Work · Renaissance & Humanism
On the Law of War and Peace
Three books on the law between peoples: natural law, grounded in human sociability, would hold even if there were no God; war may be waged only for a just cause, and even then must observe limits of law and moderation.
Introduction
Grotius wrote “De iure belli ac pacis” in exile in Paris and published it there in 1625, dedicated to Louis XIII. The first book asks whether war can be just and grounds law in natural law, which follows from human sociability and would hold even if there were no God; the second sets out the just causes of war, from defence to punishment, together with a theory of property, contracts and rights; the third treats what is permitted in war and urges moderation. The work drew on Roman law, the Spanish scholastics, the Bible and the ancient authors. It became the foundational text of the modern law of nations and was read by Hobbes, Pufendorf, Locke and the jurists of the Enlightenment.
Connections
Builds on
- On the Law of War1539 · Francisco de Vitoria
- The Free Sea1609 · Hugo Grotius
More works by Hugo Grotius
- 1609The Free Sea
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