As an evidence of its far-reaching influence, it may be stated that at least forty-five Latin editions were issued prior to 1748 and that it had been translated into all of the leading modern languages by the close of the seventeenth century. It has been frequently mentioned as an historical incident that Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden carried a volume of Grotius as his constant camp companion during the Thirty Years' War, and that after the war the Elector Palatine established a chair of natural law at Heidelberg, selecting for its occupant Puffendorf, a well-known disciple of Grotius. Hugo Grotius was born at Delft, Holland, in 1583, and, entering the University of Leyden at the age of twelve years, took his degree of doctor of laws three years afterward at Orleans, France. As a result of one of the politico-religious disputes of his country, he was involved in the fall of Oldenbarneveldt and received a sentence of perpetual imprisonment in 1619. Escaping in 1621 through the assistance of his devoted wife, he went to Paris, where he published his great work. In 1634 he was appointed Swedish minister to France. In 1645 he retired from this position, and died shortly afterward at Rostock, having suffered shipwreck on the Pomeranian coast. He is buried in the principal church of his native city. Grotius was a profound as well as a versatile scholar, and brought to his writings not only great learning but a deep and passionate love of justice and humanity. He was excited, he states in his preface, to the preparation of his work by the uninformed and unhappy state of the public opinion current in his time on the subject of the law of nations, and by the wild lawlessness and barbarity in war practice which was the natural outcome of the popular darkness. Walker declares that "it was the task of Grotius to show that there was a law at once of peace and war, that men were not, as members of different states, released from all control in their mutual dealings, that justice was not silent amidst the clash of arms; to prove, in brief, the existence of a definitely ascertainable and active law of nations. In 'De Jure Belli ac Pacis' he stands forth as the prophet of justice to an age of lawlessness." 1 The argument and principles advanced in this work are based upon the law of nature, which Grotius defines to be "the dictate of right reason, indicating that any act, from its agreement or disagreement with the rational and social nature (of man) has in it a moral turpitude or a moral necessity, and, consequently, that such act is forbidden or commanded by God, the author of nature." From the law of nature he largely deduces the necessary authority for the law of nations, which in turn he defines as "that which regards the mutual relations of several peoples or rulers of peoples, whether it proceed from nature. or be understood by custom and tacit compact." 2 Some of the principles and customs of Grotius are now obsolete. His work lacks a proper treatment of the laws of neutrality, but in the elaboration of the great primary principles of international law he goes far beyond his predecessors, while the doctrines of the independence and equality of states as developed by him are among the fundamental rights of states universally accepted at the present day. Modern international law, then, may be said to begin as a science with the work of Hugo Grotius. It has been said that it was reserved for Grotius to combine the principles of his forerunners into a system which was so acceptable to the mind of Europe that thought was changed into action. That this was the case in relation to the relations and status of states I have just said. It had also powerful effect upon the savagery and brutality of warfare. Sir Henry Maine in one of his lectures upon international law mentions the following incident with which I will close this topic: "At about the middle of his reign Louis XIV of France 1 Walker, "History of the Law of Nations," pp. 284, 285. 2 Whewell's translation of Grotius. 3 Lawrence's "Principles," p. 30. adopted two measures by which he was thought to have carried the severity of war to the farthest point. He devastated the Palatinate, expressly directing his officers to carry fire and sword into every corner of the province, and he issued a notice to the Dutch, with whom he was at war, that, as soon as the melting of the ice opened the canals, he would grant no more quarter to his Dutch enemies. The devastation of the Palatinate has become a proverb of savageness with all historians, though fifty years earlier it might at most have been passed as a measure of severity, or might have even been defended; but the proclamation to the Dutch called forth a burst of execration from all Europe, and the threat to refuse quarter was not acted upon. The book of Grotius was making itself felt, and the successors of Grotius assure us that it was his authority which deterred the French king and the French generals from the threatened outbreak." 1 TOPICS AND REFERENCES 1. The Original Motives and Causes of International Law Grotius, Whewell's translation, pars. 7-8, 16, 18, and 22-23. Vattel, pars. 10-12. Lawrence, "International Problems," chap. III. 2. The Sources of International Law Hall, 6th ed., 5-13. Maine, "International Law," lect. I. Snow, 2d ed., par. 3. Baker, "First Steps," etc., 19-23. 3. The Early Intercourse of Peoples Breasted, "History of Egypt." Laurent, "Etudes sur l'histoire de l'humanité." Walker, "History of the Law of Nations," 1899, I, 20-64. "International Law and Diplomacy in Ancient China" ("The Lore of Cathay"), Martin. 4. The Code of Manu "The Ordinances of Manu," translated by Burnell and Hopkins, London, 1891. 5. The Hebrews The books of Deuteronomy, Exodus, Judges 1-7. 1 Maine's "Int. Law," p. 23. 6. Other Intercourse of the Ancients Montesquieu, "Esprit des lois," bk. XXI, chap. II. Laurent, "Etudes de l'humanité," 477, etc. Budge, "History of Egypt," 48, etc. Brugsch, "Egypt under the Pharaohs," 2d ed. 7. International Laws and Usages of the Greeks— Greenidge, "Greek Constitutional History." Phillipson, "International Law and Customs of the Greeks and Romans." Mahaffy, "Social Life of the Greeks." 8. International Laws and Intercourse of the RomansPhillipson, "International Law and Customs of the Greeks and Romans." Ortolan, "History of Roman Law," Cutler's ed., 1896. Hill, "History of European Diplomacy," vol. I. 9. The Dark and Middle Ages- Walker, "History of the Law of Nations," vol. I. Bordwell, "Law of War." University of Pennsylvania translation. Reprints. 10. The Predecessors of Grotius Westlake, "International Law," 1894, chaps. II and III. Wheaton, "History of the Law of Nations." Holland, "Studies in International Law," 1898. 11. Grotius Hugo Grotius, "De Jure Belli ac Pacis," 1625, translated by CHAPTER III THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN INTERNATIONAL LAW 23. The Peace of Westphalia and the Thirty Years' War. -The peace of Westphalia in 1648 closed the Thirty Years' War, the worst of the wars of comparatively modern times. Notwithstanding the barbarity of previous wars, especially those in the Low Countries, which were in all probability those that influenced Grotius in his cry for humanity, and against the horrors that accompanied war, it must be conceded that for duration and extent, for devastation, for barbarity, for sacrifice of life, and for horrible accompaniments, there has been nothing to exceed the war of thirty years in Europe. The close of the Dutch War in 1609, from exhaustion, was only too soon followed, in 1618, by this war, with its ferocity and famine. But notwithstanding its accompaniments, its results were of great moment. "That war," says Walker, " was destined to do a mighty work. It was, in one view, a mere contest for territorial independence of German princes against the empire; in another, it was a revolt of the smaller states against Austro-Spanish supremacy, a war of the balance of power; in a third, it was a struggle of Catholicism and Protestantism, of the old faith. against the new, a crusade of the Jesuit against the Calvinist and the Lutheran. But it had yet another and a grander aspect. It was, on giant lines, the war of liberty of thought against authority, of individualism against oppression, albeit men were content to fight for the freedom of the prince before the freedom of the people, for the religious local option of the ruler before universal toleration." 1 1 Walker, "Science of Int. Law," pp. 89, 90. |