all here to get me puppets are ready to begin history is knocking on the door and the year fifteen hundred and seventy but in Luther challenged that set of blow is corrupt here begins the Reformation English King Henry a man of many parts it's with one the Papists have made this a living hell in the year 1600 Giordano Bruno questions the religion of Rome he preaches dissent and for this he is burnt my friends beware it is not only the Papists weakness guard against the 24th of november 16 32 in the Jewish quarter of this
our fair town of Amsterdam Baroque day Espinoza was born - he grew he began to question everything every sane creation and our Creator God is nature and nature is God this truth is proved by reason how can God be nature how can nature be supernatural the supernatural does not exist there's no life after death a mind cannot outlive its body you ah how could the poor old prophets know everything within the scope of the human intellect they had no science Joshua or rather the author who wrote his history he thought that the Sun revolves around
the earth the earth is fixed and that the the Sun too Stood Still for a day and the the quibble is amongst us try to explain all this away with obscure and impenetrable language but there's no cause for perplexity Joshua was a soldier not an astronomer even Solomon Isaiah no they are not exempt from human shortcomings they were ignorant of the true cause of day and night rational thought my dear friends is a a self-rewarding virtue and religious prejudice is a veil which protects the mind from reason but surely surely not all faith is blind
perhaps but it is always one-eyed the revealed truths of religion had only one function to overpower to subjugate a to crush reason and so prevent scientific knowledge from ever being regarded as superior to religious knowledge have you said farewell to life you can rely on us but you have in recent months become careless and loose-tongued while my father was alive I kept silent so as not to offend him but I can do so no longer safety I'd say about half a tooth Masey see we have an item he returned the Bennetto hashem elokenu Malachi about
a new saber name based on bigdhaas been heard about your main news it's kind of how kind about all the stuff when I saw his little nugge dolly catalyst made a good comedy bride to tie he refuses to curb the excesses of his time oh man he looked at me called about smiled in their books material fashion and turned our offer down did he say anything oh yes if the minimus - could be controlled as easily as their tongues every King would sit safely on his throne and then she smiled again Huckle - chuckle oh
the Palos I call the bar so how you are a flower let's get him he uses no alternative as it is the Calvinists dizzy preaches the lower orders that our communities full of atheists free thinkers Harmon I mean doesn't must act in the interests the whole community so be it later on I made Armani but I could fail if they offered me money why what did you say how much what did you say silence can sometimes be purchased the line is not for sale I told them reason was a diamond without a price even in
Amsterdam master every diamond can be cut into many pieces and sold in the marketplace and reason be likewise parcels and distributed I want to know how much they thought your silence was will if I publicly defend the orthodoxy and customs of the synagogue I would be paid a thousand florins a year Oh one thousand florins for keeping my thoughts hidden and this when you have yet to publish a single word how much would they give if they knew what was being written every day on this desk have you discussed the matter with your old teacher
rabbi Manasseh when you say he still holds you in high regard and I him but he's in London on this very day convincing Oliver Cromwell to let us Jews resettle in England assuring him no doubt that we are a pious people believers in Moses and the prophets and the afterlife no I don't think my old teacher you want to think of me on this of all days now if your excuse me my dear friends I need to think the elders are waiting for me at the synagogue we will wait and then accompany you passions have
been roused to the streets are not safe for you no we will walk by your side no please I wish to go on my own I insist you to Albert I don't have time to finish up for treat today it'll have to wait from this trials over ah can I ask you something I asked that portrait that's you I know but why should you paint yourself as a Mediterranean fisherman because it one of Master Rembrandt's ideas though it was an excessive youth I saw depiction once at Massa nello leader of the insurrection in Naples against
the Spanish he was a young fisherman full of courage and ardor his rebellion lasted six days six days no more the days of hope they revoked the taxes promised real change democracy 1647 I was about 15 he must have in Lionel tell you the news of that revolt spread through Europe like a flame and Massa nello what happened assassinated the agents of the Spanish Viceroy but he still worshiped by the peasants to this day I wanted to follow in his footsteps that portraits but as far as I could go if you'll excuse me my dears
doubt that I really would like to build my own and do you know what your great-uncle rayful replied to them they even talk do you know he said I will never abandon my faith and comfort to yours understand never what happened they threatened to burn his children he did their father was not great-uncle rayful became a Christian if he hadn't you would never have known your uncle smelko your aunt Miriam but he was wrong father he was a wrong right or wrong didn't enter into the debate young Pinto it was a matter of life or
death simple tell me what would you have done I would love become Christian ha ha ha spoken like a true rabbi Oh Pinto when you become a scholar and then later on a great rabbi I would not like to be brought in front of you for questioning though you are going to be a tough one in the meantime my son you sleep and you thank God we are safe in Amsterdam Oh oh hey somebody are you in assess are you Parvathy Espinoza a self-styled philosopher I am you have been heard blaspheming against the Scriptures and
the prophets do you do divers it is those who ascribe divine attributes to the prophets who were human beings who say that men make miracles they are the ones guilty of blasphemy so you do not deny it reason shows us that the Scriptures are nothing more than a version of history they were written because it suited the political needs of those who ruled the world at that time and as such they do reflect the common sense of that age but we are living in a time now and scientific knowledge has gained such striking advances we
think you're getting nowhere the man is both impertinent and unrepentant have you forgotten the crimes of the Inquisition will you force me to reject reason as you were forced to reject Judaism if so then once again our whole world would be turned on its head so now he compares us to them we're not saving you on fire it is your arrogance that we despise a free man always acts honestly not deceptively in every situation a free man should not act deceptively even to save himself from death we live just once on this earth and that
for too short a time it is my duty to my innermost self to tell the truth even if the community to which I belong is deaf you will light the sacred candles to condemn me to oblivion but I will not turn to stone I will not freeze my thoughts and I will not burn my papers that's all I have to say you have 30 days to repent it's sweeter why do you resist the Omnibus to be tandem doubt everything Descartes knew did he not but he was afraid to go too far stopped short of all
the logic of his own arguments he did not want to be overpowered by reason but you why have the elders made you fearful of death a free man should think nothing of death his wisdom is a meditation not of death but of life you are avoiding my question Binta I know that you reject any conception of the afterlife but is there a Supreme Being a divine creator yes or no not outside the real world look about you the beauty of a wave is it hugs the shore changing patterns in the wet sand that is God
I am yourself how can you deceive me so at least admit the truth to yourself let it be a secret between us if that is necessary we shall bury it in the depths of innermost solitude to be brought out and caressed in the safety of an empty tower finto only knowledge based on mathematical demonstration and proof is of value where is the proof that your God exists oh I know the sea and stars and Moon and Sun and trees and mountains and these flat lands which drive us mad they exist but is that God that's
a joke bint or are you bent on deceiving yourself where is the proof Pinto in my book I prove that even though there is one substance it has an infinity of attributes nobody questions the existence of material substances but if you assert that there is only one material substance you deny the existence of the divine one substance is both material and divine do you expect to convince the multitude of this attitude and those of like passions with the multitude I asked never to read anything I write nay I would rather but the utterly neglect my
work that they shouldn't misinterpret it as is their world the irrational passions of the multitude cannot move me one little bit this is the 27th day of July in the year 1600 and 59 is power this vetoes are present above stirs his burrow death fellows are present here shall we begin the ruling council being fully aware of both destinos as evil opinions and works has endeavored to draw him back from its evil ways every remedy is saved Espinoza continues to practice and teach his horrible heresies we have ample evidence of his pernicious teachings the matter
has been carefully examined by the ruling scholars and they consent the banishment forever of borrow Desmond oza from the nation of Israel in accordance they proclaim the following excommunication Amala scheme DeVry Haj Siddiq in a national stream 13 arene Nadeem perot's pentameter el de Spinoza in collateral or octobot cateura Hadassah Prosser a off the high fashion so they follow button added Hakeem passe Malik ahem I am Kalaheo we warn that none may contact him orally nor in writing not doing any favor most sleep under his roof no read any paper he made or rocked banished
forever so beat this compels me to do nothing more than I would otherwise have done from this day onwards I will no longer be by dr. Spinoza I wish to be known as Benedictus Spinoza a man without superstition but words birds are part of my imagination I for many conceptions in accordance with confused arrangements of words in my memory words just like my imagination may be the cause of many and great errors in my ethics I must always be on guard against playing with words you have you heard from outlet there's no glee rumor did
I know there's no confirmation I have a letter to show you from Hugo box'll the big leader of our Republic this honest and upright citizen poses us with a question here is he come here now say that I believe there are ghosts the reasons are these first because it adds to the beauty and perfection of the universe that they should exist secondly the Creator has created them because they resemble him more closely than do corporeal creatures thirdly because just as there is a body without a soul so that is a soul without a body I
think therefore there are spirits of all kinds except that there are no female spirits how do you propose to reply to such nonsense mm-hmm in the one hand you do not doubt the spirits of the male sex but you do doubt whether there are any of the female sex this seems to me more like a fancier than a doubt for if this were really your opinion it would resemble the popular imagination which makes God masculine and not feminine I am surprised that those who have seen naked spirits did not turn their eyes to the genital
parts perhaps from fear or from ignorance of this difference listen listen carefully Europe was divided between Catholic and Protestant but the house of Protestantism was divided within itself Oliver murdered his when his ambassadors arrived here what did we shut and our Cromwell's influence our so-called leader John defeat forced through the act of exclusion which prevents the household orange from taking up their rightful place that their own yes but my friends will of God child the King was invited to return he ordered Cromwell's body to be deceit the rotting head detached from the body mitchum defeats
and the Friends of Cromwell here in Amsterdam how is our good friend John Norton reacting to the restoration my informant reports that Milton is going crazy with his angels and devils the restoration has shaken him by the width hmm he'll never rest easy till he puts his thoughts on paper Milton never remains silent this English example furnishes us with a terrible warning they sought to depose their monarch under the forms of law when he'd been deposed they were utterly unable to change their forms of government and after much bloodshed only brought it about that a
new monarch for such Cromwell was should be held under a different name if it were merely a matter of names a king or Lord protect then this new monarch could only consolidate his power by destroying the Royal Stock putting to death the Kings friends real or supposed and disturbing with war the piece that might have encouraged discontent and it came to pass that the people reflected that they had achieved and accomplished in nothing and they decided to retrace their steps as soon as possible and did not rest until they had achieved a complete restoration of
the monarchy you morning Munir this was brought to you by messenger he is waiting for your reply should he wait let me read it first most honorable schisms arise not so much from an ardent love of religion as from men's various dispositions or the lover contradiction through which they are wont to distort and to condemn all things even those that have been correctly stated I have already experienced these things while leading a private and solitary life thus you see that I am NOT holding back in the hope of some better fortune but from love of
peace which I believe I can attain to a certain extent merely by refraining from public lectures yours Benedictus spinners I'm willing to lend why why Dargo I'm getting letters of such ignorance from men whose minds were was free what has happened to you Albert it demon has possessed you Albert Berg go on sell gloves to me that's too close I can see you now standing outside the Vatican you who once had such pleasing features so prim now and pompous it's fused with the Holy Spirit and preaching to me I have written this letter to you
with intentions truly Christian to show the love I bear to you even though you are a heathen God is willing to snatch your soul from eternal damnation if you will but allow him do not doubt the master who is calling you through me for the last time Spinoza through me there was a time when you understood that God was Infinite now you perceive him to be the all-seeing all-knowing creator who determines each and every action in this world you dream of the devil who deceives and ensnares us against God's will and believing this nonsense I
should do you have the effrontery to bewail me my philosophy would you never beheld you stylish sheller oh you poor wretch who is bewitched into believing that the supreme and eternal is eaten by you and held in your intestines how do you know that your philosophy is the best among all that has ever been taught in the world or is being taught or ever will be taught I could ask you the same question how do you know that the wafer which you chew in the Romish Church is anything other than what it is a wafer
I know what I know I understand the true philosophy I know it as you know that three angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles that this is sufficient will be denied by no one whose brain is sound and does not go on dreaming of devils and evil spirits inspiring us with force ideas think again you fool you've been led to become a devotee of this church of yours not true your love of God but because of your fear of hell the single is cause of so much superstition in this world this your
humility that you entrust nothing to yourself but leave all responsibilities to others your papal tradition is false through and through reflect on the history of your church study with what coming your Pope has obtained supremacy over the church hardness how the boys finished to me I love broth for you now please eat it you know what dr. Mayer said the last time he was here Munir people have been asking those questions about you some say that you're an agent of the French King others that you're in the pay of the Catholic Church heathen an atheist
that's what they say it's Calvinist bigotry I am none of these I am however no friend of monarchs the brothers Davitt have done more for this country than the whole House of Orange I believe that Oliver Cromwell was a visionary and I do feel for John Milton and his friends to have the lift through a restoration I would rather be dead yes but the next time I am asked what our honored lodger believes what should I say Minea those things which are conducive to the common good of human society and cause men to live in
Concord are useful society many what is that we are all simple creatures with our own needs aren't we those who want us to believe that are not simple creatures but the people who rule over us if what you say is true how can people like me ever be happy there is only one way for you and for all mankind to achieve happiness to accept that our destinies are on our misery and our joy are dependent on our own resources for me you see it is reason not religion that must form the basis for an intuitive
knowledge of God who is not human like you and I but in nature everywhere stored king of england charles ii demands are hearing republics few me with unease why should not our cousin of orange take his Whitesell place as king the dutch he must under no conditions except the republic as the legitimate government of holland and the prince of orange took his uncle's advice but my friends another monarch was looking at Holland with greedy eyes yes it was the Sun King a castle this Dutch a singers that they have the answer to everything the Calvinist
fools must be taught a lesson vos is a great power and a Rosella friend a shard now upon the English Swan we must swim aside this little or public where religion diesel what does Monsieur do it's Burma say to that I stand firm for a republic liberty and freedom is more secure in the keeping of many good men than in the hands of one person they the interest of monarchs and people sometimes appear to be the same verb our part they always diverge they both love talking nonsense the house of orange with its monarchist ambitions
is fermenting a civil war I will not negotiate on the question of our Republican form of government but I am willing to discuss everything else with the French King and once to suit nice listen to prevent a war John de Witts offered concessions to the Catholic King of France people refuse to tolerate such treachery rapists are threatening our country and the grand pensionary is negotiating with them I sided gender which and his brother I've sold their souls to the Church of low-larious time quietly bye on what our heritage squandered no country soul for a mess
of Roma spotty JA we shall go into battle death to traitors ha we must go into hiding Cornelius and John davit were attacked by an angry mob spoke to fury by Calvinist preachers they have been torn limb from limb they're dead the Republic is dead are you sure are you sure yes my friend the political atmosphere outside these runs his fire it's poisoning yet I fear for you oh this is an unspeakable outrage this mob have murdered reason they have no ruler more powerful and superstition I won't go over the scene this crime and I
will post a boom ba mob is murder the reason and killed her the finest political minds I will not go she's not a time for me to cry I must understand the enormity of this crime will reverberate through time Holland without Cornelius and yonder wit is like a universe without God you're a good woman would you be so kind as to bring me a draught of beer the mass of mankind always remains at about the same pitch of misery it never a sense to any remedy but always seems best pleased by some novelty which is
not improved and illusion it was girl my friend it's gonna rest till this multitude as we discovered its sanity and you I do not wish to leave you alone at this moment it is precisely enormous like these that I yearn for my oldest and most trusted friend solid thus I may not be hated by the ignorant not compelled to yield to their appetites I'm calm it is far from possible to impose uniformity of speech the more rulers that strive to curtail freedom of speech the more obstinately they are resisted not indeed by the avaricious the
flatterers and time servers and other numbskulls who think that supreme salvation consists in filling their stomachs and gloating over their moneybags but by those whom good education some morality and virtue have rendered more free my ethics is completed I was intended to go to my good friend young to publish it but the Calvinist theologians and their dull-witted Cartesian friends are denouncing me everywhere they are bringing actions against what they call my godless ways before the magistrates they're telling anyone ready to listen that my book is an endeavor to show that there is no God I
have therefore decided to postpone publication indefinitely generally constituted our most from to resist the branding as criminal of opinions which they believe to be true it is for this reason that they are ready to forswear the laws and conspire against authorities thinking it not shameful but honorable to stir up sedition step obstetricians laws which suppress free thought cannot be maintained without great fell to the state just me my ethics he's in the desk please take it down to time and give it to young asked him to publish it whenever he can my name should not
appear but why may be forgotten but our Quaker friends salvers years ago even those philosophers who write books despising glory place their names on the title page but it was Cicero who wrote that like a golden mist the West lights up the window the diligent manuscript awaits already laden with infinity someone is building God in the Twilight a man engenders God he's a Jew of sad eyes and citroen skin time carries him as the river carries a leaf in the downstream no matter the enchanted one insists and shapes God with delicate geometry since his illness
since his birth he goes on constructing God with the word the mightiest love was granted him love but does not expect to be you you
