Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer,

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft and studied at Leiden University. He was imprisoned in Loevestein Castle for his involvement in the intra-

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

disputes of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

, but escaped hidden in a chest of books that was transported to Gorinchem. Grotius wrote most of his major works in exile in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Hugo Grotius was a major figure in the fields of philosophy,

political theory Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

and law during the 16th and 17th centuries. Along with the earlier works of Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili, he laid the foundations for

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

, based on

natural law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacted ...

in its

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

side. Two of his books have had a lasting impact in the field of international law: '' De jure belli ac pacis'' 'On the Law of War and Peace''dedicated to Louis XIII of France and the '' Mare Liberum'' 'The Free Seas'' Grotius has also contributed significantly to the evolution of the notion of ''

rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical th ...

''. Before him, rights were above all perceived as attached to objects; after him, they are seen as belonging to persons, as the expression of an ability to act or as a means of realizing something. Peter Borschberg suggests that Grotius was significantly influenced by Francisco de Vitoria and the School of Salamanca in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, who supported the idea that the sovereignty of a nation does not lie simply in a ruler through God's will, but originates in its people, who agree to confer such authority upon a ruler. It is also thought that Hugo Grotius was not the first to formulate the

international society International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

doctrine, but he was one of the first to define expressly the idea of one society of states, governed not by force or

warfare War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...

but by actual laws and mutual agreement to enforce those laws. As Hedley Bull declared in 1990: "The idea of international society which Grotius propounded was given concrete expression in the Peace of Westphalia, and Grotius may be considered the intellectual father of this first general peace settlement of modern times." Additionally, his contributions to Arminian

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

helped provide the seeds for later Arminian-based movements, such as Methodism and

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movementArminian-Calvinist debate. Because of his theological underpinning of free trade, he is also considered an "economic theologist". After fading over time, the influence of Grotius's ideas revived in the 20th century following the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

Early life

Born in Delft during the Dutch Revolt, Hugo Grotius was the first child of Jan Cornets de Groot and Alida van Overschie. His father was a man of learning, once having studied with the eminent Justus Lipsius at Leiden University, as well as of political distinction. His family was considered Delft patrician as his ancestors played an important role in local government since the 13th century. Jan de Groot was also translator of

Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scienti ...

and friend of Ludolph van Ceulen. He groomed his son from an early age in a traditional humanist and Aristotelian education. A

prodigious Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and ...

learner, Hugo entered the Leiden University when he was just eleven years old. There he studied with some of the most acclaimed intellectuals in northern Europe, including Franciscus Junius, Joseph Justus Scaliger, and Rudolph Snellius. At age 16 (1599) he published his first book: a scholarly edition of the late antique author Martianus Capella's work on the seven liberal arts, ''Martiani Minei Felicis Capellæ Carthaginiensis viri proconsularis Satyricon.'' It remained a reference for several centuries. In 1598, at the age of 15 years, he accompanied Johan van Oldenbarnevelt to a diplomatic mission in Paris. On this occasion, the King Henri IV of France would have presented Grotius to his court as "the miracle of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

". During his stay in France, he passed or bought a law degree from the University of Orleans. In Holland, Grotius earned an appointment as advocate to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

in 1599 and then as official historiographer for the States of Holland in 1601. It was on this date that the Dutch tasked him to write their story to better stand out from Spain; Grotius is indeed contemporary with the Eighty Years' War between

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. His first occasion to write systematically on issues of international justice came in 1604, when he became involved in the legal proceedings following the seizure by Dutch merchants of a Portuguese carrack and its cargo in the Singapore Strait. In 1608 he married Maria van Reigersberch; they had three daughters and four sons.

Jurist career

The Dutch were at

war with Spain War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

; although Portugal was closely allied with Spain, it was not yet at war with the Dutch. Near the start of the war, Grotius's cousin captain Jacob van Heemskerk captured a loaded Portuguese carrack merchant ship, '' Santa Catarina'', off present-day Singapore in 1603. Heemskerk was employed with the United Amsterdam Company (part of the Dutch East India Company), and though he did not have authorization from the company or the government to initiate the use of force, many shareholders were eager to accept the riches that he brought back to them. Not only was the legality of keeping the

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

questionable under Dutch statute, but a faction of shareholders (mostly

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Ra ...

) in the Company also objected to the forceful seizure on moral grounds, and of course, the Portuguese demanded the return of their cargo. The scandal led to a public judicial hearing and a wider campaign to sway public (and international) opinion. It was in this wider context that representatives of the Company called upon Grotius to draft a

polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

al defence of the seizure. Mierevelt grotius 1608

The result of Grotius' efforts in 1604/05 was a long, theory-laden treatise that he provisionally entitled ''De Indis'' (''On the Indies''). Grotius sought to ground his defense of the seizure in terms of the natural principles of justice. In this, he had cast a net much wider than the case at hand; his interest was in the source and ground of war's lawfulness in general. The treatise was never published in full during Grotius' lifetime, perhaps because the court ruling in favor of the Company preempted the need to garner public support. In ''The Free Sea'' ('' Mare Liberum'', published 1609) Grotius formulated the new principle that the sea was international territory and all

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

s were free to use it for seafaring

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exch ...

. Grotius, by claiming 'free seas' ( Freedom of the seas), provided suitable ideological justification for the Dutch breaking up of various trade monopolies through its formidable naval power (and then establishing its own monopoly).

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, competing fiercely with the Dutch for domination of world trade, opposed this idea and claimed in John Selden's ''

Mare clausum ''Mare clausum'' ( legal Latin meaning "closed sea") is a term used in international law to mention a sea, ocean or other navigable body of water under the jurisdiction of a state that is closed or not accessible to other states. ''Mare clau ...

'' ''(The Closed Sea)'', "That the Dominion of the British Sea, or That Which Incompasseth the Isle of Great Britain, is, and Ever Hath Been, a Part or Appendant of the Empire of that Island.''"'' It is generally assumed that Grotius first propounded the principle of freedom of the seas, although all countries in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

and other Asian seas accepted the right of unobstructed navigation long before Grotius wrote his ''De Jure Praedae'' (''On the Law of Spoils'') in the year of 1604. Additionally, 16th century Spanish theologian Francisco de Vitoria had postulated the idea of freedom of the seas in a more rudimentary fashion under the principles of '' jus gentium''. Grotius's notion of the freedom of the seas would persist until the mid-20th century, and it continues to be applied even to this day for much of the high seas, though the application of the concept and the scope of its reach is changing.

Arminian controversy, arrest and exile

Aided by his continued association with Van Oldenbarnevelt, Grotius made considerable advances in his political career, being retained as Oldenbarnevelt's resident advisor in 1605, Advocate General of the Fisc of

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

and

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

in 1607, and then as Pensionary of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

(the equivalent of a mayoral office) in 1613. Also in 1613, following the capture of two Dutch ships by the British, he was sent on a mission to London, a mission tailored to a man who wrote ''Mare liberum'' 'The Free Seas''in 1609. However, it was opposed by the English by reason of force and he didn't obtain the return of the boats. In these years a great theological controversy broke out between the chair of theology at Leiden Jacobus Arminius and his followers (who are called Arminians or Remonstrants) and the strongly

theologian, Franciscus Gomarus, whose supporters are termed Gomarists or Counter-Remonstrants. Leiden University "was under the authority of the States of Holland – they were responsible, among other things, for the policy concerning appointments at this institution, which was governed in their name by a board of Curators – and, in the final instance, the States were responsible for dealing with any cases of heterodoxy among the professors." The domestic dissension resulting over Arminius' professorship was overshadowed by the continuing war with Spain, and the professor died in 1609 on the eve of the Twelve Years' Truce. The new peace would move the people's focus to the controversy and Arminius' followers. Grotius played a decisive part in this politico-religious conflict between the Remonstrants, supporters of religious tolerance, and the orthodox Calvinists or Counter-Remonstrants.

Controversy within Dutch Protestantism

The controversy expanded when the Remonstrant theologian Conrad Vorstius was appointed to replace Jacobus Arminius as the theology chair at Leiden. Vorstius was soon seen by Counter-Remonstrants as moving beyond the teachings of Arminius into Socinianism and he was accused of teaching irreligion. Leading the call for Vorstius' removal was theology professor

Sibrandus Lubbertus Sibrandus Lubbertus (c.1555–1625) (also referred to as Sibrand Lubbert or Sybrandus Lubbertus) was a Dutch Calvinist theologian and was a professor of theology at the University of Franeker for forty years from the institute's foundation in 15 ...

. On the other side Johannes Wtenbogaert (a Remonstrant leader) and Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Grand Pensionary of Holland, had strongly promoted the appointment of Vorstius and began to defend their actions. Gomarus resigned his professorship at Leyden, in protest that Vorstius was not removed. The Counter-Remonstrants were also supported in their opposition by King

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until h ...

"who thundered loudly against the Leyden nomination and gaudily depicted Vorstius as a horrid heretic. He ordered his books to be publicly burnt in London, Cambridge, and Oxford, and he exerted continual pressure through his ambassador in the Hague, Ralph Winwood, to get the appointment cancelled." James began to shift his confidence from Oldenbarnevelt towards Maurice. Grotius joined the controversy by defending the civil authorities' power to appoint (independently of the wishes of religious authorities) whomever they wished to a university's faculty. He did this by writing ''

Ordinum Pietas ''Ordinum Hollandiae ac Westfrisiae pietas'' (''The Piety of the States of Holland and Westfriesland'') is a 1613 book on church polity by Hugo Grotius. It was the first publication of Grotius, a prominent jurist and Remonstrant, concerned with th ...

'', "a pamphlet...directed against an opponent, the Calvinist Franeker professor Lubbertus; it was ordered by Grotius' masters the States of Holland, and thus written for the occasion – though Grotius may already have had plans for such a book." The work is twenty-seven pages long, is "polemical and acrimonious" and only two-thirds of it speaks directly about ecclesiastical politics (mainly of synods and offices). The work met with a violent reaction from the Counter-Remonstrants, and "It might be said that all Grotius' next works until his arrest in 1618 form a vain attempt to repair the damage done by this book." Grotius would later write ''De Satisfactione'' aiming "at proving that the Arminians are far from being Socinians."

Edict of toleration

Led by Oldenbarnevelt, the States of Holland took an official position of religious toleration towards Remonstrants and Counter-Remonstrants. Grotius, (who acted during the controversy first as Attorney General of Holland, and later as a member of the Committee of Counsellors) was eventually asked to draft an edict to express the policy of toleration. This edict, ''Decretum pro pace ecclesiarum'' was completed in late 1613 or early 1614. The edict put into practice a view that Grotius had been developing in his writings on

church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular stat ...

(see Erastianism): that only the basic tenets necessary for undergirding civil order (e.g., the existence of God and His providence) ought to be enforced while differences on obscure theological doctrines should be left to private conscience. Statue of Hugo Grotius

The edict "imposing moderation and toleration on the ministry", was backed up by Grotius with "thirty-one pages of quotations, mainly dealing with the Five Remonstrant Articles." In response to Grotius' ''Ordinum Pietas'', Professor Lubbertus published ''Responsio Ad Pietatem Hugonis Grotii'' in 1614. Later that year Grotius anonymously published ''Bona Fides Sibrandi Lubberti'' in response to Lubbertus. Jacobus Trigland joined Lubberdus in expressing the view that tolerance in matters of doctrine was inadmissible, and in his 1615 works ''Den Recht-gematigden Christen: Ofte vande waere Moderatie'' and ''Advys Over een Concept van moderatie'' Trigland denounced Grotius' stance. In late 1615, when Middelburg professor Antonius Walaeus published ''Het Ampt der Kerckendienaren'' (a response to Johannes Wtenbogaert's 1610 ''Tractaet van 't Ampt ende authoriteit eener hoogher Christelijcke overheid in kerckelijkcke zaken'') he sent Grotius a copy out of friendship. This was a work "on the relationship between ecclesiastical and secular government" from the moderate counter-remonstrant viewpoint. In early 1616 Grotius also received the 36 page letter championing a remonstrant view ''Dissertatio epistolica de Iure magistratus in rebus ecclesiasticis'' from his friend Gerardus Vossius. The letter was "a general introduction on (in)tolerance, mainly on the subject of predestination and the sacrament... ndan extensive, detailed and generally unfavourable review of Walaeus' ''Ampt'', stuffed with references to ancient and modern authorities." When Grotius wrote asking for some notes "he received a treasure-house of ecclesiastical history. ...offering ammunition to Grotius, who gratefully accepted it". Around this time (April 1616) Grotius went to Amsterdam as part of his official duties, trying to persuade the civil authorities there to join Holland's majority view about church politics. In early 1617 Grotius debated the question of giving counter-remonstrants the chance to preach in the Kloosterkerk in The Hague which had been closed. During this time lawsuits were brought against the States of Holland by counter-remonstrant ministers and riots over the controversy broke out in Amsterdam.

Arrest and exile

As the conflict between civil and religious authorities escalated, in order to maintain civil order Oldenbarnevelt eventually proposed that local authorities be given the power to raise troops (the

Sharp Resolution The Sharp Resolution (Dutch: ''Scherpe Resolutie''The name of the resolution has different explanations. Wijne refers to an annotation by Grotius in his ''Apologeticus'' of 1622 (p. 212) who says that "severe diseases require sharp remedies"; Cf. W ...

of August 4, 1617). Such a measure undermined the unity of the Republic's military force, the very same reason Spain had managed to retake so much lost territory in the 1580s, something the Captain-General of the republic, Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange could not allow with the treaty nearing its end. Maurice seized the opportunity to solidify the preeminence of the Gomarists, whom he had supported, and to eliminate the nuisance he perceived in Oldenbarnevelt (the latter had previously brokered the Twelve Years' Truce with Spain in 1609 against Maurice's wishes). During this time Grotius made another attempt to address ecclesiastical politics by completing ''De Imperio Summarum Potestatum circa Sacra'', on "the relations between the religious and secular authorities...Grotius had even cherished hopes that publication of this book would turn the tide and bring back peace to church and state". The conflict between Maurice and the States of Holland, led by Oldenbarnevelt and Grotius, about the Sharp Resolution and Holland's refusal to allow a National Synod, came to a head in July 1619 when a majority in the States General authorized Maurice to disband the auxiliary troops in Utrecht. Grotius went on a mission to the States of Utrecht to stiffen their resistance against this move, but Maurice prevailed. The States General then authorized him to arrest Oldenbarnevelt, Grotius and Rombout Hogerbeets on 29 August 1618. They were tried by a court of delegated judges from the States General. Van Oldenbarnevelt was sentenced to death and was beheaded in 1619. Grotius was sentenced to life imprisonment and transferred to Loevestein Castle. From his imprisonment in Loevestein, Grotius made a written justification of his position "as to my views on the power of the Christian ivilauthorities in ecclesiastical matters, I refer to my...booklet ''De Pietate Ordinum Hollandiae'' and especially to an unpublished book ''De Imperio summarum potestatum circa sacra'', where I have treated the matter in more detail...I may summarize my feelings thus: that the ivilauthorities should scrutinize God's Word so thoroughly as to be certain to impose nothing which is against it; if they act in this way, they shall in good conscience have control of the public churches and public worship – but without persecuting those who err from the right way." Because this stripped Church officials of any power some of their members (such as Johannes Althusius in a letter to Lubbertus) declared Grotius' ideas diabolical. WLANL - Pachango - Slot Loevestein - Boekenkist van Hugo de Groot

WLANL - Pachango - Slot Loevestein - Boekenkist van Hugo de Groot

In 1621, with the help of his wife and his maidservant,

Elsje van Houwening Elselina van Houwening, or Elsje van Houwing (buried March 8, 1681) was the maid who helped in the escape of Hugo Grotius from Loevestein Castle in a book chest. In 1619, when van Houwening was a maid for Hugo Grotius and Maria van Reigersberch in ...

, Grotius managed to escape the castle in a book chest and fled to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. In the Netherlands today, he is mainly famous for this daring escape. Both the Rijksmuseum in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and the museum Het Prinsenhof in Delft claim to have the original book chest in their collection.

Life in Paris

Grotius then fled to

, where the authorities granted him an annual royal pension. Grotius lived in France almost continuously from 1621 to 1644. His stay coincides with the period (1624-1642) during which the Cardinal Richelieu led France under the authority of Louis XIII. In France in 1625 Grotius published his most famous book, '' De jure belli ac pacis'' 'On the Law of War and Peace''dedicated to Louis XIII of France. While in Paris, Grotius set about rendering into Latin prose a work which he had originally written as Dutch verse in prison, providing rudimentary yet systematic arguments for the truth of Christianity. The Dutch poem, ''Bewijs van den waren Godsdienst'', was published in 1622, the Latin treatise in 1627, under the title ''De veritate religionis Christianae''. In 1631 he tried to return to Holland, but the authorities remained hostile to him. He moved to Hamburg in 1632. But as early as 1634, the Swedes - a European superpower - sent him to Paris as ambassador. He remained ten years in this position where he had the mission to negotiate for Sweden the end of the Thirty Years War. During this period, he had been interested in the unity of Christians and published many texts that will be grouped under the title of ''Opera Omnia Theologica''.

Governmental theory of atonement

Grotius also developed a particular view of the atonement of Christ known as the " Governmental theory of atonement". He theorized that Jesus' sacrificial death occurred in order for the Father to forgive while still maintaining his just rule over the universe. This idea, further developed by theologians such as John Miley, became one of the prominent views of the atonement in

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

Arminianism.

''De Jure Belli ac Pacis''

Living in the times of the Eighty Years' War between

and the Netherlands and the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

between Catholic and Protestant European nations (Catholic France being in the otherwise Protestant camp), it is not surprising that Grotius was deeply concerned with matters of conflicts between nations and religions. His most lasting work, begun in prison and published during his exile in Paris, was a monumental effort to restrain such conflicts on the basis of a broad moral consensus. Grotius wrote:

Fully convinced...that there is a common law among nations, which is valid alike for war and in war, I have had many and weighty reasons for undertaking to write upon the subject. Throughout the Christian world I observed a lack of restraint in relation to war, such as even barbarous races should be ashamed of; I observed that men rush to arms for slight causes, or no cause at all, and that when arms have once been taken up there is no longer any respect for law, divine or human; it is as if, in accordance with a general decree, frenzy had openly been let loose for the committing of all crimes.

'' De jure belli ac pacis libri tres'' (''On the Law of War and Peace: Three books'') was first published in 1625, dedicated to Grotius' current patron, Louis XIII. The treatise advances a system of principles of natural law, which are held to be binding on all people and nations regardless of local custom. The work is divided into three books: * Book I advances his conception of war and of natural

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, arguing that there are some circumstances in which war is justifiable. * Book II identifies three 'just causes' for war:

self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force ...

, reparation of injury, and punishment; Grotius considers a wide variety of circumstances under which these rights of war attach and when they do not. * Book III takes up the question of what rules govern the conduct of war once it has begun; influentially, Grotius argued that all parties to war are bound by such rules, whether their cause is just or not. * Further information: ''

Temperamenta belli ''Temperamenta Belli'' means moderation in the conduct of war. This term is used in Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawye ...

Natural law

Grotius' concept of natural law had a strong impact on the philosophical and theological debates and political developments of the 17th and 18th centuries. Among those he influenced were Samuel Pufendorf and John Locke, and by way of these philosophers his thinking became part of the cultural background of the Glorious Revolution in England and the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

. In Grotius' understanding,

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...

was not an entity in itself, but God's

creation Creation may refer to: Religion *'' Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing *Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it *Creationism, the belief that ...

. Therefore, his concept of natural law had a theological foundation. The

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

contained moral precepts (e.g. the Decalogue), which

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religi ...

confirmed and therefore were still valid. They were useful in interpreting the content of natural law. Both Biblical revelation and natural law originated in God and could therefore not contradict each other.

Later years

Many exiled Remonstrants began to return to the Netherlands after the death of Prince Maurice in 1625 when toleration was granted to them. In 1630 they were allowed complete freedom to build and run churches and schools and to live anywhere in Holland. The Remonstrants guided by Johannes Wtenbogaert set up a presbyterial organization. They established a theological seminary at Amsterdam where Grotius came to teach alongside Episcopius, van Limborch, de Courcelles, and Leclerc. In 1634 Grotius was given the opportunity to serve as Sweden's ambassador to

. Axel Oxenstierna, regent of the successor of the recently deceased Swedish king,

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as G ...

, was keen to have Grotius in his employ. Grotius accepted the offer and took up diplomacy, diplomatic residence in Paris, which remained his home until he was released from his post in 1645. In 1644, the queen

Christine of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December (New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death a ...

, who had become an adult, began to perform her duties and brought him back to Stockholm. During the winter of 1644–1645 he went to Sweden in difficult conditions, which he decided to leave in the summer of 1645. While departing from his last visit to Sweden, Grotius was shipwrecked on the voyage. He washed up on the shore of Rostock, ill and weather-beaten, and on August 28, 1645, he died; his body at last returned to the country of his youth, being laid to rest in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

Personal life

Grotius' personal motto was ''Ruit hora'' ("Time is running away"); his last words were purportedly, "By understanding many things, I have accomplished nothing" (''Door veel te begrijpen, heb ik niets bereikt''). Significant friends and acquaintances of his included the theologian Franciscus Junius, the poet Daniel Heinsius, the philologist Gerhard Johann Vossius, the historian

Johannes Meursius Johannes Meursius (van Meurs) (9 February 1579 – 20 September 1639) was a Dutch classical scholar and antiquary. Biography Meursius was born Johannes van Meurs at Loosduinen, near The Hague. He was extremely precocious, and at the age of ...

, the engineer Simon Stevin, the historian Jacques Auguste de Thou, the Orientalist and Arabic scholar Erpinius, and the French ambassador in the Dutch Republic, Benjamin Aubery du Maurier, who allowed him to use the French diplomatic mail in the first years of his exile. He was also friends with the Brabantian Jesuit Andreas Schottus. Grotius was the father of regent and diplomat Pieter de Groot.

Influence of Grotius

From his time to the end of the 17th century

The king of Sweden,

, was said to have always carried a copy of ''De jure belli ac pacis'' in his saddle when leading his troops. In contrast, King James VI and I of Great Britain reacted very negatively to Grotius' presentation of the book during a diplomatic mission. Some philosophers, notably Protestants such as Pierre Bayle,

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mat ...

and the main representatives of the Scottish Enlightenment Francis Hutcheson, Adam Smith, David Hume, Thomas Reid held him in high esteem. The French Enlightenment, on the other hand, was much more critical. Voltaire called it boring and Rousseau developed an alternative conception of human nature. Pufendorf, another theoretician of the natural law concept, was also skeptical.

Commentaries of the 18th century

Andrew Dickson White wrote:

Into the very midst of all this welter of evil, at a point in time to all appearance hopeless, at a point in space apparently defenseless, in a nation of which every man, woman, and child was under sentence of death from its sovereign, was born a man who wrought as no other has ever done for a redemption of civilization from the main cause of all that misery; who thought out for Europe the precepts of right reason in international law; who made them heard; who gave a noble change to the course of human affairs; whose thoughts, reasonings, suggestions, and appeals produced an environment in which came an evolution of humanity that still continues.

In contrast, Robert A. Heinlein satirized the Grotian governmental approach to theology in '' Methuselah's Children'': "There is an old, old story about a theologian who was asked to reconcile the

doctrine Doctrine (from la, Wikt:doctrina, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given ...

Divine Mercy The Divine Mercy is a form of God's compassion, an act of grace based on trust or forgiveness Forgiveness, in a psychological sense, is the intentional and voluntary process by which one who may initially feel victimized or wronged, goes thr ...

with the doctrine of infant damnation. 'The Almighty,' he explained, 'finds it necessary to do things in His official and public capacity which in His private and personal capacity He deplores.'"

Regain of interest in the 20th century

The influence of Grotius declined following the rise of

positivism Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. ...

in the field of international law and the decline of the natural law in philosophy. The Carnegie Foundation has nevertheless re-issued and re-translated ''On the Law of War and Peace'' after the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. At the end of the 20th century, his work aroused renewed interest as a controversy over the originality of his ethical work developed. For Irwing, Grotius would only repeat the contributions of

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

and

Francisco Suárez Francisco Suárez, (5 January 1548 – 25 September 1617) was a Spanish Jesuit priest, philosopher and theologian, one of the leading figures of the School of Salamanca movement, and generally regarded among the greatest scholastics after Thomas ...

. On the contrary, Schneewind argues that Grotius introduced the idea that "the conflict can not be eradicated and could not be dismissed, even in principle, by the most comprehensive metaphysical knowledge possible of how the world is made up". As far as politics is concerned, Grotius is most often considered not so much as having brought new ideas, but rather as one who has introduced a new way of approaching political problems. For Kingsbury and Roberts, "the most important direct contribution of On the Law of War and Peace"lies in the way it systematically brings together practices and authorities on the traditional but fundamental subject of ''jus belli'', which he organizes for the first time from a body of principles rooted in the law of nature".

Bibliography (selection)

The Peace Palace Library in

holds the Grotius Collection, which has a large number of books by and about Hugo Grotius. The collection was based on a donation from

Martinus Nijhoff Martinus Nijhoff (20 April 1894, in The Hague – 26 January 1953, in The Hague) was a Dutch poet and essayist. He studied literature in Amsterdam and law in Utrecht. His debut was made in 1916 with his volume ''De wandelaar'' ("The wanderer"). F ...

of 55 editions of ''De jure belli ac pacis libri tres''. Works are listed in order of publication, with the exception of works published posthumously or after long delay (estimated composition dates are given). Where an English translation is available, the most recently published translation is listed beneath the title. * ''Martiani Minei Felicis Capellæ Carthaginiensis viri proconsularis Satyricon, in quo De nuptiis Philologiæ & Mercurij libri duo, & De septem artibus liberalibus libri singulares. Omnes, & emendati, & Notis, siue Februis Hug. Grotii illustrati'' [The Satyricon by Martianus Minneus Felix Capella, a man from Carthage, which includes the two books of 'On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury', and the book named 'On the Seven Liberal Arts'. Everything, including corrections, annotations as well as deletions and illustrations by Hug. Grotius] - 1599 * ''Adamus exul'' (The Exile of Adam; tragedy) – The Hague, 1601 * ''De republica emendanda'' (To Improve the Dutch Republic; manuscript 1601) – pub. The Hague, 1984 * ''Parallelon rerumpublicarum'' (Comparison of Constitutions; manuscript 1601–02) – pub. Haarlem 1801–03 * ''De Indis'' (On the Indies; manuscript 1604–05) – pub. 1868 as ''De Jure Praedae'' * ''Christus patiens'' (The Passion of Christ; tragedy) – Leiden, 1608 * ''Mare Liberum'' (The Free Seas; from chapter 12 of ''De Indis'') – Leiden, 1609 * ''De antiquitate reipublicae Batavicae'' (On the Antiquity of the Batavian Republic) – Leiden, 1610 (An extension of François Vranck's ''Deduction'' of 1587 ) :''The Antiquity of the Batavian Republic'', ed. Jan Waszink and others (van Gorcum, 2000). * ''Meletius'' (manuscript 1611) – pub. Leiden, 1988 :''Meletius'', ed. G.H.M. Posthumus Meyjes (Brill, 1988). * ''Annales et Historiae de rebus Belgicis'' (Annals and History of the Low Countries' War; manuscript 1612-13) – pub. Amsterdam, 1657 :''The Annals and History of the Low-Countrey-warrs'', ed. Thomas Manley (London, 1665): : Modern Dutch translation of the "Annales" only in: Hugo de Groot, "Kroniek van de Nederlandse Oorlog. De Opstand 1559-1588", ed. Jan Waszink (Nijmegen, Vantilt 2014), with introduction, index, plates. * ''Ordinum Hollandiae ac Westfrisiae pietas'' (The Piety of the States of Holland and Westfriesland) – Leiden, 1613 :''Ordinum Hollandiae ac Westfrisiae pietas'', ed. Edwin Rabbie (Brill, 1995). * ''De imperio summarum potestatum circa sacra'' (On the power of sovereigns concerning religious affairs; manuscript 1614–17) – pub. Paris, 1647 :''De imperio summarum potestatum circa sacra'', ed. Harm-Jan van Dam (Brill, 2001). * ''De satisfactione Christi adversus Faustum Socinum'' (On the satisfaction of Christ against he doctrines of Faustus Socinus) – Leiden, 1617 :''Defensio fidei catholicae de satisfactione Christi'', ed. Edwin Rabbie (van Gorcum, 1990). : * ''Inleydinge tot de Hollantsche rechtsgeleertheit'' (Introduction to Dutch Jurisprudence; written in Loevenstein) – pub. The Hague, 1631 :''The Jurisprudence of Holland'', ed. R.W. Lee (Oxford, 1926). * ''Bewijs van den waaren godsdienst'' (Proof of the True Religion; didactic poem) – Rotterdam, 1622 * ''Apologeticus'' (Defense of the actions which led to his arrest (This was for a long time the only source for what transpired during Grotius' trial in 1619, because the trial record was not published at the time. However, Robert Fruin edited this trial record in ) – Paris, 1922 * ''De jure belli ac pacis'' (On the Law of War and Peace) – Paris, 1625 (2nd ed. Amsterdam 1631) :''Hugo Grotius: On the Law of War and Peace''. Student edn. Ed. Stephen C. Neff (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012) * ''De veritate religionis Christianae'' (On the Truth of the Christian religion) – Paris, 1627 :''The Truth of the Christian Religion'', ed. John Clarke (Edinburgh, 1819). * ''Sophompaneas'' (Joseph; tragedy) – Amsterdam, 1635 * ''De origine gentium Americanarum dissertatio'' (Dissertation of the origin of the American peoples) – Paris 1642 * ''Via ad pacem ecclesiasticam'' (The way to religious peace) – Paris, 1642 * ''Annotationes in Vetus Testamentum'' (Commentaries on the Old Testament) – Amsterdam, 1644 * ''Annotationes in Novum Testamentum'' (Commentaries on the New Testament) – Amsterdam and Paris, 1641–50 * ''De fato'' (On Destiny) – Paris, 1648

References

Sources

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External links

Collections * * * *
Works by Hugo Grotius
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Short Title Catalogue Netherlands (STCN)
Individual works by Grotius

''On the Laws of War and Peace'' (Latin, first edition 1625)

''Logicarum disputationum quarta de postpraedicamentis''
disputation, aged 14, at Leiden University
''Physicarum disputationum septima de infinito, loco et vacuo''
disputation, aged 14, at Leiden University Other
Extensive catalogue of Grotius' writings at the Peace Palace Library, The Hague.
Unfortunately, this links leads to: "Forbidden. You don't have permission to access /files/Grotius_Collection.pdf on this server."
The Correspondence of Hugo de Groot (Grotius)
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EMLO
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Hugo Grotius' Quotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grotius, Hugo 1583 births 1645 deaths 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Dutch dramatists and playwrights 17th-century Dutch jurists 17th-century Dutch poets 17th-century Dutch political philosophers 17th-century Dutch theologians 17th-century Latin-language writers Ambassadors of Sweden to France Arminian theologians Arminian writers Burials at Nieuwe Kerk, Delft Calvinist and Reformed philosophers Christian apologists Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Dutch diplomats Dutch escapees Dutch exiles Dutch expatriates in France Dutch Golden Age writers 17th-century Dutch historians Dutch legal scholars Dutch male dramatists and playwrights Dutch male poets Dutch politicians Dutch Renaissance humanists Erastians Greek–Latin translators Historians of the Dutch Republic International law scholars Leiden University alumni People from Delft Philosophers of law Philosophers of war Philosophy and thought in the Dutch Republic Rationalists Remonstrants