Writings on Common Law and Hereditary Right

This volume in the Clarendon Edition of the Works of Thomas Hobbes containsemA dialogue between a philosopher and a student of the common laws of England/em edited by Alan Cromartie supplemented by the important fragment Questions relative to Hereditary Right discovered and edited by Quentin Skinner. As a critique of common law by a great philosopher theemDialogue/emshould be essential reading for anybody interested in English political thought or legal theory. Cromartie has established when and why the work was written and has supplied extensive annotation (along with a substantial introduction) to make the work accessible to the non-specialist reader. The additional piece sees Hobbes mounting a robust defense of hereditary right in the course of which he also makes some important general observations about the concept of a right. It is also of special interest as it constitutes Hobbes''s last word on politics.