Baruch Spinoza
Dutch · 1632–1677
Rationalist philosopher whose radical metaphysics of substance monism, determinism, and the identity of God with Nature made him one of the most original and controversial thinkers of the early modern period.
Wikipedia ↗“The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free.”
Latina
Widely attributed to Spinoza but not verified in his published works. The Latin "Homo liber..." is from Ethics IV, Prop. 67 and expresses a different idea.
“Cupiditas est ipsa hominis essentia.”
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“Desire is the very essence of man.”
“Sedulo curavi, humanas actiones non ridere, non lugere, neque detestari, sed intelligere.”
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“I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them.”
“Pax enim non belli privatio, sed virtus est, quae ex animi fortitudine oritur.”
Latina
“Peace is not the absence of war; it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, and justice.”
“He who would distinguish the true from the false must have an adequate idea of what is true and false.”
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