GROTIUS, Hugo. De iure belli ac pacis libri tres, cum annotationibus selectis Ioann. Frid. Gronovii, & auctoribus Ioannes Barbeyracii. Accedit H. Grotii dissertation de mari libero; et libellus singularis de aequitate, indulgentia, & facilitate. Edidit atqua praefatus est Meinardy Tydeman. Utrecht: Jan Schonhooven. 1773.
Large 8vo. Contemporary Dutch vellum over boards, covers with civic arms of Gorinchem to centres and borders roll-tooled in gilt, gilt floral corner-pieces, flat spine gilt in compartments with gilt ornaments and title in ink, edges sprayed in red and green, wanting silk ties; pp. xlii, [3], xxxvii, 1043, 43, [33], engraved portrait and additional engraved title page by Willem de Broen (c. 1686-1748), occasional Greek printing, woodcut ornament to title, woodcut initials; binding with light wear to upper corners, minimally rubbed, front free endpaper neatly excised; apart from very occasional light spotting to text, a very clean and attractively bound copy.
An elegant edition, bound in a charming Dutch school prize armorial binding.
First published in 1625, Grotius's De jure belli ac pacis (On the Law of War and Peace) is a milestone in the history of international and conflict law ("the foundation of modern international law" [PMM 125]). "In this work, Grotius lays out his doctrine of natural law as the basis for the justifiable war. For a long period, De jure belli ac pacis was granted such high significance that its author was regarded as the 'father of international law'. The work aroused much interest at the very beginning of the period between the two World Wars because the conviction gained ground that Grotius's body of thought could provide an answer to the question of how to clear away the violence of war and cultivate a lasting peace" (Grotius Collection, Peace Palace Library, Carnegie Foundation, online).
The present edition combines De jure belli with Grotius's shorter Mare Liberum (The Freedom of the Seas) of 1609. "It is generally accepted today that this treatise penned by Grotius forms one of the most important cornerstones in the origin of the moral Law of Nations" (ibid.).
Ter Meulen & Diermanse, 611.
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