A Positive Century (1815–1914) 219It was an age, too, of contradiction (as all ages are). Th e palpable sense of
progress was allied to a deep conservatism. International lawyers were more
essential to the smooth working of the world than ever before, but they were
also less visible. If they were more scientifi c than before, they were also more
subservient to power. Th e nineteenth century was truly a heroic age of inter-
national law, but one that was singularly lacking in heroes. No international
lawyer in the period achieved a degree of public renown approaching that of
Grotius or Vattel. None achieved the public stature of a Clarence Darrow, a
Daniel Webster, a John Marshall, or a Blackstone. We will meet with two
Nobel Peace Prize winners in the course of our history of this period. But
they are little remembered save in specialist circles.
Despite all of this, it was in the nineteenth century that international law as
we know it today took shape. All of the major intellectual trends of the twenti-
eth and twenty- fi rst centuries had their origins in this era (with the conspicu-
ous exception of natural law, which is much older)— even if some had no more
than their earliest glimmerings. Whether we should be grateful to our ances-
tors for what we have so largely become might be a matter for some earnest
debate. But at a minimum, we should take full note of their achievements
and of the legacies that they left.