lem_; Gerard Vossius, in his Latin Poems, _Seculi nostri
grande ornamentum_; Pricaeus, on the xivth of St. Matthew, _Virum
ingentem, quem non sine horrore mirati sumus_: In fine, M. Blondel, who
was not lavish of his praise, says of him in his _Sibyls_, that he was a
very great man, whether we consider the sublimity of his genius, the
universality of his learning, or the diversity of his writings; in fine,
says Colomiez[712], he appears a great critic in his _Martianus
Capella_, his _Aratus_, and his _Stobaeus_; in his _Notes on Lucan_ and
_Tacitus_ a great historian, a great statesman, a great divine; but
however excellent these different works may be, we must however
acknowledge that Grotius's _Letters_ and _Poems_ much surpass them; and
that if he appeared great in those, in these he is incomparable. But
what astonishes me is, that he should have written so many letters, and
made so many verses, and all should be of equal strength, that is, that
all should partake of the powerful and divine genius which animated that
great man." Episcopius, who was regarded as an oracle by his party,
looked on Grotius as his oracle. "Your opinion, he writes to him[713],
shall be to me the decision of an oracle; for I know your love to truth
and friendship for me to be such, that in giving it you regard only
truth."

Christian Habsoeker and Philip Limborch speak of him with raptures in
the _Preface_ to the _Letters of illustrious men_: "At the name of the
incomparable Grotius, who is above all praise, and even all envy, we are
in a sort of transport. How shall we sufficiently praise the virtues of
that most illustrious hero, whom all true scholars regard as the most
learned of the Learned: we shall only relate the prophecy concerning him
in 1614 by Daniel Heinsius in some verses which ought to be put under
his picture."

Those lines are in fact the most complete Elogium that can be made of a
man.

_Depositum Coeli, quod jure Batavia mater
Horret, et baud credit se peperisse sibi;
Talem oculis, talem ore tulit se maximus Hugo:
Instar crede hominis, caetera crede Dei._

Heinsius and Grotius had been most intimate in their youth: the
divisions which happened in the Republic destroyed this close union:
Heinsius joined the Contra-Remonstrants, and was Secretary to the
Commissioners of the Synod of Dort. Grotius had reason to complain of
him on several occasions: nevertheless, talking with Cardinal Richelieu
a