Spinozistische begoochelingen

Abstract

W.N.A.Klever’s claim that he has discovered new Spinoza texts is unfounded in every respect. The seventeenth-century manuscript annotations in a copy of Spinoza’s Opera posthuma, kept in Leiden University Library (shelf mark 755 F 32), do not originate in the circle of Spinoza's friends, nor do they contain any material that derives from the philosopher himself. They are an intelligent reader’s comments, and as such they constitute an important document of the immediate reception of Spinoza’s philosophy. So far, the author has not been identified. It was certainly not Spinoza’s correspondent E.W. von Tschirnhaus. and Klever’s attempt to attribute the annotations to Tschirnhaus is a dismal failure: the four arguments adduced to substantiate this claim are altogether spurious.