Roman Law in the State of Nature: The Classical Foundations of Hugo Grotius' Natural Law (Ideas in Context, Series Number 108)

Roman Law In The State Of Nature Offers A New Interpretation Of The Foundations Of Hugo Grotius' Natural Law Theory. Surveying The Significance Of Texts From Classical Antiquity, Benjamin Straumann Argues That Certain Classical Texts, Namely Roman Law And A Specifically Ciceronian Brand Of Stoicism, Were Particularly Influential For Grotius In The Construction Of His Theory Of Natural Law. The Book Asserts That Grotius, A Humanist Steeped In Roman Law, Had Many Reasons To Employ Roman Tradition And Explains How Cicero's Ethics And Roman Law - Secular And Offering A Doctrine Of The Freedom Of The High Seas - Were Ideally Suited To Provide The Rules For Grotius' State Of Nature. This Fascinating New Study Offers Historians, Classicists And Political Theorists A Fresh Account Of The Historical Background Of The Development Of Natural Rights, Natural Law And Of International Legal Norms As They Emerged In Seventeenth-century Early Modern Europe-- Natural Law In Historical Context -- A Novel Doctrine Of The Sources Of Law : Nature And The Classics -- The Influence Of Classical Rhetoric On Grotius' Method -- Social Instinct Or Self-preservation? -- Justice For The State Of Nature : From Aristotle To The Corpus Iuris -- Grotius' Concept Of The State Of Nature -- Roman Remedies In The State Of Nature -- Natural Rights And Just Wars -- Enforcing Natural Law: The Right To Punish. Benjamin Straumann ; Translated By Belinda Cooper. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 235-250) And Index. "Roman Law in the State of Nature offers a new interpretation of the foundations of Hugo Grotius' natural law theory. Surveying the significance of texts from classical antiquity, Benjamin Straumann argues that certain classical texts, namely Roman law and a specifically Ciceronian brand of Stoicism, were particularly influential for Grotius in the construction of his theory of natural law. The book asserts that Grotius, a humanist steeped in Roman law, had many reasons to employ Roman tradition and explains how Cicero's ethics and Roman law - secular and offering a doctrine of the freedom of the high seas - were ideally suited to provide the rules for Grotius' state of nature. This fascinating new study offers historians, classicists and political theorists a fresh account of the historical background of the development of natural rights, natural law and of international legal norms as they emerged in seventeenth-century early modern Europe"-- Provided by publisher "Roman Law in the State of Nature offers a new interpretation of the foundations of Hugo Grotius' natural law theory. Surveying the significance of texts from classical antiquity, Benjamin Straumann argues that certain classical texts, namely Roman law and a specifically Ciceronian brand of Stoicism, were particularly influential for Grotius in the construction of his theory of natural law. The book asserts that Grotius, a humanist steeped in Roman law, had many reasons to employ this Roman tradition and explains how Cicero's ethics and Roman law - secular and offering a doctrine of the freedom of the high seas - were ideally suited to provide the rules for Grotius' state of nature. This fascinating new study offers historians, classicists and political theorists a fresh account of the historical background of the development of natural rights, natural law and of international legal norms as they emerged in 17th-century early modern Europe"- This comprehensive analysis of the foundations of Hugo Grotius' natural law theory assesses for the first time the importance of texts from classical antiquity, especially Roman law and a specifically Ciceronian brand of Stoicism, and explores the significance of the Roman tradition for Grotius, a humanist steeped in Roman law.