War must not be undertaken except for a just cause.

Bellum suscipiendum non est nisi cum justa causa.

Hugo Grotius

Philosophers

Hugo Grotius

Dutch jurist (1583-1645), father of international law. His De Jure Belli ac Pacis (1625) grounded the law of war and peace in natural law. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 1619, he escaped in a book chest.

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Source: De Jure Belli ac Pacis (1625), Book II, Chapter 1Verified

Hugo Grotius's Other Quotes

Even if we were to grant that there is no God, or that He has no concern for human affairs (the natural law would still hold).

The sea is free: it belongs to no one, and to all.

I sought much, and wasted my time on nothing.

Related Quotes

The sea is free: it belongs to no one, and to all.

-- Hugo Grotius