Naude's pleas were ignored. Parliament was not moved. Naude
accepted the invitation of Queen Christina of Sweden to go to
Stockholm. Under her rule, the Swedish court had become a haven
for refugee intellectuals and artists, and knowing of Naude's reputa,
tion, the Queen appointed him royal librarian. However, he did not
stay long.
Mazarin, after his return to power in 1653, asked Naude to come
back to Paris and, Naude, still loyal, returned. Mazarin had already
begun an amazingly successful effort to reassemble the collection. As
Naude himself had bought all the medical books at the sale of the
collection, that part survived intact. Even members of the Fronde,
now eager to please the Cardinal, helped with the restoration of the
collection in the hope that it might again be available to the public.
Sadly, Naude fell ill during the trip. He died at the age of 53 in
Abbeille (Somme) before he reached Paris.
For Naude literature and congenial friends must have been fulfill,
ing. He once wrote, "I cannot make up my mind to marry, that
manner of life is too thorny and difficult for a man who loves
study". 31 His contemporaries report that his tastes were simple and
modest, that he lived like a true philosopher, and that his sobriety
was proverbial.
Today the Bibliotheque Mazarin is the oldest public library in Paris.
Since 1945 it has been administered by the Institut de France, which