ABSTRACT
Baruch Spinoza seems to have interrupted the writing of his great work, the Ethics, in order to write another book - also destined to be great - the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (TTP). He wishes to defend freedom of thought and speec in every way he can against the exaggerated authority and petulance of "rabble-rousers". Spinoza wished to "recover the nucleus of truth" at the core of revealed religion and to show its compatibility with whatever is taught by the natural light. His philosophical opportunism in writing the TTP can be the occasion for establishing the best political order, one that will permit the practice of true religion. Spinoza, in agreement with the mainstream of western philosophy, sees religion as an inescapable and central part of human communities. The Christian sects Spinoza wanted to humble probably included most of those around him, except for the most forward-looking Collegiants.
