Editing Samuel von Pufendorf (section)

=== Career as author ===
[[File:Pufendorf - De jure naturae et gentium, 1744 - 329.tif|thumb|''De jure naturae et gentium'', 1744.]]
At Leiden, he was permitted to publish, in 1660, the fruits of his reflections under the title of ''Elementa jurisprudentiae universalis libri duo'' ("Elements of Universal Jurisprudence: Two Books"). The work was dedicated to [[Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine|Charles Louis, elector palatine]], who created for Pufendorf a new chair at the [[University of Heidelberg]], that of the law of nature and nations. This professorship was first of its kind in the world. Pufendorf married Katharina Elisabeth von Palthen, the widow of a colleague, in 1665.

In 1667 he wrote, with the assent of the elector palatine, a tract ''De statu imperii germanici liber unus'' ("On the Present State of the German Empire: One Book"). Published under the cover of a pseudonym at [[Geneva]] in 1667, it was supposed to be addressed by a gentleman of [[Verona]], Severinus de Monzambano, to his brother Laelius. The pamphlet caused a sensation. Its author directly challenged the organization of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], denounced in the strongest terms the faults of the house of Austria, and attacked with vigour the politics of the ecclesiastical princes. Before Pufendorf, {{ill|Bogislaw Philipp von Chemnitz|de}}, publicist and soldier, had written, under the pseudonym of "Hippolytus a Lapide", ''De ratione status in imperio nostro romano-germanico'' ("On The Reason of the Present State in Our Holy Roman Empire"). Inimical, like Pufendorf, to the Austrian [[House of Habsburg]], Chemnitz had gone so far as to make an appeal to [[France]] and [[Sweden]]. Pufendorf, on the contrary, rejected all idea of foreign intervention, and advocated that of national initiative.

When Pufendorf went on to criticise a new tax on official documents, he did not get the chair of law and had to leave Heidelberg in 1668. Chances for advancement were few in a Germany that still suffered from the ravages of the [[Thirty Years' War]] (1618-1648), so Pufendorf went to Sweden where that year he was called to the [[University of Lund]]. His sojourn there was fruitful.

In 1672 appeared ''De jure naturae et gentium libri octo'' ("On The Law of Nature and of Nations: Eight Books") and of, and in 1673 a résumé of it under the title ''De officio hominis et civis iuxta legem naturalem'' ("On the Duty of Man and Citizen, according to Natural Law"), which, among other topics, gave his analysis of [[just war]] theory.
In ''De jure naturae et gentium'' Pufendorf took up in great measure the theories of Grotius and sought to complete them by means of the doctrines of Hobbes and of his own ideas on [[jus gentium]] ("Law of Man"). His first important point was that natural law does not extend beyond the limits of this life and that it confines itself to regulating external acts. He disputed Hobbes's conception of the state of nature and concluded that the state of nature is not one of war but of peace. But this peace is feeble and insecure, and if something else does not come to its aid it can do very little for the preservation of mankind.

As regards public law Pufendorf, while recognizing in the state (''civitas'') a moral person (''persona moralis''), teaches that the will of the state is but the sum of the individual wills that constitute it, and that this association explains the state. In this ''[[A priori and a posteriori|a priori]]'' conception, in which he scarcely gives proof of historical insight, he shows himself as one of the precursors of [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau|Rousseau]] and of the ''Contrat social''. Pufendorf powerfully defends the idea that international law is not restricted to Christendom, but constitutes a common bond between all nations because all nations form part of humanity.

In 1677 Pufendorf was called to [[Stockholm]] as [[Historiographer Royal (Sweden)|Historiographer Royal]]. To this new period belong ''Einleitung zur Historie der vornehmsten Reiche und Staaten'' ("Introduction to the History of the Most Distinguished Kingdoms and States" as well as ''Commentarium de rebus suecicis libri XXVI., ab expeditione Gustavi Adolphi regis in Germaniam ad abdicationem usque Christinae'' and ''De rebus a Carolo Gustavo gestis''. In his historical works, Pufendorf wrote in a very dry style, but he professed a great respect for truth and generally drew from archival sources. However, his historical works were heavily pro-Swedish and he supported the claim that eastern Denmark was originally Swedish. In 1658 Denmark was forced to cede the eastern provinces of Skåne (Scania), Halland, and Blekinge (plus some Norwegian territories) to Sweden. Pufendorf defended this move and insisted that these provinces were "reunited" with Sweden and that the Scanian provinces had always belonged to "Götaland". He wrote that "Sweden’s old borders have been healed again".<ref>Innledning Till Swänska Historien, (An Introduction to Swedish History), Ståkkholm 1688, page 912</ref> In ''De habitu religionis christianae ad vitam civilem'' he traces the limits between ecclesiastical and civil power. This work propounded for the first time the so-called "collegial" theory of church government (''Kollegialsystem''), which, developed later by the learned Lutheran theologian {{ill|Christoph Matthäus Pfaff|de}}, formed the basis of the relations of church and state in Germany and more especially in [[Prussia]].

This theory makes a fundamental distinction between the supreme jurisdiction in ecclesiastical matters (''Kirchenhoheit'' or ''jus circa sacra''), which it conceives as inherent in the power of the state in respect of every religious communion, and the ecclesiastical power (''Kirchengewalt'' or ''jus in sacra'') inherent in the church, but in some cases vested in the state by tacit or expressed consent of the ecclesiastical body. The theory was of importance because, by distinguishing church from state while preserving the essential supremacy of the latter, it prepared the way for the principle of toleration. It was put into practice to a certain extent in [[Prussia]] in the 18th century; but it was not till the political changes of the 19th century led to a great mixture of confessions under the various state governments that it found universal acceptance in Germany. The theory initially found no acceptance in the Roman Catholic Episcopate, but it nonetheless made it possible for the [[Protestant]] governments to make a working compromise with [[Rome]] in respect of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] established in their states.

In 1688 Pufendorf was called into the service of [[Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg]]. He accepted the call, but he had no sooner arrived than the elector died. His son [[Frederick I of Prussia|Frederick III]] fulfilled the promises of his father; and Pufendorf, historiographer and privy councillor, was instructed to write a history of the Elector Frederick William (''De rebus gestis Frederici Wilhelmi Magni'').

The King of Sweden continued to testify his goodwill towards Pufendorf, and in 1694 created him a baron. In the same year while still in Sweden, Pufendorf suffered a stroke, and died on 26 October 1694<ref>{{NDB|21|3|5|Pufendorf, Samuel Freiherr von|Luig, Klaus|118597051}}</ref> in [[Berlin]]. He was buried in the church of [[St. Nicholas Church, Berlin|St Nicholas]], where an inscription to his memory is still to be seen. He was succeeded as historiographer in Berlin by [[Charles Ancillon]].