Three Discourses: A Critical Modern Edition of Newly Identified Work of the Young Hobbes
The three discourses printed here, together with 12 other pieces, were first published in 1620 under the title Horae Subsecivae (Leisure Hours). Hobbes may have been the author of the discourses, but it was not until Reynolds and Saxonhouse carried out a statistical analysis ("wordprint") of the text that reasonably solid evidence for Hobbes's authorship was demonstrated. The editors do note, however, that the shorter pieces in the Horae Subsecivae were likely written by someone other than Hobbes, possibly William Cavendish, a student of Hobbes's and later second Earl of Devonshire. This volume begins with an essay by the editors on Hobbes and the Horae Subsecivae; the texts of the three discourses ("A Discourse Upon the Beginning of Tacitus," "A Discourse of Rome," and "A Discourse of Laws"), annotated and with modern spellings, follow. Part 3 contains an excellent essay by Saxonhouse on Hobbes's place in modern political thought. Part 4 is a short essay on statistical wordprinting as an analytical tool. This book deserves a place in all libraries supporting programs in the history and philosophy of political thought.Terry C. Skeats, Bishop's Univ. Lib., Lennoxville, QuebecCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.