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useful to them all。 Hence; men who are governed by reason … that is; who 



seek what is useful to them in accordance with reason; desire for 



themselves nothing; which they do not also desire for the rest of mankind; 



and; consequently; are just; faithful; and honourable in their conduct。







Such are the dictates of reason; which I purposed thus briefly to 



indicate; before beginning to prove them in greater detail。 I have taken 



this course; in order; if possible; to gain the attention of those who 



believe; that the principle that every man is bound to seek what is useful 



for himself is the foundation of impiety; rather than of piety and virtue。 







Therefore; after briefly showing that the contrary is the case; I go 



on to prove it by; the same method; as that whereby I have hitherto 



proceeded。















Prop。 XIX。 Every man; by the laws of his 



nature; necessarily desires or shrinks 



from that which he deems to be good or bad。







Proof。… The knowledge of good and evil is (IV:viii。) the emotion of 



pleasure or pain; in so far as we are conscious thereof; therefore; 



every man necessarily desires what he thinks good; and shrinks from 



what he thinks bad。 Now this appetite is nothing else but man's nature 



or essence (Cf。 the Definition of Appetite; III。ix。note; and Def。 of 



the Emotions; i。)。 Therefore; every man; solely by the laws of his 



nature; desires the one; and shrinks from the other; &c。 Q。E。D。 















Prop。 XX。 The more every man endeavours; 



and is able to seek what is useful to him … 



in other words; to preserve his own being … 



the more is he endowed with virtue; on the 



contrary; in proportion as a man neglects 



to seek what is useful to him; that is; to 



preserve his own being; he is wanting in power。







Proof。… Virtue is human power; which is defined solely by man's essence 



(IV:Def。viii。); that is; which is defined solely by the endeavour made by 



man to persist in his own being。 Wherefore; the more a man endeavours; 



and is able to preserve his own being; the more is he endowed with virtue; 



and; consequently (III:iv。&;vi。); in so far as a man neglects to 



preserve his own being; he is wanting in power。 Q。E。D。 







Note。… No one; therefore; neglects seeking his own good; or preserving his 



own being; unless he be overcome by causes external and foreign to his 



nature。 No one; I say; from the necessity of his own nature; or otherwise 



than under compulsion from external causes; shrinks from food; or kills 



himself: which latter may be done in a variety of ways。 A man; for 



instance; kills himself under the compulsion of another man; who twists 



round his right hand; wherewith he happened to have taken up a sword; and 



forces him to turn the blade against his own heart; or; again; he may be 



compelled; like Seneca; by a tyrant's command; to open his own veins … 



that is; to escape a greater evil by incurring; a lesser; or; lastly; 



latent external causes may so disorder his imagination; and so affect his 



body; that it may assume a nature contrary to its former one; and whereof 



the idea cannot exist in the mind (III:x。) But that a man; from the 



necessity of his own nature; should endeavour to become non…existent; is 



as impossible as that something should be made out of nothing; as everyone 



will see for himself; after a little reflection。















Prop。 XXI。 No one can desire to be blessed; 



to act rightly; and to live rightly; without 



at the same time wishing to be; act; and to 



live … in other words; to actually exist。







Proof。… The proof of this proposition; or rather the proposition itself; 



is self…evident; and is also plain from the definition of desire。 For the 



desire of living; acting; &C。; blessedly or rightly; is (Def。 of the 



Emotions; i。) the essence of man … that is (III:vii。); the endeavour 



made by everyone to preserve his own being。 Therefore; no one can 



desire; &c。 Q。E。D。















Prop。 XXII。 No virtue can be conceived 



as prior to this endeavour to preserve 



one's own being。







Proof。… The effort for self…preservation is the essence of a thing 



(III:vii。); therefore; if any virtue could be conceived as prior 



thereto; the essence of a thing would have to be conceived as 



prior to itself; which is obviously absurd。 Therefore no virtue; &c。 



Q。E。D。







Corollary。… The effort for self…preservation is the first and only 



foundation of virtue。 For prior to this principle nothing can be 



conceived; and without it no virtue can be conceived。















Prop。 XXIII。 Man; in so far as he is 



determined to a particular action 



because he has inadequate ideas; 



cannot be absolutely said to act in 



obedience to virtue; he can only be 



so described; in so far as he is 



determined for the action because 



he understands。







Proof。… In so far as a man is determined to an action through having 



inadequate ideas; he is passive (III:i。); that is (III:Def。i。; &iii。); 



he does something; which cannot be perceived solely through his essence; 



that is (by IV:Def。viii。); which does not follow from his virtue。 But; 



in so far as he is determined for an action because he understands; he 



is active; that is; he does something; which is perceived through his 



essence alone; or which adequately follows from his virtue。 Q。E。D。















Prop。 XXIV。 To act absolutely in obedience 



to virtue is in us the same thing as to act; 



to live; or to preserve one's being (these 



three terms are identical in meaning) in 



accordance with the dictates of reason on the 



basis of seeking what is useful to one's self。







Proof。… To act absolutely in obedience to virtue is nothing else but 



to act according to the laws of one's own nature。 But we only act; in 



so far as we understand (III:iii。) : therefore to act in obedience to 



virtue is in us nothing else but to act; to live; or to preserve one's 



being in obedience to reason; and that on the basis of seeking what is 



useful for us (IV:xxii。Coroll。)。 Q。E。D。















Prop。 XXV。 No one wishes to preserve his 



being for the sake of anything else。







Proof。… The endeavour; wherewith everything endeavours to persist in its 



being; is defined solely by the essence of the thing itself (III:vii。); 



from this alone; and not from the essence of anything else; it necessarily 



follows (III:vi。) that everyone endeavours to preserve his being。 



Moreover; this proposition is plain from IV:xxii。Coroll。; for if a man 



should endeavour to preserve his being for the sake of anything else; the 



last…named thing would obviously be the basis of virtue; which; by the 



foregoing corollary; is absurd。 Therefore no one; &c。 Q。E。D。















Prop。 XXVI。 Whatsoever we endeavour in 



obedience to reason is nothing further 



than to understand; neither does the mind; 



in so far as it makes use of reason; judge 



anything to be useful to it; save such 



things as are conducive to understanding。







Proof。… The effort for self…preservation is nothing else but the essence 



of the thing in question (III:vii。); which; in so far as it exists such 



as it is; is conceived to have force for continuing in existence (III:vi。) 



and doing such things as necessarily follow from its given nature (see the 



Def。 of Appetite; II:ix。Note)。 But the essence of reason is nought else but 



our mind; in so far as it clearly and distinctly understands (see the 



definition in II:xl。Note:ii。) ; therefore (III:xl。) whatsoever we endeavour 



in obedience to reason is nothing else but to understand。 Again; since this 



effort of the mind wherewith the mind endeavours; in so far as it reasons; 



to preserve its own being is nothing else but understanding; this effort 



at understanding is (IV:xxii。Coroll。) the first and single basis of virtue; 



nor shall we endeavour to understand things for the sake of any ulterior 



object (IV:xxv。); on the other hand; the mind; in so far as it reasons; 



will not be able to conceive any good for itself; save such things as are 



conducive to understanding。















Prop。 XXVII。 We know nothing to be certainly 



good or evil; save such things as really 



conduce to understanding; or such as are 



able to hinder us from understanding。







Proof。… The mind; in so far as it reasons; desires nothing beyond 



understanding; and judges nothing to be useful to itself; save such 



things as conduce to understanding (by the foregoing Prop。)。 But the 



mind (II:xli。&Note) cannot possess certainty concerning anything; 



except in so far as it has adequate ideas; or (what by II:xl。Note; 



is the same thing) in so far as it reasons。 Therefore we know 

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