Literature of the human race, Grotius may perhaps rank as first among his equals. Centuries have borne witness to the justness of his premises and the wisdom of his conclusions. The principles of national law laid down by him are to-day accepted as the axioms of the Science. Among the nations, perhaps the United States is most deeply interested in the right administration of the principles affirmed by Grotius in his gigantic work on the "Rights of War and Peace," and it was therefore most fitting, when the recent peace conference at The Hague completed the great structure of international comity, the foundations of which were laid by Grotius in 1625, that a silver wreath was laid by the representative of the United States upon the grave of the man to whom the Conference owed its initial impulse, although at a distance in time of nearly three centuries.

When the Publisher determined, under the advice of his Editorial Council, to publish Grotius, he found that only two volumes of the first edition were available in the Library of Congress. At much expense and trouble, he instituted a search in Europe and finally obtained the missing volume, which he presented to the Congressional Library, where it now is.

Sir George Cornewall Lewis's "Government of Dependencies" is characterized by the accuracy of its information. It is a reliable text book for the guidance of any nation in the treatment of its dependencies and colonies. It is a Classic that will survive as long as colonization remains to be done, and it is remarkable that although it was published for the first time sixty years ago, the illustrations afforded by the last two generations support the justice of its principles and the exactness of its deductions.

Adam Smith's "Essay on Colonies" presents an introductory view of the principles governing colonial policy. It is a fitting work to go hand in hand with the greater one of Sir George Cornewall Lewis. It is of practical use to American Statesmen, since the United States seems at present to be entering upon a world-wide colonial policy. Its practical wisdom, which has made it a Classic for all times, finds a special applicability in the conditions of to-day, for Adam Smith was a theorist in the best sense of the word, that is to say, he was a man whose breadth of view, instead of unfitting him for practical details, enabled him to deduce from the lessons of history and experience the right solutions for the problems of Colonial policy.

Plato's "Republic" and "Statesman" must be regarded to-day not merely as historical records of a by-gone philosophy, but as living, teaching dissertations upon theories which cannot fail to awaken in studious minds the highest ideals of life and government. Modern problems stated in the light of Plato's philosophy, as it is expressed in these books, will find readier solutions when examined in the light of its principles. No student of sociology, of politics, national and municipal, or of government in all its many-sided aspects, can afford to be without a knowledge of these immortal discourses.

Goldwin Smith has declared that of all expositions of constitutional Government, "The Federalist" ranks the highest. When Hamilton, Madison, and Jay first conceived the idea of printing in the common tongue their ideas upon the principles of free government, they unwittingly laid the foundations of the best commentary on the principles of popular government ever written. Political science owes to them the most important contribution to its literature made since its birth. The Essays are equally admirable for sagacity, simplicity, and patriotism, and while The Federalist will never be read for pleasure, it contains a mine of wisdom for the student and the constitutional lawyer, and as a text book of political science is without a parallel.

When Bagehot issued his work on the English Constitution, it was hailed by the critics as the most wonderful and philosophical dissertation on the subject in any language or from any pen. John Stuart Mill used to say that of all great subjects much remained to be written, and that especially was this true of the English Constitution. Bagehot's work, although affording the conclusion that monarchy in England exists as a logical necessity, is so unbiased in its premises, so logical and clear in its deductions, that this manifest fairness, although leading one to conclusions distasteful to a republican mind, must endear him to his readers. Dealing with a subject somewhat dry in its details, he invests inanimate objects with so much light that they become realities. In the highest sense he combines popularity and scholarship.

Spinoza's philosophy may be traced both to the influence of Bacon, his predecessor, and to Descartes, his contemporary. Its combination of positivism with the enthusiasm of piety characterizes his philosophy as unique in itself, for while treating man from a purely mechanical standpoint, it asserts that the mechanism itself is entirely divine. Spinoza was a voluntary martyr in the cause of Free Thought. He was at the same time both Pantheist and Monist, yet sincere in his devotion to nature and the God of nature. His religion naturally made him a Monist, while his philosophy led him to express the Pantheism that the lover of God in Nature cannot avoid. While he renounced his Judaism and entered the ranks of the Christian philosophers, he never received baptism. He may be ranked among the greatest of the German mystics, whose work had such profound influence upon the dogmatic Christianity of a later day. The epithet conferred on him, namely, "God-intoxicated," summarizes his whole attitude and the character of his philosophy better than any lengthy dissertation.

When Schopenhauer began to write, he declared himself a true disciple of Kant, but he modifies and adapts Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" to such an extent that he reaches the attitude of opposition. This attitude he manifests throughout all his writings. He is truly an Apostle of Protest, but in spite of his positivist contradictions and his materialistic pantheism, he opens up a mine of suggestions to the literary and philosophical student. In spite of the apparent tragedy due to the conflict within him, we cannot help gathering from Schopenhauer an immensity of what is true, what is good and what is excellent. One thing especially noticeable about his writings is that while German philosophers are often ponderous and in fact nebulous, Schopenhauer is always clear, original, and readable.

To Machiavelli belongs by acclaim the honor of having written the ideal biography of a State. His clear, straightforward, concise statement of conditions and characters as he saw then is a model for all writers of record. He was the first great Italian historian, and no man has ever been more ardent in his patriotism or a more earnest supporter of government for and by the people. The greatest tribute to his inflexible honesty of character is the fact that while no man had greater opportunities to enrich himself at the cost of the State, he died leaving his family in the greatest poverty. His varied political experience, and his assiduous study of classic writers, gave him the ability as well as the desire to write the history of his native State. Time has pronounced this History to be a classic worthy of preservation, and the perspective of time has also enabled us to form a juster and greater estimate of its author.

The Ideal Republics and Empires that have been constructed from time to time by political dreamers have all the attractiveness of works like Pilgrim's Progress or Gulliver's Travels, combined with a philosophy and political insight that give them a double claim to be considered Classics. Modern progress may be more deeply indebted than we can estimate to the fantasies and airy castles of men like Rousseau,