Primary Texts and Translations

N.B.: This is but a small selection of Grotius' more important works. For a more complete catalogue, see ter Meulen and Diermanse (1950).

• Mare liberum (Leiden: Elzevier, 1609). Reprinted and translated many times since. The translation and edition by Ralph van Deman Magoffin (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1916) contains a facsimile of the 1633 edition. See also the recently published The Free Sea; trans. by Richard Hakluyt with William Welwod's critique and Grotius's reply, edited and with an introduction by David Armitage (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2004). (Scholar)
• De iure belli ac pacis libri tres (Paris: Buon, 1625). Reprinted and translated many times since. Jean Barbeyrac's 1735 edition, with extensive notes and commentary, was the most important; it was translated into English and published in London by Innys et al. in 1738. It has been recently reprinted as The Rights of War and Peace, Books I-III, edited and with an introduction by Richard Tuck (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2005). Another commonly used edition and translation is by Frank W. Kelsey et al. for the Classics of International Law series (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1925). Kelsey's version is printed with a facsimile of the 1646 edition. (Scholar)
• Annales et Historiae de Rebus Belgicis (Amsterdam: Blaeu, 1657). Translated by T. Manley (London: Twyford and Paulet, 1665). (Scholar)
• Opera omnia theologica (London: Moses Pitt, 1679).
• De iure praedae commentarius, ed. by G. Hamaker (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1868). The most commonly used edition and translation is by G.L. Williams et al. for the Classics of International Law series (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1950). Williams' version is printed along with a collotype of Grotius' manuscript. (Scholar)
• Briefwisseling van Hugo Grotius, ed. by P.C. Molhuysen et al. (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1928–2001).
• Grotius Reader: A Reader for Students of International Law and Legal History, ed. by L.E. van Holk and C.G. Roelofsen (The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Instituut, 1983).
• The Antiquity of the Batavian Republic (Assen, the Netherlands: Royal van Gorcum, 2000). Ed. and trans. by Jan Waszink et al. (Scholar)

Select Secondary Literature

N.B.: In addition to the following (which emphasizes English-language literature), interested readers should also consult the scholarly journal Grotiana (new series), which regularly publishes articles in several languages on all aspects of Grotius' thought and legacy.

Anthologies:

• [anonymous]. (1984). (ed.) The World of Hugo Grotius (Amsterdam and Maarssen: APA—Holland University Press).
• Asser Instituut. (1985). (eds.) International Law and the Grotian Heritage (The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Instituut).
• Blom, Hans W. (2009). (ed.) Property, Piracy and Punishment: Hugo Grotius on War and Booty in De Iure Praedae—Concepts and Contexts (Leiden: Brill).
• Blom, Hans W., and Winkel, Laurens. (2004). (eds.) Grotius and the Stoa (Assen, the Netherlands: Royal Van Gorcum).
• Bull, Hedley, et al. (1990). (eds.) Hugo Grotius and International Relations (Oxford: Clarendon Press).
• Dunn, John, and Harris, Ian. (1997). (eds.) Grotius, vols. 1–2 (Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing). (N.B.: This large collection reprints a number of the articles cited individually below.)
• Onuma, Yasuaki. (1993). (ed.) A Normative Approach to War (Oxford: Clarendon Press).

Bibliographies:

• Eyffinger, A.C., et al. (1983). The Grotius Collection at the Peace Palace: A Concise Catalogue (The Hague: Peace Palace Library). (Scholar)
• Molhuysen, Philippus Christianus. (1943). “De Bibliotheek van Hugo de Groot in 1618,” Mededeelingen der Nederlandsche Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afdeeling Letterkunde, Nieuwe reeks, dl. 6, no. 3. (N.B.: This is a list of books in Grotius' possession in 1618.) (Scholar)
• ter Meulen, Jacob, and Diermanse, P.J.J. (1950). Bibliographie des écrits imprimés de Hugo Grotius (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff). (Scholar)
• ––– (1961). Bibliographie des écrits sur Hugo Grotius imprimés au XVIIe sicle (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff). (Scholar)
• Willems, J.C.M. (1980, 1981, ongoing). Grotiana (new series), vols. 1, 2, etc.

Biographies:

• Bayle, Pierre. (1720). “Grotius,” in Dictionaire historique et critique, 3^rd ed. (Rotterdam: Michel Bohm). (Scholar)
• Brandt, Caspar, and Cattenburgh, Adriaan van. (1732). Historie van het leven des heeren Huig de Groot, 2^nd ed. (Dordrecht and Amsterdam: Van Braam en onder der Linden). (Scholar)
• Dumbauld, Edward. (1969). The Life and Legal Writings of Hugo Grotius (Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press). (Scholar)
• Edwards, Charles. (1981). Hugo Grotius (Chicago: Nelson-Hall). (Scholar)
• Holk, L.E. van. (1983). “Hugo Grotius, 1583–1645, A Biographical Sketch,” in van Holk and Roelofsen (1983): 23–44. (Scholar)
• Knight, W.S.M. (1925). The Life and Works of Hugo Grotius (London: Sweet and Maxwell Publishers). (Scholar)
• Vreeland, Hamilton, Jr. (1917). Hugo Grotius: the Father of the Modern Science of International Law (New York: Oxford University Press). (Scholar)

Monographs and articles:

• Blom, Hans. (1995). Causality and Morality: the rise of naturalism in Dutch seventeenth-century political thought, Ph.D. thesis, Utrecht University. (Scholar)
• Brandt, Reinhard. (1974). Eigentumstheorien von Grotius bis Kant (Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt: Frommann-Holzboog). (Scholar)
• Brett, Annabel. (2002). “Natural Right and Civil Community: The Civil Philosophy of Hugo Grotius,” The Historical Journal, vol. 45: 31–51. (Scholar)
• Bull, Hedley. (1976). “Martin Wight and the Theory of International Relations,” British Journal of International Studies, vol. 2: 101–116. (Scholar)
• Chroust, Anton-Hermann. (1943). “Hugo Grotius and the Scholastic Natural Law Tradition,” New Scholasticism, vol. 17: 101–133. Reprinted in Dunn and Harris (1997). (Scholar)
• Darwall, Stephen. (forthcoming). “Grotius at the Creation of Modern Moral Philosophy,” Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie (forthcoming). (Scholar)
• Draper, G.I.A.D. (1990). “Grotius' Place in the Development of Legal Ideas about War,” in Bull et al. (1990): 177–207. (Scholar)
• Dufour, Alfred. (1980). “L'influence de la méthodologie des sciences physiques et mathématiques sur les fondateurs de l'école du droit naturel moderne (Grotius, Hobbes, Pufendorf),” Grotiana (New Series), vol. 1: 33–52. Reprinted in Dunn and Harris (1997). (Scholar)
• ––– (1984). “Grotius et le droit naturel du dix-septime sicle,” in [Anonymous] (1984): 15–41. (Scholar)
• Finnis, John. (1980). Natural Law and Natural Rights (Oxford: Clarendon Press). (Scholar)
• Gurvitch, G. (1927). “La philosophie du droit de Hugo Grotius et la théorie moderne du droit international,” Revue de Metaphysique et de Morale, vol. 34: 365–391. (Scholar)
• Haakonssen, Knud. (1985). “Hugo Grotius and the History of Political Thought,” Political Theory, vol. 13: 239–265. Reprinted in Dunn and Harris (1997). (Scholar)
• ––– (1992). “Natural Law,” in Lawrence C. Becker and Charlotte B. Becker, eds., The Encylopedia of Ethics (New York: Garland Publishers): 884–890. (Scholar)
• ––– (1996). Natural Law and Moral Philosophy: from Grotius to the Scottish Enlightenment (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). (Scholar)
• ––– (1998). “Divine/natural law theories in ethics,” in Daniel Garber and Michael Ayers, eds., The Cambridge History of Seventeenth-Century Philosophy, vols. 1–2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press): 1317–1357. (Scholar)
• Haggenmacher, Peter. (1983). Grotius et la doctrine de la guerre juste (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France). (N.B.: This monograph also has an extensive bibliography; see pp. 645–672.) (Scholar)
• Hart, A. C. 't. (1983). “Hugo Grotius and Giambattista Vico,” Netherlands International Law Review, vol. 30: 5–41. Reprinted in Dunn and Harris (1997). (Scholar)
• Hodges, Donald Clark. (1956/7). “Grotius on the law of war,” Modern Schoolman, vol. 34: 36–44. (Scholar)
• Hofmann, Hasso. (1977). “Hugo Grotius,” in Michael Stolleis, ed., Staatsdenker im 17 und 18 Jahrhundert: Reichspublizistik, Politik, Naturrecht (Frankfurt am Main: Metzner): 51–77. (Scholar)
• Irwin, Terence. (2008). The Development of Ethics, vol. II (Oxford: Oxford University Press). (Scholar)
• Kilcullen, John. (2001). “The Origin of Property: Ockham, Grotius, Pufendorf and Some Others,” in Kilcullen and Scott (2001), pp. 883–932. (Scholar)
• Kilcullen, John, and Scott, John. (2001). (trans.) William of Ockham, Work of Ninety, (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellon Press).
• Kingsbury, Benedict, and Roberts, Adam. (1990). “Introduction: Grotian Thought in International Relations,” in Bull et al. (1990): 1–64. (Scholar)
• Korsgaard, Christine M. (1996). The Sources of Normativity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). (Scholar)
• Lauterpacht, Hersch. (1946). “The Grotian Tradition in International Law,” The British Yearbook of International Law, vol. XXIII: 1–53. Reprinted in Dunn and Harris (1997). (Scholar)
• Macpherson, C.B. (1962). The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism (Oxford: Oxford University Press). (Scholar)
• Miller, Jon. (2003). “Stoics, Grotius and Spinoza on moral deliberation,” in Jon Miller and Brad Inwood, eds., Hellenistic and Early Modern Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press): 116–140. (Scholar)
• Remec, Peter Paul. (1960). The Position of the Individual in International Law according to Grotius and Vattel (The Hague: Nijhoff). (Scholar)
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. (1915). Political Writings, vols. I–II, ed. and trans. by C. E. Vaughan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). (Scholar)
• St. Leger, James. (1962). The “Etiamsi Daremus” of Hugo Grotius: A Study in the Origins of International Law (Rome: Pontificium Athenaeum Internationale). (Scholar)
• Schneewind, J.B. (1993). “Kant and natural law ethics,” Ethics, vol. 104: 53–74. (Scholar)
• ––– (1998). The Invention of Autonomy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). (Scholar)
• Shaver, Robert. (1996). “Grotius on Scepticism and Self-Interest,” Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, vol. 78: 27–47. (Scholar)
• Simmonds, Kenneth R. (1957). “Some English Precursors of Hugo Grotius,” Transactions of the Grotius Society, vol. 43: 143–157. (Scholar)
• ––– (1957/8). “Hugo Grotius and Alberico Gentili,” Jahrbuch für Internationales Recht, Band 8: 85–100. (Scholar)
• Straumann, Benjamin. (2006). “'Ancient Caesarian Lawyers' in a State of Nature: Roman Tradition and Natural Rights in Hugo Grotius's De iure praedae,” Political Theory, vol. 34: 328–350. (Scholar)
• ––– (2007). Hugo Grotius und die Antike (Baden-Baden: NOMOS). (Scholar)
• Tanaka, Tadashi. (1993). “Grotius' method: with special reference to Prolegomena,” in Onuma (1993): 11–31. (Scholar)
• Tierney, Brian. (1983). “Tuck on rights: some medieval problems,” History of Political Thought, vol. 6: 429–441. (Scholar)
• ––– (1997). The Idea of Natural Rights (Atlanta: Scholars Press). (Scholar)
• Todescan, Franco (2003). Etiamsi Daremus: Studi Sinfonici sul Diritto Naturale (Padua: CEDAM). (Scholar)
• Tuck, Richard. (1979). Natural Rights Theories (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). (Scholar)
• ––– (1983). “Grotius, Carneades and Hobbes,” Grotiana (new series), vol. 4: 43–62. Reprinted in Dunn and Harris (1997). (Scholar)
• ––– (1987). “The ‘modern’ theory of natural law,” in Anthony Pagden, ed., The Languages of Political Theory in Early-Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press): 99–119. (Scholar)
• ––– (1991). “Grotius and Selden,” in J.H. Burns and Mark Goldie, eds., The Cambridge History of Political Thought, 1450–1700 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press): 499–529. (Scholar)
• ––– (1993). Philosophy and Government 1572–1651 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). (Scholar)
• ––– (1999). The Rights of War and Peace. Political Thought and the International Order from Grotius to Kant (Oxford: Oxford University Press). (Scholar)
• ––– (2005). “Introduction” to The Rights of War and Peace, Books I–III, by Hugo Grotius (reprinted Indianapolis: Liberty Fund). (Scholar)
• van Ittersum, Martine. (2002). Profit and Principle: Hugo Grotius, Natural Rights Theories and the Rise of Dutch Power in the East Indies, 1595–1615, Ph.D. thesis, Harvard University. (Scholar)
• Vermeulen, B. P. (1983). “Grotius' methodology and system of international law,” Netherlands International Law Review, vol. 30: 324–382. (Scholar)
• Vollenhoven, C. Van. (1932). The Framework of Grotius' Book De Iure Belli ac Pacis (1625) (Amsterdam: Noord-Hollandsche uitgeversmaatschappij). (Scholar)
• Whewell, William. (1853). “Editor's Preface,” in William Whewell, ed. and trans., Hugonis Grotii de iure belli ac pacis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press): iii–xvi. (Scholar)
• Wight, Martin. (1991). International Theory: the Three Traditions, ed. by Gabriele Wight and Brian Porter (Leicester: Leicester University Press). (Scholar)