PREFACE.

VU

course of states or nations with each other, both in peace and inwar, thereby forming laws for the guidance of nations. Youhave properly expressed what I understand by Political Philoso-phy, or Political Law, by the terms ‘ constitutional and interna-tional law,’ regarding, however, each State in our union or con-federacy, as a sovereign State or community. The treatise onPolitical Law which I studied, was that of Burlamaqui, who wasprofessor of law at Geneva. Since his time, Europe haschanged, the human mind has become in a manner reorganized,and in America the greatest of all the republics known to theworld has been established. A treatise on Political Law orPhilosophy, on the plan of Burlamaqui’s, or Vattel’s, or of anyother distinguished jurist, but to suit our age, our nationalgovernment, and the governments of our States, would comefully up to my ideas. I will here repeat,” continues he, “ whatI mentioned to you in a former letter, — that I would wish totrammel the professorship but little, and to leave as much aspossible, to the judgment, talents, and learning of the professor;who will suit his Lectures to the changes both in morals andpolitics which time will occasion.”

Again, in still another letter, of the 20th of January, 1830,he says, •“ Although the composition of your Lectures has costyou great literary labor, and the time which would otherwisehave been devoted to relaxation from your important duties, yetin the end you will be rewarded by the great public good youwill render to the present, and every succeeding generation ofyouth in our city,-and by the pleasure, — by the satisfactionyou will ever enjoy, in having, by your learning, made a largecontribution to the cause of literature.”

It will be seen by the documents, which the founder of thisprofessorship has left behind him,* and which have been quotedabove, that he contemplated a series of works to be publishedon Moral and Political Science, as a consequence of his munifi-

He died on the 17 th of September, 1834.