De Cive (On the Citizen) is the first full exposition of the political thought of Thomas Hobbes, the greatest English political philosopher of all time. Professors Tuck and Silverthorne have undertaken the first complete translation since 1651, a rendition long thought (in error) to be at least sanctioned by Hobbes himself. On the Citizen is written in a clear, straightforward, expository style, and in many ways offers students a more digestible account of Hobbes's political thought than the Leviathan itself. This new translation is both accurate and accessible, and is itself a significant scholarly event: it is accompanied by a full glossary of Latin terms, a chronology, bibliography, and an expository introduction. Throughout the editors have emphasised consistency in the translation and usage of Hobbes's basic conceptual vocabulary, respecting Hobbes's own concern for accurate definition of terms.

'Tuck's introduction is characteristically fresh and supple, with an enviable range of reference and an expository ease and vividness that bring out the excitement and importance of Hobbes's work splendidly … De Cive is one of the most valuable of all the Cambridge texts in the History of Political Thought. It packs in a remarkable amount of practical help to the reader without a hint of condescension. There could hardly be a better place to begin to grapple with the least comfortably dead of all the great political philosophers.' The Times Higher