ions already current among the Reformed churches
that, like his friend and patron, Canaye du Fresne, he was meditating
abjuration. From this time forward he became the object of the hopes and
fears of the two religious parties; the Catholics lavishing promises,
and plying him with arguments; the Reformed ministers insinuating that
he was preparing to forsake a losing cause, and only higgling about his
price. We now know enough of Casaubon's mental history to know how
erroneous were these computations of his motives. But, at the time, it
was not possible for the immediate parties to the bitter controversy to
understand the intermediate position between Genevan Calvinism and
Ultramontanism to which Casaubon's reading of the fathers had conducted
him.

Meantime the efforts of De Thou and the liberal Catholics to retain him
in Paris were successful. The king repeated his invitation to Casaubon
to settle in the capital, and assigned him a pension. No more was said
about the university. The recent reform of the university of Paris had
closed its doors to all but Catholics; and though the chairs of the
College de France were not governed by the statutes of the university,
public opinion ran so violently against heresy, that Henry IV. dared not
appoint a Calvinist to a chair, even if he had desired to do so. But it
was designed that Casaubon should succeed to the post of sub-librarian
of the royal library when it should become vacant, and a patent of the
reversion was made out in his favour. In November 1604, Jean Gosselin
died in extreme old age; and Casaubon succeeded him as sub-librarian,
with a salary of 400 livres in addition to his pension.

In Paris Casaubon remained till 1610. These ten years were the brightest
period of his life. He had attained the reputation of being, after
Scaliger, the most learned man of the age,--an age in which learning
formed the sole standard of literary merit. He was placed above penury,
though not in easy circumstances. He had such facilities for religious
worship as a Huguenot could have, though he had to go out of the city to
Hablon, and afterwards to Charenton, for them. He enjoyed the society of
men of learning, or of men who took an interest in learned publications.
He had the best opportunities of seeing men of letters from foreign
countries as they passed through Paris. Above all, he had ample
facilities for using Greek books, both printed and in MS., the want of
which he had felt pa