The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 02 (of 11)Hobbes, Thomas
Philosophy
The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 02 (of 11)
Hobbes, Thomas
Philosophy, English -- 17th century
9. Honour to speak properly, is nothing else but an opinion of
another’s _power_ joined with _goodness_; and to _honour_ a man, is
the same with highly esteeming him: and so honour is not in the
party _honoured_, but in the _honourer_. Now three passions do
necessarily follow _honour_ thus placed in opinion; _love_, which
refers to _goodness_; _hope_ and _fear_, which regard _power_. And
from these arise all outward actions, wherewith the powerful are
appeased and become propitious; and which are the effects, and
therefore also the natural signs of honour itself. But the word
_honour_ is transferred also to those outward effects of _honour_;
in which sense, we are said to _honour_ him, of whose power we
testify ourselves, either in word or deed, to have a very great
respect; insomuch as _honour_ is the same with _worship_. Now
_worship_ is an outward act, the sign of inward honour; and whom we
endeavour by our homage to appease if they be angry, or howsoever to
make them favourable to us, we are said to _worship_.
[Sidenote: Worship consists either in attributes, or in actions.]
10. All signs of the mind are either _words_ or _deeds_; and
therefore all _worship_ consists either in _words_ or _deeds_. Now
both the one and the other are referred to three kinds; whereof the
first is _praise_, or _public declaration of goodness_; the second a
_public declaration of present power_, which is to _magnify_,
μεγάλυνειν; the third is a _public declaration of happiness_, or of
_power secure also for the future_, which is called μακαρισμὸς. I
say that all kinds of honour may be discerned, not in _words_ only,
but in _deeds_ too. But we then praise and celebrate in _words_,
when we do it by way of proposition, or _dogmatically_, that is to
say, by _attributes_ or _titles_; which may be termed praising and
celebrating _categorically_ and _plainly_; as when we declare him
whom we honour to be _liberal_, _strong_, _wise_. And then in
_deeds_, when it is done by _consequence_ or by _hypothesis_ or
supposition; as by _thanksgiving_, which supposeth _goodness_; or by
_obedience_, which supposeth _power_; or by _congratulation_, which
supposeth _happiness_.
[Sidenote: And there is one sort natural, and another arbitrary.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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