Hobbes: The laws of nature

Are Hobbes's laws of nature to be understood primarily as theorems of reaso n, or as commands of God, or as commands of the civil sovereign? Each of th ese accounts can be given textual support, each identifies a role that the laws may be thought to play. Examining the full range of textual references , discussing the place of the laws of nature in Hobbes's argument, and cons idering how the laws may be known, give strongest support to the first of t he three accounts, that the laws are primarily rational precepts and only s econdarily civil and divine commands.