Full Idea
A horse would as much be destroyed if it were changed into a man as if it were changed into an insect.
Gist of Idea
A horse would be destroyed if it were changed into a man or an insect
Source
Baruch de Spinoza (The Ethics [1675], IV Pref)
Book Reference
Spinoza,Benedict de: 'Ethics', ed/tr. White,WH/Stirling,AH [Wordsworth 2001], p.163
A Reaction
He has been referring to essences of things. What if a shire horse is changed into a Shetland pony? If you watched the horse transmute, it would be continuous in a way that two separate creatures are not. Some sort of sameness there.