On Divine Laws

The word "law" means that each individual acts in the same prescribed manner. This manner depends either on the necessity of nature or on the will of people. A law that depends on the necessity of nature is one that necessarily follows from the nature of the thing itself. A law that depends on the will of people, called human law, is one that people impose on themselves and others for the greater security and comfort of life. The universal laws of nature determine everything to exist in a certain way, yet these laws are still dependent on the will of people. This is because man, insofar as he is part of nature, is also part of the power of nature. Therefore, everything that follows from the necessity of human nature—essentially from nature itself, as determined by human nature—although necessarily, it still follows from the power of humans.

Definition of law: A principle of life that a person prescribes for themselves and others for some purpose. Since the goal of laws is not obvious to most, lawmakers, to make the laws binding on everyone, have set up some other goal that greatly differs from the one that necessarily follows from the nature of the laws. Advocates of the laws promised something that the great masses desire most, while they threatened violators with something that the great masses fear most. If the law is nothing more than a principle of life prescribed by people for some purpose, then a distinction must be made between human and divine law.

By human law, I mean the principle of life that serves merely to ensure life and the state; by divine law, I mean the one that pertains only to the highest good, to the true knowledge and love of God. The better part of our being is our reason, and so we must strive to perfect our reason. Moreover, all our certainty depends solely on the knowledge of God, for without God nothing can be comprehended, and we can doubt everything until we have a clear idea of God. Everything in nature contains and expresses the concept of God. The more we understand natural things, the more perfect our knowledge of God becomes. Our entire understanding does not depend on the knowledge of God, but rather is wholly found in the knowledge of God. Our highest good and happiness is the knowledge and love of God.

We call God's commandments those means whose goal is God, for God Himself prescribes them for us, and the life principle that keeps this goal in mind is called divine law. Since the love of God is man's greatest happiness and salvation, only the one who strives to love God follows divine law, not out of fear of punishment, but simply because they have come to know God. Therefore, the supreme commandment of divine law is to love God as the highest good. The nature of the natural divine law is universal, because it is derived from the general human nature; it does not require the calling of stories, does not demand rituals, and its highest reward is the law itself, that is, knowing God. God is only described as a legislator, merciful and just, according to the people's understanding and the deficiencies in their thinking. In reality, God acts and directs everything solely from the necessity of His nature and perfection. His decrees and wills are eternal truths and always contain necessity. God commanded Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, to seek good for the sake of goodness itself, and not out of fear of evil. Whoever seeks good from the true knowledge of good acts freely, but whoever acts out of fear of evil acts servilely. The commandment given to Adam encompasses the entire natural law and fully aligns with the guidance of natural light. Through natural light, everyone can clearly know God's power and eternal divinity, and from this, they can learn what to seek and what to avoid. The Scriptures undoubtedly speak in favor of natural light and the natural divine law.

Spinoza "Teológiai-politikai tanulmány", Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1984