From the  Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, 1651

CHAPTER XIII

OF THE NATURAL CONDITION OF MANKIND AS CONCERNING THEIR FELICITY AND MISERY
Rendered into modern English

There are three main reasons for conflict among people: competition, insecurity, and glory.   The first of these (competition) makes people invade others' territory for their own gain.  The second (insecurity) makes them invade to increase their safety, and the third (the desire for glory) makes people invade others'  to increase their reputation.    The first of these (competition) usually involves violence to make someone the masters of others' possessions.   The second, (insecurity) often compels people to act in order to protect their possessions.  The third (the desire for glory), often makes people do things in order to receive a favorable word, a smile, or some other kind of recognition that would add to their reputation or power.

Whenever people exist in a situation where there is no centralized authority to keep order, those people are in a state of war.  This kind of war is person against person.   We should not think that war consists only of battles and fighting.  It is really more like a climate of hostility which exists over time.  Like the climate we associate with weather where there may be a tendency toward cold and rain, a climate of hostility which threatens war, constitutes a lack of peace. 

It may seem strange to some who have not thought about these issues, that Nature would create people who are inclined to invade others' territory and kill each other.   Perhaps the reader does not agree with this conclusion and would like some proof that this is really the case.   Then think about these things.  When taking a journey, one usually arms oneself with weapons and does not go alone.  When one goes to sleep, one locks the doors.   Even when one is in his house, he locks his closets.  People take all of these precautions even though we have an armed police force that would bring criminals to justice.  All of these actions and precautions make a clear statement which accuses humankind of being untrustworthy.    But no accusations are made regarding the nature of man.  There is no sin in the desires or passions of people.  The actions that come from those desires and passions are also without sin, since people will not know that what they do is wrong unless they find that there is a law against what they do.   Not only would they not know about these laws without a centralized authority, but they would also be unable to even decide which laws should be written until they could first agree who would write them.  

Even if individuals were not involved in a condition of war with each other, governments and kings are always in a state of readiness for war.   They are like gladiators with weapons pointing at each other, as they eye each others' defenses and  borders, frequently through the use of spies.   But because they are upholding the wishes of their subjects, this posture of war doesn't bring the misery which would develop if liberty were granted to individuals.

In a state of war which pits people against people, there can be no justice.  The notion of right and wrong, of justice and injustice have no place.  Where there is no common power or government, there is no law.  Where there is no law, there is no justice.   During times of war, force and fraud are considered virtues.  Justice and injustice are not natural to the human mind or body.  If they were, then we would find them, along with human senses and passions, in someone who was living all alone.  Justice and injustice are qualities that relate to people in society, not in solitude.   Likewise, in this state of war, there is no sense of what is proper, of who is in charge, or of who owns what.   With regard to ownership, all that matters is what one can obtain and how long he can keep it.   This is the sad condition in which Nature has placed people, although there exists the possibility to come out of this condition by means of one's desire and reason. 

The passions which make one act in favor of peace are fear of death, the desire for a comfortable life, and the hope that one can gain these comforts by their own efforts.   With thought and reason, one can find principles to which people can agree, that will bring about peace.  These principles could be called the "laws of nature", whereof I shall speak more particularly in the two following chapters.