Thomas Hobbes, Diodorus Siculus, and Early Humanity

Abstract

Abstract This article offers a study of Thomas Hobbes’s reading of Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historiographer of the 1st century bc whom Hobbes called “the greatest antiquary perhaps that ever was.” After offering a comparison of the works of Thucydides (often regarded as Hobbes’s greatest classical model) and Diodorus, the article traces the reception of Diodorus’ work in early modern England and examines Diodorus’ strong influence on two principal works, De Homine and Behemoth. Early human histories in the first books of Diodorus’ Bibliotheke Historike (‘Historical Library), including anthropological and cosmological narratives, are a recurrent feature of Hobbes’s focus, and a certain subversiveness animates Hobbes’s use of Diodorus and underpins his critique of contemporary theological and political structures. One result of this research is to suggest a greater place for Diodorus in Hobbes’s intellectual world than previously realised, alongside a strong appreciation for Diodorus across multiple learned discourses in the pre-modern period.