Behemoth (book) - Part One: Behemoth, or The Epitome of The Civil Wars of England

Part One: Behemoth, or The Epitome of The Civil Wars of England

This is the longest section of the book and roughly covers the period 1640–1642.

The dialogue opens with the student asking the master how it was that a monarch as strong as Charles I was should ever have had to face a rebellion. The master relates that a growing opposition to the crown was promoted by seven factions, each of them for their own ends and not in concert, who stoked the fires of rebellion. These factions were: Papists, Presbyterians, Independents including other sects of religious faith, those who were corrupted by their reading of the Latin and Greek classics, centres of commerce and trade such as London, those with no means of support who saw the war as a way to profit, and the lack of understanding as to the important role played by the monarchy in society.

The motivations of each of these groups and how they contributed to the Civil War is discussed by the master and the student throughout the first part of the book. This section has been considered anti-clerical in its leanings as none of the actions of the religious groups involved are shown in any sort of positive light.

The Papists wanted to condemn any ruler who did not offer compliance to the will of Rome. As Charles I was officially a Protestant, this was not popular. There were not many Papists in England at this time but they still had a voice that could be heard by their own adherents.

Presbyterian ministers did not like a king whose queen was a known and practising Catholic. This translated itself into speeches calling for the exile of the queen and other Papists. As Catholicism was already severely proscribed against in the late 17th century these calls for expulsion are not unexpected or difficult to understand.

The Independents and the other sects of the Protestant reformation were advocates of liberty and freedom in certain instances especially in the matter of religious choice. Provided an individual did not want to follow the Roman church their religious views would be tolerated by most of the Protestant groups.

The issue of an absolute monarchy was a crucial cause of the Civil War according to Hobbes. Many members of the House of Parliament who wanted a monarchy did not want it to be an absolute one. Instead they desired that it act in consultation with the house before taking action. Charles I did not see the powers of the crown as being answerable to any but God. Parliament then acted to withhold required funds from the King in his quest to defeat the rebellious Scots. The Scots, Hobbes tells us, were in arms over the practice of episcopacy. This weakened the power of the crown but Charles I drew on the nobility to supply the needed funds for the war. When this source ran out Charles turned to Parliament to raise the Ship Tax, a percentage of customs revenue given to the King for the upkeep of the navy, so that he could use these funds to continue the war against the Scots. Parliament declared that illegal and took the crown to court over the issue.

The universities are brought into the discussion at this point. They existed as places where one could learn the classics and supposedly sharpen their minds by doing so. Instead they did not have the wit to read the classics critically and took them at their face value. This translated into certain scholars advocating an idealized form of republic to their students. However they did not teach the many virtues of the monarch to their students who came to see the crown as irresponsible.

Hobbes reminds his student that obedience is all that is required in order to live a good and peaceful life. This obedience should extend to the crown as it does to God and one's parents but this is not what was preached by the Protestant clergy. Instead they advised disobedience of royal edicts such as the raising privately of funds for the king's use. When this directive for disobedience was coupled with the teachings of ancient rebellions as a way to remove so called despotic domains it left a fertile ground for revolution in England.