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FR. ARCHANGEL OF PEMBROKE AND GROTIUS 325 esse diflicile: quin imo vel librorum sola lectio fortean nec sufliceret. Consultius ideo fore aestimo, ut sermone alicuius viri docti diflicul-· tates quae mentem eius occupant, suaviter solvantur, et explanentur. Ad hoc 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, diflicultates quas in postremis suis litteris se habere autumat, cum praedicto sacerdote Religioso conferat; quem praemonere iam curavi. Spero enim per Misericordiarum Patrem Deum, hunc fore quandoque alterum Ananiam, apud quem Saulus deponet squammas quae oculos eius obtegunt. Simul atque Illm"' 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 40 • 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 exampie of the opinion held of Father Archangel by a contemporary well– placed to obtain all the infonnation required to form a sound and impartía! 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: namely, that Father Archangel of Pem– broke must be considered as one of the ablest apologists of Catholic doctrine available in París at the time the Nuncio wrote. ª" Bibliotheque Na!ionalc, Paris, rns. Fonds latins 5174, f.221; rns. Fonds latins, 5175", p.735-736; DE MEESTER, op. cit., 418. Unfortunately, de Meester misread this Ietter of di Bagno· ancl in thc sumrnary of it in Frcnch which he givcs, wrotc of Father Archangel as follows: « aussi serait-il bon que le PCre Archange I gardicn du couvcnt des capucins anglais de Paris, s'occupe de Grolius ». This slip passed unnoticed in <me review, at least, of de Meester's work. CL AMEDEUS A ZEDELGEM, O.F.M.Cap., Franciscalia in conunercio epistolari .Toannis Francisci Guidi di Bagno, Nuntii Flandriae (1621-1627), in Coll.Franc. 13(1943) 72. Mére Angélique Arnauld noted. unapprovingly, thc linc of Fathcr Archangel's learning; she said of hin1 1 (< si ce bon PCre n'cut point 6.té nourri dans la lecture des casuistes, il ne lui eut ríen manqué pour étre un parfai t religieux: mais n'ayant point cl'étucle que celle-fa clic lui a fail grand tort, néanmoins il nous étoit meilleur pour ce temps-fa que nul autre que nous eussions pu avoir, et ses conscils étoicnt proportionncz a ce que nous pouvions faire » (UBALD o'ALENgON, art. cit., 52). • The refercnce to Stobaeus in the letter relates to a work on this Greek poet of !he 5th ccntury A.D. by Grotius. Cf. DE MEESTER, op. cit., 407 n.1; J. TER MEULEN, Concise Bibliograp/iy of li. Grotius, Leyde 1925, 49. 'º There is much of the Nuncio's corresponclcnce in the privatc archives of !he Marquis– di Bagno a! Mantua. These archives, not accessible to the public, we have not had opportunity· to consult.