Better that right counsels be known to enemies than that the evil secrets of tyrants should be concealed from the citizens. They who can treat secretly of the affairs of a nation have it absolutely under their authority; and as they plot against the enemy in time of war, so do they against the citizens in time of peace.
Baruch SpinozaSchisms do not originate in a love of truth, which is a source of courtesy and gentleness, but rather in an inordinate desire for supremacy.
Baruch SpinozaMen will find that they can ... avoid far more easily the perils which beset them on all sides by united action.
Baruch SpinozaIndulge yourself in pleasures only in so far as they are necessary for the preservation of health.
Baruch SpinozaIn so far as the mind sees things in their eternal aspect, it participates in eternity.
Baruch Spinoza