The Most Excellent Hugo Grotius His Three Books Treating of the Rights of War and Peace

on the approach of any danger that threatens him. Is it not then the greatest of all shames that a dog should be more thankful than a man? And that a creature naturally fierce and ravenous should excel the mildest and meekest of all creatures in gratitude? But if we scorn to learn our duty from terrestrial creatures, let us at least observe the nature of birds, those aerial travelers. When the stork becomes feeble through age and is no longer able to fly abroad, she rests in her nest while her young ones travel over sea and land to seek food for their aged parents. These parents, being worn out and spent with age and travel, deservedly enjoy ease and plenty of necessities—even delicacies. Meanwhile, their young ones comfort themselves with the knowledge that they have conscientiously performed the duty that piety In this context, "piety" (Latin: pietas) refers to the traditional virtue of dutiful respect for parents, family, and country, rather than just religious devotion. demanded of them, along with the expectation that the same will be paid to them later when they also grow old and feeble. Thus, in due time, they discharge a necessary debt by restoring to their parents in their old age what they received from them in their own infancy. Now, where do you think they learn this duty of fostering their young if not from nature, having been fostered themselves in the same manner when they were young? And how can people hear this, says Philo Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC – 50 AD), a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who sought to harmonize Greek philosophy with Jewish scripture., and not hide their heads for shame if they take no care of their aged parents? How can they willfully neglect those whom they ought to sustain, either alone or before all others? This is especially true considering that in doing so, they cannot be said to properly "give," but only to repay what they owe. For children have nothing of their own except what they derive from their parents, who either gave it to them from their own possessions or enabled them to acquire it by some other means.

Where this behavior comes from.

Now, in beasts, this care for their young proceeds (as I see it) from some external intelligent principle original: Extrinsick Intelligent Principle. Grotius suggests that animal instinct is a result of God's design rather than the animal's own rational choice.. We know this because the same intelligence does not appear in them regarding other actions that are no more difficult than these. The same may be said of infants, in whom—as Plutarch Plutarch (c. 46 – 119 AD), a Greek philosopher and biographer. well observes—there is a natural propensity to do good to others even before they are capable of instruction, and whom nature itself teaches to be compassionate.

Only man has the faculty of speech.

But in a person of mature age, when he knowingly does the same in similar cases, he also possesses an exceedingly great desire for society. Of all creatures, man alone possesses the proper tool for this: speech.
And knowledge through general rules.

In man, I say, it is right that we should acknowledge a faculty for knowing and doing things according to certain general rules. Whatever conforms to these rules is not common to all living creatures, but is unique to mankind alone.

Book 9.

"Man," says Marcus Antoninus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121–180 AD), Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher. This quote is from his Meditations., "was born for this end: to do good to others." original: Homo ad id natus est, bene ut aliis faciat, &c. And again, "We may sooner find earthly bodies that do not tend toward the earth than find a sound and perfect man who does not seek the society of men." For as he says in another place, "Whatever possesses reason necessarily seeks community." original: Quod ratione utitur necessario Coetum appetit