Full Idea
By pleasure I shall signify a passive state wherein the mind passes to a greater perfection.
Gist of Idea
Pleasure is a passive state in which the mind increases in perfection
Source
Baruch de Spinoza (The Ethics [1675], III Pr 11)
Book Reference
Spinoza,Benedict de: 'Ethics, Improvement of Understanding, Letters', ed/tr. Elwes,R [Dover 1955], p.138
A Reaction
A rather bizarre definition! He seems to be defining it as a state and as a process in the same sentence. It sounds to me like both a hedonist's charter, and nonsense. I'm with Plato and Aristotle, that pleasure is dangerous as it warps the mind.