Spinoza: Portrait of a Spiritual Hero

by Rudolf Kayser

1946. Translated by Amy Allen and Maxim Newmark. A history of the life of Baruch Spinoza (who later began using the name Benedict), one of the most important of the post-Cartesian philosophers in the second half of the 17th century. He made significant contributions in virtually every area of philosophy, and his writings reveal the influence of such divergent sources as Stoicism, Jewish Rationalism, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Descartes, and a variety of heterodox religious thinkers of his day. Spinoza was one of those great men who made himself famous by views that were unusual and unknown to common souls. His father was a Portuguese Jew and because he did not have the means to help his son in business, he allowed Spinoza to study Hebrew literature. Due to the inadequacy of answers to questions voiced to his teacher, Spinoza began to read scripture over and over again, penetrated its obscurity, laid bare its mysteries and brought daylight to the clouds behind which he found truth. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Genres: Philosophy

348 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1932

Reviews

[G0thamite · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving account of a truly spiritual man. Spinoza, melancholy and humble, dedicated his life to his ideas. He endured withering criticism and rejection, but never wavered. Kayser's account of his death brought me to tears. How I wish Spinoza would have believed in the living Christ, but alas, he did not. But his character is one worthy of emulation. A seeker, he found his god in Nature. Next, I'm on to Nadler's more recent biography. Albert Einsteain wrote the introduction to Kayser's work, which shows his sympathy with Spinoza's philosophy.

[Karl Hallbjörnsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too melodramatic a narrative for my taste.