“Most of those who have written about the Affects, and men’s way of living, seem to treat, not of natural things, which follow the common laws of nature, but of things that are outside nature. Indeed they seem to conceive man in nature as a dominion within a dominion. For they believe that man disturbs, rather than follows, the order of nature, that he has absolute power over his actions, and that he is determined only by himself.”
Baruch Spinoza“He alone is free who lives with free consent under the entire guidance of reason.”
Baruch Spinoza“The world would be happier if men had the same capacity to be silent that they have to speak.”
Baruch Spinoza“It may easily come to pass that a vain man may become proud and imagine himself pleasing to all when he is in reality a universal nuisance.”
Baruch Spinoza“Those who are believed to be most abject and humble are usually most ambitious and envious.”
Baruch Spinoza“Whatsoever is, is in God, and without God nothing can be, or be conceived.”
Baruch Spinoza“God is the indwelling and not the transient cause of all things.”
Baruch Spinoza“To give aid to every poor man is far beyond the reach and power of every man. Care of the poor is incumbent on society as a whole.”
Baruch Spinoza