View source for Of the Law of Nature and Nations

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Of the Law of Nature And Nations''}}
===by Samuel Pufendorf===
__NOTOC__
{{BookPageInfoBox
|imagename=PufendorfOfTheLawOfNature1710.jpg
|link=https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/2091268
|shorttitle=Of the Law of Nature and Nations: Eight Books
|commontitle=Of the Law of Nature and Nations
|author=Samuel Pufendorf
|trans=Basil Kennett and William Percivale
|publoc=Oxford
|publisher=Printed by L. Lichfield, for A. and J. Churchil
|year=1710
|edition=Second
|lang=English
|pages=[24], 724, [22] 
|desc=Folio (34 cm.)
|shelf=B-5
}}[[File:PufendorfOfTheLawofNatureAndNations1710Inscription.jpg|left|thumb|200px|<center>Inscription, front pastedown.</center>]]''Of the Law of Nature and Nations'', originally published in 1672 as ''De Jure Naturae et Gentium Libri Octo'', proposed a system of private, public, and international law based on natural law. It was written by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pufendorf Baron Samuel von Pufendorf] (1632–1694), a German political philosopher, statesman, and historian.<ref>''Encyclopedia Britannica'', s.v. "Pufendorf, Samuel von."</ref> The son of a Saxon clergyman, he had originally intended to pursue a career in the church, but after studying theology at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leipzig_University University of Leipzig] his interests shifted to politics, law, and philosophy. In 1658 Pufendorf became a tutor to a minister to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_X_Gustav_of_Sweden King Charles X of Sweden], and three years later he was granted a chair at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg_University University of Heidelberg] for the law of nature and nations, the first of its kind in the world.<ref>Ibid.</ref><br />
<br />
Two years after accepting an offer from the King of Sweden to teach at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lund_University University of Lund], Pufendorf published this book.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Pufendorf was highly critical of those who abused power, whether they did so through the state or the church, and he proposed that international law should not be restricted to Christendom and instead respect the rights of all men.<ref>Alfred Dufour, ''The Politics of Discretion. Pufendorf and the Acceptance of Natural Law'' (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1965), 1007.</ref> It was highly influential, not only in Germany, where it is said to have contributed to the Enlightenment during the eighteenth century, but throughout Europe and eventually in the United States. Pufendorf’s grounding of political concepts in natural law made him a person of interest to future American leaders such as [[Thomas Jefferson]], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_madison James Madison], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton Alexander Hamilton].<ref>Ibid.</ref>

==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as ''Puffendorf.'' and given by [[Thomas Jefferson]] to [[James Dinsmore]]. The precise title and work are unknown. Brown's Bibliography<ref>Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433</ref> includes the choice of either the 1749 English edition or the 1740 French edition of Pufendorf's work based in part on the copies Jefferson sold to the Library of Congress<ref>E. Millicent Sowerby, ''Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson'', 2nd ed. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983), 2:69-70 [no.1406-no.1407].</ref> and also on citations from Wythe's arguments in Bolling v. Bolling.<ref>Thomas Jefferson, ''Thomas Jefferson and Bolling v. Bolling: Law and the Legal Profession in Pre-Revolutionary America'', ed. Bernard Schwartz, with Barbara Wilcie Kern, R.B. Bernstein (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library; New York: New York University School of Law, c1997).</ref> [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s.v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on June 28, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe </ref> on LibraryThing notes "Precise work/edition unknown. Probably an English-language edition of Pufendorf's ''The law of nature and nations'', but could also be one of several possible works in Latin or English." The Wolf Law Library purchased a copy of the 1710 (second edition) English translation of ''De Jure Naturae et Gentium Libri Octo'' to represent this entry in Jefferson's inventory.

==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
Bound in contemporary full calf, rebacked in period style. Includes the inscription "Year MDCCX Oxford, VerPlanck Colvin, Albany, N. Y., U. S., Owner, Purchased for V. C. Library." on the front pastedown. Purchased from The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. 

View the record for this book in [https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/2091268 William & Mary's online catalog.]

==See also==
*[[George Wythe Room]]
*[[Introduction to the History of the Principal Kingdoms and States of Europe|An Introduction to the History of the Principal Kingdoms and States of Europe]]
*''[[De Officio Hominis & Civis Juxta Legem Naturalem|S. Pufendorfii, De Officio Hominis & Civis Juxta Legem Naturalem]]''
*[[Wythe's Library]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
[[Category:International Law]]
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]