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Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Grotius was an early 17th-century Dutch political philosopher who is best remembered for his theory of international law. Rousseau contrasts his own picture of the legitimate state to that of Grotius, who thought that the powerful were justified in governing for their own benefit. Rousseau also repeatedly attacks Grotius for defending slavery and trying to win favor with despotic rulers through a philosophy that justifies their tyranny.
Hugo Grotius Quotes in The Social Contract
The The Social Contract quotes below are all either spoken by Hugo Grotius or refer to Hugo Grotius. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 1, Chapter 2 Quotes
If there are slaves by nature, it is only because there has been slavery against nature. Force made the first slaves; and their cowardice perpetuates their slavery.
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Book 1, Chapter 4 Quotes
To renounce freedom is to renounce one’s humanity, one’s rights as a man and equally one’s duties. There is no possible quid pro quo for one who renounces everything; indeed such renunciation is contrary to man’s very nature; for if you take away all freedom of the will, you strip a man’s actions of all moral significance. Finally, any covenant which stipulated absolute dominion for one party and absolute obedience for the other would be illogical and nugatory. Is it not evident that he who is entitled to demand everything owes nothing? And does not the single fact of there being no reciprocity, no mutual obligation, nullify the act? For what right can my slave have against me? If everything he has belongs to me, his right is my right, and it would be nonsense to speak of my having a right against myself.
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Hugo Grotius Character Timeline in The Social Contract
The timeline below shows where the character Hugo Grotius appears in The Social Contract. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 2: The First Societies
Some thinkers, like Grotius and Hobbes, wrongly think that the powerful govern for the own benefit, ruling over the...
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Book 1, Chapter 4: Slavery
...make right,” Rousseau continues, “all legitimate authority among men must be based on covenants.” While Grotius might be right that people sometimes accept slavery in exchange for having their basic needs...
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Grotius also considers slavery legitimate because the winner of a war has a “right to kill...
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Book 1, Chapter 5: That We Must Always Go Back To an Original Covenant
...doing so. In fact, by recognizing that “a people” can “give itself to a king,” Grotius also recognizes that “a people is a people” because of some more fundamental reason, which...
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Book 2, Chapter 2: That Sovereignty is Indivisible
...powers to implement the sovereign will, and not of sovereignty itself. Unfortunately, many legal thinkers—like Grotius and his translator, who were both power-hungry and dedicated their works to the kings they...
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