BENEDICT DE SPINOZA: Theological-Political Treatise

On the vocation of the Hebrews
decrees of God and always involve truth and necessity.Whether therefore
we say that all things happen according to the laws of nature, or are
ordained by the edict and direction of God, we are saying the same thing.
Likewise, as the power of all natural things together is nothing other than
the very power of God by which alone all things happen, it follows that
whatever a man, who is also part of nature, does for himself in order to
preserve his being, or whatever nature o¡ers him without any action on his
part, is all given to him by divine power alone, acting either through
human nature or through things external to human nature. Whatever
therefore human nature can supply from its own resources to preserve
man’s own being, we may rightly call the ‘internal assistance of God’, and
whatever proves useful to man from the power of external causes, that we
may properly term the ‘external assistance of God’.
We can readily conclude from this what we are to understand by ‘God’s
election’. For given that nobody does anything except by the predetermined
order of nature, that is, by the eternal decree and direction of
God, it follows that no one chooses any way of life for himself nor brings
anything about, except via the particular summons of God, who chose this
man in preference to others for this task or that way of life. Finally, by
‘fortune’ I understand nothing other than the direction of God inasmuch
as he governs human a¡airs through external and unforeseen causes.
[4] After these preliminaries let us return to our theme in order to see
why it was that the Hebrew nation was said to be chosen by God above
others.To show this, I proceed as follows.
[5] All things whichwe honestly desire may be reduced to three principal
categories:
(i) to understand things through their primary causes
(ii) to control the passions, that is to acquire the habit of virtue
(iii) and, lastly, to live securely and in good health.
The means which lead directly to the attainment of the ¢rst and second
goals and which may be considered as their immediate and e⁄cient causes,
are to be found in human nature itself, so that their attainment
depends chie£y on our own capabilities, that is, on the laws of human
nature alone. Accordingly, it may be categorically asserted that these gifts
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