| PART I | PART II | PART III | PART IV | PART V |
I. By that which is self—caused, I mean that of which theessence involves existence, or that of which the nature is onlyconceivable as existent.
II. A thing is called finite after its kind, when it can belimited by another thing of the same nature; for instance, abody is called finite because we always conceive another greaterbody. So, also, a thought is limited by another thought, but abody is not limited by thought, nor a thought by body.
III. By substance, I mean that which is in itself, and isconceived through itself: in other words, that of which aconception can be formed independently of any other conception.
IV. By attribute, I mean that which the intellect perceives asconstituting the essence of substance.
V. By mode, I mean the modifications[1] of substance, or thatwhich exists in, and is conceived through, something other thanitself.
[1] "Affectiones"
VI. By God, I mean a being absolutely infinite—that is, asubstance consisting in infinite attributes, of which eachexpresses eternal and infinite essentiality.
Explanation—I say absolutely infinite, not infinite after itskind: for, of a thing infinite only after its kind, infiniteattributes may be denied; but that which is absolutely infinite,contains in its essence whatever expresses reality, and involvesno negation.
VII. That thing is called free, which exists solely by thenecessity of its own nature, and of which the action isdetermined by itself alone. On the other hand, that thing isnecessary, or rather constrained, which is determined bysomething external to itself to a fixed and definite method ofexistence or action.
VIII. By eternity, I mean existence itself, in so far as it isconceived necessarily to follow solely from the definition ofthat which is eternal.
Explanation—Existence of this kind is conceived as an eternaltruth, like the essence of a thing, and, therefore, cannot beexplained by means of continuance or time, though continuance maybe conceived without a beginning or end.
I. Everything which exists, exists either in itself or