Theologico-Political Treatise P2(神学与政治专题研究2)

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A Theologico-Political Treatise Part 2

A Theologico-Political

Treatise Part 2

Chapters VI to X

Baruch Spinoza

A Theologico-Political Treatise Part 2

CHAPTER VI. - OF

MIRACLES.

(1) As men are accustomed to call Divine the knowledge which

transcends human understanding, so also do they style Divine, or the work

of God, anything of which the cause is not generally known: for the

masses think that the power and providence of God are most clearly

displayed by events that are extraordinary and contrary to the conception

they have formed of nature, especially if such events bring them any profit

or convenience: they think that the clearest possible proof of God's

existence is afforded when nature, as they suppose, breaks her accustomed

order, and consequently they believe that those who explain or endeavour

to understand phenomena or miracles through their natural causes are

doing away with God and His providence. (2) They suppose, forsooth, that

God is inactive so long as nature works in her accustomed order, and vice

versa, that the power of nature and natural causes are idle so long as God

is acting: thus they imagine two powers distinct one from the other, the

power of God and the power of nature, though the latter is in a sense

determined by God, or (as most people believe now) created by Him. (3)

What they mean by either, and what they understand by God and nature

they do not know, except that they imagine the power of God to be like

that of some royal potentate, and nature's power to consist in force and

energy.

(4) The masses then style unusual phenomena, "miracles," and partly

from piety, partly for the sake of opposing the students of science, prefer

to remain in ignorance of natural causes, and only to hear of those things

which they know least, and consequently admire most. (5) In fact, the

common people can only adore God, and refer all things to His power by

removing natural causes, and conceiving things happening out of their due

course, and only admires the power of God when the power of nature is

conceived of as in subjection to it.

(6) This idea seems to have taken its rise among the early Jews who

saw the Gentiles round them worshipping visible gods such as the sun, the

A Theologico-Political Treatise Part 2

moon, the earth, water, air, &c., and in order to inspire the conviction that

such divinities were weak and inconstant, or changeable, told how they

themselves were under the sway of an invisible God, and narrated their

miracles, trying further to show that the God whom they worshipped

arranged the whole of nature for their sole benefit: this idea was so

pleasing to humanity that men go on to this day imagining miracles, so

that they may believe themselves God's favourites, and the final cause for

which God created and directs all things.

(7) What pretension will not people in their folly advance! (8) They

have no single sound idea concerning either God or nature, they confound

God's decrees with human decrees, they conceive nature as so limited that

they believe man to be its chief part! (9) I have spent enough space in

setting forth these common ideas and prejudices concerning nature and

miracles, but in order to afford a regular demonstration I will show -

(10) I. That nature cannot be contravened, but that she preserves a

fixed and immutable order, and at the same time I will explain what is

meant by a miracle.

(11) II. That God's nature and existence, and consequently His

providence cannot be known from miracles, but that they can all be much

better perceived from the fixed and immutable order of nature.

(12) III. That by the decrees and volitions, and consequently the

providence of God, Scripture (as I will prove by Scriptural examples)

means nothing but nature's order following necessarily from her eternal

laws.

(13) IV. Lastly, I will treat of the method of interpreting Scriptural

miracles, and the chief points to be noted concerning the narratives of

them.

(14) Such are the principal subjects which will be discussed in this

chapter, and which will serve, I think, not a little to further the object of

this treatise.

(15) Our first point is easily proved from what we showed in Chap. IV.

about Divine law - namely, that all that God wishes or determines involves

eternal necessity, and truth, for we demonstrated that God's understanding

is identical with His will, and that it is the same thing to say that God wills

A Theologico-Political Treatise Part 2

a thing, as to say, that He understands it; hence, as it follows necessarily,

from the Divine nature and perfection that God understands a thing as it is,

it follows no less necessarily that He wills it as it is. (16) Now, as nothing

is necessarily true save only by, Divine decree, it is plain that the universal

laws of nature are decrees of God following from the necessity and

perfection of the Divine nature. (17) Hence, any event happening in nature

which contravened nature's universal laws, would necessarily also

contravene the Divine decree, nature, and understanding; or if anyone

asserted that God acts in contravention to the laws of nature, he, ipso facto,

would be compelled to assert that God acted against His own nature - an

evident absurdity. (18) One might easily show from the same premises that

the power and efficiency, of nature are in themselves the Divine power and

efficiency, and that the Divine power is the very essence of God, but this I

gladly pass over for the present.

(19) Nothing, then, comes to pass in nature (N.B. I do not mean here

by "nature," merely matter and its modifications, but infinite other things

besides matter.) in contravention to her universal laws, nay, everything

agrees with them and follows from them, for whatsoever comes to pass,

comes to pass by the will and eternal decree of God; that is, as we have

just pointed out, whatever comes to pass, comes to pass according to laws

and rules which involve eternal necessity and truth; nature, therefore,

always observes laws and rules which involve eternal necessity, and truth,

although they may not all be known to us, and therefore she keeps a fixed

and mutable order. (20) Nor is there any sound reason for limiting the

power and efficacy of nature, and asserting that her laws are fit for certain

purposes, but not for all; for as the efficacy, and power of nature, are the

very, efficacy and power of God, and as the laws and rules of nature are

the decrees of God, it is in every way to be believed that the power of

nature is infinite, and that her laws are broad enough to embrace

everything conceived by, the Divine intellect; the only alternative is to

assert that God has created nature so weak, and has ordained for her laws

so barren, that He is repeatedly compelled to come afresh to her aid if He

wishes that she should be preserved, and that things should happen as He

desires: a conclusion, in My opinion, very far removed from reason. (21)

A Theologico-Political Treatise Part 2

Further, as nothing happens in nature which does not follow from her laws,

and as her laws embrace everything conceived by the Divine intellect, and

lastly, as nature preserves a fixed and immutable order; it most clearly

follows that miracles are only intelligible as in relation to human opinions,

and merely mean events of which the natural cause cannot be explained by

a reference to any ordinary occurrence, either by us, or at any rate, by the

writer and narrator of the miracle.

(22) We may, in fact, say that a miracle is an event of which the causes

annot be explained by the natural reason through a reference to ascertained

workings of nature; but since miracles were wrought according to the

understanding of the masses, who are wholly ignorant of the workings of

nature, it is certain that the ancients took for a miracle whatever they could

not explain by the method adopted by the unlearned in such cases, namely,

an appeal to the memory, a recalling of something similar, which is

ordinarily regarded without wonder; for most people think they

sufficiently understand a thing when they have ceased to wonder at it. (23)

The ancients, then, and indeed most men up to the present day, had no

other criterion for a miracle; hence we cannot doubt that many things are

narrated in Scripture as miracles of which the causes could easily be

explained by reference to ascertained workings of nature. (24) We have

hinted as much in Chap. II., in speaking of the sun standing still in the

time of Joshua, and to say on the subject when we come to treat of the

interpretation of miracles later on in this chapter.

(25) It is now time to pass on to the second point, and show that we

cannot gain an understanding of God's essence, existence, or providence

by means of miracles, but that these truths are much better perceived

through the fixed and immutable order of nature. (26) I thus proceed with

the demonstration. (27) As God's existence is not self-evident (6) it must

necessarily be inferred from ideas so firmly and incontrovertibly true, that

no power can be postulated or conceived sufficient to impugn them. (28)

They ought certainly so to appear to us when we infer from them God's

existence, if we wish to place our conclusion beyond the reach of doubt;

for if we could conceive that such ideas could be impugned by any power

whatsoever, we should doubt of their truth, we should doubt of our

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conclusion, namely, of God's existence, and should never be able to be

certain of anything. (29) Further, we know that nothing either agrees with

or is contrary to nature, unless it agrees with or is contrary to these

primary ideas; wherefore if we would conceive that anything could be

done in nature by any power whatsoever which would be contrary to the

laws of nature, it would also be contrary to our primary ideas, and we

should have either to reject it as absurd, or else to cast doubt (as just

shown) on our primary ideas, and consequently on the existence of God,

and on everything howsoever perceived. (30) Therefore miracles, in the

sense of events contrary to the laws of nature, so far from demonstrating to

us the existence of God, would, on the contrary, lead us to doubt it, where,

otherwise, we might have been absolutely certain of it, as knowing that

nature follows a fixed and immutable order.

(31) Let us take miracle as meaning that which cannot be explained

through natural causes. (32) This may be interpreted in two senses: either

as that which has natural causes, but cannot be examined by the human

intellect; or as that which has no cause save God and God's will. (33) But

as all things which come to pass through natural causes, come to pass also

solely through the will and power of God, it comes to this, that a miracle,

whether it has natural causes or not, is a result which cannot be explained

by its cause, that is a phenomenon which surpasses human understanding;

but from such a phenomenon, and certainly from a result surpassing our

understanding, we can gain no knowledge. (34) For whatsoever we

understand clearly and distinctly should be plain to us either in itself or by

means of something else clearly and distinctly understood; wherefore from

a miracle or a phenomenon which we cannot understand, we can gain no

knowledge of God's essence, or existence, or indeed anything about God

or nature; whereas when we know that all things are ordained and ratified

by God, that the operations of nature follow from the essence of God, and

that the laws of nature are eternal decrees and volitions of God, we must

perforce conclude that our knowledge of God, and of God's will increases

in proportion to our knowledge and clear understanding of nature, as we

see how she depends on her primal cause, and how she works according to

eternal law. (35) Wherefore so far as our understanding goes, those

A Theologico-Political Treatise Part 2

phenomena which we clearly and distinctly understand have much better

right to be called works of God, and to be referred to the will of God than

those about which we are entirely ignorant, although they appeal

powerfully to the imagination, and compel men's admiration.

(36) It is only phenomena that we clearly and distinctly understand,

which heighten our knowledge of God, and most clearly indicate His will

and decrees. (37) Plainly, they are but triflers who, when they cannot

explain a thing, run back to the will of God; this is, truly, a ridiculous way

of expressing ignorance. (38) Again, even supposing that some conclusion

could be drawn from miracles, we could not possibly infer from them the

existence of God: for a miracle being an event under limitations is the

expression of a fixed and limited power; therefore we could not possibly

infer from an effect of this kind the existence of a cause whose power is

infinite, but at the utmost only of a cause whose power is greater than that

of the said effect. (39) I say at the utmost, for a phenomenon may be the

result of many concurrent causes, and its power may be less than the

power of the sum of such causes, but far greater than that of any one of

them taken individually. (40) On the other hand, the laws of nature, as we

have shown, extend over infinity, and are conceived by us as, after a

fashion, eternal, and nature works in accordance with them in a fixed and

immutable order; therefore, such laws indicate to us in a certain degree the

infinity, the eternity, and the immutability of God.

(40) We may conclude, then, that we cannot gain knowledge of the

existence and providence of God by means of miracles, but that we can far

better infer them from the fixed and immutable order of nature. (41) By

miracle, I here mean an event which surpasses, or is thought to surpass,

human comprehension: for in so far as it is supposed to destroy or

interrupt the order of nature or her laws, it not only can give us no

knowledge of God, but, contrariwise, takes away that which we naturally

have, and makes us doubt of God and everything else.

(42) Neither do I recognize any difference between an event against

the laws of nature and an event beyond the laws of nature (that is,

according to some, an event which does not contravene nature, though she

is inadequate to produce or effect it) - for a miracle is wrought in, and not

A Theologico-Political Treatise Part 2

beyond nature, though it may be said in itself to be above nature, and,

therefore, must necessarily interrupt the order of nature, which otherwise

we conceive of as fixed and unchangeable, according to God's decrees. (43)

If, therefore, anything should come to pass in nature which does not

follow from her laws, it would also be in contravention to the order which

God has established in nature for ever through universal natural laws: it

would, therefore, be in contravention to God's nature and laws, and,

consequently, belief in it would throw doubt upon everything, and lead to

Atheism.

(44) I think I have now sufficiently established my second point, so

that we can again conclude that a miracle, whether in contravention to, or

beyond, nature, is a mere absurdity; and, therefore, that what is meant in

Scripture by a miracle can only be a work of nature, which surpasses, or is

believed to surpass, human comprehension. (45) Before passing on to my

third point, I will adduce Scriptural authority for my assertion that God

cannot be known from miracles. (46) Scripture nowhere states the doctrine

openly, but it can readily be inferred from several passages. (47) Firstly,

that in which Moses commands (Deut. xiii.) that a false prophet should be

put to death, even though he work miracles: "If there arise a prophet

among you, and giveth thee a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder

come to pass, saying, Let us go after other gods . . . thou shalt not hearken

unto the voice of that prophet; for the Lord your God proveth you, and that

prophet shall be put to death." (48) From this it clearly follows that

miracles could be wrought even by false prophets; and that, unless men

are honestly endowed with the true knowledge and love of God, they may

be as easily led by miracles to follow false gods as to follow the true God;

for these words are added: "For the Lord your God tempts you, that He

may know whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your

mind."

(49) Further, the Israelites, from all their miracles, were unable to form

a sound conception of God, as their experience testified: for when they

had persuaded themselves that Moses had departed from among them,

they petitioned Aaron to give them visible gods; and the idea of God they

had formed as the result of all their miracles was - a calf!

A Theologico-Political Treatise Part 2

(50) Asaph, though he had heard of so many miracles, yet doubted of

the providence of God, and would have turned himself from the true way,

if he had not at last come to understand true blessedness. (See Ps. lxxxiii.)

(51) Solomon, too, at a time when the Jewish nation was at the height of

its prosperity, suspects that all things happen by chance. (See Eccles. iii:19,

20, 21; and chap. ix:2, 3, &c.)

(52) Lastly, nearly all the prophets found it very hard to reconcile the

order of nature and human affairs with the conception they had formed of

God's providence, whereas philosophers who endeavour to understand

things by clear conceptions of them, rather than by miracles, have always

found the task extremely easy - at least, such of them as place true

happiness solely in virtue and peace of mind, and who aim at obeying

nature, rather than being obeyed by her. (53) Such persons rest assured

that God directs nature according to the requirements of universal laws,

not according to the requirements of the particular laws of human nature,

and trial, therefore, God's scheme comprehends, not only the human race,

but the whole of nature.

(54) It is plain, then, from Scripture itself, that miracles can give no

knowledge of God, nor clearly teach us the providence of God. (55) As to

the frequent statements in Scripture, that God wrought miracles to make

Himself plain to man - as in Exodus x:2, where He deceived the Egyptians,

and gave signs of Himself, that the Israelites might know that He was

God,- it does not, therefore, follow that miracles really taught this truth,

but only that the Jews held opinions which laid them easily open to

conviction by miracles. (56) We have shown in Chap. II. that the reasons

assigned by the prophets, or those which are formed from revelation, are

not assigned in accordance with ideas universal and common to all, but in

accordance with the accepted doctrines, however absurd, and with the

opinions of those to whom the revelation was given, or those whom the

Holy Spirit wished to convince.

(57) This we have illustrated by many Scriptural instances, and can

further cite Paul, who to the Greeks was a Greek, and to the Jews a Jew.

(58) But although these miracles could convince the Egyptians and Jews

from their standpoint, they could not give a true idea and knowledge of

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God, but only cause them to admit that there was a Deity more powerful

than anything known to them, and that this Deity took special care of the

Jews, who had just then an unexpectedly happy issue of all their affairs.

(59) They could not teach them that God cares equally for all, for this can

be taught only by philosophy: the Jews, and all who took their knowledge

of God's providence from the dissimilarity of human conditions of life and

the inequalities of fortune, persuaded themselves that God loved the Jews

above all men, though they did not surpass their fellows in true human

perfection.

(60) I now go on to my third point, and show from Scripture that the

decrees and mandates of God, and consequently His providence, are

merely the order of nature - that is, when Scripture describes an event as

accomplished by God or God's will, we must understand merely that it

was in accordance with the law and order of nature, not, as most people

believe, that nature had for a season ceased to act, or that her order was

temporarily interrupted. (61) But Scripture does not directly teach matters

unconnected with its doctrine, wherefore it has no care to explain things

by their natural causes, nor to expound matters merely speculative. (62)

Wherefore our conclusion must be gathered by inference from those

Scriptural narratives which happen to be written more at length and

circumstantially than usual. (63) Of these I will cite a few.

(64) In the first book of Samuel, ix:15, 16, it is related that God

revealed to Samuel that He would send Saul to him, yet God did not send

Saul to Samuel as people are wont to send one man to another. (65) His

"sending" was merely the ordinary course of nature. (66) Saul was looking

for the asses he had lost, and was meditating a return home without them,

when, at the suggestion of his servant, he went to the prophet Samuel, to

learn from him where he might find them. (67) From no part of the

narrative does it appear that Saul had any command from God to visit

Samuel beyond this natural motive.

(68) In Psalm cv. 24 it is said that God changed the hearts of the

Egyptians, so that they hated the Israelites. (69) This was evidently a

natural change, as appears from Exodus, chap.i., where we find no slight

reason for the Egyptians reducing the Israelites to slavery.

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ATheologico-PoliticalTreatisePart21ATheologico-PoliticalTreatisePart2ChaptersVItoXBaruchSpinozaATheologico-PoliticalTreatisePart22CHAPTERVI.-OFMIRACLES.(1)AsmenareaccustomedtocallDivinetheknowledgewhichtranscendshumanunderstanding,soalsodotheystyleDivine,ortheworkofGod,anythingofwhichthecauseisnotge...

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