commissioners appointed by James, the British sovereign. If we credit
the account, given by Grotius, of the point in dispute, and the
negociation to which it gave rise, justice was decidedly on the side of
the States General; and England only carried the point by the lion's
right,--the _droit du plus fort_.

[Sidenote: Grotius embraces the profession of the Law.]

Grotius had every reason to be pleased with his reception by the English
monarch and his court. Between Grotius and Casaubon, who, at this time,
resided in England, an intimacy had long subsisted. It was cemented by
mutual esteem, similarity of studies, and the earnest wish of each for
an amicable termination of religious differences: each respected the
antient doctrines and discipline of the church; each thought that many
of the points in controversy were disputes of words; that much might be
gained by mutual concessions; and that the articles, upon which there
was any substantial difference, were few. "I esteem Grotius
highly,"--Casaubon writes in a letter to the president de Thou, "on
account of his other great qualities; but particularly because he judges
of the modern subjects of religious controversy like a learned and good
man. In his veneration for antiquity, he agrees with the wisest men."
... "I heartily pray God," says Casaubon in a letter to Grotius, "to;
preserve you: as long as I shall live, I shall hold you in the highest
esteem: so much am I taken with your piety, your probity, and your
admirable learning."[005]