The Life of Hugo Grotius Part 24

Gibbon's Posthumous Works, 8vo. vol. i. p. 520.--"Salmasius," says Mr.

Gibbon in another part of the same entertaining publication, (vol. v. p.

209), "had read as much as Grotius; but their different modes of reading had made the one an enlighten'd philosopher; and the other, to speak plainly, a pedant puffed up with an useless erudition."]

[Footnote 014: Bentivoglio, Histoire des Guerres de Flandres, l, xxviii.]

[Footnote 015: _Bella plusquam civilia._ Lucan.]

[Footnote 016: Those who wish to obtain a clear, concise, and exact notion of Calvinism and Arminianism, will usefully peruse the account of them in Mr. Evans's "_Sketch of the Denominations of the Christian World_." The thirteenth Edition is now before us, and we believe that it has been often since reprinted.]

[Footnote 017: Mosheim's Ecc. Hist. Cent. xvi, ch. 2. -- 3. part 2.]

[Footnote 018: Chalmer's Biographical Dictionary, t.i.tle "Arminius."]

[Footnote 019: A short and clear account of Arminianism is given by Le Clere, in his Bibliotheque ancienne et moderne, Vol. II. Art. 3. p.

123.]

[Footnote 020: The best discussion of this subject, which has fallen into the hands of the writer, is Bourduloue's Sermon _sur la Predestination_.]

[Footnote 021: English Translation of Burigni's Life of Grotius, pp. 43, 44, 45.]

[Footnote 022: Vol. i.]

[Footnote 023: _Letters from and to Sir Dudley Carleton, during his Emba.s.sy in Holland, from January 1615-16[**Modern presentation.] to December 1620. London, 1757, p. 84_,--Sir Dudley Carleton's Letters abound with harsh expressions respecting Grotius. The Editor of this correspondence has inserted (p. 415) a letter from Grotius to Dr.

Lancelot Andrews, written from the Castle at Louvestein. "This letter,"

says the Editor, "which was never printed before, deserves a place here, not only for its elegance and spirit, and its connection with the subject of the work, but likewise in justice to the memory of the great writer, as it contains his own justification of his conduct, which may be compared with the less favourable accounts of it in the preceding letters of Sir Dudley Carleton. The original is extant among the ma.n.u.scripts in the library of the late Sir Hans Sloane, bart. now part of the British Museum."--"Utinam," says Grotius in this letter, "D.

Carleton mihi esset plus aequior; cui mitigando propinqui mei operam dant. Sed partium, studia mire homines obcaecant."]

[Footnote 024: The history of this Synod, and of the whole controversy upon Arminianism, is contained in Brand's _History of the Reformation_: the account of the synod in these pages, is princ.i.p.ally extracted from the French abridgment of that work, in 3 volumes 8vo. The Calvinian representation of the Arminian doctrines, and the proceedings of the synod, may be seen in the late Mr. Scott's _Articles of the Synod of Dort_, to which he has prefixed the History of the Events which _made way for that Synod_: it is severely censured by Mr. James Nichols, in his _Calvinism and Arminianism compared_. Introd. cxlii.

The Abridgment of Brand's History, was translated into the English language and published in 1724-25[**Modern presentation.] by _M. de la Roche_. He concludes his Preface to it by observing, that "No good man can read the work without abhorring arbitrary power, and all manner of persecution." The persecution of the Scottish Non-conformists by the Episcopalians, and the persecution of the Remonstrants by the Contra-Remonstrants, were attended with this enormity, that, in most other instances, when one denomination of christians has persecuted another, it has been on the ground that the errors of the sufferers were impious, and led the maintainers of them to eternal perdition, and therefore rendered these wholesome severities, as the persecutors term them, a salutary infliction. But, when the Protestant Episcopalian persecuted the Scottish Non-conformist, or the Contra-Remonstrant persecuted the Remonstrant, he persecuted a Christian who agreed with him in all which he himself deemed to be substantial articles of faith, and differed from him only about rites and opinions, which he himself allowed to be indifferent.--See Mr. Neale's just remark, Vol. II. ch.

vi.]

[Footnote 025: In 1765, Lord Hailes published a beautiful edition of "The Works of the Ever-memorable Mr. John Hales of Eaton, then first collected together," in three volumes, at Glasgow. It is to be lamented that he did not accompany it with a full biographical account of Mr.

Hales.

"His biographers," says Mr. Chalmers, "all allow that he may be cla.s.sed among those divines who were afterwards called Lat.i.tudinarians." May he not be termed the founder of that splendid school? Perceiving that the minds of men required to be more liberally enlightened, and their affections to be more powerfully engaged on the side of religion than was formerly thought necessary, they set themselves, to use the language of Bishop Burnet, "to raise those who conversed with them to another sort of thoughts, and to consider the Christian religion as a doctrine sent from G.o.d, both to elevate and to sweeten human nature. With this view, they laboured chiefly to take men from being in parties from narrow notions, and from fierceness about opinions. They also continued to keep a good correspondence with those who differed from them in opinion and allowed a great freedom both in philosophy and divinity."

(Burnet's History of his own Times. Vol. I. p. 261-268, oct. edit.) Hales, Chillingworth, Taylor, Cudworth, Wilkins, Tillotson, Stillingfleet, and Patrick, were among their brightest ornaments. They were in some respects hostile to the Roman Catholics: _in hoc non laudo_.--See the Writer's History of the English, Irish, and Scottish Catholics. Vol. III. c. lxviii. sect. 1. 3d edition.]

[Footnote 026: "King James," says Mr. James Nichols, in his Calvinism and Arminianism compared, p. 242, "sent a deputation of respectable British divines, for the double and undisguised purpose of condemning the Remonstrants, but especially Vorstius, (whom his Majesty had long before exposed to the world as an arch-heretic), and of a.s.sisting the Prince of Orange in his design of usurping the liberties of the United Provinces, and a.s.suming the supreme authority. The Elector Palatine sent his Heidelberg divines for the same family purpose; and the Duke of Bouillon employed all his influence with the chief pastors among the French reformed."]

[Footnote 027: The words of the former are remarkable: "The errors of public actions, if they be not very gross, are with less inconvenience tolerated than amended. For the danger of alteration, of disgracing and disabling authority, makes that the fortune of such proceeding admits of no redress; but being howsoever well or ill done, they must ever after be upheld. The most partial spectator of our synodal acts cannot but confess, that, in the late discussion of the Remonstrants, with so much choler and heat, there was a great oversight committed, and that,--whether we respect our common profession of Christianity, 'quae nil nisi justum suadet et lene,' or the quality of this people, apt to mutiny by reason of long liberty, and not having learned to be imperiously commanded,--in which argument the clergy should not have read their first lesson. The synod, therefore, to whom it is not now _in integro_ to go back and rectify what is amiss, without disparagement, must now go forward and leave events to G.o.d, and for the countenance of their actions do the best they may." Letter to Sir Dudley Carleton, 11 January 1619.]

[Footnote 028: _Nichol's Calvinism and Arminianism compared_, Vol. II.

p.592]

[Footnote 029: _Decline and Fall_, Ch. LIV. towards the end.]

[Footnote 030: The writers who have given an account of the Synod of Dort are mentioned by Fabricius, Bib. Graeca, Vol. XI. p. 723. Some useful observations upon the proceedings of the Synod may be found in "Mr. Nichols's _Calvinism and Arminianism compared_." It is much to be wished that the promised continuation of this work should speedily make its appearance.

But no work upon this famous Synod deserves more attention than "_Johannis Halesii, Historia Concilii Dordraceni, J. Laur. Moshemius Theol. Doct. et P.P.C. ex Anglico Sermone latine vert.i.t, variis observationibus et Vita Halesii ausit. Accessit ejusdem de auctoritate Concilii Dordraceni Paci Sacrae noxii, Consultatio. Hamburgi_, 8vo." M.

Le Clere's criticism on this work (_Bibliotheque ancienne et moderne_ Vol. 23, art. 4.) contains much valuable information upon the Synod, and a summary of the life and writings of Mr. Hales.--Des Maizeaux published a curious account of them in 1719.]

[Footnote 031: Pfaffii Hist. Literaria, vol. ii. p. 303.]

[Footnote 032: Burigni's Life of Grotius, lib. ii. sect. 12.]

[Footnote 033: Cent XVII, sect. 2, Part 2 (Note Y.)]

[Footnote 034: Mr. James Nicholls's Calvinism and Arminianism compared.

Vol. i. p. 597, 600, 634, 636.]

[Footnote 035: See Mr. Dugald Stewart's first Dissertation, sect. III.]

[Footnote 036: See Joannis Christopheri Locheri Dissertatio Epistolica Historiam libelli Grotiani _De Veritate Religionis Christianae_ complectens, 1725, in quarto; and the Journal de Scavans for the year 1724.]

[Footnote 037: See Nichols's Calvinism and Arminianism compared, vol. i.

p. 289.]

[Footnote 038: On the respect, which the Church of England considers to be due to the writings of the early Fathers, see the excellent Appendix to the Sermons of Dr. Jebb, the Right Reverend Bishop of Limerick.]

[Footnote 039: Vol. iii. L. 38. This letter merits a serious perusal.]

[Footnote 040: Dict. Historique, Preliminaire, p. xxix.]

[Footnote 041: Vol.1. p. 121]

[Footnote 042: Those, who will read his life, published by the writer of these pages, with other Tracts, in 1819, will not, it is believed, think this too strong an a.s.sertion. Is it not to be earnestly hoped, that in the distress by which we are now visited, and the greater distress with which we are threatened, many St. Vincents will appear?]

[Footnote 043: Mosheim's Ecc. Hist. ch. ii. sect. ii. part. ii. and Bynkershock's Quest. Juris publici, lib. ii. ch. 18.]

[Footnote 044: Le Clerc, (Bib. Anc. et Mod. vol. xxiii. Art. iv.) strenuously objects to this representation of Dr. Mosheim. "The Arminians," he says, "have introduced no dogma as necessary to salvation, which was unknown to the framers of their Confession of Faith; neither have they retrenched from it, any article essential to faith." He however observes, "that there are many ways of explaining dogmas." Now, the same dogma explained in two ways, amounts to two dogmas.]

[Footnote 045: See the third part of "_the last of Bossuet's Six Addresses to the Protestants_," and the pa.s.sages which he cites in it from Jurieu.

For the actual state of Religious Doctrine, both in the Lutheran and Reformed Churches of Germany, the reader may usefully consult, "_The State of the Protestant Religion in Germany, in a series of Discourses preached before the University of Cambridge, by the Rev. Hugh James Rose, M.A. 8vo. 1825_;" and "_Entretiens Philosophiques sur la Re-union des differens communions chretiens, par feu M. le Baron Starck, Ministre Protestant, et premier predicateur, de la Cour de Hesse Darmstadt, &c.

8vo. 1818_;" and "_Tabaraud's Histoire des Re-unions des Chretiens._"]

[Footnote 046: Tom. XLVI. Art. 12. p. 208.]

[Footnote 047: Page 283.]

[Footnote 048: Page 284, 285.]

[Footnote 049: Page 286.]

[Footnote 050: Page 287.]

[Footnote 051: Page 288.]