Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinozawas a Dutch philosopher of Sephardi/Portuguese origin. By laying the groundwork for the 18th-century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern conceptions of the self and the universe, he came to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy...
NationalityDutch
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth24 November 1632
common sin natural
Sin cannot be conceived in a natural state, but only in a civil state, where it is decreed by common consent what is good or bad.
thinking
God is a thing that thinks.
jesus men mind
The eternal wisdom of God ... has shown itself forth in all things, but chiefly in the mind of man, and most of all in Jesus Christ.
thinking mind three
The things...are esteemed as the greatest good of all...can be reduced to these three headings: to wit, Riches, Fame, and Pleasure. With these three the mind is so engrossed that it cannot scarcely think of any other good.
God is not He who is, but That which is.
aids ceremony blessedness
Ceremonies are no aid to blessedness.
men faces overcoming
The virtue of a free man appears equally great in refusing to face difficulties as in overcoming them.
men liberty may
the ultimate aim of government is not to rule, or restrain by fear, nor to exact obedience, but to free every man from fear that he may live in all possible security... In fact the true aim of government is liberty.
spring law luxury
He who seeks to regulate everything by law is more likely to arouse vices than to reform them. It is best to grant what cannot be abolished, even though it be in itself harmful. How many evils spring from luxury, envy, avarice, drunkenness and the like, yet these are tolerated because they cannot be prevented by legal enactments.
sadness men diminish
Sadness diminishes a man's powers
needs use wealth
Those who know the true use of money, and regulate the measure of wealth according to their needs, live contented with few things.
men serving
Men are especially intolerant of serving and being ruled by, their equals.
ideas effort mind
To comprehend an idea, a person must simultaneously accept it as true. Conscious analysis - which, depending on the idea, may occur almost immediately or with considerable effort - allows the mind to reject what it intially accepted as fact.
order anxiety honor
He whose honor depends on the opinion of the mob must day by day strive with the greatest anxiety, act and scheme in order to retain his reputation. For the mob is varied and inconsistent, and therefore if a reputation is not carefully preserved it dies quickly.