Golius, Petrus

Golius, Petrus, brother of J. Golius, was brought up by his maternal uncle, Jan Hemelaar, canon at Antwerp, in the: Roman Catholic Church, in which he remained through life. He shared his brother's fondness for Oriental studies. After spending several years in Palestine, he was appointed professor of Oriental languages at Rome. He translated Thomas a Kempis's work, De Imitatione Christi, into Arabic, and labored on an edition of the Bible in the same language. At the age of seventy-four he went to convert the heathen on the coasts of Malabar. He died at Surat. See Glasius, Godgeleerd Nederland, 1:536; Bayle, art. Hemelar. (J.P.W.)