The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-09-12

"iC anu philosophy. lndecu
they regard him about as well read
IN these directions as in American
politics. He is as much Of a liter
airy man as a politician; at least
this Is the belief of many Of his IN
Innate friends. Whether he meant
to endorse the religious views of
>plnoza, We are not able to Judge
from the above quotations; but We
suppose not. But if he has taken
any incorrect view of Spinoza and
his tenets, he cannot be excused
for SO doing on the ground of ig-
norance, and does lot merit a re-
proof for speaking rashly and IN
dlscreetly.
But to the point:
1t is 4 great mistake TO say that
Splnoza, was a philosophical
atheist" In II statements we
follow Chambers Cyclopaedia.
Benedict Spinoza, one of the great
est philosophers of modern times,
was born at Amsterdam on the
9th of November, 1852. He was
a Portuguese jew and was thor
oughly instructed III the Bible and
the Talmud. lie devoted his
whole life to study. Physical
sciences and the writings of Des-
%eartes, to which he devoted himself,
soon drew him away from the rigid
belief and practices of the syna-
gogue. He was communicated.
"Throughout his life of study, of
abstemio1sness, of bodily and men
tai sutfering,-for his body was I'M
dermlned no less by consumption
and owe work, than his sensitive
mind was wrought upon by the
violent severance of all natural ties
OF affection, to say nothing Of the
misery Of occasional want and per-
petual persecution-no complaint
ever passed his lips. Simplicity
and heroic forbearance coupled with
an antique stoicism, and a child
like, warm, sympathizing heart,
were the principal attributes of him
who was nicknamed epicurean and
atheist by his contemporaries. 1t
has been well said that no man was
more filled with religion than
Spinoza, and that to be an epicure
at the rate of two pence half penny
a day cannot be a very serious
crime
1t appears, therefore, that Spino-
ga vas unjustly pronounced an
atheist in his life time. He was an
object of misrepresentation and
persecution. Now that he is dead
this persecution should not be re-
vived; but history should do justice
to his memory.
Spinoza was as far from being an
atheist as zero is from infinity. lie
was a pantheist rather than an
atheist. God everywhere, instead
of making him nothing.
lie took the 81 think, therefore |
an" of Descartes ''to prove more
clearly the existence of God than
Descartes did" He held that there
was only one substance-God.
"Spinoza's system, Pantheism or
Atheism, as it has been variously
called, appears to be nothing but
the most rigid, most abstract Mon
otheism, that can be conceived by
man. There IS only one substance,
only God-nought else. 1t was
not unnatural, however, that this
system should be misunderstood,
either as materialism or pantheism,
seeing the word substance which,
with Spinoza, means existence is.
in ordinary language, associated
with the idea of matter or body.
Be this as it may, this most iniq-
uitous and blasphemous human in
v%entlon,' as it has been called for
two hundred years, has become the
acknowledged basis of modern Ger
man philosophy: and pious theo-
logians, like Schleirmacher, did
not hesitate to apply the highest
terms OF 'plous, vlrtuous, God-ln-
toNicated,' Spinoza, who, we need
not add it, never left Judaism, al
though he left the synagogue and
its human fOrmalities."
Carlyle said sMahomet was a
true prophet, but not the truest."
SO we may say of Spinoza, he was
a true theologian, but not the
truest. Certainly he was not an
Atheist. -Holston CTenn.,) -Netho-
,}.