Of a commonwealth, whose subjects are but hindered by terror from taking arms, it should rather be said, that it is free from war, than that it has peace. For peace is not mere absence of war, but is a virtue that springs from force of character: for obedience is the constant will to execute what, by the general decree of the commonwealth, ought to be done. Besides that commonwealth, whose peace depends on the sluggishness of its subjects, that are led about like sheep, to learn but slavery, may more properly be called a desert than a commonwealth.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Of a commonwealth, whose subjects are but hindered by terror from taking arms, it should rather be said, that it is free from war, than that it has peace. For peace is not mere absence of war, but is a virtue that springs from force of character: for obedience is the constant will to execute what, by the general decree of the commonwealth, ought to be done. Besides that commonwealth, whose peace depends on the sluggishness of its subjects, that are led about like sheep, to learn but slavery, may more properly be called a desert than a commonwealth." in the context of "Baruch Spinoza, Political Treatise (1677), Tractatus Politicus as translated by A. H. Gosset (1883), Ch. 5, Of the Best State of a Dominion - Alternate site (this is an unfinished work, left incomplete by Spinoza's death).
• This might be paraphrased in a similar statement quoted in recent works, including A Natural History of Peace (1996) by Thomas Gregor, p. 4, there cited as being from Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670), but without citations as to chapter or translation used: Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice." to mean that wisdom is timeless.