62 HARM-JAN VAN DAM
Grotius did not come back to Statius until some twenty years later
when Johann Gronovius (1611–1671), with whom he had got ac-
quainted during his years in Hamburg, asked him for help in preparing
his Diatribe in Statii Silvas. Gronovius was clearly aware of the fact
that Grotius had critical notes on the Silvae ready. Grotius generously
sent him from Paris a transcription of the margins of his copy, but
since his copy of Gevartius’ Papinianae lectiones had remained in
Holland, he could not check what Gevartius had already taken over,
and apparently he had not found or made the time to do so when it
appeared. Moreover he had no time now to reflect upon his old pro-
posals.^55 However, when Gronovius’ Di atribe appeared, there was no
word on Grotius in it, and for a good reason, for Gronovius claimed
never to have received a letter from Grotius. Grotius, always slightly
paranoiac in things concerning his homeland, supposed that Grono-
vius, living in The Hague at the time, had been prevented from giving
him his due by dark forces, that is to say the Leiden professors, who
feared that Grotius would have to be mentioned often (!) in Grono-
vius’ book. To his poor brother Willem he implied that either Grono-
vius was untrustworthy or that Willem had failed in delivering the
letter with the notes. To Gronovius he kept a straight face, telling him
that he loved the Diatribe, that he had answered Gronovius’ letter and
Gronovius Diatribe c. 34). In van Dam 1996a, 320 I suggested that marginal notes of
high quality by Johannes Livineius marked “p” might refer to Livineius’ own efforts.
Battezzato 2006 comes to a similar conclusion with respect to other notes by
Livineius. In inspecting Grotius’ marginalia after a long interval I now noticed several
“p”s as well, which refer to Grotius’ own emendations, as I think now. It may be
useful to make my full transcription of these notes public elsewhere.
55 On Gronovius and his critical work on the epics, also on the part played by
Grotius and others in that, see Berlincourt in this volume (esp. 11, n. 36). Grotius
Correspondence no 2775, 26.IX.1636 (pp. 409–12), from Gronovius “Ita nuper ad P.
Papinii Statii Silvas diatriben scripsi, cuius ... neminem quam te, vir maxime, iudicem
esse malim ... Utinam autem gravissimae occupationes haec permitterent ut spondere
mihi possem te quae ad libros illos observasti mecum communicaturum aut quaestion-
ibus meis responsurum”, Grotius answered (Grotius Correspondence no 2815,
28.X.1636 (pp. 468–73)) “resumpsi in manus editionem Tiliobrogae et quae olim tuae
aetatis cum essem margini illevi tibi diiudicanda trado, quorum non dubito quin aliqua
occupaverat Gevartius, cuius editio mihi nunc ad manum non est [4 pages of emenda-
tions and interpretations follow] ... Haec sunt quae a me olim notata reperi quae,
qualiacumque sunt—neque enim mihi nunc illa accurate expendendi otium est—tui
facio arbitrii.” Later Grotius wrote “non relegeram, sed raptim exscripseram quae
juvenis olim ad oram annotaveram libri mei”: no 3460, 17.II.1638 (p. 95), to Grono-
vi us. Apart from Grotius’ reservations, I suspect that a page from this letter is miss-
ing, with the marginalia between 3.3 and 4.4.