Baruch Spinoza Quotes
… no one can have lived in the world without observing that most people, when in prosperity, are so over-brimming with wisdom (however inexperienced they may be), that they take every offer of advice as a personal insult, whereas in adversity they know not where to turn, but beg and pray for counsel from every passer-by.
Spinoza was one of the most feared intellectuals in human history—feared, that is, by the established power structures. Spinoza’s ideas were considered so radical and dangerous that he was the only man in history who was excommunicated by the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims.
Benedict Spinoza, 1632-1677, Dutch Philosopher, Theological-Political Treatise, 1670
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The papyrus appears to be an instruction booklet for government officials. The Egyptians thought that thinking and the intellect is done by the heart. In this context we would say, “Don’t let your head get big ….”
Quoted by Thomas Reid, 1893
The prime minister was advised to be more humble in her dealings with other statesmen. She had also told Moshe Dayan that he was not great enough to be humble.
Baruch (de) Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Sephardi origin. One of the early thinkers of the Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern conceptions of the self and the universe, he came to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy. Inspired by the groundbreaking ideas of René Descartes, Spinoza became a leading philosophical figure of the Dutch Golden Age. Spinoza's given name, which means "Blessed", varies among different languages. In the Netherlands he used the Portuguese name Bento. In his Latin and Dutch works, he used Latin: Benedictus de Spinoza.
