Thomas Hobbes was born near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, on April 5, 1588. His mother gave birth to him prematurely, as the story was told, because she took fright at the approach of the Spanish Armada to the English coast. He commented, late in life, on the circumstances of his birth in the words: she brought forth twins myself and fear. His remark has at least some purport. It reflects the realization of an old man of more than eighty years of age, that he had sought through a long life to make himself secure amidst the turmoils of civil war and violent shifts of political power. It also indicates a fundamental theme of his political philosophy, namely, that the prime need of man, a need which must be satisfied before any other consequent goods may be obtained, is peace under a stable government. Hobbes was given educational opportunities through the beneficence of an uncle. He was taught Greek and Latin as a boy, and was sent to Oxford where he studied the writings of Aristotle, by whom, though he never acknowledged his indebtedness, he was obviously deeply influenced. Upon leaving Oxford in 1608, he became companion to a son of Lord Cavendish (who was later made Earl of Devonshire). And for the remaining seventy years of his long life, he continued in close contact with the Cavendish family, living for many years as a beloved retainer in their household and dying in their service on December 4, 1679. He was buried in the parish church at Ault Hucknall near Mansfield.