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Article LEIBNIZ AND SPINOZA. ← Page 24 of 25 →
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Leibniz And Spinoza.
Infinite had said to the finite , " Go , try your poAvers , I release you from my hand , see if you can maintain yoiu position ; it is only so long as you continue in close communion Avith me that you can be happy or good ; for I am happiness , and I am goodness . My will is to establish a rational and intelligent communion betAveen myself and my finite creatures ; try if you can continue
in this communion . If in the exercise of your independent powers you fail to do this , then I will infuse into you , when you feel that you need it , the influence of my spirit ; and Avithout losing your separate consciousness—your eternal individualityyou shall again be in a strict and eternal accordance Avith me . " The finite quits the hand of the Infinite , and—falls . The
Infinite provides the means of recovery , and the Hebrew tradition again points out how . The restored man—for we must UOAV limit the doctrine to the fall and recovery of onr own racere-enters into a harmonious connection with the Deity , and lives on thus for ever . This theory SIIOAVS that evil is negative ; is , in fact , but the absence of perfection , so far as its origin is concerned : that sin is rightly designated ayuaprfa , —a " wandering awaij" from the source of light and life , and gives us , in the case of our first parents , a picture of evil in an advanced
stage , when those who had wandered communed one Avith another in their finite wisdom , and wandered still farther , tempted others to wander also , and enveloped the world in a haze of difficulties and temptations . When the finite shall be aware of its imperfections ,- —shall perceive that it cannot stand alone , but that in its close connection with , and unvarying
obedience to the Infinite , consists its sole rectitude , grandeur , honour , and happiness , —that the beautiful and the true are to be sought only in one direction , and there will infallibly be found , —then the union between the divine and the human shall be restored and made perpetual , and a rational and intelligent worship shall arise from all creation . God might ,
had it so pleased him , never have allowed the emanations of his power and goodness to be separated from him at all ; but it was his pleasure to make his creatures free agents , and to bring them to a voluntary union with himself . Such is the theory of the Cabalists ; hidden indeed under a mass of fablesmisrepresented and perverted even b
, y many who were esteemed the wisest among themselves , and little sought into by the Avorld without . They were averse to make their Avisdom universally , known . Even to this day , in the Eastern mind Ave find always a love of mystery . The learned are a brotherhood among themselves ; and "the Avords of the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Leibniz And Spinoza.
Infinite had said to the finite , " Go , try your poAvers , I release you from my hand , see if you can maintain yoiu position ; it is only so long as you continue in close communion Avith me that you can be happy or good ; for I am happiness , and I am goodness . My will is to establish a rational and intelligent communion betAveen myself and my finite creatures ; try if you can continue
in this communion . If in the exercise of your independent powers you fail to do this , then I will infuse into you , when you feel that you need it , the influence of my spirit ; and Avithout losing your separate consciousness—your eternal individualityyou shall again be in a strict and eternal accordance Avith me . " The finite quits the hand of the Infinite , and—falls . The
Infinite provides the means of recovery , and the Hebrew tradition again points out how . The restored man—for we must UOAV limit the doctrine to the fall and recovery of onr own racere-enters into a harmonious connection with the Deity , and lives on thus for ever . This theory SIIOAVS that evil is negative ; is , in fact , but the absence of perfection , so far as its origin is concerned : that sin is rightly designated ayuaprfa , —a " wandering awaij" from the source of light and life , and gives us , in the case of our first parents , a picture of evil in an advanced
stage , when those who had wandered communed one Avith another in their finite wisdom , and wandered still farther , tempted others to wander also , and enveloped the world in a haze of difficulties and temptations . When the finite shall be aware of its imperfections ,- —shall perceive that it cannot stand alone , but that in its close connection with , and unvarying
obedience to the Infinite , consists its sole rectitude , grandeur , honour , and happiness , —that the beautiful and the true are to be sought only in one direction , and there will infallibly be found , —then the union between the divine and the human shall be restored and made perpetual , and a rational and intelligent worship shall arise from all creation . God might ,
had it so pleased him , never have allowed the emanations of his power and goodness to be separated from him at all ; but it was his pleasure to make his creatures free agents , and to bring them to a voluntary union with himself . Such is the theory of the Cabalists ; hidden indeed under a mass of fablesmisrepresented and perverted even b
, y many who were esteemed the wisest among themselves , and little sought into by the Avorld without . They were averse to make their Avisdom universally , known . Even to this day , in the Eastern mind Ave find always a love of mystery . The learned are a brotherhood among themselves ; and "the Avords of the