Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (Gephardt Edition 1925) [Paperback]

Benedictus de Spinoza (Author), Samuel Shirley (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Gephardt Edition 1925 | Publication Date: August 1997

This new and complete translation of Spinoza's famous 17th-century work fills an important gap, not only for all scholars of Spinoza, but also for everyone interested in the relationship between Western philosophy and religion, and the history of biblical exegesis. The existing Elwes translation of 1883 has long been regarded as insufficient by Spinoza scholars for its misleading rendering of the Latin and its many omissions. Samuel Shirley, well-known for his excellent best-selling translation of Spinoza's "Ethics," now presents this new, complete translation of Spinoza's "Tractatus Theologico-Politicus" in lucid English, which meets the highest standards of modern critical scholarship. The book includes an Index of Subjects and a detailed Index of Biblical References as well as an Introduction by Brad Gregory, which sets Spinoza squarely in the context of his time and intellectual tradition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Latin --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 315 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub; New edition edition (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004095500
• ISBN-13: 978-9004095502
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,891,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well translated entry into modern times, June 14, 2004

By 

Misha van Denderen (Amsterdam, Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (Gephardt Edition 1925) (Paperback)

Spinoza meant his Tractatus to pave the way for his magnum opus, the Ethics. The latter was too revolutionary to be published right away; Spinoza had it published after his death. He realized that if he did not try to win support for his point of view (in one formula: God and nature are the same), his Ethics would overshoot and not get the attention it needed to have.
Now, don't draw the conclusion that you may just skip the Tractatus and get to the Ethics right away. Between each line in the Tractatus, you can see Spinoza working for the political and theological implications he knew his work was about to have.

I did not read the original, so I cannot tell whether Elis' translation is correct. But it certainly makes reading the Tractatus easy.

Note: Spinoza takes knowledge of some bible-passages for granted. Perhaps too much so for a modern reader. It is worthwile to have a bible at arms length. There are only a few of these passages and the way Spinoza puts them to work to gain support for his point of view is at times breathtaking.