Friend, Amice integerime, prefented him one day, with a fumm of two thoufand Florins, to enable him to live a more eafie Life; but Spinofa, in the prefence of his Landlord, defired to be excufed from accepting that Money, under pretence that he wanted nothing, and that if he received fo much Money, it wou'd infallibly divert him from his studies and Occupations.

The fame Simon de Vries being like to die, and having no Wife nor Children, design'd to make him his general Heir; but Spinosa wou'd never confent to it, and told him, that he fhoud'd not think to leave his Estate to any Body but to his Brother, who lived at Schiedam, seeing he was his nearest Relation, and natural Heir.

This was executed, as he propofed it; but it was upon condition, that the Brother and Heir of Simon de Vries fhoud pay to Spinofa a fufficient Annuity for his maintenance; and that Claufe was likewife faithfully executed.

But that which is particular, is, that an Annuity of 500 Florins was offered to Spinofa by virtue of that Claufe, which he would not accept, because he found it too confiderable, fo that he reduc'd it to 300 Florins. That Annuity was regularly paid him during his Life; and the fame de Vries of Schiedam took care after his death to pay to Mr. Van der Spyck what Spinofa owed him, as it appears by the Letter of John Rieuwertz, Printer at Amfterdam, who was employed in that Affair. It is dated the 6th of March 1678, and directed to Van der Spyck himself.

Another inftance of the Uninterestedness of Spinofa, is what paft after the death of his Father. His Father's Succeffion was to be divided between him and his Sifters, to which they were condemned in Law, tho they had left no Stone unturn'd to exclude him from it. Yet instead of dividing that Succeffion, he gave them his fhare, and kept only for himself a good Bed, with its furniture.

He was known to feveral Perfons of great

Confideration.

pinofa had no fooner published some of

very

his Works, but he grew very famous in the World, amongst the most considerable Perfons, who look'd upon him as a Man of a noble Genius, and a great Philofopher. Monfieur Stoupe, Lieutenant-Collonel of a Regiment of Swiffers, in the Service of the King of France, commanded in the City of Utrecht in 1673; he had been before Minister of the Walloon Church, in London, during the Civil Wars of England in Cromwel's time; he was made afterwards a Brigadeer, and was killed at the Battel of Steenkirke. Whilft he was at Utrecht, he writ a Book entituled, The Religion of the Dutch, wherein he upbraids the Reformed Divines, amongst other things, for neglecting to confute or answer a Book, which was published under their Eyes, in the year 1670, entituled,

Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, whereof Spinofa owned himself to be the Author, in his 19th Letter. This is what Monfieur Stoupe fays. But the famous Braunius, Profeffor of the University of Groningen, fhewed the contrary in his Answer to Monfieur Stoupe's Book: And indeed fo many Books published against that abominable Treatise, do evidently fhew that Monfieur Stoupe was mistaken. At that very time he writ feveral Letters to Spinofa, from whom he received several Answers; and at last he defired him to repair to Utrecht at a certain time. Monfieur Stoupe was fo much the more defirous that he shou'd come thither, because the Prince of Condé, who took then poffeflion of the Government of Utrecht, had a great mind to discourse with Spinofa: And it was confidently reported that his Highness was fo well difpofed to recommend him to the King, that he hoped to obtain easily a Penfion for him, provided he wou'd be willing to dedicate one of his

Books to his Majesty. He received that Letter with a Passport, and fet out from the Hague a little while after he had received it. Francis Halma fays, in his Dutch Account of Spinofa, that he paid a Vifit to the Prince of Conde with whom he had feveral Conversations for feveral days, and with fome other Perfons of note, particularly with Lieutenant Colonel Stoupe. But Vander Spyck and his Wise, in whose House he did lodge, and who are still living, have affured me, that he told them pofitively at his return, that he cou'd not fee the Prince of Conde, because he fet out from Utrecht fome days before he arrived there. But that in the difcourfe he had with Monfieur Stoupe that Officer had affured him, that he wou'd willingly use his Interest for him, and that he should not doubt to obtain a Penfion from the King's Liberality, at

†The King of France gave at that thime Penfions to all learned Men, especially to the Strangers, who presented or dedicated some Books to him.