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jqATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY
BRUNO
AND
SPINOZA
ARTHUR
B.
MOS S.
[price one penny.]
LONDON:
WATTS & Co., 84, FLEET STREET, E.C.
�ALSO BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
BUDDHA, SOCRATES, AND JESUS.........................................
THE MIRROR OF FREETHOUGHT ..
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THE BIBLE GOD AND HIS FAVOURITES............................
FICTITIOUS GODS
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CHRISTIANITY UNWORTHY OF GOD
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THE SECULAR FAITH...................................................................
IS RELIGION NECESSARY OR USEFUL?
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HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS
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THE OLD FAITH AND THE NEW
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London : Watts & Co., 84, Fleet Street; or (to order) of all
Booksellers.
jSS* For Mr. Moss’s List of Subjects of Freethought, Political, and
Social Lectures apply—89, Catlin Street, Potherhithe Neu Road, S.F.
�BRUNO AND SPINOZA.
Freethought has had no more ardent lovers, philo
sophy no more diligent students, persecution no more
fearless victims, than Bruno and Spinoza. Living in an
age when religious heresy was considered the most
horrible of crimes, these philosophers proved themselves
of such sterling metal that they were prepared to face
any persecution and undergo any punishment in their
zealous pursuit of truth. The first a hot-blooded Italian,
with a passionate love for the study of science and philor
sophy, which difficulties intensified rather than dimi
nished ; the other, a quiet, inoffensive Dutch Jew, with
the highest order of mind—these men confronted, singlehanded, the insidious monster, Superstition, and, by their
teaching and living, dealt such a tremendous blow at the
creature’s head that it has lain writhing in agony ever
since. The Church answered Bruno by imprisonment
and the stake; but the martyred Italian’s name is now
for ever destined to live in the memory of all true lovers
of intellectual freedom. Spinoza was anathematised and
cast out of the Jewish community, to work no longer for
a sect, but for mankind.
Giordano Bruno was born at Nola, near Naples, mid
way between Vesuvius and the Mediterranean, in the
year 1548. Of his parents we know nothing; all we
know is that Giordano, or Filippo—for that was his
baptismal name—was put to an excellent training college,
and at an early age gave promise of turning out a brilliant
scholar. “ He was a true Neapolitan child,” says Lewes,
“ as ardent as its volcanic soul, burning atmosphere, and
dark thick wine; as capricious as its varied climate.”
Filled with the ardour of an apostle, he had that restless
vigorous nature peculiarly fitting a teacher of doctrines
that were to revolutionise the world of thought. He was
�4
. .
BRUNO AND SPINOZA.
born in stirring times. Copernicus had only been dead
a few years; the printing press was in use; discoveries in
science of a very important character had agitated the
minds of thoughtful persons throughout the civilised
world. Possessed of a rich fancy, a polished eloquence,
a varied humour, and chivalrous bearing, Bruno at once
made a good impression upon all with whom he came
in contact. Young and handsome, with all the phrenzied
style of the poet, he was the beau ideal of a preacher;
and it is as a young priest that we first get a glimpse of
him in the Convent of San Domefiico Maggiorie, where
he lectured on his system of religious philosophy. So
strikingly original were his views that an accusation of
heresy was soon drawn up against him, but set aside on
account of his youth. A second accusation of a similar
character was made eight years subsequently, and was
also withdrawn. Doubtless the Dominicans thought that
in time the heretical tendencies of Bruno’s mind would
tone down, and he would become a shining light among
their order. But not so. Bruno’s restless spirit of in
quiry could not be subdued; ever and anon it broke
forth in different directions. First, the young priest’s
mind was filled with doubts concerning the mysterious
doctrine of Transubstantiation; the doctrines of the
Trinity and the Atonement were next called in question,
and, worse than all, he was bold enough to attack the
great pillar of all faith, the chief authority of the age—
Aristotle. Discarding altogether the Aristotelian theory
of the relation of the sun to the earth, Bruno openly
declared his belief in the Copernican theory of astro
nomy, the plurality of worlds, and his complete rejection
of the Scripture teaching respecting the origin of man
kind. The natural consequence of this avowed heresy
was that he was feared, and, as he could not be answered
by arguments, was replied to by that most forcible weapon
of the priesthood, persecution. Unable to withstand
his opponents, he fled; and we next find him in a con
vent at Rome. Here he stayed but a brief while, for,
finding that his persecutors were at his heels, he left the
Holy City, and continued his journey to Noli, at which
place he found employment as a schoolmaster for a few
months.
At the age of thirty he began his adventurous course
�BRUNO AND SPINOZA.
5
through Europe, staying at Geneva, Lyons, Toulouse,
Paris, London, and the Oxford University itself, where
he taught successfully for some time. At Toulouse
Bruno remained about two years, during which time he
filled the ’office of Public Lecturer. Often he held
disputations on his favourite subjects, and while there
found time to compose several works.
In 1583, after having held the position of Lecturer
Extraordinary at the Sorbonne, in Paris, appointed
thereto by Henry III., for more than two years, Bruno
came to England with a letter of introduction to the
French Ambassador in London. Here he was received
at the Court of Elizabeth, and met with a cordial welcome
from all save his own countrymen. While in London
he had the great happiness of Sir Philip Sydney’s
friendship—a friendship that lasted to the day of hia
death. Bruno spoke in flattering terms of English"
freedom, and of the beauty and grace of English women
generally, and expressed great admiration for the charac
ter of Elizabeth. Not long after his arrival in England
he was invited to a splendid fete given by the Chancellor
of Oxford in honour of the Count Palatine Albert de
Lasco. At this fete it was customary to have public dis
cussions, at which all comers were challenged. Oxford,
on this occasion, put forth her dialectical giants to defend
Aristotle and Ptolemy. Bruno stepped into the arena,
and, in the debate, shone to great advantage, igno
miniously defeating his adversaries, whom he said could
only reply by abuse. After this Bruno asked permission
to lecture at the University, which request was granted.
He discoursed on cosmology and on the immortality of
the soul, his lectures producing a great sensation. His
admiration for the learned Professors of Oxford was
apparently not great, for we find him describing them
as “ a constellation of pedants, whose ignorance, pre
sumption, and rustic rudeness would have exhausted
the patience of Job.”
In England Bruno spent the quietest part of his life,
and it was in this country that the greater part of his
Italian works was composed. In time, however, his
audacious opinions, and the eloquence with which he
advanced them, roused such opposition that he found it
necessary to quit the country. He returned to Paris
�6
BRUNO AND SPINOZA.
for awhile, and afterwards to Germany, where, in 1586,
he matriculated as Theologies. Doctor Romanensis, in the
University of Marburg, in Hesse. Shortly after this we
find him at Wiirtemberg, lecturing to large and admiring
audiences. So pleased was Bruno with the intellectual
liberty manifested at this place that he afterwards called
it the “ Athens of Germany.” There seems every reason
to believe that Bruno might have won high honours here,
and have gained a position that would have enabled him
to live in ease and comfort; but his restive spirit would
not admit of it. He was allured on from place to place
to preach, in the true spirit of a reformer, his unpopular
views.
At last we find him ensnared, by one Mocenigo, into
visiting Venice. Wishing to gain what knowledge he
could from Bruno, and being desirous, no doubt, of
patronising a man of great genius, Mocenigo induced
the Italian philosopher to be his guest. Bruno, with
inexplicable haste, accepted. Disappointment on both
sides soon followed; for, instead of fawning to his patron,
Bruno treated him with conspicuous coolness, and sought
the company of others, which so exasperated' Mocenigo
that he denounced him to.the Inquisition as a reprobate
and a heretic.
On this charge Bruno was tried,
transferred to Rome, and cast into prison, where, for
seven weary years, he languished without books to read
and without the companionship of one human being.
At intervals he was subjected to torture, with a view of
extorting from him a retractation of his heresy; but in
vain. Finding that he would not retract, he was brought,
on February 9th, to the Palace of San Severino, and
received the sentence of excommunication, after which
he was handed over by the Cardinals to the secular
authorities with the recommendation of a “punishment
as merciful as possible and without effusion of blood,”
which was the usual formula for burning alive. When
Bruno heard the sentence he turned haughtily upon his
persecutors and said : “ I suspect you pronounce this
sentence with more fear than I receive it.” A week’s
delay was accorded him, in the expectation that he would
recant; but the expiration of this time found him as firm
as ever.
On February 17 th, 1600, Bruno was led to an open
�BRUNO AND SPINOZA.
7
space in Rome, and there, in the presence of fifty
Cardinals and a crowd of pilgrims from many nations,
was burnt to death. The faggots were lighted, the
flames lept about him and consumed his flesh, and, in
a little while, a few ashes were all that remained of the
brave thinker. Bruno perished—the idle wind scattered
his ashes ; but the martyred Freethinker’s name and
work live to-day, and will be remembered with admira
tion and gratitude in every land where the sons of
Freedom dwell.
As a system of philosophy, Lewes thinks that “ Bruno’s
has only a historical, and not an intrinsic, value.” Bruno
was a Pantheist, and, in his writings, anticipates some of
the theories that were afterwards formulated with greater
skill by Spinoza. . The Italian philosopher was an ardent
lover of nature, considering that her wonders formed
the proper study for mankind—in fact, nature Bruno
regarded as the “ garment of God, the incarnation of
the divine activity.
Unlike the poet, Pope, he did not
“ look through nature up to Nature’s God.” Nature, to
him, was everywhere present, and the divine essence
permeated nature through and through. The important
scientific truth of the indestructibility of matter and
force Bruno appears to have thoroughly appreciated.
Writing on this subject, he says : “ What first was seed
becomes grass, then an ear, then bread, chyle, blood,
semen, embryo, man, a corpse, then again earth, stone,
or some other mass, and so forth. Here we perceive
something.which changes in all these things, and ever
remains the same. Thus there really seems nothing
constant, eternal, and worthy of the name of a principle,
but matter alone. Matter, considered absolutely, com
prises all forms and dimensions. But the variety of
forms which it assumes is not received from without,
but is produced and engendered from within.. When
we say that something dies, it is merely a transition to
a new life, a dissolution of one combination and the
commencement of another.” Or, to quote Professor
Tyndall’s Belfast address, referring to Bruno, the learned
Professor said that the Italian philosopher’s opinion was
that “ matter is not the mere naked, empty capacity
which philosophers have pictured her to be, but the
universal mother, who brings forth all things as the fruit
�BRUNO AND SPINOZA.
of her own womb.” And yet, despite the fact that he
looked upon Nature as containing within herself the
power of producing all phenomena, he nevertheless
believed that “ God was the infinite intelligence, the
cause of causes, the principle of all life and mind, the
great activity, whose action we name the universe.”
Thus Bruno’s creed was Pantheistic. It is quite true,
as modern theologians say, that Bruno was not an
Atheist, though he was burned as one y but assuredly he
died the death of a martyr to vindicate the great principle
of Freethought. His writings soon may be forgotten,
his philosophy regarded only with curiosity ; but the
memory of his honest, brave life and noble death will
live till the last syllable of recorded time.
SPINOZA.
Spinoza was not only a great thinker who deserved to
rank high among the most eminent of the world’s philo
sophers, but he was something more than this : he was
a great man, in the true sense of the word. His life
was a poem in itself. Honest, independent, modest, and
virtuous, he walked quietly through the earth, almost
friendless and alone—censured only by those who knew
not the purity of his life, and who were mentally incap
able of understanding the depth and truth of his philo
sophy. But, though he was condemned and calumniated
by the ignorant of his own day, Spinoza has since
been transformed by some into a Saint; and those who
once were disposed to look upon him with feelings akin
to horror and detestation now speak of him with respect
and admiration.
The fact is, Spinoza’s life will bear the severest criti
cism. Tested by the strictest principles of morality, it
was a life of such purity, goodness, generosity, and un
selfishness that even “ our friend the enemy ” is con
strained to admit that it was altogether blameless.
Baruch Despinoza, or Bendictus de Spinoza, was born
on November 24th, 1632, at Amsterdam, and was the
eldest and only son of a wealthy merchant, a descendant
from Portuguese Jews, who had sought refuge in Holland
from the terrible cruelties of the Inquisition. There
were two other children in the family besides young
Benedict—Miriam and Rebecca.
�BRUNO AND SPINOZA.
9
Of the early life of Spinoza we know very little. Our
attention is first drawn to him while he is studying at a
Jewish Academy, at which establishment he is endeavour
ing to qualify himself for a theological career. He is a
very promising pupil, and the Rabbi, Saul Levi Morteira,
predicts for him a prosperous career. At the age of
fifteen so well read was Spinoza that, in the extent and
accuracy of his Biblical knowledge, he was a match for
any Rabbi. He put puzzling, questions to his teacher,
to which answers of a satisfactory character were seldom
forthcoming.
At length his Sceptical spirit became so manifest that
his teacher was bewildered and alarmed. At first
Morteira tried to check Spinoza’s disposition of inquiry ;
but, of course, the attempt proved fruitless. His Scep
ticism showed more alarming symptoms. He actually
gave expression to a doubt concerning the truth of
Scripture, and suggested that Biblical statements were
hopelessly at variance with common sense. This was
too much for some of the Jewish students, to whom
Spinoza confided some of his opinions.' Rumours
regarding his heresy having reached the ears of the
heads of the Jewish Synagogue, Spinoza was called
upon to make submission and acknowledge his sin.
This he resolutely refused to do. Finding that he could
no longer conscientiously remain a member of the
Synagogue, he withdrew. This was not enough. An
interval was allowed, in which. Spinoza was to reconsider
his opinions, and, in the event of his not submitting, a
threat of excommunication was made. All ttys, how
ever-, so far from bridging the difficulty, had the effect of
widening the gulf between them. No doubt Spinoza’s
parents implored their son to give up his opinions, and
believe what they believed. No doubt his sisters urged
him, with many a tear, not to be so headstrong. But
not even their persuasive eloquence—which, doubtless,
was allowed to have its full weight—could alter his
resolution. His was a strong conviction, which no
appeal to the emotions could alter. The arguments of
Spinoza’s teacher having failed, threats followed; then
a bribe was tried, and a pension of one thousand florins
annually proposed to him; but all without avail. His
determination was unalterable. The Rabbis , were en
�10
BRUNO AND SPINOZA.
raged at this refusal, and, it is believed, instigated some
scoundrel to attempt the assassination of Spinoza. The
attempt, however, was not successful. The ruffian
waylaid the young heretic, and smote him from the
rear; but the dagger penetrated the coat collar, and
inflicted but a slight wound in the neck. Spinoza kept
the coat for some years as an evidence of the sort of
deeds religious fanaticism will lead men to perpetrate.
A greater exhibition of fanaticism soon followed ; for
on July 6th, 1656, a large crowd was gathered in the
Jewish Synagogue at Amsterdam to witness the excom
munication of the heretical Spinoza. We can imagine
the pious horror expressed on the faces of the enraged
assembly. Amid the wailing note of a great horn and
the solemn lamentations of a fanatical crowd, the chanter
rose and delivered the following anathema :— .
With the judgment of the angels and the sentence of the
saints we anathematise, execrate, curse, and cast out Baruch
de Spinoza, the whole of the sacred community assembling
in presence of the sacred books, with the six hundred and
thirteen precepts written therein, pronouncing against him
the anathema wherewith Joshua anathematised Jerico, the
malediction wherewith Elisha cursed the children, and all
the maledictions written in the book of the law. Let him
be accursed by day and accursed by night ; let him be
accursed in his lying down and accursed in his rising up,
accursed in going out and accursed in coming in. May the
Lord never pardon or acknowledge him ; may the wrath
and displeasure of the Lord burn henceforth against this
man, load him with all the curses written in the book of
the law, raze out his name from under the sky ; may the
Lord sevfer him for ever from all the tribes of Israel, weigh
him with all the maledictions of the firmament contained
in the book of the law ; and may all ye who are obedient
to your God be saved this day. Hereby, then, are all
admonished that none hold converse with him by word of
mouth ; none hold communication with him by writing ;
that no one do him any service, no one abide under the
same roof with him, and no one approach within four cubits’
length of him ; and no one read any document dictated by
him or written by his hand.
This reads very like the terrible curse in “The Jackdaw
of Rheims”:—
“ But, what gave rise to no little surprise,
No one seemed one penny the worse.”
�BRUNO AND SPINOZA.
II
Spinoza seems to have treated the anathema and ex
communication with the contempt they deserved. The
world was wide, and, for a young man with his talents
and classical knowledge, there were many opportunities
of getting a good living. He soon found an engage
ment in the educational establishment of Dr. Francis
Van den Ende, a man of exceptional attainments and
of very liberal views. Van den Ende had a charming
daughter, and Spinoza appears to have formed a deep
attachment for her; but, when the young lady had grown
to womanhood, Spinoza found that there was a wealthy
rival in the field. The allurements of wealth and position
presented so many charms as to quite fascinate Miss
Van den Ende, and she accepted her wealthy suitor in
preference to Spinoza. Young Spinoza bore his fate
with becoming fortitude : hereafter he devoted himself
to another mistress—to Philosophy, whom he served
with all the ardour of his nature.
“Experience having taught me,” he says, “ that all
the ordinary affairs of life are vain and futile, and that
those things which I dreaded were only in themselves
good or bad according as they moved my soul, I finally
resolved on inquiring if there was anything truly good
in itself, and capable of being communicated to man, a
good Which, everything else being rejected, could fill
the soul entirely—whether, in short, that good existed
which, if possessed, could give supreme and eternal
happiness.” And he came to the conclusion that the
“ supreme good ” was only to be attained by “ the union
of the mind with all nature ”—in other words) by the
study of philosophy.
The rest of Spinoza’s life may be told in a few lines.
By acquiring the art of grinding and polishing lenses
for optical purposes, he was enabled to earn a fair liveli
hood—at all events, sufficient for his small wants. His
daily bread he earned by the labour of his hands. In
the evenings he devoted himself to study and to writing.
In 1658 he left Amsterdam, after his services had
again been solicited by the chief of the Synagogue, and
we next find him residing at the house of a Christian
friend, at Rhynsburg. Here he formed many happy
friendships, among them being that of Dr. Meyer,
Simon de Vries, and, above all, Henry Oldenburg.
�JJ2
BRUNO AND SPINOZA.
In 1664 we find Spinoza at Voorburg, and two years
subsequently he occupied the same rooms at Hague as
Dr. Colerus, his biographer, afterwards lived in. Among
Spinoza’s best friends here was Jean de Witt, an
enthusiastic Republican. The friendship of these two
grew into a brotherly affection, and lasted till death parted
them.
From De Witt Spinoza accepted a small pension; *but
many handsome gifts from other sources he modestly
declined, saying that he had enough to satisfy his wants.
For some years he suffered uncomplainingly from a'
chronic form of consumption. One day.in the winter he
was seized with a sudden difficulty in breathing; unhappily
the attack lasted several hours, and terminated fatally,
Spinoza passing peacefully away on. Sunday, February
21st, 1679, at the age of forty.
Like Bruno, Spinoza was a Pantheist. He believed
in God; but his God was not a person, but an essences
He believed in the one existence, “ the one substance
beneath all appearances, the cause of all things ’’-^in
fact, there was very little difference between Spinoza’s
Pantheism and modern Atheism, which makes the
universe the one existence. Spinoza’s chief works—those
by which he has won general recognition, and, among
the cultured, great favour—are his “ Tractatus Theologico Politicus,” which demonstrates the comparatively
late origin and unreliability of the Pentateuch ; and his
profound work on “ Ethics.”
That Spinoza was a great logician is acknowledged on
all hands. Every problem with which he dealt was
subjected to a most searching analysis. And, though
modern Freethinkers may not be able to accept his con
clusions, for him they cannot but have the profoundest
admiration, not alone on account of his greatness as a
philosopher, but on account of the nobility of his life,
its simplicity, its purity, its courage, its earnest devotion
to truth, and, above all, its unpretentious heroism.
WATTS & GO., PRINTERS, 17, JOHNSON’S COURT, FLEET STREET, LONDON.
�
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Bruno and Spinoza
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Moss, Arthur B.
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Place of publication: London
Collation: 12 p. ; 19 cm.
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Watts & Co.
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[1885]
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Philosophy
Italy
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Benedictus De Spinoza
Giordano Bruno
NSS
Philosophers-Italy
Philosophy-Italian