The Ethics of Benedict de Spinoza

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: i Ethics. V. I understand by mode an ajTection of substance,, or that which is in some other thing, by or through which it is also conceived. VI. I understand by God the Absolutely Infinite Being; that is to say, substance constituted by an infinity of attributes, each of which expresses an eternal and infinite essence. Explanation.?I say absolutely infinite?not infinite in its kind; for that which is only infinite in its kind may be denied infinity of attributes; but to the essence of the absolutely infinite belongs whatsoever expresses essence and involves no negation. VII. A thing is said to be free which exists by the sole necessity of its own nature, and is determined to action by itself alone. A thing is necessary, or rather constrained, which is determined by some other thing to exist and to act in a certain determinate manner. VIII. By eternity I understand existence itself, as it is conceivecTasfollowing necessarily from the very definition of the thing eternal. Expl.?For such existence as is conceived as an eternal verity is the very essence of the thing eternal; and therefore it cannot be explained by duration or time, even though duration may be conceived as having neither beginning nor end. AXIOMS. I. "Whatever is, is in itself or in some other thing. II. A thing which cannot be conceived by another thing must be conceived by itself. III. A determinate cause being given, an effect necessarily follows; and on the contrary, if no determinate cause be given, it is impossible for an effect +o follow. IV. Knowledge of an effect depends upon knowledge of its cause, and involves it. V. Things which have nothing in common with each other cannot be understood the one by the other; or. in other words, the conception of one does not inv...