The sun., 1904-08-21

v
took fright, and hastened TO France. III
did not zee England again for eleven years
most OF which were passed In or abou
Paris. From his place of refuge on tn
southern side OF the Channel Hobbies, o
course, watched with intense interest thu
events that took place in England. and HI
summed up his view of them in the "Behe
moth history written in 1858 to explain
the causes Of the rebellion. The reader II
left in no doubt about the writer's sympa
thies, for the work Is by no means charac'
terized by scientific impartiality. The
Kings soldiers, Hobbies says. were as stout
as their enemies. but could not fight SC
keenly because their valor was not sharp
ened so with malice For the defeats OF
the Cavaliers he suggests the additional
reason that there were many raw London
apprentices in the Parliamentary army
who would have been fearful enough OF
death, approaching visibly in glistening
sword; but, for want Of judgment, sc1rce
thought Of such death as comes invisibly
In bullet, and, therefore. were very hardly
to be driven out Of the field
At the same time, Hobbies did not deny
that there was foundation for some of the
grievances alleged by the popular party.
Thus, discussing petition against Bishops
in letter to the Earl Of Devonshire in Au-
gust, 1641, he opines that the petition proves
the existence Of many abuses, and heartily
approves OF a proposal to give more au-
thority to the laity. Ministers" he thinks,
SHOULD minister, rather than govern y
Experience teaches, he adds, that the dis
pute between the spiritual and the civil
power has, OF late, more than anything in
the world been the cause Of civil wars in
all places OF Christendom." For the politi-
cal disorders in Britain he holds that the
Puritans were clearly responsible. after
the Bible was translated in English, every
man, nay. every boy and woman, thought
they spoke with God Almighty and under
stood what He said when, by certain num-
Der Of chapters a day, they had read the
Scriptures once or twice over. They lost
their reverence for the Bishops and 'were
supported by the gentry, who desired popu-
lar government in civil matters as nom
did in. ecclesiastical. Thus
the Presbyterian preachers
went on to declaim against tyranny. They
played the part Of right godly men as skill
fully as any tragedian in the world They
took care, indeed. mot to inveigh against the
lucrative vices, such as lying, cozening ard
hypocrisy, which was a great ease to the
OF citizens and the inhabitants of
market towns, and no little profit to them
selves" The inhabitants of market towns"
seem to have been already fertile in the
Spigginses Of the period. Hobbies detested
the Presbyterians more than the Inde-
pendents; for the Presbyterian claimed a
spiritual authority over the State for his
own church. The -Rump" Parliament. on
the other hand, voted liberty Of conscience
10 the sectaries, and so "plucked out the
sting of presbyteries," feat which was
useful to Hobbies himself.
Meanwhile, the prospective author OF
'Leviathan" conceded that the Established
Anglican Church had its faults. The An
zlican clergy in general had assumed that
he pulling down Of the Pope had the effect
II setting themselves up In his place. Their
doctrine OF apostolic succession implied.
Hobbies thought, that their spiritual
power did depend, not upon the authority
II the King, but of Christ Himself" He
ldmits that Laud was a very honest man."
,ut intimates that he was a very poor states
nan for mixing state affairs with his -squab-
bling with the university about free ,Niu,
md his standing upon punctilios concern
ng the service book and its rubrios~'
Though an absolutist in politics, Hobbies
'ould denounce persecution as cordially
Is could Milton. a State can constrain
bedienoe, but convince no error, nor alter
he mind OF them that think they have the
,etter reason. Suppression of doctrines
Ioes but unite and e1asperate; that is.
Increase both the malice and power of them
hat have already believed them Perse-
ution, he thought, results from the desire
( the spiritual power to enforce the dog !
natic system learned in the schools. Re !
gion has been generally taken for the !
anne thing with divinity, that is, with /
theology, to the great adj /,
antage Of the clergy Though. in his /
pinion. the translation OF the Bible had .
ot been unattended with some hurtful |
esults, he approved of it on the whole, for .
9 recognized that the Bible teaches good |
,crality in the easiest words. The mis-
hief resulted from the use of the Scriptures
, controversies over mysteries. 1t is only
e said, when the State is subordinate to
ne Church that abstract dogmas will be
nforced by law, and it is only in Christian
ountriee that there have been wars of re-
gion, because there men have been en-
outraged to wrangle and harangue upon
,ch points.
On his arrival in Paris as fugitive from
ngland, Hobbies was welcomed back into
lie old scientific ooterie about Mersenne,
nd by 1645 had become sufficiently known
be chosen, with Descartes. Roberval
nd others, a referee In the then famous
between Pell. an Rnglish mathe-
atician in Amsterdam, and the Dane
over the problem of the
ladrature OF the circle, which later was TO
,ercise fatal fascination upon Hobbies
mself. But though about this time he had
1t ready all or most of the material for his
ndamental work on the abstract questions
body and space and motion, he was
,ain drawn of from this task by the exo-
Is from England OF the Kings friends
ter Naseby. and formed the design of
inging all his powers Of thought and ex-
ession to bear upon the production of an
iglish book that should set forth his whole
cory OF civil government in relation to
Q stupendous political crisis resulting
ON the war. The treatise DE Give"
1ich had been written in Latin for the
armed, and was to be published in Am
,rdam in l647 had set forth his r,ol;ticol