The
warning must be reiterated that here as elsewhere we are too desirous,
both writers and readers, of clear definition where none is possible.
We do not stop where the object of our contemplation stops for our eyes.
For my own part I must say that there is much in Spinoza which is beyond
me, much which I cannot EXTEND, and much which, if it can be extended,
seems to involve contradiction. But I have also found his works
productive beyond those of almost any man I know of that acquiescentia
mentis which enables us to live.
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE ON THE DEVIL
Spinoza denies the existence of the Devil, and says, in the Short
Treatise, that if he is the mere opposite of God and has nothing from
God, he is simply the Nothing. But if a philosophical doctrine be true,
it does not follow that as it stands it is applicable to practical
problems. For these a rule may have to be provided, which, although it
may not be inconsistent with the scientific theorem, differs from it in
form. The Devil is not an invention of priests for priestly purposes,
nor is he merely a hypothesis to account for facts, but he has been
forced upon us in order that we may be able to deal with them.
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