NOODT, GERARD, a celebrated jurist, was born at Nimeguen in 1647. He began his studies in his native town, and finished them at Franeker, by taking his degree in law. A successful defence of two criminals, who were arraigned at the bar for murder, first gave him a start in his profession. After passing through several successive grades of promotion, he was ultimately appointed a law professor at Leyden. But it was in the character of a writer on jurisprudence that his talents and acquirements were chiefly displayed. His Latin style, modelled after the best writers, was pure and precise; he had an intimate acquaintance with the laws, manners, and customs of ancient Rome; his speculations were guided by a simple desire for truth, and by a wary dread of dogmatic conjecture; and his political opinions were animated by a spirit of Catholic toleration. Accordingly his numerous works, as they successively appeared, rose to the rank of standard authorities. Two of the most popular among them were translated into French by Barbeyrac, and appeared at Amsterdam in 1707 and 1714, under the respective titles of Pouvoir des Souverains, and Liberté de Conscience. Noodt was still actively engaged in adding to the number of his treatises when he was cut off in 1725. His entire works, accompanied with a Life, were published by Barbeyrac, in 2 vols. fol., Leyden, 1735, and reprinted at the same place in 1760.