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BENEDICT DE SPINOZA: Theological-Political Treatise

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and the Dutch provincial assemblies earlier this century, it led after a time<br />

to a complete split. 5 This schism demonstrated in all sorts of ways that<br />

decrees designed to regulate religion which were intended to put an end to<br />

[theological] disputes, actually have quite the opposite e¡ect, stirring<br />

people up rather than disciplining them while other men deem themselves<br />

authorized by such laws to arrogate a boundless license to themselves.<br />

Besides, such schisms do not arise from an intense passion for truth<br />

(which is the fount and origin of amity and gentleness), but from a great<br />

lust for power. It is thus plainer than the noonday sun that the real schismatics<br />

are those who condemn other men’s books and subversively instigate<br />

the insolent mob against their authors, rather than the authors<br />

themselves, who for the most part write only for the learned and consider<br />

reason alone as their ally. Hence, the real agitators are those who attempt<br />

to do away with freedom of judgment in a free republic ^ a freedom<br />

which cannot be suppressed.<br />

[16] We have thus demonstrated:<br />

<strong>Theological</strong>-<strong>Political</strong> <strong>Treatise</strong><br />

(1) that it is impossible to deprive men of the liberty of saying what they<br />

think.<br />

(2) that this liberty may be accorded to everyone without danger to the right<br />

and authority of the sovereign powers, and each person may retain this liberty<br />

without risk to their authority so long as no one arrogates to himself licence to<br />

promulgate in the state any alteration of the law or act in any way contrary to the<br />

existing laws.<br />

(3) that each person may possess such liberty without danger to the<br />

stability of the state, and that it causes no disadvantages which cannot be easily<br />

checked.<br />

(4) that each person may possess this liberty without prejudice to piety.<br />

247 (5) that issuing decrees about doctrinal issues is completely useless.<br />

(6) Finally, we have proven that not only may this liberty be granted<br />

without risk to the peace of the republic and to piety as well as the authority<br />

of the sovereign power, but also that to conserve all of this such freedom must<br />

be granted. For when, contrary to this, e¡orts are made to strip men of this<br />

liberty, and those with dissenting views are summoned to court (albeit not<br />

5 The bitter dispute between the Dutch Remonstrants (Arminians) and strict Calvinist Counter-<br />

Remonstrants began over purely theological issues, especially the question of free will, but became<br />

more and more political and eventually brought the United Provinces to the verge of civil war, leading<br />

directly to the downfall of Oldenbarnevelt and the Orangist coup-d’etat of 1618.<br />

258

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