BENEDICT DE SPINOZA: Theological-Political Treatise

Theological-Political Treatise
and s e ttle the whole is sue , I de m onstrate how Scr iptu re should b e in te r-
pre te d, proving that we must de r ive all ou r knowle dge of it and of sp ir itual
matte rs fro m Scr iptu re alon e and not from what we dis c ove r by the natu ral
ligh t of re a s on. 15
Afte r this I pa s s on to show the prejudice s which have ar is e n b e c aus e the
c o mm on p e ople (who are addicte d to sup e rst it ion and che r ish the relic s of
t i me rathe r than e te r nity its elf ) adore the b o oks of Scr iptu re rathe r than
the word of Go d a s such. The n I prove that the reve ale d word of Go d is not
a ce r t ain numb e r of b o oks but a pure c once ption of the divin e mind which
wa s reve aled to the prophe ts , namely, to o b ey Go d with all on e’s mind by
pract is ing just ice and char ity. I show that this is t augh t in Scr iptu re
acc ording to the u nde rst anding and b eli efs of tho s e to who m the prophe ts
and the Ap o stle s nor mally pre ache d this word of Go d. This they did in
order that p e ople migh t e mb race it without any reluctance and with the ir
whole minds. 16
[11] Having thus dem onstrate d the fu ndamen t als of faith, I c onclude
¢nally that the o bje ct of reve aled knowle dge is s i mply o b e die nce. It is
the refore e n t irely dist inct from natu ral knowle dge b oth in its o bje ct and in
its pr inc iple s and me tho ds , and ha s nothing whateve r in c o m m on with it.
Each of the m [ i.e. faith and natural knowle dge] ha s its ow n province ; they
11 do not c on£ict with e ach othe r; and n e ithe r should b e sub ordinate to the
other. 17
[12] Fu r the r m ore , hu man b e ing s have ve r y di¡e re n t minds , and ¢nd
the ms elve s c o mfor t able with ve r y di¡e ren t b eli efs ; what m ove s on e p e rs on
to devot ion provoke s another to laugh te r. Taking this toge the r with what
I s aid ab ove , I c onclude that eve r yon e should b e allowe d the lib e r ty of
their own judgment and authority to interpret the fundamentals of faith
according to their own minds; and that the piety or impiety of each person’s
faith should be judged by their works alone. In this way everyone will
be able to obey God in a spirit of sincerity and freedom, and only justice
and charity will be esteemed by everyone. 18
[13] Having in this way demonstrated the freedom the revealed divine
law accords to every person, I proceed to the second part of my thesis,
15 Chs. 7 ^11 .
16 C hs. 12 an d 13.
17 Ch. 14.
18 Ch. 15.
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