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FR. ARCHANGEL OF PEMBROKE AND GROTIUS 325 esse diflicile: quin imo vel Iibrorum sola lectio fortean nee sufficeret. Consultius ideo fore aestimo, ut sermone alicuius viri docti difficul– tates quae mentem eius occupant, suaviter solvantur, et explanentur. Ad hoe peragendum censeo peridoneum P. Archangelum Capuccinum Anglum Parisiensis Conventus Guardianum: virum, non doctrina so– lum sed pietate et dexteritate eximium. Iccirco unice cupio ut D. Tua roget D. Grotium, difficultates quas in postremis suis litteris se habere autumat, cum praedicto sacerdote Religioso conferat; quern praemonere iam curavi. Spero enim per Misericordiarum Patrem Deum, hunc fore quandoque alterum Ananiam, apud quern Saulus deponet squammas quae oculos eius obtegunt. Simul atque mm,.s D. Cardinalis de la Cueva Stobaeum reddiderit, D. Tuae remittam. D. Gra– phiarium Antuerp. a D. Tua mihi commendatum, hilari fronte et animo excepi, et postulatis eius annuere non dubitavi. Deus Opt. Max. D. Tuam quam diutissime, felicissime vivere, valere sinat. Bruxellae. XVII. Kal. Febr. MDCXXIV 39 • This document embodying the Nuncio's hopes concerning Grotius is the only mention that I have discovered of Father Archangel and this attempt to win the famous jurist to Catholicism· 10 • Yet, never-– theless, this solitary reference, taken in its context, gives us a new sight in history of this English Capuchin. Brief as it is, this testimony is of capital importance; for it is a particular and concrete example of the opinion held of Father Archangel by a contemporary well– placed to obtain all the information required to form a sound and impartial judgment, and thus it goes a certain step further towards obtaining a true, factual account of the friar. Bearing in mind di Bagno's customary caution and prudence, together with his obvious concern to find a satisfactory solution to the difficulties which withheld Grotius from accepting the Catholic faith, only one con– clusion seems warrantable: narnely, that Father Archangel of Pem– broke must be considered as one of the ablest apologists of Catholic doctrine available in Paris at the time the Nuncio wrote. 3B Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, ms. Fonds latins 5174, f.221; ms. Fonds latins, 5175", p.735-736; DE MEESTE!l, op. cit., 418. Unfortunately, de Meester misread this letter of di Bagno and in the summary of it in French which he gives, wrote of Father Archangel as follows: « aussi scrait-il bon quc le PCrc Archange, gardicn du couvcnt des capucins anglais de Paris, s'occupe de Grotius "· This slip passed unnoticed in one review, at least, of de Meestcr's work. Cf. AMEDEUS ,1 ZEDELGEM, O.F.M.Cap., Franciscalia in commercio epistolari .loannis Francisci Guidi di Bagno, Nun/ii Flandriae (1621-1627), in Coll.Franc. 13(1943) 72. Mere Angelique Arnaulcl nolccl, unapprovingly, the line of Father Archangel's learning; she said of hin1, « si cc bon PCre n'eut point Cte nourri dans la lecture des casuistes, il ne lui eut rlen manquC pour eLre un parfait religieux: n1ais n'ayant point cl'Ctude que celJe-13 clle Iui a fail grand tort, neanmoins iI nous etoit meilleur pour cc temps-l/1 quc nu! autre que nous eussions pu avoir, et ses conseiJs etoient proportionncz a ce que nous pouvions faire" (UBALD o'ALEN~ON, art. cit., 52). - The reference to Stobaeus in the letter relates to a work on this Greek poet of the 5th century A.D. by Grotius. Cf. DE MEESTER, op. cit., 407 n.1; J. TER MEULEN, Concise Bibliography of H. Grotius, Leyde 1925, 49. 40 There is much of the Nuncio's correspondence in the private archives of the Marquis– di Bagno at Mantua. These archives, not accessible to the public, we have not had opportunity' to consult.