Chapter XI: Part 11

It is not for such minds as that of Grotius that “stone walls can make a prison.” During nearly two years of close imprisonment, with no society but that of his wife, who constantly attended him, he employed himself in digesting and applying those stores of learning which he had previously acquired, and study became at once his business and his consolation. “The Muses,” says he, in a letter to Vossius during his confinement, “are a great alleviation of my misfortune. You know that when I was most oppressed by business, they furnished my most delightful recreation; how much more valuable are they to me now, when they constitute the only enjoyment which cannot be taken from me!” During his captivity he occupied much of his time in legal studies, of which other pursuits had for some years caused an intermission, and also in arranging and completing his improvements and additions to Stobæus, which were afterwards published; but his favourite employment appears to have been theology, and especially a laborious and critical examination of the Sermon on the Mount. He also at this time wrote a treatise in the Dutch language on the Truth of the Christian Religion, which a few years afterwards, while at Paris, he enlarged and translated into Latin. In its improved state it became more generally known and popular than any of his works, having been translated, during the seventeenth century, into the English, French, Flemish, German, Persian, Arabic, and Greek languages. This treatise was well worthy of the great attention which it excited: in point of force of argument and clearness of arrangement it will not suffer on a comparison with the works of Paley and other popular modern writers on the same subject; and in temper and candour it is superior to most of them. Grotius says, in the introduction, that he originally wrote it to furnish an occupation to his countrymen during the unemployed leisure of long voyages on commercial adventures; and in the hope that, by thus instructing them in the most intelligible and convincing arguments in favour of Christianity, they might become the means of diffusing its advantages among distant nations. In the first book, he maintains the existence, attributes, and providence of a Supreme Being; in the second, he enumerates the particular arguments in favour of the divine origin of the Christian religion; in which part of the subject his illustration of the internal evidence derived from the superior dignity and excellence of the moral precepts of Christianity is peculiarly admirable. The third division of the treatise contains a critical defence of the authenticity of the books of the New Testament; and the three remaining parts are devoted to a refutation of Paganism, Judaism, and Mahometanism. The perspicuity of the style, and the spirit of candour which pervades the whole treatise, well adapted it to the purpose for which it was intended; and though many modern authors have followed in the same course of reasoning, it may still be read with advantage as an excellent epitome of the arguments for the truth of Christianity.

In the early part of 1621, after nearly two years had been passed by Grotius at Louvestein, the fertile invention of his wife devised the means of his escape. It was his practice to return the books, which he borrowed from his friends, in a large chest, in which his wife sent linen from the castle to be washed at Gorcum. During the first year of his imprisonment the guards invariably examined this chest before it left the castle, but as they continually found nothing but books and dirty linen, they gradually relaxed in their search, until at last it was wholly omitted. Grotius’s wife resolved to turn their negligence to her husband’s advantage. The chest was large enough to contain a man, and she prevailed upon him to try whether he could bear to be shut up for so long a time as would be necessary to convey the chest across the water to Gorcum. The experiment proved the scheme to be practicable, and the first favourable opportunity was seized for carrying it into execution. On the 22nd of March, during the absence of the governor from the castle, Grotius was placed in the chest, and holes having been bored in it by his wife in order to admit air, it was carried down from the castle by two soldiers on a ladder. One of the soldiers, suspecting something from the weight, insisted upon taking it to the governor’s house to be opened; but the governor’s wife, who was probably in the secret, told him she was well assured that the chest contained nothing but books, and ordered him to carry it to the boat. In this manner Grotius crossed the water and arrived safely at a friend’s house in Gorcum. He then passed through the streets in the disguise of a mason, and stepped into a boat which took him to Valvic in Brabant, from whence he afterwards escaped to Antwerp. Upon the first discovery of the trick which had been practised upon him by the wife of Grotius, the governor of Louvestein confined her rigorously; but she was discharged upon presenting a petition to the States-General.

By the advice of various powerful friends in France, Grotius determined to make Paris his city of refuge. He was well received in the French metropolis, both by learned men and politicians, and in the beginning of the following year was presented to the King, who bestowed upon him a pension of 3000 livres. In the year 1622 he published his ‘Apology,’ in which he vindicates his conduct from the particular charges which had formed the subject of the proceedings against him, and argues against the legality of his sentence and the competency of the tribunal by which he was tried. His work excited much attention throughout Europe, and greatly irritated the States-General, who published so violent an edict against it, that the friends of Grotius entertained fears for his personal safety. In order, therefore, to place himself more fully under the protection of the French government, he obtained letters of naturalization from Louis XIII.

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.

LONDON:
Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES,
Duke-street, Lambeth.

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. Corrected the pagination error mentioned in footnote 1 as well as incorrect page number references in the Contents. 2. Did not change “Lionardo da Vinci” used consistently used throughout the book with exception of picture caption. 3. Silently corrected typographical errors. 4. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. 5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. 6. Superscripts are denoted by a carat before a single superscript character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in curly braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}.