Thomas Hobbes

The passions that incline men to peace are fear of death, desire of such things as are necessary to commodious living.

Liberty, or freedom, signifieth properly the absence of opposition.

The obligation of subjects to the sovereign is understood to last as long, and no longer, than the power lasteth.

Sudden glory is the passion which maketh those grimaces called laughter.

The praise of ancient authors proceeds not from the reverence of the dead, but from the competition and mutual envy of the living.

In the state of nature, every man has a right to everything, even to one another's body.

The skill of making, and maintaining commonwealths, consisteth in certain rules.

True and false are attributes of speech, not of things.

The universe is corporeal; all that is real is material.

Desires are but the natural motions of the mind.

The power of a man, to take it universally, is his present means to obtain some future apparent good.

All the delight of the virtuous life is in the exercise of virtue itself.

The secret thoughts of a man run over all things, holy, profane, clean, obscene, grave, and light, in a perfect chaos.

Such is the nature of men, that howsoever they may acknowledge many others to be more witty, or more eloquent, or more learned; yet they will hardly believe there be many so wise as themselves.

The vanity of the Epicurean philosophy is in the belief that death is the end of all.

The papacy is not other than the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire.

Private judgments, when they lead to action, are as dangerous as fire.

The laws of nature are but conclusions of natural reason.

Men are driven by appetite and aversion.

The reputation of power is power.