lookout outlook
It is not easy to put the right interpretation on Spinoza’s desire for independence. He wished to think and to live nothing other than the truth […] He was not concerned with his own person. This man, who was so entirely himself, was without self-seeking. He was free from pride and violence and seemed never to think of himself. He wished his Ethics to appear only after his death and without his name. For the truth is impersonal. It does not matter who first formulated its propositions. He did not claim to possess the truth (it is a very different matter with scientists and mathematicians who justifiably claim priority for their achievements as mere achievements).