Aquinas used reason to convince Muslims of the truth of Christianity, since they refused Scripture’s authority. Ramon lost little time in training his order in Aquinas’s apologetic. He secretly set up schools for missionaries in Tunis and Barcelona. His schools soon attracted interest. Friar Humbert de Romans wrote of them with glowing praise: “From Spain we learn that the Brethren, who for some years have given themselves up to the study of Arabic language, have made great progress, and what is