Propositions 33 to 42

33. God’s intellectual love, arising from intuition, is eternal.

34. The mind is subject to those emotions which are attributable to passions, only while the body endures. Proof= Imagination is the idea wherewith the mind contemplates a thing as present (2.17 note).

Yet this idea indicates rather the present disposition of the human body than the nature of the external thing (2.16. Coroll. 2). Therefore, emotion (see general Def. of Emotions) is imagination, as it indicates the present disposition of the body. Therefore (5.21.) the mind is subject to emotions which are attributable to passions, only while the body endures. Q.E.D.

Corollary: Hence it follows that no love save intellectual love is eternal. Note= If we look to men’s general opinion, we shall see that they are indeed conscious of the eternity of their mind, but that they confuse eternity with duration, and ascribe it to the imagination or the memory which they believe to remain after death. Proposition 35= God loves himself with an infinite intellectual love.

36. The intellectual love of the mind towards God is that very love of God whereby God loves himself, not as he is infinite, but as he can be explained through the human mind’s essence regarded under the form of eternity. In other words, the intellectual love of the mind towards God is part of the infinite love wherewith God loves himself.

Corollary= It follows that God, as he loves himself, loves man. Consequently, the love of God towards men, and the intellectual love of the mind towards God are identical.

37. There is nothing in nature, which is contrary to this intellectual love, or which can take it away.

38. In proportion as the mind understands more things by the second and third kind of knowledge, it is less subject to those emotions which are evil, and stands in less fear of death.

39. He, who possesses a body capable of the greatest number of activities, possesses a mind whereof the greatest part is eternal. Proof= He, who possesses a body capable of the greatest number of activities, is least agitated by those evil emotions (4.38.) or (4.30.) those emotions which are contrary to our nature.

40. In proportion as each thing possesses more of perfection, so is it more active, and less passive. Vice versa, in proportion as it is more active, so is it more perfect.

41. Blessedness is not the reward of virtue, but virtue itself. We do not rejoice therein, because we control our lusts, but because we rejoice therein, we are able to control our lusts.

Note= I have thus completed all I wished to set forth touching the mind’s power over the emotions and the mind’s freedom. Whence it appears, how potent is the wise man, and how much he surpasses the ignorant man, who is driven only by his lusts. The ignorant man is not only distracted in various ways by external causes without ever gaining the true acquiescence of his spirit. He lives unwitting of himself, of God, and of things. As soon as he ceases to suffer, he also ceases to be. The wise man is not disturbed in spirit at all. He is conscious of himself, God, and things by a certain eternal necessity. He never ceases to be conscious. He always has true acquiescence of his spirit. If the way which I have pointed out as leading to this result seems exceedingly hard, it may nevertheless be discovered. Needs must it be hard, since it is so seldom found. How would it be possible, if salvation were ready to our hand, and could without great labour be found, that it should be by almost all men neglected? But all things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.