In 1625 he completed his treatise ‘De Jure Belli et Pacis,’ which was published at Paris in that year. None of the works of Grotius have excited so much attention as this treatise: it was the first attempt to reduce into a system the subject of international law; and the industry and extensive learning of the author well qualified him for the task. More complete and useful works upon this subject have been written since the time of Grotius; but in order to estimate properly the magnitude and value of his labours, it should be considered that, before he wrote, the ground was wholly unbroken. In his own age, and in that which succeeded it, this work was held in the highest estimation, being translated into various languages, and circulated as a standard book throughout Europe.
Grotius remained more than nine years in France, and during that period published, in addition to the works already noticed, several theological treatises of small interest at the present day. The latter part of his residence in France was rendered uncomfortable by several disagreeable circumstances, and in particular by the backwardness of the French government in paying his pension. He made various attempts to return to Holland, which were discouraged by his friends, as the sentence against him was still in force; but towards the latter end of the year 1631, finding his abode in France intolerable, he determined at all hazards to revisit his native country. He soon found, however, that he had taken an unwise step: the States-General issued an order for his arrest, and after in vain endeavouring to appease his enemies, he quitted Holland in March 1632, intending to take up his abode at Hamburgh, which place he did not, however, reach before the end of the year.
There is reason to believe that Gustavus Adolphus, the King of Sweden, was about to take the Dutch jurist into his employment, when he was killed at the battle of Lutzen, in November, 1632. Two years afterwards, however, Oxenstiern, who conducted the government of Sweden, appointed Grotius resident ambassador to the infant Queen at the court of France; and he made his public entry into Paris in that character, March 2, 1635. He filled this arduous and responsible situation for ten years, to the entire satisfaction of the government which he represented. Towards the close of his service many circumstances concurred to render it far from agreeable. Disputes arose between him and other ambassadors upon questions of precedency, which were fomented and encouraged by the French government; and the irregular remittance of his salary from Sweden occasioned him frequent and vexatious embarrassment. At the end of the year 1642 he writes thus to his brother: “I am come to the age at which many wise men have voluntarily renounced places of honour. I love quiet, and would gladly devote the remainder of my life to the service of God and of posterity. If I had not some hope of contributing to a general peace, I should have retired before this time.” At length the appointment of an agent to the crown of Sweden at Paris, with whom Grotius foresaw that constant disagreements and broils would arise, determined him to solicit his recall. This request was granted; and the Queen of Sweden wrote to him with her own hand, expressing the greatest satisfaction at his services, and promising him some future employment more suitable to his age and inclinations. He left Paris in June 1645, and travelling through Holland, where he was courteously received by those who had previously treated him with every kind of indignity, arrived at Stockholm in the following month. The Queen seems to have entertained him honourably and kindly: both she and the members of her council praised his past services, and gave him abundant promises for the future; and in a letter to his brother, dated July 18, 1645 (the last of his letters which is known to be extant), he speaks with gratification of the honourable notice which he had received. He appears, however, to have taken an insuperable dislike to Sweden, and to have resolved at once not to spend the remainder of his days in that country. The Queen pressed him repeatedly to remain, and assured him that if he would continue in Sweden, and form part of her council, she would amply provide for him. He pleaded the decline of his health, that the climate was injurious to his constitution, and that his wife was unable to live in Sweden; and adhered to his determination. The Queen hesitated to grant him a passport; upon which he left Stockholm without one, and was overtaken and brought back by a messenger. At length the Queen, seeing that his resolution was not to be overcome, permitted him to depart, dismissing him with a considerable present in money and plate.
A vessel had been provided to transport him from Lubeck to Hamburgh, in which he embarked on the 12th of August. He had scarcely put to sea, when a violent storm arose and drove the vessel into a port near Dantzic. From this place he set out in an open carriage, in the most inclement weather, intending to return to Lubeck, and arrived at Rostock on his way thither, August 28. He there complained of extreme illness, and desired a physician to be sent for, who soon discovered that his end was approaching. A clergyman, named Quistorpius, also attended him, and has given an interesting account of his last moments. Grotius died in the night of the 28th of August, 1645. His body was carried to Delft, and laid in the tomb of his ancestors. In modern times a handsome monument has been erected to his memory.
The reader who may wish for fuller information respecting the biography of Grotius may consult with much advantage ‘La Vie de Grotius,’ par M. de Burigny, which was published at Paris in 1752, and translated into English two years afterwards. Mr. Butler, the author of the ‘Memoirs of the English Catholics,’ published a life of Grotius in 1826; but it is neither so copious nor so accurate as the work of M. de Burigny.
END OF VOL. IV.
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