SIGNED BY THE PUBLISHER (no copies will be recognized as genuine unless the publisher has personally signed it), introduction to Dutch Law by Hugo de Groot (aka Hugo Grotius) , 1767, original, Dutch language text, quarter leather binding to boards, 777 pages excluding the register, tight binding, some wear to spine & boards, internally very good, overall condition: good to very good.
Grotius was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, statesman, poet and playwright. A teenage prodigy, he was born in Delft and studied at Leiden University. Grotius was a major figure in the fields of philosophy, political theory and law during the 16th and 17th centuries. Along with the works of Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili, his writings laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law. Two of his books have had a lasting impact in the field of international law: De jure belli ac pacis (On the Law of War and Peace) and the Mare Liberum (The Free Seas) for which Grotius has been called the "father of international law"
Grotius has also contributed significantly to the evolution of the notion of rights. Before him, rights were above all perceived as attached to objects; after him, they are seen as belonging to persons, as the expression of an ability to act or as a means of realizing something. "The idea of international society which Grotius propounded was given concrete expression in the Peace of Westphalia, and Grotius may be considered the intellectual father of this first general peace settlement of modern times." "The idea of international society which Grotius propounded was given concrete expression in the Peace of Westphalia, and Grotius may be considered the intellectual father of this first general peace settlement of modern times."Grotius' concept of natural law had a strong impact on the philosophical and theological debates and political developments of the 17th and 18th centuries. Among those he influenced were Samuel Pufendorf and John Locke, and by way of these philosophers his thinking became part of the cultural background of the Glorious Revolution in England and the American Revolution. In Grotius' understanding, nature was not an entity in itself, but God's creation. Therefore, his concept of natural law had a theological foundation. The Old Testament contained moral precepts (e.g. the Decalogue), which Christ confirmed and therefore were still valid. They were useful in interpreting the content of natural law.
