Early Modern · 1651
Leviathan
Thomas Hobbes · 1588–1679
What it is
A theory of sovereignty by covenant, followed by two long books arguing from scripture that the sovereign must also govern religion and that most of the church's claims are unfounded.
Why it lasted
Usually read as political philosophy, half of it is biblical interpretation — and it was condemned as atheistic by nearly everyone in its century.
Scripture it works from
Where to read it
This work is in the public domain and can be read in full, free, at the archives below. The Library catalogues it; it does not host the text.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
Read next