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324 CASSIAN OF STANLEY ducere. Ego vero hactenus vobiscum sum, quod toto animo opto cum vestra ecclesia latissime diffusa et longa successionis serie con– spicua, aequis legibus posse conjungi. Sed obstat ad id obtinendum video a vestris exigi, ut quaedam certa fide credamus, quae credere non possumus, nisi prius de eorum veritate persuasi. Ea autem nobis aut rationibus meris probari debet, aut sacrarum literarum aucto– ritate ». In this long letter, too long by far to analyse here, he goes on to state that whilst in two works, in particular, which he has been reading of late and which uphold the Catholic position he finds much with which he can agree, yet, nevertheless, he cannot accept some of the inferences that are made in them. However, it must have been such sentiments as those expressed at the end of this letter that raised the Nuncio's hopes regarding the possibility of Grotius' conversion. There he writes : « Sed illud te per illum candorem atque amicitiam tuam ut credas precor, nullum mihi in judicando impedimentum esse ex pudore mu– tandae sententiae. Nam cum in his, in quibus aetatem trivi, in literis inquam humanioribus et in jure, quotidie improbem quae antea proba mihi videbantur, nee id profiteri erubescam, cur me in iis rebus, in quibus minus laboravi, in quibus summa ingenia quotidie dissident, pudeat errorem agnoscere? Nihil ab animo meo longius abest, quam pertinacia: sed quia didici, quicquid non ex fide fit, id est a stipulante conscientia, peccatum esse, quicquam agere, quicquam affirrnare quod non rectum verumque dictet animus, reforrnido. Deurn precor, ut si quid discendurn mihi ad salutem restat, id rnihi pro summa sua mi– sericordia patefaciat, paratus ducentem sequi etiam per gravissima incommoda, quod et feci et facio hactenus in ea veritate, quae mihi illuxit... » 38 • Encouraged by the sentiments of open-mindedness regarding re– ligious truth which he discovered in Grotius, di Bagno, then, wrote to Hemelarius on January 16th, 1624. This letter is so important for our present purpose that we give it here at length. Admodum Ra 0 • D 00 • Jo. Hemelario Canonico Antuerpiensi. S. Admodum R.de Domine. Exemplar litterarum Groti a D. Tua mihi transmissum, legi libenter; atque in ipso quandam animi eius ingenuitatem agnovi. Unde spem maximam concepi, divinam Miseri– cordiam non permissuram praeclarum altumque ingenium istius viri, atque ad veritatem cdiscendam paratum, diutius haesitare. At profecto auribus eius sanam doctrinam instillare solis epistolis, nimis reor :38 P.C. MOLHUYSEN, Briefwisseling van Hugo Grotius II, 's-GraYenhagc 1936, 316-317; J,F,M. STERCK, De bekeering van Hugo de Groot, in Historisch Tijdschrift 1(1923) 22-38. The full text of· the letter is given in both works, but more complete explanatory notes to it will be found in J.F.M. STERCK, art. cit., 34-36. I should like lo express my thanks to Fr. Zeno, O.F.M.Cap., of the Dutch Province, who, at short notice, obtained a copy of this article for me. Cf. J. TER MEULEN - P..LJ. DIERMANSE, Bi/Jliographie des ecrits imprimes de Hugo Grotius, La Haye. 1950, 31, 109, 623.