third, the state of the Republic of the Batavi in the time of the Roman
empire; and building on a passage of Tacitus he pretends they were
allies, and not subjects of the Romans. In the fourth he enquires into
the government of the Batavi after the fall of the Roman empire; from
which æra till the establishment of the Counts of Holland we know very
little of that nation. The author treats, in the fifth chapter, of the
government of Holland in the time of the Counts. The first elected to
that dignity was named Diederic, of Friesland, and was Count of the
whole nation: He was not a vassal of the Empire, and, as Philip of
Leyden observes, he was Emperor in his County. He was not so absolute as
a Monarch, and though the Dutch in chusing their Counts generally
followed the order of primogeniture, they never set up a Prince without
first requiring of him an oath, to conform to the laws: so that he
reigned rather by the consent of the people, than by right of
succession. The power of the Counts was limited by law; and the taxes
were always imposed by the States. In the sixth chapter the author shews
that Philip II. King of Spain, endeavouring to change their form of
government, occasioned the grand war which procured Holland her liberty.
Grotius explains, in his seventh and last chapter, the form of
government established in Holland after the Dutch threw off the Spanish
yoke. The work is dedicated to the States of Holland and West-Friesland,
March 16, 1610.

The States were extremely pleased with it: they returned their thanks to
the author, and made him a present[56]. He afterwards added notes,
serving for proofs of the several facts: these were carried away with
his other papers at the time of his arrest; but the Elzevirs, intending
to publish a new edition of it, acquainted Grotius, who was at pains to
get the notes returned; and they are now printed at the end of the
Elzevir edition. His love to his country led him to advance several