The Life of the Truly Eminent and Learned Hugo Grotius Part 9

[131] Ep. 164.

[132]

Gallia, Scaligerum dederas male sana Batavis: Grotiadem reddit terra Batava tibi.

Ingratam expertus patriam venerandus uterque est: Felix mutato erit uterque solo.

Ep. Grot. 401. p. 868.

Gallia magnanimis dedit exorata Batavis Dis geniti aeternum Scaligeri ingenium: Fallor an humanis male dura Batavia Gallis Scaligerum magno reddidit in Grotio.

Buchner. Vind. Grot. p. 237.

II. The Constable De Luynes had the management of public affairs when Grotius came to France; Silleri was Chancellor, and Du Vair keeper of the Seals. This last had a particular esteem for Grotius, and employed all his credit to engage the King to make him a present till he should a.s.sign him a pension: He writes him a Letter, a.s.suring him that he might depend on his friendship, which deserves to be copied entire.

"Sir, Ingenuous and generous minds, such as yours, think themselves obliged by small favours. I have always, that is, ever since I heard of you, admired your excellent disposition and uncommon learning; and have since lamented your misfortune in suffering for your too great love to the liberties of your Country, and the favour you shewed to those who were beginning to bring back the truth to it: I have done all that my situation and my master's service would permit to alleviate your misfortunes, and procure your deliverance. It has pleased G.o.d you should owe it entirely to him, and not to the interposition of earthly powers, that being freed from worldly cares, you might employ the many rare talents, with which he has intrusted you, in advancing the work most agreeable to him, which is the common peace of Christendom, by reuniting the members which are separated from their spiritual mother, by whom they or their fathers were conceived. And forasmuch as I see so many honourable men hope for it from you, I cannot but rejoice with them, and encourage by my applauses your happy career. I promise myself, the King, whose liberality for the present only supplies your necessities, will then reward your virtues and merit; and give them honourable employment in the affairs of state, in the management whereof you have acquired great knowledge and dexterity. I shall never be the last to promote what may be agreeable to you, and shall always highly value, as I now do, the friendship of such an extraordinary personage; offering all you can desire of him who is, Sir, yours most affectionately to serve you. G. Du Vair, Bishop of Lisieux. Camp at St. John d'Angeli, June 13, 1621."

Grotius answers this obliging Letter on the 24th of June following[133].

He owns he was always a lover of Learning; but modestly acknowledges that his friends, by engaging him too early in the study of the law and public business, r.e.t.a.r.ded the progress which he might otherwise have made. He hopes, with G.o.d's grace, that no worldly motives shall induce him to act or speak against his conscience; and that if he has the misfortune to be deceived, G.o.d will graciously enlighten him, or pardon him for his good intention: and prays for the return of peace among Christians, without prejudice to truth. "Some thousands, says he, of whom I am one, most sincerely wish for such a desirable event; in the mean time, if I can be of any use, you may command me. Though indeed the more I consider myself, the more I see I have no merit but that of good desires; but I will shew you by my obedience, that I have at least inclination."

Du Vair died at Tonneins, August 3, 1621, six weeks after receiving Grotius's Letter. This was a great loss to him: but it would have been advantageously repaired, had the Seals, agreeable to the wishes of the Public, been given to the President Jeannin, the most esteemed Magistrate in the kingdom for his excellent talents and virtue. He had the highest friendship for Grotius, who ardently wished that great man might receive the reward of the signal services he had done the State: "But, he writes to Du Maurier[134], those who know the court, dare not flatter themselves with so much good luck." While the seals were vacant the Constable De Luynes did the office of keeper: they were at length given, not to the President Jeannin, but to De Vic, who had on all occasions given Grotius proofs of his friendship. He made profession of an esteem for men of learning; Casaubon held him in great veneration, and Grotius flattered himself that he would be his friend. "His behaviour to Casaubon, says Grotius to Du Maurier[135], proves his love to learning; and before he left Paris he gave me some evident marks of his good-will."

It had been determined in the King's Council to do something for Grotius; but it was long before this resolution had its effect. Du Maurier had written to all his friends warmly to solicit the issuing of the warrant for the sum granted him: it was sent at length, but there was no money in the treasury. The King was absent, and when he returned to Paris, the thing, it was said, would be done. The Prince of Conde openly interested himself for him. What made Grotius uneasy was, that on the promises made him he had hired a house. His wife came to Paris in October, 1621[136], and their expences so much exceeded the small revenue which he had still left, that he wrote to Du Maurier, December 3, 1621, that if something were not done for him soon, he must seek a settlement in Germany, or hide himself in some corner of France. He asks a recommendation to the Chancellor De Silleri: "and as he is somewhat slow, it would be proper (says he) to refresh the Marquis de Puysieux's memory." The King returned to Paris January 30, 1622. Grotius was presented to him by the Chancellor and the Keeper of the seals in the beginning of March[137]: the Court was very numerous. His Majesty received him most graciously, and granted him a pension of three thousand livres. He was much obliged to the Prince of Conde and the Keeper of the Seals on this occasion. The King did not only confer marks of his favour on Grotius; but on his account protected all who were persecuted by the States; and by his Letters Patent, dated at Nantes, April 22, 1627, takes such as were condemned in Holland under his protection as if they were his own subjects; willing, that in case of death, their children and heirs should succeed, and that their effects should not be liable to be escheated.

De Vic dying on the second of September, 1622, his death filled Grotius and the Dutch Refugees in France with the greater concern, as the seals were given to Caumartin, a professed enemy of the Protestants. As soon as Grotius thought himself settled, he looked out for a better house, intending to go the length of five hundred livres a year; but Tilenus took half of it: its situation was in the Rue de Conde, opposite to the Prince's hotel: He probably made choice of that quarter, to be more at hand to pay his court to the Prince, with whom he had been in friendship above twenty years, and who had on all occasions given him marks of his esteem and protection. Tilenus's wife was very desirous of a coach; Grotius thought one equipage would serve both; but he was against setting it up immediately, in order to avoid an expence which perhaps he could not support. What farther restrained him was, that though the King had granted him a pension with the best grace that could be, and Marshal Schomberg, superintendant of the Finances[138], had ordered it to be paid quarterly, and one payment to be advanced on demand, he could not however come at the money. They had forgot to put it on the Civil List[139], and the Commissioners of the Treasury found daily some new excuse for delaying the payment. He imagined[140] those who raised the difficulty hoped by that means to make him turn Roman Catholic. A report that he was not far from changing his religion had reached Holland[141].

It gave Vossius some uneasiness, and he wrote to him, acquainting him of this report, and begging that he would do nothing to give it countenance. Grotius removed his fears, a.s.suring him he might make himself easy; for he might have avoided, he says, the grievous sentence pa.s.sed upon him, and since his sentence would not have remained so long in captivity, and might also hope for greater honours than his country could bestow, if he would change sides. It is more probable that, the bad state of the finances of the kingdom, or the greediness of the Commissioners, were the only obstructions to his payment. He had at length reason to be satisfied: by the solicitations of powerful friends, who interested themselves for him, he received his pension; and it was paid as grants were paid at that time, that is to say, very slowly, till Cardinal Richelieu, who bore him ill-will, gave private orders to prevent his enjoying the benefit of the King's favour: which obliged Grotius to leave France, as we shall see in the sequel.

He sustained a heavy loss in April by the death of the President Jeannin. This worthy Magistrate had so much acquired the esteem of the Dutch by the great services he did them when the truce was concluded with Spain in 1619, that all good men in Holland would have his picture.

Grotius received from him testimonies of the greatest friendship, and regretted him most sincerely.

In a Letter to his brother William Grotius, dated April 23, 1623, "Whilst I am now writing this, says he, I receive the melancholy news of the President Jeannin's death: it is a great loss to good men, to the King's business, and to me in particular."

FOOTNOTES:

[133] Ep. 150.

[134] Ep. 156.

[135] Ep. 171.

[136] Ep. 165.

[137] Ep. 29. p. 763.

[138] Ep. 175 p. 65.

[139] Ep. 32. p. 764.

[140] Ep. 37. p. 765.

[141] Ep. 158. p. 60.

III. The pains which he was obliged to take, and the trouble he underwent at the beginning of his new settlement at Paris, did not diminish his pa.s.sion for literature. April 23, 1621, he informs Vossius that the irksomeness of his solitary manner of life was relieved by his daily conversations with men of the greatest abilities. He writes to Andrew Schot from Paris, July 8, 1621, that, delivered from public business which never leaves the mind at ease, and from that croud whose conversation is contagious, he spent the greatest part of his time in prayer, reading the Scriptures, and the ancient interpreters.

He enters into a detail of his studies in a letter to Vossius, September 29, 1621, "I persist, says he, in my respect for sacred antiquity: there are many people here of the same taste. My six books in Dutch will appear soon (this was his treatise on the Truth of the Christian Religion, in Dutch verse) perhaps I shall also publish the Disquisition On Pelagianism, with the precautions hinted to me by you and some other learned men. In the mean time, I am preparing an edition of Stobaeus; and to render it more perfect I collate the Greek Ma.n.u.scripts with the printed copies." He sometimes attended the courts of Justice to hear the Advocates plead, that he might judge of their talents and eloquence. To be applauded for eloquence at that time, says the Abbe D'Olivet, an Advocate was to say almost nothing of his cause; make continual allusions to the least-known pa.s.sages of antiquity, and have the art of throwing a new kind of obscurity upon them, by, making his speech consist of a string of metaphors. This fault shocked Grotius much. He gives an account to his brother of the impression made upon him by the studied harangues which were delivered at Martinmas term 1622, by M.

Servin and the First President: they were wholly taken from Greek and Latin authors. "Such, says Grotius, is the eloquence in fashion: it is much disliked by men of sound judgment." The celebrated Patru first attempted, and accomplished the reformation of this bad taste.

Grotius's ardour for study did not prevent his employing a part of his time in reading the Scriptures and books of Theology. The Ministers of Charenton persisting in their refusal to receive him into their communion unless he would renounce his opinions, he resolved to have prayers read at home to his family.

IV. Notwithstanding the inveterate enmity of the Dutch, which pursued him even to the French court, Grotius still preserved a sincere love to his Country. He wrote to his father and brother-in-law that he was continually soliciting all his friends in its favour; that no injuries should ever make him cease to love it; and that he stifled every thought of revenge as utterly repugnant to the precepts of the Gospel.

He did not however think this disposition ought to hinder him from labouring to manifest to the world the innocency of his conduct, and that of those who were condemned with him.

He had even collected when in prison some materials for his apology: the President Jeannin advised him to finish it while the facts were fresh in his memory, and he might print it at a favourable opportunity.

Grotius followed this advice, and his Apology in Dutch was finished in the beginning of the year 1622. If it had appeared only in that language it could not have been read out of Holland; but as he intended that wherever he was known, that is to say, throughout all Europe, every one might be enabled to judge of the regularity of his conduct, he translated it into Latin: He was also desirous of having it done into French, that it might be printed at the same time in the three languages: but he could not find a French translator. He expected that a work, which set in the clearest light the injustices and prevarications of men in place, would increase their hatred to him: but this consideration did not restrain him from publishing it, because he was persuaded the laws of G.o.d and of nature allowed every man unjustly accused to justify himself.

His Apology was soon translated into Latin, for it was published at Paris in the year 1622. In the dedication to the people of Holland and West Friesland the Author explains his reasons for so long delaying his vindication. During his nine months confinement at the Hague he could do nothing in it; when removed to Louvestein he wanted several necessary pieces; since his happy escape he was much busied; besides it required time to range the several parts of his defence in proper order. The work is divided into twenty Chapters: in the first he shews that each of the United Provinces is sovereign and independent of the States-General, whose authority is confined to the defence of the Provinces: in the second, that each Province is possessed of the Sovereignty in matters ecclesiastical, and that this sovereignty resides in the particular States of the Province: in the third and fourth, that the different opinions about Predestination ought to be tolerated: in the fifth, that the convocation of a Synod in the situation of affairs at that time must have been attended with great danger; that the a.s.sembling of the Synod of Dort was illegal, since it was done without consent of the Province of Holland: in the sixth, he sets forth the measures taken by the States of Holland to restore tranquillity; in the seventh, the reasonableness of the regulation of 1591 relating to the share which the Magistrates ought to have in the nomination of the Ministers of the Gospel; in the eighth, that the approbation of the majority ought to be looked upon as a decision: the excesses of the Contra-Remonstrants are particularised in the ninth: the tenth and eleventh justify the province of Holland in relation to the raising a new militia, which were called Attendants.

The informality of his arrest is displayed in the thirteenth Chapter; Grotius there shews that he and the others arrested at the same time had only executed the orders of their Superiors and Sovereigns; that those who arrested him had no power to do it; that the States-General had no authority over the subjects of the Provinces; that they were a party in the dispute; that the persons arrested were members of the States of Holland, and were arrested in the Province of Holland, where the States-General had no jurisdiction. The fourteenth Chapter exposes the want of formality in the proceedings from the time of their arrest to the nomination of their judges. The fifteenth Chapter points out the want of formality in the nomination of the judges: and proves the extravagancy of making it a crime in them to maintain the rights of the States their Sovereigns, agreeable to the express orders they received.

The sixteenth Chapter explains the informality committed after the Judges were nominated. The seventeenth displays the irregularity of the sentence pa.s.sed upon them. The eighteenth gives a detail of the wrongs done to them after the Sentence. The nineteenth Chapter contains several remarks all tending to shew the irregularity of the sentence. The Author concludes this work, with a Prayer, imploring the Divine Goodness to pardon his enemies, and protect his Country. He farther prays that the Prince of Orange may merit the love of the People over whom he is governor; and that G.o.d may give himself grace to support with patience the persecution he suffers, that it may be meritorious to him in the other world.

The Apology was sent to Holland as soon as published: it incensed the States-General the more, as they could not give a reasonable answer to it. The approbation it met with throughout Europe would not suffer them to remain silent; this would have confirmed all the disagreeable truths which the necessity of a just defence obliged Grotius to advance: thus dest.i.tute of any good arguments, they had recourse to authority, and made themselves judges in their own cause. They proscribed the Apology, and condemned it as slanderous, and tending to asperse by falshoods the sovereign authority of the government of the Provinces, the person of the Prince of Orange, the States of the particular Provinces, and the towns themselves; and therefore forbad all persons to have it in their custody on pain of death. The _Mercure Francois_ mentions this in the following terms. "The Apology is prohibited; and all persons of what quality soever are forbid to have it in their possession on pain of death; thus making Grotius as it were a prey to any person who shall apprehend him."

These menaces gave him uneasiness: he consulted the French Ministry, his friends and protectors, how to behave in this situation, and what was to be done to prevent the consequence which might result from the proscription: he had several conferences on this subject with the Chancellor de Silleri and the President Jeannin. The Chancellor, who was naturally irresolute, contented himself with blaming the rigour of the edict, and making general offers of service. The President Jeannin was of opinion he should write a letter to a friend, shewing the injustice of the proscription: others advised him to despise these vain threats, and publish a new edition of the _Apology_ in which he might put the Authors of the Edict to confusion: some were of opinion he ought to complain to the States-General themselves; but others represented there would be danger in having recourse to this last expedient, as he might seem by it to acknowledge their authority. Against writing to the particular States of the Provinces there was one great objection, namely, the certainty of drawing upon himself a new proscription, because the power was in the hands of his greatest enemies. Those who wished to see him pa.s.s the rest of his days in France thought he should get himself naturalized a Frenchman, because the King by that would necessarily become his protector: they farther represented that this formality would qualify him to hold a place in France.

What kept him in suspense was to know whether he should put himself under the protection of the parliament, or ask a safe-conduct from the king. In the beginning of the year 1623[142] he seemed resolved to present a pet.i.tion to the Parliament, and afterwards write to the States-General. He was in doubt whether to write to the Prince of Orange; at length he took the most proper step, which was to apply to the King. He presented a pet.i.tion to his Majesty to be protected against the above-mentioned Edict, "which imported that he should be apprehended wherever found;" these are the terms of the _Mercure Francois_; "and his Majesty took him into his special protection, the letters for that purpose being issued at Paris, Feb. 26, 1623."

Although the greatest part of the Roman Catholics would have found nothing amiss in his _Apology_, yet many of them in the Low Countries were scandalized that he had not spoken of religion as they would have spoken: and it was condemned at Antwerp as dangerous to be read[143].

This work was never answered. Some years after its publication[144] a report being spread that a private person had written against the Apology without being employed by the States-General, Grotius desired his brother to enquire into it. It is probable this news was without foundation: at least we know nothing of that work. The malevolence of those who were then in place made no change in Grotius's affection to his country: in the height of the new persecution he wrote to his brother that he would still labour to promote the interest of Holland; and that if the United Provinces were desirous of entering into a closer union with France, he would a.s.sist them with all his credit: for the public interest was not to be sacrificed to the resentment of injuries received from a few[145].

FOOTNOTES:

[142] Ep. 46, p. 768.

[143] Ep. 102. p. 784.

[144] Dec. 20, 1630.

[145] Ep. 50. p. 759, 769.

V. Though the Prince of Orange had taken care to leave none in place but such as were entirely devoted to him, and consequently declared enemies of the Remonstrants, Grotius still preserved many faithful friends who ardently desired his return. He had scarce been a month at Paris when they wrote to him that there were some hopes of his being recalled: but he rightly judged that they were without foundation. He even writes to his brother-in-law, Reigersberg, that he looked on that rumour as an artifice of his enemies, who sought by it to engage him to silence, which they intended to take advantage of to propagate their calumnies.

He was not duped by it, since, as we have just mentioned, it did not hinder him from writing his Defence, and publishing it to the world.

Among those who preserved a friendship for him, there was one whom it would seem he had no reason to count upon: this was Prince Frederic Henry of Na.s.sau, brother to the Prince of Orange, and who after the death of Maurice was himself Stadtholder. They maintained a correspondence by letters even at the time when the people of Holland were most exasperated against Grotius; and by a Letter from that Prince, which is still remaining, we may judge that Grotius did him good service at Paris; and that Frederic Henry was greatly disposed to serve him.

This Letter deserves to be copied entire: it is dated August 4, 1622.