civil societies lived together in the state of nature, nations or sovercign States are to be considered as so many free persons living together in the state of nature." And again: "Since men arc naturally equal, and a perfect oquality prevails in their right and oblígations as ceediug from nature, nations composed of inen, and considered as so many free persons living together in the state of uature, are naturally equal, and inherit from nature the same obliga- tions and rights. Power or weakness docs not in this respect equally pro- produce any differencc. A dwarf is as much a man as a giant; a small republic no less a sovereign State than the most power ful kingdom."

In these two last sentences is touched the key-note of the true law of nations, justice. There is among some of the later writers on prudence a certain fashion of condescending speech in their quotations from Vattel. have grown more powerful, and their relatious more compli cated by reason of sclfishness aud riches, less and less has been said about tlhe law of nature as a component and unalterable part of the law of nations. Fine subtleties of definition, of limitation have been attempted. IHundreds of pages are full of apparently learned discriminations between the parts of that as well as of the true law for individuals jaris- As years have gone on, and States law which are based on the law of nature and the parts which are based on the cousent and usage of nations. But the two cannot be separated. No amount of legality of phrase can do away with the inalienable truth underlying it. Prosident Woolsey to-day say, in effect, the same Grotius said in 1615, and Vattel in 1758.

Says Wheaton: "International law, as understood among civilized nations, may be defined as consisting of those rules of Wheaton and thing whieh justice from the conduct which reason deduces as consonant to nature of the society existing among independent uations."

President Woolsey says: International law, in a wide and