I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them.
BARUCH SPINOZAI have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them.
BARUCH SPINOZADesire nothing for yourself, which you do not desire for others.
BARUCH SPINOZABe 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.
BARUCH SPINOZAHe who seeks equality between unequals seeks an absurdity.
BARUCH SPINOZAMinds, however, are conquered not by arms, but by love and nobility.
BARUCH SPINOZAAll things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.
BARUCH SPINOZAAll happiness or unhappiness solely depends upon the quality of the object to which we are attached by love.
BARUCH SPINOZAHappiness is a virtue, not its reward.
BARUCH SPINOZAGod is not He who is, but That which is.
BARUCH SPINOZAWe feel and experience ourselves to be eternal.
BARUCH SPINOZAMen are mistaken in thinking themselves free; their opinion is made up of consciousness of their own actions, and ignorance of the causes by which they are determined.
BARUCH SPINOZAMen govern nothing with more difficulty than their tongues, and can moderate their desires more than their words.
BARUCH SPINOZAThe highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free.
BARUCH SPINOZABlessed are the weak who think that they are good because they have no claws.
BARUCH SPINOZAThe world would be happier if men had the same capacity to be silent that they have to speak.
BARUCH SPINOZAHe alone is free who lives with free consent under the entire guidance of reason.
BARUCH SPINOZA