The Life and Writings of Spinoza

Moreover, the tendency to revolt against mere tradition and authority was very much in the air since the Renaissance, and it affected young Jews as others. There was the tragic figure of Gabriel da Costa, or Uriel Acosta (1585-164o). A crypto Jewish refugee from Oporto, in Portugal, he settled in Amsterdam. He was opposed to the belief in immortality, and to various Jewish rites, on the ground that they were not Biblical. He was excommunicated by the Jewish authorities, recanted, then returned to the charge, was excommunicated again, recanted again under humiliating conditions, and shot himself. In his naturalistic out look he was a forerunner of Spinoza. Especially interesting for the understanding of Spinoza is the case of another Jewish doctor of Amsterdam—Daniel de Prado (d. 1663). He too was opposed to supernaturalism and traditionalism, and appears to have influenced young people to adopt similar views. He was persuaded to recant in the synagogue in 1656, but there was no material change in his attitude. The synagogue authorities tried to bribe him to go abroad, but he declined, and was excommuni cated in 1657. A contemporary poet, punster and protector of the faith (Isaac Orobio de Castro) wrote an invective in verse against de Prado as a philosophaster who led astray young stu dents, Jewish and non-Jewish. Some of the allusions in this invective most probably refer to Spinoza, the record of whose excommunication faces the page in the communal minute book on which de Prado's recantation is recorded. Some of the writings of Jewish authors of the period (Samuel da Silva, Manasseh ben Israel, Orobio de Castro, etc.) in defence of immortality, revela tion and tradition afford considerable evidence of the intellectual ferment in Amsterdam Jewry. And the religious leaders of the day were not particularly tactful or tolerant. They were alarmed by heresies which were at least as anti-Christian as anti-Jewish, and were afraid of giving offence in a country of which they were not yet regarded as citizens. This alarm shows itself in the attempt to bribe de Prado and Spinoza into silence. But they were also imbued with something of the intolerant spirit of the Inquisition, whose victims they had been. In 1640, they actually put the ban on Manasseh ben Israel for some trivial reason, though they rescinded it soon afterwards.

The views which brought Spinoza into collision with the synagogue authorities were essentially the same as those of Farrar, Acosta and de Prado. In conversation with other students he told them that there is nothing in the Bible to support the views that God has no body, that there really are angels (as distinguished from merely imaginative visions of them), and that the soul is immortal. He also expressed his belief that the author of the Pentateuch was no wiser in matters pertaining to physics or even theology than they were. These utterances were reported to the Jewish authorities, who after vainly trying to silence him with bribes and threats excommunicated him in July 1656. The fact of his excommunication was formally reported to the civil authorities—a gesture intended to absolve the Jewish community from all responsibility for Spinoza's heresies. And Spinoza was banished from Amsterdam for a short period.

There is no evidence that Spinoza really wanted to break away from the Jewish community. Such evidence as there is rather points the other way. On December 5,1655, he attended service in the synagogue and made an offering. In view of his impecuniosity, offerings must have been rare events for him, and it may be assumed that he also went to the synagogue after that date, certainly in March 1656, the anniversary of his father's death.

Shortly before or after his excommunication he also addressed an Apology (or defence of his views) to the synagogue authorities. Apparently he was not entirely indifferent to their opinions of him. Possibly if Manasseh ben Israel had not been away in London at the critical time, the whole storm would have blown over. As it was, tactlessness, mischief making, alarm and intolerance were in the saddle and rode for a fall. In his 24th year Spinoza stood alone, but unafraid, and uplifted by his destiny to become one of the great lights of humanity.

Years of Re-Orientation

(1656-1660).—Already before his estrangement from the synagogue Spinoza had become acquainted with a number of Christians. Among these was a certain Francis van den Enden, an ex-Jesuit and ex-bookseller, but an ardent classical scholar and something of a poet and dramatist, who opened a school in Amsterdam in 1652. For a time Spinoza stayed with Van den Enden, assisting with the teaching of the school children, and receiving help in his own further education. In this way Spinoza improved his knowledge of Latin, learned some Greek, was introduced to the Neo-Scholastic philosophy of such writers as 'Burgersdijck (d. 1632) and Heereboord (d. 1659), and possibly also to the works of Descartes. In any case Spinoza's other Christian acquaintances were mostly Col legiants who were especially interested in the "new philosophy" of Descartes. At the same time he was learning the science and art of making lenses, in which he became a great expert. After his excommunication Spinoza spent some weeks, or possibly months, at Ouwerkerk, a village south of Amsterdam, and then returned to his native city, where he stayed until 1660. He supported himself partly by grinding and polishing lenses for spectacles, telescopes and microscopes, and partly by helping various people with their private studies. Holland was a country of many religious sects whose friction with the pre dominant Calvinist clergy imparted considerable vitality to theo logical problems and connected philosophical questions. As all these reformation movements were, or professed to be, "back to the Bible," a knowledge of Hebrew was felt to be necessary, and Hebrew experts like Spinoza were in some demand. The same was true of philosophy as an aid to theology. Accordingly, a number of amateur theologians secured the services of Spinoza to help them with their studies, and through them he also came into contact with others. Of his friends and acquaintances during this period the most important were Pieter Balling, Jarig Jelles, Lodewijk Meyer, Simon Joosten de Vries, and Jan Rieuwertsz. The sincerity of Simon Joosten de Vries's admiration for Spinoza was shown in many ways. At one time he pressed Spinoza to accept a gift of 2,000 florins, at another time he wanted to make Spinoza his sole heir, but in vain. By his will he left Spinoza an annuity of 500 florins, but Spinoza would not accept more than 300. Some or all of these and certain others formed a kind of reading and discussion circle for the study of religious and philosophical problems under the guidance of Spinoza. At first, we may assume, Cartesian philosophy played an important part in these discussions. For at that time there was something like a coalition between the "new philosophy" and liberal, dissenting theology, for they were both opposed by the dominant Calvinists. Most of his Collegiant friends remained Cartesian to the end, though Spinoza himself never followed Descartes in anything except his science.