“ If men were born free, they would, so long as they remained free, form no conception of good and evil. ”
Baruch Spinoza, Ethics (1677). copy citation
| Author | Baruch Spinoza |
|---|---|
| Source | Ethics |
| Topic | evil freedom 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
“, who strives to act, to live, and to preserve his being on the basis of seeking his own true advantage; wherefore such an one thinks of nothing less than of death, but his wisdom is a meditation of life. Q.E.D.
PROP. LXVIII. If men were born free, they would, so long as they remained free, form no conception of good and evil.
Proof.—I call free him who is led solely by reason; he, therefore, who is born free, and who remains free, has only adequate ideas; therefore (IV. LXIV. Coroll.) he has no conception of evil, or consequently (good and evil being correlative) of good.” source
PROP. LXVIII. If men were born free, they would, so long as they remained free, form no conception of good and evil.
Proof.—I call free him who is led solely by reason; he, therefore, who is born free, and who remains free, has only adequate ideas; therefore (IV. LXIV. Coroll.) he has no conception of evil, or consequently (good and evil being correlative) of good.” source
Meaning and analysis
