Q0061
Thomas Hobbes
A verified English rendering from the curated archive.
English
[In the state of nature, the life of man is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.
Source context
This English passage is associated with Leviathan, Ch. 13, within the tradition of Modern Political Philosophy. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.
A short reading
Read in the register of nature, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In Thomas Hobbes's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?
How to cite this quotation
APA: Thomas Hobbes. (n.d.). [In the state of nature, the life of man is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0061
MLA: Thomas Hobbes. “[In the state of nature, the life of….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0061.
Chicago: Thomas Hobbes. “[In the state of nature, the life of….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0061.