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Article LEIBNIZ AND SPINOZA. ← Page 16 of 25 →
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Leibniz And Spinoza.
motiA'es Avhich will suggest themselves to the ordinary mind , and a very small degree of intuition would enable any intelligent spectator to tell which Avay the balance Avould incline . It may be said , " Without a motive to rise I shall sit still . " True ; but in this case one of two actions , or causes of action , is to be decided by the predominance of motiveand the non-perception
, of any powerful enough to make me rise is in itself a sufficient motive to sit still . It is related of Thomson , that he Avas once strongly recommended to rise ; the laziest of poets was enjoying his " Castle of Indolence" at one P . M . ; he Avas in the midst of lovely scenery , and might have found agreeable company ; but he Avas proof to all such inducements . " Nay , mon , " he replied , " I
hae nae motive . " It is almost attempting to prove a truism ; but still , if Ave reflect a little on the absurdities Avhich would follow , if Ave suppose men capable of acting Avithout any motive at all , Ave shall see at once the needlessness of enlarging upon the subject . We now come to the charge of Spinozism against Leibniz himself , and the refutation of Spinoza , AA'hich has been recoA'ered by M . de Careil . We have already mentioned where he found this A'aluable relic , and have now only to observe that it Avas
included m a mass of the MSS . of Wachter . To understand the refutation , it is , of course , necessary to understand the thing or theory refuted ; and we shall commence , therefore , with a brief account of the philosophy maintained by Benedict Spinoza . Descended from a family of Portuguese JBAVS , he Avas early remarked for his singular poAver of analysis , and his
uncompromising love of truth . He applied his principles to the investigation of the traditions -of his people , and the result was , that he Avas soon as much , noticed for his heterodoxy as for his abilities . We shall not UOAV dAvell on the persecutions he suffered , nor on the virtues and disinterestedness which he displayed , but touch solely on those pursuits which ultimately made him a heresiarch
among philosophers , as he had already become among Israelites . A devout follower of the school of Descartes in physics , he soon began to apply its doctrines to metaphysics ; indeed , Descartes himself had said , " These physical truths are the foundation of the loftiest ethics . " When such thoughts of such a master fall into the mind of a discile like Sinoza they produce
p p may singular fruit ; and the system which the latter elicited is a tolerable proof of this truth . In fact , that may be said of it , changing the names , Avhich a great author said of the surgery of his OAA n era , " It has fallen into the hands of mechanicians of Avhom Spinoza is the chief . " In the first portion of his " principal Avork , Spinoza undertakes to demonstrate the unity of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Leibniz And Spinoza.
motiA'es Avhich will suggest themselves to the ordinary mind , and a very small degree of intuition would enable any intelligent spectator to tell which Avay the balance Avould incline . It may be said , " Without a motive to rise I shall sit still . " True ; but in this case one of two actions , or causes of action , is to be decided by the predominance of motiveand the non-perception
, of any powerful enough to make me rise is in itself a sufficient motive to sit still . It is related of Thomson , that he Avas once strongly recommended to rise ; the laziest of poets was enjoying his " Castle of Indolence" at one P . M . ; he Avas in the midst of lovely scenery , and might have found agreeable company ; but he Avas proof to all such inducements . " Nay , mon , " he replied , " I
hae nae motive . " It is almost attempting to prove a truism ; but still , if Ave reflect a little on the absurdities Avhich would follow , if Ave suppose men capable of acting Avithout any motive at all , Ave shall see at once the needlessness of enlarging upon the subject . We now come to the charge of Spinozism against Leibniz himself , and the refutation of Spinoza , AA'hich has been recoA'ered by M . de Careil . We have already mentioned where he found this A'aluable relic , and have now only to observe that it Avas
included m a mass of the MSS . of Wachter . To understand the refutation , it is , of course , necessary to understand the thing or theory refuted ; and we shall commence , therefore , with a brief account of the philosophy maintained by Benedict Spinoza . Descended from a family of Portuguese JBAVS , he Avas early remarked for his singular poAver of analysis , and his
uncompromising love of truth . He applied his principles to the investigation of the traditions -of his people , and the result was , that he Avas soon as much , noticed for his heterodoxy as for his abilities . We shall not UOAV dAvell on the persecutions he suffered , nor on the virtues and disinterestedness which he displayed , but touch solely on those pursuits which ultimately made him a heresiarch
among philosophers , as he had already become among Israelites . A devout follower of the school of Descartes in physics , he soon began to apply its doctrines to metaphysics ; indeed , Descartes himself had said , " These physical truths are the foundation of the loftiest ethics . " When such thoughts of such a master fall into the mind of a discile like Sinoza they produce
p p may singular fruit ; and the system which the latter elicited is a tolerable proof of this truth . In fact , that may be said of it , changing the names , Avhich a great author said of the surgery of his OAA n era , " It has fallen into the hands of mechanicians of Avhom Spinoza is the chief . " In the first portion of his " principal Avork , Spinoza undertakes to demonstrate the unity of