SPINOZA, Baruch.

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De Rechtzinnige Theologant, of Godgeleerde Staatkundige Verhandelinge. Uit het Latijin vertaalt. First edition in Dutch of the Tractatus theologico politicus, the rationalist philosopher's major work on political theology, a comprehensive defence of freedom, toleration, and intellectual enquiry.Spinoza spent the whole of his short life in the Netherlands, where he was excommunicated by the Jewish community and suffered at least one assassination attempt. Persistent fears for his safety led him to publish the Tractatus anonymously in 1670, in Latin, with a fictitious Hamburg/Henricus Koenrad imprint which carried across to the present edition. The work proved enormously popular and immensely controversial: it was among the few books to be officially banned in the Netherlands in this period. This underpinned Spinoza's reluctance to make it still more widely known in his local community by publishing a Dutch translation: this edition was eventually published some 15 years after his death. It is attributed to the prolific Dutch translator Jan Hendrik Glazemaker.The work is an extended argument for the freedom of thought and a challenge to the political power exercised by religious authorities: a heady mix of biblical criticism, political philosophy, and the philosophy of religion. For Spinoza, the primary threat to freedom of thought came from the religious establishment, which cultivated popular fears and superstitions in order to maintain its political power. His solution is to

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