m, they spread a report that
he had applied to the French Ministry, to use their influence with the
States-General for obtaining his pardon: they added, that the Ministry,
after praising the good disposition he was in, assured him the King
suffered him in France only because he knew these were his sentiments,
and that the way to obtain a pension from the Court was by seeking to
recover the favour of the States-General.

Grotius, informed of these reports, publicly declared he never
acknowledged that he had failed in any part of his conduct whilst in
place, and that his conscience bore him witness he had done nothing
contrary to Law. In a Letter[128] to Du Maurier he speaks of this
slander as what gave him great uneasiness. "An atrocious lye has been
spread, which vexes me extremely: it is reported that I being at liberty
have asked pardon, which I absolutely refused to do, even when it would
have saved me from ignominy, imprisonment, and the loss of my estate."

There was yet another sort of people of whom Grotius had no reason to be
very fond[129]: these were the Ministers of Charenton. They had received
the decisions of the Synod of Dort, and held the Remonstrants in
abhorrence: they would not therefore admit Grotius into their Communion.
But excepting these few all the French strove who should shew him
greatest civilities. Messieurs du Puis and Peyresc[130] made haste to
visit him as soon as they heard of his arrival. May 14, 1621, he writes
to Du Maurier that he had as much pleasure at Paris, as he had chagrin
in prison; that the Great gave him on all occasions marks of their
esteem, and the men of learning anticipated his wishes. The only thing
that troubled his joy for his happy escape was the thought of having
left in prison a wife to whom he had so great reason to be
attached[131]: this grieved him so much, as he afterwards declared,
that, had they kept her still in prison, he would have surrendered
himself to his persecutors, rather than have been separated from her for
ever.

The famous Peyresc took occasion to say, that by Grotius's arrival at
Paris the Dutch had made amends to France for having formerly carried
away from it the great Scaliger: this thought gave rise to two Latin
Epigrams[132].

FOOTNOTES:

[126] Praest. Vir. Epist. p 656.

[127] Ep. 136.

[128] Ep. 147.

[129] Du Maurier, p. 409.

[130] Ep 137.

[131] Ep. 164.

[132]

Gallia, Scaligerum dederas male sana Batavis: