Friend

The special friendship of Martin Delrio and Justus Lipsius (1547–1606), the famous neo-Stoic philosopher and humanist, was much trumpeted by their Catholic contemporaries, who used it as proof of Lipsius’s religious orthodoxy. Protestants later depicted their friendship as proof of the humanist’s weakness and submission instead. This chapter studies the letters the two men exchanged in the aftermath of Lipsius’s return to the Southern Netherlands in 1591. It argues that the initiative came from Lipsius, not Delrio. Lipsius was an active agent, who designated Delrio as his mentor, but who by no means let himself be guided. Instead, his friendship with Delrio provided Lipsius with a public platform on which to re-enact his reconciliation with Catholicism. While Lipsius is the protagonist of this chapter, his return to Catholicism has a notable impact on Delrio as well.