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]