Late in December 1628 or early in January 1629 Rene Descartes arrived in Franeker in Friesland. He was thirty-two years old, and just a few weeks before, he had been summoned to a private interview with Cardinal Berulle, founder of the Society of Oratarians in France, rival of the Jesuits, who was deeply involved with the Catholic League and the Company of the Sacred Sacrament, a militant secret society of laymen pledged to fight for the Catholic cause by eliminating Protestantism in France, The cardinal was a strange mixture of astute politician, courtier, and mystic. He talked familiarly with God, angels, and the queen mother every day. He had convinced First Minister Richelieu - also a cardinal - to crush the last stronghold of Protestantism in France, La Rochelle, which fell under siege and starvation in late October with Cardinal Berulle marching triumphantly among the victors.
-Richard Watson, from the Prologue to Cogito, Ergo Sum: The Life of Rene Descartes
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