There is no fear without some hope, and no hope without some fear. Baruch Spinoza More Quotes by Baruch Spinoza More Quotes From Baruch Spinoza If anyone conceives, that an object of his love joins itself to another with closer bonds of friendship than he himself has attained to, he will be affected with hatred towards the loved object and with envy towards his rival. Baruch Spinoza envy hatred life Everyone endeavors as much as possible to make others love what he loves, and to hate what he hates... This effort to make everyone approve what we love or hate is in truth ambition, and so we see that each person by nature desires that other persons should live according to his way of thinking. Baruch Spinoza hate ambition thinking After experience had taught me that all the usual surroundings of social life are vain and futile; seeing that none of the objects of my fears contained in themselves anything either good or bad, except in so far as the mind is affected by them, I finally resolved to inquire whether there might be some real good having power to communicate itself, which would affect the mind singly, to the exclusion of all else: whether, in fact, there might be anything of which the discovery and attainment would enable me to enjoy continuous, supreme, and unending happiness. Baruch Spinoza real mind discovery If we conceive that anyone loves, desires, or hates anything which we ourselves love, desire, or hate, we shall thereupon regard the thing in question with more steadfast love, etc. On the contrary, if we think that anyone shrinks from something that we love, we shall undergo vacillation of the soul. Baruch Spinoza hate life thinking God is the efficient cause not only of the existence of things, but also of their essence. Baruch Spinoza causes essence god The more we understand individual things, the more we understand God. Baruch Spinoza individuality faith religion The human mind cannot be absolutely destroyed along with the body, but something of it remains, which is eternal. Baruch Spinoza body soul mind None are more taken in by flattery than the proud, who wish to be the first and are not. Baruch Spinoza philosophical taken wish Men govern nothing with more difficulty than their tongues, and can moderate their desires more than their words. Baruch Spinoza tongue desire men The safest way for a state is to lay down the rule that religion is comprised solely in the exercise of charity and justice, and that the rights of rulers in sacred, no less than in secular matters, should merely have to do with actions, but that every man should think what he likes and say what he thinks. Baruch Spinoza exercise men thinking If slavery, barbarism and desolation are to be called peace, men can have no worse misfortune. Baruch Spinoza desolation slavery men Human infirmity in moderating and checking the emotions I name bondage : for, when a man is a prey to his emotions, he is not his own master, but lies at the mercy of fortune : so much so, that he is often compelled, while seeing that which is better for him, to follow that which is worse. Baruch Spinoza names men lying We strive to further the occurrence of whatever we imagine will lead to Joy, and to avert or destroy what we imagine is contrary to it, or will lead to Sadness. Baruch Spinoza sadness communication joy ...The body is affected by the image of the thing, in the same way as if the thing were actually present. Baruch Spinoza anticipation body way I saw that all things I feared, and which feared me, had nothing good or bad in them save insofar as the mind was affected by them. Baruch Spinoza saws all-things mind All laws which can be violated without doing any one any injury are laughed at. Nay, so far are they from doing anything to control the desires and passions of menŠ± that, on the contrary, they direct and incite men's thoughts the more toward those very objects, for we always strive toward what is forbidden and desire the things we are not allowed to have. And men of leisure are never deficient in the ingenuity needed to enable them to outwit laws framed to regulate things which cannot be entirely forbidden... He who tries to determine everything by law will foment crime rather than lessen it. Baruch Spinoza passion law men It is not possible that we should remember that we existed before our body, for our can bear no trace of such existence, neither can eternity be defined in terms of time or have any relation to time. But notwithstanding, we feel and know that we are eternal. Baruch Spinoza body bears remember Surely human affairs would be far happier if the power in men to be silent were the same as that to speak. Baruch Spinoza experience would-be men Measure, time and number are nothing but modes of thought or rather of imagination. Baruch Spinoza imagination numbers science Fear cannot be without hope nor hope without fear. [They are the two sides of a coin, so learning how to manage fear through learning, understanding, rationality, controlled imagination, preparation, mental focus (including distraction) and a gratitude attitude is very helpful.] Baruch Spinoza gratitude two-sides attitude
