The Life of Hugo Grotius
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Title: The Life of Hugo Grotius
Author: Charles Butler
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF HUGO GROTIUS ***
THE LIFE OF HUGO GROTIUS
With Brief Minutes of the Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History
of the Netherlands
by
CHARLES BUTLER, ESQ.
Of Lincoln's-Inn
London: John Murray, Albemarle-Street.
M.DCCC.XXVI.
TO
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
THE DUKE OF SUSSEX,
THIS BIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT
OF
ONE OF THE MOST AMIABLE AND RESPECTABLE DEFENDERS OF THE NOBLE CAUSE OF
CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY,
OF WHICH
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS HAS UNIFORMLY BEEN A CONSTANT AND POWERFUL ADVOCATE,
IS
(WITH HIS PERMISSION),
MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY
THE AUTHOR,
Great Ormond Street
29 Sept. 1826
CONTENTS
In the following pages we shall attempt to present our Readers, with a
Life of HUGO GROTIUS; and MINUTES OF THE CIVIL, ECCLESIASTICAL, AND
LITERARY HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS.
In writing these pages, we principally consulted his life, written in
the French language, by _M. de Burigni_, Member of the French Royal
Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres; an English translation of
it, was published in 1754, in one Volume, 8vo.;
_Hugonis Grotii Manes, ab iniquis obtrectationibus vindicati_; 2
vols. 8vo. 1727: the author of this work is said to be M. Lehman;
The article _Grotius_, in _Bayle's and Chalmers's
Dictionaries_;
And many of the letters in _Hugonis Grotii Epistolæ_, published at
Amsterdam in 1687, in one volume, folio; and many in the _Præstantium
et Eruditorum Virorum Epistolæ Ecclesiasticæ_, published at Amsterdam
in 1684, in one volume, 4to.
For what we have said on GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS, we principally
consulted,
_Schmidt's Histoire des Allemands_;
_Pfeffell's Histoire Abregé de l'Allemagne_, 2 vols. 8vo.;
_Mr. Durnford's excellent Translation, of Professor Pütter's
Historical Developement, of the Political History of the German
Empire_; 3 vols. 8vo.;
And _Hugonis Grotii Annales, et Historiæ de Rebus Belgicis_, one
vol. 8vo. Amsterdam, 1658.
In our account of the troubles on _Arminianism_, and the Synod of
Dort; we principally consulted, the French Abridgment, in 3 vols. 8vo.
of _Brand's History of the Netherlands_, and _Grotius's_
excellent _Apology_:
In every part of the work, we have consulted other publications;--three
only of these we shall mention;
The three _Bibliothècques_ of Le Clerc;
_The Life of Arminius_, and
_Calvinism and Arminianism Compared_, by Mr. James Nichols.
From these materials the following pages have been composed: they may be
found to contain,--
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
A.D. 800-911.
I. 1. _Boundaries, and Devolution of the Empire of
Germany, during the Carlovingian dynasty_
2. _State of Literature, in the time of Charlemagne_
3. _Decline of Literature, under the Descendants of
Charlemagne_
A.D. 911-1024.
II. 1. _Boundaries, and Devolution of the empire of
Germany, during the Saxon dynasty_
2. _State of Literature, during the Saxon dynasty_
A.D. 1024-1138.
III. 1. _Boundaries, and State of Germany, during the
Franconian dynasty_
2. _State of German Literature, during the Franconian
dynasty_
A.D. 1138-1519.
IV. 1. _State of Germany, from the beginning of the
Suabian dynasty, until the accession of the
Emperor Charles V._
2. _State of German Literature, during this period_
A.D. 1138-1519.
V. 1. _Antient, and modern Geography of the Netherlands_
2. _The formation, of the different provinces of the
Netherlands, into one State_
3. _Brief view, of the History of the Netherlands, until
the acknowledgment of the Seven United Provinces,
by the Spanish monarch_
4. _Their constitution, and principal officers_
CHAPTER I.
A.D. 1582-1597.
BIRTH, AND EDUCATION OF GROTIUS
CHAPTER II.
A.D. 1597-1610.
GROTIUS, EMBRACES THE PROFESSION OF THE
LAW
CHAPTER III.
THE EARLY PUBLICATIONS, OF GROTIUS
CHAPTER IV.
HISTORICAL MINUTES, OF THE UNITED PROVINCES,
FROM THEIR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,
TILL THE ARMINIAN CONTROVERSY
CHAPTER V.
A.D. 1610-1617.
THE FEUDS, IN THE UNITED PROVINCES, BETWEEN
THE DISCIPLES OF CALVIN, AND THE DISCIPLES
OF ARMINIUS, UNTIL THE SYNOD OF DORT
CHAPTER VI.
A.D. 1618.
THE SYNOD OF DORT
CHAPTER VII.
A.D. 1618-1621.
TRIAL AND IMPRISONMENT OF GROTIUS; HIS
ESCAPE FROM PRISON
CHAPTER VIII.
A.D. 1622
JAMES I. VORSTIUS
CHAPTER IX.
A.D. 1621-1634.
GROTIUS, AFTER HIS ESCAPE FROM PRISON, UNTIL
HIS APPOINTMENT OF AMBASSADOR, FROM
SWEDEN, TO THE COURT OF FRANCE
CHAPTER X.
SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS, OF GROTIUS
1. _New edition of Stobæus_
2. _His treatise de Jure Belli et Pacis_
3. ---- _de Veritate Religionis Christianæ_
4. ---- _de Jure summarum potestatum circa
sacra._--And _Commentatio ad loca quædam Novi
Testamenti, quæ de Antichristo agunt, aut agere
videntur_
5. _His Commentaries on the Scriptures_
6. _His other works_
CHAPTER XI.
A.D. 1634-1645.
GROTIUS, AS AMBASSADOR FROM THE KINGDOM
OF SWEDEN, TO THE COURT OF FRANCE
CHAPTER XII.
THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS OF GROTIUS; SOME
OTHER OF HIS WORKS,
1. _Subsequent History of Arminianism_
2. _Grotius's religious sentiments_
3. _Projects of religious Pacification_
CHAPTER XIII.
THE DEATH OF GROTIUS
CHAPTER XIV.
A.D. 1680-1815.
HISTORICAL MINUTES OF THE REVOLUTIONS OF
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SEVEN UNITED PROVINCES,
FROM THE DEATH OF WILLIAM II. TILL
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF THE
NETHERLANDS.
1. _William III._
2. _John William Count of Nassau Dietz, 1702-1711;
William IV._ 1711-1751
3. _From the death of William IV. till the erection of
the Kingdom of the Netherlands_
APPENDIX I.
_Some Account of the Formularies, Confessions of Faith,
or Symbolic Books, of the Roman-Catholic, Greek,
and principal Protestant Churches_
APPENDIX II.
_On the Reunion of Christians_
FOOTNOTES
INTRODUCTION.
SUCCINCT NOTICE OF THE GEOGRAPHY, PRINCIPAL POLITICAL EVENTS, AND
LITERATURE, OF THE NETHERLANDS, BEFORE THE BIRTH OF GROTIUS.
800-1581.
We propose to present to our readers, in this chapter, a succinct
account, of the Geography, Devolution, and Literature of the
Netherlands,--considering them, until they became subject to the princes
of the House of Burgundy, as a portion of the German Empire, and
included in its history:--and from that time, as forming a separate
territory.
[Sidenote: 800-1581.]
Contemplating the Netherlands in the first of these views,--we shall
briefly mention the Boundaries and Government, of the German Empire, and
the state of learning in its territories, during the Carlovingian,
Saxon, Franconian and Suabian Dynasties, and the period, which
intervened, between the last Suabian emperor and the election of the
Emperor Charles the fifth.
From this time, we shall confine ourselves to the History of the
Netherlands. We shall then, therefore, endeavour to give a short view of
the geography of these countries, and of the manner in which they were
acquired by the Princes of Burgundy; then, shortly mention the
successful revolt of the Seven United Provinces.
In one of them, GROTIUS, the subject of these pages, was born; the part
which he took in the public events of his times, forms the most
important portion of his biography.
I. 1.
_Boundaries and Devolution of the Empire of Germany during the
Carlovingian Dynasty_.
800-911.
The Ocean on the north, the Danube on the south, the Rhine on the west,
and the Sarmatian Provinces on the east, are the boundaries assigned by
Tacitus to Antient Germany. It formed the most extensive portion of the
territories of Charlemagne; descended, at his decease, to his son, Lewis
the Debonnaire; and, on the partition between his three sons, was
allotted to Lewis, his second son.
All the territories of Charlemagne were united in Charles the Fat; he
was deposed by his subjects, and his empire divided. Germany was
assigned to his third son, Charles the Brave. On his decease, it was
possessed by Arnold, a natural son of Carloman, the elder brother of
Charles: from him it descended to Hedwiges, the wife of Otho, Duke of
Saxony, and she transmitted it to their son Henry the Fowler, the first
emperor of that house.
[Sidenote: 800-911.]
From the skirts of Germany and France two new kingdoms arose: the
kingdom of Lorraine, which comprised the countries between the Rhine,
the Meuse, and the Scheld; or the modern Lorraine, the province of
Alsace, the Palatinate, Treves, Cologne, Juliers, Liêge and the
Netherlands;--and the kingdom of Burgundy: This was divided into the
Cis-juranan, or the part of it on the east, and the Trans-juranan, or
the part of it on the west of Mount Jura. The former comprised Provençe,
Dauphiné, the Lyonese, Franche-comté, Bresse, Bugey, and a part of
Savoy; the latter comprised the countries between Mount Jura and the
Pennine Alps, or the part of Switzerland between the Reus, the Valais,
and the rest of Savoy.
Such was the geographical state of Germany at the close of the
Carlovingian Dynasty.
I. 2.
_State of Literature in the time of Charlemagne_.
So far as Literature depends upon the favour of the monarch, no æra in
history promised more than the reign of Charlemagne. His education had
been neglected; but he had real taste for learning and the arts, was
sensible of their beneficial influence both upon the public and the
private welfare of a people; and possessed the amplest means of
encouraging and diffusing them; his wisdom would suggest to him the
properest means of doing it, and the energy of his mind would excite
him to constant exertions.
[Sidenote: I. 2. State of Literature in the time of Charlemagne.]
Nothing that could be effected by a prince thus gifted and disposed, was
left untried by Charlemagne. He drew to him the celebrated Alcuin, Peter
of Pisa, Paul Warnefrid, and many other distinguished literary
characters: he heaped favours upon them; and a marked distinction was
always shewn them at his court. He formed them into a literary society,
which had frequent meetings. Their conversation was literary, he often
bore a part in it; and, what was at least equally gratifying, he always
listened with a polite and flattering attention while others spoke. To
establish perfect equality among them, the monarch, and, after his
example, the other members of this society, dropt their own and adopted
other names. Angelbert was called Homer, from his partiality to that
poet; Riculphus, archbishop of Mentz, chose the name of Damétas, from an
eclogue of Virgil: another member took that of Candidus; Eginhard, the
Emperor's biographer, was called Calliopus, from the Muse Calliope;
Alcuin received, from his country, the name of Albinus; the archbishop
Theodulfe was called Pindar; the abbot Adelard was called Augustine;
Charlemagne, as the man of God's own heart, was called David.
[Sidenote: 800-911]
The Emperor corresponded with men of learning, on subjects of
literature; they generally related to religion. In one of his letters,
he requires of Alcuin an explanation of the words Septuagesima,
Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima, which denote the Sundays which
immediately precede, and the word Quadragesima, which denotes the first
Sunday which occurs in Lent. The denominations of those Sundays give
rise to two difficulties; one, that they seem to imply that each week
consists of ten, not of seven days; the other, that the words sound as
if Septuagesima were the seventieth, when it is only the sixty-third day
before Easter Sunday; Sexagesima, as if it were the sixtieth, when it is
only the fifty-sixth; Quinquagesima, as if it were the fiftieth, when it
is the forty-ninth; Quadragesima, as if it were the fortieth, when it is
the forty-second. Alcuin's answer is more subtle than satisfactory.
At the meals of Charlemagne some person always read to him. His example
was followed by many of his successors, particularly by Francis I. of
France, who, in an happier era for learning, imitated with happier
effects, the example of the Emperor.
[Sidenote: I. 2. State of Literature in the time of Charlemagne.]
Alcuin was general director of all the literary schemes of Charlemagne.
He was an Englishman by birth; skilled both in the Greek and Latin
language, and in many branches of philosophy. Having taught, with great
reputation and success, in his own country, he travelled to Rome. In
780, Charlemagne attracted him to his court.
There, Alcuin gave lectures, and published several treatises. In these,
he began with Orthography; then proceeded to Grammar; afterwards to
Rhetoric, and Dialectic. He composed his treatises in the form of
dialogues; and, as Charlemagne frequently attended them, Alcuin made him
one of his interlocutors. Few scholars of Alcuin were more attentive
than his imperial pupil; he had learned grammar from Peter of Pisa; he
was instructed in rhetoric, dialectic, and astronomy by Alcuin. He also
engaged in the study of divinity; and had the good sense to stop short
of those subtleties, in which Justinian, Heraclius, and other princes,
unfortunately both for themselves and their subjects, bewildered
themselves. Letters from Giséla and Richtrudis, the daughters of
Charlemagne, to Alcuin, shew that they partook of their father's
literary zeal: his favourite study was astronomy.
[Sidenote: 800-911.]
The number of persons in his court, who addicted themselves to pursuits
of literature, was so great, and their application so regular, that
their meetings acquired the appellation of "The School of Charlemagne."
Their library was at Aix-la-Chapelle, the favourite residence of the
monarch: but they accompanied him in many of his journies. Antiquarians
have tracked them at Paris, Thionville, Wormes, Ratisbon, Wurtzburgh,
Mentz, and Frankfort.
Charlemagne established schools in every part of his dominions. In 787,
he addressed a circular letter to all the metropolitan prelates of his
dominions, to be communicated by them to their suffragan bishops, and to
the abbots within their provinces. He exhorted them to erect schools in
every cathedral and monastery. Schools were accordingly established
throughout his vast dominions: they were divided into two classes;
arithmetic, grammar, and music were taught in the lower, the liberal
arts and theology in the higher.
[Sidenote: 1. 2. State of Literature in the time of Charlemagne.]
In France, the abbeys of Corbie, Fontenelles, Ferrieres, St. Denis, St
Germain of Paris, St. Germain of Auxerre, and St. Benedict on the
Loire;--in Germany, the abbeys of Proom, Fulda, and of St Gall;--in
Italy, the abbey of Mount Casino, were celebrated for the excellence of
their schools. One, for the express purpose of teaching the Greek
language, was founded by Charlemagne at Osnabruck. All were equally open
to the children of the nobility and the children of peasants; all
received the same treatment. It happened that, on a public examination
of the children, the peasant boys were found to have made greater
progress than the noble. The Emperor remarked it to the latter, and
declared with an oath, that "the bishopricks and abbeys should be given
to the diligent poor." "You rely," he said to the patrician youths, "on
the merit of your ancestors; these have already been rewarded. The state
owes them nothing; those only are entitled to favour, who qualify
themselves for serving and illustrating their country by their talents
and their merits."
[Sidenote: 800-911.]
The civil law then consisted of the Theodosian code, the Salic,
Ripuarian, Allemannic, Bavarian, Burgundian, and other _codes_; and of
the _formularies_ of Angesise and Marculfus. To these Charlemagne added
his own _capitularies_. The whole collection, in opposition to the canon
or ecclesiastical law, received the appellation of _Lex Mundana_, or
_worldly law_. The canon law consisted of the code of canons which
Charlemagne brought with him from Rome in 784; a code of the canons of
the church of France; the canons inserted in the collection of Angelram,
bishop of Metz; the apostolic canons, published by St. Martin, bishop of
Braga; the capitularies of Theodulfus, of Orleans; and the penitential
canons, published in the Spicilegium of d'Acheri.[001] To the study,
both of the canon and civil law, schools were appropriated by
Charlemagne: few, except persons intended for the ecclesiastical state,
frequented them. Rabanus Maurus,[002] abbot of Fulda, and afterwards
archbishop of Mentz, has left an interesting account of the studies of
this period; it shews that all were referred to theology, and only
considered to be useful so far as they could be made serviceable to
sacred learning. Such a plan of study could conduce but little to the
advancement of general literature or science. Still, it was productive
of good, and led to improvement.
[Sidenote: I.2. State of Literature in the time of Charlemagne.]
It is observable that both antient and modern civilizers of nations,
have called music to their aid; among these we may mention Charlemagne.
In his residence at Rome, he was delighted with the Gregorian chant.
After his return to Germany, he endeavoured to introduce it, both into
his French and German dominions. The former had a chant of their own;
they called it an improvement, but other nations considered it a
corruption of the Gregorian. Greatly against the wish of Charlemagne,
his Gallic subjects persisted in their attachment to their national
music; the merit of it was gravely debated before the Emperor; they
vehemently urged the superiority of their own strains. "Tell me," said
the Emperor, "which is purer, the fountain or the rivulet?" They
answered, "the former." "Return ye, then," (said the Emperor) "to St.
Gregory: he is the fountain, the rivulets are evidently corrupted." The
Emperor was obeyed, and the Gregorian chant was taught, both in France
and Germany, by Italian choristers. The Italian writers of the times
describe the difficulties which they experienced in forming the rough
and almost untuneable voices of their French and German pupils to the
softness of the Gregorian song. They appear to have succeeded better
with the Germans than the French. By these, their lessons were so soon
and so completely forgotten, after the decease of Charlemagne, that
Lewis the Debonnaire, his son, was obliged to request Pope Gregory IV.
to send him from Rome, a new supply of singers to instruct the people.
But music continued to prosper in Germany; it abounded in songs. Some
were amatory, (_münnelier_); some were satirical, (_cantica in
malitiam_); some heroic, (_cantica in honorem,_); some diabolical,
(_cantica diabolica_.) These consisted of incantations, and of
narratives of the feats of evil spirits.
[Sidenote: 800-911.]
Vernacular poetry, and vernacular composition, of every kind, were
almost wholly left to the vulgar; all, who aimed at literary eminence,
wrote in the Latin language. Some discerning spirits became sensible
that the German language was susceptible of great improvement, and
excited their countrymen to its cultivation. Among these was Otfroid; he
translated the Gospel into German verse. He describes, in strong terms,
the difficulties which he had to encounter: "The barbarousness of the
German language is," he says, "so great, and its sounds are so
incoherent and strange, that it is very difficult to subject them to the
rules of grammar, to represent them by syllables, or to find in the
alphabet letters which correspond to them." It is however remarkable,
that, although he complains of the dissonance of the German language, he
never accuses it of poverty.
While France and Germany continued subject to the same monarch, German
was the language of the court, and generally used in every class of
society. When the treaty of Verdun divided the territories of
Charlemagne, the _Romande_, or _Romançe_ language, a corruption of the
Latin, superseded the German in every part of France: it was insensibly
refined into the modern French, but the German continued to be the only
language spoken in Germany.
Great progress was made in architecture: the churches and palaces
constructed by the direction of Charlemagne at Aix-la-Chapelle, the
Basilisc at Germani, the church of St. Recquier at Ponthieu, and many
other monuments of great architectural skill and expense, belong to the
age of Charlemagne, and bear ample testimony to the well-directed
exertions of the monarch, and of some of his descendants, and to their
wise and splendid magnificence.
I. 3.
_Decline of Literature under the Descendants of Charlemagne._
[Sidenote: 800-911]
[Sidenote: I. 3. Decline of Literature under the Descendants of
Charlemagne.]
That literature began to decline immediately after the decease of
Charlemagne, in every part of his extensive dominions, and that its
decline was principally owing to the wars among his descendants, which
devastated every portion of his empire, seems to be universally
acknowledged; yet there are strong grounds for contending that it was
not so great as generally represented. _Abbé le Beuf_,[003] in an
excellent dissertation on the state of the sciences in the Gauls during
the period which elapsed between the death of Charlemagne and the reign
of Robert, king of France, attempts to prove the contrary; and the
preliminary discourses of the authors of "l'Histoire Literaire de la
France," on the state of learning during the ninth and tenth centuries,
strongly confirm the abbé's representations. It is surprising how many
works were written during these dark, and, as they are too harshly
called, ignorant ages. It is more to be wondered, that while so much was
written, so little was written well. The classical works of antiquity
were not unknown in those times; the Latin Vulgate translation of the
Old and New Testament was daily read by the clergy, and heard by the
people. Now, although the language of the Vulgate be not classical, it
is not destitute of elegance, and it possesses throughout the exquisite
charms of clearness and simplicity. It is surprising that these
circumstances did not lead the writers to a better style. They had no
such effect; the general style of the time was hard, inflated and
obscure. It should, however, be observed, that Simonde de Sismondi, as
he is translated by Mr. Roscoe, justly observes, that "during the reign
of Charlemagne, and during the four centuries which immediately preceded
it, there appeared, both in France and Italy, some judicious historians,
whose style possesses considerable vivacity, and who gave animated
pictures of their times; some subtle philosophers, who astonished their
contemporaries, rather by the fineness of their speculations than by the
justness of their reasoning; some learned theologians, and some poets.
The names of Paul Warnefrid, of Alcuin, of Luitprand, and Eginhard, are
even yet universally respected. They all, however, wrote in Latin. They
had all of them, by the strength of their intellect, and the happy
circumstances in which they were placed, learned to appreciate the
beauty of the models which antiquity had left them. They breathed the
spirit of a former age, as they had adopted its language: we do not find
them representatives of their contemporaries: it is impossible to
recognize in their style the times in which they lived; it only betrays
the relative industry and felicity with which they imitated the language
and thoughts of a former age. They were the last monuments of civilized
antiquity, the last of a noble race, which, after a long period of
degeneracy, became extinct in them."
II. 1.
_Boundaries and Devolution of the German Empire during the Saxon
Dynasty._
911-1024.
We have mentioned that, on the death of Lewis, the son of Arnhold, the
empire descended to Henry I. in the right of his mother. From him, it
devolved through Otho, surnamed the Great, Otho II., and Otho III., to
Henry II. the last emperor of the Saxon line.
In this period of the German history, the attention of the reader is
particularly directed to two circumstances,--the principal states, of
which Germany was composed, the cradles, as they may be called, of the
present electorates, and the erection of the principal cities and
monasteries in Germany.
[Sidenote: II. 2. State of Literature during the Saxon Dynasty.]
A curious altercation between Nicephorus Phocas, the Greek emperor, and
Luitprand bishop of Cremona, ambassador from Otho I. to the Greek
sovereign, shews the state of Germany during this period. "Your nation,"
said the empire to the ambassador, "does not know how to sit on
horseback; or how to fight on foot: your large shields, massive armour,
long swords, and heavy helmets, disable you for battle."--Luitprand
told the emperor that "he would, the first time they should meet in the
field, feel the contrary." Luitprand observed, that "Germany was so
little advanced in ecclesiastical worth; that no council had been held
within its precincts:" the ambassador remarked, that "all heresies had
originated in Greece." The emperor asserted, that "the Germans were
gluttons and drunkards:" Luitprand replied, that "the Greeks were
effeminate." All writers agree, that, in what each party to this
conversation asserted, there was too much truth.
We have noticed the advance towards civilization which Henry I, made by
the construction of towns; he effected another, by the introduction of
tournaments and field sports, on a large, orderly and showy plan.
Speaking generally, society in Germany during the Saxon line of its
princes, was always improving.
II. 2.
_State of Literature during the Saxon Dynasty_.
[Sidenote: 911-1024.]
"In the school of Paderborn," says the biographer of Meinwert, as he is
cited by Schmidt, "there are famous musicians, dialecticians, orators,
grammarians, mathematicians, astronomers and geometricians. Horace, the
great Virgil, Sallust, and Statius, are highly esteemed. The monks amuse
themselves with poetry, books and music. Several are incessantly
employed in transcribing and painting."
A German translation of the Psalms, by Notker, a monk of the abbey of
St. Gall, shews that some attention was paid to the language of the
country. The Greek was cultivated; the writers of the times mention
several persons skilled in it. Notker, in a letter to one of his
correspondents, informs him, that "his Greek brothers salute him."
[Sidenote: II. 2. State of Literature during the Saxon Dynasty.]
Poetry was a favourite study: the celebrated _Gerbert_, afterwards Pope
Silvester II, and _Waldram_, bishop of Strasburgh, were the best poets
of their times. Hroswith,[004] a nun in the monastery of Gardersheim,
published comedies: "Many Catholics," she says, in her preface to them,
"are guilty of a fault, from which I myself am not altogether free;
they prefer profane works, on account of their style, to the holy
Scriptures. Others have the Scriptures always in their hands, and
despise profane authors; yet they often read Terence, and their
attention to the beauties of his style does not prevent the
objectionable passages in his writings from making an impression on
them."
To this age, the origin of Romances is usually assigned: but these
belong to the French; no specimen of them has been discovered in
Germany. Music was much cultivated. Hroswith introduced it into her
comedies.
It has been mentioned, that Sallust was read in the school at Paderborn.
It is supposed that Tacitus was known to Wittikind or Dittmar: both
relate visions, and several puerile circumstances; but they write with
precision, and shew, on many occasions, great good sense.
The same cannot be said of the Legend-writers; the account which the
authors of "The Literary History of France" give of them is very just.
"The ancient legends," they say, "were lost, in consequence either of
the plunder or the burning of the churches; it was considered necessary
to replace them, as it was thought impossible to honour the memory, or
to preserve the veneration of the saints, without some knowledge of
their lives. It is to be remarked, that the saints, whose memories were
thus sought to be honoured, had been long dead, or had lived in foreign
countries, so that little was known of them except by oral tradition.
From this it may be easily guessed, that those who employed themselves
upon the legends, were deprived of necessary information, and upon that
account could not produce exact and true histories. Thus, to the general
defects of the age in which they lived, they added uncertainty,
confusion, and some falsehood. Their pages abound with visions. In the
place of the simple and natural, they substituted the wonderful and
extraordinary. It even happened too frequently that they took leave to
tell untruths. Heriger, the abbot of St Lupus, says, in direct terms,
that they piously lied."
[Sidenote: 911-1024.]
Dialectic was in great favour: it was called philosophy; no work was
more read than "the Book of Categories," erroneously ascribed to St.
Augustine; and a work, upon the same subject, imputed to Porphyry.
[Sidenote: II. 2. State of Literature during the Saxon Dynasty.]
The schools of the cathedrals and principal monasteries contributed
essentially to the increase and diffusion of literature. Among the
monasteries, those of Fulda, St. Gall, Corbie and Kershaw, were
particularly renowned. Bishops and abbots exerted themselves to procure
books, and to have copies of them made and circulated: they were often
splendidly illuminated. Henry I. caused a painting to be made, of a
battle which he had gained over the Hungarians. Bernard, bishop of
Hildersheim, in imitation of what he had seen in Italy, ornamented the
churches of his diocese with mosaic paintings; he also introduced, among
his countrymen, the art of fusing and working metals; he caused precious
and highly ornamented vases to be made in imitation of the antients.
Large and small bells were cast; chalices, patines, incensories, images,
and even altars of gold and silver, or ornamented with them, were
fabricated. Aventin relates, that at Mauverkirchen, in Bavaria, figures
in plaster, hardened by fire, had, in 948, been made of a duke of
Bavaria and his general.
[Sidenote: 911-1024.]
The establishment of schools, and the protection given to the arts and
sciences, invited the whole body of the nation to the acquisition of
useful and ornamental knowledge; but the invitation was not even
generally accepted. There was much superstition in every order of the
laity. An opinion prevailed among them, that the world was to end, and
the day of judgment arrive, in the year 1000. An universal panic spread
itself over Europe. Strange to relate, the people sought to avoid the
catastrophe, by hiding themselves in caverns and tombs.
The existence of this ignorance cannot be denied: but, to the
ecclesiastics, who strove against it, who erected and fostered so many
schools to dispel it, and who exerted themselves in the manner we have
mentioned, to establish another and a better order of things, a great
share of praise and gratitude should never be denied.
The mines of Hartz were discovered in the time of Otho I. and diffused
so much wealth over Saxony, and afterwards over all Germany, as gave the
reign of that emperor the appellation of "the age of gold." Before this
time, Nicephorus Phocas had called Saxony, from the dress, or rather the
coverings of its inhabitants, "the land of skins." But all the wealth of
the country still continued to be concentrated among the great
landowners.
III. 1.
_Boundaries and State of Germany during the Franconian Dynasty._
1024-1138.
Under Henry III. the second prince of this line, the German empire had
its greatest extent. It comprised Germany, Italy, Burgundy and Lorraine.
Poland, and other parts of the Sclavonian territories, were subject to
it. Denmark and Hungary acknowledged themselves its vassals.
The emperors affected to consider all kingdoms as forming a royal
republic, of which the emperor was chief. For their right to this
splendid prerogative, they always found advocates in their own
dominions: they reckon, among these, the illustrious Leibniz. Out of
Germany, nothing of the claim, beyond precedence in rank, has ever been
allowed. This, no sovereign in Europe has contested with the emperors:
it is observable, that, as the French monarchs insisted on the
Carlovingian extraction of Hugh Capet, they affected to consider Henry
the Fowler the first prince of the Saxon dynasty, and all his successors
in the empire as usurpers. Lewis XIV. expresses himself in this manner
in some memoirs recently attributed to him.
III. 2.
_State of German Literature during the Franconian Dynasty._
[Sidenote: 1024-1138.]
Throughout this period, commerce was always upon the increase; and
literature, science and art, increased with it. The monuments of the
antient grandeur of the eternal city, began about this time to engage
the attention of the inhabitants of Germany, and to attract to Rome many
literary pilgrims. They returned home impressed with admiration of what
they had seen, and related the wonders to their countrymen. "The gods
themselves (they told their hearers) behold their images in Rome with
admiration, and wish to resemble them. Nature herself does not raise
forms as beautiful as those, which the artist creates. One is tempted to
say that they breathe; and to adore the skill of the artist rather than
the inhabitant of Olympus represented by his art." Thus the uncultivated
Germans began to perceive the beauty of these relics of antiquity, and
to feel the wish of imitation. This first appeared on the seals of the
emperors and bishops; several of distinguished beauty have reached our
times. The German artists soon began to engrave on precious stones, and
to work in marble and bronze. Four statues of emperors of the house of
Saxony, of the workmanship of these times, are still to be seen at
Spires; they are rudely fashioned, but are animated, and have distinct
and expressive countenances.
[Sidenote: III. 2. State of German Literature during the Franconian
Dynasty.]
When the emperors or nobility travelled, they were frequently
accompanied by artists. These sometimes made drawings of foreign
churches and edifices, and on their return home, raised others in
imitation of them. Thus the cathedral at Bremen was built on the model
of that of Benevento. The cathedral of Strasburgh, and many other
churches, were built about this time.
Music was considerably improved; the system of Guido Aretinus was no
where understood better, or cultivated with greater ardour, than in
Germany. Some improvement was made in poetry, but it chiefly appeared in
the songs of the common people. A monk of Togernsee, in Bavaria,
composed a collection of poems under the title of Bucolics; they
resemble those of Virgil only in their title. Lambert, of
Aschaffenburgh, published a history of his own times, inferior to none
which have reached us from the middle ages.
[Sidenote: 1024-1138]
Dialectic, however, still continued the favourite study; and the art of
disputation was never carried so far: the interest which the public took
in these disputes was surprising. When it was announced that two
celebrated dialecticians were to hold a public dispute, persons flocked
from all parts to witness the conflict; they listened with avidity, and
with all the feelings of partisans. This appears ridiculous; but, in the
present times, is there no _fancy_ which deserves equal ridicule?
IV. 1
_The State of Germany, from the beginning of the Suabian Dynasty, till
the Accession of the Emperor Charles V._
1138-1519.
The principal events in the reigns of the latter princes of the
Franconian, and of all the princes of the Suabian line, were produced or
influenced by the contests between the popes and emperors, respecting
investitures, or the right of nominating to vacant bishoprics;--by the
pretensions of the popes to hold their antient territories independent
of the emperors;--or by the new acquisitions of the popes in Italy.
1264-1272.
These contests reduced the empire to a state of anarchy, which produced
what is generally called, by the German writers, the Great Interregnum.
While it continued, six princes successively claimed to be emperors of
Germany.
1272-1438.
The interregnum was determined by the election of Rodolph, count of
Hapsburgh. From him, till the ultimate accession of the house of
Austria, in the person of Albert the Second, the empire was held by
several princes of different noble families.
1438-1519.
Albert was succeeded by Frederick III.; Frederick, by Maximilian I.; and
Maximilian, by Charles V.
To the period between the extinction of the Suabian dynasty and the
accession of the emperor Albert, may be assigned the rise of the Italian
republics, particularly Venice, Genoa and Florence; the elevations of
the princes of Savoy and Milan, and the revolutions of Naples, and the
Two Sicilies.
[Sidenote: IV. 1. The State of Germany, from the beginning of the
Suabian Dynasty till the Accession of the Emperor Charles V.]
The boundaries of Germany, during this period, were the Eider and the
sea, on the north; the Scheld, the Meuse, the Saone and the Rhone, on
the west; the Alps and the Rhine, on the south; and the Lech and
Vistula, on the east. They contained,--1. The duchy of Burgundy; 2. The
duchy of Lorraine; 3. The principalities into which Allemmania and
Franconia were divided; 4. The Bavarian territories, which the Franks
had acquired in Rhoetia, Noricum, and Pannonia; 5. Saxony; 6. The
Sclavic territories between the Oder and the Vistula: these were
possessed by the margraves of Brandenburgh, and the dukes of Poland and
Bohemia, and the princes dependent upon them in Moravia, Silesia and
Lusatia;--7. by the provinces of Pomerania and Prussia, on the east of
Saxony; 8. and the Marchia Orientalis, Oostrich, or Austria, on the east
of Bavaria.
At first, the emperor was chosen by the people at large; the right of
election was afterwards confined to the nobility and the principal
officers of state: insensibly, it was engrossed by the five great
officers,--the chancellor, the great marshal, the great chamberlain, the
great butler, and the great master of the palace. But their exclusive
pretensions were much questioned. At length, their right of election was
settled; first, by the Electoral Union, in 1337; and finally, in the
reign of the emperor Charles IV. by the celebrated constitution, called,
from the seal of gold appended to it, _the Golden Bull_. By this, the
right of election was vested in three spiritual and four temporal
electors: two temporal electors have since been added to their numbers.
IV. 2.
_State of German literature during this period_.
[Sidenote: 1438-1519]
While the empire was possessed by the princes of the house of Saxony, a
copy of the Pandects of Justinian was discovered at Amalfi. "The
discovery of them," says Sir William Blackstone, in his Introductory
discourse to his Commentaries, "soon brought the civil law into vogue
all over the west of Europe, where before it was quite laid aside, and
in a manner wholly forgotten; though some traces of its authority
remained in Italy, and the eastern provinces of the empire.--The study
of it was introduced into many universities abroad, particularly that of
Bologna, where exercises were performed, lectures read, and degrees
conferred in this faculty, as in other branches of science; and many
nations of the continent, just then beginning to recover from the
convulsions consequent to the overthrow of the Roman empire, and
settling by degrees into peaceable forms of government, adopted the
civil law (being the best written system then extant,) as the basis of
their several constitutions; blending or interweaving in it their own
feudal customs, in some places, with a more extensive, in others, a more
confined authority."
[Sidenote: IV. 2. State of German Literature, from the Suabian Dynasty
to Charles V.]
This was a great step toward the civilization of Germany, and of the
other countries in which the institutions of the civil law were thus
introduced. They certainly tended to animate the nations, by whom they
were received, to the study of the history and literature of the people
from the works of whose writers they had been compiled. They produced
this effect in several countries of Europe; but their influence in
Germany was very limited: the disposition to subtilize, which was at
that time universal throughout the German empire, led those who
cultivated literature rather to refine upon what was before them, than
to new inquiries. The language of the Pandects is of the silver age; it
might therefore be expected, that it would have improved the general
style of the times; but this improvement is seldom discernible.
[Sidenote: 1438-1519]
[Sidenote: IV. 2. State of German Literature, from the Suabian Dynasty
to Charles V.]
Good or evil is seldom unmixed: civil contests and dissensions,
generally produce both public and private misery; sometimes, however,
they generate mental excitement. This is favourable to Literature and
Science. Its good effects appeared in the contests between the Popes and
the Emperors. Great were the public and the private calamities which
they caused, both in church and state; but they promoted inquiry and
intellectual exertions. These were often attended with happy results.
Irnerius, by birth a German, had studied Justinian's law at
Constantinople. Towards the year 1130, he was appointed professor of
civil law at Bologna: the contests between the popes and the emperors
produced a warfare of words among the disciples of Irnerius. It has been
mentioned that the German emperors pretended to succeed to the empire of
the Cæsars. The language and spirit of the Justinianean code, being
highly favourable to this claim, the emperors encouraged the civilians,
and in return for it, had their pens at command. The decree of Gratian
was favourable to the pretensions of the popes; and on this account was
encouraged by the canonists. Hence, generally speaking, the civilians
were partisans of the emperors, the canonists of the popes. From their
adherence to the law of Justinian, the former were called Legistæ; from
their adherence to the decree of Gratian, the latter were called
Decretistæ. The controversy was carried on with great ardour and
perseverance; the schools both of Italy and Germany resounded with the
disputes, and in both, numerous tracts in support of the opposite
claims, were circulated. The question necessarily carried the
disputants to many incidental topics: these equally increased the powers
and curiosity of the disputants, and stimulated them to better and more
interesting studies.
V. 1.
_Antient and Modern Geography of the Netherlands._
We have thus brought down our historical deduction of the German Empire
to the accession of the Emperor Charles the Fifth.
About 160 years before this event, that portion of the empire, to which
its situation has given the appellation of THE NETHERLANDS, began to
have a separate history, and both a separate and important influence on
the events of the times. To them we shall now direct our attention.
These spacious territories are bounded on the north, by the German
Ocean; on the west, by the British Sea and part of Picardy; on the
south, by Champagne or Lorraine; on the east, by the archbishoprics of
Triers and Trêves, the dutchies of Juliers and Cléves, the bishopric of
Munster, and the county of Embden or East Friesland.
[Sidenote: V. 1. Antient and Modern Geography of the Netherlands.]
When the Romans invaded Gaul, it was divided among three principal
clans: the Rhine then formed its western boundary. The left banks of
this river were occupied by the Belgians: this tract of land now
comprises the catholic Netherlands, and the territory of the United
States; the right bank of the Rhine was then filled by the Frisians,
and now comprises the modern Gröningen, east and west Friesland, a part
of Holland, Gueldres, Utrecht, and Overyssell: the Batavians inhabited
the island which derives its name from them; it now comprises the upper
part of Holland, Utrecht, Gueldres, and Overyssell, the modern Cléves
between the Lech and the Waal.
In antient geography, the Netherlands were separated into the
Cisrhenahan and Transrhenahan divisions: the Cisrhenahan lay on the
western side of the Rhine, and included the Belgic Gaul; it was bounded
by the Rhenus, the Rhodanus, the Sequana, the Matrona, and the Oceanus
Britannicus: the Transrhenahan lay on the eastern side of the Rhine; it
was a part of Lower Germany, and bounded on the north by the eastern
Frisia, Westphalia, the Ager-Colonensis, the Juliacensis-Ducatus, and
the Treveri. The classical reader will have no difficulty in assigning
to these denominations, their actual names in the language of modern
geography.
The whole of these territories is called the Netherlands by the English;
and Flanders by the Italians, Spaniards, and French.
V. 2.
_The formation of the different Provinces of the Netherlands into one
State_.
In 1363, John the Good, the king of France, gave to Philip the Bold, his
third son, the dutchy of Burgundy: it then comprised the county of
Burgundy, Dauphiné, and a portion of Switzerland. The monarch at the
same time created his son duke of Burgundy. Thus Philip, became the
patriarch of the second line of that illustrious house.
History does not produce an instance of a family, which has so greatly
aggrandized itself by marriage, as the house of Austria. The largest
part by far of the Netherlands was derived to it, 1st, from Margaret of
Franche Comtè; 2dly, from Margaret of Flanders; 3dly, from Jane of
Brabant; 4thly, from Mary of Burgundy; 5thly, from Jacqueline of
Holland; and 6thly, from Elizabeth of Luxemburgh.
[Sidenote: Formation of the Provinces of the Netherlands into one
State.]
The possessions of the three first of these splendid heiresses,
descended to Margaret of Flanders. She married Phillip the Bold, who, as
we have just mentioned, was the first of the modern Dukes of Burgundy.
By this marriage, he acquired, in right of his wife, the provinces of
Flanders, Artois, Mechlin, and Rhetel; and transmitted them and his own
dukedom of Burgundy to his son Charles the Intrepid. From Charles, they
descended to his son Philip the Good. He purchased Namur; and by a
transaction with Jacqueline of Holland, acquired that province, Zealand,
Hainault, and Friesland. By other means, he obtained Brabant, Antwerp,
Luxemburgh, Limburgh, Gueldres, and Zutphen. On the failure of issue
male of Philip the Good, all these fourteen provinces descended to Mary
his only daughter. She married the Emperor Maximilian. He had two sons
by her, the Emperor Charles V. and Ferdinand. The former acquired, by
purchase or force, Utrecht, Overyssell and Gröningen.
These territories formed what are generally called the SEVENTEEN
PROVINCES OF THE NETHERLANDS.
In the language of the middle ages, they consisted of the Dutchies of
Brabant, Limburgh, Luxemburgh, and Gueldres; the Earldoms of Flanders,
Artois, Hainault, Holland, Zealand, Namur, Zutphen, Antwerp, (sometimes
called the Marquisate of the Holy Empire) and the Lordships of
Friesland, Mechlin, Utrecht, Overyssell, and Gröningen. Cambrai, the
Cambresis, and the County of Burgundy, though a separate territory, were
considered to be appendages, but not part of them.
V. 3.
_Brief View of the History of the Netherlands, till the acknowledgement
of the Independence of the Seven United Provinces by the Spanish
Monarch._
The laws, the customs, and the government of all these provinces were
nearly alike: each had its representative assembly of the three orders,
of the clergy, nobility, and burghers: each had its courts of justice;
and an appeal from the superior tribunal of each lay to the supreme
court at Mechlin.
Public and fiscal concerns of moment fell under the cognizance of the
sovereign. The people enjoyed numerous and considerable privileges: the
most important of them was the _Droit de Joyeuse entrée_, the right of
not being taxed without the consent of the three estates. Commerce,
agriculture, and the arts, particularly music and painting, flourished
among them. The people were honest, frugal, regular and just in their
general habits; more steady than active; not easily roused; but, when
once roused, not easily appeased.
[Sidenote: Brief View of the History of the Netherlands.]
Charles V. made over his hereditary territories in Germany to his
brother Ferdinand; but retained the Netherlands, and annexed them to the
crown of Spain.
With that crown, they descended to Philip the Second, the only son of
Charles.
Unwise and unjust measures of that monarch drove the inhabitants into
rebellion.
On the 5th of April 1566, a deputation of 400 gentlemen, with Lewis of
Nassau, a brother of the prince of Orange, at their head, presented a
petition to Margaret of Austria, the Governor of the Netherlands. From
the coarseness of their dress, they acquired the name of _gueux_ or
_beggars_, and retained it throughout the whole of the troubles which
followed.
[Sidenote: Brief View of the History of the Netherlands.]
Calvinism had, before this time, made great progress in these countries,
and gained over to it numbers of the discontented party. Philip
proceeded to the most violent measures, and sent the Duke of Alva, with
an army of 20,000 men, into the Netherlands. William, Prince of Orange,
placed himself at the head of the malcontents, and raised an army. At an
assembly of the States of Holland and Zealand in 1559, he was declared
Stadtholder, or Governor of Holland, Friesland, and Utrecht: Calvinism
was declared to be the religion of the States. In 1579, the three
provinces were joined by those of Gueldres, Zutphen, Overyssell, and
Gröningen. All signed, by their deputies, the TREATY OF UNION; it became
the basis of their constitution: still, however, they acknowledged
Philip for their sovereign. But in 1581, the deputies of the United
States assembled at Amsterdam, subscribed a solemn act, by which they
formally renounced allegiance to Philip and his successors, and asserted
their independence. They declared in their manifesto, that "the prince
is made for the people, not the people for the prince;" that "the
prince, who treats his subjects as slaves, is a tyrant, whom his
subjects have a right to dethrone, when they have no other means of
preserving their liberty;" that "this right particularly belongs to the
Netherlands; their sovereign, being bound by his coronation oath to
observe the laws, under pain of forfeiting his sovereignty."
In 1584, the Prince of Orange was assassinated by Balthazar Gerard, a
Catholic fanatic: the war was continued till 1609, when it was suspended
by a truce of twelve years. At the expiration of it, the war burst forth
with fresh fury: it was finally terminated by the peace of Munster, or
Westphalia, in 1648, when the King of Spain acknowledged, in the fullest
manner, the INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEVEN UNITED PROVINCES, and of all their
possessions in Asia, Africa, and America.
V.4.
_Their Constitution and principal Officers._
[Sidenote: Constitution of the Netherlands.]
Thus the United Provinces became a confederacy of seven independent
principalities, called in the aggregate the States General. Several
years elapsed before their constitution was finally settled. Then, the
supreme sovereignty of the whole was considered to be vested in the
people of every province represented by the States. These consisted of
deputies appointed to them from the different provinces. Each province
might send to the assembly more than one deputy; but, whatever was the
number of deputies sent by them, they had one vote only in the
proceedings of the assembly. The government of each province was vested
in its states: these were composed of two orders, the deputies from the
towns, and those from the equestrian order.
Each province contained several independent republics.
The States General could not make war or peace, or enter into alliances,
or raise money, without the consent of all the seven provinces; nor did
the decrees of any one of the States bind the constituent parts of it,
without their consent.
[Sidenote: Constitution of the Netherlands.]
The Stadtholder was appointed by the States General, and held his office
at their will. The offices of captain-general and admiral were united in
him: thus he had the appointment of all military commands, both by sea
and land; and had considerable influence and power in the nomination to
civil offices. Three officers,--the _treasurer, the conservator of the
peace, and the grand pensionary,_ were appointed by the States General,
and were immediately subject to their controul; they were wholly
independent of the Stadtholder. The grand pensionary was always supposed
to be profoundly versed in civil, ecclesiastical, and consuetudinary
law; and in foreign diplomacy. All transactions between subjects or
foreigners with the States General, passed through his hands. He
attended the deliberations of the States; he was not entitled to vote,
but was expected to sum up the arguments on each side, and to deliver
his opinion upon them. Each province had its advocate, syndic or
pensionary; a public officer who superintended their public concerns;
and represented them, but only with a deliberative voice, in the
assembly of the States.
[Sidenote: Brief View of the History of the Netherlands.]
We now reach the æra, at which our intended biography commences. A
Literary History of the Netherlands, from the time of their becoming
subjects to the Dukes of Burgundy, till this æra, is much wanted.
CHAPTER I.
THE BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF HUGO GROTIUS.
1582-1597.
The Life of Erasmus, which we have offered to the public, presents to
its readers, the interesting spectacle of a person, born under every,
disadvantage for the acquisition of literature, surmounting them all by
his genius and perseverance, and reaching, at an early age, the highest
summit of literary eminence: the Life of GROTIUS, which we now attempt,
exhibits the successful literary career of a person, born with every
advantage, undeviatingly availing himself of them, and attaining equal
eminence; with the addition of high reputation for great political
wisdom and public integrity.
[Sidenote: His Birth and Education.]
He was born at Delft, on the 10th April 1582. His parents were John de
Groote, and Alida Averschie. John was the second son of Hugo de Groote
by Elselinda Heemskirke. Hugo was the son of Cornelius Cornet by
Ermingarde, the daughter and sole heiress of Diederic de Groote. Upon
their marriage, Diederic stipulated that Cornet should adopt the
surname of Groote: it signifies _Great_, and is said to have been given
to Diederic for some signal service, which he had rendered to his
sovereign. All the males and females mentioned in the genealogy of
Grotius were of noble extraction.
Learning appears to have been hereditary in the family: John, the father
of Hugo, the subject of our biography, was both a lawyer in great
practice, and a general scholar.
The 10th of April, on which GROTIUS was born, was Easter Sunday in that
year: he always observed his birthday with religious solemnity.
All the biographers of Grotius assert, and their assertion will be
easily believed, that he discovered, in his earliest years, great
aptitude for the acquisition of learning, great taste, judgment and
application, and a wonderful memory. He found, in his father, an
excellent tutor: by him, Grotius was instructed in the rudiments of the
Christian doctrine, and his infant mind impressed with sound principles
of morality and honour; in this, he was aided by the mother of Grotius.
The youth corresponded with their cares. He has celebrated, in elegant
verses, their pious attention to his early education. The mention of
these verses will bring to the recollection of every English reader, the
magnificent strains, in which, Milton addressed _his_ father.
[Sidenote: CHAP. I. 1582-1597.]
As soon as Grotius had passed his childhood, he was placed with
Utengobard, an Arminian clergyman: we shall see that this circumstance
had a decisive influence upon his future life. He retained a lasting
regard for Utengobard, and a grateful recollection of his obligations to
him. At the age of twelve years, Grotius was sent to the university of
Leyden, and committed to the care of Francis Junius. Here, he
distinguished himself so much by his diligence, his talents, and his
modesty, as to obtain the notice and regard of several of the most
famous scholars of the times. Even Joseph Scaliger, equally
distinguished by his learning and caustic arrogance, noticed him, and
condescended to direct his studies. He was scarcely eleven years of age
when Douza, one of the princes of the republic of letters in those
times, celebrated his praises in verse: He declared that "he could
scarcely believe that Erasmus promised so much as Grotius at his age:"
he announced that "Grotius would soon excel all his contemporaries, and
bear a comparison with the most leaned of the antients."
Grotius also gained the esteem of Barneveldt, the grand pensionary, in
whose fate he was afterward involved. In 1587, the Dutch sent Count
Justin of Nassau and Barneveldt, at the head of an embassy, to Henry IV.
of France. Barneveldt permitted Grotius to accompany him.
[Sidenote: His Birth and Education.]
Grotius had been preceded by his reputation. He was known to M. de
Busenval, the monarch's ambassador in Holland. Busenval described him
favourably to the monarch. Henry gave Grotius a gracious reception, and
was so pleased with his conversation and demeanour, that he presented
him with his picture and a golden chain. Grotius gives an account of
this embassy, in the seventh book of his Annals: he abstains, with a
praiseworthy modesty, from any mention of himself: but, in one of his
poems, he dwells with complacency on his having seen the monarch, "who
owed his kingdom only to his valour"--
" ... _Le Heros, qui regna sur la Françe,
Et par droit de conquête et par droit de naissançe_."
VOLTAIRE, _Henriade_.
Grotius was so much pleased with his reception, and the present which he
received from Henry, that he caused a print of himself, adorned with the
chain presented to him by Henry, to be engraved. He was introduced to
many of the most distinguished persons at Paris: there was one, whom he
particularly esteemed, but whom, from some unexplained circumstance, he
missed seeing.
[Sidenote: Chap. 1. 1582-1597]
This was _the President de Thou_, a name never to be mentioned without
veneration. He had been employed by his sovereign on many delicate and
important commissions, and had acquitted himself in all, with ability
and honour. He had filled the office of _Maitre des Requétes_, and been
advanced to that of _President a Mortiér_. He was employed, at this
time, upon his immortal History. In the account which it gives of the
events, that took place in France, it is entitled to almost unqualified
praise: in regard to what happened to other countries, he necessarily
depended on the information which he received from them, and cannot
therefore be equally relied upon. The prolixity, with which he is now
reproached, was not felt at the time in which he wrote; every event,
however small, was then thought to be important, and multitudes were
personally interested in it. But the charm of his work is, that every
page of it shews a true lover of his country, an impartial judgment, and
an honourable mind. The memoirs, which he has left us of his own life,
recently translated into English by Mr. Collinson, are interesting and
entertaining. He collected a very large library, both of printed books
and manuscripts, and had them splendidly bound. The whole was sold by
auction in the reign of Louis XIV, and scarcely produced half the sum
which the binding of its volumes had cost: The same has been said of the
Harleian collection, sold in our times.
[Sidenote: His Birth and Education.]
Having remained a twelvemonth at Paris, Grotius returned to Holland.
Immediately after his arrival, he addressed a letter to the president
de Thou, in which he expressed great mortification at not having seen
him, and requested his acceptance of a book accompanying his letter,
which he had dedicated to the Prince of Condé. The president de Thou was
highly pleased with this letter: a correspondence took place between
them. Grotius furnished the president with materials for that portion of
his history which related to the troubles in the Low Countries.
In the last letter of the President de Thou, in this correspondence, he
earnestly dissuades Grotius from engaging in the religious disputes of
the times. In reply to it, Grotius respectfully intimates to the
president, that "he found himself obliged to enter into them by his love
of his country; his wish to serve his church, and the request of those
to whom he owed obedience:" promising, at the same time, "to abstain
from all disputes that were not necessary." After the death of the
President, Grotius celebrated his memory in a poem, which was considered
by the bard's admirers to be one of his best performances.
CHAPTER II.
GROTIUS EMBRACES THE PROFESSION OF THE LAW. HIS FIRST PROMOTIONS.
1597-1610.
In the ruin of the Roman Empire, her laws were lost in the general
wreck. During the 200 years, which followed the reign of Constantine the
Great, Europe was a scene of every calamity, which the inroads of
barbarians could inflict, either on the countries through which they
passed, or those in which they settled. About the sixth century, Europe
obtained some degree of tranquillity, in consequence of the introduction
of feudalism; the most singular event in the annals of history. At
first, it produced a general anarchy; but the system of subordination
upon which it was grounded, contained in it the germ of regular
government, and even, of jurisprudence. Its effects were first visible
in the _various codes of law_ which the barbarous nations promulgated.
Such are the Salic, the Ripuarian, the Alemannic, the Burgundian, the
Visigothic, and the Lombard laws.
[Sidenote: Feudal Jurisprudence.]
A complicated or refined system of jurisprudence is not to be looked for
in them; but, if they are considered with due regard to the state of
society for which they were calculated, they will be found to contain
much that deserves praise. The _capitularies_, or short legislative
provisions, propounded by the sovereign, and adopted by the public
assemblies of the nation, were a further advance in legislation. By
degrees, so much regularity prevailed in the judicial proceedings and
legal transactions, that they were regulated by established
_formularies_; and, in addition to those provisions, every nation
contained a collection of unwritten usages or _customs_, which had the
force of law. The natural tendency of these institutions to introduce
order and peaceful habits into society was great; but it was so much
counteracted by the turbulent spirit of every class of men, that it was
not till the beginning of the thirteenth century that this effect of
them became discernible.
[Sidenote: CHAP. II. 1597-1610]
From this time, the governments of Europe sensibly improved. A better
spirit of legislation shewed itself; the administration of justice
became more regular; trade and husbandry were protected, several arts
were encouraged; and a general wish for a better order of things
prevailed in every part of Europe. While the public mind was in this
state of improvement, an event fortunately happened, which gave it a
very salutary direction. This was, (what we have already noticed), the
discovery of a complete copy of the _Pandects of Justinian_ at Amalfi, a
town in Italy, near Salerno. From Amalfi, it found its way to Pisa; and
in 1406, was carried to Florence, where it has since remained.
[Sidenote: The Civil Law]
Few events in history can be mentioned which have conduced more to the
welfare of Europe than this discovery. The codes, the capitularies, the
formularies, and the customs, by which, till that time, the feudal
nations had been governed, fell very short of affording them the legal
provisions, which society, in the improved state of civilization, to
which it was then advancing, evidently required. Unexpectedly, a system
of law presented itself, which seemed to contain every thing that the
most enlightened men of those times could have desired. The wisdom and
justice of the system of law expressed in the Pandects seem to have been
universally felt. The study of it was immediately pursued with ardour.
It was introduced into several universities; exercises were performed,
lectures read, and degrees conferred in that, as in other branches of
science; and most of the nations of the continent adopted it, if not as
the basis, at least as an important portion of their civil
jurisprudence. A regular _succession of civil_ lawyers followed. At
first, they rather incumbered the text with their subtleties, than
illustrated it by learning and discrimination. _Andrew Alciat_ was the
first who united the study of polite learning with the study of the
civil law: he was founder of a school called the _Cujacian_, from
_Cujas_, the glory of civilians. Of him, it may be truly said, that he
found the civil law in wood and left it in marble.
This school has subsisted until our time: it has never been without
writers of the greatest taste, judgment and erudition; the names of
Cujacius, Augustinus, the Gothofredi, Heineccius, Voetius, Vinnius,
Gravina and Pothier, are as dear to the scholar as they are to the
lawyer; an Englishman however must reflect with pleasure, that the
Commentaries of his countryman, Sir William Blackstone, will not suffer
in a comparison with any foreign work of jurisprudence. So far as the
researches of the present writer extend, the only one that can be put
into competition with them, is the _Jus Canonicum of Van-Espen_.
[Sidenote: CHAP. II. 1597-1610]
The judicial process of the nations on the continent differed
considerably from that of England. Trial by jury, and separate courts of
equity, were unknown to them. Some causes were heard and decided by all
the magistrates of the courts; others were referred to one or more of
their number. The king's advocate, or the advocate of the state, as he
was termed in a republic, held a situation between the judges and the
suitors: his province was to sum the facts and arguments of the cause,
and to suggest his opinions upon them to the judges.--We trust our
readers will excuse this summary view of foreign jurisprudence.
Grotius, by the advice of his father, addicted himself to the profession
of the law. He was only in his seventeenth year, when he pleaded his
first cause. He acquired by it, great reputation; and this was
constantly upon the increase, through the whole of his professional
career. He observed in his pleadings a rule, which he afterwards
recommended to his son: "That you may not," he told him, "be embarrassed
by the little order observed by the adversary counsel, attend to one
thing, which I have found eminently useful: Distribute all that can be
said on both sides, under certain heads; imprint these strongly in your
memory; and, whatever your adversary says, refer it not to his division,
but to your own."
[Sidenote: Grotius embraces the profession of the Law.]
The brilliant success of Grotius at the bar soon procured him very
considerable promotions. The place of Advocate-General of the Fisc of
the provinces of Holland and Zealand becoming vacant, it was unanimously
conferred on him. This situation was attended with great distinction and
authority; the person invested with it, being charged with the
preservation of the public peace, and the prosecution of public
offenders. In 1613, Grotius was advanced to the situation of Pensionary
of Rotterdam; and his high character authorized him to stipulate before
he accepted it, that he should hold it during his life, and not, at
will, its usual tenure. It immediately gave him a seat in the assembly
of the States of Holland; and, at a future time, a seat in the assembly
of the States General.
Between the time of his appointment to the advocacy of the Fisc of
Holland and Zealand, and his being appointed Pensionary of Rotterdam, he
married Mary Reygersburgh, of an illustrious family in Zealand. It
proved a marriage of happiness. The most perfect harmony subsisted
between Grotius and his consort: we shall find that she was an ornament
to him in prosperity, his comfort and aid in adverse fortune. The
marriage was solemnized in July 1608, and celebrated by many a Belgic
bard.
[Sidenote: CHAP II. 1597-1610.]
A dispute arising about this time between England and the States
General, upon the exclusive right claimed by the former to fish in the
Northern seas, the States, with a view to an amicable adjustment of it,
sent Grotius to England. Several meetings took place between him and
commissioners appointed by James, the British sovereign. If we credit
the account, given by Grotius, of the point in dispute, and the
negociation to which it gave rise, justice was decidedly on the side of
the States General; and England only carried the point by the lion's
right,--the _droit du plus fort_.
[Sidenote: Grotius embraces the profession of the Law.]
Grotius had every reason to be pleased with his reception by the English
monarch and his court. Between Grotius and Casaubon, who, at this time,
resided in England, an intimacy had long subsisted. It was cemented by
mutual esteem, similarity of studies, and the earnest wish of each for
an amicable termination of religious differences: each respected the
antient doctrines and discipline of the church; each thought that many
of the points in controversy were disputes of words; that much might be
gained by mutual concessions; and that the articles, upon which there
was any substantial difference, were few. "I esteem Grotius
highly,"--Casaubon writes in a letter to the president de Thou, "on
account of his other great qualities; but particularly because he judges
of the modern subjects of religious controversy like a learned and good
man. In his veneration for antiquity, he agrees with the wisest men."
... "I heartily pray God," says Casaubon in a letter to Grotius, "to;
preserve you: as long as I shall live, I shall hold you in the highest
esteem: so much am I taken with your piety, your probity, and your
admirable learning."[005]
CHAPTER III.
THE EARLY PUBLICATIONS OF GROTIUS.
There is not, perhaps, an instance of a person's acquiring at an age
equally early, the reputation, which attended the first publication of
Grotius. It was an edition, with notes, of the work of "_Martianus
Mineus Felix Capella_, on the Marriage of Mercury and Philology, in two
books; and of the same writer's Seven Treatises on the Liberal Arts."
They had been often printed; but all the editions were faulty: a
manuscript of them having been put into the hands of Grotius by his
father, he communicated it to Scaliger, and by his advice undertook a
new edition of them.
The time, in which Capella lived, and the place of his birth, are
uncertain; the better opinion seems to be, that he flourished towards
the third century, resided at Rome, and attained the consular dignity.
His works are written in prose, intermixed with poetry. His diction has
some resemblance to that of Tertullian, but is much more crabbed and
obscure: none, but the ablest Latin scholars, can understand him. The
Marriage of Mercury and Philology,--or of Speech with Learning, is not
uninteresting. His other treatises contain nothing remarkable: that upon
music, is hardly intelligible; it is printed separately in the
collection of _Meibomius_. With all his harshness and obscurity, Capella
seems to have been much studied in the middle ages,--some proof that
there was more learning in them, than is generally supposed,--he is so
often quoted by the writers of those times, that some persons have
supposed that his work was then a text book in the schools.
[Sidenote: The early publications of Grotius.]
[Sidenote: CHAP. III. 1597-1610.]
When Grotius undertook his edition of Capella, he was only twelve years
of age: he published it in his fourteenth year, and dedicated it to the
Prince of Condé. The learning and critical discernment displayed by him
in this publication excited astonishment, and obtained for him the
applause of all the literary world. Grotius himself gives the following
account of his work: "We have collated Capella with the several authors,
who have investigated the same subjects. In the two first books, we have
consulted those whose writings contain the sentiments of the antient
philosophers, as Apuleius, Albericus and others, too tedious to name; on
grammar, we have compared, Capella with the antient grammarians; in what
he has said on rhetoric, with Cicero and Aquila; on logic, with
Porphyry, Aristotle, Cassiodorus and Apuleius; on geography, with
Strabo, Mela, Solinus, and Ptolemy, but chiefly Pliny; on arithmetic,
with Euclid; on astronomy, with Hyginus, and others, who have treated on
that subject; on music, with Cleonides, Vitruvius and Boethius." In
Grotius's Annotations all these writers are mentioned in a manner, which
shews that he was thoroughly conversant with their works. Grotius's
edition is become, from its extreme scarcity, a typographical curiosity:
all the other editions are scarce. The writer of these pages found, with
great difficulty, a copy of it in the London market.[006] That of
Bonhomme, published at Lyons in 1539, he procured by loan. The
celebrated Leibniz began to prepare an edition of Capella _in usum
Delphini_; but his collections being purloined from him, he desisted
from his project: it must be owned that the general learning of Leibniz
qualified him admirably for such a task.[009]
[Sidenote: The early Publications of Grotius.]
While yet in his fourteenth year, Grotius published a translation of a
work, published by Simon Steven in 1586, upon Navigation, and shewed by
it a profound knowledge of mathematics:[010] he dedicated it to the
republic of Venice.
[Sidenote: CHAP. III. 1597-1610.]
In the following year, Grotius published _the Phenomena of Aratus_, a
poetical treatise of that author upon astronomy, with Cicero's
translation of it, so far as it has reached us. Grotius supplied the
vacancies. It is universally admitted that the parts supplied by him,
are not inferior to those of Cicero. The abbé d'Olivet, the editor of
Cicero's works, and an enthusiastic admirer of his style, declares that
"the Muse of Cicero[011] did not throw the Muse of Grotius into the
shade:" he therefore inserted the supplementary verses of Grotius in his
edition. Grotius dedicated his work to the States of Holland and West
Friseland; and promised them in his dedication something more
considerable. He was complimented upon it by several of the greatest men
of the age.
The following simile, taken from Cicero's translation of Aratus, and
Voltaire's version of it, are greatly admired:
Sic Jovis altisoni subito pennata satelles,
Arboris è trunco, serpentis saucia morsu;
Ipsa feris subigit transfigens unguibus anguem
Semianimum, et variâ graviter cervice micantem;
Quem se intorquentem laniens rostroque craentans,
Abjicit efflantem, et laceratum effundit in undas,
Seque obitu a solis nitidos convertit ad ortus.
CICERO.
Tel on voit cet oiseau, qui porte le tonnere,
Blessé par un serpent élancé de la terre;
Il s'envole, il entraine au sejour azuré
L'ennemi tortueux dont il est entouré.
Le sang tombe des airs: il dechire, il devore
Le reptile acharné, qui le combat encore;
Il le perçe, il le tient sous ses ongles vainqeurs,
Par cent coups rédoublés il venge ses douleurs;
Le Monstre en expirant, se debat, se replie;
Il exhale en poison le reste de sa vie;
Et l'aigle tout sanglant, fier et victorieux,
Le rejette en fureur, et plane au haut des cieux.
VOLTAIRE.
[Sidenote: The early Publications of Grotius.]
About the year 1608, Grotius published his celebrated work _Mare
Liberum_, to assert in it against the English, the general freedom of
the sea. The controversy arose upon the claim of Great Britain to enjoy
the dominion of the British seas, in the most extensive sense of those
words, both as to the right of navigating them, and the right of fishing
within them. Against this claim, Grotius attempted to shew that the sea
was, from its nature, insusceptible of exclusive right; and that, if it
were susceptible of it, England did not prove her title to it. Selden,
in opposition to Grotius, asserted the British claim, by his treatise
_Mare Clausam_,--a noble exertion of a vigorous mind, fraught with
profound and extensive erudition. It is pleasing to add, that he treats
Grotius with the respect due to his learning and character. Selden's
treatise was thought of so much importance to his cause, that a copy of
it was directed to be deposited in the British Admiralty. Grotius was
highly pleased with the respect, which was shewn to him by Selden.
On Selden's _Mare Clausum_ he composed the following epigram:--
Ipsum compedibus qui vinxerat Ennegisæum,
Est Grecâ Xerxes multus in historia:
Lucullum Latii Xerxem dixere togatum;
Seldenus Xerxes ecce Britannus erit.
[Sidenote: CHAP. III. 1597-1610]
The States General were gratified by his work; but at that time it was
so much their interest to preserve the strictest amity with England,
that they discountenanced any further advocation of their claim.[012]
The year after his publication of his "Treatise on the Freedom of the
Sea," Grotius printed his work on the "_Antiquity of the Batavian
Republic_." He gives in it an account of the antient _Batavians;_ he
professes to shew that they were the allies, not the subjects of the
Romans; that, after a period of anarchy, during which little is known of
their history, they became subjects of the Counts of Holland; that these
were not vassals of the empire, but independent princes; and, strictly
speaking, elected by the people, although, in the election of them,
great regard was always shewn to the hereditary line: that they were
bound to conform to the laws of the state; and always required, before
their election, to swear to the observance of the constitution; that the
taxes were always imposed by the States, and that Philip the Second had
occasioned the grand war, by repeated infractions of the public and
private right of the people of the United Provinces.
[Sidenote: The early Publications of Grotius.]
The States of Holland were highly pleased with this work; they voted
thanks to its author, and accompanied them with a present. It is
considered that his partiality to his country led him to advance some
positions favourable to its antient independence, which his proofs did
not justify.
For the use of _Du Maurier_, the French ambassador to the States
General, Grotius published, about this time, his "Directions for a
Course of general Study," _De omni genere studiorum recte instituendo_.
It was favourably received, both by the diplomatist for whose use it was
composed, and the public at large; but, on account of the great
extension of literature, since the time of Grotius, it is now little
read. Mentioning the Roman history, he shews that a knowledge of it is
better acquired by reading its Greek than by reading its Latin
historians; because foreigners give more attention to the public manners
and customs of a country than natives.
[Sidenote: CHAP. III. 1597-1610.]
All the works, which we have mentioned, were most favourably received in
every part of the United Provinces. It was now become evident that the
exertions for their independence were on the eve of being crowned with
complete success. All the European Powers had deserted Spain, so that
she was left to her own single and unaided strength, to maintain the
contest against the insurgent provinces. The glory, which they acquired
by their successful resistance to her, determined them to make choice of
an historian, who should transmit to future ages the signal exploits of
their memorable struggle. With this view, they appointed Grotius their
historiographer.
[Sidenote: The Poems of Grotius.]
It remains to mention the "_Poems of Grotius:_" throughout his life, he
sacrificed to the Muses. The _Prosopopoeia,_ in which he introduces the
City of Ostend addressing the world, when, in the third year of her
siege, the Marquis Spinola led the troops of Spain against her, was
greatly, admired. All the adjacent territory had been taken by the
Spaniards, so that nothing remained of it to the confederates, but the
precinct within the walls of the city; and even much of this had been
wrested from the besieged. All Europe had its eye fixed on the
operations of Spinola. It is therefore, with great propriety of
language, that Grotius makes Ostend thus address herself to the world,
in the following lines:--
"Area parva ducum, totus quam respicit orbis;
Celsior una malis, et quam damnare ruinae
Nunc quoque fata timent,--alieno in litore resto.
Tertius annus abit; toties mutavimus hostem:
Sævit hyems pelago, morbisque furentibus æstas;
Et minimum est quod fecit Iber,--crudelior armis
In nos orta lues,--nullum est sine funere funus.
Nec perimit mors una semel:--Fortuna quid haeres?
Quâ mercede tenes mixtos in sanguine manes?
Quis tumulos moriens hos occupet hoste perempto?
Queritur,--et sterili tantum de pulvere pugna est."
"A small area of chiefs, whom the whole world contemplates;
alone loftier than my woes; I, whom the
Fates even yet, fear to condemn to ruin;--remain on a
foreign shore.
"The third year now passes away; thrice has my foe
been changed:
"The winter rages on the sea; the summer, by its furious
heats.
"The Spaniard has been my least enemy;--more cruel
than arms, a pestilence has risen among us; no funeral is
without another; the dying never perish by a single death.
"Fortune! why do'st thou hesitate? By what reward
do'st thou detain the manes mingled in blood?
"Who, dying, will, after the destruction of the enemy,
occupy these tombs?--This is enquired.--
The contest is only for sterile dust."
With the following poetical translation of these verses, the writer has
been favoured by Mr. Sotheby, the elegant translator of "Oberon."
Scant battle-field of Chiefs, thro' earth renown'd,
Opprest, I loftier tow'r;--and, now, while Fate
Dreads to destroy, in foreign soil I stand.
Thrice chang'd the year, thrice have we chang'd the Foe.
Fierce Winter chafes the Deep, the Summer burns
With fell disease: less fell th' Iberian sword.
Dire Pestilence spreads;--on funerals funerals swell:
Nor does one death at once extirpate all.
Why, Fortune! linger? why our souls detain
With blood immingled? Who, the Foe extinct,
Who, dying, shall these sepulchres possess,
And in this sterile dust the conflict close?
W.S.
March 28,1826.
[Sidenote: CHAP. III. 1597-1610.]
These verses produced a great sensation in the literary world: they were
ascribed by many to Scaliger, as the best Latin poet of the age; the
only person considered to be capable of writing them. The celebrated
Peyresck hinted this to that learned man: Scaliger answered, that "he
was too old not to be the aversion of the virgins of Helicon," and
announced that the verses were written by Grotius. They were translated
into French by Du Vair, afterwards the keeper of the seals; by Rapin,
grand-provost of the Constabulary of France; by Stephen Pasquier, and by
Malherbes: Casaubon translated them into Greek.[013]
[Sidenote: The Poems of Grotius.]
Three Generals had successively been entrusted with the siege of Ostend;
nine commanders had successively been entrusted with its defence: the
siege had cost the besiegers and besieged 100,000 lives: all the
historians of the times agree, that few important consequences were
derived to either side by the success of the Spaniards. The Archduke and
Infanta, had the curiosity to view the city, after it was taken. They
found in it nothing but heaps of ruins: little that shewed the former
state of the town; its ditches were filled, its fortifications
overthrown, its buildings, and the works of attack and defence, were
levelled with the ground. Spinola led them to the spots in which the
most remarkable events had taken place; and, finally to that, in which
the forces of the besieged had made their last stand; had, for want of
space, found themselves unable to raise military works, and had, on that
account, found themselves forced to surrender. The Archduke and the
Infanta were moved to tears at the melancholy sight; and declared that
such a victory was not worth its cost.
[Sidenote: CHAP. III. 1597-1610.]
The success of the siege of Ostend covered Spinola with glory: his reply
to a person, who asked him,--who, in his opinion was the greatest
general of the age,--is generally known: "Prince Maurice," he said, "is
the second."[014]
The principal poetical performances of Grotius in the collection we have
mentioned, are--_three tragedies_, "Adam in Banishment," "Christ
Suffering," and "Sophomphaneos," which signifies in the language of
Egypt, "the Saviour of the world:" it exhibits the story of Joseph.
Sandys translated it into English verse, and dedicated his translation
to Charles I. From the second of these tragedies, Lauder transcribed
many of the verses, upon which he founded the charge of plagiarism
against Milton.
An eminent rank among modern Latin poets, has always been assigned to
Grotius: his diction is always classical, his sentiments just. But those
who are accustomed to the _wood notes_ of the Bard of Avon, will not
admire the scenic compositions, however elegant or mellifluous, of the
Batavian Bard.
CHAPTER IV.
HISTORICAL MINUTES OF THE UNITED PROVINCES, FROM THEIR DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE, TILL THE ARMINIAN CONTROVERSY.
The present chapter will lead our readers to the public life of Grotius:
in a former page we succinctly mentioned the principal events in the
history of the United Provinces, from their first insurrection against
Philip II. till their declaration of independence. On that event, they
continued Prince William of Orange in the Stadtholderate: he was
entitled to it by his civil and military talents. Application, activity,
liberality, eloquence, intrepidity, enterprise and discretion, were
united in him in an extraordinary degree: he could accommodate himself
to all persons and occurrences, accelerate or retard events, as best
served the interests of his cause, or his own designs. In the rare
talent of governing popular assemblies, and procuring the co-operation
of persons of opposite views, he has had few equals. He wanted no
quality, which a chief of a party should possess, either to insure the
success of the public object, or to further his private aims.
[Sidenote: CHAP. IV. 1597-1610.]
These had, for some time, been suspected: it was generally observed,
that he affected the exercise of sovereign authority; that he
endeavoured to attach the military to his own person; that he always
sought to have the acts of the States issued in his own name; that, on
many occasions, he avoided consulting the States, or doing any thing
which could be considered an explicit recognition of their supremacy;
and that in several instances, in which the constitution required the
co-operation of the States, he acted independently of them. This gave
rise to a party, which was jealous of his power, and on many occasions
thwarted, what they thought the projects of his private ambition. From
their attachment to the constitution, they were termed the republican
party: Barneveldt, the Grand-Pensionary of the States General, was their
leader.
[Sidenote: Assassination of William Prince of Orange.]
Whatever were the projects of the prince, there appeared to be great
probability of their ultimate success. In 1684, he had gained so for,
that the States of Holland, Zealand and Frizeland, had come to a
resolution to confer upon him the sovereignty of their states, under the
title of Count. All the conditions were settled: on one hand, the rights
of the prince, on the other, the rights of the people, were defined and
recognised; a contravention of them by any of the people was declared
to be treason; the infringement of them by the prince, was declared to
be a forfeiture of his sovereignty. Thus the prince seemed to be on the
eve of receiving the fruit of all his exertions. But, as we have already
mentioned, he was assassinated by Balthazar Gerard, a fanatic Spaniard.
The last words of the prince were, "Lord! have mercy on my soul! have
pity on my poor country!"
In 1585, Prince Maurice, the second son of William, was, chiefly by the
influence of Barneveldt, proclaimed Stadtholder by the States General.
They were not less jealous of his views, than they had been of his
father's; but the misconduct of the Earl of Leicester had made it
necessary for them to throw themselves into the prince's arms. The
weakness of Spain, and the troubles in France, now permitted the United
Provinces to enjoy some repose. They availed themselves of it, to settle
the constitution: the towns were repaired, the fortifications completed,
Universities were founded or revived at Utrecht, Leyden and Franker; and
the arts of peace began to be cultivated.
[Sidenote: CHAP. IV. 1597-1610.]
Maurice inherited all the civil talents of his father; he had greater
military skill, and at least equal ambition. The art of war seems to
consist, at the present time, in directing immense masses of men, by
skilful evolutions and positions, to the destruction of the force
opposed. In the wars of the Netherlands, it was principally shewn by
surprising strong-holds, besieging towns, regular assaults, advantageous
encampments, and wasting the army of the enemy by skilful marches. The
camp of Maurice became a school, in which the nobility and gentry of the
empire, France, and England, entered as volunteers, to learn the art of
war. His taking of the city of Breda, raised his reputation to the
highest: from this time, the war, which, on the part of the United
Provinces, had till then, been a defensive war, became offensive, and
their arms were attended with almost uninterrupted success: they equally
triumphed on Sea.
In 1698, the war between Spain and France was terminated. Philip II.
soon afterwards died: he was succeeded by Philip III. a weak monarch.
Then, began the naval glory of the United Provinces; their attacks on
the West Indian and East Indian colonies of the Spaniards. In 1600,
prince Maurice gained a decisive victory at Nieuport near Ostend: it was
followed by other important successes. In 1607, Admiral Heemskirk
obtained a complete victory over the Spanish fleet, though protected by
the batteries of Cadiz, and seized their ships and treasures.
[Sidenote: Armistice between Spain and the United Provinces.]
The war between Spain and the United Provinces had now continued forty
years: the resources of Spain were so exhausted, that she herself was
forced to solicit an armistice. Prince Maurice objected to it, as the
continuance of the war was essential to the furtherance of his own
ambitious views. On this account, the truce was promoted by Barneveldt
and the republican party. They justly thought that the aggrandizement of
the house of Orange would be the extinction of the liberties of their
country, so that the result of the war would only be, that the United
Provinces would change their masters. After a long negotiation, an
armistice of twelve years was agreed upon in 1609, and England and
France guaranteed the execution of the treaty.
CHAPTER V.
THE FEUDS IN THE UNITED PROVINCES BETWEEN THE DISCIPLES OF CALVIN AND
THE DISCIPLES OF ARMINIUS, UNTIL THE SYNOD AT DORT.
1610-1617.
It has generally happened, when a people have risen against their
sovereign, that their first successes have been followed by divisions
among themselves; and that these have endangered, and sometimes even
ruined, their cause. Such a division took place, in a remarkable manner,
in the conflict between the United Provinces and Spain. No sooner did
the arms of the former begin to prosper, and promise ultimate success,
than the ARMINIAN CONTROVERSY burst forth. At first, it was merely a
religious dispute; but it soon mixed itself in the national politics;
split the people into two very hostile parties, and produced contentions
between them, which more than once brought their cause to the brink of
destruction. Grotius was unfortunately involved in them. This part of
the history now claims our attention.
[Sidenote: Calvinism.]
The reformed church, in the largest import of the word, comprises all
the religious communities, which have separated themselves from the
church of Rome. In this sense, the words are often used by English
writers; but, having been adopted by the French Calvinists to describe
_their_ church, these words are most commonly used, on the continent, as
a general appellation of all the churches who profess the doctrines of
Calvin.
[Sidenote: CHAP. V. 1610-1617.]
About the year 1541, the church of Geneva was placed by the magistrates
of that city, under the direction of Calvin. He immediately conceived
one of the boldest projects, that ever entered into the mind of an
obscure individual. He undertook to new model the religious creed of the
reformed church; to give it strength and consistency, and to render the
church of Geneva the mother and mistress of all Protestant churches. His
learning, eloquence, and talents for business, soon attracted general
notice; and, while the fervour of his zeal, the austerity of his
manners, and the devotional cast of his writings, attracted the
multitude, the elegance of his compositions, and his insinuating style,
equally captivated the gentleman and the scholar. By degrees, his fame
reached every part of Europe. Having prevailed upon the senate of Geneva
to found an academy, and place it under his superintendence, and having
filled it with men eminent throughout Europe for their learning and
talent, it became the favourite resort of all persons, who leaned to the
new principles, and sought religious or literary instruction. From
Germany, France, Italy, England and Scotland, numbers crowded to the new
academy, and returned from it to their native countries, saturated with
the doctrine of Geneva, and burning with zeal to propagate its creed.
Calvin's peculiar doctrine on Predestination and Free-will soon
attracted attention, and gave rise to _more than a civil war_[015] of
controversy,[016]
We feel that we are free: if we were not free, conscience could not
exist; for, if a man had not freedom of action, conscience could not
intimate to him either its approbation or its disapprobation of his
actions.
But--_how_ are we free? _How_ is free-will reconcileable, either with
the influence of motive upon will? or with the order of the universe,
prescribed by the Deity? or, with his prescience? For that, which his
infinite mind prescribes or foresees, must be fixed.
[Sidenote: Disputes on the Free-will of Man.]
This question soon engaged the attention of the Greek Philosophers: some
advocated the free-will of man; others denied it, and ascribed his
actions to Fate or Destiny; a being or energy, which they were never
able to define or describe. Among the Jews, the Sadducees embraced the
former opinion; the Pharisees, the latter. Among the Mahometans, a like
division took place between the followers of Omar, and those of Ali.
Unfortunately, the Christians engaged in these ungrateful speculations:
their disputes chiefly turned upon the effect, which motive, suggested
by grace, or the divine favour, has upon will. Does it necessitate?
then, there is no free-will,--no merit,--no demerit. Does it not
necessitate? then, in the choice of good, man acts by his own power, and
thus achieves a good of which God is not the author.
[Sidenote: CHAP. V. 1610-1617.]
The dispute was brought to an issue by _Pelagius_ and his disciples.
They held, that man acts independently of divine grace, both in the
choice and execution of good. This independence was denied by _St.
Augustin_, he asserted, that man co-operates with grace, yet, that grace
begins, advances and brings to perfection every thing in man, which can
be justly called good. _St. Thomas of Aquin_ new-modelled the system of
St. Augustin, and used new terms in describing it: his subtile
distinctions, in the opinion of many, considerably improved it.
_Calvin_ aggravated the doctrine of St. Augustin. He maintained,[017]
that the everlasting condition of mankind in the future world, was
determined from all eternity, by the _unchangeable order_ of the Deity;
and that this _absolute_ determination of his will was the only source
of _happiness or misery_ to individuals. Thus Calvin maintained, without
any qualification, that God, from all eternity has doomed one part of
mankind to everlasting happiness, the other to everlasting misery; and,
was led to make this distinction, without regard to the merit or demerit
of the object, and by no other reason or motive than his own pleasure.
_Luther_,[018] in opposition to Calvin, maintained, that the _divine
decrees_ respecting the salvation or misery of men, are founded upon a
previous knowledge of their sentiments and characters; or, in other
words, that God, foreseeing from all eternity the faith and virtue of
some, and the incredulity or wickedness of others, has reserved eternal
happiness for the former, and eternal misery for the latter.
[Sidenote: Disputes on the Free-will of Man.]
These, and other doctrinal differences, separated the Protestants into
the adherents to the creed of Luther, and the adherents to the creed of
Calvin. The United Provinces were among the latter: the creed of Calvin
was, as we have mentioned, one of the fundamental laws of the Union.
The Calvinistic doctrine, that God, from all eternity, consigns one
portion of mankind, without any fault on their side, to everlasting
torments, shocks our feelings, and is totally repugnant to the notions
entertained by us of the goodness and justice of the Deity: it is not
therefore surprising that it should be called in question. From the
first, several objected to it; but it was not till the successes of the
United Provinces appeared to afford them a near prospect of triumph,
that the opposers of Calvin's doctrine formed themselves into a party,
and occasioned a public sensation.
[Sidenote: CHAP. V. 1610-1617.]
The celebrated JAMES ARMINIUS[019] was at their head. He was born in
1560, at Oudewater in Holland, of respectable parents. He lost his
father in his infancy, and was indebted, for the first rudiments of his
education, to a clergyman, who had imbibed some opinions of the reformed
religion. Under his tuition, Arminius studied, during some time, at
Utrecht. After the clergyman's decease, Rudolphus Snellius, a clergyman
of eminence, took Arminius under his protection, and, in 1575, placed
him at Marpurgh. There, he heard of the taking of Oudewater by the
Spaniards, and their massacre of its inhabitants. His mother, sister,
and two brothers were among the victims. On the first intelligence of
the calamity he repaired to Oudewater, in hopes that the account of it
might have been exaggerated. Finding it true, he retired to Leyden:
there, his severe application to study, and the regularity of his
morals, gained him universal esteem. In 1563, he was sent to Geneva, at
the expense of the magistrates of Amsterdam, to perfect his studies
under the care of Beza. Unfortunately, by adopting the philosophical
principles, of _Ramus_, and unguardedly professing them, he displeased
some leading men of the university, and was obliged to leave it: he then
went to Bâsle. There, his reputation having preceded him, he was
received with great kindness: the faculty of divinity offered him a
doctor's degree; but a general wish for his return being expressed at
Geneva, he declined the honour, and returned to that city. He then
visited Italy, and, during some months, studied under Zabarella, a
famous philosopher, who then lectured at Padua. In 1588, Arminius was
ordained minister at Amsterdam.
[Sidenote: Arminius.]
Some theologians of Delft having attacked the sentiments of Calvin and
Beza upon predestination, and given great offence by it, they defended
themselves by a book, entitled; "An Answer to certain Arguments of Beza
and Calvin, in the treatise concerning Predestination; or upon the ninth
Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans." They transmitted their defence to
Martin Lydius, a partisan of the divines whom it attacked; he sent it to
Arminius, with a request that he would answer it. Arminius undertook the
task, and attentively examined and weighed the arguments on each side;
the result was, that he embraced the opinions which he had been called
upon to confute, and even went further than the ministers of Delft. Upon
this account, the friends of the rejected principles raised a great
clamour against him; but were quieted by the intervention of the
magistrates. The opinions, which Arminius adopted, he endeavoured to
propagate. They are contained in the Remonstrance of his disciples,
which we shall afterwards transcribe.
[Sidenote: CHAP. V. 1610-1617.]
As the language of Arminius seemed to express notions, more consonant
than those of Calvin, to the sentiments entertained by rational
Christians, of the goodness and justice of the Deity, it is not
surprising that they found many advocates among the learned and
moderate; but some ardent spirits were offended by them, and instilled
their dislike of them into the populace. This, Arminius was soon made to
feel. In 1603, he was appointed, on the death of Francis Junius, to a
professorship of theology in the university of Leyden: great efforts
were made, first to prevent, and afterwards to procure a recision of his
appointment. He was accused of having said in a sermon, that "God had
not yet sent his letter of divorce to the church of Rome;" but his
friends produced a work of Francis Junius, his predecessor in the
theological chair, in which that celebrated theologian had used the same
expression. Arminius was also accused by his adversaries, of elevating
the action of reason in the choice of good, at the expense of grace. To
this Arminius replied, by accusing his adversaries of sacrificing reason
entirely to grace. But the greater number of the enemies of Arminius
supported their charges against him, by making it a question of
authority: "the States," they said, "had decided the question, by
adopting Calvin's doctrine at the union; so that the gainsayers of it
were guilty of treason." The friends of Arminius replied, that he did
not deny Calvin's doctrine, but merely explained it.
[Sidenote: Arminius.]
Thus they disputed;
"And found no end, in wandering mazes lost."
Milton.
In fact, the subject,--as the writer has more than once observed,--is
above human reason: the day will come, "when the Almighty will be
judged, and will overcome;"--when the secret of his councils will be
unfolded, and their justice and goodness made manifest to all.[020]
The friends of Arminius also observed, that he was by no means singular
in his doctrine; that it was favoured by professors in Gueldres,
Friesland, Utrecht, and other parts of Holland; and, that in all the
provinces, it was patronized by the higher ranks of the laity. Was it
fitting, they asked, that the peace of the church, and the tranquillity
of the state, should be disturbed by such a dispute? by a dispute which
affected no essential article of christianity; no civil, no moral, no
religious observation?
[Sidenote: CHAP. V. 1610-1617.]
The principal adversary of Arminius was _Gomarus_, also a professor of
theology at Leyden. When the election of Arminius was proposed, Gomarus
announced suspicions of his orthodoxy; he afterwards raised his tone,
and accused Arminius of Pelagianism, of secretly inclining to the church
of Rome, and holding principles which led to general scepticism and
infidelity.
Arminius died on the 19th October 1609.
Grotius made his eulogium in verse. He had hitherto applied little to
these matters; he acknowledges, in a letter written in 1609, his general
ignorance of them. Entering afterwards into the dispute, he became
convinced that the idea, which we ought to have of the goodness and
justice of God, and even the language of the scriptures and the early
fathers of the church, favoured the system of Arminius, and contradicted
that of Gomarus.
The prejudices against the Arminians increasing, they drew up a
Remonstrance, dated the 14th January 1610, and addressed it to the
States of Holland. It begins by stating what they do not believe: it
afterwards propounds their own sentiments in the five articles
following:[021]
[Sidenote: Remonstrance.]
1. "That God, by an eternal and immutable decree in Jesus Christ
his son, before the world was created, resolved to save in Jesus
Christ, on account of Jesus Christ, and through Jesus Christ,
those, from among mankind fallen in sin, who, by the grace of the
Holy Spirit believe in his same son Jesus; and through the same
grace continue in the faith and obedience to the end; and, on the
contrary, to leave under sin, and wrath, and to condemn the
obstinate and unbelieving, as having no part in Christ; according
to what is said _St. John_ iii. 36.
2. "That accordingly, Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world, died
for all and every man; and by his death on the cross has merited
for all, reconciliation with God, and remission of sin; in such
manner nevertheless, that no one can partake of them but believers,
according to the words of Jesus, _St. John_ iii. 16., 1 _John_ ii.
2.
3. "That man hath not saving faith of himself, and by the strength
of his own free will; since, while in a state of sin and apostasy,
he cannot of himself think, desire, or do, that which is truly
good, which is what is chiefly meant by saving faith; but it is
necessary that God in Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit,
regenerate and renew him in his understanding and affections, or in
his will and all his powers; that he may know the true good,
meditate on it, desire, and do it. _St. John_ xv. 5.
[Sidenote: CHAP. V. 1610-1617.]
4. "That to this grace of God is owing the beginning, the
progression, and accomplishment of all good; in such manner, that
even the regenerate, without this antecedent, or preventing,
exciting, concomitant, and cooperating grace, cannot think that,
which is good, desire or practise it; nor resist any temptation to
evil; so that all the good works or actions he can conceive, spring
from the grace of God; that as to what regards the manner of
operation of this grace, it is not irresistible, since it is said
of several, they resisted the Holy Spirit. See _Acts_ vii. and
other places.
5. "That those, who by a lively faith are engrafted into Christ, and
consequently made partakers of his quickening spirit, are furnished
with sufficient strength to be able to combat, and even overcome
Satan, sin, the world, and their own lusts; and all this, as is
carefully to be observed, by the assistance of the grace and the
Holy Spirit; and that Jesus Christ succours them by his spirit in
all temptations, reaches to them his hand, (provided they be
willing to engage, ask his assistance, and are not wanting to
themselves,) supports and strengthens them: so, that they cannot be
led away by any wile or violence of Satan, or snatched out of
Christ's hands, as he says himself, _St. John_ x. _My sheep shall
no man pluck out of my hands_. For the rest, if it be asked whether
these may not through negligence let go the confidence they had
from the beginning, (Heb. iii. 6.) cleave again to the present
world, depart from the holy doctrine, which was delivered, make
shipwreck of a good conscience? (2 Pet. i. 10., Jude iii., 1 Tim.
i. 19., Heb. xii. 15.) This must be previously examined with more
care, by the Scriptures, to be able to teach it with full assurance
to others."
Such is the Confession of Faith of the Arminians: they gave it the name
of _Remonstrance_; and were styled from it REMONSTRANTS. It was drawn up
by _Utengobard_, minister at the Hague, with the help, it is supposed,
of Grotius: it was signed by forty-six ministers.
[Sidenote: Contra-Remonstrance.]
The Gomarists opposed to it a _Contra-Remonstrance_; which gave them the
name of the CONTRA-REMONSTRANTS.
It was about this time, that Grotius was elected Pensionary of
Rotterdam, and ordered to England: it has been suggested, that he had
secret instructions from the Arminians, to induce king James to favour
their principles.
[Sidenote: CHAP. V. 1610-1617.]
We are informed, by Mr. Nichols, (_Calvinism and Arminianism
compared_,)[022] that the Arminians sent to King James by Grotius, a
true state of their case; that Grotius found an adversary in _Archbishop
Abbott_, and friends in _Bishops Andrews_ and _Overal_; and that by
their advice the monarch addressed to the States General, a wise and
conciliatory letter.
The irritation of the public mind increasing, the States of Holland, to
restore tranquillity, published an edict of Pacification, by which they
strongly enjoined forbearance, toleration, and silence. This was
favourable to the Arminians, but it increased the violence of the
_Contra-remonstrants_. Thus, it became a signal of war. The States of
Holland transmitted it to King James: his Majesty, the archbishop of
Canterbury, and the other English prelates, allowed its doctrine to be
orthodox.
[Sidenote: Remonstrants--Contra-Remonstrants.]
Still, the troubles in Holland augmented: riots took place and greater
riots were apprehended. In an evil hour, Barneveldt, the
Grand-Pensionary, proposed to the States of Holland, that the
magistrates of the cities of that province should he empowered to raise
troops for the suppression of the rioters. Amsterdam, Dort, and other
towns, that favoured the Gomarists, protested against this measure,
styling it a declaration of war against the Contra-remonstrants. Yet,
on the 4th August 1617, Barneveldt's proposition was agreed to, and
promulgated.
We have mentioned the enmity of Prince Maurice to Barneveldt, on account
of his having promoted the armistice of 1609, and his favouring the
republican party. The Prince professed to consider the edict of
Pacification as derogatory of his authority, and forbade the soldiers to
obey the States, if they should be ordered to act against the rioters.
He publicly declared, that he favoured the Gomarists; he assisted, at
the divine service, in their churches only, and shewed them every other
mark of public favour. Exulting in this powerful support, the Gomarists
separated themselves, formally, from the Arminians.
[Sidenote: CHAP. V. 1610-1617.]
To bring over Amsterdam to their sentiments, the States of Holland sent
a deputation to the burgomasters of that city, and placed Grotius at its
head. On the day after their arrival in Amsterdam, the burgomasters
assembled to receive the deputies. Grotius addressed them in an
argumentative and eloquent speech. He urged the necessity and advantage
of religious toleration, particularly upon theoretical points of
doctrine. He observed to the assembly, that Bullinger and Melancthon had
been tolerated by Deza and Calvin; that James, the King of Great
Britain, had advanced, in his writings, that each of the two opposite
opinions on Predestination might be maintained without danger of
reprobation; that Gomarus himself had declared that Arminius had not
erred in any fundamental article of Christian doctrine; that the
contested articles were of a very abstruse nature; that the affirmative
or negative of the doctrines expressed in them, had not been determined;
and that toleration would restore tranquillity and union, and favour the
assembling of a numerous and respectable synod, which might labour with
success in restoring peace to the church.
Grotius delivered his speech in the Dutch language; it was afterwards
translated into Latin; all, who heard, admired it; but it produced no
effect on them. The deputies were uncivilly dismissed; and the oration
of Grotius, by an order of the States General, was suppressed.[023]
[Sidenote: Feuds of the Remonstrants and Contra-Remonstrants.]
He was much affected by the bad success of his mission: he was seized
with a fever, which nearly proved fatal to him. Many of his friends
sought to persuade him to retire from the contest: he told them that he
had taken his resolution after deep deliberation; that he was aware of
his danger, and that he submitted the event to providence.
The next effort of the States of Holland to pacify the troubles, was to
prepare a _formula_ of peace, which the ministers of the two parties
should be obliged to sign. It contained nothing contrary to the doctrine
of Calvin; it referred the five articles to future examination, and
prescribed, in the mean time, silence upon the parts in dispute. Grotius
drew up the Formula; it was shewn to Prince Maurice, and rejected by
him.
[Sidenote: CHAP. V. 1610-1617.]
Matters now converged to a crisis:--we have more than once mentioned the
opposite politics of Prince Maurice and Barneveldt, the
Grand-Pensionary; the former wishing to draw the whole sovereign power
to himself; the latter endeavouring to preserve and stabilitate the the
constitution of the Provinces, as it had been settled by the Act of
Union. We noticed that the Gomarists sided with the Prince; the
Arminians with the Grand-Pensionary. As the Prince was aware that the
States of Holland were favourable to the Arminians, that the States
General were opposed to them, and that the clergy of each denomination
partook of the civil and ecclesiastical opinions of their flocks, he
convened a national synod of the clergy; and, that be might the more
overawe his opponents and strengthen his own party, he appointed the
synod to meet in Holland. Against this synod the provinces of Holland,
Utretcht, and Overyssell protested. Barneveldt was so much affected by
the disturbances, and a view of the evils with which they appeared to
threaten his country, that he sought to resign his place of
Grand-Pensionary; but the States of the province of Holland, which
needed more than ever the counsels of such an experienced minister, sent
a deputation to him, beseeching him not to abandon them in times of so
much difficulty. He thought it his duty to yield to their entreaty, and
continued to exercise the functions of his office.
[Sidenote: Imprisonment of Barneveldt, Grotius and Hoogerbetz.]
To frustrate the designs of Prince Maurice, several cities favourable to
the Arminians levied bodies of militia, and gave them the name of
_Attendant Soldiers_. The States-General, at the instigation of Prince
Maurice, enjoined the cities to disband them. The cities generally
disobeyed these orders. In this they were justified by the established
constitution: the Prince, however, treated their conduct as rebellious;
and, in concert with the States General, marched in person, at the head
of his troops, against the refractory cities. Wherever he came, he
disarmed and disbanded the new levies; deposed the Arminian magistrates,
and expelled the ministers of their party.
In the provinces of Gueldres and Overyssell, he met with no resistance;
and little at Arnheim: greater resistance was expected at Utretcht: the
States of Holland sent Grotius and Hoogerbetz, the Pensionary of Leyden,
to stimulate the inhabitants to resistance; but the fortune of the
Prince prevailed. In an extraordinary assembly, which consisted of eight
persons only, yet assuming to act as the States General, the Prince
procured an ordonnance to be passed, which directed Barneveldt, Grotius,
and Hoogerbetz to be taken into immediate custody. They were accordingly
arrested, and confined in the Castle at the Hague.
[Sidenote: CHAP. V. 1610-1617.]
Thus the Prince's party prevailed in every part of the United Provinces.
About this time, he succeeded, in consequence of the death of his elder
brother, to the dignity of Prince of Orange.
CHAPTER VI.
THE SYNOD OF DORT.
1618.
[Sidenote: CHAP. VI. 1618.]
The States General determined that the Synod[024] should be composed of
twenty-six divines of the United Provinces, twenty-eight foreign
divines, five professors of divinity, and sixteen laymen;--seventy-five
members in the whole. The expence was calculated at 100,000 florins. The
English divines were, Dr. George Carlton, Bishop of Llandaff; Dr. Joseph
Hall, Dean of Worcester; John Davenant, professor of divinity, and
Master of Queen's college, Cambridge; Samuel Ward, Archdeacon of
Taunton, and head of Sidney college, Cambridge. To these were added,
Walter Balcanqual, a Scottish theologian, as representative of the
Scottish churches. The ever-memorable John Hales of Eaton, as that
learned and amiable person is justly termed by protestant writers, was
permitted to attend the debates of the Synod, but was not allowed to
speak, or take any part in its proceedings.
[Sidenote: The Synod of Dort.]
We have mentioned that Arminius was converted to the opinions, which he
defended afterwards so strenuously, by the perusal of a work in support
of the opposite doctrine, which he had been desired to confute. In the
same manner, the proceedings of the Contra-Remonstrants, at the Synod of
Dort, made Mr. Hales a Remonstrant. We are informed by his friend Mr.
Faringdon, that, in his younger days, he was a Calvinist; but that some
explanations given by Episcopius of the text in John iii. 16, induced
him, as he himself said, to "bid John Calvin, Good Night." His letters
from Dort to Sir Dudley Carleton, the English ambassador at the Hague,
contain an interesting account of the proceedings of the assembly.[025]
[Sidenote: CHAP. VI. 1618.]
Dr. Heylin says, in his "Quinquarticular History," that the theologians
sent by King James to Dort, were inclined to condemn the Remonstrants;
but he intimates that the monarch acted from reasons of state; and that
he was more hostile to their persons than their doctrines: Brand makes
the same remark upon Prince Maurice. It seems to be admitted, that, in
the conference at Hampton Court, King James declared against absolute
predestination.[026]
The English divines arrived at the Hague on the 5th November 1618: they
were immediately presented to the States General, and most honourably
received.
[Sidenote: The Synod of Dort.]
The King of France had permitted two Protestant theologians of his
kingdom to attend the Synod; but afterwards revoked the permission. The
French Protestant churches had deputed to it, the celebrated Peter de
Moulin and Andrew Rivet; but the King prohibited their attending it,
under severe penalties.
After the election of the members was finally adjusted, the Synod
appeared to be composed of about seventy Contra-Remonstrants and
fourteen Arminians.
It was opened on the 13th of November 1618. Two commissioners of the
States placed themselves on the right side of the chimney of the room;
the English divines were placed on the left; seats were kept vacant for
the French; the third place was assigned to the deputies from the
Palatinate; the fourth, to those from Hesse; the fifth, to the Swiss;
the sixth to the Genevans; the seventh to the theologians from Bremen;
and the eighth to those from Embden. The professors of theology were
placed immediately after the commissioners; then, the ministers and
elders of the country. By an arrangement, favoured by the States,
thirty-six ministers and twenty elders were added to the five
professors. Of this the Remonstrants complained, on the just ground,
that it evidently gave their adversaries an undue preponderance.
[Sidenote: CHAP. VI. 1618.]
The commissioners nominated the celebrated Daniel Heinsius secretary.
The Remonstrants objected to him; they admitted his extensive
acquaintance with polite literature, and his elegant taste; but
asserted, that he possessed no theological learning, and was prejudiced
against them. Episcopius was always considered to be at the head of the
Remonstrants: he has seldom been excelled in learning, eloquence, or
power of argumentation.
No further business than arranging the forms of sitting and voting, was
transacted at the _first session_ of the Synod. _At the second_, the
Synod constituted John Bogerman its president, and appointed two
assessors and two secretaries: all five were distinguished for their
known hostility to the Remonstrants. The appointment of Bogerman
particularly offended them, as he openly avowed it to be his opinion
that heretics should be punished by death; and had translated into the
Dutch language the celebrated treatise of Beza, _de hæreticis a civili
magistratu puniendis_, in which this doctrine is explicitly maintained
in its fullest extent.
[Sidenote: The Synod of Dort.]
_In the third session_,--the deputies from Geneva produced their
commission: it was expressed in terms decidedly hostile to the
Remonstrants.
_In the fourth session_,--the grand preliminary question,--in what
manner the Remonstrants were to be summoned,--came under consideration.
After much argument, it was settled, by a great majority of voices, that
"Episcopius and some other Remonstrants should within a fortnight,
appear before the Synod, as the sovereign ecclesiastical tribunal of the
United States."
The Remonstrants and the advocates of their cause protested against this
proceeding: they called in question the authority of the Synod to sit as
judges upon them, or even to decide any point of doctrine definitively:
they averred it contrary to the evangelical liberty professed and taught
by the first Reformers. Every friend to the true principles of the
reformation must admit the force of this objection.
The _5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th Sessions_
of the intermediate fortnight, were consumed in debates upon a projected
new translation of the Scriptures; _the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th,
19th, 20th_ and _21st Sessions_ were employed in discussions,
upon a new catechism, and other ecclesiastical arrangements.
[Sidenote: CHAP. VI. 1618.]
The _22d Session_ was held on the 6_th_ of December. The
Remonstrants appeared before the Synod, and requested further time for
preparing their defence on the articles with which they were charged.
Their request was denied: and Episcopius having said, that "They wished
to enter into a conference with the Synod," a resolution was passed, by
which the Synod declared, that "the Remonstrants had not been cited to
_confer_ with the Synod; but to propound their opinions, and submit
to its judgment."
The Remonstrants then paid their visits to the foreign theologians:
these they found greatly prejudiced against them; they therefore
published two short writings, explaining and justifying their
sentiments.
In _the 23d Session_, Episcopius made a long discourse. Mr.
John Hales praised it highly, in a letter addressed by him to the
English ambassador An oath was prescribed to the members, by which they
promised, that, in the examination of the five articles, "or any other
points of doctrine which should be discussed, they would confine
themselves to the Scriptures, and resort to no human authority." But,
what was the Synod itself more than human authority? The oath was not
tendered to the Remonstrants; it was declined by the Swiss.
[Sidenote: The Synod of Dort.]
The _24th Session_ was consumed in debates: _on the 25th_,
Episcopius read a long document, and afterwards presented it to the
Synod. He protested in it against the authority of the Synod, and asked
the searching question, whether the Calvinists would "submit to a Synod
of Lutherans?" To this question, no answer was given: an angry
discussion followed.
It continued during _the 27th and 28th Sessions_.
On _the 29th_, the opinions of foreign divines were produced in
favour of the authority of the Synod: those of the English divines, and
the divines of Bremen, were expressed with more moderation than the
others. The divines of Geneva stated, that, "if a person obstinately
refused to submit to the just decisions of the church, he might be
proceeded against in two ways; the _magistrate_ might coerce him,
and the _church_ might publicly excommunicate him as a violator of
the law of God."
The dispute was more violent in _the 30th Session_.
Finally, the Remonstrants agreed to propound their sentiments in
writing; but with an express salvo, of their right to liberty of
conscience, and to retain their objections to the authority of the
Synod.
In _the 31st Session_, the Remonstrants presented to the
Synod a writing, containing their sentiments upon Predestination,--the
first and most important of the five articles.
[Sidenote: CHAP. VI. 1618.]
In _the 34th Session_, they presented their sentiments upon the
four other articles; and in _the 39th Session_, upon the Catechism
of Heidelberg. The Synod had enjoined them to confine themselves to
explanations of their own doctrine, and to abstain from controverting
the doctrines of the Calvinists. These debates carried the Synod to its
_46th Session_.
In that session, the resolution of the States General upon the
proceedings of the Synod was produced. They declared by it, that "the
Remonstrants were obliged to submit to the decrees of the Synod,"--and
that "if they persisted in their disobedience to them, both the censures
of the church, and the penalties by which the States punished violators
of public authority, should be inflicted upon them." The States ordered
the Remonstrants to remain, in the meantime, in the town.
The Remonstrants persisting in their refusal to acknowledge the
authority of the Synod, an assembly of it met on _the 57th
Session_, and formally expelled the Remonstrants from the Synod.
Episcopius exclaimed, "May God decide between the Synod and us!" "I
appeal," said Niellius, "from the injustice of the Synod, to the throne
of Jesus Christ." All remained firm in their protestation.
[Sidenote: The Synod of Dort.]
Mr. Hales and Mr. Balcanqual, in their letters to the English
ambassador, blame the proceedings of the Synod.[027] The only question
between the Synod and the Remonstrants was, whether the latter would
submit to acknowledge the authority of the former. This, the
Remonstrants uniformly refused to do. In almost every Synod there was a
repetition of the same demand, and of the same answer. By every English
reader, the demand of the Synod will be thought exorbitant.
[Sidenote: CHAP VI. 1618.]
The Synod relaxed afterwards so far, as to permit the Remonstrants to
deliver their sentiments in writing: they did it at great length. But
they still persisted in objecting to the authority of the Synod, and to
be examined by it. The Synod therefore proceeded against them in their
absence; and ultimately, on the 24th of April 1610, pronounced them
guilty of pestilential errors, and corruptors of the true religion. The
five articles were formally condemned; Episcopius and the other
ministers were deposed.
[Sidenote: The Synod of Dort.]
"There are conclusions," says Grotius,[028] in a letter written by him
in the same year, "in the canons of the Synod of Dort, of which, if good
Melancthon were again to make his appearance, he would express his
disapprobation, and with which Bullinger would be no less grieved; there
are others, which alienate all the Lutherans from the Calvinists;
although amity and concord are desirable between them and us at this
juncture. There are some points in them, which forbid the Greek churches
from uniting with us, though they are very favourable to us; but there
are others of the Dort canons, which admit of no controversy.--It is
possible that they may recall to mind my labours for unity. Even those
writings, which I published since my calamity, have not been diverted
from the same peaceful object." If ever any Protestant divines deserved
the reproach cast by Mr. Gibbon,[029] on the first reformers in general,
"of being ambitious to succeed the tyrants whom they had dethroned,"
they were the members of the Synod of Dort.
The Synod was closed on the 29th of May.
The sentence passed by it on the Remonstrants was approved by the States
General on the 3d July 1619. On the same day, the Arminian ministers,
who had been detained at Dort, were, by a sentence of the States
General, banished or imprisoned, deprived of their employments, and the
effects of some were confiscated. Similar severities were exercised on
the Arminians in most of the territories subject to the States General.
To avoid the persecution, some fled to Antwerp, some to France, the
greater part to Holstein. There, under the wise protection of the
reigning duke, they settled, and afterwards built a town, which from him
they called Friedericstadt.
They continued to assert the irregularity of the Synod: the Bishop of
Meaux shrewdly observed, that "they employed against the authority of
the Synod, the same arguments as the Protestants use against the
authority of the Council of Trent."
[Sidenote: CHAP VI. 1618.]
[Sidenote: The Synod of Dort.]
For the publication of _Acts of the Council_, divines were chosen
out of various districts of the United Provinces: their edition of the
Acts was published at Dort in the year 1620, in folio, in the types of
the Elzevirs; and was soon afterwards republished with greater
correctness, in the same year, at Hanover, in quarto, with an addition
of a copious index.--An Epistle of their High Mightinesses the States
General, addressed to the Monarchs, Kings, Princes, Counts, Cities and
Magistrates of the Christian world, and vouching for the authority and
authenticity of the Acts,[030] is prefixed to this edition. The
Remonstrants published an edition of the Acts in 1620, in 4to.: it is
said,[031] that from a fear of their adversaries, it was printed on
ship-board.
Here, the history of the Arminians, so far as it is connected with that
part of the Life of Grotius to which our subject has hitherto led us,
seems to close. We shall hereafter be called upon to resume it.
CHAPTER VII.
TRIAL AND IMPRISONMENT OF GROTIUS. HIS ESCAPE FROM PRISON.
1618-1621.
While the Synod of Dort continued its sittings, Prince Maurice and his
party were actively employed in increasing the popular ferment against
Barneveldt, Grotius and Hoogerbetz; in collecting evidence of the
designs and practices of which they were accused, and in framing the
legal proceedings against them in such a manner as was most likely both
to procure their conviction, and to persuade the public of their guilt.
We have mentioned that their confinement took place on the 20th of
August 1618, and that they were removed from the Hague, the original
place of their imprisonment, to the Castle of Louvestein. On the 19th
November, the States General, at the instigation of Prince Maurice,
nominated twenty-six commissioners for their trial. All the prisoners
objected both to the jurisdiction of the commissioners, and to that of
the States General; and asserted that the States of Holland were their
only competent judges. They observed, at the same time, that many of the
judges were notoriously prejudiced against the Arminians.
[Sidenote: Trial and Imprisonment of Grotius.]
The act of accusation contained many general charges, and many averments
of particular facts, supposed to substantiate them. It was alleged
against the prisoners, that they had disturbed the established religion
of the United Provinces; that, in direct contradiction of the articles
of union, they had asserted the right of each province to decide for
itself in matters of religion; that they had set up the authority and
interests of the States of Holland and West Friesland against those of
the States General; that they were the authors of the Insurrection at
Utrecht; had levied, in opposition to the orders of government, the
attendant soldiers; had raised jealousies between the Prince and several
of the Provincial States, and between these and the States General; and
that, by their habitual conduct, they had become public disturbers of
the tranquillity of the republic, and councillors and practisers of
schemes hostile to its welfare.
[Sidenote: CHAP. VII. 1618-1621.]
The Commissioners proceeded to the trial of Barneveldt. Uniformly
protesting against the competency of the tribunal, Barneveldt defended
himself with great firmness and ability. He controverted every article
of the accusation, and concluded his defence, by a long and pathetic
enumeration of the services, which he had rendered to the republic; and
of the numerous actions, by which he had shewn his attachment to Prince
William and Prince Maurice:--he proved that it had been principally
owing to him, that the Stadtholderate had been conferred on the latter.
He admitted that he had suspected the Prince of designs hostile to the
constitution of the United Provinces, and had opposed the Prince in
every measure, which appeared to have such a tendency; but he asserted
that he never had resorted to means which the laws or constitution of
the Provinces did not warrant. His arguments were unanswerable; but
Prince Maurice was determined on his ruin; and the Commissioners were
wholly subservient to the prince's views: they accordingly passed
unanimously a sentence of death upon Barneveldt.
[Sidenote: Trial and Imprisonment of Grotius.]
Many of the princes of Europe expressed their dissatisfaction at these
proceedings: none so much as the French monarch. To him, the great merit
of Barneveldt had been long known. He considered that the conduct of
Prince Maurice was likely to involve the United Provinces in troubles,
of which Spain might take advantages. From personal regard to
Barneveldt, and with a view of terminating the discord, the monarch sent
an ambassador extraordinary to the United States, and ordered him to
join Du Maurier, his ambassador in ordinary, in soliciting them in
favour of the accused, and in labouring to restore the public
tranquillity. The ambassadors executed their commission with the
greatest zeal. They made many remonstrances, and had several audiences
both with the States and the Prince. The States, instigated by the
Prince, expressed great indignation at the proceedings of the
ambassadors.
All the accused were respectably allied, and had many friends: numerous
applications were made in their favour. They undeviatingly demeaned
themselves with the firmness and modest dignity of conscious innocence.
They persisted in denying the guilt attributed to them, and in
protesting against the competency of the tribunal. They made no
degrading submission. At a subsequent time, a son of Barneveldt having
been condemned to death, his mother applied to Prince Maurice, for his
pardon. The Prince observed to her, that she had made no such
application in behalf of her husband; "No," she replied, "I know my son
is guilty, I therefore solicit his pardon; I knew my husband was
innocent, I therefore solicited no pardon for him."
[Sidenote: CHAP. VII. 1618--1621.]
On Monday morning, May 13, 1619, Barneveldt was informed that he was to
be executed upon that day. He received the notification of it with great
firmness; he inquired whether Grotius and Hoogerbetz were to suffer:
being answered in the negative, he expressed much satisfaction,
observing that "they were of an age to be still able to serve the
republic."
"The scaffold for his execution," says Burigni, "was erected in the
Court of the Castle at the Hague, facing the Prince of Orange's
apartments. He made a short speech to the people, which is yet
preserved in the _Mercure Françoise_. 'Burghers!' he said, 'I have
been always your faithful countryman; believe not that I die for
treason: I die for maintaining the rights and liberties of my
country!' After this speech, the executioner struck off his head at
one blow. It is affirmed that the Prince of Orange, to feast
himself with the cruel pleasure of seeing his enemy perish, beheld
the execution with a glass; the people looked on it with other
eyes: many came to gather the sand wet with his blood, to keep it
carefully in phials; and the crowd of those, who had the same
curiosity, continued next day, notwithstanding all they could do
to hinder them.
"Thus fell that great minister, who did the United Provinces as much
service in the cabinet, as the Prince of Orange did in the field.
It is highly probable that the melancholy end of this illustrious
and unfortunate man was owing to his steadiness in opposing the
design of making Prince Maurice Dictator."[032]
[Sidenote: Trial and Imprisonment of Grotius.]
The Prince pursued his triumph. Soon after the arrest of Grotius, the
States of Holland presented a petition to the Prince, representing the
arrest as a breach of their constitutional rights; the Prince referred
it to the States General. To these, therefore, they presented a similar
petition; praying at the same time, that Grotius might be tried by the
laws and usages of the Provinces of Holland: no regard was shewn to
their petitions.
[Sidenote: CHAP. VII. 1618--1621.]
Grotius had an invaluable friend:--he was no sooner arrested, than his
wife petitioned to share his confinement throughout the whole of his
imprisonment: it was denied. Grotius fell ill: she renewed the
application: it was absolutely rejected: but neither his wife, nor any
of the friends of Grotius ever recommended to him an unworthy
submission. He always denied the competency of the tribunal appointed to
try him: his wife and brother uniformly recommended him to persist in
his plea.
Much disregard of form took place, and many arbitrary acts were
perpetrated, in the proceedings against Grotius. On the 18th of May
1619, the Commissioners pronounced sentence against him. After
enumerating all the charges, of which he was accused, and asserting that
all were proved against him, the judges condemned him to perpetual
imprisonment, and his estates to be confiscated. The same sentence was
passed on Hoogerbetz; but the house of the latter was assigned to him
for his imprisonment.
On the 6th of June, Grotius was taken to Louvestein. It lies near
Gorcum, in South Holland, at the point of the island formed by the Vaal
and the Meuse. Twenty-four sous a day were allowed for his maintenance;
but his wife undertook to support him, during his confinement, from her
own estate. She was at length admitted into prison with him, on
condition that she should remain in it, while his imprisonment lasted.
[Sidenote: Trial and Imprisonment of Grotius.]
At first, his confinement was very rigid: by degrees it was relaxed: his
wife was allowed to leave the prison for a few hours, twice in every
week. He was permitted to borrow books, and to correspond, except on
politics, with his friends.
He beguiled the tedious hours of confinement by study, relieving his
mind by varying its objects. Antient and modern literature equally
engaged his attention: Sundays he wholly dedicated to prayer and the
study of theology.
Twenty months of imprisonment thus passed away. His wife now began to
devise projects for his liberty. She had observed that he was not so
strictly watched as at first; that the guards, who examined the chest
used for the conveyance of his books and linen, being accustomed to see
nothing in it but books and linen, began to examine them loosely: at
length, they permitted the chest to pass without any examination. Upon
this, she formed her project for her husband's release.
She began to carry it into execution by cultivating an intimacy with the
wife of the commandant of Gorcum. To her, she lamented Grotius's
immoderate application to study; she informed her that it had made him
seriously ill; and that, in consequence of his illness, she had resolved
to take all his books from him, and restore them to their owners. She
circulated every where the account of his illness, and finally declared
that it had confined him to his bed.
[Sidenote: CHAP. VII. 1618--1621.]
In the mean time, the chest was accommodated to her purpose; and
particularly, some holes were bored in it, to let in air. Her maid and
the valet of Grotius were entrusted with the secret. The chest was
conveyed to Grotius's apartment. She then revealed her project to him,
and, after much entreaty, prevailed on him to get into the chest, and
leave her in the prison.
The books, which Grotius borrowed, were usually sent to Gorcum; and the
chest, which contained them, passed in a boat, from the prison at
Louvestein, to that town.
[Sidenote: His Escape from Prison.]
Big with the fate of Grotius, the chest, as soon as he was enclosed in
it, was moved into the boat. One of the soldiers, observing that it was
uncommonly heavy, insisted on its being opened, and its contents
examined; but, by the address of the maid, his scruples were removed,
and the chest was lodged in the boat. The passage from Louvestein to
Gorcum took a considerable time. The length of the chest did not exceed
three feet and a half. At length, it reached Gorcum: it was intended
that it should be deposited at the house of David Bazelaer, an Arminian
friend of Grotius, who resided at Gorcum. But, when the boat reached the
shore, a difficulty arose, how the chest was to be conveyed from the
spot, upon which it was to be landed, to Bazelaer's house. This
difficulty was removed by the maid's presence of mind; she told the
bystanders, that the chest contained glass, and that it must be moved
with particular care. Two chairmen were soon found, and they carefully
moved it on a horse-chair to the appointed place.
Bazelaer sent away his servants on different errands, opened the chest,
and received his friend with open arms. Grotius declared, that while he
was in the chest, he had felt much anxiety, but had suffered no other
inconvenience. Having dressed himself as a mason, with a rule and
trowel, he went, through the back door of Bazelaer's house, accompanied
by his maid, along the market-place, to a boat engaged for the purpose.
It conveyed them to Vervie in Brabant: there, he was safe. His maid then
left him, and, returning to his wife, communicated to her the agreeable
information of the success of the enterprise.
[Sidenote: Chap. VII. 1618-1621.]
As soon as Grotius's wife ascertained that he was in perfect safety, she
informed the guards of his escape: these communicated the intelligence
to the governor. He put her into close confinement; but in a few days,
an order of the States General set her at liberty, and permitted her to
carry with her every thing at Louvestein, which belonged to her. It is
impossible to think without pleasure of the meeting of Grotius and his
heroic wife. From Vervie he proceeded to Antwerp; a few days after his
arrival in that city, he addressed a letter to the States General: he
assured them, that, in procuring his liberty, he had used neither
violence nor corruption. He solemnly protested that his public conduct
had been blameless, and that the persecution he had suffered would never
lessen his attachment to his country.
[Sidenote: His Escape from Prison.]
It was on the 22d March 1621, that Grotius obtained his liberty. In the
same year, the truce, concluded for twelve years between Spain and the
United Provinces expired: it was expected, that the war would be resumed
with more fury than ever. But this did not happen; the war of thirty
years, which we shall afterwards have occasion to mention, had mixed the
contest between Spain and the United Provinces with the general military
plans and operations of the parties engaged in it, and had carried much
of the conflict from the Low Countries into Germany. Prince Maurice
still appeared at the head of the army of the United Provinces; but he
had lost, by his persecution of the Arminians, and his selfish
intrigues, the confidence of the people. Conspiracies against his life
were formed: fortune no longer favoured his arms. His attempts to compel
the Marquis Spinola to raise the siege of Bréda were unsuccessful. This
reverse of fortune preyed upon his mind. He thought himself haunted by a
spectre of Barneveldt: he was frequently heard, during his last illness,
to exclaim, "Remove this head from me!" "This anecdote," says the author
of the _Resumé de l'histoire de la Hollande_, "is related by all the
republican historians of the United Provinces; it is concealed by the
flatterers of the House of Orange.... To relate the remorse of princes
for their crimes, is one of the most useful duties of historians."
Prince Maurice died in 1625.
M. Le Clerc, in the 2d volume of the _Bibliotheque Choisée, art. 3_,
shews, by unquestionable facts and irresistible arguments, that both
Prince William and Prince Maurice sought to obtain the independent
sovereignty of the United Provinces. It was the aim of all their
successors: it has been effected in our times by means, which certainly
were foreseen by none.
CHAPTER VIII.
VORSTIUS,--JAMES I.
1622.
We must now carry back our readers to events which preceded the Synod of
Dort. We have mentioned the decease of Arminius: soon after it, a
circumstance took place, which, to the exquisite delight of the monarch,
who, at that time filled the British throne, involved him in the
theological disputes of the Belgic theologians.
Not long after the commencement of the Reformation, several bold
inquirers began to deny the trinity of persons in the Deity, the divine
authority of the Old and New Testament, and the existence of mystery in
the Christian dispensation. Both Catholics and Protestants united
against them. To avoid their hostilities, the maintainers of these
opinions fled to Poland, and, forming themselves into a distinct
congregation, published, in 1574, their First Catechism. They
established congregations at Cracow, Lubin, Pinczow, Luck and Smila:
but their most flourishing settlement was at Racow.
[Sidenote: Vorstius--James I.]
They spread their doctrines over each bank of the Danube, and at length
penetrated Italy. There, they were adopted by Loelius Socinus. After
many peregrinations in different parts of Europe, he finally settled at
Zurich. Faustus Socinus, his nephew, inherited his sentiments; and, on
this account, was obliged to quit Zurich. After many wanderings, he
fixed his residence at Racow. There, he was received with open arms by
the new communion, and completed their system of theology. From him,
they derived their appellation of SOCINIANS. Their doctrine is expressed
in the Racovian catechism, published, in the Polish language, in 1605.
Other editions of it have appeared. An English translation of the
edition of 1605, was published at Amsterdam in 1652: Dr. Toulmin, in his
Life of Socinus, ascribes it, seemingly by conjecture, to Mr. John
Biddle. In 1818, Mr. Rees published a new translation of it, prefixing
to it an interesting historical preface.
[Sidenote: CHAP. VIII. 1622.]
Among the disciples of Arminius, was the celebrated CONRADE VORSTIUS,
born at Cologne in 1569, of parents in reduced circumstances: he was
soon remarked for his diligence and irreproachable conduct; and was, in
1605, appointed to a professor's chair at Steinfurth. In 1610, he
quitted it, and was named to succeed Arminius, in the chair of Professor
of Theology, at Leyden. "He was beloved and honoured," says Mr.
Chalmers, "at Steinfurth; there, he enjoyed the utmost tranquillity, and
was in the highest reputation; he doubtless foresaw, that in the state
in which the controversies of Arminius and Gomarus were at that time, he
should meet with great opposition in Holland. But he was tempted by the
glory he should gain by supporting a party, which was weakened by
Arminius's death."
[Sidenote: Vorstius--James I.]
He had previously published his Treatise "_de Deo_." Some passages
in it were thought to favour the doctrine of Arminius; some, to lead to
Socinianism; and some, to have an ulterior tendency. That Arminius
himself discovers these views in his writings, has been frequently
asserted. Doctor Maclaine, the learned translator of Mosheim's
Ecclesiastical History,[033] observes it to be a common opinion, that
"the disciples of Arminius, and more especially Episcopius, had boldly
transgressed the bounds, that had been wisely prescribed by their
master, and had gone ever to the Pelagians, and even to the Socinians."
"Such," continues Dr. Maclaine, "is the opinion commonly entertained
upon this matter. But it appears on the contrary evident to me, that
Arminius himself had laid the plan of the theological system, that was,
in after times embraced by his followers; that he had instilled the
principles of it into the minds of his disciples; and that these latter
did really no more than bring this plan to a greater degree of
perfection, and propagate with more courage and perspicuity the
doctrines it contains." To prove this assertion, the Doctor cites a
passage from the Will of Arminius, in which he declares, that "his view
in all his theological and ministerial labours, was to unite in one
community, cemented by the bonds of fraternal charity, all sects and
denominations of Christians, the papists excepted." "These words, on
this account," continues Dr. Maclaine, "coincide perfectly with the
modern system of Arminianism, which extends the limits of the christian
church, and relaxes the bonds of fraternal communion in such a manner,
that Christians of all sects and all denominations, whatever their sects
and opinions may be, (Papists excepted) may be formed into one religious
body, and live together in brotherly love and concord." It is not
surprising that in the state of religious effervescence, in which the
minds of men were at the time of which we are now speaking, a suspicion
that Vorstius entertained the sentiments we have mentioned, or
sentiments nearly approaching to them, should have rendered him a
subject of jealousy. So greatly was this the case, that the
Contra-remonstrants appealed against his doctrines to several Protestant
states, and represented to them the doctrine of Vorstius in the most
odious light. Our James I. accepted the appeal: by a royal proclamation,
he caused Vorstius's Treatise _de Deo_ to be burnt in London, and each
of the English Universities. He drew up a list, of the several heresies,
which he had discovered in it, commanded his resident at the Hague to
notify them to the States; to express his horror of them, and his
detestation of those, who should tolerate them.
[Sidenote: CHAP. VIII. 1622.]
[Sidenote: Vorstius.--James I.]
With some intimation of their independence, the States replied, that
"the case was of _their_ cognizance;" that "they would examine it;"
and that, "if it should appear that Vorstius maintained the doctrines
imputed to him, they would not suffer him to live among them." The
monarch's orthodoxy was not satisfied with this answer. He repeated his
suggestions, that the States should proceed against Vorstius; and
hinted, that if the doctrines should be proved against him, and if he
should persist in them, burning might be a proper punishment for him.
The monarch added that, if the States did not use their utmost
endeavours to extirpate the rising heresy, he should publicly protest
against their conduct; that, in quality of defender of the faith, he
would exhort all Protestant churches to join in one general resolution
to extinguish the abomination, and would, as sovereign of his own
dominions, prohibit his subjects to frequent so pestilential a place as
the University of Leyden. To his menaces he added the terrors of his
pen, and published a "Confutation of Vorstius."
By the advice of the States, Vorstius replied to his royal adversary in
a most respectful manner; still, the royal adversary was not satisfied.
Finally, the States condemned the obnoxious doctrines of Vorstius,
divested him of all his offices; and sentenced him to perpetual
banishment. Vorstius remained concealed during two years; then found an
asylum in the dominions of the Duke of Holstein, who, as we have
mentioned, took the remains of the Arminians into his protection.
Vorstius died in 1622.
CHAPTER IX.
GROTIUS AFTER HIS ESCAPE FROM PRISON, TILL HIS APPOINTMENT OF AMBASSADOR
FROM SWEDEN TO THE COURT OF FRANCE.
1621-1634.
Soon after the escape of Grotius from prison, he repaired to Paris: in
this, he followed the advice of Du Maurier, the French ambassador at the
Hague. His works had made him known in every part of Europe, in which
learning was cultivated: but persons properly qualified to appreciate
their merit, existed no where in such abundance as at Paris: he was
personally esteemed and regarded by the monarch; and the principal
officers of state were attached to him. Paris was also recommended to
him by its libraries, the easy access to them, and the habitual
intercourse of the men of letters, who, during, at least, a great part
of the year, made that city their place of residence.
[Sidenote: From the Escape of Grotius till his appointment of
Ambassador.]
Grotius arrived at Paris on the 13th of April 1621. He was immediately
noticed by a multitude of persons of distinction and rank; but it was
not till March 1622, that he was presented to the king. His majesty
received him graciously, and settled upon him a pension of 3,000 livres.
The Prince of Condé, the Chancellor, and the Keeper of the Seals, had
exerted themselves to dispose the king in his favour. His majesty
professed kindness towards those, who had been persecuted by the States;
and issued an edict, dated the 22d April 1622, by which he took them
under his protection, in the same manner as if they were his own
subjects; he even extended this benefit to their children. The
celebrated President Jeannin was one of the most active and useful of
Grotius's friends; but he died soon after Grotius arrived at Paris.
Grotius, during his stay in that city, attended frequently the courts of
justice. He observed the wretched style of oratory, which at that time,
prevailed in them. It was, in some measure, corrected by _Patru_ and _Le
Maitre_; but it did not reach its best state, till the end of the reign
of Lewis XIV. The rhetorical march and laboured amplifications allowed
at the French bar, are offensive to English ears. Has any nation
produced a more perfect style of forensic or judicial eloquence, than
that of _Sir William Grant_? The wisdom and justice of _Lord Stowell's_
decisions, and the admirable arguments by which he explains or
illustrates them, are known and acknowledged by every Court.
[Sidenote: CHAP. IX. 1621--1634]
Grotius's love of his native country continued unabated; all his views,
all his hopes, were directed thither. With these feelings he wrote his
_Apology_. He composed it in the Dutch language, and translated it
afterwards into Latin: it was published in 1622. He dedicated it to the
people of Holland and West Friesland. It is divided into twenty
chapters; in the first, he argues the important point, that each of the
United Provinces is sovereign and independent of the States General, and
that the authority of these is confined to the defence of the provinces
against their enemies. In the second chapter, he applies the position to
ecclesiastical concerns; these, he says, are subject to the sovereign
power of each State. In the following chapters, he descends into the
particular charges against him; defending himself against all the crimes
and irregularities of which he was accused, and shewing the informality
of the judicial proceedings by which he and his companions in misfortune
were tried and condemned.
[Sidenote: From the Escape of Grotius till his appointment of
Ambassador.]
His answer was universally read and approved: It greatly incensed the
States General: They proscribed it, and forbade all persons to have it
in their possession, under pain of death; but no answer to it was
published. The edict made Grotius and his friends entertain
apprehensions for his personal safety. On this account, he obtained
from the French monarch letters of naturalization, dated the 26th
February 1623: By these, his majesty took him under his special
protection.
Grotius retained many friends in every part of the United Provinces:
Prince Frederick Henry, the brother of Maurice, was among them. He had
never entered into his brother's persecuting projects.
"The Count d'Estrades has given us," says Burigni, "some anecdotes on
this subject, which we shall relate on his authority. He assures us,
that, being one day _tête a tête_ with Prince Henry Frederick in his
coach, he heard him say, that he had much to do to keep well with his
brother Maurice, who suspected him of secretly favouring Barneveldt and
the Arminians. He told me, (these were the Count's own words), it was
true that he kept a correspondence with them, to prevent their opposing
his election, in case his brother should die; but that, as it imported
him to be on good terms with his brother, and to efface the notion he
had of his connection with the Arminians, he made use of Vandenuse, one
of his particular friends, and Barneveldt's son-in-law, to let the cabal
know, that it was necessary for him to accommodate himself to his
brother, that he might be better able to serve them,--which Barneveldt
approved of."
[Sidenote: CHAP. IX. 1621--1634.]
In the meantime, the situation of Grotius at Paris, became very
uncomfortable. His resources, and those of his wife, were small; and his
pension was paid irregularly. Cardinal de Richelieu wished to attach
Grotius; but required from him an absolute and unqualified devotion to
him, which was utterly irreconcileable with the slightest degree of
honourable independence. Grotius therefore declined the offers of the
Cardinal. From this time, the Cardinal regarded him with an evil eye,
and often made him feel the effects of his displeasure.
This rendered Grotius desirous of quitting France. Trusting to some
protestations of friendship, which he had received from Prince
Frederick; to his numerous friends, to his claims upon the gratitude of
the States of Holland, to his feelings of innocence, and to the effect
produced, as he flattered himself, by his _Apology_, he ventured into
Holland in 1631. But he met with no countenance: and in that year was
banished a second time. Upon this, he formally bade a final adieu to
Holland, and determined to seek his fortune elsewhere: He then fixed his
residence at Hamburgh.
[Sidenote: From the Escape of Grotius till his appointment of
Ambassador.]
He sought to preserve his friends in France; but announced to them his
intention to receive no more money from the French government.
"I shall always," he said in a letter to the First President of the Cour
des Monnoies, "be grateful for the King's liberality; but it is enough
that I was chargeable to you, while I resided in France. I have never
done you any service, though I made you an offer of myself. But it would
not be proper that I should now live, like an hornet, on the goods of
other men. I shall not, however, forget the kindness of so great a king,
and the good offices of so many friends."
[Sidenote: CHAP. IX. 1621-1634.]
It may appear surprising that Prince Frederick of Orange should
pertinaciously exclude Grotius from his native country. But ambition
listens to nothing that conflicts with its own views. Prince Frederick
inherited from his father and brother the wish of becoming the sovereign
of the United Provinces. To this, he knew he should always find a
zealous and able opponent in Grotius: hence, notwithstanding his great
personal regard for Grotius, he always kept him a banished man. Grotius
wished to be employed by the Government of England, and Archbishop Laud
was sounded upon this subject; but the application was coldly
received[034]. Prince Frederick sustained, both in military and civil
concerns, the character of the former princes of his family. Under his
administration, the affairs of the republic prospered at sea and land.
Peter Haim captured the Spanish flotilla, estimated at twelve millions
of florins. The Prince took Bois-le duc, Maestricht, and Breda, and
reduced the Dutchy of Limburgh. Under his auspices, the celebrated Van
Tromp commenced his career of naval glory, by obtaining a complete
victory over the Spanish fleet, consisting of seventy men of war. Prince
Frederick died in 1658.
From the close of his Stadtholderate, we may date the origin of the
jealousy entertained, by France and England, of the rising power of the
United Provinces. It is to be observed that Prince Frederick was
Stadtholder only of the Provinces of Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Gueldres
and Overyssell: Count Ernest Casimir of Nassau was Stadtholder of the
provinces of Gröningen, Frizeland, and the county of the Drenta. In
1631, their eldest sons were chosen, in the lifetime of their fathers,
their successors in their respective Stadtholderates. This was a great
step towards making the Stadtholderate hereditary in their
families,--one of the leading objects of their ambitious views.
CHAPTER X.
SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS OF GROTIUS.
1. _His Edition of Stobæus_.
2. _His Treatise de Jure Belli et Pacis_.
3. _His Treatise de Veritate Religionis Christianæ_.
4. _His Treatise de Jure summarum potestatum circa
sacra_.
5. _His Commentary on the Scriptures_.
6. _Some other Works of Grotius_
[Sidenote: CHAP. X. 1621-1634]
That literature is an ornament in prosperity, and a comfort in adverse
fortune, has been often said by the best and wisest men; but no one
experienced the truth of this assertion in a higher degree than Grotius,
during his imprisonment at Louvestein. In that wreck of his fortune and
overthrow of all his hopes, books came to his aid, soothed his sorrows,
and beguiled the wearisome hours of his gloomy solitude. His studies
often stole him from himself, and from the sense of his misfortunes. In
the exercise of his mental energies, he was sensible of their powers;
and it was impossible that he should contemplate, without pleasure, the
extent, the worth, or the splendour of his labours; the services, which
he rendered by them to learning and religion, and the admiration and
gratitude of the scholar, which he then enjoyed, and which would attend
his memory to the latest posterity. He himself acknowledged that, in the
ardour of his literary pursuits, he often forgot his calamities, and
that the hours passed unheeded, if not in joy, at least without pain.
X 1.
_His Edition of Stobæus_.
Being ourselves unacquainted with this work, we cannot do better than
present our readers with the account given of it by Burigni.
"The year after the publication of his _Apology_, that is to say in
1623, Nicholas Huon printed at Paris, _Grotius's improvements and
additions to Stobæus_. This author, as is well known, extracted
what he thought most important in the ancient Greek writers, and
ranged it under different heads, comprehending the principal points
of philosophy. His work is the more valuable, as it has preserved
several fragments of the Ancients, found no where else. Grotius,
when very young, purposed to extract from this author all the
maxims of the poets; to translate them into Latin verse, and to
print the original with the translation. He began this, when a boy;
he was employed in it at the time of his arrest; and continued it
as an amusement, whilst he had the use of books, in his prison at
the Hague. He tells us that, when he was deprived of pen and ink,
he was got to the forty-ninth title, which is an invective against
tyranny, that had a great relation to what passed at that time in
Holland. On his removal to Louvestein, he resumed this work, and
finished it at Paris. He made several happy corrections in the text
of Stobæus; some, from his own conjectures or those of his friends;
others, on the authority of manuscripts in the King's library,
which were politely lent him by the learned Nicholas Rigaut,
librarian to his majesty.
[Sidenote: His edition of Stobæus.]
[Sidenote: CHAP. X. 1621-1634]
"Prefixed to this book, are _Prolegomena_, in which the author shews
that the works of the ancient Pagans are filled with maxims
agreeable to the truths taught in holy writ. He intended to
dedicate this book to the Chancellor Silleri: he had even writ the
dedication, but his friends, to whom he shewed it, thought he
expressed himself with too much warmth, against the censurers of
his _Apology_. They advised him therefore to suppress it; and he
yielded to their opinion. It may be observed in reading the royal
privilege, that the present title of the book is different from
what it was to have had. To these extracts from the Greek poets
translated into Latin verse, Grotius annexed two pieces, one of
Plutarch, the other of St. Basil, on the use of the poets; giving
the Greek text with a Latin translation."
The work was received with universal approbation.
X. 2.
_His Treatise de Jure Belli et Pacis_.
Grotius may be considered as the founder of the modern school of _the
Law of Nature and of Nations_. He was struck with the ruthless manner,
in which wars were generally conducted; the slight pretences, upon which
they were generally begun; and the barbarity and injustice, with which
they were generally attended. He attributed these evils to the want of
settled principles respecting the rights and duties of nations and
individuals in a state of war. These, he observed, must depend on the
previous rights and duties of mankind, in a state of peace: this led him
to the preliminary inquiry into their rights and duties in a state of
nature.
Thus, an ample field was opened to him. He brought to it, a vigorous
discerning mind, and stupendous erudition. From antient and modern
history, philosophy, oratory, and poetry, he collected facts and
sayings, which appeared to him to establish a general agreement of all
civilized nations upon certain principles. From these, he formed his
system; applying them, as he proceeded in his work, to a vast multitude
of circumstances. These are so numerous, that some persons have not
scrupled to say, that no case or international law, either in war or in
peace, can be stated, to which the work of Grotius does not contain an
applicable rule.
[Sidenote: X. 2. _The Treatise de Jure Belli et Pacis._]
[Sidenote: CHAP. X. 1621-1634]
Three important objections have been made to this celebrated work,--one,
that the author defers in it, too little, to principle, too much, to
authority;--another, that the work is written in a very desultory
manner, with small attention to order, or classification;--a third, that
his authorities are often feeble, and sometimes whimsical. "Grotius,"
says Condillac, "was able to think for himself; but he constantly
labours to support his conclusions by the authority of others. Upon many
occasions; even in support of the most obvious and indisputable
propositions, he introduces a long string of quotations from the Mosaic
law, from the Gospels, from the fathers of the church, from the
casuists, and not unfrequently, even in the very same paragraph, from
Ovid, and Aristophanes." This strange mixture is subject of many
witticisms of Voltaire. But let us hear what is urged in the defence of
Grotius, by a gentleman, of whose praise the ablest of writers may be
proud:
"Few writers," says Sir James Mackintosh, in his Discourse on the
Study of the Law of Nature and Nations, "were more celebrated than
Grotius in his own days, and in the age which succeeded. It has,
however, been the fashion of the last half century to depreciate
his work, as a shapeless compilation, in which reason lies buried
under a mass of authorities and quotations. This fashion originated
among French wits and declaimers, and it has been, I know not for
what reason, adopted, though with far greater moderation and
decency, by some respectable writers among ourselves. As to those,
who first used this language, the most candid supposition that we
can make with respect to them is, that they never read the work;
for, if they had not been deterred from the perusal of it by such a
formidable display of Greek characters, they must soon have
discovered that Grotius never quotes, on any subject, till he has
first appealed to some principles; and often, in my humble opinion,
though, not always, to the soundest and most rational principles.
[Sidenote: His treatise de Jure Belli et Pacis.]
"But another sort of answer is due to some of those, who have
criticised Grotius; and that answer might be given in the words of
Grotius himself. He was not of such a stupid and servile cast of
mind as to quote the opinions of poets or orators, of historians
and philosophers, as those of judges, from whose decision there was
no appeal. He quotes them, as he tells us himself, as witnesses,
whose conspiring testimony, mightily strengthened and confirmed by
their discordance on almost every other subject, is a conclusive
proof of the unanimity of the whole human race on the great rules
of duty, and the fundamental principles of morals. Of such matters,
poets and orators are the most unexceptionable of all witnesses;
for they address themselves to the general feelings and sympathies
of mankind; they are neither warped by system, nor perverted by
sophistry; they can attain none of their objects; they can neither
please nor persuade, if they dwell on moral sentiments not in
unison with those of their readers. No system of moral philosophy
can surely disregard the general feelings of human nature, and the
according judgment of all ages and nations. But, where are these
feelings and that judgment recorded and preserved? In those very
writings which Grotius is gravely blamed for having quoted. The
usages and law of nations, the events of history, the opinions of
philosophers, the sentiments of orators and poets, as well as the
observation of common life, are, in truth, the materials out of
which the science of morality is formed; and those who neglect
them, are justly chargeable with a vain attempt to philosophise
without regard to fact and experience, the sole foundation of all
true philosophy.
[Sidenote: Chap. X. 1621-1634]
"If this were merely an objection of taste, I should be willing to
allow, that Grotius has indeed poured forth his learning with a
profusion, that sometimes rather encumbers than adorns his work,
and which is not always necessary to the illustration of his
subject. Yet, even in making, that concession, I should rather
yield to the tastes of others, than speak from my own feelings. I
own that such richness and splendour of literature have a powerful
charm for me. They fill my mind with an endless variety of
delightful recollections and associations. They relieve the
understanding in its progress through a vast science, by calling up
the memory of great men and of interesting events. By this means we
see the truths of morality clothed with all the eloquence (not that
could be produced by the powers of one man, but) that could be
bestowed on them by the collective genius of the world. Even virtue
and wisdom themselves acquire new majesty in my eyes, when I thus
see all the great masters of thinking and writing called together,
as it were, from all times and countries, to do them homage and to
appear in their train.
[Sidenote: X. 2. His Treatise de Jure Belli et Pacis]
"But this is no piece for discussions of taste, and I am very ready
to own, that mine may be corrupted. The work of Grotius is liable
to a more serious objection, though I do not recollect that it has
ever been made. His method is inconvenient and unscientific. He has
inverted the natural order. That natural order undoubtedly
dictates, that we should first search for the original principles
of the science, in human nature; then apply them to the regulation
of the conduct of individuals; and lastly employ them for the
decision of those difficult and complicated questions that arise
with respect to the intercourse of nations. But Grotius has chosen
the reverse of this method. He begins with the consideration of the
states of peace and war, and he examines original principles, only
occasionally and incidentally, as they grow out of the questions,
which he is called upon to decide. It is a necessary consequence of
this disorderly method, which exhibits the elements of the science
in the form of scattered digressions, that he seldom employs
sufficient discussion on those fundamental truths, and never in
the place where such a discussion would be most instructive to the
reader. This defect in the plan of Grotius was perceived, and
supplied by Puffendorf, who restored natural law to that
superiority which belonged to it, and with great propriety, treated
the law of nations as only one main branch of the parent stock."
[Sidenote: CHAP X. 1621-1634]
Whatever may be the merit of the work of which we are speaking, it must
be admitted, that few, on their first appearance, and during a long
subsequent period after publication, have received greater or warmer
applause. The stores of erudition displayed in it, recommended it to the
classical scholar, while the happy application of the author's reading
to the affairs of human life, drew to it the attention of common
readers. Among those, whose approbation of it, deserved to be recorded,
Gustavus Adolphus,--his prime minister the Chancellor Oxenstiern,--and
the Elector Palatine Charles Lewis, deserve particular mention.[035] As
the trophies of Miltiades are supposed to have kept Themistocles awake,
it has been said that the trophies of Grotius drove sleep from Selden,
till be produced his celebrated treatise, "_De Jure naturali et gentium
secundum leges Ebræorim_." This important work equals that of Grotius
in learning; but, from the partial and recondite nature of its subject,
never equalled it in popularity.
[Sidenote: X. 9. His Treatise de Jure Belli et Pacis]
The supposed want of general elementary principles in the work of
Grotius gave occasion to Puffendorf's treatise _de Jure Naturae et
Gentium_; afterwards abridged by him into the small octavo volume _De
Officio hominis et civis_: an edition of it in octavo was published by
Professor Garschen Carmichael, of Glasgow, in 1724.
The best edition of Grotius's treatise _de Jure Belli et Pacis_ was
published at Amsterdam in 1730, by John Barbeyrac.
Foreigners observe, that the study of the law of nature and nations is
less cultivated in England than upon the continent. Is it not, because
Englishmen are blessed with a free constitution; are admitted into a
general participation of all its blessings; are thus personally
interested in the national concerns; and have therefore a jurisprudence,
which comes nearer to their bosoms? Is it not also, because the law of
nature and nations, with all its merit, is so loose, that its principles
seldom admit of that practical application, which renders them really
useful; and which an English mind always requires?
X.3.
_De Veritate Religionis Christianæ._
[Sidenote: CHAP. X. 1621-1634.]
Grotius, while a prisoner in the Castle of Louvestein, had written, in
the Dutch language, "A treatise on the Truth of the Christian Religion."
He afterwards enlarged it, and translated it, so enlarged, into Latin.
It was universally read and admired. French, German, English, modern
Greek, Persic, and even Turkish versions of it have been made: it was
equally approved by Catholics and Protestants.
[Sidenote: De Veritate Religionis Christianæ.]
It was invidiously objected, that he did not attempt to prove, or even
mention, the Trinity, and some other gospel mysteries: he replied,
satisfactorily in our opinion, that a discussion of any particular tenet
of the Christian religion did not fall within the scope of his work. In
this respect, he was afterwards imitated by _Abadie_ and _Houteville_,
two of the most eminent apologists of Christianity. The latter expresses
himself of the work of Grotius in the following terms:
"Grotius's work is the first, in which we find the characteristics
of just reasoning, accuracy, and strength: he is extremely concise;
but even this brevity will please us, when we find his work
comprehends so many things, without confounding them or lessening
their evidence or force. It is no wonder that the book should be
translated into so many languages."
The best edition of it is that published by Le Clerc,[036] in 1709 at
Amsterdam, in 8vo. To this edition, Le Clerc has added a curious
_dissertation_ on _religious indifference_. He presumes that the
supposed indifference is persuaded of the authenticity of the New
Testament:--He then (says Le Clerc) must ascertain,--
1. Which are the denominations of religionists which avow their
belief of it:
2. Which of these are most worthy of the name of Christians:
3. And which profess the Christian religion in most purity and with
least extraneous alloy:
4. He will find, that all Christians agree in the fundamental
articles of faith:
5. That all these articles are clearly expressed in the New
Testament:
6. That no tenet should be believed to be of faith, unless the New
Testament contains it.
7. That the providence of God is admirable in the preservation of
these tenets, amidst the confused multitude of religious opinions,
which have prevailed in the world:
8. That this confusion was foreseen by God:
9. That he permitted it as a consequence of his gift of free-will
to man:
10. That the inquirer should aggregate himself to that religious
communion, which receives the New Testament as its only rule of
faith, and does not persecute others:
11. That episcopacy without tyranny is the most antient form of
ecclesiastical government, and most to be desired; but that it is
not essential to a Christian church:
12. That these were the opinions of Grotius:
13. Finally, that it is greatly to be desired that a belief of no
dogma, not explicitly propounded in the New Testament, should be
required.
Such is the religious system propounded by Le Clerc.--Does any religious
communion really profess it?--Many Protestant churches declare, that the
Bible, and the Bible only, contains their creed: but, do they not all
mean by this--the Bible, as it is explained by the Articles, the
Formulary, or the Confession received by their church?
X. 4.
_Grotius's Treatise De Jure summarum potestatum circa sacra_.--And,
_Commentatio ad loca quædam Novi Testamenti, quæ de Antichristo agunt,
aut agere putantur_.
Nothing in the life of Grotius places him in a more amiable or
respectable point of view, than his constant attempts to put Catholics
and Protestants into good humour with each other, and to put both into
good humour among themselves.
[Sidenote: X. 4. His Treatise De Jure summarum potestatum. &c.]
We have mentioned the _pacific decree of the States of Holland_, which
ordered the contending communions to tolerate each other. Grotius is
supposed to have framed this wise decree. The Contra-remonstrants
attacked it: Grotius reprinted it, with a collection of proofs and
authorities.
It gave rise to a controversy on the nice question, respecting the
authority of the temporal power to interfere in the ecclesiastical
concerns of the state. Grotius adopted, upon this point, the sentiments
of what is termed in England the Low Church: he seems to have pushed
them to their utmost bearings. With these sentiments, he published his
treatise _de Imperio summarum potestatum circa sacra_. It was disliked
by King James and his bishops: Grotius, in their opinion, gave too much
authority, in sacred things, to the secular power.
On the work of Grotius, respecting _Anti-christ_, we prefer transcribing
Burigni's sentiments to delivering our own.
"This deep study of the Holy Scriptures led Grotius to examine a
question, which made much noise at that time. Some Protestant
synods had ventured to decide that _the Pope was Antichrist_; and
this extravagance, gravely delivered by the ministers, was
regarded by the zealous schismatics, as a fundamental truth.
Grotius undertook to overturn such an absurd opinion, that stirred
up an irreconcileable enmity between the Roman Catholics and the
Protestants; and, of consequence, was a very great obstacle to
their re-union, which was the sole object of his desires. He
entered therefore upon the consideration of the passages of
Scripture relating to Antichrist, and employed his Sundays in it.
[Sidenote: CHAP. X. 1621-1634.]
"It was this work, that raised him up most enemies. We see by the
letters he wrote to his brother, that his best friends were afraid
lest they should be suspected of having some hand in the
publication of the books, in which he treated of Antichrist. 'If
you are afraid of incurring ill will, (he writes thus to his
brother), you may easily find people that are far from a factious
spirit, who will take care of the impression. Nothing has incensed
princes against those, who separated from the church of Rome, more
than the injurious names, with which the Protestants load their
adversaries; and nothing is a greater hindrance to that re-union,
which we are all obliged to labour after, in consequence of
Christ's precept and the profession we make of our faith in the
creed. Perhaps the Turk, who threatens Italy, will force us to it.
In order to arrive at it, we must first remove whatever obstructs a
mutual quiet hearing. I hope I shall find assistance in this pious
design. I shall not cease to labour in it, and shall rejoice to die
employed in so good a work.'
[Sidenote: His Treatise De Jure summarum potestatum, &c.]
"Reigersberg, Blaeu, Vossius himself, however much devoted to
Grotius, beheld with concern the printing of this book, because
they did not doubt but it would increase the number of his enemies.
Grotius informs his brother, of the uneasiness which Vossius gave
him on this subject. 'Among those, who wish this work destroyed,'
says he, 'I am astonished and grieved to see Vossius. Whence could
he have this idea? I imagine somebody has told him, that it would
injure the fortune of his children, if he approved of such books;
and that, on the contrary, he would find favour by hurting me. We
must therefore have recourse to Corcellius or Corvinus.' He
elsewhere complains of the too great timidity of this old friend,
who at bottom approved of Grotius's sentiments, but durst not own
them publicly, because he was not so independent as Grotius.
[Sidenote: CHAP. X. 1621-1634.]
"The treatise on Anti-christ made much noise among all the declared
enemies of the Romish church. Michael Gettichius wrote to Ruarus,
that he had only glanced over Grotius's book on Antichrist; but as
far as he could judge by the first reading, that learned man, who
was possessed of such an excellent genius, and such singular
erudition, had no other intention than to engage the learned in a
further inquiry concerning Antichrist; and to determine them to
attack with greater strength, the Romish Antichrist; or, if he
wrote seriously, he wanted to cut out a path for going over,
without dishonour, to the Papists. Ruarus answers this letter Dec.
16, 1642, from Dantzic. 'I have always (he says) looked on Grotius
as a very honest and at the same time a very learned man. I am
persuaded that love of peace engaged him in this work. I don't deny
but he has gone too far; the love of antiquity perhaps seduced him:
no Remonstrant, that I know of, has as yet answered him; but he has
been confuted by some learned Calvinists, particularly Desmonets,
minister of Bois le duc, who has written against him with much
bitterness.'
"Grotius's work was printed in 1640, with this title: _Commentatio
ad loca quædam Novi Testamenti, quæ de Antichristo agunt aut agere
putantur:--Expedenda eruditis."_[037]
X.5.
_His Commentary on the Scriptures._
[Sidenote: X. 5. His Commentary on the Scriptures.]
The theological works of Grotius are comprised in four volumes folio:
the three first contain his Commentary, and Notes upon the Scriptures.
On their merit, both Catholics and Protestants considerably differ. All
allow that an abundance of sacred and profane learning is displayed in
them; and that Grotius, by his references to the writings of the Rabbis,
and his remarks upon the idiom of the sacred writings, has happily
elucidated a multitude of passages in the text. He uniformly adopts the
literal and obvious signification of the language used by the holy
penmen. In explaining the predictions of the prophets, he maintains that
they referred to events anterior to the coming of Christ, and were
accomplished in these; so that the natural and obvious sense of the
words and phrases, in which they were delivered, does not terminate in
Christ; yet, that in some of the predictions, those particularly, which
the writers of the New Testament apply to Christ, there is, _besides_
the literal and obvious signification, a hidden and mysterious sense,
which lies concealed under the external mark of certain _persons_,
certain _events_, and certain _actions_, which are representative of the
person, the ministry, the sufferings, and the merits of the Son of God.
[Sidenote: CHAP. X. 1621-1634.]
It has been objected, that this system leads to Socinianism, and even
beyond it. All Catholic, and several episcopalian Protestant divines
object to it; they generally contend, that the sacred writings ought
always to be understood in that sense _only_, which has been attributed
to them, by the early fathers.--Against this system, Dr. Whitby
published his celebrated work "Concerning the Interpretation of
Scripture after the manner of the Fathers."[038]
[Sidenote: X. 5. His Commentary on the Scriptures.]
The system of Grotius was defended, to a certain extent, by _Father
Simôn_, the oratorian, the father of the modern biblical school. Against
both Simôn and Grotius, Bossuet wielded his powerful lance,--in his
"Pastoral Instruction on the Works of Father Simôn," and his
"Dissertations upon Grotius." In these works he says that, during thirty
years,
"Grotius searched for truth in good faith, and at last was so near
it, that it is wonderful that he did not take the last step, to
which God called him. Shocked at Calvin's harsh doctrines, he
embraced Arminianism; then, abandoned it. More a lawyer than a
theologian, more a polite scholar than a philosopher, he throws the
doctrine of the immortality of the soul into obscurity. He
endeavours to weaken and steal from the church, her most powerful
proofs of the divinity of the Son of God, and strives to darken the
prophecies, which announce the arrival of the Messiah."
Bossuet proceeds to particularize some of the principal errors of
Grotius: Le Clerc replied to the prelate's criticism, by his _Sentimens
de quelques Theologiens de la Hollande_.--Grotius had also an able
advocate in Father Simôn. His defence of Grotius against the charge of
_semi-Pelagianism_, in the _Bibliotheque de Sainjore_,[039] appears to
be satisfactory. He cites the note of Grotius, on the Acts of the
Apostles, (the celebrated ch. xiii. ver. 38), in which he says expressly
that he does not exclude preventive grace: this the semi-Pelagians
denied altogether. But in his defence of Grotius against the charge of
_Socinianism_, he is not equally successful. Bossuet sent his _Pastoral
Instruction_, and _Dissertations upon Grotius_, to the bishop of
Fréjus, afterward Cardinal de Fleury: he accompanied them by a letter,
which closes with these remarkable words:
"The spirit of incredulity gains ground in the world every day: you
have often heard me make this remark. It is now worse than ever, as
the Gospel itself is used for the corruption of religion. I thank
God that at my age he blesses me with sufficient strength to resist
the torrent."
[Sidenote: CHAP. X. 1621--1634.]
Dom. Calmet[040] calls Grotius,
"one of the most able and moderate Protestant writers: one who
spreads throughout his notes a pleasing profusion of profane
literature, which causes his works to be sought for and read by
those, who have taste for that kind of literature. His high
reputation, great erudition, and rare modesty," says Dom. Calmet,
"render it easy for him to insinuate his particular sentiments
respecting the divinity of Christ, against which, his readers
should be guarded."
X.6.
_Some other Works of Grotius_.
1. The first which we shall mention is his history of the _Goths,
Vandals, and Lombards_, written in the Latin language, and accompanied
by learned dissertations. He composed it, as a testimony of his
gratitude to the Swedes, by doing honour to their gothic ancestors. The
preface has always been admired, for its erudition and sound criticism.
But the Belgic friends of Grotius accused him of elevating the Swedes at
their expense.
[Sidenote: X. 6. Other Works of Grotius.]
2. A more important work consists of his _Annals, and History of the
United Provinces_. The Annals begin with the year 1588, when Prince
Maurice had the greatest influence in the affairs of the United
Provinces; and concludes with the truce of twelve years, signed between
them and Spain. The impartiality, with which these works are written,
has been praised by every writer.
It is to be lamented that Grotius professed to imitate, both in his
Annals and History, the style of Tacitus. Expressed by his own pen, the
style of Tacitus is energetic, picturesque, and pleasing; but it is
impossible to deny its frequent abruptness and obscurity. Generally
speaking, an imitation of what is defective, contains a larger share,
than the original, of its distinctive defect. It should however be
added, that Grotius's own style is short, sententious and broken; and
possesses nothing of the meliflous ease of the ultramontane Latinists;
or of our Milton or Buchanan. None of the works of Grotius, which we
have mentioned in this Article, were published till after his decease.
3. It remains to notice the _Letters of Grotius_, published at Amsterdam
in one volume folio, in 1687.--A multitude of his unpublished letters is
said to exist in different public and private libraries.
[Sidenote: CHAP. X. 1621-1634.]
His published letters are an invaluable treasure: they abound with wise
maxims of sound policy, and curious discussions on points arising on
Roman or Belgic jurisprudence. Many points of sacred and profane
learning, and particularly of the civil and canon law, are treated in
them with equal learning and taste. For the perfect understanding of
them, the letters of the correspondents of Grotius should be perused:
they are principally to be found, in the _Præstantium et Eruditorum
Virorum Epistolæ Ecclesiasticæ et Theologicæ_, published at Amsterdam in
1684. A critical account of the Letters of Grotius, executed with great
taste and judgment, is inserted in the first volume of the _Bibliotheque
Universelle et Historique_.[041]
[Sidenote: X. 6. Other Works of Grotius.]
It is acknowledged that the letters of Grotius, are written in the
finest latinity, and contain much valuable information; but the point,
the sprightliness, the genius, the vivid descriptions of men and
things, which are so profusely scattered over the letters of Erasmus,
are seldom discoverable in those of Grotius. A man of learning would
have been gratified beyond measure, by the profound conversations of
Grotius and Father Petau: but what a treat must it have been, to have
assisted with one, two, or three good listeners, at the conversations
between Erasmus and Sir Thomas More!
CHAPTER. XI.
GROTIUS.--AS AMBASSADOR FROM THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN TO THE COURT OF
FRANCE.
1634--1645.
The embassy of Grotius is connected with an important period in the
history of the War of Thirty years.
This celebrated war was principally caused by the religious disputes of
the sixteenth century. Very soon after Luther's first attack on the See
of Rome, the Reformation was established in Saxony, Livonia, Prussia,
and Hesse-cassell; in many imperial towns; in Friezland and Holland; in
several of the Swiss Cantons; in Pomerania, Mecklenburgh, Anhalt;
Sweden, Denmark, Norway; England, and Scotland. Its progress in Germany
is particularly connected with the subject of these pages.
[Sidenote: Embassy of Grotius in the Court of France.]
At the diet of Augsburgh, in 1530, the Protestant princes of Germany
delivered to the emperor their Confession of Faith; they afterwards, at
Smalcald, entered into an offensive and defensive league against the
emperor. Being sensible that they were unable to resist him, they
engaged the French monarch in their cause. At first, the emperor was
victorious; but a new league was formed. France then took a more active
part in favour of the confederates, and the contest ended in the peace
of Passau, in 1552, there the two parties, for the first time, treated
as equals, and the free exercise of the Lutheran religion was allowed.
Things remained quiet during the reigns of Ferdinand the First and
Maximilian the Second; but, in consequence of the disputes, which arose
on the succession to the dutchies of Cleves and Juliers, the religious
differences broke out with fresh animosity:--the Protestant princes
formed a confederacy called the _Evangelical Union_, and placed, at its
head, the Elector Palatine; the Catholics formed a confederacy called
the _Catholic League_, and placed, at its head, the Duke of Bavaria. In
the year 1618, they burst into open war; every state in Europe, and even
the Ottoman princes, at one time or other, took a part in it. France was
the soul of the Protestant cause; she assisted it with her armies, and
her subsidies:--it may be truly said, that, if there be a Protestant
state from the Vistula to the Rhine, or a Mahometan, state between the
Danube and the Mediterranean, its existence is owing to the Bourbon
monarchs. From the period of its duration, it has been called the WAR
OF THIRTY YEARS: it is divided, by its _Palatine, Danish, Swedish,_ and
_French_ periods.
[Sidenote: CHAP. XI. 1634-1645.]
1. Frederick, the fifth _Elector Palatine_ of that name, being elected
King of Bohemia, by the states of that kingdom, made war on the emperor
Ferdinand the Second. Being defeated in 1620, at the battle of Prague,
and abandoned by his allies, he was driven from Bohemia, and deprived of
his other states.
2. Christian the Fourth of _Denmark_, then placed himself at the head of
the confederacy against the emperor; but, having in 1626, lost the
battle of Lutter, in which Tilly commanded the Austrian forces; he
signed, three years after that event, a separate peace with the emperor.
In the following year, Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, was placed at
the head of the confederacy. Their cause appeared desperate: Walstein,
the Austrian general, had been uniformly successful, and almost the
whole of Germany had submitted to the emperor: but the Austrians soon
experienced a severe reverse of fortune.
[Sidenote: Embassy of Grotius to the Court of France.]
3. Lewis XIII filled at that time, the throne of France; his councils
were guided by Cardinal Richelieu, one of the ablest statesmen that has
appeared upon the theatre of the world. Vast, but provident in his
designs; daring, but considerate in his operations; capable of the
largest views and the most minute attentions; he formed three immense
projects, and succeeded in all.
"When your Majesty," he thus addresses the monarch in his celebrated
_Testament Politique_, "resolved at the same time to admit me into your
councils, and to give me a great portion of your confidence, I can say
with truth that the Hugonots divided the state with you; that the great,
conducted themselves, as if they were not your subjects, and the
governors of the provinces, as if they were the sovereigns of them; and
that France was contemned by her foreign allies."
To reduce the Hugonots, to lower the nobility, to elevate France to be
the preponderating power in Europe, were the three objects, which the
Cardinal proposed to himself. In each, he had difficulties to encounter,
which extraordinary talents only could surmount. By a strict
administration of justice, and severely punishing, without respect to
rank or connections, those, who engaged in treasonable practices, he
completely subdued the towering spirit of the nobility; by victorious
armies and a vigorous dispensation of the laws, he reduced the Hugonots;
and, by calling forth all the energies of his country, and arraying
half the Continent against Austria and Spain, he gave to France an
almost irresistible ascendant in the concerns of Europe.
[Sidenote: CHAP. XI 1634-1645.]
To the last only of these three designs our present subject leads us.
_Sweden_ had long been engaged in a war against Denmark, and highly
dissatisfied with Austria. By the persuasion of Richelieu, she made
peace with the Danes, and entered into an offensive and defensive
alliance with France. In consequence of it, Gustavus Adolphus was placed
at the head of the Protestant conf
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