« "A feeling can only be thwarted or suppressed by a feeling stronger than the feeling to be annoyed." Thus, one will not suppress hatred, sorrow or fear simply by reasoning, but by bringing out a love, a joy, a hope. The role of reason is therefore to identify a thing or person likely to awaken in us a positive feeling, greater than the negative affect that plunges us into sadness, and thus capable of awakening a new desire. »

« Democracy is therefore not necessarily the most morally virtuous regime, but it is the most effective, the most able to ensure the cohesion of citizens. It is therefore the most virtuous from a political point of view, because it best meets the profound purpose of politics: to ensure long-term security and peace among people. Spinoza clearly states that there are immoral things, such as certain entertainment, drunkenness, debauchery, etc., that it is better to tolerate than to forbid, because the common good would be threatened:? "To want to govern human life as a whole by laws is to infuriate the defects rather than correct them! What cannot be prohibited, it must necessarily be allowed, despite the damage that often results. » »

« Wisdom invites us to stop blaming life, or others, and to take charge of our lives by understanding that most of our sufferings could be avoided if we changed our representation of ourselves or the world. »