Peter Character Analysis in Leviathan

Peter is a biblical figure, saint, and one Christ’s 12 Apostles. According to Cardinal Bellarmine, St. Peter was the first bishop in Rome, and all other Popes are his successors. Hobbes maintains that many people dispute this claim, and if the first bishop in Rome was the “Supreme Pastor,” then that first Roman bishop was Constantine, Rome’s first Emperor, not St. Peter.

Peter Character Timeline in Leviathan

The timeline below shows where the character Peter appears in Leviathan. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Power, Common-wealths, and Monarchies Theme Icon

...in Heaven.” In short, only God and Jesus Christ have ascended into Heaven. Furthermore, St. Peter says that after God’s coming, “we according to the promise look for new Heavens, and... (full context)

...of worlds mentioned: “the Old World, the Present World, and the World to come.” St. Peter speaks of the Old World with Noah and the flood, and Christ speaks of the... (full context)

...someone who dies rather than cast away their love for Christ. In Acts 1:22, St. Peter asks: “must one be ordained to be a Martyr (that is a Witnesse) with us... (full context)

The Apostles, too, “Laid Hands” on those they ordained or prayed with. In Acts 8:17, Peter and John go to the people of Samaria and “Laid their Hands on them, and... (full context)

In his second book, Cardinal Bellarmine argues that St. Peter was the first bishop in Rome and that all other Popes are his successors. Many... (full context)

...then, the power wouldn’t belong to the Pope of the present day, but to St. Peter and the rest of the Apostles, who will be the Judges in Christ’s Kingdome. Cardinal... (full context)

...the time the Bishop in Rome declared himself supreme “by pretence of Succession to St. Peter,” the entire “Kingdome of Darknesse” can be rightly compared to a “Kingdome of Fairies,” like... (full context)