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Baruch Spinoza
Spinoza’s Correspondence: Spinoza-Authored Letters, English Manifestation Section section-0016
Section 16 of 114
Canonical reference section-0016
English
R. H. M. Elwes
I have taken miracles and ignorance as equivalent terms, because those, who
endeavour to establish God’s existence and the truth of religion by means of miracles,
seek to prove the obscure by what is more obscure and completely unknown, thus
introducing a new sort of argument, the reduction, not to the impossible, as the phrase
is, but to ignorance. But, if I mistake not, I have sufficiently explained my opinion on
miracles in the Theologico-Political treatise. I will only add here, that if you will
reflect on the facts; that Christ did not appear to the council, nor to Pilate, nor to any
unbeliever, but only to the faithful,; also that God has neither right hand nor left, but
is by His essence not in a particular spot, but everywhere; that matter is everywhere
the same; that God does not manifest himself in the imaginary space supposed to be
French AI-generated translation, non-official
Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11
J'ai tenu les miracles et l'ignorance pour des termes équivalents, parce que ceux qui s'efforcent d'établir l'existence de Dieu et la vérité de la religion au moyen des miracles cherchent à prouver l'obscur par ce qui est plus obscur encore et entièrement inconnu, introduisant ainsi une nouvelle sorte d'argument : la réduction, non à l'impossible, comme on dit, mais à l'ignorance. Mais, si je ne me trompe, j'ai suffisamment expliqué mon opinion sur les miracles dans le traité théologico-politique. J'ajouterai seulement ici que, si vous réfléchissez aux faits suivants : que le Christ n'apparut ni au conseil, ni à Pilate, ni à aucun incroyant, mais seulement aux fidèles ; que Dieu n'a ni droite ni gauche, mais que, par son essence, il n'est pas en un lieu particulier, mais partout ; que la matière est partout la même ; que Dieu ne se manifeste pas dans l'espace imaginaire supposé être
Concepts in this passage
Anger
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Attribute
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Care of the soul
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Faith
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Freedom
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God
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Human wisdom
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Messiah
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Mode
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Necessity
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Reason
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Substance
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Truth
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