This volume contains Hugo Grotius' first work in the field of Church politics, orginally published in 1613. The book was written to defend the policy of the States of Holland, which was being attacked by the orthodox Calvinistic party in the Netherlands. It was written with an eye to foreign Dutch allies, especially King James I. Grotius' Latin text is here edited critically for the first time and provided with an introduction, an English translation and an extensive commentary. In several appendixes, various texts that are important for the background and the reception of the book are printed, many of them for the first time. Ordinum Pietas is one of the key texts for the knowledge of the religious disputes in the Netherlands during the Twelve Years' Truce (1609-1621).
Edwin Rabbie, Ph.D. (1986) in classics, University of Amsterdam, LL.M. (1994), Leiden University, is Fellow of the Constantijn Huygens Institute. He is co-editor of a volume of studies on Grotius' theological works, published in the present series.
'In one's study of this first critical edition of the Grotius text and its English translation one word comes to mind: impressive...an ideal edition.'
F.E. Beemon, Sixteenth Century Journal, 1996.
'Mit diesem Editionsband liegt ein Studienbuch vor, mit dessen Hilfe man sich aufgrund der überreichlichen Quellen sowie den fundierten Erläuterungen einen sibtilen Einblick in den Arminianischen Streit, insbesondere in den dazu von Grotius geleisteten Beitrag, verschaffen kan.'
Volker Gummelt, Theologische Literaturzeitung, 1997.
Specialists in Church history, legal history, Neo-Latin and, generally, all those interested in 17th-century history.