Benedictus de Spinoza

Benedictus de Spinoza (1632-1677) was the philosopher of the Dutch enlightenment. The KB is the place to be for those wishing to study the great influence of Benedictus de Spinoza from his own time to the present. In the collection you will find books by and about Spinoza – scholarly publications, as well as books aimed at a wider audience. There are also many different editions of Spinoza’s work. These include critical scholarly editions as well as updated versions of Spinoza’s works. In the KB collection, you will also find the only 2 surviving manuscripts of the 17^th-century manuscript translation Korte verhandeling van God, de mensch en desselvs welstand (Short Treatise of God, Man, and His Well-being).

The KB has been building its collection by and about Benedictus de Spinoza ever since its foundation. In 1870, 1871 and 1958, the collection was expanded with donations from Adrianus Bogaers (1795-1870), a purchase from the collection of Antonius van der Linde (1833-1897) and the estate of spinozist Willem Gerard van der Tak (1885-1958).

Publications by and about Spinoza can be found via the KB catalogue. The reading room houses a large reference library on Spinoza. Information can be found online via Digital resources, catalogues and websites. Information about Spinoza in books, newspapers, magazines and more can be found via Delpher.

• The Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, part of the Special Collections of the Library of the University of Amsterdam contains many old Spinoza publications, both Latin editions and Dutch translations;
• Spinoza House;
• Spinoza collection at the Leiden University Library.