In the political sphere, as in the military, the first Dutch work of political science soon gave rise to an immense flood of writings which directly or indirectly derived from it, and later it was complemented by the work of Grotius on international relations and natural law. First in the field were Lipsius' own pupils, members of his immediate circle, academic associates elsewhere, and admirers and imitators. His pupils soon divided into two groups, which we may call the Leiden school and the Lou vain school; the former was largely indifferent to religious divisions, the latter more bound by confessional allegiances. The arcana imperii written by the new professors of history and politics in Germany, the Christian-Stoic ‘mirrors of princes’ which now began to appear in all European languages – especially those with a Jesuit flavour – testify to the durability of Neostoicism. In the seventeenth century the writings of the political publicists played an important part in social life, arousing a great deal of interest and answering to a real need. In Germany such political writing finally led to the large number of tracts on prudentia civilis, the literature designed for use by tutors at court, and the teachings on worldly wisdom of Christian Thomasius. All this writing had a pedagogical slant: it was designed to train up the princes and their helpers – ministers, civil servants and army leaders.

The members of this ruling class had for the most part had an academic education before going into government or the army.