“ The highest good of those who follow virtue is common to all, and therefore all can equally rejoice therein. ”
Baruch Spinoza, Ethics (1677). copy citation
| Author | Baruch Spinoza |
|---|---|
| Source | Ethics |
| Topic | virtue good |
| Date | 1677 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by R. H. M. Elwes |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3800/3800-h/3800-h.htm |
Context
“when all is said, they will find that men can provide for their wants much more easily by mutual help, and that only by uniting their forces can they escape from the dangers that on every side beset them: not to say how much more excellent and worthy of our knowledge it is, to study the actions of men than the actions of beasts. But I will treat of this more at length elsewhere.
PROP. XXXVI. The highest good of those who follow virtue is common to all, and therefore all can equally rejoice therein.
Proof.—To act virtuously is to act in obedience with reason (IV. xxiv.) , and whatsoever we endeavour to do in obedience to reason is to understand (IV. xxvi.) ; therefore (IV. xxviii.) the highest good for those who follow after virtue is to know God;”
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