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
Baruch Spinoza quotes about
wisdom peace military
Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.
return god-love should
He who loves God cannot endeavor that God should love him in return.
men emotion prey
When a man is prey to his emotions, he is not his own master.
two matter sides
No matter how thin you slice it, there will always be two sides.
believe independent writing
Laws which prescribe what everyone must believe, and forbid men to say or write anything against this or that opinion, are often passed to gratify, or rather to appease the anger of those who cannot abide independent minds.
facts conflict theory
If facts conflict with a theory, either the theory must be changed or the facts.
love emotional emotion
The more clearly you understand yourself and your emotions, the more you become a lover of what is.
god faith hope
I do not know how to teach philosophy without becoming a disturber of established religion.
truth science ideas
Be not astonished at new ideas; for it is well known to you that a thing does not therefore cease to be true because it is not accepted by many.
philosophical pantheism without-god
Whatsoever is, is in God, and without God nothing can be, or be conceived.
law laughing broken
Laws which can be broken without any wrong to one's neighbor are a laughing-stock; and such laws, instead of restraining the appetites and lusts of mankind, serve rather to heighten them. Nitimur in vetitum semper, cupimusque negata [we always resist prohibitions, and yearn for what is denied us].
desire courtesy source
Schisms do not originate in a love of truth, which is a source of courtesy and gentleness, but rather in an inordinate desire for supremacy.
giving-up real struggle
The more you struggle to live, the less you live. Give up the notion that you must be sure of what you are doing. Instead, surrender to what is real within you, for that alone is sure....you are above everything distressing.
school men natural
Academies that are founded at public expense are instituted not so much to cultivate men's natural abilities as to restrain them.