Leviathan makes a persuasive case that creating a commonwealth through a social compact is the greatest way to promote social harmony and civil peace. Hobbes' ideal commonwealth is governed by a sovereign power with complete ability to assure the common defense and responsibility for maintaining the commonwealth's security. Hobbes refers to this commonwealth as a "artificial person" and a body politic that resembles a human body in his introduction. The commonwealth is depicted as a massive human form made of the bodies of its citizens, with the sovereign serving as its head, in the frontispiece of the first edition of Leviathan, which Hobbes assisted in creating. Hobbes refers to this entity as the "Leviathan," which is a terrible sea creature's moniker and a phrase taken from the Hebrew for "sea monster."

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