Rutherforth's Institutes

Grotius is difficult to teach to first-time students, in part, due to the organization of the text.  Grotius assumes that his readers are professionally trained lawyers - probably even judges - with familiarity with Scripture, Aristotle, Cicero, Stoic, and Patristic sources.  As a result, he takes liberties and shortcuts in presenting the material, and it's not transparently obvious how one idea connects to the next.  No amount of armchair philosophizing or close reading of Grotius's text will give us that.

Enlightenment interpreters of Grotius, therefore, sought to present the Law of War and Peace in a more systematic, logical fashion.  One of my favorite examples of this reconstruction of Grotius in English is Thomas Rutherforth's Institutes of Natural Law:

Rutherforth was Archdeacon of Essex and Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge.  He delivered lectures on Grotius which were later published.  These would become quite popular among law students and students of moral philosophy.  They also became particularly influential in early American jurisprudence: Rutherford became the standard point of entry for early Americans to Grotius and natural law theory in general and would be cited as an authority by American courts.  

I borrowed this version through an InterLibrary Loan request.  I almost acquired a first edition print this summer from a seller in Canada I've dealt with before.  But it mysteriously vanished when I put the order in.  So I'm still on the hunt for Rutherforth.