Customer Reviews

The Rights of War and Peace, Book 1 (Natural Law and Enlightenment Classics)

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Hugo Grotius was a brilliant man and tireless scholar of the Dutch Enlightenment. In these three volumes (very nicely translated and attractively priced) he does nothing less than discuss the history of war up to his times, but not just as history: he seeks to define the difference between just and unjust wars, the use of pretexts for war, the purposes of embassies, treaties, and alliances, and the ethics of waging war. He admits early that civilized nations can behave like common thieves, but makes the best case he can for suppressing savagery.
Most admirable is his thorough research: he explores the major authors of antiquity, Jewish tradition, and the Christian Church, quoting from them often and to the point. Some of his opinions are as shocking as anything in Machiavelli, but they are always supported by historical evidence. It is not important that he be always right: it is important that he tried to be, with untiring skill and diligence.

Hugo Grotius's book is of timeless value, but I strongly disagree with the preceding review regarding the quality of the translation. At least certain passages of this translation are very misleading. For more details see my review on amazon.co.uk.