from all disputes that were not necessary." After the death of the
President, Grotius celebrated his memory in a poem, which was considered
by the bard's admirers to be one of his best performances.







CHAPTER II.

GROTIUS EMBRACES THE PROFESSION OF THE LAW. HIS FIRST PROMOTIONS.

1597-1610.


In the ruin of the Roman Empire, her laws were lost in the general
wreck. During the 200 years, which followed the reign of Constantine the
Great, Europe was a scene of every calamity, which the inroads of
barbarians could inflict, either on the countries through which they
passed, or those in which they settled. About the sixth century, Europe
obtained some degree of tranquillity, in consequence of the introduction
of feudalism; the most singular event in the annals of history. At
first, it produced a general anarchy; but the system of subordination
upon which it was grounded, contained in it the germ of regular
government, and even, of jurisprudence. Its effects were first visible
in the _various codes of law_ which the barbarous nations promulgated.
Such are the Salic, the Ripuarian, the Alemannic, the Burgundian, the
Visigothic, and the Lombard laws.