartes, or his young friend Blount. He gave birth to the
brilliant constellation of genius in the time of Quee