Epistolae (Spinoza)
The Epistolae are the correspondence of the Dutch philosopher Benedictus de Spinoza with a number of well-known learned men and with Spinoza's admirers, which Spinoza's followers in Amsterdam published after his death in the Opera Posthuma (Dutch translated edition: De nagelate schriften, 1677).
[1] Spinoza preserved the letters he received as well as the rough drafts of the letters he sent; 88 letters about mostly philosophical subjects have been preserved: 50 by Spinoza and 38 by his correspondents, 52 written in Latin and 26 in Dutch.
The letters concern subjects from the works by Spinoza (for instance infinity and the attributes (properties) of "God", Spinoza's concept of the universe) but also about ghosts and scientific discoveries as the vacuum.
[2] (Benedictus de Spinoza's text in Dutch:) Want voor my van al die dingen, die buyten myn maght syn, geen grooter aght als de eer te moogen hebben, van met luyde, die de waarhyt opreghtlyk beminnen, in verbont van vrientschap te treede, om dat ik geloof, dat wy niets ter werelt, dat buyten onse maght is, gerustigh konnen beminnen, dan sodanige menschen...(Benedictus de Spinoza, Letter to Willem van Blijenbergh, 5 January 1665, Op de lange bogart, Schiedam.
)[3][4] (Translation) Because to me of all the things that are beyond my power, none is greater than to have the honour to enter into an alliance of friendship with people who love truth sincerely because I believe that we can love nothing beyond our power in the world more safely than such people... Benedictus de Spinoza's correspondents include,[5] with the years of their letters:
