Grrosvenor, Benjasiin, D.D., an eminent Dissent- ing minister, was born in London Jan. 1, 1G75, and ed- ucated at the academy at Attercliffe, Yorkshire. Mr. Grosvenor entered upon his public ministry in the 3'^ear 1699 as a Baptist. Soon after this he was chosen to succeed Mr. Slater as pastor of the Presb3'terian congregation in Crosby Square. To this charge he was ordained July 11, 1701. His popularity as a preacher, his solid judgment, added to a lively imagination, his graceful elocution, and fervent devotion, occasioned his being appointed to take a part in several impor- tant lectures which were then carrying on in the me- tropolis. In 1730 the University of Edinburgh pre- sented him with tlie degree of D.D. He continued at Crosby Square till the year 1719, when age compelled him to relinquish his pastoral office. He died October 27, 1758. A catalogue of his published pieces, chieflj'- occasional sermons, amounting to about thirty in num- ber, may be found in Wilson, History of Dissenting Churches. A volume of Ids Sermons, with a Memoir by J. Davies, was pulilished in 1808 (Newport, 8vo). — Jones, Christian Biography ; Skeats, Free Churches of England.
Grotius, Hugo (Dutch name De Groot), one of the most illustrious names in literature, politics, and theology. He was born at Delft April 10, 1583, and in his boyhood gave signs of extraordinary ability. At eleven he was sent to the University' of Leyden, where he remained three years, devoting himself es- pecially to theolog)', law, and mathematics. In 1597 he maintained two theses on philosophj', and wrote in praise of Henri IV, in Latin, a poem entitled Trium- phus Gallicus, which he dedicated to M. de Buzenval, tliB French ambassador in Holland. In 1598 he ac- companied a Dutcli embassy to Paris, where he was introduced to the king, wlio gave him a brilliant re- ception. On his return liome, 1599, he entered on the practice of law, but devoted himself also to literature. Each year was marked by a new book, or by a new
edition of some important work from his hand. In 1607 he married Mary of Itcigersberg, a lady of excel- lent family, and of high moral and intellectual quali- ties. In 1609 he published Ids celebrated treatise Mure Liberuni, his first essay in treating the law of nations. Appointed pensioner of Rotterdam in '1*613, he foresaw the dirticulties in which the country would soon be- come involved^nd only accepted office on condition that it should be made permanent. He thus obtained the right of entering the States-general, where he was thrown into close relations with Barneveldt the elder, with whom he formed a lasting friendship. In 1615 he was sent to represent Holland in a conference held in England on the subject of the Gi'eenland fisheries. During his stay in England, Grotius had several con- ferences with Casaubon on the means of uniting tlie Roman Catholics and the Protestants, a problem to which he devoted a great deal of thought and labor throughout his life. After his return to Holland he tools an active part in the religious discussions which were soon to divide the countrj-, and in which he was always found on the side of freedom. He had at all times favored the views of Arminius, whose eulogy he published in 1G09. Though not then, as he afterwards became, a skilled theologian, he was especially attract- ed bj' the doctrine of Arminius, and the predilection was afterwards strengthened hy study and reflection. And, indeed, the Arminian doctrine, which, discarding the Calvinistic dogma of absolute predestination, teach- es that man is free to accept or to refuse grace, could not fail to suit a mind such as that of Grotius. It was held hy the majority of the Dutch states ; and when Gomar (q. v.) and his party attempted to obtain the* proscription of the Arminians, tlie states did their ut- most to prevent it, and enjoined on both parties to tol- erate each other. The Gomarists then incited the peo- ple to disobey the states ; revolts took place in various towns, and some Arminian ministers were driven out of their churches. Grotius, who had previously helped his friendUj-tenbogaert with his advice wlien framing the Acta Remonstrantium, in which the Arminian prin- ci])les are laid out, framed, togetlier with Barneveldt, a new edict of toleration which was voted by the states. But fresh disturbances occurred every da}', and the states, by a decree dated Aug. 4, 1617, gave to the town magistrates the power of raising troops to put down insurgents. Tliis decree was passed without the par- ticipation of the stadtholder Maurice of Nassau, who had for a long time been seeking occasion to break with Barneveldt and the Republican party. He there- fore availed Iiimself of the opportunity offered him by this decree, which, he asserted, disregarded his rights as captain general. He at once sided with the Go- marists, approved all their plans, and forbade the sol- diers to obey the civil authorities. Shortly before these events, Grotius had been sent to conciliate the authorities of Amsterdam, who were opposed to the Arminians. His failure in this mission, with the in- creasing troubles and perils of the country, caused him an illness. During the disturbances, he wrote several works in defence of Ids part}', in which, in order to justify the measures taken by the Dutch States, he at- tempted to prove that the state has the right to regu- late all that relates to the discipline and even the dogmas of the Church. He also applied himself to sliow that the Arminian doctrine was upheld liy the fathers and the councils. The Gomarists, beaten in argument, employed violence to overcome their adver- saries. In 1618, Maurice, backed by the States, un- dertook to coerce the towns, which, on the ground of the sovereignty guaranteed to them by the constitu- tion, had disregarded as illegal the order of the prince forbidding their raising troops. Holland was invaded by the troops of the stadtholder, who gave free vent to his anger. Assembling eight members of the States, he made them decree the arrest of Barnevpldt,Grotius, and Hogenbeets, under the accusation of being "'ene-