BENEDICT DE SPINOZA: Theological-Political Treatise

chapter 2
On the prophe ts
[1] It fol l ows f ro m t h e p revi o u s c h apte r, a s we h ave p o i n te d o ut , t h a t t h e
prophets were not endowed with more perfect minds than others but
only a more vivid power of imagination, as the scriptural narratives also
abundantly show. It is clear from the case of Solomon, for instance, that
he excelled others in wisdom but not in the gift of prophecy. Heman,
Darda and Calcol 1 were also very discerning men but they were not prophets.
On the other hand, rustic fellows without any education, and
insigni¢cant women like Hagar, the serving girl of Abraham, were
endowed with the prophetic gift. 2 This also accords with experience
and reason. Those who are most powerful in imagination are less good
at merely understanding things; those who have trained and powerful
intellects have a more modest power of imagination and have it under
better control, reining it in, so to speak, and not confusing it with
understanding. Consequently those who look in the books of the prophets
for wisdom and a knowledge of natural and spiritual things are
completely on the wrong track. I propose to explain this here at some
length, since the times in which we live, philosophy, and the subject
itself require me to do so without worrying about the outcry from
credulous people who detest none more than those who cultivate real 30
knowledge and true life. Distressingly, it has now come to the point that
people who freely admit that they do not possess the idea of God and
know him only through created things (whose causes they are ignorant
of), do not hesitate to accuse philosophers of atheism.
1 1 Kings 4:29^31 extols the wisdom of Solomon and adds that it surpassed the wisdom of Heman,
Darda and Calcol among others.
2 Genesis 16.7^13.
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