It would be tedious to give a catalogue of the works which arc known to have proceeded from his pen, most of which were published during the life of the author, as they amount to seventy-four or seventy-five. As his writings, however, exercised a powerful influence, not only over his contemporaries, but have continued, and still continue, to influence the policy of nations, and the opinions of scholars and philosophers throughout the civilized world, we shall mention the names of some of the most remarkable, and add a few occasional reflections on their value. Considering him, then, as an author, we may, for the sake of arrangement, notice some of those compositions which exhibit him respectively as a scholar and poet, a patriot, a philosopher, a philanthropist, and a theologian. It is to be premised, that his works were generally written in the Latin language, which in his time, and for ages after, formed the chief medium of communication among the learned of all the countries of Europe.
In viewing Grotius as a scholar and a poet, we may mention the Following works : 1. Poemata nonnulla, seu Character's Pontificia Romani, &c. 4to, 1599.
2. Marciani, M. F. Capella Satyricon, seu de Nuptiis Philologix et ilfercurii, libri duo emendati et notis 8vo, 1600. This learned publication, from so young an author as Grotius, was among the first things that brought him into notice, and gave a most auspicious promise of his future greatness.
3. Mirabilium anni 1600, cue Belga& spectant, &c. ; a poem in 4to.
4. Adanzus Exul, tragmdia, 8vo, 1601. This work was printed when the author was only eighteen, and about seven years before the birth of Milton. Whether or not this tragedy may have suggested the idea of Paradise Lost, or how far he, Milton, may have availed himself of it, we have not at present the means of ascertaining. But the choice of this subject by two such eminent contem poraries, is an interesting coincidence in the history of literature.
5. Christus patiens, tragxdia, 8vo, 1608. This tragedy was translated into English by George Sandys, with notes, in 1640. A German writer used it as a model for the illustration of the rules of tragedy ; and Curpzovius, Pro fessor of Poetry at Wittemberg, made it the theme of some of his lectures.
6. Commendatio dInnuli, (a poem) 4to, 1609. 7. Lucani Pharsalia, cum notis, 4to, 1614. 8. Exerpta ex Tragadlis et Comediis Greeds, &c.
In the biographical sketch, we have had occasion to mention the ardent love of country which characterized Grotius, amidst all the sufferings and varieties of his life ; and we noticed two of his works relating to his native land, the one of a other of a commercial nature. The title of the latter orthese, and of the answer to it, are curious, and particularly when we consider them in con nection with the political events and speculations which have marked the close of the eighteenth, and the opening of the nineteenth century, both on this and the other side of the Atlantic. It is called Mare Liberum, seu de jure quod Batavia competit, aut Indica comnzercia, 8vo, 1609. It was at first printed anonymously, was then translated into Dutch, and passed through many editions. After the Lapse of some years it was answered by John Seldon, in a composition entitled Mare clausum, seu de dominio marls, Loud. 1635. To this attack, Grotius, in so far as we have been able to discover, made no reply. Grotius published in 4to, A. D. 1610, his work De ?ntiquitate Reipublicx Batavie. Also, a Discourse pronounced in the Senate of Amsterdam, upon the views of the States of Holland re specting the Reformed Religion. In the Dutch language, 4to, 1616.
But it behoves us now to speak of the great work upon which the fame of Grotius chiefly rests, which exhibits hint as a citizen of the world, and which forms the begin ning of a great era in the history of political philosophy.
The work to which we allude was written in France, at the instigation of his friend Peireskius, and printed at Paris, in 4to, in 1625, entitled De Jure Belli et Pads. The President Jean Jacques de Mesmes gave him the use of his country house Balagni, that he might have leisure and retirement for the composition of this work. The author dedicated it to Louis XIII. and lie quickly attained by it a splendid height of popularity and fame. It was revised and improved by Grotius, and translated into many lan guages. Under this title he has attempted to give a com plete system of nataral law, and to evolve from the mass of precedents and particular statutes, which constituted the chief study of the lawyers of his time, many of those general maxims which should enter into the principles of legislation, and regulate inter-national transactions, as well as to point out their foundation and sanctions in the nature of man, and in the constitution of human society. His work partakes, in some respects, of the prejudices of the age in which it was written, and, particularly, of an ove• strained reverence for the institutions of the Roman law. It is also overloaded with quotations and authorities from classical writers, from the Mosaic law, from other part's of scripture, and from various writers sacred and profane, by which the mind of the reader is often perplexed rather than enlightened ; and the diffuseness of the notes forms a curious contrast to the brevity and obscurity of the text. Puffendorff, for whom a professorship was formed at Hei delberg, for the express purpose of extending the know ledge of the doctrines of Grotius, is deemed the most eminent of his disciples and commentators. These doc trines have been since taught almost to our own day, in the most celebrated universities of Europe, and, in the opinion of respectable judges, form the foundation of the ethical and political philosophy of the present times. Bayle has justly remarked, that Grotius must be deemed par ticularly fortunate as an author ; and that, fifty years after his death, this work obtained for him an honour, which was not bestowed upon the ancients till after many ages, namely, that he appeared in it cum commentariis variorum.
We have space only farther to mention, that, besides se veral treatises connected with religion and the controver sies of the day, Grotius distinguished himself by a popu lar and a philosophical work in defence of Christianity. The first of these was entitled, Proofs of the True Reli gion. It was written in Dutch verse, with the benevolent designs of furnishing innocent and useful employment to the minds of his sea-faring• countrymen in long and tedi ous voyages; and of enabling them to maintain their sted fastness in their own faith, and, as opportunities might occur, to explain and recommend it to the foreigners with whom they might have intercourse. The other work to which we have alluded, is the celebrated treatise De Veritate Re Christiane, which was published at Paris in 1639, and dedicated to his friend Bignonius. The plan of this work is comprehensive, the style frequently obscure, and the notes unnecessarily copious and minute. Yet, as it was among the first works of the kind which were pub lished, and as it contained much new and excellent a•gu meat and illustration, it has been translated into all the European languages, referred to in most works on the same subject, and preserves its estimation as a standard work on theology at the present day. (/.)