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to this end than is existence in a state of nature in which a man has a right to all things. The State, then, is a moral institution. It subserves a moral purpose, – "the procuration of the safety of the people." It rests upon moral laws, – the laws of nature or the laws of reason. Outward submission to all that the State decrees, as long as it accomplishes the end for which it is established, is the most moral thing a man can do. The will of the sovereign, inasmuch as it makes for peace, which makes for the preservation of men, is morally binding. The sovereign's commands, in that they make for peace, are rational. And what is thus rational is morally obligatory. Thus we see that the relation between the two aspects of Hobbes's ethical philosophy is not an artificial, but an exceedingly natural one. In fact, there is really only one kind of morality, – the morality of reason; and the political morality, founded on the will of the sovereign, is, in the final analysis, merely a form of the morality of reason.

III.

Considerations in Studying the Ethics of Hobbes.

To fully appreciate the ethical and political philosophy of Hobbes, we must take into consideration the nature of the man as it affected his speculations. Hobbes was a creature of fear. He himself says, speaking of his birth and disposition, "I was the victim of unjust time, and along with me numerous ills were also born. For the report was spread abroad among our towns that with that fleet [the Spanish Armada] the last day of our nation was at hand. And then my mother conceived such fear that she gave birth to twins, myself and Fear. Hence it is, as I believe, that I detest my country's enemies, and love peace, in the company of the Muses and pleasant