1827.] 



Domestic and Foreigi 



533. 



distinction which gave him, cx-officio, a seat 

 in the states of Holland, and eventually in- 

 troduced him to the states-general. This 

 same year, 1613, he was despatched to Eng- 

 land, to settle some disputes which had arisen 

 with the English Government relative to the 

 fisheries. He had, four or five years before, 

 published his first work his first of any im- 

 portance, and beyond the reach of suspicion, 

 we mean -under the title of Mare Liberum, 

 asserting the liberty of the seas, which pro- 

 babty led to his being sent to England on 

 this occasion. The subject of his book in- 

 volved the principles on which the fishing 

 disputes were to be diecussed. Not that Gro- 

 tius wrote his book with reference to the 

 fisheries. The Mare Liberum was written 

 in opposition to the claims of the Portuguese 

 to the exclusive dominion of the Indian 

 seas. Those claims the Portuguese carried 

 to the extravagant length of proscribing the 

 Dutch from all access to their settlements 

 and factories in Java, Ceylon, and the Mo- 

 luccas. Mr. Butler states the object of it, 

 as intended to confute the claims of the 

 English to the exclusive navigation of 

 the British seas, which only shows that 

 he has not read the book of which he 

 thus undertakes to speak. The mission to 

 England, and Selden's Mare Clausum, are 

 coupled with Grotius's Mare Liberum ; and 

 the inference the reader is to draw is that all 

 tliese matters occur together, when the truth 

 is, Grotius had not the British in view at all, 

 or at least no words of his imply it. It was 

 occasioned by the work of a Spaniard, of the 

 name of Velasque/., and was published in 

 1608. It was not till 1613 that Grotius wns 

 sent to England ; and not till 1635 that Sel- 

 den, prompted by some fresh disputes be- 

 tween England and Holland, wrote his Mare 

 Clausum, which was not an answer to Gro- 

 tius, though it discussed the same subject, 

 and vindicated the opposite doctrine. Sel- 

 den barely notices Velasquez and Grotius. 



On his return from England, his reputa- 

 tation grew rapidly, and he became every day 

 more and more conspicuous; his activity, 

 intelligence, and promptitude were observed, 

 and estimated; and he served the patriot 

 party, which he joined, and almost headed, 

 zealously, vigorously, but unhappily without 

 success. We have no space. to pursue his 

 career to the crisis of his fate. It will be 

 recollected, that alter the revolt of his country 

 from Spain, the provinces were split into 

 parties the partizans of the Orange family, 

 and the friends of republican principles. 

 During the whole of Grotius's political life, 

 Maurice headed the aristocratic party, and 

 was evidently aiming at sovereign power; 

 while Barneveldt was the acknowledged leader 

 of the democratic. But temporal politics 

 were exasperated by religious disputes. The 

 Calvinists and Arminians were in open and 

 hostile opposi'ion. The aristocrats favoured 

 the Calvinists; the democrats the Arminians. 

 Frequent attempts at conciliation were made 

 by the Arminian party, but all in vain. At 



length, in 1688, a synod was assembled at 

 Dort of the Calvinistic ministers, aided by 

 assessors from England, Switzerland, &c., 

 for the settled, though not avowed, purpose 

 of suppressing the Arminian ministers. Be- 

 fore and during the sitting, the Arminians 

 bestirred themselves ; the towns in which 

 the party predominated raised troops ibr their 

 defence, and Barneveldt, who was the grand 

 pensionary of the states general, sanctioned 

 the raising of these troops, particularly in 

 Holland. This precipitate measure gave the 

 orange party a handle, and they made an 

 effective use of the advantage. They were 

 equally active; they prevailed ; and Barne- 

 veldt, Grotius, and Hoogerbetz were arrested. 

 In the meanwhile the synod assembled ; the 

 Arminian ministers were banished ; and the 

 triumphant party succeeded without farther 

 opposition in bringing Barneveldt to the 

 block, and throwing Grotius and Hoogerbetz 

 into prison. In prison he remained for 

 nearly two years the whole time devoted 

 to study chiefly to the elucidation of the 

 scriptures; and was at last rescued by the 

 zealous affection of his wife escaping, 

 through her contrivance, in a box, supposed 

 to be filled with books, while she occupied 

 his cell. After his escape he went, on the 

 recommendation of the French ambassador, 

 to Paris, where he was well received by 

 every body, and had a small pension allotted 

 him by the king. Unhappily this pension 

 was ill paid, and he was frequently reduced 

 to considerable distress, trusting mainly to 

 the precarious supplies of his friends in Hol- 

 land. Here he continued eleven years ; and 

 during this period published some of his most 

 esteemed works. His Apology, embracing 

 a vindication of his party, an edition of Sto- 

 laeus, and his bo::k De Jure Belli et Pacis, a 

 work which, though now little read it is 

 of an antediluvian cast was, on its appear- 

 ance, and long after, in high repute. 



At the end of these eleven years of exile 

 he ventured to return to his country; but 

 was quickly compelled to leave it again; 

 his enemies had not forgotten him, and he 

 was formally banished. From thence he 

 settled at Hamburgh, where he resided about 

 three years, when Oxenstiern, the chancellor 

 of Sweden, and regent during the minority 

 of the young queen Christina, took him 

 under his protection, and despatched him as 

 ambassador to the court of Paris. In this 

 honourable employment he continued for 

 ten years, till conceiving some disgust at 

 the conduct of his court, he solicited his recal. 

 On his arrival at Sweden he was treated with 

 marked distinction by the queen, and pro- 

 mised a provision ; but finding himself by 

 degrees neglected, and disappointed in his 

 hopes, with a heart ill at ease, he left the 

 country, and was wrecked on the coast of 

 Pomerania. He escaped with his life, but 

 was immediately taken ill, and died in a few 

 day?; nor does it appear in what corner of 

 the world he hoped to find a refuge. 



As a scholar, he was most extensively 



