Spinoza goes on to show that the highest good aimed at by
virtuous or reasonable men is common to all and may be equally
enjoyed by all, and that the virtuous man desires the same good
for his fellows as for himself: ^ and he lays down in outline the
foundations of civil society and law. His position, expressed in
modern language, would be that society is antecedent to law j
that legal right and wrong can exist only with reference to a
government, and moral right and wrong only with reference to a
community. The form in which he states it, however, is that
" every one exists by an absolute natural right," and pursues by the
same right whatever he supposes to be his own interest. If all
men lived according to reason, their desires and pursuits would

1 Pr. 35, Schol.
2 Cap. 3, sqq. I am indebted for this parallel to Prof, Land.
3 Pr. 36, 37.
