 The import of Grotius’ theory of rights can be clarified contrasting it with the dominant medieval conception of iura. This conception stems primarily from Aquinas, who held that “the word ius was first of all used to denote the just thing itself” (Summa Theologica II.ii.q57.art1). In its original usage, ius was applied to things—actions, entities, situations—and not persons. As Aquinas and his followers conceived of it, things earn the appellation “right” when they align fully with the natural law. For two reasons, then, the medieval conception of rights can be thought of as “objective”: first, because the things which are right are objects (and not subjects); second, because things become worthy of the label “right” when they satisfy an objective, agent-independent set of necessity and sufficient conditions, viz., those conditions required for conformity to the natural law. Now, it is true that this medieval view had begun to be displaced by Grotius’ time; for example, Suarez says that a “strict acceptation of ius” bestows it