arious conditions of human
society.

In the present century a slow and silent, but very substantial
mitigation has taken place in the practice of war; and in proportion as
that mitigated practice has received the sanction of time, it is raised
from the rank of mere usage, and becomes part of the law of nations.
Whoever will compare our present modes of warfare with the system of
Grotius[14] will clearly discern the immense improvements which have
taken place in that respect since the publication of his work, during a
period, perhaps in every point of view, the happiest to be found in the
history of the world. In the same period many important points of public
law have been the subject of contest both by argument and by arms, of
which we find either no mention, or very obscure traces, in the history
of preceding times.

There are other circumstances to which I allude with hesitation and
reluctance, though it must be owned that they afford to a writer of this
age some degree of unfortunate and deplorable advantage over his
predecessors. Recent events have accumulated more terrible practical
instruction on every subject of politics than could have been in other
times acquired by the experience of ages. Men's wit, sharpened by their
passions, has penetrated to the bottom of almost all political
questions. Even the fundamental rules of morality themselves have, for
the first time, unfortunately for mankind, become the subject of doubt
and discussion. I shall consider it as my duty to abstain from all
mention of these awful events, and of these fatal controversies. But the
mind of that man must indeed be incurious and indocile, who has either
overlooked all these things; or reaped no instruction from the
contemplation of them.

From these reflections it appears, that, since the composition of those
two great works on the Law of Nature and Nations which continue to be
the classical and standard works on that subject, we have gained both
more convenient instruments of reasoning and more extensive materials
for science; that the code of war has been enlarged and improved; that
new questions have been practically decided; and that new controversies
have arisen regarding the intercourse of independent states, and the
first principles of morality and civil government.

Some readers may, however, think that in these observations which I
offer, to excuse the presumption of my own attempt, I have omitted the
mention of later writ