_Some other Works of Grotius_
[Sidenote: CHAP. X. 1621-1634]
That literature is an ornament in prosperity, and a comfort in adverse
fortune, has been often said by the best and wisest men; but no one
experienced the truth of this assertion in a higher degree than Grotius,
during his imprisonment at Louvestein. In that wreck of his fortune and
overthrow of all his hopes, books came to his aid, soothed his sorrows,
and beguiled the wearisome hours of his gloomy solitude. His studies
often stole him from himself, and from the sense of his misfortunes. In
the exercise of his mental energies, he was sensible of their powers;
and it was impossible that he should contemplate, without pleasure, the
extent, the worth, or the splendour of his labours; the services, which
he rendered by them to learning and religion, and the admiration and
gratitude of the scholar, which he then enjoyed, and which would attend
his memory to the latest posterity. He himself acknowledged that, in the
ardour of his literary pursuits, he often forgot his calamities, and
that the hours passed unheeded, if not in joy, at least without pain.
Pages:
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161