BARUCH (or BENEDICT) SPINOZA was born in Amsterdam, November 24th, 1632,—John Locke, his coadjutor in the cause of free speech, being at that time an infant in arms in Somersetshire, England. Spinoza’s parents were Jews, but his active mind, as it developed under the inspiration of Descartes, so exceeded the limits set by what was then considered orthodoxy, that in 1656 he was excommunicated by the synagogue at Amsterdam. His “Tractatus Theologico-Politicus,” which appeared in 1670, may be due to this incident, and, if so, the modern world is fortunate because of the opposition to his theories which led him to make this notable plea for freedom of intellectual development. His “Ethics,” the most celebrated modern exposition of Pantheism, was completed in 1674, but was not published until after his death, which occurred at The Hague, February 21st, 1677.