Quotes and aphorisms of Benedict Spinoza
Flight in time must be attributed to the same courage of a free man as the battle, in other words, a free man chooses to flee with the same courage or presence of mind as to fight.
Bliss is not the reward for virtue, but virtue itself.
Divine justice allows the devil to deceive people with impunity, but does not tolerate that these people, unfortunately deceived and seduced by him, remain unpunished.
Desire expresses the essence of a person.
A thing does not cease to be true because it is not recognized by many.
Everything beautiful is as difficult as it is rare.
Everything that was ever revered out of false piety represented nothing but fantasies and delirium of a depressed, timid soul.
All good passions have such a character and nature that we cannot exist and persist without them, and they seem to belong to us essentially, like love, desire and everything that is characteristic of love.
Any love that is caused not by freedom of spirit, but by something else, easily turns into hatred.
Souls are conquered not by weapons, but by love and generosity.
If a free-falling stone could think, it would think that it fell of free will.
If you want life to smile at you, give it your good mood first.
If someone knows what decision he must make in order to produce something good or prevent something bad, but does not do this, then this is called cowardice.
Envy is hatred because it affects a person in such a way that he feels displeasure at the sight of someone else's happiness, and vice versa - he finds pleasure in someone else's misfortune.
Truth is the touchstone of itself and of lies.
As soon as you imagine that you are unable to do a certain task, from that moment on it becomes impossible for you to carry it out.
Extreme pride or extreme humiliation is extreme ignorance of oneself.
Anyone who is not inclined either by reason or compassion to help others is rightly called inhuman.
People believe that they are free only insofar as they are allowed to obey their passions, and being forced to live according to the dictates of the law, they think that they are giving up their right.
The most beneficial things for people to do are things that strengthen their friendships.
The only difference between attraction and desire is that the word “desire” mostly refers to people when they are aware of their attraction, so we can give the following definition: desire is attraction with consciousness of it.
Peace is not the absence of war, but the virtue that comes from fortitude.
Don't cry, don't laugh, but understand.
Ignorance is not an argument. Ignorance is not an argument.
There is no doubt that people are naturally prone to hatred and envy and that education only enhances these qualities. For parents usually support virtue in their children only by measures calculated to their honor or envy.
No one is more prone to envy than self-deprecating people.
No one is more susceptible to flattery than that ambitious person who wanted to be the first, but could not become one.
Experience too often teaches us that people have less control over anything than over their tongue.
Understanding is the beginning of agreement.
It will take equally great strength or fortitude to control courage as to control fear.
Beautiful is difficult.
Jealousy is a concern for oneself to enjoy what has been achieved and to retain it.
A free person thinks about nothing so little as death, and his wisdom consists in thinking about life, and not about death.
Paul's words about Peter tell us more about Paul than about Peter.
Compassion is displeasure accompanied by the idea of evil that has befallen another whom we imagine to be similar to ourselves.
Citing authority is not an argument.
Fear arises due to the powerlessness of the spirit.
Fear is the reason by which superstition arises, is preserved and maintained.
The desire to do something or not do something just to please other people is called ambition.
Shame is a certain sadness that arises in a person when he sees that his actions are despised by others.
Happiness is not the reward for virtue, but virtue itself; It is not because we enjoy happiness that we have curbed our passions, but on the contrary, the enjoyment of happiness makes us capable of curbing them.
Anyone who easily succumbs to compassion and is touched by someone else’s misfortune or tears often repents, due to the fact that we, being under the influence of passion, easily succumb to false tears.
A free man thinks of nothing so little as death, and his wisdom consists in thinking not about death, but about life.
A free person never acts deceitfully, but always honestly.
A person guided only by passion or opinion is different from a person guided by reason. The first, against his will, does what he does not know at all, the second does only what he recognizes as the most important thing in life. Therefore I call the first slave, the second free.
A person who is ashamed has an inherent desire to live honestly.
Ambition is an excessive desire for fame.
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Benedict (Baruch) Spinoza
| (Life years 1632-1677) pantheist philosopher |
Flight in time must be attributed to the same courage of a free man as the battle, in other words, a free man chooses to flee with the same courage or presence of mind as to fight.
Bliss is not the reward for virtue, but virtue itself.
Divine justice allows... the devil to deceive people with impunity, but does not tolerate that these people, unfortunately deceived and seduced by him, remain unpunished.
...A thing does not cease to be true because it is not recognized by many.
Desire expresses the essence of a person.
Everything beautiful is as difficult as it is rare.
Everything that was ever revered out of false piety represented nothing but fantasies and delirium of a depressed, timid soul.
...All good passions have such a character and nature that we cannot exist and survive without them, and they seem to belong to us essentially, like love, desire and everything that is characteristic of love.
Any love that is caused not by freedom of spirit, but by something else, easily turns into hatred.
Souls are conquered not by weapons, but by love and generosity.
If you want life to smile at you, give it your good mood first.
If someone knows what decision he must make in order to produce something good or prevent something bad, but does not do this, then this is called cowardice.
Envy is hatred because it affects a person in such a way that he feels displeasure at the sight of someone else's happiness, and vice versa - he finds pleasure in someone else's misfortune.
Truth is the touchstone of itself and of lies.
As soon as you imagine that you are unable to do a certain task, from that moment on it becomes impossible for you to carry it out.
Anyone who is not inclined either by reason or compassion to help others is rightly called inhuman.
People believe that they are free only insofar as they are allowed to obey their passions, and being forced to live according to the dictates of the law, they think that they are giving up their right.
The most beneficial things for people to do are things that strengthen their friendships.
...The only difference between attraction and desire is that the word desire mostly refers to people when they are aware of their attraction, so we can give the following definition: desire is attraction with consciousness of it.
…Peace is not the absence of war, but virtue resulting from fortitude.
Ignorance is not an argument. Ignorance is not an argument.
There is no doubt that people are naturally prone to hatred and envy and that education only enhances these qualities. For parents usually support virtue in their children only by measures calculated to their honor or envy.
No one is more prone to envy than self-deprecating people.
No one is more susceptible to flattery than that ambitious person who wanted to be the first, but could not become one.
Experience too often teaches us that people have less control over anything than over their tongue.
Understanding is the beginning of agreement.
Citing authority is not an argument.
It will take equally great strength or fortitude to control courage as to control fear.
Jealousy is a concern for oneself to enjoy what has been achieved and to retain it.
A free person thinks about nothing so little as death, and his wisdom consists in thinking about life, and not about death.
Compassion is displeasure accompanied by the idea of evil that has befallen another whom we imagine to be similar to ourselves.
A free person never acts deceitfully, but always honestly.
Fear arises due to the powerlessness of the spirit.
Fear is the reason by which superstition arises, is preserved and maintained.
The desire to do something or not do something just to please other people is called ambition.
Shame is a certain sadness that arises in a person when he sees that his actions are despised by others.
Happiness is not a reward for virtue, but virtue itself; It is not because we enjoy happiness that we have curbed our passions, but on the contrary, the enjoyment of happiness makes us capable of curbing them.
Anyone who easily succumbs to compassion and is touched by someone else’s misfortune or tears often repents, due to the fact that we, being under the influence of passion, easily succumb to false tears.
A person guided only by passion or opinion is different from a person guided by reason. The first, against his will, does what he does not know at all, the second does only what he recognizes as the most important thing in life. Therefore I call the first slave, the second free.
A free man thinks of nothing so little as death, and his wisdom consists in thinking not about death, but about life.
A person who is ashamed has an inherent desire to live honestly.
Ambition is an excessive desire for fame.
Extreme pride or extreme humiliation is extreme ignorance of oneself.
Paul's words about Peter tell us more about Paul than about Peter.
Beautiful is difficult.
If a free-falling stone could think, it would think that it fell of free will.
Don't cry, don't laugh, but understand.
APHORISMS Benedict (Baruch) Spinoza
1. Understanding is the beginning of agreement2. Desire expresses the essence of a person
3. As soon as you imagine that you are unable to do a certain task, from that moment on it becomes impossible for you to do it
4. Experience too often teaches us that people have so little power over anything as over their tongue
5. Fear arises due to the powerlessness of the spirit
6. Fear is the reason by which superstition arises, is preserved and maintained.
7. Everything that was ever revered out of false piety represented nothing but fantasies and delirium of a depressed, timid soul.
8. A free person thinks about nothing so little as death, and his wisdom consists in thinking about life, and not about death.
9. Bliss is not the reward for virtue, but virtue itself
10. Truth is a touchstone for itself and lies.
11. Ignorance is not an argument. Ignorance is not an argument
12. Citing authority is not an argument.
13. If you want life to smile on you, give it your good mood first.
14. No one is more susceptible to flattery than that ambitious person who wanted to be the first, but could not become one.
15. Extreme pride or extreme humiliation is extreme ignorance of oneself
16. Envy is nothing other than hatred itself, since someone else’s misfortune causes pleasure, and vice versa, someone else’s happiness causes displeasure
17. The best faith is not the one who presents the best evidence, but the one who bears the most beautiful fruits of justice and mercy
18. I learned not to mock, not to lament, and not to get angry, but to understand people’s actions
19. Helping every poor person is far beyond the power of one person; caring for the poor is the responsibility of society as a whole
20. To be ourselves and to become what we can become is the only purpose of life.
21. People who think money can do everything are themselves capable of doing everything for money.
22. Everything beautiful is as difficult as it is rare
23. Any love that is caused not by freedom of spirit, but by something else, easily turns into hatred
24. Souls conquer not with weapons, but with love and generosity
25. Truth is a touchstone for itself and lies
26. The most beneficial things for people to do are things that strengthen friendships.
27. No one is as prone to envy as self-deprecating people
28. Jealousy is a concern for oneself to enjoy what has been achieved and to retain it.
29. Shame is a certain sadness that arises in a person when he sees that his actions are despised by others
30. A thing does not cease to be true because it is not recognized by many
31. No one is more susceptible to flattery than that ambitious man who wanted to be the first, but could not become one.
32. Every definition is a limitation
33. Nature and the gods are as crazy as people
34. A person who is ashamed has the desire to live honestly
35. The desire to do something or not do something just to please other people is called ambition
36. Ambition is an excessive desire for fame
37. Peace is not the absence of war, but virtue arising from fortitude
38. War is the exercise of natural law, which the strongest uses to dominate the weakest
39. All good passions have such a character and nature that we cannot exist and persist without them, and they seem to belong to us essentially, like love, desire and everything that is characteristic of love
40. If a free-falling stone could think, it would think that it was falling by free will.
41. Pleasure is a person’s transition from less to more perfection
42. Competition is a desire for something that arises in us under the influence of the fact that it seems to us that others want the same
43. Longing is a desire or attraction to possess a thing, supported by the memory of this thing and at the same time limited by the memory of other things that exclude the existence of the desired thing
44. A free man chooses to flee with the same courage or presence of mind as to fight.
45. A free person never acts deceitfully, but always honestly
46. People believe that they are free only insofar as they are allowed to obey their passions, and being forced to live according to the dictates of the law, they think that they are giving up their right
47. Equally great strength or fortitude is required both to curb courage and to curb fear.
48. Happiness is not a reward for virtue, but virtue itself; It is not because we have curbed our passions that we enjoy happiness, but on the contrary, the enjoyment of happiness makes us capable of curbing them
49. The only difference between attraction and desire is that the word “desire” mostly refers to people when they are aware of their attraction, so we can give the following definition: desire is attraction with consciousness of it
50. Paul's words about Peter tell us more about Paul than about Peter
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