"In this 'Spinoza lectures', collectively titled 'Thomas Hobbes and the state', Professor Skinner brings together elements of his research into Hobbes shaping them into an exciting coherent whole. In the first lecture Professor Skinner investigates the idea of state personality and assesses the political significance of the changes this idea has undergone. In the second lecture Professor Skinner investigates the complex iconographical frontispieces Hobbes used and their relation to rhetorical theories of proof and persuasion. The lecture examines the insights offered by these illustrations into the character and development of Hobbes's theory of the state."--Back cover.