In 1675 the Ethics was finished finally, and Spinoza went to Amsterdam to see whether it might be published. But rumour had preceded him. Not only the clerics and theologians but even the "stupid Cartesians" were up in arms and brewing mischief. Spinoza, accordingly, abandoned the idea of publishing it. But manuscript copies of it were in the hands of his intimate friends. Once more he turned his attention to political problems, and began his Political Treatise, which he did not live to finish.
In 1675 Tschirnhaus visited Spinoza, and also brought about the resumption of the correspondence between Oldenburg and Spinoza. In 1676 Leibniz was staying in The Hague. Already in 1671 he had heard of Spinoza as an authority on optics and had sent him a copy of an optical tract. Since then he had read the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, of which Spinoza then sent him a copy; and he had also learned from Tschirnhaus something about Spinoza's philosophy. He was evidently interested deeply. For, according to his own account, he visited Spinoza frequently and "conversed with him often and at great length." The days of Spinoza were drawing to an end. The glass dust from the lenses had done its worst. He was in the last stage of consumption. About the middle of February 1677 he sent to Amsterdam for his medical friend Schuller. On Sunday, February 20, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Spinoza passed away in the presence of Schuller. Four days later he was buried in the New
Church on the Spuy. He was only 44.
In accordance with his previous instructions his manuscripts were sent to Rieuwertsz in Amsterdam. Jelles, Meyer and Schul ler prepared them secretly for the press. The Opera Posthuma by B. D. S. (and the Dutch version, De Nagelate Schrif ten) were published before the end of 1677. They consisted of the Ethics, the Political Treatise, the Treatise on the Improvement of the Understanding, the Letters and the Hebrew Grammar.
The Short Treatise had disappeared, but two copies of a Dutch version were recovered in 1852 and an edition was published in 1862. Two short essays on The Rainbow (1687) and The Calcula tion of Chances were also lost for a time, but were found and pub lished, The Rainbow in 1862, and both essays in 1883.
For about a century Spinoza's name was anathema. His writ ings were indeed studied and his ideas were borrowed to a greater extent than is commonly supposed. But people dared not mention his name with respect, much less acknowledge their indebtedness to him. In time, however, things improved. Lessing, Goethe and Coleridge did most to rehabilitate his name, and others followed suit. The monument at The Hague, the Spinozahuis at Rijnsburg, and the Domus Spinozana in The Hague bear testimony to the reverence in which the memory of Spinoza is now held throughout the civilized world.