Spinoza would reject the idea that people “contain a fragment of God” because it implies God is divisible, which contradicts his view of God as an infinite, indivisible substance (Deus sive Natura—“God or Nature”). Instead, he would argue that all things, including people, are modes or expressions of God’s essence in finite ways. Rather than containing a piece of God, we exist within God as manifestations of divine substance, each expressing its nature according to necessity.
In the early years of the 20th century, travelers of the horse-and-buggy era used an unscheduled ferry to cross from Fidalgo Island to Whidbey Island. To call the ferry, they banged a saw with a mallet and then sat back to wait.