M DCC LIV.




THE

AUTHOR'S

PREFACE.


_It were to be wished that such a celebrated Genius as_ Grotius _had
found an Historian equal to his fame: for in this high rank we can by no
means place those who have contented themselves with giving a
superficial account of his Life, and a catalogue of his Works. M._
Lehman, _to whom we owe_ Grotius's Ghost revenged, _is much fuller than
any that went before him; yet he is far from having taken in all that
deserves to be known of that illustrious writer, the two most
interesting Distinctions of whose Life have been entirely neglected by
all who have spoken of him; I mean his Negotiations, and his sentiments
in matters of Religion._

Gaspar Brandt _and_ Adrian Cattenburg _have indeed published a long Life
of_ Grotius; _but the_ Dutch _language, in which they wrote, is so
little known, that their book cannot be of general use; with a view to
which we have made choice of a more universal language, to communicate
farther light concerning this excellent man, whom every one speaks of,
tho' few with any certainty._