Samuel Pufendorf was a pivotal figure in the early German Enlightenment and, along with Grotius, the great renewer of natural law theory. His version of voluntarist natural law theory had a major influence both on the European continent and in the English-speaking world, particularly Scotland and America. "An Introduction to the History of the Principal Kingdoms and States of Europe" was first translated in 1695 but has been rare in English since the late eighteenth century.Pufendorf's histories exhibit the core notions of his natural law theory by recounting the development and current, reciprocal relations of individual states as collective social agents engaged in securing their own and, thus, their members' interests, including self-preservation. Hence, his histories essentially functioned as vehicles for philosophical demonstration or justification. Moreover, by emphasizing empirical details and legitimating (in principle) the de facto politics of interest, these histories appealed strongly to the emerging nation-states of early modern Europe, which sought ratification of their external and internal actions, policies, and pedagogies. He based his account on the respective country's own historians and took care to describe its position from its own current and historical perspectives. It was a novel and appealing approach to political history, judging from the long and diverse publishing record of the work.Samuel Pufendorf (1632-1694) was one of the most important figures in early-modern political thought. An exact contemporary of Locke and Spinoza, he transformed the natural law theories of Grotius and Hobbes, developed striking ideas of toleration and of the relationship between church and state, and wrote extensive political histories and analyses of the constitution of the German empire.Jodocus Crull (d. 1713/14) was a German emigre to England, a medical man, and a translator and writer.Michael J. Seidler is Professor of Philosophy at Western Kentucky University.Knud Haakonssen is Professor of Intellectual History at the University of Sussex, England.

This work contains newly translated excerpts from Samuel Pufendor's two major works in political and moral thought, Elements of Universal Jurisprudence and The Law of Nature and Nations. The editor and translator have worked to present a readable and comprehensive introduction to Pufendorf's political philosophy. The new English translation far exceeds what is currently available in terms of sophistication and clarity. A substantive introduction is included to acquaint readers with Pufendorf's ideas.

Samuel Pufendorf's seminal work, "The Whole Duty of Man, According to the Law of Nature" (first published in Latin in 1673), was among the first to suggest a purely conventional basis for natural law. Rejecting scholasticism's metaphysical theories, Pufendorf found the source of natural law in humanity's need to cultivate sociability. At the same time, he distanced himself from Hobbes's deduction of such needs from self-interest. The result was a sophisticated theory of the conventional character of man's social persona and of all political institutions.Pufendorf wrote this work to make his insights accessible to a wide range of readers, especially university students. As ministers, teachers, and public servants, they would have to struggle with issues of sovereignty and of the relationship between church and state that dominated the new state system of Europe in the aftermath of the Peace of Westphalia (1648)."The Whole Duty" was first translated into English in 1691. The fourth edition was significantly revised--by anonymous editors--to include a great deal of the very important editorial material from Jean Barbeyrac's French editions. This was reproduced in the fifth edition from 1735 that is republished here. The English translation provides a fascinating insight into the transplantation of Pufendorf's political theory from a German absolutist milieu to an English parliamentarian one.Samuel Pufendorf (1632-1694) was one of the most important figures in early-modern political thought. An exact contemporary of Locke and Spinoza, he transformed the natural law theories of Grotius and Hobbes, developed striking ideas of toleration and of the relationship between church and state, and wrote extensive political histories and analyses of the constitution of the German empire.Jean Barbeyrac (1674-1744) was a Huguenot refugee who taught natural law successively in Berlin, Lausanne, and Amsterdam, and edited and translated into French the major natural law works of Grotius, Pufendorf, and Cumberland.Andrew Tooke (1673-1732) was headmaster of Chaterhouse School and professor of geometry at Gresham College, London.Ian Hunter is Australian Professorial Fellow in the Centre for the History of European Discourses, University of Queensland.David Saunders is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Arts at Griffith University.Knud Haakonssen is Professor of Intellectual History at the University of Sussex, England.

Samuel Pufendorf's "Of the Nature and Qualification of Religion" (published in Latin in 1687) is a major work on the separation of politics and religion. Written in response to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by the French king Louis XIV, Pufendorf contests the right of the sovereign to control the religion of his subjects, because state and religion pursue wholly different ends. He concludes that, when rulers transgress their bounds, subjects have a right to defend their religion, even by the force of arms.Pufendorf's opposition to the French king does not demonstrate political radicalism. Instead, like John Locke and others who defended the concept of toleration, Pufendorf advocates a principled, moderate defense of toleration rather than unlimited religious liberty.Appearing at the dawn of the Enlightenment, Pufendorf's ideas on natural law and toleration were highly influential in both Europe and the British Isles. As Simone Zurbuchen explains in the introduction, "Of the Nature and Qualification of Religion" is a major contribution to the history and literature of religious toleration.Samuel Pufendorf (1632-1694) was one of the most important figures in early-modern political thought. An exact contemporary of Locke and Spinoza, he transformed the natural law theories of Grotius and Hobbes, developed striking ideas of toleration and of the relationship between church and state, and wrote extensive political histories and analyses of the constitution of the German empire.Jodocus Crull (d. 1713/14) was a German emigre to England, a medical man, and a translator and writer.Simone Zurbuchen is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.Knud Haakonssen is Professor of Intellectual History at the University of Sussex, England.

"Two Books of the Elements of Universal Jurisprudence" was Pufendorf's first work, published in 1660. Its appearance effectively inaugurated the modern natural-law movement in the German-speaking world. The work also established Pufendorf as a key figure and laid the foundations for his major works, which were to sweep across Europe and North America."Elements of Universal Jurisprudence" established Pufendorf's political theory, which, when fully developed, became the most significant alternative to rights-based theories. Pufendorf rejected the concept of natural rights as liberties and the suggestion that political government is justified by its protection of such rights, arguing instead for a principled limit to the state's role in human life. The Liberty Fund edition is based on the translation by William Abbott Oldfather prepared for the Classics of International Law series published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.Samuel Pufendorf (1632-1694) was one of the most important figures in early-modern political thought. An exact contemporary of Locke and Spinoza, he transformed the natural law theories of Grotius and Hobbes, developed striking ideas of toleration and of the relationship between church and state, and wrote extensive political histories and analyses of the constitution of the German empire.Thomas Behme is a member of the Institute for Philosophy at the Free University of Berlin.William Abbott Oldfather (1880-1945) was Professor of Classics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Knud Haakonssen is Professor of Intellectual History at the University of Sussex, England.