The Collected Works of Spinoza provides, for the first time in English, a truly satisfactory edition of all of Spinoza's writings, with accurate and readable translations, based on the best critical editions of the original-language texts, done by a scholar who has published extensively on the philosopher's work.
This first volume contains Spinoza's single most important work, the Ethics, and four earlier works: the Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect, the Short Treatise on God, Man, and His Well-Being, Descartes' "Principles of Philosophy," and Metaphysical Thoughts. Also included are Spinoza's letters from the periods when these works were being written.
The elaborate editorial apparatus-including prefaces, notes, glossary, and indexes-assists the reader in understanding one of the world's most fascinating, but also most difficult, philosophers. Of particular interest is the glossary-index, which provides extensive commentary on Spinoza's technical vocabulary.
A milestone of scholarship more than forty-five years in the making, The Collected Works of Spinoza is an essential edition for anyone with a serious interest in Spinoza or the history of philosophy.
"Curley's annotated translation of Spinoza is a great scholarly achievement that will set a standard for the field."--Margaret D. Wilson, Princeton University
"Curley has put all historians of modern philosophy deeply in his debt with the first volume of The Collected Works of Spinoza."--Maurice Mandelbaum, Johns Hopkins University
"This work is a superb scholarly translation of Spinoza, which also puts at our disposal the necessary aids for introducing his writings and treating problems concerning text and doctrine. The work gives us the long-awaited instrument for studying Spinoza in the English language and with the assistance of recent Spinoza scholarship."--James Collins, St. Louis University
"Our grip on Spinoza's texts can now be firmer than it ever could before, thanks to Curley's translation and to his editorial apparatus. Both are indispensable for serious scholarly work on Spinoza, even by those who know Latin and more especially by those who don't."--Jonathan Bennett, Syracuse University
"Far more than a fresh translation. . . . [A] model of the translator-editor's art."
---B. A. Gerrish, Journal of Religion
