The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza & the Fate of God in the Modern World

284 Pages·2005·1.48 MB·English

by  Matthew Stewart

Acclaim for The Courtier and the Heretic
A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice A selection of the Book-of-
the-Month Club, History Book Club, Reader’s Subscription, and Quality
Paperback Book Club
“Because Spinoza’s doctrines have won acceptance from the architects of the
modern world even as Leibniz’s traditional religious beliefs have persisted
among many who inhabit that world, the drama Stewart recounts will rivet
readers skeptical and devout alike.”
—Bryce Christensen, Booklist
“[Stewart] is a fluid, even a jaunty writer, and his summations show fertile wit.”
—Liesl Schillinger, New York Times Book Review
“A most entertaining read about two extraordinary characters, which is both rich
in history and overflowing with ideas.”
—David Edmonds and John Eidinow, authors of Wittgenstein’s Poker
“Altogether excellent…. His approach is au courant and quite convincing…. He
deserves a medal for avoiding jargon and opting instead for accessibility.”
—Michael Weiss, New York Post
“[A] witty, fascinating new book…. Following Nietzsche’s maxim that ‘every
great philosophy is…a kind of involuntary and unperceived memoir,’ Stewart
deftly intertwines the lives and works of Spinoza and Leibniz and gives an
elegant and sometimes hilarious overview of their differences.”
—Lisa Montanarelli, San Francisco Chronicle
“Matthew Stewart has given us an engaging portrait of two of the most
important and fascinating thinkers of the modern age and of their complicated
relationship. Not only does he make their notoriously difficult ideas accessible,
but he does a brilliant job of illuminating for the reader their personal,
intellectual, and historical context.”
—Steven Nadler, author of Rembrandt’s Jews and Spinoza
“Lively and accessible…. Stewart’s account of the influence of Leibniz and
Spinoza on the history of ideas is thoroughly absorbing.”
—A. C. Grayling, author of What is Good? and Meditations for the Humanist:
Ethics for a Secular Age
“Stewart goes far to rescue both men from a kind of dusty academic shelf,
bringing them to life as enlightened humans displaying the kinds of intellectual
and personality differences in which postmodern Westerners delight.”
—Francisca Goldsmith, Library Journal
“Wide-ranging and entertaining…splendid.”
—Laura Miller, Salon
“[A] colorful reinterpretation of the lives and works of 17th-century
philosophers Spinoza and Leibniz…Stewart’s wit and profluent prose make this
book a fascinating read.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Stewart has discovered an appealing and novel way to write the history of
ideas, and The Courtier and the Heretic is…an enlightening, absorbing study.”
—Adam Kirsch, New York Sun
“Stewart makes accessible the many philosophical ideas presented and he brings
the men to life…. A highly readable examination of two influential, but often
overlooked, thinkers of the early Enlightenment.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Mr. Stewart handles Leibniz’s very complex response to Spinoza with dispatch,
and impressive lucidity…. The Courtier and the Heretic is a very good book, an
excellent introduction to the thought and lives of both its subjects.”
—Washington Times
“[An] agile and elegant book.”
—Globe and Mail
The Courtier and the Heretic
ALSO BY MATTHEW STEWART
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An Irreverent History of Philosophy with Illustrations
The Courtier and the Heretic
LEIBNIZ, SPINOZA, AND THE FATE OF GOD IN THE MODERN WORLD
Matthew Stewart
W. W. NORTON & COMPANY
•
NEW YORK LONDON
Copyright © 2006 by Matthew Stewart
All rights reserved
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write
to Permissions, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York,
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Production manager: Andrew Marasia
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stewart, Matthew, 1963–
The courtier and the heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the fate of God in the modern
world / Matthew Stewart.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN: 978-0-39307104-7
1. Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, Freiherr von, 1646–1716.
2. Spinoza, Benedictus de, 1632–1677. 3. God—History of doctrines. I. Title.
B2599.G63S74 2006
211—dc22
2005019962
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110
www.wwnorton.com
W.W. Norton & Company Ltd., Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T
3QT
For Katherine and Sophia
Contents
1 The Hague, November 1676
2 Bento
3 Gottfried
4 A Life of the Mind
5 God’s Attorney
6 The Hero of the People
7 The Many Faces of Leibniz
8 Friends of Friends
9 Leibniz in Love
10 A Secret Philosophy of the Whole of Things
11 Approaching Spinoza
12 Point of Contact
13 Surviving Spinoza
14 The Antidote to Spinozism
15 The Haunting
16 The Return of the Repressed
17 Leibniz’s End
18 Aftermath
Notes
A Note on Sources
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
1
The Hague, November 1676
It is our good fortune to live in an age when philosophy is thought to be a
harmless affair. As the autumn of 1676 approached, however, Baruch de Spinoza
had ample reason to fear for his safety. One of his friends had recently been
executed, and another had died in prison. His efforts to publish his definitive
work, the Ethics, had come to an end amid threats of criminal prosecution. A
leading French theologian named him “the most impious and the most dangerous
man of the century.” A powerful bishop denounced him as “that insane and evil
man, who deserves to be covered with chains and whipped with a rod.” To the
general public, he was known simply as “the atheist Jew.”
Among those who seemed eager to bring the infidel philosopher to justice was
a young courtier and polymath named Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. In a personal
letter to that same French theologian, Leibniz described Spinoza’s work as
“horrible” and “terrifying.” To a famous professor, he called it “intolerably
impudent.” To a friend he confided, “I deplore that a man of such evident culture
should have fallen so low.”
Yet, in the privacy of his study, Leibniz crammed his notebooks with
meticulous commentaries on Spinoza’s writings. He exchanged secret letters
with his public nemesis, addressing him as “celebrated doctor and profound
philosopher.” Through mutual friends he pleaded for a chance to examine a
manuscript copy of the Ethics. And, on or around November 18, 1676, he
traveled to The Hague and called on Spinoza in person.
Holland by yacht. He was thirty years old and well on his way to
LEIBNIZ ARRIVED IN
claiming his title as the last universal genius of Europe. He had already
discovered the mathematical method we call calculus (later than, but
independently of, Isaac Newton). He carried in his luggage his arithmetical
calculating machine—a small wooden box stuffed with gears and dials that may
be counted among the earliest ancestors of the modern computer. He had begun
to fill out the long list of his contributions to the fields of chemistry,
chronometry, geology, historiography, jurisprudence, linguistics, optics,