Baruch Spinoza
“In so far as the mind sees things in their eternal aspect, it participates in eternity.”
“The endeavor to persevere in one’s being is the first and only foundation of virtue.”
“The more we understand particular things, the more we understand God.”
“Desire is the very essence of man.”
“Peace is not an absence of war; it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.”
“Happiness is not the reward of virtue, but virtue itself.”
“I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to understand them.”
“All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.”