Skip to main content

Full text of "Memoirs of the life and writings of George Buchanan"

See other formats 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 

JAMES   J.   MC  BRIEE 


■ 


■      /l^h  i 


rfldJNV'MJr 


^•UBRARYQ*. 


i-UBRARY^ 


CALIF0%r        ^.OF 


O        P* 


-    Yf*-^/£ 

>    VI       J  S 

-S*    *  miniiiw 

lilFT! 

lilli^ 

3n#^ 

yft#H8n-3 

^%. 

C»      jjf***1-*. 

?  1  °% 

S  (fi  Q      § 

3     YWBL     Ti       \      f— i 

5*  \  ^L  *       ■    g? 

35    /^C5p 

IDNVSOl^ 

^« 

^dOV/ 

™ 

1  T""*,^L^^  Sg 

||i 

5 

^ILIBRARY^ 

«$E4JBRAR\ 

I       4  >— ' 

o-a 


MEMOIRS 


OF 


GEORGE  BUCHANAN. 


MEMOIRS 


LIFE  AND  WRITINGS 


GEORGE  BUCHANAN. 


DAVID  IRVING,  A.  M. 


EDINBURGH : 

FRINTID  FOR  BELL  AHD  8RADFUTE,    AND  A.  LAWKIE  ; 

AND  LONGMAN,  HURST,  REES,  AND  ORMI, 

LONDON. 

1807. 


AU*.  Zr<>-wrii  &  C:  Printers,  Edinburgh. 


DA 

727 


PREFACE. 


i  he  intellectual  endowments  of  George 
Buchanan  reflect  the  highest  splendour  on 
the  land  of  his  nativity ;  and  every  scholar 
who  derives  his  origin  from  the  same  coun- 
try, is  bound  to  cherish  and  revere  his  me- 
mory. Nor  is  his  reputation  confined  to 
his  native  soil,  and  to  the  sister  kingdoms  ; 
he  has  received  the  homage  of  every  learn- 
ed nation  of  Europe.  The  most  fastidious 
of  his  cotemporaries  recognized  him  as  the 
prince  of  poets  :  and  by  a  rare  felicity  of 
genius  which  yet  remains  without  a  parallel, 
he  attained  to  the  same  preeminence  as  a 
writer  of  prose.  His  profound  and  masterly 
treatise  I)c  Jure  Regrri  apud  Scotosy  excited 
the  universal  odium  of  those  who  imagined 
it  absolutely  unwarrantable  to  resist  the 
wildest  encroachments  of  arbitrary  power  ; 

a  3   . 

712480 


VI 


but  it  has  taught  modern  philosophers  to 
discuss  the  principles  of  political  science 
with  new  freedom  and  energy. 

These  are  not  the  hardy  assertions  of 
a  recluse  who  amuses  himself  with  ad- 
vancing singular  opinions  ;  they  are  abund- 
antly confirmed  by  the  authority  of  many 
distinguished  writers  of  various  nations, 
and  of  every  age  from  Buchanan's  to  that 
in  which  we  live.  The  high  estimation  in 
which  he  was  held  by  the  greatest  of  mo- 
dern scholars,  will  in  some  measure  appear 
from  the  subsequent  memoirs  :  but  it  may 
not  here  be  superfluous  to  exhibit  the  pre- 
vious testimonies  of  several  British  authors 
of  distinction,  who  flourished  during  the 
two  centuries  which  have  intervened  since 
his  death. 

Archbishop  Spotswood  denominates  him 
"  a  man  so  well  deserving  of  his  country 
as  none  more."a  Nor  can  that  worthy  and 
able  primate  be  suspected  of  any  undue 
partiality  in  his  favour. 

Bishop  Burnet  has  remarked  that  "  in 
his  writings  there  appears,  not  only  all  the 
beauty  and  graces   of  the   Latine   tongue, 

»  Spotswood's  Hist,  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  p.  325. 


Vll 

but  a  vigor  of  mind  and  quickness  of 
thought,  far  beyond  Bembo,  or  the  other 
Italians,  who  at  that  time  affected  to  revive 
the  purity  of  the  Roman  stile.  It  was  but 
a  feeble  imitation  of  Tully  in  them  ;  but 
his  stile  is  so  natural  and  nervous,  and  his 
reflections  on  things  are  so  solid,  (besides 
his  immortal  poems,  in  which  he  shews 
how  well  he  could  imitate  all  the  Roman 
poets,  in  their  several  ways  of  writing,  that 
he  who  compares  them,  will  be  ofren  tempt- 
ed to  prefer  the  copy  to  the  original,)  that 
he  is  justly  reckoned  the  greatest  and  best 
of  our  modem  authors."0 

Cowley,  speaking  of  the  writers  who  have 
executed  poetical  versions  of  the  psalms,  de- 
nominates Buchanan  "  much  the  best  of 
them  all,  and  indeed  a  great  person.'" 

Dryden,  notwithstanding  his  political 
prejudices,  has  likewise  mentioned  him  in 
terms  of  high  commendation.  "  Buchan- 
an indeed  for  the  purity  of  his  Latin,  and 
for  his  learning,  and  for  all  other  endow- 
ments belonging  to  an  historian,  might  be 
plac'd  amongst  the  greatest,  if  he  had  not 

'■'  Burnet's  Hist,  of  the  Reformation,  vol.  i,^p.  3H. 
c  Cowley':*  pref.  to  b'.^  Pinchriqua  Odes. 


Vlll 

too  much  lean'd  to  prejudice,  and  too  ma- 
nifestly declar'd  himself  a  party  of  a  cause, 
rather  than  an  historian  of  it.  Excepting 
only  that,  (which  I  desire  not  to  urge  too 
far  on  so  great  a  man,  but  only  to  give 
caution  to  his  readers  concerning  it,)  our 
isle  may  justly  boast  in  him,  a  writer  com- 
parable to  any  of  the  moderns,  and  excell'd 
by  few  of  the  ancients."d 

Sir  William  Temple,  another  very  po- 
pular writer,  was  also  among  the  number 
of  his  admirers.  "  Thus  began  the  restor- 
ation of  learning  in  these  parts,  with  that 
of  the  Greek  tongue ;  and  soon  after, 
Reuchlyne  and  Erasmus  began  that  of  the 
purer  and  ancient  Latin.  After  them  Bu- 
chanan carried  it,  I  think,  to  the  greatest 
heighth  of  any  of  the  moderns  before  or 
since.."' 

Lord  Monboddo,  whose  opinion  on  this 

d  Dryden's  Life  of  Plutarch,  p.  56. 

*  Reuchlin  has  found  an  industrious  biographer  in  his  coun- 
tryman J.  H.  Maius ;  whose  publication  bears  the  title  of 
"  Vita  Jo.  Reuchlini  Phoicensis,  primi  in  Germania  Hebrai- 
carum  Grsecarumque,  et  aliarurn  bonarum  Literarum  Instaura- 
toris."     Durlaci,  1687,  8vo. 

'  Temple's  Essay  upon  the  Ancient  and  Modern  Learning, 
n.  161. 


ix 


subject  at  least  is  not  singular,  prefers  his 
history  to  that  of  Livy.  "  I  will  begin 
with  my  countryman  Buchanan,  who  has 
written  the  history  of  his  own  country  in 
Latin,  and  in  such  Latin,  that  I  am  not 
afraid  to  compare  his  stile  with  that  of  any 
Roman  historian.  He  lived  in  an  age 
when  the  Latin  language  was  very  much 
cultivated  ;  and  among  the  learned  it  was 
not  only  the  only  language  in  which  they 
wrote,  but  a  living  language  ;  for  they 
spoke  no  other  when  they  conversed  toge- 
ther, at  least  upon  learned  subjects. ...  In 
such  an  age,  and  with  all  the  advantages  of 
a  learned  education,  did  George  Buchanan 
write  the  history  of  Scotland  from  the  ear- 
liest times  down  to  his  own  time  :  and  I 
hesitate  not  to  pronounce  that  the  stile  of 
his  narrative  is  better  than  that  of  Livy ; 
for  it  is  as  pure  and  elegant,  is  better  com- 
posed in  periods  not  intricate  and  involved 
like  .those  of  Livy,  and  without  that  affect- 
ed brevity  which  make's  Livy's  stile  so  ob- 
scure. Even  in  speeches,  in  which  Livy  is 
supposed  to  excel  so  much,  I  think  his  com- 
position is  better  ;  and  he  has  none  of  those 
short  pointed  sentences,  the  vibrantes  sentcn- 


twice,  which  Livy  learned  in  the  school  of 
declamation."15 

Dr.  Stuart,  though  one  of  the  most  stre- 
nuous defenders  of  Queen  Mary,  could  not 
dissemble  the  literary  excellence  of  Buchan- 
an. "  He  passed  with  propriety  from  the 
school  to  the  cabinet,  and  felt  himself  alike 
a  scholar  and  a  courtier.  In  poetry  he  was 
deemed  unrivalled  by  his  contemporaries. 
He  is  more  nervous,  more  various,  more 
elegant  than  the  Italian  poets.  He  has 
imitated  those  of  Rome  with  greater  grace 
and  purity.  His  psalms,  in  which  he  has 
employed  so  many  kinds  of  verse,  display 
admirably  the  extent  and  universality  of 
his  mind,  the  quickness  and  abundance  of 
his  fancy,  and  the  power  and  acuteness  of 
his  judgment.  In  history  he  has  contend- 
ed with  Livy  and  Sallust.  The  chequered 
scenes  of  his  life  had  given  him  a  wide  ex- 
perience of  the  world,  and  he  was  naturally 
of  a  thoughtful  disposition.  He  treats  ac- 
cordingly the  transactions  of  men  with 
great  prudence  and  discernment.  . . .  His 
learning  is  admirable  ;  his  penetration  bet- 

*  Monboddo's  Origin  and  Progress  of  Language,  vol.  v, 
p.  22<). 


ter  than  his  learning.  The  vigour  of  his 
mind,  the  interest  of  his  manner,  the  dig- 
nity of  his  narrative,  the  deepness  of  his 
remark,  the  purity  of  his  diction,  are  all 
conspicuous."11  ( 

Sir  James  Mackintosh  is  not  the  least  elo- 
quent of  his  distinguished  admirers.  "  The 
science  which  teaches  the  rights  of  man, 
the  eloquence  that  kindles  the  spirit  of  free- 
dom, had  for  ages  been  buried  with  the 
other  monuments  of  the  wisdom  and  relics 
of  the  genius  of  antiquity.  But  the  revival 
of  letters  first  unlocked  only  to  a  few,  the 
sacred  fountain.  The  necessary  labours  of 
criticism  and  lexicography  occupied  the 
earlier  scholars,  and  some  time  elapsed 
before  the  spirit  of  antiquity  was  trans- 
fused into  its  admirers.  The  first  man 
of  that  period  who  united  elegant  learn- 
ing to  original  and  masculine  thought 
was  Buchanan,  and  he  too  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  scholar  who  caught  from 
the  ancients  the  noble  flame  of  republic- 
an enthusiasm.  This  praise  is  merited 
by  his  neglected,  though  incomparable 
tract,    Be  Jure  Regni,   in  which  the  prin- 

h  Stuart's  Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol.  is,  p.  244. 


Xll 


ciples  of  popular  politics,  and  the  max- 
ims of  a  free  government,  are  delivered 
with  a  precision,  and  enforced  with  an 
energy,  which  no  former  age  had  equalled, 
and  no  succeeding  has  surpassed." 

The  fate  of  a  man  entitled  to  such  splend- 
id encomiums  must  certainly  excite  con- 
siderable interest.  But  even  from  greater 
characters  than  these,  he  has  obtained  more 
enthusiastic  commendation :  Grotius  de- 
scribes him  as  Scotia  illud  numeric  that  Scot- 
ish  divinity. 

The  history  of  Buchanan  is  the  history 
of  an  individual  unrivalled  in  modern 
times.  To  have  selected  so  important  and 
so  difficult  a  subject,  may  seem  to  require 
an  apology  :  but  if  important  subjects  were 
only  to  be  investigated  by  men  endowed 
with  every  qualification,  the  number  of  li- 
terary productions  would  be  prodigiously 
diminished.  These  memoirs  claim  no  other 
merit  than  that  of  good  intentions ;  and 
they  may  possibly  suggest  a  fortunate  un- 
dertaking to  some  more  competent  enquir- 
er. 

A  few  years  previous  to  Buchanan's  death, 

•  Mackintosh's  Defence  of  the  French  Revolution,  p.  309. 


Xlll 

some  of  his  numerous  friends  felt  a  laudable 
solicitude  to  secure  authentic  memorials  of 
so  illustrious  a  character.  With  this  view, 
Sir  Thomas  Randolph  addressed  a  letter  to 
Young,  which  is  not  unworthy  of  our  pre- 
sent attention. 

"  After  my  verie  hartie  commendacions. 
Beinge  lately  mouid  with  the  remembrance 
of  my  maister  Mr. G.Buchanan  by  the  sight 
of  a  booke  of  his,  De  Jure  Regni  apud  Scotosy 
and  callinge  to  mynde  the  notable  actes  of 
his  lyfe,  his  studie,  his  trauayle,  his  danger, 
his  wisdome,  his  learninge,  and,  to  be  short, 
as  muche  as  could  be  wished  in  a  man  ;  I 
thought  the  kinge  your  maister  more  hap- 
pie  that  had  Buchanan  to  his  maister,  then 
Alexander  the  Great  that  had  Aristotell  his 
instructor.  I  thought  you  very  lukye  that 
had  his  daily  company,  ioynid  in  office  of 
lyke  seruice,  and  thanckid  God  not  a  litle 
for  my  self,  that  euer  I  was  acquaintid  with 
him.  For  one  that  hath  so  great  acquaint- 
ance as  he  hath  with  many  learnid,  and 
compaignons  of  his  lyfe,  and  that  hath  so 
wel  deseruid  of  the  worlde,  I  maruaille 
that  no  man  hath  written  of  it ;  beinge  a 
thinge  so  common  vnto  all  famous  per- 


XIV 

sonnes,  and  most  peculiar  to  the  best  learn- 
id.  Heerin  I  might  chiefiie  blame  you,  my 
good  freind  Maister  Yonge,  so  neere  vnto 
him,  so  deere  vnto  him,  that  nothinge  can 
be  hid  of  that  which  you  desyre  to  knowe. 
If  you  say  that  tyme  yeat  seruithe,  and  that 
he  yeat  liuethe  whose  life  I  wishe  to  be  sett 
foorthe,  surelie  yeat  I  say  vnto  you  that  yf 
it  be  donne  after  his  deathe,  many  thinges 
may  be  omittid  that  were  worthie  of  fa- 
mous memo!  ie,  by  him  to  be  better  knowen 
then  after  his  deathe.  The  cause  of  the 
wrytinge  against  the  grey  friars  is  knowen 
to  many:  but  afterwardes  howe  chey  preuail- 
id  against  him,  that  he  was  fayne  to  leaue 
his  contrey,  howe  he  escapid  with  great 
hazard  of  lyfe  at  Godes  hand,  the  thieues 
on  the  borders,  the  plague  in  the  north  of 
Kngland,  what  reliefe  he  found  heere  at  a 
famous  knightes  handes,  Sir  John  Rains- 
forde,  the  onlie  man  that  maintaynid  him 
against  the  furie  of  the  Papistes  ;  none  doth 
knowe  so  well  as  him  self,  or  can  giue  bet- 
ter notes  of  his  life  then  him  self  can.  As 
he  liuith  vertuouslie,  so  I  doubt  not  but  he 
will  dye  Christianly,  and  [this]  may  be 
add  id  when  the  former  is  perfectlie  knowen. 


XV 

This  is  desirid  by  many,  specially  lookid 
for  at  your  handcs,  that  can  best  doe,  and 
are  fittest  to  trauayle  in  so  worthie  a  worke. 
As  I  craue  this  at  your  handes,  so  shall  you 
command  what  is  my  power.  And  thus 
wishinge  vnto  yow,  my  good  freind,  harte- 
Jy  well,  I  take  my  leaue.  London,  the  15th 
of  Marche  1579."k 

It  is  certainly  to  be  regretted  that  Sir  Peter 
Young  declined  the  task  which  was  thus  sug- 
gested with  such  commendable  zeal;  foritwas 
evidently  in  his  power  to  exhibit  a  copious 
and  authentic  account  of  his  admirable  col- 
league. About  the  crisis  to  which  our  at- 
tention is  now  directed,  Buchanan,  at  the 
request  of  his  friends,  composed  a  brief 
memoir  of  the  principal  events  of  his  long 
and  variegated  life.  This  biographical  tract 
displays  his  wonted  modesty  and  elegance : 
but  it  descends  no  later  than  the  period  of 
his  final  return  to  Scotland  ;  and  the  whole 
of  it  only  occupies  seven  small  pages.  Nor 
is  the  author  sufficiently  careful  to  mark 
the  chronological  succession  of  the  events 
which  he  there  records.  This  rapid  sketch, 
so  far  as  it  extends,  is  however  our  safest 

*  Buchanani  Epistolse,  p.  19. 


XVI 

guide.  An  edition  of  it  was  long  after- 
wards published  by  Sir  Robert  Sibbald  ; 
who  added  several  biographical  notices,  and 
augmented  the  number  of  the  testimonies 
collected  by  oir  Thomas  Pope  Blount. 

The  name  of  Buchanan,  it  may  be  almost 
superfluous  to  remark,  occurs  in  every  col- 
lection of  general  biography.  The  article 
inserted  in  the  very  curious  work  of  Bayle, 
is  extremely  defective:  this  acute  and  sin- 
gular man  seems  to  have  been  but  little 
acquainted  with  the  productions  of  Bu- 
chanan, and  still  less  with  the  genuine  cha- 
racter of  their  author.  But  to  the  learned 
and  indefatigable  Le  Clerc  our  obligations 
are  not  inconsiderable.  This  writer,  who, 
in  the  year  1706,  inserted  in  one  of  his  pe- 
riodical publications  a  dissertation  De  George 
Buchanan  et  de  ses  Ouvrages,  had  evidently 
perused  his  works  with  attention,  and  had 
formed  no  injudicious  estimate  of  his  per- 
1  and  literary  merits. 

Still  however  no  other  separate  memoir 
had  been  undertaken,  or  at  least  had  made  its 
appearance.  During  the  earlier  part  of  last 
century,  George  Crawfurd  addressed  to  the 

1  Le  Clcrc,  BibJiotherjue  Choisic,  torn,  viii,  p.  106. 


xvu 

gentlemen  of  the  name  of  Buchanan,  pro- 
posals for  writing  and  publishing  the  life 
of  this  illustrious  scholar  ;  but  his   project 
seems  not  to  have  been  received  with  ade- 
quate encouragement.    He  proceeded  how- 
ever to  the  completion  of  his  work :  and  in 
the  year  1751,  after  the   author's   decease, 
proposals   for  printing   it   were   issued   at 
Glasgow,  but  with  no  better  success.111     A 
biographical  account  of  Buchanan  was  also 
composed   by    Mr.    Wodrow  ;n    and,    like 
Crawfurd's  production,  it  still  remains  un- 
published.    These  manuscript  works  I  have 
never  seen.     At  a  more  recent  period,  the 
task  of  writing  his  life  was  successively  re- 
commended, by  the  earl  of  Buchan,  to  Dr. 
Stuart  and  to  Dr.  Dunbar  :  and  either  of 
those  able  men  could  have  invested  the  sub- 
ject with  charms,  which  the  reader  will  in 
vain  expect  to  discover  in  the  Subsequent 
pages.     If  however  we  consider  the  com- 
plexion of  Dr.  Stuart's  history  of  Scotland, 
his  declining  this  undertaking  can  certain- 
ly excite  very  little   regret:  but   the  elo- 
quence and  superior  candour  of  Dr.  Dun- 

m  Chalmers's  Life  of  Ruddiman,  p.  309- 
*  Love's  Vindication  of  Buchanan,  p.  40: 


XVlll 

bar  would  have  enabled  him  to  display  the 
variegated  excellence  of  Buchanan  with 
powerful  effect. 

Although  no  regular  account  of  his  life 
was  composed  by  Mr.  Ruddiman,  yet  from 
the  labours  of  that  learned  and  worthy  man 
I  have  derived  very  important  aid.  His 
edition  of  the  works  of  Buchanan0  is  entit- 
led to  high  commendation.  The  plan  of 
such  a  collection  was  originally  formed  by 
George  Mosman  ;  and  the  impression  was 
actually  proceeding  in  the  year  1702.p  Af- 
ter a  few  sheets  had  been  completed,  the 
property  was  transferred  to  Robert  Free- 
bairn,  printer  to  the  king,  and  Ruddiman 
was  by  him  engaged  in  the  undertaking  jq 
but  the  edition  did  not  make  its  appearance 
till  the  year  1715.  It  reflects  equal  credit  on 
the  printer  and  on  the  editor.  Ruddiman's 
masterly  acquaintance  with  philology,  and 
with  the  history  of  his  native  country,  had 
eminently  qualified  him  for  his  laborious 
task.  The  accuracy  of  the  text,  and  the 
utility  of  his  illustrations,  are  equally  con- 

o  Edinb.  1715,  2  torn.  fol. 

p  Sibbaldi  Comment,  in  Vitam  Buchanani,  pra:f. 

<i  Ruddiman's  Anticrisis,  p.  22. 


XIX 

spicuous.  He  has  prefixed  a  copious  and 
satisfactory  preface  ;  and,  among  other  ap- 
pendages, has  added  a  curious  and  critical 
dissertation  De  Metris  Bucha?ianais.  His 
annotations  on  Buchanan's  history  are  par- 
ticularly elaborate  and  valuable  ;  but  it  is 
to  be  lamented  that  his  narrow  politics 
should  so  frequently  have  diverted  him 
from  the  more  useful  tracts  of  enquiry. 
Where  political  prejudices  intervene,  he  is 
too  eager  to  contradict  his  author ;  and  he 
often  attempts,  by  very  slender  and  incom- 
petent proofs,  to  extenuate  the  authenticity 
of  his  narration.  In  illustrating  the  moral 
and  literary  character  of  Buchanan,  he 
spent  many  years  of  his  life.  With  great 
zeal  and  success,  he  afterwards  vindicated 
his  paraphrase  of  the  psalms  against  the  fri- 
volous objections  of  Mr.  Benson  ;  but  his 
political  prejudices  seem  to  have  encreased 
with  the  number  of  his  years.  His  con- 
troversies with  Mr.  Love  and  Mr.  Man 
were  conducted  with  sufficient  pertinacity  5 
though  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the 
advantage  of  learning,  and  even  of  candour, 
generally  inclines  to  Ruddiman's  side.  The 
perusal  of  his  controversial  works  in  the  or- 

32 


XX 

der  of  their  composition,  is  a  task  of  con- 
siderable interest  and  edification.  When 
he  concluded  his  annotations  on  the  life  of 
Buchanan,  he  was  disposed  to  regard  him, 
with  Nathan  Chytraeus,  as  "  a  most  excel- 
lent and  most  innocent  man,  and  entitled 
to  perpetual  remembrance  on  account  of 
his  exquisite  learning  and  dignity  ;"  but 
when  galled  by  his  antagonists,  and  morti- 
fied by  the  fading  hopes  of  the  royal  house 
of  Stewart,  he  gradually  adopted  new  opi- 
nions which  were  not  founded  on  any  new 
evidence.  It  must  frequently  have  occur- 
red to  his  reflections,  that  Buchanan  had 
essentially  contributed  to  the  dissemination 
of  those  doctrines  which  led  to  the  revolu- 
tion ;  and  after  the  hopes  of  the  Jacobites 
were  completely  blasted,  he  expressed  him- 
self with  a  degree  of  asperity  which  is 
chiefly  to  be  regretted  for  his  own  sake. 
One  example  will  probably  be  deemed  suf- 
ficient. "  But,  alas  !  what  will  his  great 
admirers  gain  by  that  concession  ?  Only 
this,  that  they  make  him  die  an  hardened 
and  impenitent  sinner ;  and  rather  than 
his  reputation,  or  more  truly  that  of  their 
own  cause,  should  suffer  in  this  world,  they 


XXI 

choose  (horresco  referens  !)  to  let  him  drop 
into  hell  in  the  next."r  On  various  topics 
connected  with  the  personal  character  of 
Buchanan,  his  reasoning  is  not  very  much 
superior  to  that  of  his  egregious  biogra- 
pher :  nor  is  this  to  be  imputed  to  his  want 
of  acuteness,  but  to  his  eagerness  in  de- 
fending opinions  which  had  been  fiercely 
attacked,  and  which  in  reality  were  inde- 
fencible. 

The  political  tendency  of  his  preface  and 
notes  was  so  far  from  being  agreeable  to 
the  admirers  of  Buchanan,  that  an  associ- 
ation, consisting  of  Mr.  Anderson,  the  Rev. 
George  Logan,  and  many  other  adherents 
of  the  Whig  party,  was  speedily  formed  at 
Edinburgh  for  the  express  purpose  of  vin- 
dicating their  favourite  author  in  a  new 
edition  of  his  works.5  Their  efforts  how- 
ever proved  abortive,  and  the  task  of  editor- 
ship devolved  into  more  able  bauds.  Ten 
years  after  the  appearance  of  Ruddiman's 
edition,  another'  was  published  by  Dr.  Pe- 
ter Burman  of  Leyden  ;  a  most  indefatig- 
able and  useful  labourer  in  the  province 

'  Ruddiman's  Animadversions,  p.  13. 

*  Chalmers,  p.  T-*. 

c  Lued.  Bit.  1725,  2  torn.  4to. 

b3 


xxu 

of  philology.  A  rrested  by  the  frequent  and 
wide  variance  between  the  author  and  his 
jure  dtvino  editor,  Burman  had  nearly  been 
induced  to  relinquish  his  undertaking,  and 
to  advise  his  printer  Langerak  to  procure 
assistance  from  Scotland,  where  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  facts  could  best  be  ascertained. 
Of  the  new  edition  meditated  at  Edin- 
burgh he  was  likewise  apprized  ;  though  it 
does  not  appear,  as  some  authors  pretend, 
that  the  associated  critics  made  him  a  vo- 
luntary offer  of  private  assistance.  The 
printer  however  urging  him  to  proceed 
without  waiting  for  this  vindicatory  edi- 
tion, he  at  length  republished  the  works  of 
Buchanan,  together  with  Ruddiman's  pre- 
face, notes,  dissertation,  and  other  append- 
ages. The  annotations  which  he  himself  sub- 
joined are  almost  entirely  ot  the  philological 
kind.  His  other  engagements  did  not  per-  . 
mit  him  to  undertake  the  office  of  superin- 
tending the  press  ;  and  accordingly  his  edi- 
tion is  somewhat  less  correct  than  that  of 
Ruddiman.  The  general  value  of  his  pre- 
decessor's labours  he  acknowledges  in  terms 
of  due  respect  ju  but  he  occasionally  rejects 

■  "  Sine  controversia  ab""oznnibus  eruditis  insignem  iniit 


XX111 

his  particular  opinions  in  a  manner  which 
that  learned  man  was  disposed  to  regara  as 
contemptuous  ;  and  some  of  his  expressions 
relative  to  British  literature,  and  to  the 
country  of  Buchanan,  were  such  as  could 
not  easily  be  forgotten.  Two  years  after- 
wards, when  Ruddiman  edited  the  poems 
of  Dr.  Pitcairne,x  he  eagerly  embraced  an 
opportunity  of  asserting  the  honour  of  his 
native  land  ;  and  the  same  topics  were  yet 
fresh  in  his  recollection  when  he  resumed 
his  long  labours  at  the  venerable  age  of 
eighty-one.  "  It  came  very  ill  from  a  Dutch 
professor,"  he  remarks,  "  to  undervalue  a 
people  or  country,  to  whose  valour  his  re- 
publick  is  so  much  indebted  for  its  flourish- 
ing condition,  and  from  whose  troops  it  has 
received  so  much  benefit  and  advantage. 
And  I  will  add  too  that  it  was  both  ingrate 
and  impertinent  in  him  to  speak  to  the  dis- 
advantage of  a  country,  from  whence  so 
many  young  noblemen  and  gentlemen  year- 

gratiam,  vir  et  rerum  patriarum  scientia,  et  elegantioris  doc- 
trines copiis  instructissimus,  Thomas  Ruddirrmnnus  j  cum  hanc 
in  se  provinciam,  plenam  taedii  et  molestiarum,  suscipere  non 
rccusaret."     (Burmanni  Pr*f.in  Buchananum.) 
*  Edinb.  1727,  12mo. 


XXIV 


ly  repaired  to  him,  for  improvement  in 
their  studies  ;  and  by  whom,  no  doubt,  he 
was  liberally  rewarded  for  his  instructions. 
But  as  Mr.  Burman  was  glad,  as  I  am  told, 
to  own  himself  in  the  wrong,  to  several 
Scots  gentlemen,  who  had  been  his  dis- 
ciples, and  has  been  pretty  roundly  chas- 
tised for  it  by  others,  I  shall  say  no  more 
of  it  in  this  place."'  To  these  circumstan- 
ces I  merely  allude  as  characteristic  of  the 
■excellent  old  man,  and  without  any  very 
strong  inclination  to  adopt  the  full  measure 
of  his  resentment.  The  inhabitants  of  every 
country  have  been  undervalued  in  their 
turn  ;  and  few  nations  of  ancient  or  modern 
Europe  have  experienced  greater  injustice 
than  that  to  which  Burman  himself  belong- 
ed. 

These  are  the  only  collective  editions  of 
Buchanan  which  have  hitherto  appeared  ; 
but  it  was  justly  remarked  by  the  learned 
professor  that,  with  the  exception  of  Eras- 
mus, no  modern  writer  had  so  frequently 
visited  the  press.2     His  works  have  been 

y  Ruddiman's  Further  Vindication,  p.  54. 
*  "  Ut  inter  recentiores  scriptores,"  says  Burman,  "  qui  a 
renatis  literis  nomen  ullum  sunt  consecuti,  si  unum  Erasmum 


XXV 

published  in  every  possible  form,  and  with 
all  the  attention  usually  bestowed  on  those 
of  an  ancient  classic.  The  edition  quoted 
in  the  subsequent  memoirs  is  uniformly 
that  of  Ruddiman.  The  incorrectness  and 
variations  of  the  earlier  impressions  have  af- 
forded his  commentators  no  inconsiderable 
exercise ;  and  although  he  flourished  after 
the  invention  of  printing,  they  have  fre- 
quently had  recourse  to  the  aid  of  manu- 
scripts. A  new  and  splendid  edition  of  the 
works  of  Buchanan  might  reflect  the  high- 
est credit  on  the  Edinburgh  press.  It  ought 
to  contain  the  two  Scotish  compositions  ex- 
cluded by  Ruddiman  and  Burman,  together 
with  such  fugitive  pieces  as  may  yet  be  re- 
covered. Several  unpublished  poems  ascrib- 
ed to  Buchanan,  occur  among  the  Cotton 
MSS.  preserved  in  the  British  Museum; 
but  some  of  them  have  been  mutilated  by 
the  unfortunate  conflagration  of  1731. 

excipias,  nullus  ostendi  posset,  qui  toties  prsela  fatigavcrit,  et 
tam  perpetuo  per  omnia  tempora  tenore  famam  et  gloriam  te- 
nuerit.  Nullum  ego,  si  ab  antiquioribus  decesseri?,  celebrari 
umquam  audivi  aut  legi,  qui  cum  Buchanano  contendere  possit  \ 
aut  cujus  scripta  tam  assidua  doctorum  virorum  manu  versata, 
et  etiam  in  publicis  et  privatis  scholis  pueris  et  adolescentibus 
cdiscenda  fuerint  data," 


XXVI 


The  literary  productions  of  Buchanan 
aow  stood  the  test  of  several  ages  ;  and 
every  candid  investigation  of  his  personal 
character  will  unquestionably  tend  to  renew- 
that  unborrowed  splendour,  which  "  evil 
days  and  evil  tongues"  have  contributed  in 
some  measure  to  obscure.  His  generous 
and  manly  principles  have  rendered  him 
extremely  odious  to  the  advocates  of  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  tyranny.  It  was  more- 
over his  fortune  to  cooperate  with  states^ 
men  who  effected  the  downfal  of  a  princess, 
whose  personal  accomplishments,  and  unex- 
ampled sufferings,  have  served  to  throw  an 
imposing  veil  over  the  most  atrocious  of  her 
actions.  Animated  with  a  spirit  of  chivalry, 
and  therefore  utterly  incapable  of  sober  in- 
vestigation, various  champions  have  arisen 
in  defence  of  her  innocence  :  but  if  some  of 
those  mighty  redressers  of  wrongs  have  ma- 
nifested a  daring  contempt  of  historical  and 
moral  evidence  ;  if  they  have  with  astonish- 
ing pertinacity  endeavoured  to  destroy  the 
credit  of  the  most  authentic  documents  ;  if, 
in  order  to  vindicate  Queen  Mary,  they 
have  found  it  necessary  to  represent  each  of 
her  enemies  as  possessed  with  at  least  seven 


XXV11 

devils;  it  would  require  no  ordinary  share  of 
charity  to  suppose,  that  they  are  sincere 
lovers  of  that  distributive  justice  of  which 
they  profess  to  be  so  deeply  enamoured. 
The  artifices  of  those  writers  have  been  ex- 
posed, and  their  arguments  most  complete- 
ly refuted,  by  Dr.  Robertson  and  Mr.  Laing ; 
nor  is  it  very  probable  that  any  future  vin- 
dicator of  Queen  Mary  will  succeed  in  im- 
posing, by  his  sophistical  verbosity,  on  the 
good  nature  of  a  British  public. 

Many  obvious  causes  have  long  contri- 
buted to  expose  Buchanan  to  the  obloquy 
of  illiberal  men,  whose  approbation  he  had 
no  wish  to  secure.8  But  the  most  extraor- 
dinary attack  which  he  has  yet  sustained 
was  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  George  Chalmers  ; 
a  critic  unacquainted  with  the  works  of 
Buchanan,  and  even  with  the  language  in 
which  they  are  chiefly  composed.  This 
pompous  and  obtuse  writer,  who  has  plen- 
tifully scattered  the  most  clumsy  abuse,  I 

*  The  subsequent  passage  occurs  in  the  editor's  preface  to 
Sir  Philip  Warwick's  Discourse  of  Government.  Lond.  1694-, 
8vo.  "  The  disciples  <nid  followers  of  Buchanan,  Hobbes, 
and  Milton,  have  exceeded  their  masters  in  downright  impu- 
dence, scurrility,  and  lying." 


XXV111 

have  certainly  treated  with  very  little  cere- 
mony :b  nor  is  much  tenderness  due  to  the 
feelings  of  a  man  who  has  so  grossly  violat- 
ed the  sanctuary  of  the  venerable  dead.0 
His  total  want  of  classical  learning,  the 
grim  fatuity  of  his  style,  and  even  the  per- 
petual obliquity  of  his  judgment,  might 
easily  have  escaped  severe  animadversion  ; 
but,  to  adopt  his  own  phraseology,  "  our 
detractor's  zeal  of  calumny"  must  excite 
the  utter  indignation  of  every  reflecting 
mind.  His  rancour  indeed  is  not  only 
impotent,  but,  on  many  occasions,  even 
ludicrous  ;  and  it  may  perhaps  be  deemed 
a  work  of  supererogation,  to  expose  ignor- 
ance or  folly  which  so  clearly  exposes  it- 
self. He  wrote  at  a  crisis  when  it  was  easy 
to  acquire  a  golden  stock  of  merit,  by  stig- 

k  For,  as  St.  Gregory  remarks,  "  aliter  admonendi  sunt  im- 
pudentes,  atque  aliter  verecundi.  Illos  namque  ab  impuden- 
tise  vitio  non  nisi  increpatio  dura  compescit  j  istos  autem  ple- 
runque  ad  melius  exhortatio  modesta  componit."  (De  Cura 
Pastoral!,  p.  107,  edit.  Jer.  Stephani.  Lond.  1629,,  8vo.) 

c  Dr.  Eglisham's  treatment  of  Buchanan  drew  from  Daniel 
Heinsius  these  expressions  of  poignant  indignation.  "  Quo- 
minus  est  ferendum,  esse  hominem  tarn  confidentem  qui  leoni 
mortuo  insultet.  Sed  et  pulices  et  pedes  idem  faciunt  ;  ani- 
inalia  quae  e  putredine  nascuntur."  (Burmanni  Sylloge  Epis- 
tolarum,  torn,  ii,  p.  \ol.) 


XXIX 

matizing  the  king's  best  subjects  with  the 
odious  brand  of  wild  democracy.  Of  this 
timely  circumstance  he  has  repeatedly  avail- 
ed himself  in  a  very  preposterous  manner ; 
and  it  was  apparently  the  swelling  con- 
sciousness of  what  was  then  termed  loyalty, 
that  augmented  his  provision  of  native  in- 
solence. To  involve  Buchanan  and  his  ad- 
mirers in  the  flagrant  odium  of  French  prin- 
ciples, was  a  stratagem  not  unworthy  of  its 
author's  liberal  dexterity.  The  subsequent 
lines  of  his  Jephthes  Buchanan  might  almost 
be  suspected  of  having  composed  with  a  pro- 
phetic allusion  to  this  phoenix  of  modern 
literature. 

Nunc  quo  quis  est  e  plebe  ferme  indoctior, 
Auctoritatcm  assumit  arrogantius 
Dijudicandi  in  rebus  obscurissimis  ; 
Et  pertinaci  (quod  fere  ignorantiae  est) 
Animo  tuetur  dogma  susceptum  semel. 
Nee  interim  aequo  expendit  examine,  mala 
An  recta  sint  qua:  pertinaciter  tenet : 
Sed  quum  inter  omnes  maxime  csecutiat, 
Coecus  videntes  ccecitatis  arguit. 
Ut  cui  perusta  febre  fervent  viscera, 
Amara  cuncta  credit,  unumque  autumat 
Se  sapere,  quum  desipiat  unus  maxime. 

But  the  nation  has  now  begun  to  recover 


xxx 

from  its  general  phrensy ;  and  a  man  may 
perhaps  venture  to  pay  some  slight  regard 
to  reason  and  common  sense,  without  in- 
curring the  hazard  of  being  deemed  un- 
worthy to  breathe  in  British  r.  The  ard- 
ent wishes  of  Buchanan's  heart  were  con- 
tinually directed  towards  the  best  interests 
of  mankind.  It  is  not  the  intention  of  his 
humble  biographer  to  promote  the  insane 
projects  of  desperate  visionaries  ;  but  it  is 
equally  incompatible  with  his  views  to  "  re- 
bellow to  the  roar"  of  that  degrading  phrase- 
ology, which  of  late  has  so  frequently  in- 
sulted the  dignity  of  a  free  and  enlightened 
people.  His  opinions,  which  are  simple 
and  honest,  he  has  delivered  without  am- 
bition and  without  timidity  ;  without  any 
superfluous  allusion  to  subjects  apt  to  in- 
flame the  passions  of  his  cotemporaries,  but 
with  a  total  disregard  of  those  sinister  and 
distorted  applications,  so  familiar  to  cer- 
tain individuals  whose  praise  is  no  recom- 
mendation. 

December  5,  1805. 


MEMOIRS 


LIFE  AND  WRITINGS 


GEORGE  BUCHANAN. 


Buchanan  was  born  in  an  age  of  little  refine- 
ment, and  enjoyed  none  of  the  early  advantages 
which  result  from  hereditary  wealth ;  but  his  in- 
trinsic greatness  of  mind  enabled  him  to  emerge 
from  original  obscurity,  and  to  earn  a  reputation 
which  can  only  decay  with  literature  itself.  By 
the  universal  suffrage  of  the  learned,  he  has  been 
stationed  near  the  summit  of  modern  renown  ; 
but  his  moral  qualities  are  sometimes  considered 
as  more  equivocal.  H.s  character  has  however 
been  subjected  to  a  most  rigid  and  inhuman  scru- 
tiny :  his  genuine  actions  have  been  misrepre- 
sented, if  not  with  all  the  powers,  certainly  with 

A 


all  the  propensities,  of  the  vilest  sophistry :  and 
many  fictitious  actions  have  been  industriously 
imputed  to  him,  for  the  sake  of  completing  the 
picture  of  his  iniquities.  He  has  a  thousand 
times  been  upbraided  with  horrible  ingratitude 
for  favours  which  he  never  received.  To  prove 
the  purest  of  mankind  guilty  of  the  most 
heinous  crimes,  will  always  be  extremely  easy, 
where  passion  and  prejudice  are  permitted  to 
supply  every  deficiency  of  evidence  ;  where  the 
witnesses  are  strangers  to  common  veracity,  and 
the  judges  utterly  unable  or  unwilling  to  appre- 
tiate  their  testimony.  The  character  of  Buchan- 
an excited  the  respect  and  even  the  veneration 
of  cotemporaries  highly  distinguished  for  their 
moral  virtues,  and  for  their  intellectual  endow- 
ments ;  and  it  unquestionably  suggests  another 
strong  presumption  in  his  favour,  that  notwith- 
standing all  the  persevering  anxiety  of  a  regular 
succession  of  enemies,  political  and  theological, 
his  long  and  chequered  life  has  actually  been 
found  to  betray  so  few  of  the  frailties  inseparable 
from  humanity.  His  stern  integrity,  his  love  of 
his  country  and  of  mankind,  cannot  fail  of  en- 
dearing his  memory  to  those  who  possess  conge- 
nial qualities  ;  and  such  errors  as  he  really  com- 
mitted, will  not  perhaps  be  deemed  unpardon- 
able by  those  who  recollect  that  they  are  also 
men, 


George  Buchanan  was  born  about  the  begin- 
ning of  February,  in  the  year  1506.  His  father 
was  Thomas,  the  second  son  of  Thomas  Buchan- 
an of  Drummikill,  his  mother  Agnes  Heriot  of 
the  family  of  Trabroun.*  The  house  from  which 
he  descended,  he  has  himself  characterized  as 
more  remarkable  for  its  antiquity  than  for  its 
opulence.  The  only  patrimony  which  his  fa- 
ther inherited,  was  the  farm  of  Mid-Leowen,  or, 
as  it  is  more  commonly  denominated,  the  Moss, 
situated  in  the  parish  of  Killearn  and  county  of 
Stirling.  During  the  lifetime  of  the  present  pro- 
prietor, Mr.  William  Finlay,  who  has  now  attain- 
ed to  the  primitive  age  of  ninety,  the  farm-house 
in  which  Buchanan  was  born,  has  twice  been 
rebuilt :  but  on  each  occasion,  its  original  dimen- 
sions and  characteristics  have  been  studiously 
preserved ;  and  an  oak  beam,  together  with  an 
intermediate  wall,  has  even  retained  its  ancient 
position.  The  present  building,  which  may  be 
considered  as  a  correct  model  of  Buchanan's  pa- 
ternal residence,  is  a  lowly  cottage  thatched  with 
stiaw  ;  but  this  cottage  is  still  visited  with  a  kind 
of  religious  veneration.  A  fragment  of  the  oak 
is  regarded  as  a  precious  relique ;  and  an  Irish 
student  who  thirsted  for  a  portion  of  Buchanan's 
inspiration,  is  known  to  have  travelled  from 
Glasgow,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  house, 

a  WilL  Buchanan'*  Essay,  upon  the  Family  and  Surname  of  Euchanan, 
|>.  87.  8vo. 

a2 


and  passing  a  night  directly  under  the  original 
beam.5 

Buchanan's  father  died  of  the  stone  at  a  pre- 
mature age  ;  and,  about  the  same  period,  his 
grandfather  found  himself  in  a  state  of  insolven- 
cy. The  family,  which  had  never  been  opulent, 
was  thus  reduced  to  extreme  poverty :  but  his 
mother  struggled  hard  with  the  misery  of  her 
condition;  and  all  her  children,  five  sons  and 
three  daughters,  arrived  at  the  age  of  maturity.0 
The  third  son,  whose  extraordinary  attainments 
have  rendered  the  family  illustrious,  is  reported 
by  oral  tradition,  which  must  not  however  be 
too  rashly  credited,  to  have  been  indebted  for 
the  rudiments  of  learning  to  the  public  school 
of  Killearn  ;  which  long  continued  to  maintain 
a  very  considerable  degree  of  celebrity.  Mid- 
Leowen,  which  stands  on  the  banks  of  the  Blane,d 
is  situated  at  the  distance  of  about  two  miles 
from  the  village  ;  and  it  may  be  conjectured 
that  the  future  poet  and  statesman  daily  walked 

b  Nimmo's  Hi»t.  of  Stirlingshire,  p.  368.    Edinb.  1777,  8vo. 
c  In  the  year  1531,  a  lease  of  two  farms  near  Cardross  was  granted 
hy  Robert  Er»kine,  commendator  of  Dryburgh   and  Inchmahome,  to 
Agnes  Heiiot  and  three  of  her  sons,  Patrick,  Alexander,  and  George, 
(Anderson's  Life  of  Smollett,  p.  12, 5th  edit.     Edinb.  1806,  8vo.) 
d  Triumphant  even  the  yellow  Blane, 
Tho'  by  a  fen  defac'd, 
Boasts  that  Buchanan's  early  strain 
Consol'd  her  troubl'd  breast ; 
That  often,  muse-struck,  in  her  lonliest  nook 
The  orphan  boy  por'd  on  some  metred  book. 

Richardson. 


to  school,  and  bore  along  with  him  his  meridian 
repast.  A  considerable  number  of  trees,  which 
he  is  said  to  have  planted  in  his  school-boy  days, 
are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
his  native  cottage  :  a  mountain  ash,  conspicuous 
for  its  age  and  magnitude,  was  lately  torn  from 
its  roots  by  the  violence  of  a  storm  ;  but  twro 
fresh  scions  which  arose  from  its  ruins,  have  been 
nourished  and  protected  with  anxious  care.  Nor 
is  the  name  of  his  mother  without  its  rural  me- 
morial ;  a  place  which  had  been  adapted  to  the 
purpose  of  shielding  her  flock,  is  still  denominat- 
ed Heriot's  Shiels.6 

Buchanan,  if  we  may  credit  a  writer  whose 
authority  is  extremely  slender,  was  afterwards 
removed  to  the  school  of  Dunbarton/  His  un- 
folding genius  recommended  him  to  the  favour 
and  protection  of  his  maternal  uncle  James  He- 
riot  ;  who,  apparently  in  the  year  1520,  sent  him 
to  prosecute  his  studies  in  the  university  of  Paris. 
It  was  here  that  he  began  to  cultivate  his  poet- 
ical talents ;  partly  impelled,  as  he  informs  us, 
by  the  natural  temperament  of  his  mind,  partly 
by  the  necessity  of  performing  the  usual  exercises 
prescribed  to  younger  students.  Buchanan  did 
not  profess  to  be  one  of  those  bright  geniuses 
who  can  acquire  a  new  language  every  six  weeks : 

e  Sinclair's  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,  vol.  xvi,  p.  105. 
I  Mackenzie's  Lives  of  Scots  Writers,  vol.  iii,  p.  156. 

A3 


he  incidentally  suggests  that  his  knowledge  of 
Latin  was  the  result  of  much  juvenile  labour/ 
The  Greek  tongue,  in  which  he  likewise  attain- 
ed to  proficiency,  he  acquired  without  the  aid  of 
a  preceptor.1"  Within  the  space  of  two  years  af- 
ter his  arrival  at  Paris,  his  uncle  died,  and  left 
him  exposed  to  want  in  a  foreign  country.  His 
misery  was  increased  by  a  violent  distemper, 
which  had  perhaps  been  occasioned  by  poverty 
and  mortification.  And  in  this  state  of  hopeless 
languor,  he  returned  to  Scotland  at  the  critical 
age  of  sixteen. 

Having  devoted  the  best  part  of  a  year  to  the 
care  of  his  health,  he  next  assumed  the  character 
of  a  soldier,  and  served  along  with  the  auxiliaries 
whom  the  duke  of  Albany  had  conducted  from 
France.  The  Scotish  forces,  commanded  by  the 
regent  in  person,  marched  towards  the  borders 
of  England  ;  and,  about  the  end  of  October  1,523 
laid  siege  to  the  castle  of  Werk.  The  auxiliaries 
carried  the  exterior  wall  by  assault,  but   could 

S  Buchanani  Re  mm  Scotic.  Hist.  p.  4. 

h  Buchanani  Eptstol.-e,  p.  2J. — Fruterias  seems  to  extol  his  eloquence 
in  the  Greek  as  well  as  in  the  Latin  language ;  but  if  he  composed  Greet 
verses,  he  certainly  did  not  publish  them. 

Me,  Buchanani  felix  cognomine,  vates, 

Se  eriperet  nostris  perpetuum  ex  oculis  ? 
llle,  cui  geminx  dives  facundia  lingux 
Ponit  honoratis  xmula  serta  comis; 
Ouemque  adeo  Musx  (sic  sint  mea  gloria  Musx) 
Et  docuere  saexos  et  didicere  modoi. 

Frutsrii  Reliquix,  p. I'll. 


hot  long  occupy  the  station  which  they  had  won. 
The  large  area  between  the  two  ramparts,  in- 
tended as  a  receptacle,  during  the  time  of  war, 
for  the  cattle  and  stores  of  the  neighbouring  pea- 
santry, was  at  this  crisis  replenished  with  ma- 
terials of  a  combustible  nature.  When  the  gar- 
rison found  themselves  repulsed  by  the  French 
soldiers,  they  set  fire  to  the  straw,  and  speedily 
expelled  their  enemies  by  the  flames  and  smoke. 
During  the  two  following  days,  the  assailants 
persisted  in  battering  the  inner  wall:  when  they 
had  effected  a  sufficient  breach,  the  French  auxi- 
liaries again  rushed  to  the  attack,  and  surmount- 
ed the  ruins ;  but  were  so  fiercely  assaulted  by 
missile  weapons  from  the  inner  toWer,  which  was 
yet  entire,  that  after  having  sustained  some  loss, 
they  were  compelled  to  retreat,  and  repassed  the 
Tweed.  The  duke  finding  his  native  troops 
disaffected,  and  the  army  on  the  English  fron- 
tiers too  formidable  from  its  numbers,  removed 
his  camp  on  the  eleventh  of  November ;  and  as 
he  marched  towards  Lauder  after  midnight,  his 
army  was  terribly  annoyed  by  a  sudden  storm  of 
snow.1 

Buchanan,  who  belonged  to  a  fierce  and  war- 
like nation,  seems  to  have  caught  some  portion 
of  the  military  ardour.  It  was  his  youthful  cu- 
riosity respecting  the  profession  of  arms  which 

1  Buchanani  Reram  Scctic.  Hist-  p.  £65, 


8 


had  prompted  him  thus  to  mingle  in  danger  ; 
and  he  was  persuaded  that  between  the  studies 
of  literature  and  of  war  a  very  close  affinity  ob- 
tains." In  his  history  of  Scotland,  written  at  an 
advanced  age,  he  often  describes  feats  of  chival- 
ry with  great  animation.  But  his  experience  in 
the  course  of  this  inglorious  campaign,  did  not 
render  him  more  enamoured  of  a  military  life  : 
the  hardships  which  he  had  undergone,  reduced 
him  to  his  former  state  of  languor ;  and  during 
the  rest  of  the  winter  he  was  confined  to  bed. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  ensuing  spring,  when 
he  had  completed  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  age, 
he  was  sent  to  the  university  of  St.  Andrews. 
Patrick  Buchanan,  his  eldest  brother,  was  matri- 
culated at  the  same  time.1     On  the  third  of  Oc- 

k  "  Cum  in  patria  valetudini  curandx  prope  annum  dedisset,  cum  auxi- 
liis  Gallorum  qui  turn  in  Scotiam  appulerant,  studio  rei  mi. it  arts  cognosctnda 
in  cast.™  est  profectus."  ( Bucbanani  Vita,  ab  ipso  scripta,  p  2.)  In  his 
dedication  of  Jepbtbes,  he  expresses  himself  thus  :  "  Neque  enim  inter  rei 
militans  et  hterarum  stadium  ea  est,  quam  plerique  falso  putant,  discor- 
dia  ;  sed  summa  potius  Concordia,  et  occulta  quxdam  naturas  conspiration ' 
1  hibbaldi  Comment,  in  Vitam  Buchanani,  p.  65. — The  following  verses 
of  Buchanan  are  devoted  to  his  brother's  memory,  and  are  equally  ho- 
nourable to  both. 

Si  mihi  privato  fas  indulgere  dolori, 

Ereptum,  frater,  te  mihi  jure  fleam  ; 
Nostra  bonis  raros  cui  protulit  artibus  aetas, 

Et  nivea  morum  simplicitate  p-res. 
At  si  gratandvm  laetis  est  rebus  amici, 

Gratulor  immensis  quod  potiare  bonis : 
Omnia  quippe  pias  vitae  et  sinceriter  acta 
Prsmia  securus  non  peritura  ter.es. 

Buchanan.  Epigram,  lib.  ii,  23. 


9 

tober  1525,  George  Buchanan  received  the  de- 
gree of  bachelor  of  arts ;  and  it  appears  from  the 
faculty  register,  that  he  was  then  a  pauper,  or  ex- 
hibitioner.111 At  this  period  the  famous  John 
Mair  taught  logic  in  St.  Salvator's  College. 
Buchanan  informs  us  that  it  was  to  attend  his 
prelections  that  he  had  been  sent  to  St.  Andrews, 
and  that  he  afterwards  followed  Mair  to  France.1' 
Dr.  Irving  has  very  confidently  averred,  that  he 
was  now  a  dependant  on  the  bounty  of  this  ve- 
nerable commentator  on  Peter  of  Lombardy  ; 
and  the  same  assertion  has  been  industriously  re- 
peated by  Dr.  Mackenzie,  and  other  writers  of  a 
similar  denomination.0     If  it  could  be  established 

,n  Chalmers's  Life  of  Ruddiman,  p.  312. 

n  "  Hunc  in  Galliam  aestate  proxima  sequutus,  in  flammam  Lutheranz 
sectx,  jam  late  se  spargentem,  incidit :  ac  biennium  fere  cum  iniquitate 
fortunz  colluctatus,  tandem  in  Collegium  Barbaranum  accitus,  prope 
triennium  classi  grammaticam  discentium  praefuit."  ( Buchauanl  Vita,  p. 
H.)  The  context  might  lead  us  to  suppose  that  Buchanan  followed  Mair 
to  France  in  the  summer  of  1524  :  but  the  meaning  of  the  passage  un- 
doubtedly is,  that  he  returned  to  France  the  summer  after  Mair.  From 
a  subsequent  note,  it  will  appear  that  his  appointment  to  a  regency  in 
the  College  of  St.  Barbe  took  place  in  1529.  His  return  to  that  coun- 
try must  therefore  be  referred  to  the  year  1527. 

°  Dr.  Mackenzie's  account  of  the  connection  between  Mair  and  Bu- 
chanan is  extremely  curious.  "  Being  informed  that  he  was  a  youth  of 
excellent  parts,  and  reduced  to  great  necessities,  he  sent  for  him  in  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1524,  and  took  him  into  his  service,  he  being  then 
in  the  18th  year  of  his  age.  The  next  summer  his  master  going  over  to 
Paris,  he  took  Buchanan  alongst  with  him,  and  kept  him  in  his  service  there 
for  two  years,  but  not  thinking  his  service  a  suitable  encouragement  for 
so  great  a  genius,  he  procured  for  him  a  regency  in  the  College  of  St. 
Barbe,  in  the  year  1526.  For  all  which  good  offices  done  to  him  by  his 
learned  and  worthy  master,  he  returned  his  thanks  in  the  following  scan- 


10 

by  any  adequate  degree  of  evidence,  the  charac- 
ter of  Buchanan  must  consequently  be  subjected 
to  severe  reprehension  ;  for  he  mentions  his  sup- 
posed benefactor  in  terms  which  convey  no  sug- 
gestion of  gratitude.  Of  this  generous  patron- 
age however  there  is  not  even  the  faintest  sha- 
dow of  evidence  ;  and  the  tale  manifestly  origi- 
nated from  Dr.  Irving's  misinterpretation  of  a 
very  unequivocal  passage  in  Buchanan's  account 
of  his  own  life. 

dalous  epigram.  ...And  this  was  the  first  time  he  showed  his  ingratitude  to 
his  benefactors,  which,  as  we  shall  show,  was  the  great  and  unpardonable 
blemish  of  his  whole  life."  (Lives  of  Scots  Writers,  vol  iii,  p.  157.)  This 
account  is  to  be  regarded  as  little  better  than  pure  fiction  ;  but  the  praise 
of  invention  is  not  solely  due  to  Mackenzie.  "  He  who  had  eat  his 
bread,"  says  Dr.  Irving,  "  and  liv'd  under  his  discipline,  both  in  St.  An- 
drews, and  in  the  Sorbon,  the  space  of  five  years,  might  have  afforded 
him  an  handsomer  character  than,  Wo  cognamine  Major :  but 'tis  a  frequent 
stratagem  of  supine  and  treacherous  souls  to  give  a  large  return  of  malice 
and  reproach  to  their  benefactors,  in  lieu  of  thankful  acknowledgments." 
(Historic  Scatica  Nomenclature,  p.  163.  Edinb.  1682,  8vo.)  Irving  and 
Mackenzie  have  deduced  all  these  preposterous  inferences  from  the  sub- 
sequent passage  in  Buchanan's  account  of  his  own  life.  "  Primo  vere  ad 
Fanum  Andrex  missus  est,  ad  Joannem  Majorem  audiendum,  qui  turn 
ibi  dialecticen,  aut  verius  sophisticen,  in  extrema  senectute  docebat.  Hunc 
in  Galliam  iestate  proxima  sequutus,  in  flammam  Lutherans  sects,  jam 
late  se  spargentem,  incidit." — Buchanan's  obnoxious  epigram  is  entitled 
"  In  Joannem  solo  cognomento  Majorem, ut  ipse  in  fronte  libri  sui  scrip- 
sit."     ^Lib.  i,  51.) 

Cum  scateat  nugis  solo  cognomine  Major, 
Nee  sit  in  immenso  pagina  sana  libro, 

Non  mirum  titulis  quod  se  veracibus  ornat : 
Nee  semper  mendax  fingere  Creta  solet. 
Hector  Boyce  regarded  the  writings  of  Mair  in  a  more  favourable  light : 
"  Joannes  Major  theologus  eruditissimus,  etijus  scripta  haud  aliter  quam 
illuminatissimai  faces  magnum   Christians  religioni  attulere  fulgoreru." 
( Ahtrdanemium  Episcoptritm  Vita,  f.  xxvii,  b.  Paris.  1522,  4tO.) 


II 


Upon  his  return  to  France,  he  became  a  student 
in  the  Scotish  College  of  Paris.  On  the  tenth 
of  October  1527,  he  was  incorporated  a  bachelor 
of  arts,  and  he  received  the  higher  degree  next 
March."  During  the  following  year,  1.529,  he 
was  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  procurator  of  the 
German  nation  ;  but  his  blind  compatriot  Ro- 
bert Wauchope,  afterwards  archbishop  of  Ar- 
magh, was  elected  for  the  ninth  time.  Buchan- 
an was  thus  repulsed  on  the  fifth  of  May,  but  on 
the  third  of  June  he  was  more  successful."1  The 
university  of  Paris  being  frequented  by  students 
from  various  countries,  they  were  distributed  in- 
to four  classes  or  nations.  What  was  termed 
the  German  nation,  comprehended  the  Scotish 
academics. 

P  Chalmers's  Life  of  Ruddiman,  p.  313. 

**  "  Georglus  Buchananus  Scotus,"  says  Bulseus,  "  nationis  Germanics: 
procurator  electus  anno  1533."  (Hist  Universitatis  Parisiensis,  torn  v,  p. 
935.)  This  date  is  most  probably  erroneous ;  for  Buchanan  was  then  tu- 
tor to  the  earl  of  Cassilis.  Mr.  Chalmers,  quotes  the  authority  of  the  re- 
gister of  the  Scotish  College,  which  the  late  Principal  Gordon  had  in- 
spected at  his  request.  A  man  who  had  only  to  ascertain  the  chronolo- 
gy of  a  single  academic,  was  less  obnoxious  to  negligence  or  inadvertency, 
than  he  who  had  to  ascertain  that  of  five  hundred.  Bulseus  has  exhibit- 
ed many  dates  which  are  manifestly  inaccurate  ;  but  his  work  consists  of 
six  volumes  in  folio.  Mr  Innes,  who  was  a  member  of  the  university  of 
Paris,  varies  from  both  these  writers.  Buchanan,  he  remarks,  c<  came 
back  to  Paris  a.  d.  1527,  and  upon  proof  of  his  being  made  batchelor  of 
arts  in  the  university  of  St.  Andrews,  he  was,  according  to  the  privilege 
cur  Scotish  universities  enjoyed  in  those  times  in  Paris,  admitted  to  the 
same  degree  in  that  university,  and  commenced  master  of  arts  in  April 
1528,  and  in  June  1530,  he  was  elected  one  of  the  four  procurators." 
f  Critical  Essay  on  tie  Ancient  Inhabitant!  of  Scotland)  voL  i,  p.  314.) 


12 

Before  this  period,  the  tenets  of  Luther  had 
begun  to  be  widely  disseminated,  and  to  second 
the  prepossessions  of  young  and  ingenuous  minds. 
Buchanan,  on  his  return  to  Paris,  was  caught  by 
the  spreading  flame.  His  Lutheranism  seems  to 
have  exposed  him  to  new  mortifications ;  for  af- 
ter he  had  discovered  his  attachment,  he  conti- 
nued for  the  space  of  nearly  two  years  to  struggle 
with  the  iniquity  of  fortune.  At  the  expiration 
of  that  term,  he  was  appointed  a  regent  or  pro- 
fessor in  the  College  of  St.  Barbe,  where  he 
taught  grammar  for  about  three  years.  His 
eminent  qualifications  for  such  an  employment 
will  not  be  questioned ;  but  his  services  seem  to 
have  procured  him  a  very  inadequate  remunera- 
tion. In  an  elegy  apparently  composed  during 
this  period  of  his  life,  he  exhibits  a  dismal  pic- 
ture of  the  miseries  to  which  the  Parisian  pro- 
fessors of  humanity  were  then  exposed.  It  opens 
with  the  subsequent  lines. 

Ite  leves  nugae,  sterilesque  valete  Camcenae, 

Grataque  Phoebseo  Castalis  unda  choro : 
Ite,  sat  est :   primos  vobiscum  absumpsimus  annos, 

Optima  pars  vitas  deperiitque  meae. 
Quaerite  quem  capiat  jejuna  cantus  in  umbra  : 

Quaerite  qui  pota  carmina  cantet  aqua. 
Dulcibus  illecebris  tenerum  vos  fallitis  cevum, 

Dum  sequitur  blandae  carmen  inerme  ]yr«. 
Debita  militias  molli  languescit  in  umbra, 

Et  fluit  ignavis  fracta  juventa  sonis. 


13 


Ante  diem  curvos  senium  grave  contrahit  artuv, 

Imminet  ante  suum  mors  properata  diem  : 
Ora  notat  pallor,  macies  in  corpore  toto  est, 

Et  tetrico  in  vultu  mortis  imago  sedet. 
Otia  dura  captas,  prceceps  in  mille  labores 

Irruis,  et  curis  angeris  u?que  novis. 
Nocte  leves  somnos  resolutus  compede  fossor 

Carpit,  et  in  mediis  nauta  quiescit  aquis: 
Nocte  leves  somnos  carpit  defessus  arator, 

Nocte  quies  ventis,  Ionioque  mari : 
Nocte  tibi  nigree  fuligo  bibenda  lucernse, 

Si  modo  Calliopes  castra  sequenda  putes : 
Et  tanquam  Libyco  serves  curvata  metallo 

Robora,  et  Herculea  poma  ferenda  manu, 
Pervigil  in  lucem  lecta  atque  relecta  revolves, 

Et  putri  excuties  scripta  sepulta  situ. 
Ssepe  caput  scalpes,  et  vivos  roseris  ungues, 

Irata  feries  pulpita  saepe  manu. 
Hinc  subitte  mortes,  et  spes  praerepta  senectte, 

Nee  tibi  fert  Clio,  nee  tibi  ^hoebus  opem. 

The  poverty  which  then  attended  the  profes- 
sors of  polite  literature/  he  has  delineated  more 
forcibly  towards  the  close. 

r  "  Quis  porro  non  indignetur,"  says  Budseus,  "  earn  disciplinam  et 
professionem  qua;  omneis  alias  complectitur,  atque  intra  suum  orbem 
coercet,  quae  suis  finibus  singulas  quasi  architectonico  jure  circumscribit, 
a  schola  Parisiensi  (quae  ut  metropolis  sit  ipsa  omnium  scholarum,  et 
censeatur :  omnium  (ut  opinor)  ipsarum  bona  venia  et  assensione  licet) 
inscitia  temporum,  et  pauperie  in  re  literaria  facta,  e  numero  discipli- 
narum  exauctoratam  esse  ?  e  praesidiisque  ejectam  Palladis,  atque  ejus 
xere  dirutam  ?"  (De  Pbilologia,  f.  xxii.  Excudebat  Jodocus  Badius  Ascen- 
sius,  1532,  4to.)  Budseus  and  Cardinal  du  Bellay  induced  Francis  the 
first  to  allot  an  annual  stipend  to  public  professors  of  the  learned  lan- 
guages ;  and  Castellanus  afterwards  exerted  his  influence  with  the  same 


14 


Denique  quicquid  agis,  comes  assidet  improba  egestas, 

Sive  poem  a  canis,  sive  poema  doces. 
Bella  gerunt  urbes  septem  de  patria  Horoeri : 

Nulla  domus  vivo,  patria  nulla  fuit. 
^ger,  inops  patrios  deplorat  Tityrus  agroj, 

Statius  instantem  vix  fugat  arte  famem. 
Exul  Hyperboreum  Naso  projectus  ad  axem, 

Exilium  Musis  irnputat  ille  suum. 
Ipse  Deus  vatum  vaccas  pavisse  Pher3E2S 

Creditur,  ^Emonios  et  numerasse  greges. 
Calliope  longum  crelebs  cur  vixit  in  aevum  ? 

Nempe  nihil  doti  quod  numeraret  erat. 
Interea  celeri  cursu  delabitur  setas, 

Et  queritur  duram  tarda  sentcta  famem : 
Et  dolet  ignavis  studiis  lusisse  juventam, 

Jactaque  in  infidam  semina  mceret  humum  > 
Nullaque  maturis  congests  viatica  canis, 

Nee  faciles  portus  jam  yeperire  ratem. 
Ite  i,:itur  Musae  steriles,  aliumque  ministrum 

Quarite  :  nos  alio  sors  animusque  vocat.' 

This  elegy,  which  is  the  first  in  the  order  ot 
arrangement,  was  perhaps  the  first  in  the  order 
of  composition.  It  was  apparently  in  the  year 
1.529  -hat  he  began  to  teach  in  the  College  of 
St.  Barbe  :  he  must  therefore  have  commenced 
his  professorial  functions  about  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-three. Muretus  began  to  teach  in  the  arch- 
iepiscopal  College  of  Auch  at  the  earlier   age 

munificent  prince  to  confirm  so  useful  an  establishment.  (Regii  Pita 
Guilielmi  Budai,  p.  44.  Paris.  1540,  4to.  Gallandii  Vita  Petri  Catttllani, 
p.  49.     Paris.  1674,  8vo.) 

s  Bucbanani  Elegia  i.    Q/um  miiera  tit  ctnditio  doccntium  liUrat  bumaniore: 
Lutcti*. 


15 


oi  eighteen  $  and  at  the  same  age  Philelphus 
read  lectures  on  eloquence  to  a  numerous  audi- 
tory in  the  university  of  Padua." 

If  the  elegy  was  actually  composed  about  this 
period,  the  new  employment  to  which  the  author 
alludes  was  evidently  that  of  superintending  the 
studies  of  a  young  Scotish  nobleman.  Gilbert 
Kennedy,  earl  of  Cassilis,  who  was  residing  near 
the  College  of  St.  Barbe,  having  become  acquaint- 
ed with  Buchanan,  admired  his  literary  talents, 
and  was  delighted  with  his  conversation.  He 
was  therefore  solicitous  to  retain  so  accomplish- 
ed a  preceptor  ;  and  their  closer  connection  pro- 
bably commenced  in  the  year  1532.  The  first 
work  that  Buchanan  committed  to  the  press, 
was  a  translation  of  the  famous  Thomas  Lina- 
cre's  rudiments  of  Latin  grammar ;  which  he 
inscribed  to  Lord  Cassilis,  "  a  youth  of  the  most 
promising  talents,  and  of  an  excellent  disposi- 
tion/* This  Latin  version  was  printed  by  R. 
Stephanus  in  1533. 

After  he  had  resided  with  his  pupil  for  the 
term  of  five  years,  they  both  returned  to  Scot- 
land.*    At  this  period,  the  earl  had  probably  at- 

*  Jos.  Scaligeri  Confutatio  Fabulse  Burdonum,  p.  451. 

*  Shepherd's  Life  of  Poggio  Bracciolini,  p.  254.    Liverpool,  1802, 4to. 

*  The  chronology  is  still  unsettled.  Mr.  Ruddiman  supposes  him  t« 
hare  begun  teaching  in  the  College  of  St.  Barbe  in  the  year  1526:  but 
for  the  office  of  a  professor  he  was  not  qualified  till  1528,  when  he  was 
created  master  of  arts ;  and  even  under  the  date  of  June  the  third  1529, 
his  name,  according  to  Mr.  Chalmers,  occurs  in  the  register  of  the  Scot* 


16 

tained  to  the  age  of  majority  ;  and  Buchanan 
might  only  embrace  a  favourable  opportunity  of 
revisiting  his  relations  and  friends.  Their  con- 
nection however  did  not  immediately  dissolve. 
While  he  was  residing  at  the  earl's  seat  in  the 
country,  he  composed  a  little  poem  which  ren- 
dered him  extremely  obnoxious  to  the  ecclesias- 
tics, an  order  of  men  whom  it  is  generally  hazard- 
ous to  provoke.  In  this  poem,  which  bears  the 
title  of  Somnium,  and  is  a  happy  imitation  of 
Dunbar/  he  expresses  his  own  abhorrence  of  a 
monastic  life,  and  stigmatizes  the  impudence  and 
hypocrisy  of  the   Franciscan  friars.     The    holy 

ish  College.  Buchanan  relates  that  in  the  former  seminary  he  taught 
about  three  years,  and  at  the  expiration  of  that  term.,  was  engaged  by 
Lord  Camilla.  In  the  dedication  of  his  version  of  Linacre,  published  in 
1533,  he  remarks  that  he  had  been  employed  in  superinteiidu ?g  that 
nobleman's  studies  during  the  preceding  year.  From  a  comparison  of  these 
dates,  it  is  obvious  that  he  was  admitted  as  a  regent  or  professor  in  1529, 
and  resigned  his  office  in  1532.  The  biographical  narrative  proceeds 
thus:  •'  lnterea  cum  Gilbertus  Cassilissx  comes,  adolescens  nobilis.  ii<  ea 
vicinia  diversaretur,  atque  ingenio  et  consuetudine  ejus  oblectaretur,  eum 
quinquennium  secum  retinuit,  atque  in  Scotiam  una  reduxit.  Inde  cum 
in  Gahiam  ad  pristina  studia  redire  cogitaret,  a  rege  est  retentus."  Lord 
Cassilis  retained  him  as  his  domestic  tutor  from  1 532  till  1 537,  and  hav- 
ing then  completed  the  course  of  his  studies,  carried  him  to  Scotland. 
Buchanan  does  not  aver  that  their  former  relation  still  subsisted.  To- 
wards the  close  of  the  year  1536,  King  James  found  the  earl  of  Cassilis 
residing  in  France.  (Leslaeus  Be  Rebut  Gestu  Scotorum,  p.  421.)  He 
returned  to  Scotland  in  the  ensuing  May,  and  was  most  probably  ac- 
companied by  that  young  nobleman  and  his  preceptor.  This  supposition 
will  readily  account  for  Buchanan's  subsequent  connection  with  the  court. 
'  Compare  Buchanan's  Somnium  (Frat.  Frater.  xxxiv.)  with  the  poem 
entitled  "  How  Dunbar  wes  desyred  to  be  ane  Frier  ;"  which  occurs  in 
Lord  Hailes's  Ancient  Scott'ub  Fumt,  p.  25.    Edinb.  1770, 12mo. 


17 

fathers,  when  they  became  acquainted  with  this 
specimen  of  his  sarcastic  wit,  speedily  forgot 
their  professions  of  meekness,  and  resolved  to  con- 
vince him  of  his  heterodox  presumption  in  dis- 
paraging the  sacred  institutions  of  the  church. 
It  has  repeatedly  been  alleged  that  Buchanan 
had  himself  belonged  to  a  religious  order  which 
he  has  so  frequently  exposed  with  the  most  ad- 
mirable powers  of  ridicule  ;z  but  this  seems  to 
have  been  a  tale  fabricated  by  the  impotent  ma- 
lice of  his  theological  enemies.  That  he  had  ac- 
tually assumed  the  cowl,  has  never  been  affirmed 
by  any  early  writer  sufficiently  acquainted  with 
his  history :  it  is  not  however  improbable  that 
during  the  convenient  season  of  his  youthful  mis- 
fortunes, the  friars  were  anxious  to  allure  so  pro- 
mising a  novice  ;  and  this  suggestion  is  even  coun- 
tenanced by  a  passage  in  one  of  his  poetical  pro- 
ductions.*    It  was  a  circumstance  extremely  for- 

z  "  Georgius  Bucbananus  Minorita  eiccucullatut,  Bacchieut  bistrio,  et  atbeuf 
foeta,  inquit  Gilbertus  Genebrardus  Chronologia  ad  annum  m.d.lxxii. 
De  religione  enim  Catholica  pessime  est  meritus,  et  ideo  contumeliosas 
voces  facile  viro  religioso  dono,  cui  majoris  fuit  momenti  pietas  quam 
eruditio."      (Dempsteri  Hist.  Euletiast.  Gentis  Scotorum,  p.  108.  Bononise, 
1627,  4to.)     V\r  rcligiosus  must  be  translated,  a  man  who  wore  a  cer- 
tain habit ;   for  such  impudent  defamation  exhibits  a  curious  proof  of  hw 
religion.     The    same   passage  is  quoted   with  seeming  approbation  by 
Spondanus,  Annalium  Baronii  Continuation  torn,  ii,  p.  456. 
a  Ergo  cave  ne  te  falso  sub  nomine  mendax 
Simplicitas  fors  transversum  seducat,  et  illuc 
Unde  referre  pedem  nequeas,  trahat ;  et  puerum  oliro 
Me  quoque  pene  suis  gens  hxc  in  retia  mendax 
Traxerat  illecebris,  nisi  opem  mihi  forte  tulisset 
Ccelitus  oblata  Eubuli  »apientia  cani. 

BvcHANANi  Franciicajius,  p.  2, 
£ 


18 


tunate  that  he  never  surrendered  his  understand- 
ing to  the  tyrannical  control  of  any  ecclesias- 
tical corporation,  but  left  his  bold  and  vigorous 
faculties  to  speculate  with  the  freedom  of  a  phi- 
losopher, and  with  the  sincerity  of  a  Christian. 

The  earl  of  Cassilis  seems  to  have  reflected  no 
discredit  on  his  preceptor.  When  he  afterwards 
mingled  in  the  political  transactions  of  those 
turbulent  times,  he  distinguished  himself  by  his 
sagacity,  his  firmness,  and  his  integrity  :  but  his 
country  did  not  long  reap  the  benefit  of  his  ser- 
vices ;  and  Buchanan  lived  to  record  his  virtues 
and  his  premature  death.b  The  father  had  been 
assassinated  in  Scotland,6  and  the  son  was  poison- 
ed in  France.  In  the  year  1558  he  was  associat- 
ed in  a  splendid  embassy  to  the  French  court ; 
but  after  they  had  concluded  their  mission,  the 
earl  of  Cassilis  and  three  of  his  colleagues,  together 
with  several  of  their  retinue,  were  suddenly  ar- 
rested by  one  common  destiny. 

Buchanan  had  determined  to  resume  his  former 
occupations  in  France  ;  but  King  James,  the  fifth 
of  that  name,  retained  him  in  the  capacity  of  pre- 
ceptor to  one  of  his  natural  sons.  This  son  was 
not,  as  has  generally  been  supposed,  the  celebrat- 
ed James  Stewart  who  afterwards  obtained  the  re- 
gency, but  another  who  bore  the  same  baptismal 
name.d    His  mother  was  Elizabeth  Shaw,  of  the 

b  Buchanan!  Hist.  p.  268,  283,  306,  310. 
c  Buchaiiani  Hitt.  p.  268.  Epigram,  lib.  ii,  9. 
*  Man's  Censure  of  Ruddiraan,  p.  349. 


19 


family  of  Sauchie  ;  and  he  died  in  the  year  1548. 
It  was  perhaps  in  the  year  1537  that  Buchanan 
entered  upon  his  new  charge  ;  for  in  the  course 
of  that  year,  the  king  made  an  arrangement  with 
respect  to  his  four  sons.6  The  abbacies  of  Mel- 
rose and  Kelso  were  secured  in  the  name  of  Bu- 
chanan's pupil,  who  was  the  eldest. 

What  lettered  society  he  now  enjoyed  in  his 
native  country,  can  only  be  gleaned  from  his 
poems.  Notwithstanding  the  complexion  of  his 
religious  sentiments,  he  was  admitted  to  the  hos- 
pitable and  elegant  table  of  Gavin  Dunbar,  arch- 
bishop of  Glasgow  ;  who  probably  was  not  aware 
that  his  inviting  Buchanan  to  a  banquet  would 
contribute  more  to  the  perpetuation  of  his  fame, 
than  all  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil  honours  to 
which  he  attained.  The  poet  has  recorded  his 
gratification  in  glowing  terms. 

PrcEsulis  accubui  postquam  conviva  Gavini, 

Dis  non  invideo  nectar  et  ambrosiam. 
Splendida  coena,  epulae  lautse  ambitione  remota, 

Tetrica  Cecropio  seria  tincta  sale  : 
Ccetus  erat  Musis  numero  par,  nee  sibi  dispar 

Doctrina,  ingenio,  simplicitate,  fide. 
Ipse  alios  supra  facundo  prominet  ore, 

Qualis  Castalii  prseses  Apollo  chori. 
Sermo  erat  aetherei  de  majestate  tonantis, 

Ut  tulerit  nostrae  conditionis  onus :  i 

Ut  neque  concretam  divina  potentia  labem 

Hauserit  in  fragili  corpore  tecta  hominis : 

e  Lesl«u«  de  Rebus  Cestii  Scotorum,  p.  425. 

B2 


20 


Nee  licet  ia  servi  dominus  desccndeiit  aitus, 
Natur'am  exuerint  membra  caduca  suam. 

Quisquis  adest  dubitat  scholane  immigrant  in  aulam, 
Am  magis  in  mediam  venerit  aula  scliolam. 

Juppiter  jEthiopum  convivia  solus  habeto, 
Dum  mihi  concedas  pisesulis  ore  frui.f 

In  his  history,  Buchanan  commemorates  this 
prelate  as  a  learned  and  worthy  man.  He  had 
been  preceptor  to  James  the  fifth  ;  obtained  the 
archbishopric  in  1522  f  and  in  1527  was  nomin- 
ated chancellor.* 

Sir  Adam  Otterburn,  a  poet,  a  lawyer,  and  a 
statesman,  also  occurs  in  the  list  of  his  friends. 
He  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  considerable 
influence  in  the  Scotish  court :  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  privy  council.'1  and  king's  advocate  ;k 
and  he  frequently  visited  England  in  a  diploma- 
tic capacity.  Buchanan  has  addressed  him  in 
one  of  his  epigrams,  and  another  of  them  is  pro- 
fessedly transformed  from  Otterburn's  hexamet- 
ers.1     Of  his   poetical  works,   however,   not 

f  Buchanani  Epigram,  lib.  i,  43. 

8  Leskeus  de  Rebu9  Gestis  Scotorum,  p.  381. 

h  Buchanani  Rerum  Scotic.  Hist  p.  270. 

i  Rymer,  torn  xiii,  p.  736,  739,  744. 

k  Rymer,  torn  xiv,  p.  91,  113,  481. — The  name  of  Otterburn  occur* 
in  almost  every  Scotish  commission  dated  within  a  considerable  period. 
His  earliest  appellation  is  Adam  Otterburn  of  Auldham  ;  but  he  is  after- 
wards styled  Sir  Adam  Otterburn  of  Reidhall.  Some  original  letters  of 
Otterburn  and  of  Archbishop  Dunbar  are  preserved  among  the  Cottor 
MSS.  A  copy  of  a  letter  from  Dr.  Thomas  Magnus  to  the  former,  oc- 
curs in  Calig.  B.  vii,  121. 

I  Buchanani  Epigram,  lib.  ii,  15,  16. 


21 


single  fragment  is  known  to  exist ;  and  his  name 
has  only  glided  into  the  history  of  Scotish  litera- 
ture, because  he  was  the  friend  of  Buchanan ; 
who  was  equally  capable  of  bestowing  reputation, 
and  of  affixing  perpetual  ridicule. 

But  he  soon  experienced  the  danger  of  ex- 
tending his  ridicule  to  the  orthodox.  The  pre- 
ferment of  a  profane  scoffer  at  priests  must  have 
augmented  their  spleen ;  and  the  Franciscan 
friars,  still  smarting  from  his  Somnium,  found 
means  of  representing  him  to  the  king  as  a  man 
of  depraved  morals,  and  of  dubious  faith.m  But 
on  this  occasion  their  obstreperous  zeal  recoil- 
ed upon  themselves.  By  comparing  the  humi- 
lity of  their  professions  with  the  arrogance  of 
their  deportment,  James  had  formerly  begun  to 
discover  their  genuine  character ;  and  the  part 
which  he  supposed  them  to  have  acted  in  a 
late  conspiracy  against  his  own  life,  had  not 
contributed  to  diminish  his  antipathy.  Instead 
of  consigning  the  poet  to  disgrace  or  punishment, 
the  king,  who  was  aware  that  private  resentment 
would  improve  the  edge  of  his  satire,11  enjoined 

m  "  Et  cum  non  satis  justas  tree  sua  immodicx  causas  inveiiirent,  ad  commune 
religionis  crimen,  quod  omnibus  quibus  male  propitii  trant  intentabant,  decurrunt, 
(Buchanani  Vita,  p.  3.)     See  also  the  dedication  of  his  Franciscanut. 

n  "  Rex  Buchananum,  forte  turn  in  aula  agentem,  ad  se  advocat,  et 
ignarus  ofFensionis  quae  ei  cum  Franciscanis  esset,  jubet  adversus  eos  car- 
men scribere."  (Buchanani  Vita,^.  3.)  Instead  of  ignarus,  read  gnarus  or 
non  ignarus.  It  was  King  James's  knowledge,  not  his  ignorance,  of  the 
poet's  warfare  with  the  Franciscans,  that  must  have  suggested  him  as  al- 
ready prepared  to  second  his  own  resentment.  Buchanan's  biographical 
sketch  was  a  posthumous  publication ;  but  in  the  dedication  of  his  Fran- 

B3 


c22    ' 

him  in  the  presence  of  many  courtiers  to  renew 
his  well-directed  attack  on  the  same  pious  fa- 
thers. Buchanan's  late  experience  had  however 
taught  him  the  importance  of  caution  :  he  deter- 
mined at  once  to  gratify  the  king's  resentment 
against  the  friars,  and  to  avoid  increasing  the 
resentment  of  the  friars  against  himself.  In  pur- 
suance of  this  fine  project,  he  composed  a  kind 
of  recantation,  which  he  supposed  might  delude 
the  Franciscans  by  its  ambiguity  of  phrase.0 
But  he  found  himself  doubly  deceived  :  the  in- 
dignation of  the  king,  who  was  himself  a  satiric- 
al poet,p  could  not  so  easily  be  gratified ;  and 
the  friars  were  now  impelled  to  a  higher  pitch  of 
resentment.  James  requested  him  to  compose 
another  satire,  which  should  exhibit  their  vices  in 
a  more  glaring  light.     The  subject  was  copious, 

tucanuz,  which  he  himself  committed  to  the  press,  the  story  is  related  with 
that  consistency  which  a  very  slight  correction  will  impart  to  the  pre- 
ceding passage.  "  Is  mihi  continuo  multis  audientibus  imperavit,  ut  in 
Franciscanos  aliquid,  idque  etiam  acriter,  scriberem  :  non  quod  mihi  in 
eo  genere  facultatem  existimaret  esse  praicipuam,  sed  quod  me,  opinor,  sti- 
mulis  privati  doloris  incitatum,  acriorem  injuria  publicas  fore  vindicem 
speraret." 

°  The  poem  to  which  he  alludes,  is  apparently  the  Palinodia  at  the 
end  of  his  Fratrei  Fraterrimi,  consisting  of  two  parts.  It  is  not  however 
•urprizing  that  the  friars  declined  such  a  compliment. 

P  Sir  David  Lindsay's  "  Answer  to  the  Kingis  Flyting"  verifies  this 
assertion ;  but  no  genuine  productions  of  the  royal  author  are  known  to 
be  extant.  "  Chrirtis  Kirk  of  the  Grene,"  appears  with  sufficient  evi- 
dence to  have  been  composed  by  James  the  first ;  and  «'  The  Gaberlun- 
zieman,"  as  well  as  "  The  Jollie  Beggar,"  is  imputed  to  his  descendent 
without  any  competent  authority.  These  two  ballads,  which  possess  un- 
common merit, may  be  found  in  Mr.  Pinkerton's  Select  Scot'ub  Ballads,  vol. 
ii,  p.  S8, 33. 


23 


and  well  adapted  to  the  poet's  talents  and  views. 
He  accordingly  applied  himself  to  the  composi- 
tion of  the  poem  afterwards  published  under  the 
title  of  Franciscanus  ;  and  to  satisfy  the  king's 
impatience,  soon  presented  him  with  a  specimen. 
This  production,  as  it  now  appears  in  its  finished 
state,  may  without  hazard  be  pronounced  the 
most  skilful  and  pungent  satire  which  any  na- 
tion or  language  can  exhibit.  He  has  not  ser- 
vilely adhered  to  the  model  of  any  ancient  poet, 
but  is  himself  original  and  unequalled.  To  a 
masterly  command  of  classical  phraseology,  he 
unites  uncommon  felicity  of  versification  ;  and 
his  diction  often  rises  with  his  increasing  indig- 
nation to  majesty  and  splendour.  The  combina- 
tions of  his  wit  are  variegated  and  original ;  and 
he  evinces  himself  a  most  sagacious  observer  of 
human  life.  No  class  of  men  was  ever  more 
completely  exposed  to  ridicule  and  infamy  ;  nor 
is  it  astonishing  that  the  Popish  clergy  after- 
wards regarded  the  author  with  implacable  hat- 
red. The  impurities  and  the  absurdities  which 
he  rendered  so  notorious,  were  not  the  spontane- 
ous production  of  a  prolific  brain  ;  their  ignor- 
ance and  irreligion  presented  an  ample  and  in- 
viting harvest.  Of  the  validity  of  his  poetical  ac- 
cusations, many  historical  documents  still  remain. 
Buchanan  has  himself  related  in  plain  prose, 
that  about  this  period  some  of  the  Scotish  eccle- 
siastics were  so  deplorably  ignorant,  as  to  suppose 


Martin  Luther  to  be  the  author  of  a  dangerous 
book,  called  the  New  Testament .q 

But  the  church  being  infallible,  he  speedily 
recognized  the  hazard  of  accosting  its  retainers 
by  their  proper  names.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  year  1 539,  many  individuals  suspected  of 
Lutheranism  were  involved  in  the  horrible  scenes 
of  persecution.  Towards  the  close  of  February, 
five  were  committed  to  the  flames,  nine  made  a 
formal  recantation  of  their  supposed  errors,  and 
many  were  driven  into  exile.  Buchanan  had 
been  comprehended  in  the  general  arrest ;  and  to 
the  eternal  infamy  of  the  nation,  his  invaluable 
life  might  have  been  sacrificed  to  the  rancour  of 
an  unholy  priesthood/  After  he  was  committed 
to  custody,  Cardinal  Beaton  endeavoured  to  ac- 
celerate his  doom  by  tendering  to  the  king  a 

s  JBuehanani  Rerum  Scotic.  Hist.  p.  291.  Perizonii  Hist.  Sxculi  Sex- 
tidecimi,  p.  233.     Lugd.  Bat.  1710,  8vo. 

r  Dr.  James  Laing,  a  most  impudent  and  malignant  writer,  has  re- 
corded a  silly  story  of  Buchanan's  having  been  convicted  of  eating  the 
paschal  lamb  like  a  Jew.  "  A  Jacobo  quintc.est  vocatus,  et  de  quses^ 
tiione  proposita  examinatus,  atque  interrogatus,  quomodo  ausus  fuisset 
quicquam  tale  centra  consuetudinem  ecclesias  Catholicx  tentare.  Homo 
sacrarum  literarum  imperitissimus,  simulque  impudentissimus  ita  regi  re- 
epondit ;  Tu  domine  similiter  debes  agnum  paschx  comedere,  si  vis  salutem 
Consequi :  quo  audito  responso  rex  statim  obstupuit,  et  admiratus  est  au- 
daciam  sive  potius  hominis  insaniam."  (De  Vita  et  Moribus  atque  Rebut 
Gestis  Hdtreticorum  nostri  Temporis,  f.  39.  Paris.  1581,  8vo.)  This  tale 
has  been  repeated  by  various  other  writers ;  and  among  the  rest  by  Da- 
vid Chalmers.  (Camerarius  De  Scotorum  Fortitudim,  Doetrina,et  Pietate,p. 
389.  Paris.  1631,  4to.)  It  is  too  idiotical  to  demand  a  serious  refutation. 
Bale,  who  supposes  Buchanan  to  have  been  a  fervent  preacher  of  the 
gospel,  had  caught  tome  vague  rumour  with  respect  to  his  suffering  mar- 


l25 

sum  of  money  as  the  price  of  his  innocent  blood. 
Of  this  circumstance  Buchanan  was  apprized  by 
some  of  his  friends  at  court ;  and  his  knowledge 
of  the  king's  unfortunate  propensity  to  avarice 
must  have  augmented  all  the  horrors  of  his  situ- 
ation. Stimulated  by  the  thoughts  of  increasing 
danger,  he  made  a  successful  effort  to  regain  his 
liberty  ;  while  his  keepers  were  fast  asleep,  he 
escaped  through  the  window  of  the  apartment 
in  which  he  was  confined.8  Directing  his  wan- 
dering steps  towards  the  southern  part  of  the 
island,  he  had  soon  to  encounter  new  disasters. 
When  he  reached  the  frontier  of  the  two  king-, 
doms,  he  was  molested  by  the  freebooters  who 
at  that  time  were  its  sole  inhabitants ;  and  his 
life  was  again  exposed  to  jeopardy  from  the  con- 
tagion of  a  pestilential  disease,  which  then  raged 

iyrdom  :  "  A  Sodomae  tyrannis,  mitratis,  rasii,  et  unctii,  ob  divins  veri- 
tatis  assertionem,  igne  tandem  sublatum  ferunt."  {Scriptoret  Britannia, 
cent,  xiv,  p.  226.  Basil.  1559,  fol.)  Among  the  works  of  Buchanan,  he 
enumerates  "  Axiomata  quaedam,  lib.  i." 

9  "  The  poet,"  says  Mr.  Chalmers,  "  was  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of 
St.  Andrews,  from  which  he  was  delivered  by  the  interposition  of  Beaton, 
a  nephew  of  the  archbishop  of  Glasgow."  (Life  of  Ruddiman,  p.  315.) 
In  support  of  these  assertions,  he  refers  to  the  collection  of  Jebb,  vol.  ii, 
p.  486  ;  but  unfortunately  the  passage  in  question  relates  the  captivity, 
not  of  Buchanan,  but  of  Queen  Mary.  "  lis  ne  cesserent  jamais  qu'  silt 
ne  fut  mise  en  prison  dans  un  fort  chasteau  ;  on  dit  que  c'est  Saint  Andre- 
en  Escosse  ;  et  ayant  demeure"  miserablement  captive  pres  d'un  an,  fut 
delivree  par  le  moyen  d'un  fort  honneste  et  brave  gentil-homme  du 
pays,  et  de  bonne  maison,  nomme"  Monsieur  de  Beton,  &c.  Voila  done 
cttte  reyne  en  liberte."  Consult  Brantome,  Viet  dei  Damet  Jlluttret  d* 
f ranee  t  p.  135. 


26 

in  the  north  of  England.  On  his  arrival  in  Lon- 
don, he  experienced  the  friendship  of  Sir  John 
Rainsford,  an  English  knight ;  who  is  recorded 
to  have  been  the  only  person  that  maintained 
him  against  the  fury  of  the  Papists.1  Of  this 
generous  protection,  Buchanan  was  not  after- 
wards unmindful  ;  he  has  immortalized  his  be- 
nefactor by  consecrating  a  poem  to  his  memory." 
It  was  apparently  at  this  unpropitious  crisis, 
that  he  addressed  himself  to  Thomas  Cromwell 
and  to  King  Henry  ;x  from  whom  he  however 
seems  to  have  obtained  no  relief.  Several  of  his 
little  poems  remain  as  memorials  of  his  necessi- 
ties ;  for  his  untoward  fate  frequently  compelled 
him  to  resort  to  this  humiliating  exercise  of  his 
exalted  genius.  No  man  was  however  less  dis- 
posed to  the  servility  of  adulation;  and  when 
the  iniquity  of  fortune  subjected  him  to  the  dire- 
ful expedient  of  thus  soliciting  patronage,  it  must 

r  Buchanani  Epistolae,  p.  20. 

u  Hunc,  Ransforte,  tuo  cineri  Buchananus  honorem 
Dat  meritum,  duro  cultus  in  exilio. 
Men»  generosa  atavos  non  est  mentita  vetuttos : 

Pace  tua  est  pietas  cognita,  Marte  man  us. 
Cultus  erat  simplex,  sine  luxu  splendida  mensa, 

Ara  domus  miseris,  area  benigna  bonis. 
Non  libertatem  fandi  peregrina  tyrannis, 
Non  animum  fregit  patria  serva  tuum. 
Ment  invicta  malis  fesso  de  corpore  cessit, 
Jam  pulso  exitii  servitiique  metu. 

Buchanan.  Epigram,  lib.  ii.  24. 
*  Buchanani  Miscell.  xiii,  xv. 


27 


have  cost  his  proud  spirit  many  a  bitter  pang. 
During  the  age  of  Buchanan,  and  indeed  at  a 
much  later  period,  men  of  letters  were  not  ex- 
tremely jealous  of  their  independence  :y  from 
the  peculiar  state  of  society,  they  were  very  fre- 
quently thrown  upon  the'  immediate  protection 
of  some  great  personage  ;  and  the  prevalent  no- 
tions relative  to  prerogative  and  subordination 
were  such  as  mankind  are  now  ashamed  to  re- 
cognize. The  royal  ears  of  Elizabeth  and  her 
successor  were  regaled  with  language  of  the  most 
absurd  and  execrable  denomination  : — how  mean- 
ly did  Bacon  stoop  from  the  awful  sublimity  of 
his  genius,  to  nurse  the  childish  vanity  of  a  mo- 
narch, whose  elevation  had  only  rendered  him 
contemptible  ! 

The  aspect  of  political  affairs  in  England  was 
not  calculated  to  secure  Buchanan's  attachment 
to  that  nation  ;  he  was  anxious  to  escape  from  a 
country  which  he  saw  exposed  to  the  wanton 
cruelties  of  a  brutal  tyrant.  The  civilization  of 
France,  as  well  as  the  particular  intimacies  which 
he  had  formed  in  that  country,  led  him  to  adopt 
the  resolution  of  returning  to  Paris.  But  he 
found  on  his  arrival  that  Cardinal  Beaton  was 

V  Nee  tamen  interea  sua  pauper  carmina  vates 
Vendere,  nee  blandus  circum  strepere  ostia  cessat 
Nobilium,  et  prohibere  suis  a  faucibus  atram 
Obsccenamque  famem  :  quid  enim,  quid  speret  ab  illis 
Amplius  ?  O  meritis  impar  sed  gratia  tantis ! 

Hospitalii  Epistol*,  p.  IS4, 


28 


Residing  there  in  the  character  of  an  ambassador.2 
Andrew  Govea,  a  native  of  Portugal,  invited  him 
to  Bourdeaux ;  nor  did  he  hesitate  to  embrace 
an  opportunity  of  removing  himself  beyond  the 
influence  of  the  cardinal's  deadly  hatred.  Of  the 
College  of  Guienne,  lately  founded  in  that  city, 
Govea  had  been  nominated  principal ;  and  Bu- 

z  Mr.  Pinkerton  has  proposed  some  chronological  objections  to  which 
it  will  here  be  necessary  to  advert.  "  The  date  15S9  on  the  margin  is  er- 
roneous ;  and,  not  to  mention  that  it  occurs  again  afterwards,  it  disagrees 
with  the  '  brevi  post*  in  the  text,  after  transactions  of  1537  :  nor  doe» 
Buchanan  mention  Mary  of  Guise,  who  arrived  in  June  1538,  after  he 
had  left  Scotland :  nor  was  Cardinal  Beton  in  France  in  1539,  though 
Buchanan  found  him  there  in  1538,  the  real  year  of  his  escape.  Yet,  in 
his  unchronological  history,  he  dates  the  event  1539:  if  not  an  error  of 
the  press  in  the  vitiated  first  edition."  ( Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii,  p.  352.) 
In  this  part  at  least  of  his  history,  Buchanan's  chronology  seem*  unex- 
ceptionable ;  and  it  would  indeed  have  been  singular  enough  if  he  had 
forgotten  the  number  of  a  year  which  to  him  was  so  eventful.  Nor  is 
there  the  smallest  room  for  suspecting  an  error  of  the  press :  having 
mentioned  the  transactions  of  1537,  he  proceeds  to  relate  an  event  "  prox- 
imo qui  hunc  secutus  est  anno  ;"  and  afterwards  introduces  the  persecu- 
tion which  ensued  "  initio  anni  proximi."  "  Initio  anni  proximi,  qui 
fuit  m.d. xxxix.  Lutheranismi  suspecti  complures  capti  sunt :  sub  finem 
Februarii,  quinque  cremati :  novem  recantarunt :  complures  exilio  dam- 
nati.  In  his  fuit  Georgius  Buchananus,  qui,  sopitis  custodibus,  per  cubi- 
culi  fenestram  evaserat."  (Buchanani  Rcrum  Scotic.  Hist.  p.  277.)  That 
this  persecution  occurred  in  1539,  is  almost  as  certain  as  any  event  in 
Scotish  history ;  and  Buchanan  may  safely  be  supposed  to  have  known 
what  relation  it  bore  to  his  own  troubles.  The  purport  of  Mr  Pinker- 
ton's  suggestion,  "  nor  does  Buchanan  mention  Mary  of  Guise,"  is  not 
sufficiently  obvious  :  Mary  of  Guise  had  no  particular  title  to  be  men- 
tioned in  the  life  of  George  Buchanan.  It  is  indeed  certain  that  Car- 
dinal Beaton  was  in  France  in  1538,  but  it  it  not  therefore  certain  that 
jie  was  not  in  France  in  1539.  It  is  not  the  province  of  a  historian  to 
record  every  little  embassy  of  every  denomination.  The  cardinal  would 
gladly  embrace  any  proper  opportunity  of  visiting  that  country ;  where 
lie  had  been  dexterous  enough  to  obtain  the  bishopric  of  Mirepoix.  (Les- 
'  v-us  De  Reins  Cestis  Scolorum,  p.  426.) 


29 

chanan,  evidently  through  his  interest,  was  now 
appointed  one  of  the  professors.  Here  he  must 
have  fixed  his  residence  before  the  close  of  the 
year ;  for  to  Charles  the  fifth,  who  made  his  so- 
lemn entry  into  Bourdeaux  on  the  first  of  De- 
cember 1539,a  he  presented  a  poem  in  the  name 
of  the  college. b 

The  task  assigned  him  at  Bourdeaux  was  that 
of  teaching  the  Latin  language.  For  an  occu- 
pation of  this  kind,  he  seems  to  have  entertained 
no  particular  affection  ;  but  although  sufficiently 
laborious,  it  never  impaired  the  native  elevation 
of  his  mind.  He  now  prosecuted  his  poetical 
studies  with  a  degree  of  ardour  which  may  ex- 
cite admiration ;  during  the  three  years  of  hit 
residence  at  Bourdeaux,  he  completed  four  tra- 
gedies, together  with  various  other  poems  on 
miscellaneous  subjects.  It  was  then,  and  indeed 
at  a  much  later  period,  the  common  practice  of 
academical  students  to  exercise  themselves  in 
the  representation  of  Latin  dramas.  In  dramatic 
poetry,  the  taste  of  the  French  nation  was  still 
rude  and  grotesque  ;  for  they  had  not  begun  to 
extricate  themselves  from  the  absurdities  of  the 
early  mysteries  and  allegories.  With  the  view 
of  familiarizing  the  collegians  to  the  more  cor- 
rect and  elegant  models  of  the  ancient  theatre, 

a  De  Lurbe,  Chronique  Bourdeloise,  f.  42,  b. 

b  Buchanani  Silvse,  i-  Ad  Carolum  V.  Impcratortm,  Burdegala  Losfitit 
publico  svtcfftum,  nomine  SebolK  Burdegalcnsis,  anno  M.o.xxxix. 


30 


Buchanan  with  his  usual  intrepidity  made  a 
sudden  incursion  into  this  province  of  literature. 
The  earliest  of  his  dramatic  compositions  bears 
the  title  of  Baptistes.  He  had  at  a  former  pe- 
riod applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Greek 
language  without  the  aid  of  a  tutor,  and  as  an 
useful  exercise  had  then  executed  a  close  transla- 
tion of  the  Medea  of  Euripides.  He  now  deliver- 
ed a  poetical  version  to  the  academical  stage,  and 
afterwards,  at  the  earnest  request  of  his  friends, 
suffered  it  to  be  printed.0     Those  two  tragedies 

c  "  Medeam,"  says  Buchanan,  "  non  in  hoc  scripseram,  ut  ederetur, 
sed  cum  Graecis  Uteris  absque  magistro  darem  operam,  ut  verba  singula 
inter  scribendum  diligentius  expenderem  :  amicis  importune  flagitantibuj 
edidi,  cum  Latinas  literas  Burdegalas  docerem,  ac  fabulam  singulis  annis 
pueris  dare  cogerer.  In  ea  cum  multa  negligentius  elapsa  essent,  post  ali- 
quot annos  retractavi  earn,  et  quxdam  in  ea  vulnera  ita  sanavi,  ut  adhuc 
cicatrices  alicubi  appareant.  Tres  reliquas  majore  cum  labore  ibidem 
effudi."  (EfittoU,  p.  25.)  By  comparing  this  with  a  passage  in  his  life , 
it  appears  that  he  has  here  expressed  himself  with  somewhat  of  the  ne- 
gligence of  familiar  correspondence.  "  Ibi  in  scholis,  qux  turn  sumptu 
publico  erigebantur,  triennium  docuit :  quo  tempore  scripsit  quatuor  tra- 
gcedias,  quae  postea  per  occasiones  fuerunt  evulgatae.  Sed  qux  prima 
omnium  fuerat  conscripta  (cui  nomen  est  Baptista)  ultima  fuit  edita,  ac 
deinde  Medea  Euripidis."  (Bucbanani  Vita,  p.  4.)  Buchanan  must  have 
executed  first  a  literal,  and  afterwards  a  poetical  translation  of  the  Medea . 
he  mentions  the  Baptittts  as  the  earliest  of  his  dramatic  poems,  which 
were  all  composed  at  Bourdeaux ;  but  he  had  formerly  translated  the  other 
tragedy  as  a  private  exercise.  Deinde  must  refer  to  the  order  of  compo- 
sition, not  of  publication.  The  dates  of  the  first^editions  cannot  easily  be 
ascertained.  His  Medea  is  inscribed  "  Ad  Illustrissimum  Principem  Joan- 
nem  a  Lucemburgo,  Iveriaci  Abbatem."  It  must  have  been  published 
previous  to  the  year  1547  ;  for  Jeande  Luxembourg,  who  was  consider- 
ed as  a  man  of  talents  and  eloquence,  was  then  promoted  to  the  bishopric 
of  Pamiers.  (Du  Verdier,  Bibliotleque  Francoiie,  far  Juvigny,  torn,  ii,  p. 
454.)     Buchanan  merely  addresses  him  as  abbot  of  Ivry.    The  earliest 


31 


were  performed  with  a  degree  of  applause  which 
almost  exceeded  his  hopes.  He  afterwards  com- 
posed his  Jephthes,  and  translated  the  Alcestis, 
another  drama  of  his  favourite  author.  These 
last  productions,  as  he  originally  intended  them 
for  publication,  were  elaborated  with  superior  di- 
ligence. 

The  tragedy  of  Jephthes  is  conformable  to  the 
models  of  the  Grecian  theatre,  and  is  not  desti- 
tute of  interest.  The  subject  is  highly  dramatic  ; 
it  is  a  subject  which  Buchanan's  great  exemplar 
Euripides  might  have  been  inclined  to  select. 
The  situation  of  a  father  who  had  unwarily  sub- 
jected himself  to  the  dreadful  necessity  of  sacri- 
ficing a  beloved  and  only  child,d  the  repugnant 

edition  of  Jephtlet  which  has  been  traced  is  that  of  Paris,  1554,  4tq, 
Apud  Guil.  Morelium.  His  version  of  the  Alcesth  was  printed  there  in  the 
same  form  in  1557,  Apud  Mich.  Vascosanum.  The  two  translated  dramas 
occur  in  a  collection  entitled  "  Tragcediae  Selects  ^Eschyli,  Sophoclis, 
Euripidis."  Excudebat  H.  Stepbanus,  1567,  8vo.  The  Baptistts  was  pub. 
lished  by  H.  Charters  in  1578,  8vo  ;  and  in  the  course  of  the  same  year 
was  reprinted  at  Frankfort  in  the  same  form  by  Andrew  Wechel.  There 
is  a  collective  edition  of  Buchanan's  "  Tragcedix  Sacrae  et  Exterae,"  Apud 
Petrum  Sanctandreanum,  1597,  8vo.  Mr.  RuJdiman  edited  the  versions 
from  Euripides  with  the  original  text.  Edinb.  1 722,  8vo.  Of  Buchanan's 
tragedies  there  are  many  other  editions,  which  it  would  be  superfluous  to 
enumerate. 

d  "  Jephtha's  daughter,"  says  Dr.  Jortin,  "  was  devoted  to  God, 
and  to  the  service  of  the  high  priest,  and  of  the  tabernacle.  It  is  strange 
that  any  commentator  should  have  imagined  that  she  was  sacrificed." 
(Jortin's  Tracts,  vol.  i,  p.  380.)  The  commentators  who  adopt  that  opi- 
nion are  justified  by  the  respectable  authority  of  Joscphus.  belden 
could  discover  no  vestige  of  any  paternal  power  of  thus  devoting  children 
who  did  not  belong  to  the  tribe  of  Levi.     It  is  not  pretended  that  Jeph- 


32 

and  excruciating  sensations  of  the  mother,  the 
daughter's  mingled  sentiments  of  heroism  and 
timidity,  are  delineated  with  considerable  felici- 
ty of  dramatic  conception.  The  tender  or  pa- 
thetic was  not  however  the  special  province  of 
Buchanan  ;  whose  talents  were  bold,  masculine, 
and  commanding.  It  has  been  urged  by  Hein- 
sius  and  by  Vossius,  that  in  this  tragedy  the  an- 
cient rule  respecting  unity  of  time  is  grossly  vio- 
lated ;  because  the  daughter  of  Jephtha  is  known 
to  have  bewailed  her  virginity  for  the  space  of 
two  months.6  But  in  Buchanan's  drama  there 
is  no  allusion  to  that  circumstance  ;  and  if  he 
has  exposed  himself  to  critical  reprehension,  it 
is  only  because  he  has  neglected  such  scrupul- 
ous advertency  to  the  national  rites  of  his  per- 
sonages. 

The  Baptistes,  although  inferior  to  the  other 
tragedy  in  dramatic  interest,  is  more  strongly 
impregnated  with  the  author's  characteristic  sen- 
timents. Its  great  theme  is  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  The  poet  frequently  expresses  himself 
with  astonishing  boldness  :  his  language  relative 
to  tyranny  and  priestcraft  is  so  strong  and  un- 
disguised, that  it  could  not  then  have  been  toler- 

tha  sacrificed  his  daughter  "  ex  jure  aliquo,"  but  merely  to  fulfil  a  vow 
which  it  would  have  been  piety  to  violate.  On  the  subject  of  this  vow, 
a  chapter  occurs  in  Selden  De  Jure  Naturali  et  Gentium  juxta  Disciplinary 
ELraorum,  p.  530.  Lond.  1640,  foL 

c  Heinsius  de  Tragasdix  Constitutione,  p.  204.    Vossii  Institutione* 
JPoeticsRj  p.  18. 


33 

fited  in  many  colleges ;  and  the  acquiescence  of 
Buchanan's  learned  auditory  suggests  no  unfa- 
vourable opinion  of  the  flourishing  seminary  to 
which  he  belonged.  Some  of  his  expressions 
bear  a  very  easy  application  to  the  late  conduct 
of  Cardinal  Beaton. 

Vulgo  ita  modo  vivituf, 
Nostrique  coetus  vitium  id  est  vel  maximum. 
Qui  sanctitatis  plebem  imagine  fallimus  : 
Prsecepta  tuto  liceat  ut  spernere  Dei ; 
Contra  instituta  nostra  si  quid  audeas, 
Conamur  auro  evertere  advrrsarios, 
Tollere  veneno,  subditisque  t^stibus 
Opprimere  :  falsis  regias  rumoribus 
Implemus  aures  :  quicquid  animum  offenderit, 
Rumore  falso  ulciscimur,  et  incendimus 
Animum  furore  turbidum,  et  calumniis 
Armamus  irse  ssevientis  impetum.f 

In  the  tragedies  of  the  ancient  Greek  poets, 
what  is  termed  the  prologue  is  always  an  essential 
part  of  the  drama ;  but  the  prologue  of  the  Bap- 
tistes  resembles  those  of  Terence*  Buchanan 
seems  to  have  adopted  this  method,  because  it 
afforded  him  an  opportunity  of  preparing  his  au- 
ditors for  the  bold  sentiments  which  they  were 
about  to  hear. 

The  same  subject  was  afterwards  selected  by 
several  other  poets.  A  drama  with  the  title  of 
Baptistes  occurs  among  the  works  of  Schonaeus  j 

f  "  Buchahani  Baptistes,  p.  23. 


34 

and  another,  written  by  Nicholas  Grimoald,  and 
entitled  Archnpropheta,  sive  Johannes  Baptista, 
was  published  at  London  in  the  year  1591. 8 
Milton  had  directed  his  attention  to  no  fewer 
than  a  hundred  different  subjects  for  tragedy,  and 
among  others,  to  that  of  .lohrt-  the  Baptist.  Of 
this  projected  drama  he  has  sketched  a  faint  out- 
line ;b  which  it  may  be  no  uninteresting  task  to 
compare  with  the  plan  of  Buchanan. 

Grotius  has  remarked  that  Buchanan,  so  ad- 
mirable in  other  respects,  has  not  sufficiently 
maintained  the  gravity  of  the  ancient  buskin  ;' 
and  it  is  indeed  obvious  that  his  tragedies  are  not 
the  most  perfect  of  his  compositions.  The  dis- 
approbation of  Heinsius,  who  like  Grotius  was 
also  a  dramatic  poet,  is  however  expressed  too 
forcibly  :  the  tragedies  of  Buchanan  he  mentions 
not  merely  without  applause,  but  even  with  some 
degree  of  contempt.k     Some  of  his  objections  are 

E  Warton's  Hist,  of  English  Poetry,  vol.  iii,  p.  60. 

h  Milton's  Poetical  Works,  by  Todd,  vol.  iv,  p.  504. 

i  Grotius  to  Thuanus  :  "  Tibi  hsec  mittuntur,  Praeses  Illustrissime,  qui 
post  Scotiae  illud  numen  redivivam  nobis  reduxisti  tragoediam  :  nisi  quod 
et  Buchananus  ipse,  in  aliis  vir  maximns,  a  cothurni  gravitate  degenerare 
videtur."  Grotii  Epistolas,  p.  1.  Amst.  1687,  foL 

k  "  Duos  certe  excellentes  hac  aetate  viros,  M.  Antonium  Muretum, 
Latinse  puritatis  nostro  aevo  principem,  Georgium  item  Buchananum, 
poetam  eximium,  quorum  ingeniis  nihil  impervium  fuisse  dicas,  nemo  ho- 
die  non  novit :  qui  cum  se  huic  scenae  crediderunt,  alterum  in  cothnrno, 
alteram  in  socco  pedem  habuisse  dicas ;  adeo  nee  legem  se  tenere  putant, 
neque  mentem  ad  antiquitatis  regulam  deflectunt  Illius  Caesare  equidem, 
hujus  autem  Jephte  humilius  vix  quicquam  ciici  potest ;  cum  vix  unquam 
assurgant."  Heinsius  de  Tragcedis  Constitutione,  p.  200. 


35 


manifestly  frivolous ;  and  he  might  almost  be 
suspected  of  an  oblique  intention  to  establish  his 
own  superiority.  Buchanan,  who  was  distin- 
guished for  the  elevation  of  his  genius,  was  cer- 
tainly capable  of  imparting  to  his  tragic  heroes 
sufficient  pomp  of  diction  ;  but  he  was  too  com- 
petent a  judge  of  propriety  to  invest  every  scene 
with  the  same  heroic  swell.  The  diction  of  Eu- 
ripides, whom  he  apparently  selected  as  his  mo- 
del, is  very  remote  from  the  standard  which 
some  modern  critics  have  attempted  to  introduce. 
The  original  tragedies  of  the  Scotish  poet  are  not 
however  free  from  considerable  blemishes.  Al- 
though his  subjects  are  scriptural,  he  frequently 
alludes  to  classical  mythology,  and  to  physical 
objects  with  which  the  Hebrews  were  totally  un- 
acquainted. To  some  of  the  characters  in  Jeph- 
thes  he  assigns  Greek  names ;  and  the  chorus  in 
very  familiar  terms  mention  the  wealth  of  Croe- 
sus, who  was  not  born  till  about  six  hundred  years 
after  Jephtha.  These  are  glaring  examples  of 
impropriety ;  but  similar  errors  have  been  com- 
mitted by  poets  who  are  sometimes  regarded  as 
infallible.  The  Persians  of  ^Eschylus  speak  of 
Jupiter  and  Hermes ;  and  in  the  Electra  of  So- 
phocles, the  characters  are  very  familiar  with  the 
Pythian  games.  Nor  is  it  unworthy  of  remark 
that  Heinsius,  who  claimed  the  honour  of  being 
the  first  critic  that  comprehended  the  system  of 

c2 


36 


Aristotle,1  and  who  censured  his  predecessors 
with  such  freedom,  has  himself  exhibited  many 
gross  violations  of  propriety;  has  in  the  same 
tragedy  blended  angels  with  the  Furies,  Michael 
with  Aiecto,  Tesiphone  with  Gabriel,  and  Me- 
gaera  with  Raphael.1" 

Of  his  dramatic  performances  Buchanan  enter- 
tained a  very  modest  opinion;  but  if  we  recol- 
lect the  circumstances  under  which  they  origi- 
nated, they  cannot  fail  of  impressing  a  lasting 
sentiment  of  admiration.  Their  composition  was 
a  task  which  his  academical  station  imposed :  he 
completed  the  four  tragedies  in  the  compass  of 
three  years,  while  engaged  in  the  laborious  oc- 
cupation of  teaching  grammar  to  young  students, 

I  Heirisii  Responsio  ad  Balsacium,  p.  4.  525. — "  L'art  de  la  poesie," 
«ays  De  Croi, "  qu'  Aristote  et  qu'  Homere  nous  avoyent  laisse,  avoit  e»te 
ignore"  jusqu'  a  luy."     (Response  au  Discturs  de  Balsac,  p.  10.) 

m  Salmasii  Epistola  ad  Menagium,  p.  77.  4to. — Balzac  had  published 
a  M  Dissertation  sur  une  Tragedie  intitulce  Heroics  Infanticides"  in  which 
the  merits  of  that  composition  of  Heinsius  were  very  fairly  discussed. 
The  poet  was  however  of  a  different  opinion ;  as  he  soon  afterwards  testified 
by  his  "^Epistola,  qua  Dissertation!  Balsacii  ad  Heroden  Infantkldam,  res- 
pondetur."  Lugd.  Bat.  1636,  8vo.  Jean  de  Croi,  who  afterwards  as- 
sailed him  in  another  quarter,  was  eager  on  this  occasion  to  vindicate  hi» 
fame  :  his  work  bears  the  title  of  "  Response  a  la  Lettre,  et  au  Discours 
de  Balsac,  sur  une  Tragedie  de  Heins,  intitulee  Herodes  Infantirida" 
Geneve?  1642,  8vo.  The  controversy  was  terminated  by  the  formidable 
interference  of  Salmasius ;  who  had  recently  been  engaged  in  another 
contest  with  Heinsius,  respecting  what  is  termed  the  Hellenistic  language. 
His  tract  is  entitled  "  Ad  ^gidium  Menagium  Epistola,  super  Herode 
Infanticides  viri  celeberrimi  Tragcedia,  et  Censura  Balsacii."  Paris.  1644, 
8vo.  It  is  reprinted  in  the  collection  of  his  Epistola.  LugA  Bat.  1656", 
4ta.     Balzac't  dissertation  occurs  in  his  Oeuvrts  Dfoencj,  p.  1 10. 


37 


and  while  he  even  regarded  his  life  as  insecure 
from  the  deadly  malice  of  Cardinal  Beaton  and 
the  grey  friars.  Whatever  may  be  the  defects 
of  those  productions,  they  are  at  least  superior  to 
any  of  the  Latin  dramas  which  had  been  compos- 
ed by  modern  poets.  This  province  had  been 
sufficiently  cultivated  by  the  scholars  of  Italy11 
and  Germany  ;  but  with  a  degree  of  success 
which  leaves  them  verj  far  behind  the  author  of 
Jephthes.  Most  of  their  performances,  when 
compared  with  those  of  Buchanan,  will  appear 
extremely  unclassical  and  grotesque.  At  the  pe- 
riod when  he  was  thus  reforming  the  classical 
theatre  in  France,  the  productions  of  Betuleius 
and  Macropedius  were  received  with  applause  in 
Germany. 

His  translations  from  Euripides  must  have  con- 
tributed, as  well  as  his  original  compositions,  to 
revive  the  genius  of  the  ancient  drama.  These 
versions  are  executed  with  no  inconsiderable  fe- 
licity. The  diction  of  Alcestis  surpasses  that  of 
Medea;  yet  to  his  learned  cotemporaries  the  last 
appeared  so  highly  classical,  that  strong  suspici- 
ons were  entertained  of  his  having  published  in 
his  own  name   a  genuine  relique  of  antiquity.0 

0  See  Mr.  Walker's  Historical  and  Critical  Essay  on  the  Reviral  of 
the  Drama  in  Italy.     Edinb.  1805,  8vo. 

0  "  i.odem  certe  modo,"  says  H.  Stephanas,  "  furti  insimulatum  fuisse 
Geofgium  Buchananum  audivi,  quum  ejus  Medea  (id  est  Euriptdit  Me- 
dea ab  eo  Latine  versa)  in  lucem  prodiit.  In  dliqua  enitr.  bibliotheca- 
latentem  hanc  Latinam  Medeam  surripuisse,  ac  suam  Undem  fecisse. 

c3 


38 

The  same  tragedy  had  been  translated  by  Ennius, 
whose  version  is  not  preserved.15  At  a  later  pe- 
riod two  tragedies  of  Euripides  were  translated  by 
Erasmus  ;q  and  his  attempt  is  mentioned  with 
becoming  respect  by  his  accomplished  successor. 
It  was  probably  the  example  of  Buchanan  that 
prompted  other  excellent  scholars  to  similar  en- 
terprizes  :  translations  from  the  Greek  dramatists 
were  afterwards  executed  by  Jos.  Scaliger,  Chres- 
tien,  and  Grotius/ 

Sed  quum  talis  sit  ha:c  versio  ut  vel  dignissima  antiquitate  (ad  multos 
praesertim  locos  quod  attinet)  dici  queat,  habent  quo  suam  accusationem. 
excusent."     (De  bene  Jmtituendis  Graca  Lingua  Studiis,  p.  116.) 

P  Ennii  Fragmenta,  p.  307,  edit.  Columns.     Neapoli,  1 590, 4to. 

1  Erasmi  Operu,  torn,  i,  col.  1131,  edit.  Clerici. 

r  Dr.  Bentley  remarks  that  Buchanan,  Scaliger,  Grotius,  and  other  mo. 
dern  poets,  have  not  sufficiently  adverted  to  the  prosody  of  the  Greek 
dramatists.  "  All  the  moderns  before  had  supposed,  that  the  last  syllable 
of  every  verse  was  common,  as  well  in  anapaests,  as  they  are  known  to  be 
in  hexameters  and  others :  so  that  in  poems  of  their  own  composing,  the 
last  foot  of  their  anapaests  was  very  frequently  a  tribrachys,  or  a  trochee, 
or  a  cretic  ;  or  the  foot  ended  in  a  vowel  or  an  m,  while  the  next  verse 
begun  with  a  vowel  or  an  h.  In  every  one  of  which  cases  an  error  was 
committed :  because  there  was  no  licence  allowed  by  the  ancients  to  the 
last  syllable  of  anapaests;  but  the  anapxst  feet  run  on  to  the  paroemiac, 
that  is,  to  the  end  of  the  sett,  as  if  the  whole  had  been  a  single  verse. 
This,  I  said,  was  a  general  rule  among  the  Greek  poets ;  and  even  Sene- 
ca, the  Latin  tragedian  (to  shew  he  was  conscious  of  this  rule,  that  1  have 
now  discover'd)  never  ends  an  anapaestic  verse  with  a  cretic,  as  Buchan- 
an, Scaliger,  Grotius,  &c.  usually  do;  though  sometimes  indeed  he  does  it 
with  a  trochee,  but  even  that  very  seldom,  and  generally  at  the  close  of 
a  sentence.  Even  envy  itself  will  be  forced  to  allow  that  this  discovery 
of  mine,  if  it  be  true,  is  no  inconsiderable  one."  (Dissertation  upon  Pha- 
liris,  p.  132.)  This  discovery,  though  perhaps  of  less  consequence  to  the 
world  than  the  author  imagined,  ought  not  to  be  entirely  overlooked. 
r>.r>«ult  likewise  the  eame  writer's  Efistola  ad  Millium,  p.  26,  and  Ruddi* 


39 

Buchanan's  original  tragedies  have  been  trans- 
lated into  several  languages/  One  of  Milton's 
biographers  has  ascribed  to  that  immortal  poet  an 
English  version  of  the  Baptistes  :  but  his  opinion 
is  not  authorized  by  the  slightest  vestige  of  evi- 
dence, either  historical  or  internal ;  and  his  per- 
severing observations  on  the  subject  exhibit  a 
very  curious  and  entertaining  specimen  of  anti- 
quarian argumentation.1 

man  De  Metrit  Buchananais,  p.  8.  Dr.  Bentley,  as  Mr.  Ruddiman  re- 
marks, has  committed  a  metrical  blunder  while  in  the  very  act  of  chas- 
tising Mr.  Boyle  for  his  ignorance. 

s  For  the  subsequent  notices  relative  to  the  Italian  and  French  transla- 
tions, I  am  almost  entirely  indebted  to  the  distinguished  politeness  of  Mr. 
Cooper  Walker,  whose  acquaintance  with  the  history  of  the  drama  is 
confessedly  unrivalled-  It  is  with  no  trivial  satisfaction  that  I  here  com- 
memorate so  respectable  a  name  among  the  warmest  encouragers  of  my 
present  undertaking. 

"  L'lefte,  Tragedia  di  Giorgio  Bucanano,  recata  di  Latino  in  volgare 
da  Scipione  Bargagli."     In  Venezia  per  Matteo  Valentini,  1600,  l8vo. 

"  Jephte-,  ou  le  Voeu,  Tragedie  traduite  du  Latin  de  Bucanan  par  Flo- 
rent  Chrestien."  Printed  with  "  Le  Premier  Chapitre  des  Lamentations 
de  Jeremie  en  vers."  Orleans,  Loys  Rabier,  1567,  4to.  Paris,  Robert 
pstienne,  1573,  8vo.  Mamert  Patisson,  1587, 12mo.  With  the  "  Frag, 
mens  de  Louis  de  Masures."  M.  Patisson,  1595,  12mo.  A  specimen 
of  this  version  may  be  found  in  the  late  excellent  edition  of  Du  Verdier's 
Bibliothejue  Franqeise,  torn,  i,  p.  585.  The  same  tragedy  was  translated 
into  French  by  Francois  Perrin,  and  by  Nicolas  le  I'igne,  Sieur  de 
Condes ;  but  neither  of  their  versions  is  known  to  have  been  printed. — 
In  one  of  his  valuable  publications,  Mr.  Walker  informs  us  that  on  the 
same  subject  with  this  drama  of  Buchanan,  a  French  opera  and  an  Italian 
tragedy  were  composed  during  the  last  century.  (Historical  Memoir  on 
Italian  Tragedy,  p.  264,  338.     Lond.  1799,  4t0.j 

"  Baptiste,  ou  la  Calomnie,  Tragedie  traduite  du  Latin  de  Bucanan, 
par  M  Brinon."  Jean  Osmont,  1613,  12mo.  "  I  believe,"  says  Mr« 
Walker,  "  Brinon  translated  also  Jcphtbes." 

c  Peck's  New  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Poetical  Works  of  Mr.  John 


40 


In  the  learned  dramas  represented  in  the  Col- 
lege of  Guienne,  the  well-known  Michel  de 
Monta^ne  was  a  frequent  performer.  About  the 
period  when  Buchanan  was  appointed  a  professor, 
he  there  commenced  his  ac  demical  studies  at 
the  early  age  of  six  years.  Before  his  return 
home,  which  took  place  in  his  thirteenth  year, 

Milton.    Lond.  1740,  4to. — The  translation  originally  appeared  with 
this  title :  "  Tyrannical  Government  Anatomized :  or,  a  discourse  con- 
cerning evil  counsellors  ;  being  the  Life  and  Death  of  John  the  Baptist." 
1642.    Mr.  Peck  not  being  at  first  aware  that  this  is  only  a  version  of  the 
Baptittes,  had  employed  a  very  curious  series  of  arguments  to  prove  that 
as  it  could  not  possibly  be  composed  bv  any  body  else,  it  must  consequent- 
ly have  been  composed  by  Mr.  Milton  ;  and  he  had  moreover  compiled 
many  historical  annotations  to  illustrate  Mr.  Milton's  evident  aliusions 
to  cotemporary  transactions.     Though  he  at  length  discovered  his  error 
in  supposing  it   to  be   an  original  work,  he    was  sorry  to  lose  his  argu- 
ments and  his  annotations:  he   therefore   published  this  version  as  Mil- 
ton's, and  retained   all  that  he  had  formerly  written,  interspersed  indeed 
with  some  qualifying  phrases  which  only  serve  to  heighten  the  ridicule. 
The  preface  to  his  new  edition  opens  in  the  following  manner.    "  His 
Baptistes  is  the   sixth  of  Mr.  John  Milton's  nine  most  celebrated  English 
poems ;  and  one  of  the  hitherto  unknown  pieces  of  his  whereof  I  am  now 
to  give  an  account."     (Memoirs  of  Milton,  p.  267.;     Another  specimen 
may  not  be  unacceptable.    "  This  leads  to   the  question,  And  how  will 
•you  now  prove  Milton  to  have  been  the  translator  ?  To  this  I  answer, 
many  of  the  coi.jectures  which  I  have  above  offered  to  prove  him  the  au- 
thor, will,  I  apprehend,  yet  stand  good  to  prove  him  the  translator.     For 
the  peculiar  way  of  spelling  ;  the   whole  manner  and  turn  of  the  stile  ; 
the  choice  of  the  persons  reflected  upon  ;  the  invectives  against  the  clergy  ; 
the  great  spirit  of  liberty  which  runs  throughout  the  work ;  and  above 
all,  the  design  and  timing  of  the  translation,  do  all,  I  imagine,  prove  him 
to  have  been  the  translator  ;  especially  if  we  add  to  all  these  this  one  other 
argument,  and  I  think  it  is  a  strong  one,  viz.  that  there  was  no  one  else, 
I  think,  but  he  then  living  (at  least  of  that  party)  who  could  have  done 
it  in  such  a  masterly  way  as  here  we  ste  it  "     (P.  281;.     '1  he  following 
specimen  of  the  translation  is  one  of  the  most  favourable  that  are  to  be 


41 


he  personated  the  principal  characters  in  the  La- 
tin tragedies  of  Buchanan,  Muretus,  and  Garen- 
taeus.  Those  learned  men,  together  with  Gru- 
chius,  he  has  commemorated  as  his  domestic  pre- 
ceptors." 

Montagne  relates  that  when  he  afterwards  saw 
Buchanan  in  the  train  of  Marshal  de  Brissac, 

found ;  but  it  certainly  comprehends  nothing  unattainable  by  talent*  Tery 
inferior  to  those  of  Milton. 

Te  quicquid  aer  continet  laxo  »inu ; 

Qusecunque  tellus,  &c. 

Whutere  the  ayre  in  its  loose  bosome  bears ; 

Whatere  the  earth  can  procreate,  or  sea 

Within  its  waters  nourish ;  thee  their  God 

All  do  acknowledge,  and  by  thee  alone 

Finde  their  creation.     In  a  constant  way, 

Thy  laws  once  given,  freely  they  obey. 

At  thy  command  the  spring  with  flowers  paints 

The  fertile  fields,  and  fruits  the  summer  yields  ; 

Autumne  pure  wine  abundantly  affords, 

And  winter  with  white  frost  the  hills  attires ; 

The  crooked  rivers  rolle  into  the  sea 

Huge  heaps  of  waters  ;  the  sea  ebbs  and  flows ; 

The  silver  moon  illuminates  the  night, 

The  golden  sun  the  day  ;  and  views  this  orb 

With  never-resting  brightnesse. 
u  Essais  de  Montagne,  liv.  i,  chap.  xxv. — Sir  Robert  Sibbald  supposes 
Buchanan  to  have  resided  in  the  country  as  Montagne's  tutor.  (Com- 
ment, in  Vitam  Buchanani,  p.  1 3.)  Montagne  has  also  mentioned  Mure- 
tus, Gruchius,  and  Garentaeus,  as  his  domestic  preceptors.  Like  Bu- 
chanan, they  were  professors  in  the  College  of  Guienne,  where  he  was 
domesticated  for  several  years ;  but  that  any  of  the  four  was  entertained 
in  his  father's  house,  is  a  conjecture  manifestly  devoid  of  foundation. 
Mr.  Ruddiman,  who  likewise  adopts  this  conjecture,  places  Buchanan's 
supposed  rustication  with  Montagne  between  1542  and  1544.  But  it  is- 
evident  from  the  essay  to  which  I  have  referred,  that  Montagne  did  net 
leave  the  College  of  Guienne  before  the  year  1546. 


42 

that  illustrious  poet  alluded  to  his  having  form- 
ed a  project  of  composing  a  work  on  education, 
in  which  he  intended  to  exhibit  the  discipline  of 
his  old  pupil  as  a  proper  exemplar.  This  project 
he  seems  never  to  have  executed.  It  was  per- 
haps his  intention  to  write  a  philosophical  poem 
on  the  subject ;  but  he  might  relinquish  the  de- 
sign in  consequence  of  having  commenced  an- 
other didactic  work  soon  after  the  period  to  which 
Montagne  refers. 

Buchanan's  attention  to  the  interests  of  ele- 
gant and  useful  learning  was  unremitting.  In  a 
Sapphic  ode  addressed  to  the  youth  of  Bour- 
deaux,  he  reminds  them  of  the  dignity  and  im- 
portance of  the  liberal  arts,  and  particularly  of 
that  art  which  he  had  himself  cultivated  with 
such  eminent  success.*  The  exertions  of  such  a 
preceptor  cou!d  not  fail  of  improving  the  taste  of 
his  pupils ;  but  the  splendour  of  his  poetry  seems 
to  have  conferred  upon  the  college  a  substantial 
benefit  of  another  kind.  This  seminary  was 
more  remarkable  for  the  learning  of  its  members, 
than  for  the  amplitude  of  its  endowments.  The 
penury  of  their  provision  was  so  sensibly  felt  that 
Buchanan,  probably  at  the  suggestion  of  his  col- 
leagues, addressed  a  poetical  representation  to 
Francis  Olivier,  chancellor  of  the  kingdom/  On 
this  occasion  the  powerful  influence  of  the  ancient 

*  Buchanani  MiscelL  «c 
?  Buchanani  Elegia  v. 


43 


lyre  w^s  revived :  Buchanan  afterwards  inscrib- 
ed to  the  chancellor  an  elegant  ode,  in  which  he 
commemorates  his  liberality  and  promptitude  in 
ameliorating  their  condition.2  Olivier  seems  to 
have  been  warmly  attached  to  the  interests  of 
polite  literature,  and  of  its  professors.  He  is 
highly  celebrated  in  the  poems  of  De  l'Hospital, 
the  most  distinguished  of  his  successors  in  the 
chancellorship.  Turnebus  addressed  to  him  a 
similar  petition  in  behalf  of  the  royal  professors 
at  Paris/ 

The  social  intercourse  which  Buchanan  enjoy- 
ed at  Bourdeaux  may  be  supposed  to  have  been 
neither  inelegant  nor  uninteresting.  That  city 
had  long  evinced  its  respect  for  learning.  In  an- 
cient times  it  could  boast  of  a  flourishing  acade- 
my," and  of  the  poetical  talents  of  its  citizen  Au- 
sonius,  by  whom  the  merits  of  several  cotempo- 
rary  professors  have  been  commemorated.  The 
foundation  of  the  college  to  which  Buchanan 
belonged  was  completed  in  the  year  1534,  when 
his  friend  Govea  was  invited  from  Paris  to  offi- 
ciate as  principal.0     In  1573,  the  College  of  the 

z  Buchanani  Miscell.  iv. 

a  Delitix  Poetarum  Gallorum,  torn,  iii,  p.  1045. 

•>  Bulaei  Hist.  Universitatis  Parisiensis,  torn.  i,tp.  46. 

c  Gabriel  de  Lurbe,  Chronique  Bourdeloise,  f.  42.  Bourdeaux,  1594, 
4to. — This  v»  ork,  originally  written  in  Latin,  was  translated  by  the  au- 
thor ;  who  was  an  advocate  of  Bourdeaux.  The  French  edition  is  more 
copious — A  work  entitled  VAntiquite  de  Bourdeaus,  et  de  Bourg,  was 
published  by  Vinetus.  A  second  edition,  corrected  and  enlarged,  was 
printed  at  Bourdeaux  in  quarto  in  the  year  1574. 


44 

Jesuits  was  instituted  by  the  liberality  of*M.  <le 
Baulon,  a  counsellor  in  the  provincial  parlia- 
ment ;d  and  it  was  not  perhaps  till  that  period 
that  the  schools  of  Bourdeaux  received  the  privi- 
leges of  a  university,'  In  the  year  1555  how- 
ever the  College  of  Guienne  maintained  fifteen 
professors  or  public  teachers/  The  accomplish- 
ments of  Buchanan  and  of  the  able  scholars  with 
whom  he  was  associated  had  established  its  repu- 
tation ;  and  it  was  once  regarded  as  the  best  se- 
minary in  France  for  the  first  institution  of 
youth.g  Several  of  his  associates  were  men  of 
eminent  talents  and  erudition :  among  them  he 
had  formed  intimacies  which  he  recollected  with 
pleasure  during  the  last  years  of  his  life ;  and  in 
his  poetical  works  he  commemorates  his  regard 
for  some  of  the  distinguished  lawyers  who  then 
resided  at  Bourdeaux.  He  has  written  in  very 
favourable  terms  the  epitaphs  of  Francois  de  BeL 
cier,h  first  president  of  the  parliament,  Briand 
de  Vallee,   one  of  the  king's  counsellors  in  the 

4  De  Lurbe,  Chronique  Bourdeloise,  f.  48. 

e  Miraeus  mentions  Bourdeaux  as  the  seat  of  a  university.  (Notiii* 
Ipiscopafuum  Orlis  Christian'^  p.  275,  edit.  Antverp.  1613,  8vo.) 

f  Schotti  Bibliotheca  Hispanica,  p.  618. 

*  Du  Chesne,  Antiquitez  et  Recherches  des  Villes,  Chasteaux,  et 
Places  plus  remarquables  de  toute  la  France,  p.  751. 

b  The  poems  of  a  Franciscus  Bellicarius  occur  in  the  DAHI&  Pottarum 
Gallcrum,  torn,  i,  p.  489.  The  name  of  the  first  president  Buchanan  ha* 
Latinized  Belcierius :  but  that  of  Olivier  he  renders,  by  a  different  ana- 
Jogy,  Olivarius.  One  of  the  little  poems  of  Bellicarius  is  addressed  «• 
Anthoay  Govea,  who  is  known  to  have  resided  at  Bourdeaux. 


45 


same  court,  and  of  Innocentius  Fontanus,  a  law- 
yer and  a  poet.'  To  De  Vallee,  whom  he  has  ex- 
tolled as  one  of  the  most  worthy  as  well  as  most 
learned  men  whom  the  sun  had  beheld,k  he  ad- 
dressed an  elegy  written  with  too  much  freedom. 
Buchanan's  social  intercourse  was  not  confined  to 
the  college  and  to  the  city ;  it  was  at  this  period 
that  he  occasionally  enjoyed  the  society  of  a  very 
extraordinary  personage  who  resided  at  a  consi- 
derable distance.  At  Agen  the  elder  Scaliger 
was  now  exercising  the  profession  of  a  physician. 
That  city,  when  he  there  fixed  his  residence, 
could  not  furnish  him  with  a  single  individual 
capable  of  supporting  literary  conversation ;  and 
he  was  therefore  led  to  cultivate  an  intimacy 
with  some  of  the  more  enlightened  inhabitants  of 
Bourdeaux.  Buchanan,  Tevius,  and  other  ac- 
complished scholars  who  then  belonged  to  the 
College  of  Guienne,  were  accustomed  to  pay  him 
an  annual  visit  during  the  vacation.  They  were 
hospitably  entertained  in  his  house ;  and  he  de- 
clared that  he  forgot  the  torture  of  his  gout 
whenever  he  had  an  opportunity  of  discussing 

i  Buchanani  Epigram,  lib.  ii,  17,  5,  19.  Innecentio  Fontano  Buritgaltnri 
Poet*  et  Caustidico. 

k  Briand  de  Valine  is  thus  mentioned  in  an  epistle  by  one  Pierre  de 
Vallee,  appended  to  Franciscus  Bonadus's  Latin  version  of  the  psalms, 
Paris.  1531,  8vo:  "  Imprimis  scripturienti  mihi  occurrit  Briandus  ille 
Valla,  Burdegalensis  senatus  consul  ut  vigilantissimus,  ita  utriusque  litera- 
ture ornatissimus."  This  friend  of  Buchanan  endowed  a  lecture  of  the- 
ology in  the  College  of  Guienne.     (De  Lurbe,  f.  42). 


46 

topics  of  learning  with  such  guests.1  For  the 
society  of  this  singular  man,  who  possessed  some 
bad  and  many  good  qualities,  Buchanan  has  ex- 
pressed a  mutual  relish. 

Dum  nunc  nivalis  Aquilo  constringit  gelu 

Lapsus  tapaces  fluminum, 
Nunc  densus  Auster  vallium  dcclivia 

Nimiis  inundat  imbribus, 
Pedesque  glacie  vel  vacillant  lubrica, 

Vel  in  profundo  haerent  luto, 
Cunctos  levabat  spes  labores  unica 

Doctum  videndi  Julium. 
Hac  spe  ferebat  pes  viae  molestias 

Omnes  libenter,  et  oculis 
Jam  turn  imputabat  gaudium:  lsetus  animus, 

Bonis  futuris  ebrius, 
Praegestiebat,  jam  velut  voti  sui 

Fructu  beat*  perfruens. 
Sed  lux  Agini  quinta  nunc  agitur  mihi, 

Fastidiosa  dum  mora 
Cumulat  viarum  incommoda,  et  mens  anxia 

Spes  pendet  inter  et  metus. 

1  "  In  Gymnasio  autem  Aquitanico  Burdegalensi  tunc  erat  Buchanan- 
us,  Muretus,  Tevius,  alii :  at  qui  viri  ?  Ii  quotannis  feriis  vindemiali- 
bus  Aginnum  Julii  Csesaris  visendi  commeabant,  quos  et  tecto  et  men» 
excipiebat.  Negabat  enim  sibi  rem  cum  podagra  esse,  quoties  tales  con- 
vivas  haberet,  quibuscum  de  Uteris  loqui  posset."  (Jos.  Scaliger  De 
Vctustate  et  Sflendorc  Gentit  Scaliger*,  p.  51.)  In  a  later  publication  Scab, 
ger  denies  that  Muretus  ever  came  to  Agen  after  his  settlement  at  Bour- 
deaux  :  "  Quum  Burdegalam,  relicta  schola  Villanova,  profectus,  ibi  in 
una  dassium  Gymnasii  Aquitanici  doceret,  circiter  annum  Christi 
mdxlvii.  neque  ex  eo  unquam  aut  Aginnum  repetivit,  aut  Julium  postea 
vidit."  fOmfutatio  FabuU  Burdonum,  p.  453.)  These  two  passage*  are 
evidently  irreconcilable. 


47 

Ouamvis  laboris  omnia  ingratissimi 

Sint  plena,  res  mihi  unica 
Mai>is  moiesta  est  caeteris  molestiis, 

Non  intueri  Julium.* 

Buchanan,  like  other  poets,  seems  to  have  been 
a  pedestrian.  These  Verses,  written  while  his  an- 
xious mind  was  suspended  between  hope  and  fear, 
may  with  some  probability  be  referred  to  the  cri- 
sis of  his  relinquishing  Bourdeaux  for  new  adven- 
tures. To  this  elegant  compliment  the  subse- 
quent verses  of  Scaliger  may  perhaps  be  supposed 
to  bear  an  allusion. 

Felix  Georgi,  lacte*  venae  pater, 

Quae  ditat  immensum  mare  j 
Quid  barbarorum  voce  squallentem  absona, 

Merisque  nugis  obsitum, 
Inepturientem  non  ferendis  artibus, 

Audi  re  memet  postulas  ? 
Plectrumne  Phcebo  temperante  Marsya's 

Tentabit  ictum  pollicis  ? 
Amabiles  Thalia  si  faciat  modos, 

Garrire  pica  gestiet  ? 
Te,  natum  ad  alta  Pegasi  cacutnina, 

Tepente  susceptum  sinu 
Regina  sacri  magna  Calliope  soni 

Liquore  non  noto  imbuit  j 
Deditque  palmam  ferre  de  tot  gentibus, 

Latina  quot  colit  cohors. 
Puris  beata  voce  tessellis  nitor 

Perstringit  aures  Candidas ; 

n  Buchanani  Epigram,  lib.  i,  4& 


48 

Ficxuque  ducta  vena  dulcis  aurco, 

Quam  sustulit,  iterat  sitlm. 
O  me  superbum,  mole  sublatum  nova, 

Te  litteratorum  Deo! 
Desideratum  abesse  me,  ut  scribis,  doles, 

Quod  aliquid  esse  me  putes. 
Tu  te  ipse  contemplator,  in  quo  cuncta  sunt, 

Et  vota  lenies  tua.a 

Scaliger  has  composed  another  little  poem  in 
celebration  of  his  illustrious  friend :  neither  of 
the  two  is  remarkable  for  felicity  of  expression ; 
but  they  both  serve  as  testimonials  of  the  favour- 
able opinion  entertained  of  Buchanan  by  a  critic 
who  despised  most  of  his  literary  cotemporaries. 

Heri  legebam  nuper  allatum  mihi 
Sapidum,  tenellum,  molle  carmen,  aureum, 
Intelligendum  vel  puellis  omnibus, 
Si  splendor,  atque  puritas,  decus,  nitor, 
Animum  subire  luculentum  ullum  queat ; 
Intelligendum  non  facile  doctis  viris, 
Nisi  mentis  excitetur  ardor  efficax, 
Sententiarum  propter  ardorem  merum. 
De  me  ut  loquaris,  ut  ego  de  me  ipso  Ioquar, 
Intelligebam  primulum  ut  simplex  puer : 
At  ubi  vir  esse,  ubi  esse  volui  intelligens, 
Vocis  serena  luce  perculsus  tuse, 
De  intelligent!  intelligens  nihil  fui. 
Hoc  te  volebam  sic  monere,  ne  petas 
Me  velle  respondere;  non  enim  audeo: 
Hocque  esse  respondere,  non  respondco.* 

Q  Jui  Scaligeri  Poemata,  torn,  i,  p.  166. 
•  Jul.  Scaligeri  Poemata,  torn,  i,  p.  321. 


49 


Julius  Ctesar  Scaliger,  according  to  the  narra- 
tive of  his  son  Joseph,  was  born  on  Friday  the 
twenty-third  of  April  1484,  in  the  castle  of  Ri- 
pa,  situated  at  the  head  of  the  Lago  di  Garda.  He 
was  the  second  son  of  Benedetto  della  Scala,  de- 
scended of  the  royal  house  of  Verona ;  which 
was  despoiled  of  its  principality  by  the  republic 
of  Venice.  As  Benedetto  had  commanded  the 
armies  of  Matthias  king  of  Hungary,  and  like- 
wise enjoyed  the  favour  of  the  emperor  Frede- 
rick, the  Venetians  regarded  him  as  a  dangerous 
remnant  of  his  illustrious  family.  Two  days  af- 
ter his  wife  had  been  delivered  of  this  child,  they 
made  an  attempt  to  seize  the  mother  and  her  two 
sons  ;  but  notwithstanding  her  critical  situation, 
she  escaped  from  the  castle,  and  fled  to  her  father 
the  count  of  Lodronio. — Such  is  the  genealogy 
which  Joseph  Scaliger  has  claimed  in  his  unfor- 
tunate epistle  to  Janus  Dousa;p  and  his  father 
in  most  of  his  works  is  continually  alluding  to 
the  same  splendour  of  ancestry.  But  the  validi- 
ty of  their  pretensions  is  extremely  dubious.  The 
Italian  scholars,  as  one  of  them  has  remarked,*1 
and  as  evidently  appears  from  various  documents, 
were  generally  disposed  to  consider  their  royalty 

P  Jos.  Scaliger  de  Vetustate  et  Splendore  Gentis  Scaligerae.  Lugd. 
Bat.  1594,  4to. — This  epistle,  or  rather  treatise,  occupies  the  first  fifty- 
seven  pages  of  the  collection  of  the  author's  Epittola.  Lugd.  Bat.  1637 
Svo. 

*  Imperial!*  Mu»eum  Historicum,  p.  64.    Venet.  1640,  4to. 

P 


50 

as  purely  fictitious.  Scioppius,  who  attacked  the 
dead  father  and  the  living  son  in  a  most  atro- 
cious manner,  advanced  many  arguments  in  proof 
of  their  mean  extraction/  The  character  of  this 
author  renders  every  thing  connected  with  his 
piivate  veracity  sufficiently  equivocal:  but  on 
the  other  hand,  many  circumstances  contribute 

r  Scioppii  Scaliger   Hypobolimxus.     Moguntix,   1607,  4to. — In  the 
course  of  the  following  year  Scioppius  was  exposed,  in  a  volume  entitled 
"  Sa'irx  dux,  Hercules  tuam  Fidem  sive  Munsterus  Hypobolimxus,  et 
Virgula  Divina."     The  author  of  the  two  satires,  as  Scaliger  has  often  re- 
marked in  his  epistles,  was  Daniel  Heinsius,  who  was  then  in  the  twenty- 
seventh  year  of  his  age.    He  was  born  at  Ghent  in  1561.    Placcius  has  im- 
properly ascribed  the  "  Confutatio  Fabulx  Burdonum"  to  Janus  Rutger- 
sius.  (TheatTum  Anonymorum  et  Pseudonymorum,  torn,  i,  p.  37.  Hamb.  1708, 
2  torn,  fol.)     The  title  indeed  bears  "  i.  R.  Batavus,    Juris  Studiosus ;" 
but  Scaliger  has  repeatedly  mentioned  it  as  his  own  production.     On  the 
eleventh  of  June  1608  he  thus  wrote  to   Janus  Gruterus  :  "  Occupatis- 
simus  hos  dies  fui  in  scripto  quod  adversus  Burdonistas  adorno.     Nomen 
non  apponam,  neque  meum  qui  scrips!     neque  ejus  quern   anonymum 
hujus  auctorem  facio."     (Scaligeri  Epist-J>e,  p.  793.)     He  was  willing  that 
it  should  be  considered  as  the  composition  of  Rutgersiys,  a  young  scholar 
of  the  highest  promise.     Placcius  is  also  mistaken  in  referring  the  publi- 
cation of  this  work  to  the  year  1609:  it  was  subjoined  to  the  second 
edition  of  the  two  satires  of  Heinsius.     "  Accipe  nunc,"  said  Scaliger  to 
Casaunon  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  August  1608,  "  satyram   Heinsii,  tri- 
ente  auctiorem.  ut  et  fabulx  Burdonianx  confutationem."  (Episttlx,  p. 
353.)     To  some  editions  is  likewise  appended  a  tract  entitled  "  Vita  et 
Parentes  Gasp.  Schoppii,  a  Germano  quodam  contubernali  ejus  conscrip- 
ta"     This  German   was  perhaps   Eilhardus  Lubinus;  who  appears  to 
have  written  some  tract  in  disparagement  of  Scioppius.     (Hid.  p.  725  ) 
Scioppius  afterwards  published  a  work  which  he  pretended  had  long  been 
suppressed  by  the  artifices  of  the  Calvinists.     It  bears  the  title  of  "  Op- 
orini  Grubini   -imphotides  Scioppianx ;  hoc  est  Responsio  ad  Satyram 
Menippxam  Josephi  Burdonis  Pseudc- Scaligeri  pro  Vita  et  Moribus  Gasp. 
Scioppii."    Paris.  1611,  6re.     It  seems  to  have  been  printed  in  Ger- 
many. 


51 


to  undermine  the  credit  of  the  younger  Scaliger's 
hyperbolical  and  romantic  narrations ;  nor  can 
the  answer  which  he  returned  to  Scioppius  be 
deemed  satisfactory  with  respect  to  any  of  the 
material  points  of  debate.  It  is  not  true  that  his 
father  was  born  in  the  castle  of  Ripa ;  he  was 
born  in  the  city  of  Verona.5  If  he  was  actually 
knighted  by  the  emperor,  it  is  certainly  an  ex- 
traordinary circumstance  that  he  should  never 
have  assumed  so  honourable  a  distinction.  It  is 
apparently  false  that  his  original  appellation  was 
either  Julius  Caesar  Scaliger  of  Burden,  or  count 
of  Burden.1  To  accuse  these  very  learned  men 
of  downright  falsehood,  may  perhaps  appear  ex- 

5  Bayle,  in  his  short  account  of  Verona,  has  published  the  letters  of 
naturalization  which  Scaliger  obtained  from  Francis  the  first ;  and  he  is 
there  denominated  "  natif  de  la  -ville  de  Veronne  en  Itallie."  In  those  let- 
ters, his  name  and  addition  were  unquestionably  recited  from  his  own 
memorial  or  petition. 

£  Gyraldus,  the  cotemporary  and  friend  of  Scaliger,  denominates  him 
*  JuL  Scaliger,  qui  prius  Burdonis  cognomine  fuit,  Veronensis,  apprime 
eruditus."  (De  Poetii  suorum  Temporum,  dial,  ii,  p.  415. j  In  the  letters 
of  naturalization  he  is  termed  "  Julius  Caesar  de  l'Escalle  de  Bordoms, 
Docteur  en  Medeciue."  M.  de  la  Monnoye  conjectures  with  great  pro- 
bability that  instead  of  Bordomi  we  ought  to  read  Birdonis,  and  that  the 
omission  of  a  point  over  the  letter  i  in  the  manuscript  occasioned  the 
mistake.  ( Menagiana,  torn,  iii,  p.  452.)  Those  letters  contain  no  hint 
of  his  being  descended  of  royal  ancestors,  born  in  the  castle  of  Ripa,  and 
adorned  with  the  honour  of  knighthood.  If  Scaliger's  high  pretension* 
had  been  well-founded,  he  would  not  have  failed  to  state  them  in  h« 
memorial ;  and  if  they  had  been  thus  stated,  the  titles  of  so  honourable 
a  subject  must  certainly  have  been  recited  in  the  instrument  which  con- 
stituted him  a  citizen  of  France.  The  date  of  this  curious  document  is 
1528.    Bayle  published  it  from  a  copy  communicated  by  BaTUzluSJ 

D2 


52 

tremely  harsh  and  indecent ;  but  it  is  not  easy 
to  admit  many  of  their  assertions  relative  to  this 
subject,  which  seems  to  have  interested  them 
above  all  others*  With  all  their  splendid  en- 
dowments, they  were  subject  to  errors  which 
might  serve  to  reconcile  the  more  obscure  part 
of  mankind  to  their  obscurity.  The  paltry  dis- 
tinction of  being  regarded  as  the  spawn  of  a 
house  which  had  once  been  royal,  presented 
charms  sufficient  to  decoy  them  from  that  manly 
integrity  which  is  a  higher  ornament  than  royal- 
ty can  bestow.  And  yet,  such  is  the  motley 
texture  of  the  human  mind,  those  very  men 
were  adorned  by  many  virtues ;  and  were  more- 
over distinguished  by  a  larger  portion  of  genius 
and  erudition  than  ever  fell  to  the  share  of  an- 
other father  and  his  son. 

The  father's  original  profession  was  that  of 
arms ;  and  he  is  represented  as  having  performed 
prodigious  feats  of  strength  and  valour.  After 
having  fought  under  the  banners  of  the  emperor, 
he  retired  to  Ferra'ra,  where  he  experienced  the 
liberality  of  the  reigning  duke.  It  was  here  per- 
haps that  he  became  a  pupil  of  the  famous  Ludo- 
vicus  Caelius  Rhodiginus,  whom  he  has  repeated- 
ly mentioned  as  his  preceptor,"  and  who  was  pro- 
fessor of  eloquence  in  that  university  before  his 
removal  to  Padua.*     The  poverty  of  his  present 

u  JuL  Scaligeri  Poetice.lib.  iii,  cap.  cxxvi,  Poemata,  torn,  i,  p.  30P. 
T  Tomaiini  Elogia  Virorum  Illustrium,  torn,  ii,  p.  €3. 


53 


condition  led  Scaliger  to  form  a  determination  of 
assuming  the  habit  of  St.  Francis:  he  according- 
ly resorted  to  the  university  of  Bologna,  and  com- 
menced his  acquaintance  with  the  writings  of  the 
subtle  doctor;  but  his  affection  for  a  monastic 
life  soon  began  to  cool.     The  Franciscans  he  af- 
terwards hated  with  as  much  cordiality  as  his 
friend    Buchanan ;    and   never   willingly    inter- 
changed a  single  word  with  any  member  of  that 
pious  fraternity.     Having  passed  into  Piedmont 
for  the  purpose  of  visiting  some  of  his  fellow- 
students  to  whom  he  was  much  attached,  he  ob- 
tained the  command  of  a  troop  of  light  horse 
from  the  French  general  who  presided  in  that 
province;  and,  according  to  the  report  of  his  son, 
he  performed  such  gallant  service  that  he  recom- 
mended himself  to  the  personal  notice  of  Francis 
the  first.     In  the  midst  of  his  warlike  broils  he 
did  not  forget  the  pursuits  of  literature      His  ac- 
quaintance with  a  physician  of  Turin  produced 
an  accidental  bias  towards  the  study  of- medicine; 
which  he  began  to  prosecute  with  all  the  ardour 
incident  to  so  vigorous  a   mind.     His  military 
duty  and  nocturnal  lucubrations,  added  to  the 
inclemency  of  the  sky,  subjected  him  to  a  violent 
attack  of  the  gout ;  but  he  had  no  sooner  reco- 
vered his  strength   than    he  recurred  with   his 
wonted  eagerness  to  the  occupations  of  war  and 
letters.     Hitherto  he  was  unacquainted  with  the 
Greek  tongue ;  and  although  he  had  already  ex- 

d  3 


54 

ceeded  the  thirty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  he  applied 
himself  to  its  acquisition  with  the  utmost  perti- 
nacity and  success.     This   intenseness   of  study 
having  excited  a  fit  of  the   gout  more  excru- 
ciating   than    the    former,    he  determined    to 
abandon  the  profession  of  a  soldier.     The  bishop 
of  Agen,  who  was  related  to  some  of  his  particu- 
lar friends  in  Piedmont,  having  persuaded  Scali- 
ger  to  accompany  him  to  his  diocese  as  a  milita- 
ry protector,  it  was  the  learned  warrior's  destiny 
to  be  there  arrested  by  the  charms  of  Andiette  de 
Roques  Lobeiac,  a  hopeful  damsel  of  thirteen. 
Scaliger  was  more  than  triple  that  age,  but  he  was 
a  scholar,  and  a  soldier,  and  possessed  the  still 
superior  recommendation  of  a  tall  and  noble  per- 
son-    It  is  not  however  astonishing  that  the  rela- 
tions of  Andiette,  who  was  descended  of  a  good 
family,  should  hesitate  as  to  the  expediency  of 
her  accepting  the  hand  of  a  wrong-headed  adven- 
turer.    They  contrived  to  defer  the  match  for  the 
space  of  three  years ;  but  having  persisted  in  his 
scheme  with  that  pertinacity  which  characterized 
all  his  actions,  he  was  at  length  successful.    With 
this  amiable  woman,  who  became  the  mother  of 
fifteen  children,  his  union  was  fortunate  in  every 
respect ;  she  not  only  inherited  landed  proper- 
ty, but  possessed   other  recommendations   of  a 
more  valuable  nature.     She  composed  the  wan- 
derings of  his  desultory  life  ;  diverted  the  current 
of  his  native  irritability ;  released  him  from  the 


55 


ordinary  cares  of  domestic  economy ;  watch- 
ed over  him  during  the  periodical  returns  of  his 
gout,  with  the  sedulity  of  a  servant,  and  the  ten- 
derness of  a  wife.  Scaliger  now  established  him- 
self as  a  physician  at  Agen,  where  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  days.  His  name  was  yet  un- 
known in  the  republic  of  letters ;  but  notwith- 
standing the  irregular  tenor  of  his  life,  he  had 
provided  a  large  fund  of  erudition,  and  panted  to 
signalize  himself  as  a  literary  gladiator.  Eras- 
mus had  now  attained  to  the  summit  of  reputa- 
tion, and  Scaliger  selected  him  as  an  antagonist 
not  altogether  unworthy  of  himself.  In  the  year 
1528  Erasmus  had  published  his  Ciceronianus,  a 
very  ingenious  dialogue  in  which  he  exposes  the 
laborious  trifling  of  the  professed  Ciceronians; 
and  in  1531  Scaliger  published  what  he  terms  an 
oration  in  defence  of  Cicero  against  Erasmus. 
The  very  title  of  his  work  affords  a  proof  of  his 
having  mistaken  the  question;  for  it  was  not  the 
scope  of  the  other  production  to  extenuate  the  me- 
rits of  Cicero  himself,  but  to  explode  the  prepos- 
terous notions  of  those  servile  admirers  who  hesi- 
tated to  employ  a  single  word  or  phrase,  unless 
it  had  been  sanctioned  by  the  authority  of  their 
favourite  author.  But  if  Erasmus  had  called  Ci- 
cero a  blockhead  and  a  rascal,  and  had  himself 
been  entitled  to  those  appellations,  Scaliger  coald 
hardly  have  attacked  him  in  a  more  ferocious 
manner.  His  interference  was  the  more  imper- 
tinent, as  he  defended  Cicero  in  a  style  by  no 


56 

mean*  Ciceronian.  Erasmus  had  hitherto  been 
unacquainted  even  with  the  name  of  the  writer 
who  now  assailed  him  with  such  rudeness;  and 
from  internal  evidence  he  was  firmly  persuaded 
that  at  least  the  principal  part  of  the  oration  had 
been  composed  by  Hieronymus  Aleander.y  As 
he  did  not  condescend  to  reply,  his  conduct  was 
the  most  mortifying  which  he  could  possibly 
have  adopted.  Scaliger  finding  himself  thus 
treated  with  silent  contempt,  prepared  a  second 
oration  still  more  injurious  than  the  first ;  but  it 
was  not  printed  till  after  the  death  of  the  illus- 
trious man  whom  he  had  loaded  with  unmerited 
and  unprovoked  insults.2     In  his  subsequent  pro- 

y  Jortin's  Life  of  Erasmus,  vol.  i,  p.  517. 

a  Scaliger'i  invectives  were  afterwards  reprinted  in  one  volume  :  "  Jul« 
Caes  Scaligeri  adversus  Desid.  Erasmum  Orationes  du*,  Eloquentia; 
Romans  vindices :  una  cu.n  ejusdem  Epistolis,  et  Opusculis  aliquot  non- 
dum  vulgaris."  Tolosx,  16  A,  4to.  Sixteen  of  his  letters  relative  to 
this  contest  occur  in  the  Amanitatci  Literaria,  torn,  vi,  p.  508,  torn,  viii, 
p.  554.  Bayle,  in  his  account  of  Erasmus,  has  detected  the  younger 
Scaliger  in  several  inaccurate  assertions  with  respect  to  his  father's  de- 
clamations.    ^  Jos.  Scaligeri  Confutatio  FahuU  BurJonum,  p.  3 1 3,  edit.  1617.) 

The  editor  of  those  two  orations  was  P.  J.  Maussac.  Colomies,  Bib~ 
liotbeque  Choitie,  p.  1 1 2.)  It  was  likewise  by  his  zealous  care  that  one  of 
Scaliger's  posthumous  works  was  rescued  from  oblivion  •  "  Aristotelis 
Historia  de  Animalibus,  Julio  Cassare  Scaligero  interprete,  cum  ejusdem 
Commentariis."  Tolosae,  1619,  foL  His  admiration  of  Scaliger,  as 
will  appear  from  the  tubsequent  quotation,  was  fervent  enough.  "  Om- 
nes,  erudite  lector,  qui  paulo  humaniores  sunt,  et  gustum  aliquem  habent 
bonarum  literarum,  statim  fassuri  sunt,  Jul  Cats.  Scaligerum  omnes  su- 
perioris  svi  eruditos,  et  arte  dicendi,  et  scientiarum  varietate,  longe  post 
terga  reliquisse."  (Maussaci  Prolegomena.)  It  is  surprizing  that  so  learn- 
ed a  mai  ..oulu  have  entertained  this  opinion,  but  not  surprizing  that  a 
rsan  who  entertained  it  should  himself  write  in  so  indifferent  a  style. 


#7 


ductions,  he  alternately  mentions  Erasmus  with 
admiration  and  contempt.  With  the  same  fu- 
rious illiberality  he  afterwards  commenced  his 
attack  on  Cardan,  not  the  least  famous  of  his  co- 
temporaries.  His  work  entitled  De  Subtilitate, 
ad  Hieronymum  Cardanum,  was  printed  at  Paris  in 
the  year  1557;  and  a  more  dogmatical  or  cap- 
tious book  never  made  its  appearance.  That  he 
was  urged  to  these  contests  by  the  simple  love 
of  truth,  cannot  easily  be  supposed  :  he  hoped  to 
acquire  immortal  renown  by  asserting  his  supe- 
riority over  men  whose  names  were  so  familiar  to 
the  learned  of  every  nation  ;  and  the  spirit  which 
he  commonly  evinces  is  that  of  a  literary  ruffian. 
The  productions  which  have  chiefly  perpetuated 
his  fame  are  the  two  treatises  on  poetry,  and  the 
principles  of  the  Latin  language  :  in  these  he  dis- 
plays wonderful  sagacity  and  erudition,  but  is  fre- 
quently misled  by  an  inherent  love  of  paradox  and 
contradiction.  Huet  represents  him  as  a  man  of 
a  vast  and  elevated  genius,  but  of  a  very  bad  taste 
in  poetry  ;a  and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
the  judgments  which  he  pronounces  on  some  of 
the  principal  poets  of  antiquity,  have  deservedly 

The  talents  of  Scaliger  were  of  the  first  order,  but  his  diction  is  not  un» 
frequently  barbarous  and  disgusting. 

Among  the  correspondence  of  Gesner  is  a  poor  letter  from  Sylvius 
Caesar  the  son  of  J.  C.  Scaliger.  (Gesneri  Efistolm  Medicinalet,  f.  182.  Ti- 
guri,  1577,  4to.)  Sylvius,  according  to  Thuanus,  "  portoit  les  armes, 
et  ne  s$avoit  pas  beaucoup."     (Tbuana,  p.  196.) 

•  Huetiana,  p.  90, 


58 


superseded  his  claims  of  infallibility.  His  owrf 
efforts  as  a  poet  have  but  little  tendency  to 
recommend  him  as  a  critic :  his  verses,  which  a- 
mount  to  a  very  formidable  number,  are  for  the 
most  part  elaborately  composed,  and  frequently 
are  pregnant  with  ingenious  and  subtle  thought ; 
but  they  are  inelegant,  harsh,  and  obscure.  Hav- 
ing exceeded  the  seventh-fourth  year  of  his  age, 
this  singular  man  was  numbered  with  the  dead 
on  the  twenty-first  day  of  October  1558.  Jo- 
sephus  Justus  Scaliger,  who  was  his  tenth  child, 
had  then  completed  his  eighteenth  year.  He 
was  born  at  Agen  on  the  fifth  of  August  1540, 
and  died  at  Ley den  on  the  twenty-first  of  .Ja- 
nuary 1609.  During  the  last  four  years  of  his 
life,  Julius  was  half  a  Lutheran;  and  Joseph  re- 
nounced the  Popish  doctrines  at  an  early  crisis. 
With  respect  to  their  comparative  excellence  in 
literature,  different  opinions  have  been  entertain- 
ed :  Morhoff  awards  to  the  father  the  praise  of 
superior  genius  ;b  but  Jortin  characterizes  the  son 
as  "  the  best  critic  and  the  greatest  scholar  that 
ever  was  born."c     His  knowledge  of  languages 

b  Morhofius  de  Pura  Dictione  Latina,  p.  266. 

c  Jortin's  Tracts,  vol.  ii,  p.  147. — Of  the  life  of  Joseph  Scaliger,  n* 
very  satisfactory  account  has  yet  appeared.  The  hest  materials  occur  in 
his  own  correspondence,  and  in  that  of  his  learned  cotemporaries.  Hein- 
sius  published  two  orations  on  his  death.  Lugd.  Bat.  1C09,  4to.  An- 
other on  the  same  subject  was  pronounced  by  Baudius,  who  writes  very 
elegantly  in  prose  and  in  verse.  (Baudii  Epistol*  et  Oratlones ,p.  632.)  The 
opinions  of  many  authors  relative  to  Scaliger  have  been  industriously  c«I- 

-     ft 


59 


was  prodigious ;  and  yet  Latin  was  almost  the  only 
one  which  he  did  not  acquire  without  the  aid  of 
a  preceptor.  For  the  short  space  of  two  months 
he  attended  the  Greek  lectures  of  Turnebus  at 
Paris;  and  afterwards  by  his  undirected  exertions 
surmounted  the  difficulties  of  that  tongue  with 
incredible  rapidity .d  His  Greek  have  been  pre- 
ferred to  his  Latin  verses.  The  reflection  that 
Scaliger,  Cujacius,  Muretus,  and  Ramus,  were 
self-taught  scholars,  ought  to  operate  as  a  most 
powerful  incentive  on  the  mind  of  the  ingenuous 
youth,  debarred  from  the  usual  avenues  of  intel- 
lectual improvement. 

About  the  period  when  Buchanan  was  accus- 
tomed to  visit  Agen,  Joseph  Scaliger  was  yet  in 
his  infancy ;  but  he  inherited  his  father's  high 
admiration  of  the  Scotish  poet.      To  Buchanan 

lected  by  Colonics.  (Gallia  Orientalis,  p.  118).  A  sketch  of  his  life  may 
be  found  in  Niceron,  torn,  xxiii,  p.  279. 

d  "  Igitur  vix  delibatis  conjugationibus  Graecis,"  says  Jos.  Scaliger, 
"  Homerum  cum  interpretatione  arreptum  uno  et  viginti  diebus  totum 
didici :  poetical  vero  dialecti  vestigiis  insistens  grammaticam  mihi  ipse 
formavi :  neque  ullam  aliam  didici,  quam  qua:  mihi  ex  analogia  verbormm 
Homeficorum  observata  fuit.  Reliquos  vero  poetas  Graecos  omnes  intra 
quatuor  menses  devoravi."  (Epiitol*,  p.  51.)  This  is  certainly  astonish- 
ing enough ;  but  Huet's  mode  of  refutation  is  not  less  singular.  "  £»- 
perimcnto  tandem  meo  comperi  inania  h«ec  esse  Scaligeranae  ostentationis 
specimina;  qualia  multa  sparsim  adspersit  operibus  suis  vir  ille,  excellentis 
cxteroquin  doctrinae  etingenii,  sed  nimium  admirator  et  praedicator  sui." 
(Huetii  Comment arius  de  Rebus  ad  eum pertinentibus,  p.  38.  Hag.  Com.  1718, 
12mo.)  Here  the  vanity  of  Scaliger  is  exposed  with  equal  vanity;  for 
vnless  Huet  supposed  his  capacity  equal  to  Scaliger's,  he  could  not  thus 
have  appealed  to  his  own  experience. 


60 

he  awarded  a  decided  superiority  over  all  the 
I*atin  poets  of  those  times.6 

During  the  term  of  his  residence  in  the  Col- 
lege of  Guienne,  the  satirist  of  the  Scotish  cler- 
gy did  not  find  himself  totally  secure  from  dan- 
ger. Cardinal  Beaton,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
archbishop  of  Bourdeaux,  requested  him  to  se- 
cure the  person  of  the  heretical  poet;  but  as  this 
letter  had  been  intrusted  to  the  care  of  some  in- 
dividual much  interested  in  the  welfare  of  Bu- 
chanan, he  was  suffered  to  remain  without  mo- 
lestation. Still  however  he  found  himself  annoy- 
ed by  the  threats  of  the  cardinal  and  the  grey 
friars :  but  the  death  of  King  James,  and  the 
appearance  of  a  dreadful  plague  in  Guienne,  al- 
leviated his  former  apprehensions. 

Having  resided  three  years  at  Bourdeaux,  he 
afterwards  removed  to  Paris.  In  1544  he  was 
officiating  as  a  regent  in  the  College  of  Cardinal 
le  Moine  jf  and  he  apparently  retained  the  same 

«  "  Buchananus  unus  est  in  tota  Europa  omnes  post  se  relinqueni  in 
Latina  poesi."  (Prima  Scaligcrana,  p.  37.)  In  his  history  of  Scotland, 
Buchanan  has  contrived  to  mention  the  son  of  his  deceased  friend.  "  Jo- 
sepi.us  Scaliger  Julii  filius  legendum  censet  Scotobrigantas.  Is  juvenis 
quanta  sit  eruditione  et  judicio,  quaque  in  vetustis  scriptis  conferendis  in* 
dustria,  et  abstrusis  sensibus  eruendis  acumine,  monumenta  ab  eo  edita 
testamur."     (Rcrum  Scotic.  Hist.  p.  42.) 

f  In  the  very  brief  sketch  of  his  own  life,  Buchanan  makes  no  allusion 
to  his  having  taught  in  that  college  :  the  fact  may  however  be  establish- 
ed by  several  circumstances.  In  his  fourth  elegy,  he  mentions  Gelida 
24  his  associate  ;  and  that  learned  Spaniard  is  known  to  have  belonged 
to  the  College  of  Cardinal  le  Moine.  Mcreri  asserts  that  Buchanan, 
7*nmebu»,  a.nd  Muretus,  taught  in  that  college  at  the  same  time;  an(j 


61 

station  till  1547.  About  the  former  of  these 
periods  he  was  miserably  tormented  with  the 
gout.  The  ardour  of  his  fancy  was  however  un- 
diminished :  in  an  interesting  elegy,  composed  in 
1544,  and  addressed  to  his  late  colleagues  Tastaeus 
and  Tevius,  he  exhibits  a  dismal  picture  of  his 
own  situation  ;  and  gratefully  commemorates  the 
assiduous  attentions  of  his  present  associates  Tur- 
nebus  and  Gelida. 

O  animae,  Ptolemree,  mece  pars  altera,  tuque 

Altera  pars  animsc,  Tevi  Jacobe,  meje, 
Scire  juvat  quid  agam  ?  vivo  modo,  si  modo  vivk 

Pondus  iners,  anima:  corpus  inane  suit. 
Sed  tamen  ingratas  ceu  vivi  ducimus  auras, 

Kt  trahit  examines)  languida  vita  rnoram. 
Ignea  vis  febris  rapido  sic  perfurit  sestu, 

Ut  minus  /Etntei  stcviat  ira  rogi. 
Torrida  concretis  lapidescunt  viscera  grumis, 

Et  latebras  renum  calculus  urit  atrox  :e 
Ut  Cereris  possint,  ut  Bacchi  munera  credi 

Tacta  Medusseis  obriguisse  comis. 

though  the  general  accuracy  of  this  writer  is  not  conspicuous  yet  his  tes- 
timony may  be  added  to  the  other  indications.  Nicolas  Bourbon,  roy- 
al professor  of  Greek  at  Paris,  who  died  at  a  very  advanced  age  in  1644, 
assured  Menage  of  the  same  circumstance.  "  J'ai  oiii  dire  la  meme 
chose  au  Pere  Bourbon,  qui  etoit  un  bon  regitre  de  semblables  choses." 
(Menage,  Anti-BailUt,  torn,  i,  p.  328.) 

S  Dr.  Stuart  specifies  the  stone  as  Buchanan's  mortal  disease :  "  Af- 
flicted with  the  stone,  and  pressed  down  by  the  infirmities  of  old  age,  he 
felt  the  approach  of  his  dissolution,  and  prepared  for  it  like  a  philosopher." 
(Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii,  p.  242.)  This  seems  to  be  one  of  the  bold  asser- 
tions for  which  his  work  is  so  remarkable.  His  character  of  Buchanan 
is  admirably  delineated,  but  it  is  considerably  indebted  to  the  aid  of  a  good 
invention. 


w 

Sed  tamen  hscc  nostri  lcvis  est  accessio  raorbij 

Et  pars  immensi  vix  numeranda  rnali : 
Humor  enim  cunctos  late  diffusus  in  artus, 

Qua  jungunt  flexus  ossibus  ossa  suos, 
Obsedit  caecas  pigro  marcore  lacunas, 

Cunctaque  torpenti  frigore  membra  ligat. 
Ex  humeris  pendent  sine  robore  brachia  laxa, 

Nee  fluidum  cervix  sustinet  segra  caput : 
Genua  labant,  et  crura  tremunt,  lassique  recusant, 

Tam  celeres  nuper,  me  modo  ferre  pedes. 
Sic  ego  defunctus  jam  vivo,  mihique  superstes, 

Et  vitas  amisso  munere  fata  moror : 
Quodque  mihi  superest  fugitivae  lucis,  id  ornne 

Dividit  in  pcenas  Parca  severa  meas.^ 

Having  finished  the  description  of  his  case,  he  in- 
troduces the  names  of  several  individuals  to  whom 
he  seems  to  have  been  attached. 

Denique  vos  animis  talem  me  fingite,  quales 

Ad  tumulos  manes  credit  adesse  timor ; 
Qualia  pinguntur  miseris  simulacra  figuris 

Terrificas  Mortis,  mortiferaeque  Famis. 
At  neque  Tastaeus,  nee  Tevius  assidet,  ore 

Suaviloquo  longum  qui  vetet  esse  diem  : 
Ntc  mihi  delicias  blandi  facit  oris  Alanus, 

Nee  lepida  alludit  garrulitate  Petrus : 
Nee  recreant  animum  doctis  sermonibus  aegrum 

Caetera  Vasconicae  turba  diserta  scholas. 

h  Buchanani  Eleg.  iv.  Ad  Ptolemttum  Luxium  Taitaumtet  yacobum  Tevi- 
um,  cum  articulari  morbo  laboraret.  m.d.xliv. — The  second  of  Buchanan's 
Sih*  is  a  pastoral  entitled  "  Desiderium  P.  L.  Tastasi."  From  these 
two  productions  it  may  be  collected  that  Tastseus  was  a  native  of  Gas- 
cony,  and  that  he  had  been  associated  with  Euchznan  in  the  College  of 
Guienne. 


63 

Sed  nee  amicitiae  mihi  pectora  cognita  cert*s 

In  mediis  hie  me  deseruere  malis. 
Saepe  mihi  medicas  Groscollius  explicat  herba^ 

Et  spe  languentem  consilioque  juvat : 
Saepe  mihi  Stephani  solertia  provida  Carlt 

Ad  mala  praesentem  tristia  portat  opem. 
Turnebus  Aonii  rarissima  gloria  coetus 

OfBciis  vacuum  non  sink  ire  diem  : 
Cseteraque  ut  cessent,  Gelid^e  pia  cura  sodalis 

Et  patris  et  patriae  sustinet  usque  vicem. 

Carolus  Stephanus,  whose  medical  aid  Buchan- 
an has  thus  acknowledged,  was  a  doctor  of  phy- 
sic of  the  faculty  of  Paris ;  and,  like  many  of  his 
relations,  was  equally  distinguished  as  a  scholar 
and  as  a  printer.'1     After  having  produced  various 

i  Henricus  Stephanus,  or  Eitiennt,  established  a  press  at  Paris  about  the 
year  1500.  His  son  Robertus  was  born  in  1503, and  died  in  1559.  He 
had  continued  the  same  business  at  Paris;  but  in  1552  be  betook  himself 
to  Geneva,  where  he  died  in  the  communion  of  the  reformed  church.  He 
was  eminently  skilled  in  the  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin  laaguages.  He 
chiefly  distinguished  himself  by  his  edition  of  the  Hebrew  scriptures,  and 
by  his  Thesaurus  Lingua  Latin*.  His  brothers  Franciscus  and  Carolus  wer« 
printers  at  Paris.  The  former  was  also  a  bookseller  ;  and  in  the  print- 
ing business  was  associated  with  his  step-father  Simon  Colinaus.  Carolua, 
among  other  Works  of  his  own  composition,  published  the  Thesaurus  M. 
Tullii  Cicerenis.  1556,  fol.  This  book  is  now  sold  "  insano  pretio."  The 
second  Henricus  Stephanus,  who  was  the  son  of  Robertus,  was  born  at 
Paris  in  1528  and  died  at  Lyons  in  1598.  Most  of  his  impressions  were 
executed  at  Paris,  but  he  had  also  a  press  at  Geneva.  Notwithstanding 
his  eminence  as  a  printer  and  as  a  scholar,  he  failed  to  amass  riches;  and 
he  is  even  reported  to  have  closed  his  long  and  useful  life  in  an  hospital. 
"  Cum  patriam  oblivisci  non  posset,"  says  Cornelius  Tollius,  "  Lugdu- 
nuni  se  contulit ;  ubi  opibus,  atque  ipso  etiam  ingenio  destitutus,  vitae,  et 
tot  exafitlatis  pro  republica  literaria  laboribus,  in  noscomio  finem  fecit." 
(Appendix  ad  Pierium  ds  LiteraUrnm  Infelkitate,  p.  88.)     For  this  assertion. 


64 

works  in  the  Latin  and  French  languages,  he 
died  at  Paris  in  the  year  15(34. 

In  the  College  of  Cardinal  le  Moine  Buchanan 
was  associated  with  colleagues  worthy  of  himself; 
with  Turnebus  and  Muretus,  two  of  the  most 
eminent  scholars  of  modern  times ;  and  with  Jo- 
annes Gelida,  who,  though  of  inferior  fame,  has 
also  been  characterized  as  a  man  of  great  acute- 
ness  and  erudition.  It  is  remarked  by  M.  de 
Marolles  that  three  of  the  most  learned  men  in 
the  world  then  taught  humanity  in  the  same  col- 
lege." The  first  class  was  taught  by  Turnebus, 
the  second  by  Buchanan,  and  the  third  by  Mu- 
retus.1 

Tollius  quotes  no  authority  ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  had  been  mis- 
informed. Robertus  the  brother  of  H.  Stephanus  was  disinherited  on  ac- 
count of  his  attachment  to  Popery  ;  but  he  succeeded  his  father  at  Paris 
as  printer  to  the  king.  He  wrote  various  fugitive  poems  in  Greek  and 
Latin.  He  is  supposed  by  Maittaire  to  have  died  in  1588.  His  son 
Franciscus  having  embraced  the  reformed  religion,  established  a  press  at 
Geneva.  Paulus  the  son  of  the  second  H.  Stephanus  was  also  a  Protes- 
tant :  having  settled  at  Geneva,  he  printed  various  works  in  a  correct 
manner,  and  contributed  to  support  the  reputation  of  the  family.  He  is 
the  author  of  several  Latin  poems.  The  third  Robertus,  son  of  the  se- 
cond, began  to  be  distinguished  at  Paris  as  a  printer  about  the  year  1588. 
He  was  a  writer  of  Greek  and  Latin  verses ;  and  translated  into  French 
the  first  two  books  of  Aristotle's  rhetoric.  The  version  was  completed 
by  a  nephew  who  bore  the  same  riame.  Antonius  tne  son  of  Paulus  was 
printer  to  the  French  king  during  the  earlier  part  of  the  seventeeth  cen- 
tury. Of  the  name  of  Stephanus  there  were  other  printers,  whose  his» 
tory  cannot  be  traced  with  sufficient  accuracy.  Consult  Almeioveen 
De  Vit'u  Suphanerum,  Amst.  1683,  8vo  ;  and  more  particularly  Maittaire'* 
Itiitoria  Slepbanorum.   Lond.  1709,  8vo. 

k  Marolles,  Abrege"  de  1'  Hist,  de  France,  p.  324 ,  quoted  by  Teissier. 
\  Moreri,  Dictionaire  Historique,  art.  Murrt. 


65 

Adrianus  Turnebus,  if  any  reliance  may  be 
placed  on  the  dubious  authority  of  Dempster,  was 
the  descendent  of  Scotish  ancestors  ;m  and  it  is  at 
least  certain  that  his  original  name  furnishes  us 
with  a  plausible  argument  of  his  compatriotism. 
His  French  name,  it  seems  to  be  admitted,  was 
originally  Tournebeuf;11  which  is  a  correct  trans- 
lation of  the  Scotish  Turnbull.  Pie  was  born 
however  at  Andely  near  Rouen  in  Normandy  in 
the  year  1512.  Having  been  sent  to  Paris  in  the 
eleventh  year  of  his  age,  he  soon  rose  to  great 
distinction  as  an  elegant  and  profound  scholar. 
The  history  of  his  academical  promotions  has  not 
been  very  accurately  detailed  ;  but  he  is  known 
to  have  taught  humanity  at  Toulouse,  and  af- 
terwards, through  the  influence  of  °Petrus   Gal- 

m  "  Scotum  fuisse,"  says  Dempster,  "  acta  familix  leguntur,  ut  mihi 
ssepe  referebat  v.  cl.  filius  ipsius,  summus  Lutetise  senator,  quem  virtutum 
non  nominls  modo  haeredem  immaturum  ex  sacro  ordine  ante  triennium 
mors  rapuit."  (  Hist.  Ecclcsiast.  Gent.  Scotorum,  p.  624. )  If  Dempster  had 
quoted  the  authority  of  a  living  voucher,  it  would  have  been  less  suspi- 
cious. 

n  Mollerus  de  Scriptoribus  Homonymis,  p.  790.  Hamb.  1697, 8vo. — 
His  common  French  name  Turnebe  is  formed  from  his  Latin  name  Tur- 
nebus. Of  the  same  process  many  other  instances  might  be  specified. 
The  original  name  of  the  Genevan  reformer  was  Cauvin :  this  he  La- 
tinized Calvinus,  and  afterwards  adopted  Calvin  as  hia  vernacular  name. 
The  original  name  of  one  of  his  learned  antagonists  was  Baudouin,  after- 
wards transformed  into  Balduinus  and  Balduin.  Pasquier  sometimes 
speaks  of  Tournebu,  sometimes  of  Tournebus.  Bubeus  mentions  a  "  Ja- 
cobus de  Tournebu,  bursarius  et  primarius  Collegii  Gervasiani  anno 
4522."      (Hist.  Universitatis  Parisiertsis,  torn,  vi,  J>.  918.) 

°  Turnebi   Adversaria,  lib.  ii,  cap.  i,  Oratio  habita   post  J.  Tusani 

E 


66 


landius,  to  have  obtained  a  Greek  professorship 
at  Paris.  To  this  was  added,  in  15.52,  the  ap- 
pointment of  Greek  printer  to  the  king ;  but  on 
being  nominated,  in  1555,  royal  professor  of  phi- 
losophy and  of  the  Greek  language,  he  resigned 
his  typographical  charge.p  To  the  infinite  re- 
gret of  learning  and  virtue,  he  died  on  the  twelfth 
of  June  1565.  It  was  his  earnest  request  that  his 
body  should  be  interred  without  the  usual  cere- 
monies of  the  Popish  church  ;  and  at  nine  o'clock 
in  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  it  was  according- 
ly deposited  in  the  earth  by  a  small  number  of 
his  friends.  He  had  lived  without  any  open 
avowal  of  his  affection  for  the  reformation  ; "• 
but  on  being  interrogated  a  few  days  previous  to 
his  death,  he  professed  his  abhorrence  of  Popery/ 
The  earnestness  with  which  both  parties  claimed 
him  as  their  associate,  affords  a  strong  proof  of 
the  importance  attached  to   his   name.     He  has 

Mortem,  cum  in  ejus  locum  suffectus  est,  p.  31. — Jacobus  Tusanus  died 
in  the  year  1546.     (Bulaeus,  torn,  vi,  p.  944.) 

P  Maittaire,  Historia  Typographorum  aliquot  Parisiensium,  p.  50,  56. 
Load.  1717,  8vo. 

'  Leodegariisa  Quercu  Oratio  Funebris  de  Vita  et  Morte  Adriani  Tur- 
nebi,  p.  102. — This  oration  occurs  among  the  miscellaneous  works  of 
Turnebus.  Argentorati,  1600,  fol.  His  Adversaria  form  a  separate  vo- 
lume of  the  same  size.  His  poems  are  reprinted  in  the  Belitia  Poetarum 
Gallorum,  torn  iii.  J_e  Laboureur  has  republished  a  poem  entitled  "  Pol- 
trotus  Meneus  Adriani  Turnebi."  (Additions  aux  Memoires  de  Michel  de 
Castelnau,  torn,  ii,  p.  226.)  He  seems  however  to  have  entertained 
doubt*  of  its  genuineness. 

r  Epistola  qua;  vere  exponit  Obitum  Adriani  Turnebi.  Paris.  1565, 
4t». 


67 

been  characterized  as  a  man  adorned  by  every 
virtue  ;  and  no  individual  seems  to  have  been 
more  generally  revered  by  his  cotemporaries. 
The  secret  of  his  art  of  pleasing  has  thus  been  re- 
vealed by  H.  Stephanus : 

Cur  placuit  cunctis  Turnebus  ?  cur  tot  amici 

Illi,  vix  hostes  unus  et  alter  erant  ? 
Cur  placuit  cunctis  ?  tot  linguis  lingua  diserta 

Totne  illi  potuit  conciliare  viros  ? 
Cur  placuit  cunctis  ?  an  quod  certare  videbant 

Judicii  dotes  dotibus  ingenii  ? 
Cur  placuit  cunctis  ?  cunctis  placuitne  quod  artcs 

Excoluit  Graias,  excoluit  Latias  ? 
Cur  placuit  cunctis  ?  an  quod  totusque  lepores 

Spiraret,  totus  quod  lepidosque  sales  ? 
Causae  equidem  sunt  hae  :  sed  et  hcc  est  maxima  causa, 

Hie  placuit  cunctis,  quod  sibi  non  placuit. s 

Turnebus  died  at  an  age  which  to  a  literary 
man  is  supposed  to  be  the  prime  of  life  ;  but  he 
died  not  before  he  had  attained  to  the  highest 
reputation  by  his  academical  prelections,  and  by 
the  various  works  which  he  has  bequeathed  to 
posterity.  In  several  of  the  German  universities, 
it  was  customary  for  the  professors,  when  in  their 
public  lectures  they  quoted  the  authority  of  Tur- 
nebus and  Cujacius,  to  move  the  right  hand  to 
their  cap,  in  token  of  the  profound  veneration 
with  which  they  regarded  their  memory/  His  un- 

9  Herodotus  Latine.     Excudebat  H.  Stephanus,  1566,  foL 
*  Pasquier,  Recherches  de  la  France,  p.  834. 

E2 


68 


abating  ardour  of  study  rendered  him  conspicuous 
at  a  period  when  study  was  a  genial  passion; 
and,  like  Budaeus,  he  even  devoted  several  hours 
of  his  nuptial  day  to  the  pursuits  of  literature. 
His  learning  was  variegated,  elegant,  and  pro- 
found. He  was  equally  a  master  of  Greek  and  Ro- 
man philology.  Ir  was  the  great  object  of  his  la- 
bours to  illustrate  the  reliques  of  ancient  genius; 
and  for  thib  department  he  was  eminently  qualified 
by  his  sagacity  and  erudition.  It  was  indeed  object- 
ed by  a  cotemporary  scholar  of  high  reputation, 
that  in  reviewing  the  writings  of  the  ancients,  he 
was  too  fond  of  proposing  conjectural  emenda- 
tions." This  lault  is  however  incident  to  most 
critics  of  prompt  and  keen  discernment  :  they  are 
more  apt  to  render  suspected  passage1,  what  they 
ought  to  have  been,  than  what  they  originally 
were.  His  Latin  versions  are  executed  with 
great  fidelity  and  skill/ 

One  of  his  accomplished  friends  has  remarked, 
that  in  his  writings  he  was  as  violent  against  those 
who  merited  his  indignation,  as  he  was  gentle  in 
his  manners  towards  men  of  worth  and  learning. v 
On  several  occasions  he  has  indeed  manifested 
considerable  warmth.  Respecting  some  of  the 
works  of  Cicero  which  he  had  illustrated  by  his 
observations,  he  was  led  into  a  controversy  with 

u  Victorii  Variae  Lectiones,  p.  425,  edit.  Florent.  1582,  fol. 
x  Huetiusde  Interpretatione,  p.  158.     Paris.  1661,  4to. 
y  Lettrea  d'Etienne  Pasquier,  torn,  i,  p.  556. 


69 


Ramus  and  his  admirer  Audomarus  Talaeus.8 
Though  in  an  earlier  work  he  had  mentioned  him 
with  high  respect,1  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
even  Ramus  himself  he  treated  with  abundant 
contempt.  Turnebus  was  also  embroiled  with 
Bodin,  another  writer  of  superior  endowments. 
Bodin  published  an  edition  of  the  Cynegetics  of 
Oppian,  accompanied  with  emendations  which 
Turnebus  immediately  claimed  as  his.b     He  how- 

z  Talxus,  among  other  works,  published  a  compendium  of  rhetoric. 
The  learned  Mr.  Chalmers  speaks  of  the  rhetoric  of  Tulaus  or  Tully! 
(Life  of  Ruddiman,  p.  90.  The  same  notable  writer  has  exhibited  an- 
other specimen  of  his  classical  erudition  in  the  preceding  page  ;  where  he 
enumerates  "  Cicero's  Epistles  de  Senectute,  de  Amicitio ;  Terence's  Co- 
medies and  Elegies ;  Ovid's  Tristium."  And  this,  forsooth,  is  the  per 
son  who  talks  of  Buchanan's  iguorance. 

a  Turnebus  de  Methodo,  p.  1. 

b  Bodin's  edition  includes  a  poetical  version,  and  a  commentary.  "  Op- 
piam  de  Venatione  libri  IIII  Joan.  Bodino  Andegavensi  interprete.  Ad 
D.  Gabrielem  Boverium  Andium  Episcopum,  His  accessit  Commenta- 
rius  varius  ec  multiplex,  ejusdem  interpretis."  Lutetia,  apud  Mubadem 
Vascosanum,  1555,  4to.  The  edition  of  Turnebus  soon  followed.  'Otvi- 
uv*  ' AvaZ,<*-Z$iuf  'Aknvrixea*  (iiSkitt  i.  Ktmnyinxuv  (iiSxix  §'.  Parisiis,  apud 
Adr.  Tumtbum  typographum  regium,  1555,  4to.  After  the  various  read- 
ings and  emendations,  Turnebus  has  subjoined  an  address  which  evi- 
dently alludes  to  the  conduct  of  Bodin.  "  Septem  abhinc  annis  It-vner 
emendaveram  Oppianum  de  Venatione,  partim  animi  conjectura,  partim  li- 
bri veteris  ope.  Eas  emendationes  quidam  usurpavit,  et  sibi  donavit, 
quas  tamen  non  putabam  tanti,  ut  in  furtivis  rebus  esse  deberent :  eas  a 
nobis  vindicatas  et  recuperatas  esse  nemo  conqueri  debebit.  Nam  rerum 
furtivarum  lege  aeterna  est  auctorita*.  Non  me  latet,"  &c.  The  fol!ow« 
ing  manuscript  notice  occurs  in  the  margin  of  the  copy  which  belonged 
to  Isaac  Casaubon,  and  which  is  now  deposited  in  the  British  Museum. 
"  Is  est  Jo.  Bodinui,  qui  tamen  hoc  negat,  et  de  Turnebo  conqueritur. 
Ego  iurnebum  veium  scio  loqui."  The  complaint  to  which  L'asaubon 
refers  is  a  passage  in  Bodin's  Mctbodai  ad  FaciUm  Historiarum  Cognilionm, 

E3 


70 

ever  claimed  them  without  that  violence  of  in- 
vective which  philologers  have  so  frequently 
displayed  on  similar  occasions ;  and  according  to 
Bongars,  this  plagiarism  of  Bodin  was  notorious 
among  their  countrymen.0 

Marcus  Antonius  Muretus  was  considerably 
-  younger  than  Buchanan  and  Turnebus.  He  was 
born  at  the  village  of  Muret  near  Limoges,  on  the 
twelfth  of  April  1526.  Like  several  other  scho- 
lars of  the  greatest  name,  he  was  his  own  precep- 
tor.'1 He  was  successively  a  public  teacher  of  hu- 
manity, philosophy,  or  jurisprudence,  at  Auch, 
Villeneuve  d'Agen,  Paris,  Bourdeaux,  Poitiers, 
and  Toulouse.0  At  Toulouse  he  fell  under  suspi- 
cion of  an  abominable  crime,  and  even  incurred 
some  hazard  of  being  committed  to  the  flames  ; 

p.  94.  Paris.  1566,  4to,  "  Quos  ego  libros  cum  Latino  versu  et  com- 
mentariis  illustrassem,  quidam  grammaticus  eosdem  libros  oratione  soluta, 
quantum  libuit  de  meo  labore  detrahens,  iterum  pervulgavit."  The  ver- 
sion of  Oppian  which  accompanies  the  elegant  edition  of  Turnebus  was 
printed  by  G.  Morel.  The  literal  translation  of  the  Cynegetics  is  by  the 
admirable  editor  ;  the  poetical  translation  of  the  Halieutics  by  Laurentius 
Lippius. 

c  "  Jam  edidisse  ilium  lectiones  Turnebi  in  Oppianum  pro  suis,  nemo 
nostrorum  ignorat."  See  a  letter  from  Bongars  to  Rittershusius,  publish- 
ed by  Colomie's,  Gallia  Oricntalh,  p.  83.  Haga  Comiti*,  1CG5,  4to. 
d  Sammarthani  Elogia  Gallorum  Doctrina  Illustnum,  p.  H5. 
e  Menage,  who  intended  to  publish  a  life  of  Muretus,  has  endeavour- 
ed to  ascertain  the  order  of  his  regencies ;  but  notwithstanding  his  con- 
summate knowledge  of  literary  history,  he  seems  to  have  left  the  subject 
involved  in  considerable  doubt.  ( ' Anti-BailUt,  torn,  i,  p.  327.)  The  fu- 
neral oration  of  Bencius  contains  various  error*  relative  to  the  history  of 
Muretus  beforo  his  settlement  in  Italy.  (Jos.  Scaligeri  Confutatlo  Babul* 
Burdonum,  p.  4J1.) 


71 

tmt  a  counsellor  of  the  parliament  having  com- 
municated to  him  a  dark  intimation  of  his  danger 
in  a  solitary  line  of  Virgil/  he  fled  towards  Italy 
with  the  utmost  terror  and  precipitation.  His 
consternation,  among  other  effects,  produced  a 
mobility  in  his  ears.2  Having  thus  abandoned 
his  native  country  in  the  year  1554,  he  fixed  his 
residence  at  Venice,  where  he  opened  a  public 
lecture  in  the  Franciscan  monastery.11  He  after- 
wards removed  to  Padua,  and  received  pupils  into 
his  house  ;'  and  here  he  was  again  suspected  of 

f  Heu  fuge  crudeles  terras,  fuge  littus  avarum. 

S  Casauboni  Animadversiones  in  Athenieum,  lib.  x,  cap.  i. — -"  Casau- 
bonus  notat,"  says  Petrus  Petitus,  "  a  viris  fide  dignis  se  accepisse,  visas 
manifesto  aures  moveri  viro  cuidam  eruditissimo,  cum  per  Allobrogum 
fines  transiens  vivicomburii  periculum  sibi  a  magistratu  imminere  intel- 
lexisset :  quod  diceretur  nefandi  criminis  reus  Tolosa  in  Italiam  fugere. 
Ex  quibus  circumstantiis  conjecture  licet,  hunc  virum  eruditissimum, 
Muretum  fuisse,  quern  constat  sodomise  accusatum  flammas  fuga  evasisse." 
(Commentarn  in  tres  priores  Aretai  libros,  p.  17.  Lond.  1726,  4to.)  The 
same  conjecture  had  been  adopted  by  another  writer.  (Colomesii  Opus- 
cula,  p.  39.) 

Procopius,  who  represents  Justinian  as  a  mere  ass,  has  averred  that 
the  resemblance  also  obtained  in  the  article  of.  moving  ears.    'HA&w  rt 

xovri  'i-xi&a.i-  ffu%vu  oi  ffBtopivuv  <nuv  urait-  ( Historia  Arcana,  p.  36,  edit. 
Alemanni.  Lugd.  1623,  fol.)  "  For  he  was  prodigiously  stupid,  and 
bore  a  very  strong  resemblance  to  a  sluggish  ass :  he  was  apt  to  follow 
any  person  who  seized  the  bridle ;  <.nd  he  likewise  exhibited  a  frequent 

mobility  in  his  ears."     Justinian  however  did  not  literally  wear  a  bridle ; 

and  perhaps  those  last  expressions  are  also  to  be  received  in  a  figurative 

sense. 

!>  Ghilini,  Teatro  d'Huomini  Letterati,  vol.  i,  p.  165. 

i  Joan.  Mich.  Bruti  Epistplx  Clarorum  Virorum,  p.  401,403.     Lugd. 

1561,  Svo. — The  correspondence  of  Muretus  and  Lambinus,  reprinted 


72 

the  same  foul  ciime.k  Six  years  after  his  settle- 
ment in  Italy,  he  was  invited  to  Rome  by  Car- 
dinal lppolito  d'Este;  and  in  the  house  of  that 
illustrious  churchman,  and  of  his  brother  Lodo- 
vico,  who  had  arrived  at  the  same  high  prefer- 
ment, he  continued  till  the  time  of  his  death. 
By  his  various  writings,  and  by  his  prelections  in 
the  Roman  university,  he  now  acquired  a  repu- 
tation almost  unrivalled.  He  successively  filled 
with  the  same  applause,  the  departments  of  phi- 
losophy, civil  law,  and  humanity.1  At  the  se- 
date age  of  fifty,  he  entered  into  holy  orders. 
The  younger  Scaliger,  if  his  sentiments  be  faith- 
fully represented,  was  disposed  to  regard  him  as 
a  mere  atheist;  nor  is  it  difficult  to  conceive  that 
the  rank  soil  of  Rome  produced  atheistical  priests 
in  great  abundance.  Erythraeus,  who  extols  his 
piety  with  much  grimace,  has  recorded  it  as  a 
memorable  circumstance  that  when  his  health 
permitted,  he  daily  celebrated  mass  with  many 
tears.  He  died  at  Rome  on  the  fourth  of  June 
1585,  and  left  a  moral  character  which  it  is  not 
too  harsh  to  consider  as  extremely  dubious.1"  Of 
the  abominable  crime  repeatedly  laid  to  his  charge 

from  the  very  rare  collection  of  Brutus,  may  be  found  in  Ruhrrkenius't 
edition  of  Muretus,  torn,  i,  p.  379. 
k-  Mureti  Opera,  torn,  i,  p.  390. 

I  Bencii  Orationes,  p.  241.     Erythrsei  Pinacotheca,  torn,  i,  p.  11. 
m  Gallia  quod  peperit,  pepulit  quod  Gallia  monstrum, 
Qtsetn  Veneti  profugum  non  potuere  pati, 


7^ 


he  ¥fSLH  pefhaps  Uwioeeilf :  he  must  either  have 
been  very  guilty,  or  very  unfortunate."  A  ru- 
mor likewise  prevailed  of  his  having  polluted  his 
hands  with  blood.  He  was  besides  accused  of  an 
intemperate  use  of  wine  ;°  and  when  a  benefice 
suddenly  converted  him  into  a  saint,  he  himself 
acknowledged  that  the  former  part  of  his  life  had 
been  sensual  and  gross.p  The  evidence  of  his 
speculative  atheism  is  certainly  incompetent ;  but 
the  injurious  imputations  attached  to  his  personal 
character,  derive  the  strongest  confirmation  from 

Muretum  esse  sibi  civem  jussere  Quirites, 

Et  tumulo  extinctum  composuere  suo. 
Vivere  nam  potius  qua  debuit  urbe  cinaedus  ? 
Impius  et  quanam  dignius  urbe  mori  ? 

Bez;e  Poemata  Varia,  p.  144. 
n  There  is  one  charge  of  which  Muretus  may  very  readily  be  acquit- 
ted ;  namely  that  of  having  composed  an  impious  book,  De  Tribus  Jm- 
pvstoribvi,  on  the  three  impostors,  Moses,  Jesus,  and  Mahomet.  This 
book  has  with  the  utmost  confidence  been  imputed  to  many  authors,  of 
different  ages,  and  of  the  most  opposite  denominations ;  but  it  is  extreme- 
ly evident  that  such  a  book  never  existed.  See  M.  de  la  Monnoye's 
"  Lettre  a  M.  Bouhier  sur  le  pretendu  livre  des  trois  Imposteurs."  ( Mc- 
nagiana,  torn,  iv,  p.  374.) 

0  "  Sed  crimen  istud,"  says  Erythraeus,  "  illudque,  quod  in  Gallia  ho- 
minem  occiderit,  et  interdum  vino  se  ad  ebrietatem  onerarit,  si  vera  for- 
ent,  posset  mquisjirvenlHtis  excusatione  defendere."  ( Pinacotbeca,  torn,  i,  p. 
1 3.)  Sodomy  and  murder  being  mere  peccadillos,  ought  by  all  means  to 
be  extused  in  a  lad  of  spirit. 

P  Cnrae  magis  mi  est,  lustra  jam  decern  miser 
Cjualibus  in  vftiis  defixus  ipse  erraverim  ; 
Cum  me,  Dei  vix  jam  manente  imagine, 
Mortifera  induerat  fcedam  voluptas  in  suem. 

Mureti  Opera,  torn,  i,  p.  766. 


74 

the  profligate  strain  of  his  writings.01  The  obsequi- 
ousness with  which  he  adapted  himself  to  the  pes- 
tiferous meridian  of  Rome,  cannot  but  be  regard- 
ed as  an  indication  of  practical  atheism  :  in  two 
of  his  elegant  orations,  he  has  exerted  all  his  skill 
to  embalm  the  loathsome  putrescence  of  Charles 
the  ninth  ;  and  hij  elaborate  encomium  on  the 
massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  must  be  remember- 
ed to  his  eternal  infamy/  The  guilt  of  those  ex- 
ecrable proliticians  who  produced  this  unparallel- 
ed scene  of  butchery,  is  hardly  to  be  compared 
to  that  of  the  enlightened  scholar  who  could  calm- 
ly extol  so  damnable  a  deed.  To  suppose  Mu- 
retus  an  atheist,  is  more  charitable  than  to  sup- 
pose the  contrary.5 

*  The  conduct  of  Muretus  was  Jesuitical  enough  ;  but  the  excellent 
Dr.  Jortin  is  mistaken  in  supposing  that  he  was  literally  a  Jesuit.  (Lift 
»f Erasmus,  vol.  ii,  p.  13.)  This  mistake,  which  had  also  been  commit- 
ted by  Thomasius,  seems  to  have  originated  from  the  circumstance  of  his 
funeral  oration  having  been  pronounced  by  the  Jesuit  Bencius. 

r  "  O  nociem  illam  memorabilem  et  in  fastis  eximiaj  alicujus  notas  ad- 
jectione  signandam,  quae  paucorum  seditiosorum  interitu  regem  a  pne- 
senti  ca:dispericulo,regnum  aperpetua  civilium  bellorum  formidine  liber- 
avitl  Qua  quidem  nocte  Stellas  equidem  ipsas  luxisse  solito  nitidius  arbitror ; 
et  flumen  Sequanam  majores  undas  volvisse,  quo  citius  ilia  impuroruni 
hominum  cadavera  evolveret  et  exoneraret  in  mare.  O  fcelicissimam 
mulierem  Catharinam  regis  matrem,"  &c. 

Mureti  Opera,  torn,  i,  p.  177. 

s  Menage  professes  to  regard  his  memory  with  "  toute  sorte  de  vener- 
ation: aiant  appris  du  Jesuite  Bencius,  que  les  neuf  dernieres  annees  de 
ta  vie  il  etoit  d'une  devotion  si  fervente  qu'il  pleuroit  en  disant  la  messe.'' 
(Anti-BailUt,  torn,  i,  p.  SI 9.)  A  funeral  oration,  composed  by  a  Jesuit, 
and  delivered  in  Rome,  is  certainly  the  most  slender  authority  that  could 


75 

These  disgraceful  characteristics  of  the  man 
render  the  most  elegant  of  his  works  less  palat- 
able. He  was  however  a  scholar  of  the  first  mag- 
nitude. He  has  written  in  prose  and  in  verse 
with  the  same  purity  and  elegance  :  but  his  chief 
distinction  is  that  of  an  excellent  philologer ;  for 
although  his  diction  is  very  seldom  unclassical, 
yet  he  rarely  evinces  the  native  elevation  of  a 
poet  or  orator.  Before  he  had  been  accused  at 
Toulouse,  and  consequently  before  he  had  as- 
sumed the  consummate  hypocrisy  of  a  Roman 
courtier,  Buchanan  addressed  t?  him  some  verses 
in  commendation  of  his  tragedy  of  Julius  Casar.* 

Buchanan,  Turnebus,  and  Muretus,  although 
they  spent  the  best  part  of  their  lives  in  scholas- 
tic occupations,  contracted  none  of  the  peculiari- 
ties incident  to  their  profession.  It  was  a  cus- 
tomary remark  of  the  famous  poet  Ronsard  that 

easily  be  produced  in  favour  of  clerical  piety.  All  that  can  be  concluded 
from  the  elegant  flourishes  of  Bencius  is,  that  Muretus  never  dreamed  of 
piety  till  he  became  a  priest.  (Oratknes,  p.  248.)  He  was  tempted  with 
a  benefice  of  five  hundred  crowns  a  year ;  and  for  retaining  that  benefice 
it  was  necessary  "  qu'il  char.tast  messe  et  fist  deux  lecons  la  semaine." 
(Scaligerana,^.  164v  When  Erythraeus  remarks  that  he  said  mass  as  oft- 
en as  his  health  would  permit,  we  may  perhaps  conclude  that  in  general 
it  permitted  him  just  as  often  as  he  found  it  expedient,  namely  twice 
every  week.  The  Latin  hymns  which  he  published  while  a  layman  are 
not  to  be  regarded  as  a  proof  of  his  devotion ;  for,  as  he  has  taken  care 
to  inform  his  reader,  their  composition  was  a  task  imposed  upon  him. 

1  This  tragedy  of  Muretus  was  printed  among  his  Juvenilia.  Paris. 
1553,  8vo. — The  collective  edition  of  his  works  which  I  use  is  that  pub' 
lished  by  the  very  learned  David  Ruhnkenius.  Lugd.  Bat.  1789,  4  torn* 
8vo. 


16 


those  admirable  scholars,  together  with  Anthony 
Govea,  all  of  whom  were  his  intimate  friends, 
presented  nothing  of  the  pedagogue  except  the 
gown  and  cap.11  Ronsard  had  been  accustomed 
to  live  with  men  of  courtly  manners,  and  may 
be  considered  as  no  incompetent  judge  of  polite- 
ness. 

Joannes  Gelidav  another  member  of  the  same 
college,  and  an  associate  to  whose  pious  care  Bu- 
chanan acknowledges  himself  to  have  been  so 
much  indebted,  was  a  native  of  Valencia;  which 
"was  likewise  the  birth-place  of  Joannes  Ludovicus 
Vives,  one  of  the  most  enlightened  men  of  his 
age.x  Gelida  emigrated  from  Spain  at  an  early 
period  of  life,  and  prosecuted  his  academical  stu- 
dies at  Paris.  In  that  university,  his  talents  pro- 
cured him  the  appointment  of  a  public  teacher  of 
what  was  then  called  philosophy.  His  stature 
was  somewhat  diminutive;  but  as  his  natural 
acuteness  was  accompanied  with  powerful  lungs 
ar.d  a  clear  voice,  he  appeared  to  .ureat  advan- 
tage in  the  disputations.  But  the  unprofitable 
and  barbarous  science  in  which  he  had  been  ini- 
tiated, was  now  beginning  to  be  exploded:   the 

"  Thuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis,  tpm.  iv,  p.  99. 

x  Vives,  who  was  a  layman,  and  a  member  of  the  university  of  Ox- 
ford, was  born  at  Valencia  in  the  year  1492,  and  died  at  Bruges  on  the 
*ixth  of  May  1540.     Georgius  Fabricius  classes  him  with  Erasmus  and- 
BixUeus: 

Judicio  Vives,  sermonis  flumine  Era.mus, 
Doctrinae  prima*  laude  Budaeus  habet. 


77 

exertions  of  Jacobus  Faber  Stapulensis,  and  other 
champions,  had  at  length  introduced  into  that 
flourishing  seminary  a  more  genuine  species  of 
philosophy.     Gelida,  at  the  mature  age  of  forty, 
began  to  discover  that  he  had  hitherto  been  exer- 
cised in  laborious  trifles ;  but  his  mind  still  re- 
tained its  youthful  elasticity,  and  he  determined 
to  retrace  the  course  of  his  studies.     He  now  ap- 
plied himself,  for  the  first  time,  to  the  attentive 
perusal  of  Cicero  and  other  Roman  authors  of 
classical  fame ;  and  afterwards,  with  great  avidi- 
ty, to  the  acquisition  of  the  Greek  tongue,  which 
he   had  entirely  neglected  in  his  earlier  years. 
His  strenuous  perseverence  soon  conducted  him 
to   uncommon   proficiency  as  a   polite  scholar; 
and  it  is  this  useful  part  of  his  history  that  enti- 
tles him  to  a  more  conspicuous  station  among 
the  accomplished  friends  of  Buchanan.     Gelida 
is  said  to  have  presided  over  the  college  to  which 
Buchanan  now  belonged;   but  as  it  is  certain 
that  he  afterwards  removed  to  Bourdeaux  to  act 
as  Govea's  surrogate,  this  statement  may  justly 
be  suspected  of  inaccuracy.     Leaving  a  widow 
and  a  little  daughter,  he  died  at  Bourdeaux  on 
the  nineteenth  of  February  1556,  after  having 
exceeded  the  age  of  sixty.     His  friend  Julius  Sca- 
liger  composed  the  subsequent  lines  in  honour  of 
his  memory. 


78 

Qui  toties  animam  Gelida  mihi  magne  dedisti, 

(Namque  anima  est,  anima  quin  mihi  fama  prior) 
Si  quantum  accepi,  quantum  tibi  debeo,  pendam, 

Grata  nee  aversus  deserat  ora  pudor, 
O  animae  hujos,  adhuc  possis  ut  vivere,  tecum 

Partior  has,  fati  quas  dedit  aura,  vices. 
Quod  si  non  licet,  at  quantum  licet,  accipe  famam, 

Hinc  tibi  si  qua  tamen  vivere  fama  potest. 
Qaod  si  fama  tibi  es,  nee  nostro  cedis  honori, 

Sit  sat,  velle  tibi,  nee  potuisse  dare.' 

Gelida  has  been  celebrated  by  Thuanus  as  a 
man  of  an  excellent  capacity  ;  but  his  academic- 
al engagements  seem  to  have  precluded  him 
from  a  more  extensive  communication  of  the 
treasures  which  he  had  amassed.  Before  he  ex- 
tricated himself  from  the  prevalent  barbarism  of 
the  schools,  he  published  some  work  relative  to 
Aristotle's  logic  ;  and  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
it  was  supposed  that  he  must  have  left  composi- 
tions ready  for  the  press.  A  collection  of  his  fa- 
miliar epistles  was  afterwards  edited  by  one  of 
his  pupils,  rather  from  a  principle  of  respectful 
gratitude,  than  from  a  conviction  of  their  being 
adequate  to  the  opinion  which  had  been  conceiv- 
ed of  so  great  a  man.2     They  relate  to  subjects 

V  Jul.  Scaligeri  Poc-mata,  torn,  i,  p.  312. 

2  Johannis  Gelida;  Valentini  Epistol.-e  et  Carmina.  Rupellx,  1571, 
4to.  The  poems  thus  announced  in  the  title-page,  merely  consist  of  two 
epitaphs  on  Buda:us,  and  an  "  Exhortatio  de  servanda  Amicitia."  The 
epitaphs  had  already  been  published  by  Louis  le  Roy.  (Regii  Vita  G.  Bu- 
<fri,p.  53.)     One  of  them  is  in  Greek.     The  editor,  Jacquei  Busine,  pre- 


79 

of  a  scholastic  nature,  and  are  written  in  a  style 
of  excellent  Latinity.a 

In  the  college  where  he  found  such  able  coad- 
jutors, Buchanan  seems  to  have  remained  se- 
veral years.  The  king  of  Portugal  had  lately 
founded  the  university  of  Coimbra  ;  and  as  his 
own  dominions  could  not  readily  supply  compet- 
ent professors,  he  invited  Andrew  Govea  to  ac- 
cept the  principality,  and  to  conduct  from  France 
a  considerable  number  of  proficients  in  philoso- 
phy and  ancient  literature.  Govea  accordingly 
returned  to  his  native  country  in  the  year  1547, 
accompanied  by  Buchanan  and  other  associates. 
The  affairs  of  Europe  presented  an  alarming  as- 
pect ;  and  Portugal  seemed  to  be  almost  the  on- 
ly corner  free  from  tumults.  To  the  proposals 
of  Govea  he  had  not  only  lent  a  prompt  ear,  but 
was  so  much  satisfied  with  the  character  of  his 
associates,  that  he  also  persuaded  his  brother  Pa- 
trick to  join  this  famous  colony.  To  several  of 
its  members  he  had  formerly  been  attached  by 
the  strictest  ties  of  friendship ;  these  were  Gru- 
chius,  Garentoeus,  Tevius,  and  Vinetus,  who  have 
all  distinguished  themselves  by  the  publication 
of  learned  works. b     The  other  scholars  of  whom 

fixed  an  account  of  Gelida,  which  Andreas  Schottus  has  without  any  ac- 
knowledgment inserted  in  his  Biblktbeca  Hispanica.     Francof.  1608,  4to. 

a  Schotti  Bibliotheca  Hispanica,  p.  615.  Thuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis, 
torn,  i,  p.  610.  Niceron,  Memoires  pour  servir  a  l'Histoire  des  Homme« 
lllustres  dans  la  Republique  des  l_ettres,  torn,  xxii,  p.  104. 

b  «*  Erant  enim  plerique  pe»  multos  annos  summa  benevolentia  coa- 


so 

it  consisted,  were  Arnold  us  Fabric  ius,L  John  Coo- 
ta,  and  Anthony  Mendez,  who  are  not  known  as 
authors :  the  first  was  a  native  of  Bazats,  the 
other  two  were  Portuguezc.  All  these  professors, 
except  P.  Buchanan  and  Fabricius,  had  taught 

juncti,  ut  qui  ex  suis  monumentis  orbi  claruerunt,  Nicolaus  Gruchius, 
Guilielmus  Garentxus,  Jacobus  Tevius,  et  Elias  Vinetus.  Itaque  non 
solum  se  comitem  libenter  dedit,  sed  et  Patricio  fratri  persuasit,  ut  se  tarn 
prxclaro  coetui  conjungeret."  ( Buchanani  Vita,  p.  6.  Of  Tevius  and 
Vinetus  some  account  will  afterwards  be  given.  Garentxus,  or  Guerente, 
is  commemorated  by  Montagne  as  a  commentator  on  Aristotle,  and 
as  a  writer  of  Latin  tragedy.  ( Essais,  liv.  i,  chap,  xxv.)  Gruchius,  who 
was  a  native  of  Rouen,  distinguished  himself  by  the  publication  of  several 
very  learned  works  on  Roman  antiquities  ;  and  even  Sigonius  found  him 
a  formidable  antagonist.  Their  rival  productions  occur  in  the  collection 
of  Grxvius.  (Tbesaurus  Aniiquitutum  Romanarum,  torn,  i.)  Consult  how- 
ever Struvii  Historia  Juris  Romani,  prol.  §  ii.  Jenae,  1718,  -Ito.  Onu- 
phrius  Panvinius  mentions  Gruchius  in  terms  of  high  commendation. 
"  Nicolai  Gruchii  Rhotomagensis  Galli  viri  doctissimi,  et  Romans  anti- 
quitatis  peritissimi,  libro  qucque  de  comitiis  usus  sum  ;  in  quo  universam 
veterum  comitiorum  rationem  accuratissime  explicuit.  Ei  multum  Galli- 
am,  quae  est  natale  solum,  sed  plus  Italiam  et  urbem  Romam  debere  exis- 
timo,  a  quo  elegantibus  et  eruditione  plenis  commentariis,  hoc  nostro  tem- 
pore multum  decoris,  et  in  rebus  obscurissimis  splendoris  acceperunt." 
(Imferium  Romanum,  p.  304.)  Gruchius  was  not  less  familiarly  convers- 
ant with  the  Greek  philosophy  than  with  Roman  antiquities  :  he  taught 
Aristotle  in  the  schools  with  high  reputation  ;  and  he  corrected  some  of 
the  errors  committed  by  Perionius  in  translating  a  portion  of  his  works. 
He  died  at  Rochelle  in  the  year  1j72.  (Thuani  Mitt,  tut  Temporis,  torn, 
iii,  p.  209.     Sammarthani  Elogia  GalLrum  Doctrina  Illustrium,  p.  52.) 

c  "  Arnoldi  Fabricii  Vasatensis  Epistolx  aliquot"  are  printed  with  the 
epistles  of  Gelida.  His  name  is  therefore  inserted  in  the  catalogue  of 
J.  A.  Fabricius,  who  has  however  collected  no  particulars  of  his  life. 
(Centuria  Fabriciorum  Scriptis  Clarorum,  p.  1  2.  Hamb.  1709,  8vo.)  Of 
this  little  work  a  continuation  was  published  by  the  author  in  1727,  en- 
titled "  Fabriciorum  Centuria  secunda,  cum  prioris  Supplemento." — 
"  Joannis  Costx  ad  Lusitaniam  Carmen"  is  prefixed  to  the  historical  pro- 
duction of  his  countrvman  Tevius. 


81 


in  the  College  of  Guienne.d  To  this  authentic 
catalogue:  Dempster  has  added,  probably  w:ch  >at 
sufficient  authority,  other  two  Scotish  names ; 
those  of  John  Rutherford  and  William  Rams.,v.e 
Govea  had  relinquished  his  office  at  Bourdeaux 
in  the  intention  of  resuming  it  after  an  interval 

d  Schotti  Bibliotheca  Hispanica,  p.  617. 

'  John  Rutherford,  say  his  biographers,  was  a  native  of  Glasgow. 
Previous  to  his  visiting  the  continent,  he  had  taught  philosophy  at  St. 
Andrews ;  and  having  after  his  return  from  Portugal  resumed  his  former 
situation,  he  ended  his  days  in  St.  Salvator's  College.  (Dempster  Hist. 
Ecclesiast.  Gent.  Scotor.  p.  566.  Mackenzie's  Lives  of  Scott  Writers,  vol.  iii, 
p  137.)  Dr  Mackenzie  professes  to  have  derived  part  of  his  informa- 
tion from  two  of  Rutherford's  publications  :  Comment,  in  lib.  Arist.  de  Arte 
Metrica.  Edinb.  1557,  4to.  De  Arte  Diuerendi  lib.  4.  Edinb.  1580, 
4  to.  One  circumstance  however  contributes  to  render  his  assertions  ex- 
tremely dubious :  from  the  title  of  the  last  work,  as  exhibited  by  Mr* 
Herbert,  it  appears  that  Rutherford  was  a  native,  not  of  Glasgow,  but  of 
Jecibuigh  :  "  Commentariorum  de  Arte  Disserendi  libn  quatuor,  Joan- 
ne Retorforti  Jedbur^eeo  Scoto  author e."  Edinb.  1577, 4to.  (  Typographic- 
al Antiquities,  vol.  iii,  p.  1499.) 

William  Ramsay,  says  Dempster,  was  the  companion  of  Buchanan'* 
studies  in  France,  and  was  likewise  associated  with  him  at  Coimbra. 
Haviag  quitted  Portugal,  he  was  appointed  a  professor  in  the  university 
of  Leyden,  which  had  recently  been  founded.  He  afterwards  taught 
philosophy  at  St.  Andrews;  where  he  died  about  the  year  1590.  He 
composed  a  Judicium  de  Lusitan'u.  The  rest  of  his  productions  are  care- 
fully preserved  in  manuscript  in  the  library  at  Leyden  (Dempster,  p. 
564.)  Jacobus  Ramseius,  J.  C.  is  enumerated  by  Meursius  among  the 
Leyden  professors  of  philosophy  and  eloquence.  Athena:  Batavj,  p.  351.) 
Gifanius,  in  the  postscript  of  his  letter  to  Buchanan,  mentions  one  Ram- 
say as  the  intim  ite  friend  of  his  correspondent :  "  Iidem  illi  populares 
tut,  familiares  mei,  esse  nunc  isthic  doctissimum  virum  D.  Rams«eum,  qui 
olim  Vitebergx  professor  fuit,  et  vertisse  eum  quoque  multa  epigram- 
mata  commemorabant.  Quare  cum  ille  tibi  perfamiharis  sit,  rogo  te, 
mi  domine,  ut  et  eum  admoneas  ut  suamsymbolam  coiiferat."  (Buchan- 
ani  Epistola,  p.  7.)  Dempster,  Meursius,  and  Gifanius,  may  possibly  al- 
lude, however  inaccurately,  to  the  same  individual. 

F 


82 


of  two  years  ;  and  in  the  mean  time  had  delegat- 
ed his  authority  to  Gelida.  But  death  arrested 
him  in  his  native  country.  Gelida  was  then  con- 
stituted principal  of  the  College  of  Guienne,  which 
he  continued  to  govern  till  the  time  of  his  de- 
cease. Govea  died  in  the  year  1548;  and  Bu- 
chanan, in  a  short  epitaph,  gratefully  comme- 
morated the  services  which  he  had  rendered  to 
literature. 

Alite  non  fausta  genti  dum  rursus  Ibere 

Restituis  Musas,  hie  Goveane  jaccs. 
Cura  tui  Musis  fuerit  si  mutua,  nulla 

Incolet  Elysium  clarior  umbra  nemus.f 

During  the  lifetime  of  this  worthy  man,  Bu- 
chanan and  his  associates  had  found  their  situa- 
tion at  Coimbra  sufficiently  agreeable ;  but  after 
they  were  deprived  of  his  protection,  the  Portu- 
gueze  began  to  persecute  them  with  unrelenting 
bigotry.  The  harmless  professors  were  at  first 
assailed  by  the  secret  weapons  of  calumny, 'and 
in  due  time  were  loudly  accused  of  imaginary 
crimes.  Three  of  their  number  were  thrown  in- 
to the  dungeons  of  the  inquisition,  and  after  hav- 
ing been  subjected  to  a  tedious  imprisonment, 
were  at  length  arraigned  at  the  infernal  tribunal. 
According  to  the  usual  practice,  they  were  not 
confronted  with  their  accusers ;  of  whose  very 
names  they  were  ignorant.  As  they  could  not 
be  convicted  of  any  crime,  they  were  overwhelm- 

'  Buchanani  Epigram,  lib.  ii,  If. 


S3 


ed  with  reproaches,  and  again  committed  to  cus- 
tody. 

Buchanan  had  attracted  an  unusual  degree  of 
indignation.  He  was  accused  of  having  written 
an  impious  poem  against  the  Franciscans ;  yet 
with  the  nature  of  that  poem  the  inquisitors  were 
totally  unacquainted.  The  only  copy  which  he 
had  suffered  to  escape,  was  presented  to  his  native 
sovereign ;  and  before  he  ventured  beyond  the 
borders  of  France,  he  had  even  adopted  the  pre- 
caution of  having  the  circumstances  of  its  com- 
position properly  represented  to  the  Portugueze 
monarch.  He  was  also  charged  with  the  heinous 
crime  of  eating  flesh  in  Lent ;  and  yet  with  re- 
spect to  that  very  article,  not  a  single  individual 
in  Portugal  deemed  it  necessary  to  practise  absti- 
nence. Some  of  his  strictures  relative  to  monks 
were  registered  against  him  ;  but  they  were  such 
as  monks  only  could  regard  as  criminal.  He  was 
moreover  accused  of  having  alleged,  in  a  convers- 
ation with  some  young  Portugueze,  that  with 
respect  to  the  eucharist,  St.  Augustin  appeared 
to  him  to  be  strongly  inclined  towards  the  opini- 
on condemned  by  the  church  of  Rome.  Two 
witnesses,  whom  he  afterwards  discovered  to  be 
Ferrerius  and  Talpin,  made  a  formal  deposition 
of  their  having  been  assured  by  several  respect- 
able informants,  that  Buchanan  was  disaffected 
to  the  Romish  faith.* 

*  "  Alii  duo  testes  Joannes  Tolfinus  Normannus,  et  Joannes  Ferrerius 
e  Subalpina  Liguria,"   &c.    (Bvchanam   Vita,  p.   6.)      Read  Talpinui. 

F  2 


84 

After  the  inquisitors  had  harassed  Buchanan 
and  themselves  for  the  space  of  nearly  a  year 
and  a  half,  they  confined  him  to  a  monastery,  for 
the  purpose  of  receiving  edifying  lessons  from  the 
monks ;  whom,  with  due  discrimination,  he  re- 
presents as  men  by  no  means  destitute  of  hu- 
manity, but  totally  unacquainted  with  religion. 
In  their  custody  he  continued  several  months ; 
and  it  was  about  this  period  that  he  began  his 
version  of  the  psalms,  afterwards  brought  to  so 
happy  a  conclusion.  That  this  translation  was  a 
penance  imposed  upon  him  by  his  illiterate  guard- 
ians, is  only  to  be  considered  as  an  idle  tale.h  It 
is  much  more  probable  that  a  large  proportion 
of  the  good  monks  were  incapable  of  reading  the 
psalms  in  their  native  language.  The  rational 
and  elevated  mind  of  Buchanan  had  received 

"  Jean  Talpin,  Docteur  et  Chanoine  Theologal  a  Perigueux  l'an  1570," 
was  a  native  of  Constances  in  Normandy.  He  is  the  author  <of  various 
work*  in  the  French  language,  enumerated  by  La  Croix  du  Main,  torn. 
i,  p.  591,  and  by  Uu  Verdier,  torn,  ii,  p.  520.  Ferrerius  had  formerly 
visited  Scotland,  where  lie  resided  in  the  monastery  of  Kinloss.  In  an- 
other work,  1  have  mentioned  several  of  his  literary  productions.  ( Dis- 
sertation on  the  Literary  History  of  Scotland,  p.  80.)  The  catalogue  may 
however  be  augmented  from  Conrad  Gesner's  Pandectx  she  Partitions 
Universalis,  f.  29,  65,72.  Tiguri,  1548,  fol.  That  learned  and  useful 
writer  enumerates  "  Joannis  Ferrerii  Pedemontani  Bibliotheca  Omnis 
Generis  Scriptorurn,  nondum  edita."  Gesner  mentions  him  with  respect 
in  his  correspondence.  (  F.pistoU  Medicinalcs,  f.  124,  b.  Tiguri,  1577, 
4to.)     See  also  Menage,  Remarques  sur  la  Vicde  Pierre  Ayrault,  p.  148. 

I)  «•  Cum  quxstores,"  says  Buchanan,  "  prope  sesquiannum  et  se  et  il- 
ium fatigasaent,  tandem,  ne  frustra  hominem  non  ignotum  vexasse  crede- 
rentur,  cum  in  monasterium  ad  aliquot  menses  recludunt,ut  exactius  eru- 
diretur  a  monachis,  hominibus  quidem  alioqui  nee  inhumanis  nee  malis, 
*'d  omnis  religionis  ignaris.    Hoc  maxime  tempore  psalmorum  Davidi- 


85 

deep  impressions  of  religion ;  and  the  gloom  of 
a  monastery,  superadded  to  the  persecution  which 
he  had  so  long  sustained,  would  naturally  tend 
to  foster  a  spirit  of  devotion.  His  frequent  re- 
currence to  the  hopes  of  another  v/orld,  and  his 
recollection  of  the  solace  which  his  favourite  art 
had  so  often  afforded  him  in  this,  may  not  un- 
reasonably be  supposed  to  have  led  him  to  the 
formation  of  a  plan,  which  he  has  executed  with 
piety  equal  to  his  genius.  For  the  reputation 
which  he  acquired  by  this  admirable  produc- 
tion, he  might  therefore  be  indebted  to  "  his 
good  friends  and  benefactors  the  Portugueze  ;"  to 
whom  Dr.  Mackenzie  has,  with  unparalleled  ab- 
surdity, accused  him  of  flagrant  ingratitude.  This 
unintentional  favour  seems  to  have  been  the  only 
benefaction  which  he  received.  Buchanan  has 
certainly  expressed  no  fervent  gratitude  for  the 
infamous  treatment  which  he  had  thus  experienc- 
ed from  a  people,  not  unacquainted  with  his  li- 
terary talents :  the  cast  of  his  mind  was  so  pecu- 

corum  complures  vario  carminum  genere  in  numeros  redegit."  (Bucban* 
ani  Vita,  p.  6.)  Dr.  Mackenzie's  commentary  on  this  passage  is  not  un- 
worthy of  attention.  "  But  here  he  gives  us  another  specimen  of  his  gra- 
titude to  his  benefactors,  for  he  says,  that  they  were  altogether  ignorant 
and  void  of  religion.  Now  how  improbable  this  is,  will  appear  from 
these  monks  having  imposed  upon  him  as  a  penance,  that  he  should  turn 
the  psalms  of  David  into  Latin  verse."  (Li-vet  of  Scott  Writers,  vol.  iii,  p. 
162.)  But  how  will  it  appear  that  the  monks  imposed  this  penance  ? 
No  such  conclusion  can  be  drawn  from  Buchanan's  words;  and  Dr  Mac- 
kenzie had  no  other  authority  to  produce.  The  same  fiction  was  after- 
wards revived  by  Mr.  Benson,  and  was  easily  exploded  by  his  learned 
adversary.  (Benson's  Comparis»n  betwixt  "Johnston  ami  Buchanan,  f.  S, 
Ruddiman's  Vindication  of  Buchanan ,  p.  126.) 

F3 


86 

Jiar,  that  he  entertained  no  affection  for  the  dun- 
geons of  the  Portugueze  inquisition ;  an  unme- 
rited imprisonment  of  nearly  two  years  present- 
ed him  with  no  uncommon  allurements ;  and 
the  terrors  of  slow  poison,  or  a  more  speedy  and 
excruciating  death,  had  no  tendency  to  sooth 
his  ungrateful  fancy. 

In  that  country,  the  direful  tribunal  of  the  in- 
quisition was  formally  established  in  the  year 
1536.  The  second  inquisitor  general  was  the  In- 
fant Henry,  afterwards  king  of  Portugal;  who 
retained  the  office  from  the  year  1539  to  the 
year  1579.'  What  part  he  bore  in  the  persecu- 
tion of  our  countryman,  has  not  been  record- 
ed. 

When  Buchanan  was  at  length  restored  to  li- 
berty, he  solicited  the  king  to  furnish  him  with 
a  sum  of  money,  sufficient  for  defraying  the 
charges  of  his  meditated  journey  to  France.  He 
was  however  requested  to  protract  his  residence 
in  Portugal ;  and  was  presented  with  a  small  sup- 
ply, till  he  should  be  promoted  to  some  station 
worthy  of  his  talents.  But  his  ambition  of  Por- 
tugueze preferment  was  not  perhaps  very  violent ; 
for  he  still  remembered  with  regret  the  learned 
and  interesting  society  of  Paris.  In  a  beautiful 
poem  entitled  Desiderium Lutetia*  and  apparent- 

»  Ludovicui  a  Paramo  de  Origine  et  Frogressu  Officii  Sanctx  Inquisi- 
tionii,  ejusque  Dignitate  et  Utilitate,  p.  233.     Matriti,  1598,  fol. 

k  Thi»  poem  has  been  imitated  by  the  amiable  and  ingenious  Dr. 
Blacklack.    (Ptms,  p.  85,  H.  Mackenzie's  edit.) 


87 

iy  composed  before  his  retreat  from  Portugal,  he 
pathetically  bewails  his  absence  from  that  me- 
tropolis, which  he  represents  under  the  allegory 
of  a  pastoral  mistress. 

O  formosa  Amarylli,  tuo  jam  septima  bruma 
Me  procul  aspectu,  jam  septima  detinet  aestas  i 
Sed  neque  septima  bruma  nivalibus  horrida  nimbfe, 
Septima  nee  rapidis  candens  fervoribus  jestas 
Extinxit  vigiles  nostro  sub  pectore  curas. 
Tu  mihi  mane  novo  carmen,  dum  roscida  tondet 
Arva  pecus,  medio  tu  carmen  solis  in  aestu, 
Et  cum  jam  longas  prseceps  nox  porrigit  umbras  : 
Nee  mihi  quae  tenebris  condit  nox  omnia  vultus 
Est  potis  occultare  tuos  :  te  nocte  sub  atra 
Alloquor,  amplector,  falsaque  in  imagine  somni 
Gaudia  sollicitam  palpant  evanida  mentem. 
At  cum  somnus  abit,  &c.l 

Portugal  certainly  could  not  Vie  with  France 
in  letters  and  refinement ;  but  it  was  not  entirely 
destitute  of  individuals  conspicuous  for  their  ori- 
ginal and  acquired  talents."1  The  literary  h'S^ory 
of  Portugal  is  but  little  known  to  my  country- 
men ;  and  as  it  is  to  a  certain  extent  blended 
with  the  history  of  Buchanan,  it  evidently  claims 
a  share  of  our  present  attention. 

Of  the  Portuguese  who  have  cultivated  verna- 

l  Buchanani  Silvae,  iii. 

m  "  Possum  enim  ostendere  Lusitanos  et  philologos  esse,  et  intra  quirv 

quaginta  proximos  hos  annos  non  pauciores  triginta  floruisse,  etiam  scrip- 

tis  editis,  qui  veteribus  quum  dictionis  elegantia  turn  rerum  gravitate, 

possint  jure  conferri.     Possum  mulieres  quoque  ostendere  qua  cum  omni 

▼etustate  certent  erudiuone." 

Resbndu  Opexa,  torn,  ii,  p-  281. 


88 


cular  literature,  Lobeira  and  Camoens  have  ob- 
tained the  most  extensive  celebrity  among  fo- 
reign nations.  Vasco  Lobeira,  who  flourished  in 
the  fourteenth  century,  is  the  author  of  Amadis 
of  Gaul,  one  of  the  earliest,  and  certainly  the  most 
famous  of  all  the  romances  of  chivalry  :  Luis  de 
Camoens,  who  died  in  extreme  poverty  in  the 
year  1579,n  was  a  poet  of  no  common  talents  ; 
and,  among  other  monuments  of  original  genius, 
bequeathed  to  his  ungrateful  country  an  epic 
poen;  adorned  with  many  of  the  flowers  of  ge- 
nuine poetry.  The  compositions  of  these  two 
writers  have,  with  great  felicity,  been  incorpo- 
rated in  our  national  literature  :  Lobeira's  ro- 
mance has  been  exhibited  in  an  English  dress  by 
Mr.  Southey ;  the  Lusiad  of  Camoens  has  been 
translated  by  Mr.  Mickle,  and  a  selection  of  his 
other  poems  by  Lord  Strangford. 

Osorius  informs  us  that  the  Latin  tongue  was 
much  cultivated  in  Portugal,  from  the  reign  of 
Alphonzo  the  first0  till  that  of  Denys  ;  and  com- 
memorates Alphonzo  himself  as  the  author  of  a 
Latin   book,    written  with  tolerable  propriety.r 

n  Antonii  Bibliotheca  Hispana,  torn,  ii,  p.  20.  Romae,  1672,  2  torn, 
fol. — This  must  not  be  confounded  with  another  work  of  the  same  author, 
entitled  Bibliotheca  Hispana  Vitus.  Romae,  1696,  2  torn.  fol.  These  two 
volumes  include  the  period  from  the  reign  of  Augustus  to  the  year  t500. 
Nicolau*  Antonius,  a  very  laborious  and  useful  writer,  was  born  at  Se- 
ville in  1617,  and  died  at  Madrid  in  1684. 

0  Don  Alphonzo,  count  of  Portugal,  having  in  the  year  1139  obtain- 
ed a  decisive  victory  over  the  Moors,  was  saluted  king  in  the  field  of  bat- 
tle.   (Mariana  De  Rebus  Hispania,  torn,  i,  p.  441.) 

P  Osoriut  de  Regis  Institutions  et  Disciplina,  f.  199,  b.  Olysippone, 
1571,  4to. 


89 

Barbarism,  he  adds,  afterwards  ensued,  and  the 
purity  of  that  language  was  miserably  contami- 
nated. King  Denys  died  in  the  year  1325.  An- 
tonius  de  Macedo  and  other  Portugueze  writers 
have  affirmed  that  it  was  he  who  founded  the 
university  of  Coimbra  ;q  but  this  is  an  assertion 
which  cannot  fail  to  excite  considerable  suspicion. 
That  a  respectable  school  was  established  there 
by  King  Denys,  is  sufficiently  credible  :  but  the 
original  founder  of  the  university  was  undoubted- 
ly John  the  third  ;  and  it  probably  assumed  its 
regular  form  about  the  year  1540/  The  other 
Portugueze  university,  that  of  Evora,  was  also 
founded  during  the  reign  of  King  John  ;s  whom 
his  countrymen  have,  with  one  voice,  extolled 
as  a  liberal  patron  of  literature. 

The  great  restorers  of  polite  learning  in  Portu- 
gal and  Spain  were  Arius  Barbosa  and  iElius  An- 
tonius  Nebrissensis.  Barbosa,  a  native  of  Aveiro 
in  Portugal,  after  having  studied  in  the  universi- 
ty of  Salamanca,  betook  himself  to  Florence  for 

i  Antonii  de  Macedo  Lusitenia  Infulata  et  Purpurata,  p.  S7.  Pari*. 
1663,  4to. 

r  "  Veni  Conimbricam,"  says  Nicolaus  Clenardus ;  "  nova  ha:c  est  in- 
ter Lusitanos  academia,  quam  magno  et  plane  regio  animo  rex  noster 
molitur."  (Clenardi  Ep'utolarum  libri  duo,  p.  25.  Antverp.  1 566,  8vo.) 
This  extract  is  from  an  epistle  written  in  the  year  1539. 

s  The  exact  time  of  its  foundation  is  not  mentioned  by  any  writer 
whom  I  have  consulted  ;  but  it  must  apparently  be  placed  between  the 
year  1540  and  the  year  1549.  Ludovicus  Nonius  refers  it  to  the  ponti- 
ficate of  Paul  the  third.  (Nonii  Hispania,  p.  114.  Antv.  1607,  8vo.) 
And  the  honour  of  the  foundation  is  by  Macedo  and  other  writers  im- 
puted to  Cardinal  Henry.  The  cardinal  was  translated  to  the  archbishop- 
ric of  Evora  in  1540;  and  the  pope  died  in  1549. 


90 


the  purpose  of  attending  the  prelections  of  Po- 
litian.  He  became  a  proficient  in  classical  li- 
terature, and  was  the  first  who  introduced  the 
Greek  language  into  modern  Spain.1  In  the 
year  1495  he  returned  to  Salamanca,  where  he 
taught  for  the  space  of  twenty  years.  He  was 
afterwards  attracted  to  his  native  country  to  un- 
dertake the  tuition  of  Don  Alphonzo,  the  brother 
of  King  John.  He  has  left  several  works  in  verse 
and  in  prose  ;  and  has  often  been  commemorated 
as  a  man  of  talents.  His  learned  friend  Nebrissen- 
sis,  who  was  born  at  Lebrixa  in  Spain  in  the  year 
1444,  likewise  prosecuted  his  studies  at  Salaman- 
ca and  in  Italy.  He  was  successively  a  professor 
at  Salamanca  and  Alcala ;  and  was  engaged  by 
Cardinal  Ximenez  in  the  famous  Alcala  edition 
of  the  bible.  His  various  erudition  has  been  com- 
memorated by  Erasmus,  and  by  other  eminent 
scholars  of  that  century" ;  but  in  the  knowledge 

1  Gyraldus  de  Poetis  suorum  Temporum,  p.  403. 

u  Erasmi  Ciceronianus,  p.  185.  Christophorus  Mylaeus  de  Scribenda 
Universitatis  Rerum  Historia,  p.  304.  Basil.  1551,  fol. — "  Jacebant  ita- 
que  bona  literae,"  say*  Sanctius  in  the  dedication  of  his  acute  and  learn- 
ed treatise  on  the  causes  or  principles  of  the  Latin  language,  "  quum  ah- 
hinc  annis  centum  Antonius  Nebrissensis  hos  rebelles  conatus  est  castigare. 
Sed  adeo  malum  hoc  radices  egerat  altas,  ut  innumeris  monstris  debellatis 
multo  plura  debellanda  remanserint.  Quod  si  ille  iterum  aut  saepius  re- 
diret,  non  dubito  (qua:  erat  illius  solertia)  quin  omnia  facillime  compo- 
suisset."  (Minerva,  sen  dt  Cautis  Lingutt  Latinz.  Salmanticx,  1587,  8vo.) 
His  eulogy  occur*  among  those  of  Paulus  Jovius.  ( Elogia  Virorum  Literis 
lllustrium,  p.  121,  edit.  Basil.  1577,  fol.)  See  also  Vossius  De  Hhtorkh 
Latinis,  p.  657,  and  Colomesii  Italia  et  Hispania  Orientalis,  p.  223.  Hamb. 
1730,  4to.  A  catalogue  of  his  works  is  exhibited  by  Antonius ;  who 
divides  them  into  seven  classes,  namely  grammatical,  philological,  poetical, 


91 

of  the  Greek  language  he  was  inferior  to  Bar- 
bosa.x     He  died  in  the  year  1522/ 

Lucius  Andreas  Resendius,  who  seems  to  have 
taught  in  the  university  of  Coimbra,  and  at  the 
same  period  with  Buchanan,2  was  the  earliest 
Portugueze  author  who  investigated  the  antiqui- 
ties of  his  native  country  with  erudition  and  judg- 
ment.* He  composed  various  works  in  verse  as 
well  as  in  prose  ;  and,  in  the  opinion  of  a  learn- 

historical,  juridical,  medical,  and  theological.  One  edition  of  his  com- 
mentary on  Persius  bears  the  following  inscription.  "  iElii  Antonii  Ne- 
rissensis  grammatici  in  A.  Persium  Flaccum  poetam  satyricum  Interpre  - 
tatio,  cum  quibusdam  quae  a  librariis  depravata  atque  detorta  fuerunt, 
per  eundem  recognita,  et  ad  unguem  emendata,  ac  noviter  impressa,  foeli- 
citer  incipitur."  Compluti,  1517,4to.  With  this  edition  Antonius  seems 
to  have  been  unacquainted. 

x  Schotti  Bibliotheca  Hispanica,  p.  471. 

'  Antonii  Bibliotheca  Hispana,  torn,  i,  p.  105. 

z  Resendii  Opera,  torn,  ii,  p.  264.     Col.  Agrip.  1600,  2  torn.  8vo. 

a  Libri  quatuor  de  Antiquitatibus  I.usitanix  a  Lucio  Andrea  Resendio 
dim  inchoati,  et  a  Jacobo  Mencetio  Vascortcello  recogniti,  atque  absoluti. 
liboraj,  1593,  fol. — This  work  was  reprinted  at  Rome  in  1597;  and, 
with  other  productions  of  the  author,  at  Cologne  in  1600.  It  also  occurs 
in  the  collection  entitled  Hhpania  Illustrata,  torn,  ii,  p  892.  This  curious 
collection  was  published  at  Frankfort  in  four  volumes  folio  ;  the  first  and 
second  of  which  appeared  in  1 603,  the  third  in  1 606,  and  the  fourth  in 
1608.  The  third  volume  was  edited  by  Joannes  Pistorius  :  for  the  rest 
we  are  indebted  to  Andreas  Schottus.  To  the  first  edition  of  Resendius's 
antiquities  Vasconcellus  has  prefixed  an  account  of  his  life ;  which  die 
subsequent  editors  have  improperly  omitted.  Secundus.who  has  address- 
ed three  of  his  epigrams  to  Resendius,  gives  him  the  name  of  Lucius  An- 
gelus  Andreas. 

This  antiquarian  work  of  Resendius,  when  viewed  as  a  restitution  of' 
decayed  intelligence,  is  of  considerable  value.  The  author  has  very  di- 
ligently resorted  to  one  copious  and  genuine  source  of  information,  an- 
cient inscriptions.  From  documents  of  this  kind,  he  acquainted  mytho- 
Iogists  with  a  Pagan  divinity  which  had  entirely  escaped  their  know- 
ledge ;  and  concerning  which  a  German  author  of  great  erudition  has 


92 

ed  Belgian,  is  a  poet  worthy  of  being  compared 
with  the  ancients.1'  Resendius,  who  was  born  at 
Evora  in  1493,  and  died  in  1573,  prosecuted  his 
studies  at  Alcala  under  Nebrissensis,  and  at  Sa- 
lamanca under  his  countryman  Barbosa.  The 
esteem  and  admiration  which  he  has  so  frequent- 
ly and  so  earnestly  testified  for  Erasmus,  may  be 
recorded  as  a  proof  of  his  intelligence  and  liber- 
ality ;  for  Erasmus's  free  spirit  of  disquisition 
was  very  far  from  recommending  him  to  the  ma- 
jority of  his  ecclesiastical  brethren.  The  follow- 
ing lines  contain  perhaps  the  highest  compliment 
that  has  yet  been  paid  to  his  genius  and  erudi- 
tion. 

Funus  acerbum, 
Funus,  Erasme,  tuum  O  utinam  pensare  daretur 
Funere  posse  meo  :  vixes  dignissime  vita. 
Hanc  animam  pro  te  potius  crudelibus  urabris, 
Vilem,  indefletam,  ignotam,  nullaque  patentees 
Clade  affecturam  terras,  Libitina  tulisset.c 

Michael  Cabedius,  an  eminent  lawyer  who  was 
born  at  Cetuval  in  1525,  and  died  at  Lisbon  in 
1577,  cultivated  Latin  poetry  with  a  degree  of 
success  which  at  least  secured  him  the  applause 
of  his  countrymen.     He  translated  the  aPlutus  of 

composed  an  elaborate  dissertation.  (Reinesius  De  Deo  Endovellho. 
Altenb.  1637,  4to.) 

b  Clenardi  Epistol*,  p.  244.— He  is  also  mentioned  with  approbation 
by  Bembus,  in  an  epistle  addressed  to  Damian  de  Goes.  (Bembi  BfiisUl* 
Familiaret,  lib.  vi,  p.  741. 

c  Resendii  Opera,  torn  ii,  p.  51. 

«•  Parisiis,  apud  Michaelem  Viscosanum,  1547,  8yo. 


93 

Aristophanes,  and  composed  some  original  poems, 
with  considerable  felicity.  Vasconcellus,  in  his 
hendecasyllables  written  in  celebration  of  Lis- 
bon, introduces  the  name  of  Cabedius  with  very 
honourable  mention. 

Haud  nostrse  genius  valet  Thaliae 
Tantae  pondera  sustinere  molis. 
Id  praestare  tibi  mei  Cabedi 
Felix  Musa  potest,  parem  vetustis 
Quem  Cetobrica  protulit  poetis, 
Felices  ubi  Jaspidum  colonos 
Piscosi  sinus  alluit  profundi. 
Huic  altam  tribuit  Minerva  mentera: 
Dulci  pectora  condiens  lepore, 
Exculturn  eloquium  dedere  Musac, 
Miscentes  Latiis  sales  Pelasgos  : 
Phcebus  plectra  dedit,  quibus  Maronem 
Donarat.  Colophoniumque  vatem. 
Hausit  Caesarei  fluenta  juris 
Puris  fontibus,  omniumque  nodos 
Legum  solvere,  vel  Papiniano 
Novit  rectius  elegantiusque.e 

The  family  of  Govea,  so  intimately  connected 
with  Buchanan,  was  remarkable  for  its  talents 
and  literature.    James  Govea  was  principal  of  the 

c  Jacobus  Menoetius  Vasconcellus  was  related  to  Michael,  as  well  as 
to  Antonius  Cabedius ;  and  the  Latin  poems  of  these  three  authors  have, 
with  sufficient  propriety,  been  associated  in  one  volume.  They  are  ap- 
pended to  the  second  edition  of  Resendius  De  Antiquttatibut  LusiUnia. 
Romx,  1597,  8vo. — Vasconcellus  has  written  an  account  of  his  own  life; 
which  accompanies  both  this  and  the  former  edition.  To  that  work  of 
Resendius  he  has  added  a  fifth  book,  "  De  Antiquitate  Municipii  £bo» 
rensis."  His  Vita  Micbaelis  Cabedii  Scnatoris  Regii  occurs  among  the  0- 
fuseula  appended  to  the  Roman  edition  of  the  antiquities. 


94 


College  of  St.  Barbe  at  Paris  ;r  where  he  super- 
intended the  studies  of  three  promising  nephews, 
who  were  educated  at  the  charge  of  the  Portu- 
gueze  monarch,  King  John.  They  were  natives 
of  Beja.  Martial,  the  eldest  of  these  learned  bro- 
thers, published  a  Latin  grammar  at  Paris  in  the. 
year  1534  ;  and  likewise  composed  various  poem's, 
which  are  not  however  known  to  have  been  print- 
ed. Andrew,  who  belonged  to  the  ecclesiastical 
order,  and  who,  according  to  Beza,  was  a  doctor 
of  the  vSorbonne,  taught  grammar,  and  afterwards 
philosophy,  in  the  college  over  which  his  uncle 
presided.  He  at  length  obtained  the  principality 
himself:  Andrew  Govea,  principal  of  St.  Barbe, 
was  chosen  rector  of  the  university  of  Paris  on  the 
twenty-third  of  June  15SS.*  In  the  course  of 
the  following  year,  he  was  invited  to  Bourdeaux,h 
where  he  governed  the  College  of  Guienne  with 
great  moderation  and  address.1     He  died  at  Coim- 

f  Bulaeus  affirms  that  there  were  two  Goveas  of  this  name ;  and  that 
they  stood  in  the  relation  of  uncle  and  nephew.  [Hist.  Universitath  Pa- 
rhiensit,  torn,  vi,  p.  942.)  The  elder,  as  he  informs  us,  resigned  the 
principality  in  favour  of  the  younger  :  but  as  James  Govea  is  known  to 
have  resigned  in  favour  of  Andrew,  it  is  not  improbable  that  Bulsus, 
notwithstanding  his  opportunities  of  accurate  information,  may  here  have 
fallen  into  a  slight  error. 

£  Bulxi  Hist.  Universitatis  Parisiensis,  torn,  vi,  p.  977. 

•>  De  Lurbe,  Chronique  Bourdeloise,  f.  42. 

i  Montagne  has  characterized  him  as  "  le  plus  grand  principal  de 
France."  (Essais,  liv.  i,  chap,  xxv.)  "  Ah  avunculo,"  says  Vasconcellus, 
"  Burdigalam  missi  sumus,  ad  capiendum  ingenii  cultum,  in  celebri  gym- 
nasio  quod  ibi  eo  tempore  florebat  sub  moderamine  Andreje  Goveani  Lu- 
titani.ex  Pace  Julia  oriundi,  viri  gTavissimi."  (Vita  Jacobi  Menatii  Vas- 
eincelli,  ab  ipso  coB*cri/>te,  p.  3.)    "  Vjr  de  universa  Aquitania  et  Uteris,  ut 


95 


bra  on  the  ninth  of  June  1548,  after  having 
reached  the  age  of  about  fifty.  His  friend  Vine- 
tus,  in  an  epistle  to  Andreas  Schottus,  has  com- 
memorated him  as  a  man  of  liberal  sentiments, 
and  as  an  encourager  of  learning. k  He  does  not 
however  belong  to  the  list  of  authors. 

Anthony  Govea  was  the  youngest  and  the  most 
renowned  of  these  brothers.  While  he  prosecut- 
ed his  studies  in  the  College  of  St.  Barbe,  he  made 
very  unusual  progress  in  ancient  literature  and 
philosophy  ;  and  at  Avignon  and  Toulouse,  he 
afterwards  applied  to  the  stud)  of  jurisprudence 
with  the  same  assiduity  and  success.  He  studied  at 
Toulouse  about  the  year  1.539  ;  but  before  that 
period  he  had  taught  humanity  in  the  College  of 
Guienne.  In  1542  he  was  a  regent  in  some  Pa- 
risian college  under  his  uncle  :  and  in  the  course 
of  the  ensuing  year,  he  was  engaged  in  a  dispute 
with  Ramus'  which  occasioned  prodigious  com- 
bustion in  that  university.  Ramus,  it  is  well 
known,  had  laudably  undertaken  to  impugn  the 
philosophy  of  Aristotle ;  and  Govea,  notwith- 
standing his  youth,  was  the  first  who  entered  the 
lists  against  him.  He  was  seconded  by  Perionius, 
and  other  strenuous  advocates  of  old  opinions; 
and  the  contest  at  length  rose  to  such  a  height 

»i  quls  alius,  optime  meritus,  homo  pius,  doctus,  et  ad  regendam  juventu- 
tern  omnino  natus."     (Schotti  Bibliotheta  Hispanica,  p.  617.) 

%  Schotti  Bibliotheca  Hispanica,  p.  475. 

1  A  biographical  account  of  Ramus,  who  certainly  was  no  ordinary 
character,  was  published  by  Nicolaus  Nancelius,  one  of  the  regents  of  hi* 
college.     (  Vita  Pttri  Rami,    Paris.  1599,  8yo.) 


96 

that  it  was  determined  by  a  royal  mandate.™ 
Govea  afterwards  returned  to  the  College  of 
Guienne,  where  he  was  left  by  the  colony  which 
departed  for  Coimbra.  He  successively  taught 
jurisprudence  at  Toulouse  Cahors,  Valence,  and 
Grenoble,"  to  crowded  auditories  ;  but  when 
France  began  to  be  annoyed  with  the  tumults  of 
a  civil  war,  he  retired  into  Italy,  and  found  an 
honourable  asylum  at  the  court  of  Savoy.  From 
the  duke  he  is  said  to  have  obtained  the  offices 
of  counsellor,  and  master  of  the  requests.  He 
died  at  Turin  at  the  age  of  about  sixty.  Man- 
fred, one  of  his  sons,  was  also  a  man  of  learning  : 
he  published  several  works,  among  which  are  La- 
tin poems,  and  annotations  on  the  writings  of 
'"Julius  Clarusp.     Anthony   Govea,  according   to 

m  Launoi  de  Varia  Aristotelis  Fortuna  in  Academia  Parisiensi,  p.  59. 
Werenfelsii  Dissertatio  de  Logomachiis  Eruditorum,  p.  58,  edit.  Amst. 
1702,  Svo. 

n  Thuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis,  torn,  ii,  p.  467. — Bayle's  criticisms  on 
this  part  of  Thuanus's  narrative  are  misapplied.  (Dictionairc  Hhtorique 
H  Critique,  art.  Govea.  He  supposes  the  historian  to  affirm,  in  the  fol- 
lowing passage,  that  Govea  was  invited  by  Ferretus  to  teach  jurisprud- 
ence at  Avignon.  "  Ab  iEmilio  Ferreto,  qui  Avenione  jus  civile  doce- 
bat,  cum  Lugduni  privatis  studiis  intentus  desideret,  ad  illius  perplexa 
scientias  professionem  evocatus  est ;  in  qua  rursus  exiguo  tempore  tantos 
progressus  fecu."  The  purport  of  these  words  evidently  is,  that  Ferre- 
tus  induced  Govea  to  betake  himself  to  the  study  of  law;  for  he 
certainly  had  not  the  power  of  inviting  him  to  an  academical  chair. 
Thuanus  expressly  affirms  that  Govea  first  taught  jurisprudence  at  Tou- 
louse. Julius  Scaliger,  in  an  epigram  Ad  Groeanum,  apparently  alludes 
to  his  having  delivered  prelections  in  that  city;  a  part  of  his  history 
which  Bayle  is  inclined  to  represent  as  erroneous.  ^Scaligeri  Poemate, 
torn,  i,  p.  178.) 

°  Pancirolus  de  Claris  Legum  Interpretibus,  p.  296. 

"  Ghilini  Teatro  d'Huomim  Lettcrati,  toI.  ii,  p.  189. 


97 

Thuanus,  was  the  only  man  of  that  age  who,  by 
the  common  consent  of  the  learned,  was  consi- 
dered as  a  verv  elegant  poet,  a  great  philosopher, 
and  a  most  able  civilian.*1  The  purity  of  his  La- 
tin ftyle  is  highly  commended  by  the  same  ad- 
mirable hiftorian.  Besides  his  juridical  writ- 
ings and  his  answer  to  Ramus,  he  published 
Latin  poetns,  editions  of  Virgil,'  Terence/  and 
some  of  the  works  of  Cicero,  and  a  Latin  trans- 
lation of  Porphyry's  introduction  to  Aristotle's 
logic.  Joseph  Scaliger  represents  him  as  an  ex- 
cellent French  poet/  But  his  chief  praise  is 
that  of  having  been  deemed  the  most  formidable 
rival  of  Cujacius.  He  is  highly  extolled  by  Gra- 
vina,  the  most  elegant  civilian  of  the  last  cen- 
tury ;u  and  Cujacius  himself  had  awarded   him 

1  Thuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis,  torn,  ii,  p.  468. 

r  H.  Stephanus  in  the  dedication  of  his  Virgil  has  discussed  the  merits 
of  Govea's  edition  with  his  usual  freedom. 

'  See  Wassii  Senarius,  sive  de  Legibus  et  Licentia  Veterum  Poetarum, 
p.  243.     Oxon.  1687,  4to. 

1  "  Goveanus  doctus  erat  vir,  et  valens  dialecticus,  optimus  poeta  Gal. 
licus:  nee  enim  Hispanum  judicavens,  adeo  bene  Gallice  loquebatur." 
(Prima  Scatigcrana,  p.  86.)  He  is  likewise  mentioned  with  great  respect 
in  Scaliger's  Caitigationes  in  Festum,  p.  Ii.  In  Sanderus's  catalogue  of"  fa- 
mous Anthonies;"  the  name  of  Govea  has  not  been  omitted  ;  but  the  no- 
tices of  this  writer  are  slight  and  unsatisfactory.  ^Sanderus  Dc  Clarit 
Antoniis,  p.  184.     Lovanii,  1627,  4to.) 

u  "  Ingenium  habuit  varium  et  velox,  ut  rerum  ab  eo  turn  in  philoso- 
phia,  turn  in  humanioribus  Uteris,  turn  in  jure  civili  agitatarum  finerfl 
ante  initium  animadverteres.  Neque  ullum  fuit  involucrum,  unde  non 
*e  celeriter  ac  feliciter  expediret." 

Graving  Orlgines  Juris  Civilii,  p.  127. 
6 


98 

the  superiority  over  all  the  interpreters  of  the 
Justinian  law  in  ancient  or  modern  times. 

Govea  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Buchanan  ; 
who  has  recorded  his  attachment  in  immortal 
verse.  Muretus  thus  addresses  him  in  one  of  his 
epigrams : 

Summe  poetarum  quos  secula  nostra  tulerunt, 

Cui  sacra  Castalii  fluminis  unda  subest, 
Accipe  non  tetrica  juvenilia  carmina  fronte, 

A  domino  limam  jussa  subire  tuam, 
Ut  tibi  si  (quod  vix  ausim  sperare)  probentur, 

Olim  se  lucem  posse  videre  putent  : 
Sin  minu3,  aeterna  damnentur,  ut  omnia,  nocte, 

Aspectu  tanti  facta  beata  viri.* 

Jacobus  Tevius,  the  friend  of  Buchanan  and 
Govea,  was  a  native  of  Braga.  Having  complet- 
ed his  studies  in  the  university  of  Paris/  he  ob- 
tained a  regency  at  Bourdeaux ;  where,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  he  was  associated  with  Bu- 
chanan. After  his  removal  to  Coimbra,  he  com- 
posed a  historical  work,2  which  has  been  highly 

x  Mureti  Opera,  torn,  i,  p.  693,  edit.  Ruhnkenii. 

y  Schotti  Bibliotheca  Hispanica,  p.  479. 

2  Commentarius  de  Rebus  a  Lusitanis  in  India  apud  Dium  Gestis,  an- 
no salutis  nostra:  m.d.xlvi.  Jacobo  Tevio  Lusitano  Autore.— The  de- 
dication to  King  John  is  dated  Coimbra,  March  the  first  1548.  This 
worlc  of  Tevius  occurs  in  the  collection  entitled  Hisfania  Illustrate/,  torn. 
ii,  p.  1347.  Dempster  has  absurdly  affirmed  that  its  real  author  was  Bu- 
chanan (Hiit.  EcUtiast.  Gent.  Scotor.  p.  1 10.)  Antonius,  who  has  probably 
confounded  him  with  some  other  writer,  mentions  Tevius  by  the  name 
of  Didacus,  or  Diego.  In  the  epistle  prefixed  to  the  second  edition  of 
Beza's  poems,  he  it  erroneously  called  Joannes  Tevius. 


99 

commended  for  the  elegance  of  its  Latinity.* 
Schottus  informs  us  that  he  also  published  some 
orations,  as  well  as  some  Portugueze  and  Latin 
poems.  It  was  his  intention  to  compose  a  gene- 
ral history  of  his  native  country ;  but  this  plan 
he  did  not  live  to  execute. 

Buchanan  has  repeatedly  testified  his  affection 
for  this  associate  of  his  learned  labours.  When 
Tevius  published  his  historical  commentary,  Bu- 
chanan furnished  him  with  a  very  happy  address 
to  King  John  ;b  which  is  prefixed  to  the  various 
editions  of  that  work.  In  his  elegy  to  Tastaeus 
and  Tevius,  he  addresses  him  with  all  the  warmth 
of  friendship : 

O  animas,  Ptolemase,  mese  pars  altera,  tuque 
Altera  pars  anirnse,  Tevi  Jacobe,  raese.c 

In  a  little  poem  inscribed  to  Anthony  Govea,  he 
has  strongly  indicated  his  regard  for  each  of  these 
Portugueze  scholars. 

Si  quicquam,  Goveane,  fas  mihi  esset 

Invidere  tibive,  Teviove, 

Et  te  nostro  ego  Tevio  inviderem, 

Et  nostrum  tibi  Tevium  inviderem. 

Sed  cum  me  nihil  invidere  sit  fas 

Vel  tibi,  Goveane,  Teviove, 

Si  fas  est  quod  amor  dolorque  cogit, 

Vobis  imprecor  usque  et  imprecabor, 

Uterque  ut  mihi  sed  cito  rependat  , 

a  Vasaci  Rerum  Hispanicarum  Chroniconrcap.  iv, 
b  Buchanani  Opera,  torn,  ii,  p.  102. 
c  Buchanani  Elegiarum  liber,  iv. 

g2 


100 

Hoc  parvum  ob  facinus  malumque  poenas  : 
Te  mi  Tevius  invidere  possit, 
Tu  possis  mihi  Tevium  invidere. 
Ambobus  mihi  si  frui  licebit, 
Coelum  Diis  ego  non  suum  invidebo, 
Sed  sortem  mihi  Dii  meam  invidebunt.d 

Hieronymus  Osorius,  bishop  of  Sylves,  has 
likewise  illustrated  a  portion  of  the  Portuguese 
history  with  more  than  common  elegance.6  He 
was  born  at  Lisbon  in  1 506,  and  died  at  Tavilla 
in  1J80.  At  the  request  of  King  John,  he  had 
taught  theology  in  the  newly-founded  university 
of  Coimbra.  As  a  Ciceronian,  he  stands  unrival- 
led among  his  countrymen  ;  and  in  the  judgment 
of  Metamorus,  may  even  contend  with  Longo- 
lius,  or  any  other  imitator  of  the  Roman  orator.1 
Ascham  was  also  of  opinion  that,  since  the  days 
of  Cicero,  no  author  had  written  with  greater 
purity  and  eloquence  ;s  but  Lord  Bacon,  who 
was  however  a  less  competent  judge  of  style, 
has  characterized  his  vein  of  composition  by 
the  epithet  watery*  The  most  celebrated  of 
his  productions  seem  to  be  his  five  books  De 
Gloria.  This  treatise  bears  the  form  of  a  di- 
alogue ;  and  one  of  the  interlocutors  is  his  ve- 
ry learned   friend  Antonius    Augustinus,    arch- 

d  Buchanani  Hendecasyflabon  liber,  v. 

e  Osorii  de  Rebus  Emmanuelis  Regis  Lusitanix  Invictissimi  Virtute  er 
Auspicio  Ge»tis  libri  duodecim.     Olysippone,  1571,  fol. 
f  Metamorus  de  Academiis  et  Doctis  Viris  HispaniaB,  p.  815. 
8  Aschami  Epistolx,  p.  268. 
h  Bacon  of  the  Advancement  of  Learning,  p.  36. 


101 

bishop  of  Tarragona,  in  whom  Spain  deservedly 
glories  as  a  philologer  and  civilian  of  the  first 
order.1  Osorius  attracted  the  particular  at- 
tention of  English  scholars  by  his  epistle  to 
Queen  Elizabeth,  and  his  subsequent  altercation 
with  Haddon."  This  was  certainly  no  despicable 
antagonist ;  though  Osorius  and  his  zealous  friend 
Manuel  d'Almada1  have  treated  him  with  the 
utmost  contempt.  His  work  De  Justitia  Osorius 
inscribed  to  Cardinal  Pole  ;  who  was  himself  dis- 
tinguished for  the  elegance  of  his  Latinity. 

Gyraldus  has  enumerated  several  of  the  Por- 
tugueze  who  had  cultivated  Latin  poetry  ;  but 
to  Didacus  Pyrrhus,m  who  is  one  of  the  interlo- 
cutors in  his  second  dialogue,  he  assigns  the  su- 
periority over  all  the  rest.0     Hermicus  Caiadus,0 

i  His  edition  of  V^rro  Be  Linguq  Latins  Fabricius  and  other  writers 
have  referred  to  the  year  1557.  .A  copy  in  my  possession  bears  R»m<t 
mpud  Vinccntium  Lucbinum,  1554.   8vo. 

k  Osorii  in  Gualterum  Haddonum  libri  tres.     Olysippone,  1567,  4to. 

1  Epistola  Emmanuciis  Dalmada,  Episcopi  Angrensis,  adversus  Episto- 
lam  Gualteri  Haddoni  contra  Osorii  Epistolam,  nuper  editam.  Antverp. 
1566,  4to. — Haddon's  epistle  to  Osorius,  which  was  published  in  1563, 
occurs  in  the  collection  of  his  Luculr ationts ,  p.  210.  JLond.  1567,  4t0.  He 
afterwards  renewed  the  controversy. 

m  Six  epitaphs  written  by  Pyrrhus  in  Greek  and  Latin,  occur  in  the 
first  volume  of  Le  Clerc's  edition  of  Erasmus. 

n  Gyraldus  de  Poetis  suorum  Temporum,  p.  404. 

0  "  Lusitanos  aliquot  eruditos  novi,  qui  vulgarint  ingenii  sui  speci- 
men :  neminem  novi,  prater  Hermicum  quendam,  in  epigrammatibus 
felicem,  in  oratione  soluta  promptum  ac  facilem,  ad  argutandum  dexter- 
rimas  dicacitatis ;  et  Genesium,  qui  nuper  edito  Roma:  libello,  prajclaram 
de  $e  spem  prxbuit." 

Erasmi  Ciceronianus,  p.  186. 

G  i> 


102 

Georgius  Coelius,p  and  Michael  Sylvius,"  flourish- 
ed during  the  earlier  part  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury ',  and  their  poetical  attempts  were  not  alto- 
gether slighted  by  the  fastidious  scholars  of  Italy. 
Ignatius  Moralis,  LudovicusCrucius,  and  Manuel 
Pimenta,  who  succeeded  them,  were  likewise 
poets  of  a  temporary  reputation.  Crucius  exe- 
cuted a  paraphrase  of  the  psalms  ;r  and  in  the 
preface,  he  has  treated  his  predecessor  Buchanan 
with  abundant  acrimony.  This  is  only  what 
might  have  been  expected  from  a  Portugueze 
Jesuit ;  but  his  own  compositions  are  nearly  con- 
signed to  irremediable  oblivion,  while  those  of  Bu- 
chanan continue  to  resist  the  overwhelming 
stream  of  time.  Achilles  Statius  and  Thomas 
Gorrea  likewise  aspired  to  distinction  as  writers 
of  Latin  verse,  but  they  were  more  conspicuous 
for  their  merit  as  philologers :  the  former,  in  par- 
ticular, is  entitled  to  a  station  among  the  most 
learned  of  his  countrymen. 

Besides  Anthony  Govea,  Portugal  produced  se- 
veral other  civilians.5    The  name  of  Amatus  Lu- 

P  Sadoleti  Epistolae,  p.  CI 2.  Bembi  Epistolae  Familiares,  lib.  vi,  p. 
730.     Clenardi  lipistolse,  p.  244. 

q  This  poet  was  the  son  of  Diego  da  Silva,  count  of  Fortalegre  ;  and 
having  been  educated  for  the  church,  he  rose  to  the  dignity  of  a  cardinal. 
(A.  de  Macedo  Lusitania  Infulata  et  Purpurata,  p.  242.)  He  died  at  Rome 
in  the  year  1556. 

1  Spain,  though  Latin  poetry  was  not  much  cultivated  in  that  coun- 
try, likewise  produced  a  complete  paraphrase  of  the  psalms.  It  was  ex- 
ecuted by  the  famous  Benedietus  Arias  Montanus.      Antverp.  1574,  4to. 

'  Dock  de  Authoritate  Juris  Civilis,  p.  318.      < 


103 

sitanus  is  inserted  in  the  catalogue  of  illustrious 
physicians  ;*  and  Hector  Pintus  who  was  a  pro- 
fessor at  Coimbra,  is  represented  as  a  learned  and 
eloquent  divine."  But  the  most  famous  of  the 
Portugueze  theologians  was  Franciscus  Forerius, 
who  had  distinguished  himself  in  the  council  of 
Trent,  and  who  presided  over  the  Dominican 
monastery  of  Almada  Hill.x  Manuel  Alvarez,  an 
acute  and  learned  Jesuit  born  in  the  island  of 
Madeira,  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  gram- 
marians of  modern  times/  Petrus  Nonius,  a 
native  of  Alcazar  do  Sal,  and  a  professor  in  the 
university  of  Coimbra,  is  denominated  by  Oso- 
rius  the  prince  of  mathematicians ;'  apd  the 
learned  of  various  nations  have  assigned  him  a 
conspicuous  station  among  the  cultivators  of  sci- 
ence. 

Such  was  the  general  state  of  learning  among 
the  Portugueze  during  the  century  which  pro- 
duced George  Buchanan.  In  science  and  in  li- 
terature, that  nation  had  evidently  made  no  in- 
considerable advances ;  and  its  progress  had  only 
been  retarded  by  the  despotism  of  the  state,  and 
by  the  more  intolerable  despotism  of  the  church. 

1  Castellani  Vitae  Illustrium  Medicorum,  p.  24J.  Antv.  1617,  8vo. — 
Gesner  however  represents  him  as  "  homo  temerarius  et  indoctus." 
(EpittoU  Medicinahst   f.  105.) 

u  Schotti  Bibliotheca  Hispanica,  p.524. 

*  Colomesii  Italia  et  Hispania  Orientals,  p.  238. 

y  Walchii  Hist.  Crit.  Linguae  Latin*,  p.  193.     Lipsiae,  1716,  8to. 

7  Osorius  de  Rebus  Gestis  Emmanuelis,  p.  424, 


104 


But  to  a  country  which  fostered  Jesuits  and  the 
inquisition,  the  generous  frame  of  Buchanan'* 
mind  was  ill  adapted.  From  a  passage  in  his  al- 
legorical poem  entitled  Desiderium  Lutetia,  it  may 
be  conjectured  that  after  his  release  from  the  mo- 
nastery, the  universities  of  Coimbra  and  Evora 
were  equally  ambitious  of  retaining  him  as  a 
member. 

Et  me  tympana  docta  ciere  canora  Lycisca, 

Et  me  blanda  Melaenis  amavit,  Iberides  ambee, 

Ambae  florentes  annis,  opibusque  superboe  : 

Et  mihi  dotales  centum  cum  matribus  agnos 

Ipsi  pomisere  patres,  mihi  munera  matres 

Spondebant  clam  multa  :  meum  ncc  munera  pectus, 

Nee  nivei  movere  suis  cum  matribus  agni, 

Nee  quas  blanditias  tenera;  dixere  puellct, 

Nee  quas  delicias  tenerse  fecere  puellcc. 

Quantum  ver  hyemem,  vietum  puer  integer  aevi, 

Ter  viduam  thalamis  virgo  matura  parentem, 

Quam  superat  Durium  Rhodanus,  quam  Sequana  Mundam, 

Lenis  Arar  Sycorim,  L'geris  formosus  Iberum, 

Erancigenas  inter  Ligeris  pulcherrimus  amnes  j 

Tantura  omnes  vincit  nymphas  Amaryllis  Iberas. 

By  these  two  nymphs,  we  are  apparently  to  un- 
derstand Coimbra  and  Evora  ;  as  under  the  per- 

a  Buchanani  Silvac,  iii. — These  rivers,  Luriui,  Munda,  Syttrit,  mdI6t- 
rut,  are  the  Douro,  Mondego,  Segre,  and  Ebro.  Coimbra  is  situated  on 
the  banks  of  Mondego ;  and  the  "  Muses  of  Mondego's  bowers"  are  not 
altogether  unknown  to  the  classical  scholar. 

Et  per  quas  pulchro  sinuosus  flumine  Munda 
Transit,  ubi  virides  excelsa  Conimbrica  campos 
Despicit,  Aonjis  sedes  gratissima  Musis 

Vasconcellus  de  tuo  ex  Ebora  Discessu. 


105 

,  i 

.son  of  Amaryllis  he  exhibits  an  adumbration  of 
his  beloved  Paris.  If  the  poet  had  intended  his 
allusion  for  the  Portuguese  metropolis,  he  would 
not  have  omitted  to  mention  the  Tagus  aurijery 
or  golden  Tajo. 

Buchanan  found  that  his  prospect  of  being 
promoted  by  the  Portugueze  monarch  was  some- 
what precarious ;  and  he  therefore  determined  to 
abandon  a  country  in  which  he  had  experienced 
such  unworthy  treatment.  Having  embarked 
in  a  Candian  vessel  which  he  found  in  the  port  of 
Lisbon,  he  was  safely  conveyed  to  England. 
Here  however  he  did  not  long  remain,  though  he- 
might  have  procured  some  creditable  situation, 
which  he  himself  has  not  particularized.  The 
political  affairs  of  that  nation  bore  a  very  unpro- 
mising aspect ;  and  he  was  therefore  more  anxious 
to  visit  the  accomplished  associates  whom  he  had 
left  in  France.  In  France  he  arrived  about  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1.553.  The  siege  of  Metz 
was  raised  about  the  same  period;  and  at  the 
earnest  request  of  his  friends,  he  composed  a 
poem  on  that  event. b  This  was  a  task  which  he 
undertook  with  considerable  reluctance  :  several 
other  poets,  most  of  whom  were  of  his  acquaint- 
ance, had  already  exercised  their  talents  upon 
the  same  occasion ;  and  he  was  unwilling  to  en- 
ter into  a  competition.     On  this  subject  his  friend 

b  Buchanani  Miscellaneorum  liber,  viii.     Ad  Henrkum  II.  Francix 
Rtgtm  dt  ttluta  urtit  M.tdiomaUUum  Obtidione, 


106 

Melin  de  St.  Gelais  had  written  a  poem,  which 
he  commends  as  erudite  and  elegant.0  St.  Gelais 
was  once  a  tavourite  poet  at  the  French  court  ;d 
and  Buchanan  has  celebrated  him  in  verse  as 
well  as  in  prose. 

Mellinura  patrio  sale  carmina  tingere  jussit, 
Parceret  ut  famse  Musa,  Catulle,  tuse.c 

To  the  French  nation  Buchanan  appears  to 
have  been  strongly  attached ;  and,  in  return, 
they  were  proud  in  regarding  him  as  their  coun- 
tryman by  adoption/  His  sentiments  on  thus 
revisiting  France,  he  has  warmly  expressed  in  a 
poem  composed  on  the  occasion.  It  is  entitled 
Adventus  in  Galliam. 

Jejuna  miserse  tesqua  Lusitaniae, 
Glebaeque  tantum  ferules  penuriae, 
Yalete  longum.     At  tu  beata  Gallia 
Salve,  bonarum  blanda  nutrjx  artium, 
Ccelo  salubri,  fertili  frugum  solo, 
Umbrosa  colles  pampini  melli  coma, 
Pecorosa  saltus,  rigua  valles  fontibus, 

c  Buchanani  Vita,  p.  7. 

«1  Melin  de  St.  Gelais,  say*  Pasquier,  "  produisoit  de  petites  fleurs,  et 
non  fruicts  d'aucune  duree,  c'estoient  des  mignardises  qui  couroient  de 
/ois  a  autres  par  les  mains  des  courtisans  et  dames  de  cour,  qui  luy  estoit  une 
grande  prudence.  Parce  qu'  apres  sa  mort,  on  fit  imprinter  un  recueil  de 
ses  ccuvres,  qui  mourut  presque  aussi  tost  qu'il  vist  le  jour."  (Recbercbet  de 
la  France,  p.  613.)     His  life  occurs  in  Niceron,  torn,  v,  p.  197. 

e  Buchanani  Epigrammatum  lib.  i,  57. 

t  "  In  Levinia  Scotiae  provincia  ad  Blanum  amnem  natus,  sed  adop- 
tione  nostras ;  qualis  Antonius  Goveanus  Lusitanus,  summus  et  ipse  Bu- 
chanani amicus,  dici  et  exist imari  volebat." 

Tuuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis,  torn,  iv,  p.  99. 


107 

Prati  virentis  picta  campos  floribus, 
Velifera  longis  amnium  decursibus, 
Piscosa  stagnis,  rivulis,  lacubus,  mari  j 
Et  hinc  et  illinc  portuoso  littore 
Orbem  receptans  hospitem,  atque  orbl  tuas 
Opes  vicissim  non  avara  impertiens  j 
Amoena  villis,  tuta  muris,  turribus 
Superba,  tectis  lauta,  cultu  splendida, 
Victu  modesta,  moribus  non  aspera, 
Sermone  comis,  patria  gentium  omnium 
Communis,  animi  fida,  pace  florida, 
Jucunda,  facilis,  Marte  terrifico  minax, 
Invicta,  rebus  non  secundis  insolens, 
Nee  sorte  dubia  fracta,  cultrix  numinis 
Sincera,  ikum  in  exterum  non  degener  : 
Nescit  calores  lenis  aestas  torridos, 
Frangit  rigores  bruma  flammis  asperos, 
Non  pestilentis  pallet  Austii  spiritu 
Autumnus  aequis  temperatus  flatibus, 
Non  ver  solutis  amnium  repagulis 
Inundat  agros,  et  labores  eluit. 
Ni  patrio  te  amore  diligam,  et  colam 
Dum  vivo,  rursus  non  recuso  visere 
Jejuna  miserae  tesqua  Lusitaniae, 
Glebasque  tantum  fertiles  penuriae.* 

Of  Buchanan's  attainments  the  French  were 
more  competent  judges  than  the  Portugueze. 
Before  the  reign  of  Francis  the  first,  science  and 
literature  had  indeed  begun  to  revive  ;  but  under 
the  generous  protection  of  that  accomplished 
monarch,   their  progress  was  rapid  and  brilliant.b 

S  Buchanani  Fratres  Fraterrimi,  xxviii. 

h  "  Nam  ut  hujus  optimi  post  homines  natos  principis  caetera  decora, 
tnajore  concipienda  fortassis  ore,  et  nuper  concepta,  omittam,  et  de  Uteris 


108 

Buchanan's  talents  were  not  long  permitted  to 
remain  inactive.  Soon  after  his  return  to  Paris, 
he  was  appointed  a  regent  in  the  College  of  Bon- 
court ;'  and  in  the  year  1555,  he  was  called  from 
that  charge  by  the  celebrated  Comte  de  Brissac, 
who  entertained  him  as  the  domestic  tutor  of  his 
son  Timoleon  de  Cosse.  To  that  warlike  noble- 
man he  addressed  a  very  poetical  ode  after  the 
capture  of  Vercelli,k  an  event,  which  occurred  in 
the  month  of  September  1553  ;  and  on  the  twen- 
ty-eighth of  July  1554,  he  dedicated  to  him  the 
tragedy  of  Jephthes.  Of  the  value  of  such  tri- 
butes the  count  was  not  insensible  :  in  the  dedi- 
cation, Buchanan  acknowledged  himself  already 

potissimum  agam,  qux  mex  partes  sunt,  nullus  unquam  ex  omni  memo- 
ria  omnium  astatum  et  temporum  benignius  et  prolixius  easmuneratus  est. 
Nemo  majora  pramia  constituit  doctrinae  et  eruditioni,  nemo  uberiora  : 
nemo  juventutis  studia  ad  discendum  acrius  inflammavit :  cum  aestima- 
tione  doctrin.x,  non  census  amplitudine,  homines  pendere  soleret,  doctis 
tacerdotia  mandaret,  honores  deferret,  ad  res  gerendas  adhiberet,  benefi- 
ciis  augeret,  omni  liberalitatis  genere  complecteretur." 

Turnebi  Oratio  habita  post  J.  Tusani  Mortem,  p.  29. 

i  His  regency  in  this  college,  as  well  as  in  that  of  Cardinal  le  Moine, 
Buchanan  has  himself  neglected  to  mention.  That  he  taught  in  the  Col- 
lege of  Boncourt  is  evident  from  a  passage  in  a  letter  addressed  to  him 
by  Nicolaus  Nancelius.  "  Specimen  frequens  et  nobile  jam  turn  edidisti, 
cum  inde  ab  annis  circiter  triginta,  tu  Lutetise  in  Becodiano  profitereris, 
ego  eodem  tempore  in  pralio  [lege  Pnrlieo]  (ubi  regii  turn  juvenes  Stuarti 
vestrates  discebant)  sub  Ramo  antesignano,  longe  ea  aetate  eloquentissimo 
et  disertissimo  Romuli  nepotum,  militarem  doceremque."  (Buchanani 
EpistoU,  p.  35.)  The  date  of  this  epistle  is  March  the  fifteenth  1583  ; 
for  Nancelius  had  not  then  heard  of  Bushanan's  death.  He  returned  to 
France  in  1553,  precisely  thirty  years  antecedent  to  that  date. 

k  Buchanani  Miscell.  xxiii.  Ad  Ccrolum  Cossaum  Brixiaci  Dynastam, 
port  eaptat  Vercellas. 


109 

indebted  to  his  politeness  and  to  his  liberality  ;' 
and  their  closer  connexion  ensued  in  the  course 
of  the  subsequent  year.  At  that  period  the  mar- 
shal presided  over  the  French  dominions  in  Italy; 
whither  Buchanan  was  invited  to  attend  his  hope- 
ful pupil.m 

Marshal  de  Erissac  lived  in  a  state  of  princely 
magnificence.  Though  much  of  his  life  had 
been  spent  amidst  the  tumults  of  war,  he  appears 
to  have  been  a  man  of  a  liberal  mind,  and  to 
have  cultivated  an  acquaintance  with  eminent 
scholars.  During  his  campaigns,  he  was  accom- 
panied by  men  of  learning;"  and  the  society 
which  he  now  enjoyed  with  Buchanan,  must  have 
been  productive  of  mutual  satisfaction.  In  the 
preceptor  of  his  son,  he  recognized  a  man  capable 
of  adorning  a  higher  station  ;  and  he  accordingly 

1 ««  Me  autem  absentem,"  says  Buchanan,  "  nee  ulla  alia  re  quam  li- 
terarum  commendatione  tibi  cognitum,  ita  complexus  es  omnibus  huma- 
nitatis  et  liberaiitatis  officiis,  ut  si  quis  ingenii  mei  sit  fructus,  si  qua  vigi- 
liarum  velut  fcetura,  ea  merito  ad-te  redire  debeat." — One  of  his  odes  is 
entitled  De  Amore  Cossai  et  Aretes  ( Mhcell.  iii.) ;  and  he  has  also  written 
the  epitaph  of  his  illustr;ous  friend.    (Epigram,  lib.  ii,  25.) 

m  "  Inde  evocatus  in  Italiam  a  Carolo  CossjeoBrixiacensi,  qui  turn  se- 
cunda  fama  res  in  Iigustico  et  Gallico  circa  Padum  agro  gerebat,  nunc 
in  Italia,  nunc  in  Gallia,  cum  filio  ejus  Timoleonte  quinquennium  haesit, 
usque  ad  annum  millesimum  quingentesimum  sexagesimum."  (Bucbanani 
Vita,  p  7.  Mr.  Ruddiman  is  apparently  mistaken  in  referring  his  new 
engagement  to  the  year  1554.  Buchanan's  connexion  with  Brissac 
continued  five  years,  and  terminated  in  1560:  but  between  1554  and 
1560,  the  space  of  five  complete  years  intervenes.  His  dedication  is  dat- 
ed at  Paris  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  July  1554,  and  contains  no  allusion 
to  any  domestic  connexion  with  the  count. 

n  Buchanani  Pra:f.  in  Jephthen* 


no 

treated  him  with  the  utmost  respect  and  defer- 
ence. He  was  even  accustomed  to  place  him  at 
the  council  board  among  the  principal  officers  of 
his  army.  To  this  singular  honour  Buchanan 
was  not  entitled  from  his  actual  acquaintance 
with  the  theory  or  practice  of  war :  he  had  re- 
commended himself  by  the  intuitive  sagacity  of 
his  comprehensive  mind  ;  and  his  original  admis- 
sion arose  from  a  circumstance  entirely  accident- 
al. He  happened  to  enter  an  apartment  conti- 
guous to  the  hall  in  which  the  marshal  and  his 
officers  were  engaged  in  discussing  some  measure 
of  great  importance  ;  and  on  being  arrested  by 
their  debates,  he  could  not  refrain  from  murmur- 
ing his  disapprobation  of  the  opinion  supported 
by  the  majority.  One  of  the  generals  smiled  at 
so  unexpected  a  salutation  ;  but  the  marshal  hav- 
ing invited  Buchanan  into  the  council,  enjoined 
him  to  deliver  his  sentiments  without  restraint. 
He  accordingly  proceeded  to  discuss  the  question 
with  his  wonted  perspicacity,  and  to  excite  the 
amazement  of  Brissac  and  his  officers.  In  the 
issue,  his  suggestions  were  found  to  have  been 
oracular.0 

°  H.  Stephani  Orationes  II,  p."16S.  Franc.  1594,  8vo. — Menage  has 
related  an  anecdote  of  another  complexion.  "  Bucanan  avoit  e"te"  precep- 
teur  det  enfant  de  M.  de  Brissac.  Comme  il  etoit  un  jour  a  sa  table,  il  lui 
arriva  dans  le  temps  qu'il  mangeoit  du  potage  bien  chaud,  de  laisser  aller 
un  vent  qui  fit  du  bruit :  mais  sans  s'e'tonner,  il  dit  a  ce  vent  qui  e"toit 
sorti  comme  malgr£  lui;  Tu  as  bien  fait  de  sortir,  car  j'allois  te  b  ruler 
tout  vif,    Puiique  la  conversation  est  sur  ce  iu>et,  j«  diray  encore  ce  qui 


Ill 


Buchanan's  pupil  neither  discredited  his  fa- 
ther nor  his  preceptor :  he  was  afterwards  distin- 
guished for  his  bravery,  and  for  his  acquaintance 
with  military  science  ;  and  his  literary  attain- 
ments were  such  as  reflected  honour  on  a  young 
nobleman,  destined  for  the  profession  of  arms.p 
His  career  was  short  and  brilliant ;  at  the  age  of 
twenty-six,  it  was  terminated  by  a  musket-ball  at 
the  siege  of  Mucidan.q  When  committed  to  Bu- 
chanan's tuition,  he  was  about  twelve  years  of 
age.  As  he  was  intended  for  a  military  life,  his 
attention  was  directed  to  other  objects  as  well  as 
to  literature;  and  his  preceptor,  in  the  mean 
time,  found  sufficient  leisure  for  his  favourite 
pursuits.  Many  of  his  hours  were  devoted  to 
the  study  of  theology.  At  that  asra,  religious 
controversy  exercised  the  faculties  of  a  large  pro- 
portion of  mankind  ;  and  he  was  likewise  anxi- 
ous to  place  his  faith  on  the  solid  foundation  of 
reason.  His  poetical  studies  were  not  however 
entirely  neglected.  It  was  apparently  about  this 
period  that  he  conceived  the  design  of  his  philo- 

j'ay  scu  de  M.  de  Racan.  Le  Cardinal  du  Perron  jouant  aux  e*cheta  avec 
Henry  IV.  dans  le  temps  qu'il  pla9oit  un  cavalier,  il  lui  arriva  la  m£me 
chose  qu'  a  Bucanan  en  mangeant  sa  soup.  Le  cardinal  pour  couvrir  cette 
liberty,  dit ;  Au  moins,  Sire,  il  n'est  pas  parti  sans  trompette.  M.  de  Ra- 
can m'a  assure-  qu'il  avoit  entendu  l'un  et  1'autre.  Ces  sorres  d'inconve- 
niens  peuvent  arriver  a  tout  le  monde  dans  les  meilleurs  compagnies,  et 
Ton  ne  devroit  pas  s'en  offenser."    (Menagiana,  torn,  ii,  p.  1 33.) 

P  Brantome,  Vies  des  Hommes  Illustres  et  Grands  Capitaine*  Fran- 
cois de  son  temps,  torn,  iii,  p.  409. 

q  Thuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis,  torn,  ii,  p.  707, 


112 

sophical  poem  Be  Sphcera  ;  which  his  future  avo- 
cations did  not  suffer  him  to  draw  to  a  conclu- 
sion.    It  is  addressed  to  his  interesting  pupil. 

Tu  mihi,  Timoleon,  magni  spes  maxima  patris, 
Nee  patriae  minor,  Aonii  novus  incola  montis, 
Adde  gradum  comes,  et  teneris  assuesce  sub  annis 
Castalidum  nemora  et  sacros  accedere  fontes, 
Nympharumque  choros,  populoque  ignota  profano 
Otia,  nee  damno  nee  avarae  obnoxia  curae. 
Tempus  erit,  cum  tu,  veniat  modo  robur  ab  annis, 
Spumantes  versabis  equos  in  pulvere  belli 
Torvus,  et  in  patriam  assurges  non  degerter  hastam. 
Interea  genitor  Ligurum  sine  fulminet  arces, 
Germanosque  feros  et  amantes  Martis  Iberos 
Consiliis  armisque  premet,  Francisque  tropaeis 
Littora  Phoebaeas  decoret  testantia  flammas.r 

During  the  five  years  of  his  connexion  with 
this  illustrious  family,  Buchanan  alternately  re- 
sided in  Italy  and  France.  In  the  mean  time,  se- 
veral of  his  poetical  works  were  published  at  Pa- 
ris. In  1556  appeared  the  earliest  specimen  of 
his  poetical  paraphrase  of  the  psalms  ;s  and  his 
version  of  the  Alcestis  of  Euripides  was  printed 
in  the  course  of  the  subsequent  year.  This  tra- 
gedy he  dedicated  to  Margaret,  the  daughter  of 
Francis  the  first ;  a  munificent  princess,  whose 
favour  he  seems  to  have  enjoyed/     Nor  was  it 

r  Buchananus  de  Sphxra,  p.  1 14. 
$  Ruddiman's  Vindication  of  Buchanan,  p.  129. 

*  "  Quod  si  audacius,"  says  Buchanan,  "  a  me  factum  videatur,  earn 
tu  potissimum  culpam  prjestes  oportet :  quae  me  tua  auctoritate  ad  scri- 


113 

improper  to  submit  a  Latin  drama  to  her  inspec- 
tion ;  for  with  the  principal  writers  of  that  lan- 
guage she  had  contracted  a  familiar  acquaint- 
ance." Brantome  has  extolled  her  as  a  prodigy 
of  virtue  and  wisdom. x  In  the  fortunes  of  ac- 
complished scholars,  she  interested  herself  with  a 
generous  warmth  ;  and  it  was  to  her  friendly 
zeal  that  the  excellent  De  l'Hospital  was  indebt- 
ed for  his  elevation.  To  this  princess,  who  was 
at  length  married  to  the  duke  of  Savoy,  many  of 
the  chancellor's  poems  are  addressed ;  and  she  is 
likewise  celebrated  by  Salmonius  Macrinus,  and 
by  various  other  authors  of  eminence.  Buchan- 
an's ode  on  the  surrender  of  Calais  was  published 
in  the  year  1558.  The  same  subject  exercised 
the  talents  of  De  l'Hospital,  Turnebus,  and  many 
other  poets. 

His  connexion  with  the  count  terminated  |in 
the  year  1 560,  when  the  flames  of  civil  war  had 
already  seized  the  deluded  nation.  It  was  per- 
haps the  alarming  state  of  France  that  induced 
Buchanan  to  hasten  his  return  to  his  native  coun- 
try. The  precise  period  of  his  return  has  not 
been  ascertained  :  but  it  is  certain  that  he  was  at 
the  Scotish  court  in  January  1562  ;  and  that,  in 
the  month  of  April,  he  was  officiating  as  classical 

bendum  impulisti,  et  in  arenam  productum  omni  favoris  genere  pross- 
queris  et  foves." 

0  Hospitalii  Epistolae,  p.  24.     Gallandii  Vita  Castellani,  p.  43. 

z  Brantome,  Vies  des  Dames  Illustres  de  France  de  son  temps,  p.  322, 

H 


114 

tutor  to  the  queen,  who  was  then  in  the  twen- 
tieth year  of  her  age.  Every  afternoon  she  per 
used  with  Buchanan  a  portion  of  Livy.y  This 
author  is  not  commonly  recommended  to  very 
young  scholars ;  and  indeed  the  study  of  the 
Latin  language  is  known  to  have  occupied  a  con- 
siderable share  of  her  previous  attention.  She; 
had  been  sent  to  France  in  the  sixth  year  of  her 
age,  and  had  acquired  every  accomplishment  that 
could  adorn  her  station.  The  charms  of  her  per- 
son were  so  conspicuous  as  to  place  her  above 
the  most  elegant  of  her  fair  cotemporaries  ;z  and 
the  polish  of  her  mind  corresponded  to  the  na- 
tive elegance  of  her  external  form.  She  was  ac- 
quainted not  only  with  the  Scotish  and  French, 
but  also  with  the  Italian  and  Spanish  languages  i 
and  her  knowledge  of  the  Latin  tongue  was  such 

J  In  a  letter  from  Randolph  to  Cecil,  dated  at  Edinburgh  on  the  thir- 
tieth of  January  1561-2,  the  following  passage  occurs.  "  Ther  is  with 
the  quene  one  called  Mr.  George  Bowhanan,  a  Scottisfie  man,  verie  well. 
lerned,  that  was  schollemaster  unto  Monsr  de  Brisack's  sone,  very  godlye 
and  honest."  On  the  seventh  of  April,  Randolph  wrote  thus  from  St. 
Andrews  to  the  same  statesman :  "  The  queen  readeth  daily  after  her 
dinner,  instructed  by  a  learned  man  Mr.  George  Bowhannan,  somewhat 
of  Lyvie. "       Chalmers's  Life  of  Ruddiman,  p.  3 1 9,  330.) 

2  "  Fcemina,"  says  Julius  Csesar  Bulenger,  "  omnium  sui  sa:culi  cor- 
poris dignitate  rr.axime  Conspicua,  humanitate,  prudentia,  liberalitate,  exi- 
mia,  sed  variis  miseriis  toto  vitas  tempore  exercita."  (Hist,  sui  Temporis, 
p.  252.  Lugd.  IC19,  foL)  On  the  tragical  story  of  this  accomplished 
and  ill-fated  princess,  a  Spanish  author  famous  for  his  prolific  vein  has 
composed  a  poem  in  five  books.  See  Lord  Holland's  elegant  and  animat- 
ed Accwnt  tf  tht  Life  and  Writings  of  Lcpe  de  fega,  p.  87.     Lond.  1806, 

av«. 


115 

as  modern  ladles  have  not  very  often  surpassed.* 
In  the  fourteenth  year  of  her  age,  she  pro- 
nounced before  a  splendid  auditory  of  the 
French  court,  a  Latin  declamation  against  the 
opinion  of  those  who  would  debar  the  female 
sex  from  the  liberal  pursuits  of  science  and  liter- 
ature. This  oration,  which  she  had  herself  com- 
posed, she  afterwards  translated  into  French ; 
but  neither  the  original  nor  the  version  has  ever 
been  published. b  Some  of  her  Italian  and  French 
verses  are  however  preserved.0     Mary  was  un- 

a  "  In  optimis  quiiusque  Europse  Unguis  perdiscendis,"  say3  Georg* 
Con,  "  plurimum  studii  locabat ;  tanta  autem  erat  suavitas  sermonis  Gal- 
lici,  ut  in  eo  facunda  doctissimorum  judicio  haberetur,  nee  Hispanicum 
aut  Italicum  negfexit,  quibus  ad  usum  magis  quam  ad  ostentationem,  aut 
volubilitatem,  utebatur ;  Latinum  intelligeb.it  melius  quam  efferebat ; 
ad  poetices  leporem  plus  a  natura  quam  ab  arte  habuit."  (Vita  Marie 
Stuart*,  p.  15,  apud  Jebb.) 

o  La  Croix  du  Maine,  Bibliotheque  Franchise,  torn,  ii,  p.  90.  Bran- 
tome,  Vies  des  Dames  Illustres  de  France,  p.  114. 

c  Most  of  them  are  collected  by  Mr.  Laing.  ( Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii, 
p. 217.)  Two  of  her  French  poems,  which  have  escaped  the  i<otice  of 
the  learned  historian,  occur  in  a  work  of  Bishop  Lesley.  (Pia  Affihti  A* 
nimi  Consolations,  f.  88,  b.  Paris.  1574,  8vo.  They  are  accompanied 
with  Latin  translations ;  one  of  which  was  executed  by  Adam  Bluck- 
wood.  (Blacvodad  Of  era,  p.  478.,  An  unpublished  French  sonnet  of 
Mary  addressed  to  her  son,  is  preserved  in  the  State-Paper  Office.  From 
the  Diet,  du  Viiux  Langage,  p.  337,  Dr.  Burney  has  quoted  a  chanson  which 
she  is  supposed  to  have  written  on  leaving  Calais.  (Hist,  of  Music,  vol. 
iii,  p.  14 )  But  these  verses  seem  to  be  a  mere  paraphrase  of  the  words 
recorded  by  Brantome.  Bishop  Montague,  in  his  preface  to  the  works 
of  King  James,  informs  us  that  she  "  wrote  a  booke  of  verses  in  French 
of  the  institution  of  a  prince."  The  original  manuscript,  which  was  in 
the  possession  of  her  son,  may  still  be  preserved  in  the  royal  library.  A- 
mong  the  poems  of  Sir  Thomas  Chaloner  occurs  a  "  Translatio  cuorun- 
dam  Carminum  qua:  Gallico  primum  ♦ermone  conscripta,  a  Serenis9im* 

h2 


116 

questionably  entitled  to  the  character  of  a  learn- 
ed princess ;  but  her  subsequent  conduct  rather 
serves  to  confirm  than  to  refute  the  caustic  ob- 
servation of  Muretus.d 

The  a?ra  at  which  Buchanan  finally  returned 
to  his  native  country,  was  highly  important.  Af- 
ter a  violent  struggle  between  the  old  and  the 
new  religion,  the  latter  had  at  length  prevailed  : 
its  doctrines  and  discipline  received  the  sanc- 
tion of  parliament  in  the  year  1560.  For  the 
manly  principles  of  the  reformation  he  had  al- 
ways cherished  a  secret  affection  ;  and  his  attach- 
ment, as  he  candidly  owns,  had  been  confirmed 
by  the  personal  malignity  of  the  grey  friars.c 
As  he  now  resided  in  a  country  where  he  could 
avow  his  sentiments  without  restraint,  he  profess- 

Scotix  Regina  in  mntuae  amicitise  pignus,  una  cum  excellentis  opem  an- 
nulo,  in  quo  insignis  adamas  prominebat,  ad  Serenissimam  AngliJe  Re- 
ginam  Elizabethan*  missa  fuerant."  ( De  Rtp.  Anglorum  Instauranda,  &c. 
p.  353.  Lond.  1579,  4to.)  But  it  is  not  evident,  at  least  from  this  in- 
scription, that  the  original  verses  were  composed  by  the  Scotish  queen. 

d  Mureti  Variae  Lectiones,  lib.  viii,  cap.  xxi.  Mulieres  cruditas  pltrum- 
que  llbidinoias  este.  The  reason  which  he  assigns  ought  not  to  be  admit- 
ted :  "  >feque  minim  :  multas  enim  historias  legunt,  peccare,  ut  ait  Flac- 
cus,  docentes."  The  opinion  of  Grotius  is  more  liberal,  and  perhaps 
more  philosophical. 

Crede  nihil  nostris,  aut  omnia  crede  puellis : 

Lectricis  mores  pagina  nulla  facit. 
Qux  casta  est,  totum  leget  incorrupta  Catullum  : 
Illi  nil  tutum  est  quae  capit,  et  capitur. 

Grotii  Poemata,  p.  251. 
e  "  Et  dum  impotentix  sux  indulgent,  ilium  sponte  sua  sacerdotum 
licentise  infensum  acrius  incendunt,  et  Lutherame  causse  minus  iniquum 
reddunt."     (Buchanani  Vita,  p.  3.) 


117 

ed  himself  a  member  of  the  reformed  church  of 
Scv>tland ;  and  this  accession  to  their  cause  was 
duly  appreciated  by  the  leaders  of  the  party. 
The  earl  of  Murray  was  then  rising  towards  that 
summit  of  power  which  he  afterwards  attained. 
He  was  one  of  the  few  Scotish  nobles  of  the  age 
who  reverenced  literature,  and  patronized  its 
professors/  His  own  education  had  not  been  ne- 
glected ;  he  had  been  committed  to  the  tuition 
of  Ramus,g  who  then  presided  over  the  College 
of  De  Prele  at  Paris.  For  Buchanan  he  soon  pro- 
cured a  station  of  some  dignity  and  importance: 
as  commendator  of  the  priory  of  St.  Andrews,  he 
enjoyed  the  right  of  nominating  the  principal  of 
St.  Leonard's  College  ;  and  a  vacancy  occurring 
about  the  year  I566,h  he  placed  Buchanan  at  the 
head  of  that  seminary.1     The  masterships  of  the 

f  Patrick  Cockburn  is  perhaps  the  earliest  wrker  who  has  celebrated 
his  patronage  of  literature.  "  Accedit  etiam  generosissimi  adolescentis 
Jacobi  Steuardi,  illustrissimi  et  invictissimi  Scotorum  quondam  regis  filii 
inclyti,  regio  plane  ingenio  et  moribu9  praediti,  patroni  ac  Maecenatis  mei 
benignissimi,  seria  et  pia  adhortatio."  f  De  Vulgari  Sacm  Sciptur*  Pbrati 
libri  duo,  f.  2.  Paris.  155S,  8vo.)  This  work  is  dedicated  to  James 
Stewart. 

i  Turneri  Maria  Stuarta  Ionocens,  p.  13,  edit.  Colon.  1627,  8vo. 

h  Sibbaldi  Comment,  in  Vitam  Buchanani,  p.  65. 

i  It  appears  from  the  original  statutes,  as  quoted  by  Mr.  Man,  that 
the  right  of  nominating  the  principal  of  St.  Leonard's  College  was  per- 
petually vested  in  the  prior  of  St.  Andrews.  (Censure  of  Ruddiman,  p. 
94.)  And  at  the  time  of  Buchanan's  appointment,  the  priorship  was  held 
by  his  patron  the  earl  of  Murray.  In  the  act  of  privy  council  respecting 
his  resignation  of  the  principality,  and  appointment  to  the  office  of  pre- 
ceptor to  the  king,  the  subsequent  clause  occurs.  "  Albeit  the  present- 
ation, nomination,  and  admission  of  the  master  of  the  said  colledge  per- 

.H3 


118 

Scotish  colleges  are  generally  conferred  on  eccle- 
siastics :  this  practice  does  not  however,  in  each 
instance,  result  from  the  fundamental  statutes, 
but  from  the  influence  of  established  modes.  It 
has  indeed  been  asserted  that  Buchanan  was  not 
a  mere  layman,  but  a  doctor  and  professor  of  di- 
vinity.'' This  supposition  is  evidently  devoid  of 
foundation;  and  its  author  ought  to  have  recol- 
lected the  distinction  between  doctors  by  ofticc, 
and  doctors  by  faculty  )  The  tenure  of  his  ap- 
pointment would  seem  to  have  imposed  the  task 
of  delivering  occasional  lectures  on  theology; 
and  the  skill  with  which  he  discussed  the  subject 
of  prophetic  inspiration  is  commemorated  in  the 
unpublished  history  of  Calderwood.ra  The  theo- 
logical prelections  of  a  gay  and  satirical  poet 
must  have  excited  no  ordinary  curiosity.  Bu- 
chanan was  a  man   of  universal  talent ;  and  the 

Mined  of  old  to  the  prior  of  St.  Andrews,  yet  the  same  right  and  patron- 
age presently  appertains  to  our  sovereign  lord,  as  well  by  reason  of  the 
raws  of  the  realm,  as  because  the  priory  of  St.  Andrews  presently  vaiks 
destitute  of  a  prior  or  commendatar."  Here  the  expression  is  somewhat 
incorrect ;  hut  the  sense  evidently  is,  that  the  right  of  presentation  then 
belonged  to  the  king,  merely  because  the  priorship  was  vacant.  «  By 
reason  of  the  laws  of  the  realm,"  that  right  reverted  to  the  crown  in  case 
of  such  a  vacancy. 

k  Man's  Censure  of  Ruddiman,  p.  94. 

I  ««  Doctores  igitur,"  says  the  learned  Dr.  Forbes,  "  scholastici,  sive 
ecclesiasti-i,  prout  a  parochiarum  pastonbus  distinguuntur,  duorum  sunt 
gene  uii       Alii  sunt  doctores  officio,  nempe,  publici  professores:  alii  sunt 
doctores  facultate.     (Foibesii  Irniuum  Amatoribus   Veritatis  it  Path  in  £i 
cltiia  Scoticana,  p.  305.     Aberdonia-,   IG'29,  4  to.) 

m  Man's  Censure  of  Ruddiman,  p.  95. 


119 

^tudy  of  theology  had  recently  occupied  a  con- 
siderable share  of  his  attention. 

On  his  return  to  Scotland,  he  determined  to 
publish  in  a  correct  manner,  the  poetical  works 
which  he  had  composed  at  many  different  periods 
of  his  variegated  life.  His  paraphrase  of  eighteen 
psalms  had  already  appeared  as  a  specimen  ;  and 
the  whole  version  having  received  the  polish  of 
His  masterly  hand,  he  committed  it  to  H.  Ste- 
phanus.  That  famous  printer  is  represented  as 
having  long  deferred  the  impression  ;  and  it  is  at 
least  certain  that  the  manuscript  was  in  his  cus- 
tody so  early  as  the  year  15G2.n  Its  suppression 
might  be  imputed  to  various  causes ;  but  accord- 
ing to  the  very  learned  Hadrianus  Junius,  he  had 
protracted  the  edition  with  the  secret  view  of 
claiming  this  version  as  his  own,  in  the  event  of 
Buchanan's  decease.0  IVJany  circumstances  ren- 
der this  supposition  highly  improbable ;  and  it 
must  be  recollected  that  Junius  regarded  with 
manifest  hostility,  the  man  to  whom  he  imputes 
so  flagitious  a  scheme.  The  date  of  this  first 
complete  edition  is  uncertain ;  for  it  has  been 
absurdly  omitted  in  the  book  itself. p  It  was 
printed  by    Henricus  Stephanus    and    his   bro- 

n  Maittaire,  Historia  Stephanorum,  p.  256. 

°  Junii  Animadversa,  p.  390,  edit.  Roter.  1708,  8vo. 

P  Psalmorum  Davidis  Paraphrasis  Poetica,  nunc  primum  edita,  authorc 
(ieorgio  Buchanano,  Scoto,  poetarum  nostri  sruculi  facile  principe.  Ejus- 
detn  Davidis  Psalmi  aliquot  a  Theodoro  Beza  Vezelio  versi.  Psalmi  ali- 
quot in  versus  item  Gnecos  nuper  a  diverts  translati.  Apud  Henricum 
Stepbanum,et  ejus  fratrtm  Robert  urn  Stiphanvm,  typ*graphum  trgtum.      Ex  pri- 


120 

ther  Robertus.  In  the  year  1566  they  publish- 
ed a  second  edition,  which  includes  the  author's 
tragedy  of  Jephthes.  Buchanan,  in  the  title- 
page  of  both  impressions,  is  styled  "  Poetarum 
nostri  saeculi  facile  princeps :"  and  his  paraphrase 
was  recommended  to  the  learned  world  by  the 
poetical  encomiums  of  several  respectable  schol- 
ars ;  by  the  Greek  verses  of  H.  Stephanus,  Fran- 
ciscus  Portus,  and  Federicus  Jamotius,  and  by 
the  Latin  verses  of  Stephanus  and  Castelvetro. 
The  name  of  Jamotius  is  not  so  familiar  to  learn- 
ed ears,  but  he  was  a  man  of  considerable  erudi- 
tion. He  was  a  native  of  Bethune  in  Artois,  and 
by  profession  a  physician.q     Castelvetro,  an  Ita- 

vilegio  regis.  8vo. — The  subsequent  editions  are  very  numerous ;  but  I 
shall  only  mention  some  of  the  more  remarkable.  The  earliest  commen- 
tator on  this  work  was  Nathan  Chytraeus;  who  published  an  edition  with 
scholia  adapted  to  the  use  of  younger  students.  Francof.  1585,  12mo. 
That  of  Alexander  Yule,  or  Julius,  is  illustrated  with  an  ecphrasis,  which' 
had  been  partly  sketched  by  Buchanp.n  himself.  Lond.  1620,  8vo.  But 
the  best  edition  of  Buchanan's  paraphrase  is  that  published  by  Robert 
Hunter,  professor  of  Greek  at  Edinburgh,  and  John  Love,  master  of 
the  grammar  school  of  Dalkeith.  Edinb.  1737,  8vo.  It  is  neatly  and 
correctly  printed  by  die  Ruddimans ;  and  beside  the  notes  of  the  as- 
sociated editors,  it  contains  the  illustrations  of  Chytraeus,  Yule,  Ruddi- 
man,  and  Burman.  Andrew  Waddel,  A.  M.  prepared  for  publication 
"  G.  Buchanan's  Paraphrase  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  translated  into  Eng- 
lish prose,  as  near  the  original  as  the  different  idioms  of  the  Latin  and 
English  languages  ^vill  allow  :  with  the  Latin  text  and  order  of  construc- 
tion in  the  same  page."     Edinb.  1772, 8vo. 

q  Andreae  Bibliotheca  Belgica,  p.  216,  edit.  Lovan.  1643,  4to. — Among 
other  works,  Jamotius  published  the  fo'.lowing.  "  Varia  Poemata  Grseca 
ft  Latina."  Antverp.  1593,  4to.  "  Galeni  Paraphrasis  in  Menodoti 
Exhortationem  ad  Liberalium  Artium  Studia,  Annotationibus  illustrata." 
Lutetiae,  1583,  4to.  He  also  published  an  edition  of  Tryphiodorus,  »C« 
rompanied  with  a  poetical  translation,  and  with  notes. 


121 


lian  critic  of  high  reputation,  is  still  regarded  ai 
one  of  the  most  subtle  commentators  on  Aris- 
totle's poetics/  Of  Buchanan's  superlative  ge- 
nius, Stephanus  was  a  zealous  admirer  :  it  was  he 
who  conferred  upon  him  the  appellation  of  chief 
poet  of  the  age  ;  and  this  honourable  title  was  af- 
terwards recognized  by  the  scholars  of  France,  Ita- 
ly, Germany,  and  other  countries.5  Of  this  cele- 
brated printer,  it  may  safely  be  affirmed  that  he 
was  at  least  as  much  inclined  to  censure  as  to  com- 
mend :  his  cotemporary  Joseph  Scaliger,  though 
very  willing  to  applaud  his  erudition,  has  cha- 
racterized him  as  a  man  of  an  arrogant  and  mo- 
rose temper ;  and  even  his  son-in-law,  the  can- 
did and  amiable  Casaubon,  however  anxious  he 
might  be  to  conceal  his  infirmities,  has  occasion- 
ally mentioned  him  in  terms  of  similar  import. 
The  erudition  of  Stephanus  was  however  exten- 
sive and  profound  ;  insomuch  that  he  is  justly 
regarded  as  the  most  learned  printer  who  has  yet 
appeared.  He  was  one  of  the  best  Grecians  of 
that  laborious  age  ;  and  was  eminently  skilled  in 
the  Latin  as  well  as  in  his  vernacular  language. 

r  Castelvetro,  says  Dr.  Bentley,  "  was  one  of  the  most  iingenious  and 
judicious  and  learned  writers  of  his  age ;  and  his  books  have  at  this  pre- 
sent such  a  mighty  reputation,  that  they  are  sold  for  their  weight  in  sil- 
ver in  most  countries  of  Europe."  (Dissertation  upon  Pbalaris,  p.  cii.) 
The  life  of  Castelvetro,  written  by  Muratori,  it  published  with  the  col- 
lection  of  his  Opere  Crithbe.  Berna,  1727,  4to.  It  is  likewise  prefix- 
ed to  the  magnificent  edition  of  Le  Aims  del  Pitrarca  brevementt  esposte  per- 
Lodovico  Castelvetro,  printed  at  Venice  in  the  year  1756  in  two  volumes 
quarto. 

5  H.  Stephani  Orationes  II,  p.  1,64. 


122 

The  Greek  tongue  he  studied  before  the  Latin  ; 
and  this  unusual  method  he  afterv\ards  recom- 
mended as  the  most  eligible/  The  services 
which  he  rendered  to  the  cause  of  literature 
were  such  as  entitle  him  to  perpetual  gratitude  : 
before  his  time,  Greek  books  were  extremely 
rare ;  and  the  numerous  editions  which  proceed- 
ed from  his  press,  are  generally  distinguished  for 
their  correctness  and  elegance.  Of  his  own  com  - 
positions  it  is  more  difficult  to  speak.  By  his 
Thesaurus  Lingua  Grace?,  as  well  as  by  some  of 
his  philological  annotations,  he  undoubtedly  ren- 
dered essential  service  to  classical  learning  ;  but 
his  efforts  at  a  higher  species  of  excellence  are 
for  the  most  part  attended  with  very  indifferent 
success.  He  produced  an  infinite  number  of 
little  works,  which  certainly  display  but  a  slender 
share  of  judgment.  Among  other  critical  lucu- 
brations, he  published  a  dissertation  De  Criticis 
Veteribus  Gracis  et  Latinis  ;u  and  on  such  a  sub- 
ject,  a  curious  and   interesting   treatise   might 

f  Estienne,  Traicte  de  la  Conformity  du  Langage  Frangois  avec  Ie 
Orec,  pref.  Paris,  1569,  8vo. — The  same  method  of  study  is  strenuously 
recommended  by  Dr  Sharpe.  "  Hence  it  should  seem  more  natural  to 
begin  with  Greek  than  with  Latin ;  to  descend  with  the  stream  than  to 
strive  against  it.  The  Latin  is  derived  from  the  Greek,  and  the  know- 
ledge of  the  latter  is  a  proper  introduction  to  that  of  the  former  :  it  is  to 
begin  aright,  entering  the  house  by  the  door  ;  nor  would  it  be  less  pre- 
posterous to  learn  a  corollary  before  you  learn  the  theorem  from  which 
it  is  deduced,  than  to  learn  Latin,  which  is  the  offspring  of  the  ^olic 
dialect,  before  you  have  learned  Greek."  (Origin  and  Structure  of  th^ 
Greek  Tengue,f.  10,  edit.  Lond.  1777,  8vo.) 

u  Parisiis,  1587, 4ta 


123 

nave  been  expected  from  so  learned  a  man :  this 
dissertation  however  is  sufficiently  trifling  and 
jejune.  Another  book  he  has  professedly  writ- 
ten on  the  Latinity  of  Lipsius ;  but  a  great  part 
of  it  is  occupied  with  considerations  respecting  a 
war  with  the  Turks.  This,  says  Scaliger,  ap- 
peared so  ridiculous,  that  some  person  proposed 
to  entitle  it  "  De  Lipsii  Latinitate  adversus  Tur- 
cam."  He  was  judiciously  advised  by  Thuanus 
and  by  P.  Pithoeus  to  restrict  himself  to  the  pub- 
lication of  ancient  authors  ;*  a  plan  by  which  he 
would  have  contributed  more  effectually  to  the 
advancement  of  learning. 

Stephanus,  who  was  ambitious  of  universal  ex- 
cellence, might  perhaps  expect  to  obtain  the 
same  preeminence  among  the  Greek,  as  was  due 
to  Buchanan  among  the  Latin  paraphrasts  of  the 
psalms.  But,  like  his  countryman  Serranus,  he 
did  not  complete  the  version  of  which  he  pub- 
lished a  specimen.  A  Greek  translation  had 
formerly  been  exhibited  by  Apollinarius ;  and  at 
a  more  recent  aera,  others  were  executed  with 
different  degrees  of  success  by  iEmilius  Portus, 
Petavius,  and  Duport.  The  Latin  versions 
amount  to  a  very  large  number ;  and  by  every 
competent  and  impartial  judge,  the  superiority 
has  always  been  awarded  to  Buchanan/    In  this 

x  Vavassor  de  Epigrammate,  p.  201. 

y  The  subsequent  lines  occur  in  a  little  poem  of  Barlaus,  prefixed  to  a 
harsh  and  inelegant  version  of  the  psalms  by  Jer.  Hoelzlin,  professor  of 
Greek  in  the  university  of  Ley  den.    Lugd.  Bat.  1630,  8vo. 


124 

renowned  work,  he  has  employed  no  fewer  than 
twenty-nine  varieties  of  metre ;  and  each  of 
them  with  the  utmost  propriety  and  skill.  The 
adaptation  of  the  measures,  the  harmony  of  the 
verse,  the  elegance  and  purity  of  the  diction,  the 
pious  and  dignified  strain  of  the  phraseology, 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  secure  a  high  re- 
puration  independent  of  his  original  composi- 
tions. This  production  indeed  displays  all  the 
spirit  and  freedom  of  an  original :  the  poet  seems 
unfettered  by  the  necessity  of  adhering  to  a  pre- 
scribed train  of  thought ;  and  he  often  rises  to 
all  the  enthusiasm  and  sublimity  of  his  divine 
prototype.  His  version  of  the  hundred  and 
fourth  psalm  might  alone  have  conferred  upon 
him  the  character  of  a  poet.z  The  next  in  me- 
rit is  perhaps  the  hundred  and  thirty-seventh ; 
which  he  has  clothed  in  elegiac  verse  that  has 
seldom  or  ever  been  surpassed.  His  work  is  pro- 
fessedly a  paraphrase  ;  and  indeed  it  would  be 
impossible  to  execute  a   strict  translation   with 

Jessxi  numeros,  et  sacri  carmina  vatis, 

Et  quondam  profugi  nobile  regis  opus, 
Otia  sceptrorum,  facilesque  in  vota  tiaras, 

Aptavit  fidibus  Scotia  docta  suis  ; 
Et  cecinit  seris  victura  poemata  seclis, 
Qualia  majestas  postulet  ipsa  Dei. 
z  Several  other  Scotish  poets  have  attempted  to  rival  this  exquisite  ver^ 
sion.     See  a  collection  entitled    Octufla ;  hoc  est  octo  Paraphrases  Poetics 
Psalms  civ,  Autboribus  totidcm  Scotis.    Edinb.  1696,  8vo.     This  collection 
also  includes  the  critical  tracts  of  Dr.  Barclay  and  Dr.  Eglisham.     Lau- 
der has  reprinted  the  prose  as  well  as  the  verse,  in  his  Poetarum  Seotqrum 
Muse  Sacr*.     Edinb.  1739,  2  tom.  8vo. 


125 

any  degree  of  elegance.  That  he  has  frequently 
dilated  the  original  thought,  is  sufficiently  evi- 
dent ;  but  no  translator  has  been  more  successful 
in  retaining  the  spirit  and  essence.  It  is  not  cer- 
tain that  Buchanan  was  intimately  acquainted 
with  the  Hebrew  language ;  but  he  must  have 
consulted  with  diligence  the  principal  commen- 
tators on  the  book  of  psalms.  He  is  reported  to 
have  enjoyed  the  particular  friendship  of  Fran- 
ciscus  Vatablus ;  and  to  have  derived  from  that 
famous  professor  some  more  curious  elucidations 
of  the  Hebrew  text.* 

From  his  admirable  version,  he  has  carefully 
excluded  such  expressions  as  are  strictly  and 
solely  applicable  to  subjects  of  classical  mytho- 
logy ;  but  as  he  had  adopted  a  classical  language, 
it  would  have  been  utterly  impossible  to  exclude 
every  word  or  phrase,  capable  of  suggesting  the 
mythological  allusions  of  his  Pagan  predecessors. 
The  ancient  Pagans  often  addressed  Jupiter, 
whom  they  regarded  as  the  supreme  being,  in  a 
strain  of  phraseology  which  may  reverently  be 
applied  to  the  true  God;b  and  sometimes  per- 

a  "  Doctlssimus  poeta,"  says  Dr.  Barclay,  "  sequutus  Francisci  Vatab- 
li  psalmorum  interpretationem ;  quem  Parisiis  Hebraicse  linguse  pro- 
fessorem  habuit  summe  amicum  et  familiarem.  Itaque  consulebat  curiose 
fontes  ipsos,  et  linguam  qua  psalmos  cecinit  tepus  propbeta.  Unde  dedu- 
cit  aliquando  plus  sententix  quam  apparaat  in  vulgaris  editionibus." 
(Judicium  de  Certamine  Eglisemmii,  p.  1 4.) 

b  "  Et  qui  Jovem  principem  volunt,"  says  Minucius  Felix,  "  fallunt- 
ur  in  nomine,  sed  de  una  potestate  consentium."  (Qctavius,  p.  145,  edit. 
Ouzelii,  1672.} 


126 


haps  a  Christian  could  not  select  words  more  suit- 
able to  the  devotional  ideas  that  may  arise  in  his 
mind.  When  he  writes  in  a  language  which 
derives  its  vital  principles  from  a  people  whose 
objects  of  worship  were  fictitious,  he  cannot  ex- 
press himself  without  employing  words  originally 
appropriated  by  mythology  :  the  boundaries  of 
speech  are  already  ascertained,  and  the  only  ex- 
pedient that  remains  is  a  happy  and  judicious 
adaptation.  Buchanan  has  however  been  cen- 
sured by  a  late  writer.  *'  In  the  translation  of  a 
psalm,"  says  Lord  Woodhouselee,  "  we  are 
shocked  when  we  find  the  almighty  addressed 
by  the  epithets  of  a  heathen  divinity,  and  his 
attributes  celebrated  in  the  language  and  allu- 
sions proper  to  the  Pagan  mythology.  . .  .In  the 
entire  translation  of  the  psalms  by  Johnston,  we 
do  not  find  a  single  instance  of  similar  impro- 
priety. And  in  the  admirable  version  by  Buchan- 
an, there  are  (to  my  knowledge)  only  two  pass- 
ages which  are  censurable  on  that  account.  The 
one  is  the  beginning  of  the  ivth  psalm  : 

O  pater,  O  hominum  divumque  aeterna  potestas ! 

which  is  the  first  line  of  the  speech  of  Venus  to 
Jupiter,  in  the  10th  iEneid :  and  the  other  is 
the  beginning  of  psalm  lxxxii,  where  two  entire 
lines,  with  the  change  of  one  syllable,  are  bor- 
rowed from  Horace : 

Regum  timendorum  in  proprios  greges, 
Reges  in  ipsos  imperium  est  Jov* . 


127 

In  the  latter  example,  the  poet  probably  judged 
that  the  change  of  Jovis  into  Jovte  removed  all 
objection ;  and  Ruddiman  has  attempted  to  vin- 
dicate the  divum  of  the  former  passage,  by  ap- 
plying it  to  saints  or  angels  :c  but  allowing  there 
were  sufficient  apology  for  both  these  words,  the 
impropriety  still  remains ;  for  the  associated 
ideas  present  themselves  immediately  to  the 
mind,  and  we  are  justly  offended  with  the  liter- 
al adoption  of  an  address  to  Jupiter  in  a  hymn 
to  the  creator."d  Whatever  may  be  the  general 
effect  of  the  two  passages,  it  may  at  least  be  af- 
firmed that  those  particular  words  are  employed 
without  any  degree  of  impropriety.  In  the  ori- 
ginal scriptures,  the  angels  are  repeatedly  de- 
nominated gods :  and  Jova  is  manifestly  the  te- 
tragrammaton  of  the  Hebrews,  or  that  name  of 
the  supreme  being  which  consists  of  four  letters.0 
To  insert  the  word  Jehovah  in  the  translation  of 
a  psalm,  certainly  cannot  be  deemed  reprehens- 
ible/ 

Some  feeble  attempts  have  been  made  to  dis- 

c  Ruddiman's  Vindication  of  Buchanan,  p.  161. 

J  Woodhouselee's  Principles  of  Translation,  p.  254. 

e  Drusii  Observationes  Sacra,  p.  6. 

f  Dr.  Pitcairne  commences  his  version  of  the  hundred  and  fourth  psalm 
with  the  following  line. 

Dexteram  invictam  canimus  Jovamque. 
This  genuine  reading  occurs  in  the  Octupla,  which  was  published  during 
the  .lietime  of  Dr.  Pitcairne.    Ruddiman  and  Lauder  have  very  impro- 
perly substituted  Jovem. 


128 

possess  Buchanan  of  his  high  preeminence  in  this 
department.  Dr.  Eglisham  had  the  vanity  to 
suppose  himself  capable  of  executing  a  para- 
phrase, superior  to  that  of  his  illustrious  coun- 
tryman ;  and  was  even  so  infatuated  as  to  exhibit 
a  version  of  the  hundred  and  fourth  psalm  in 
contrast  with  his.  On  Buchanan's  translation  of 
that  psalm,  he  at  the  same  time  published  a  fu- 
rious criticism ;  which  he  concludes  very  com- 
placently, by  submitting  his  lucubrations  to  the 
judgment  of  the  university  of  Paris.  His  fever  of 
vanity  was  however  expelled,  and  by  a  very  vio- 
lent remedy.  Dr.  Johnston,  who  was  aware 
that  the  reputation  of  his  native  land  was  closely 
connected  with  that  of  Buchanan,6  exposed  the 
phrensy  of  Eglisham  in  a  galling  satire ;  and 
Dr.  Barclay,  another  learned  physician,  refuted 
his  captious  criticisms,  and  exposed  the  puerility 
of  the  version  which  he  had  exhibited  in  so  ha- 
zardous a  position. 

Arthur  Johnston  was  one  of  the  best  Latin 
poets  of  the  age  in  which  he  flourished.  His 
original  compositions  are  distinguished  by  a  spi- 
rit of  classical  elegance ;  and  he  has  executed  a 
complete  paraphrase  of  the  psalms',  which  is  re- 
garded as  superior  to  that  of  every  other  poet 

t  Si  qua  Caledonio  facta  est  injuria  vati, 
Scotia,  te,  regem  tangit  et  ilia  tuum. 
Te  penes  iilius  sunt  incunabula,  ab  illo 
Parva  licet,  magnum,  Scotia,  nomen  habes. 

Jonstoni  Hypermorus  Medicaster. 


129 

except  Buchanan.  Of  Buchanan's  superiority 
he  professes  to  have  been  abundantly  aware  ;  but 
some  of  his  fervent  admirers  have  attempted  to 
elevate  him  "  above  all  Greek,  above  all  Roman 
tame."  Lauder,  a  man  notorious  for  his  impos- 
tures, was  the  first  who  endeavoured  to  establish 
Johnston's  reputation  on  the  ruin  of  Buchanan's; 
and  his  project  found  an  immediate  abettor  in 
Mr.  Bensonv  an  English  gentleman  of  some  small 
scholarship,  and  of  more  than  sufficient  confi* 
dence  in  his  own  powers.  Buchanan's  defence 
against  Lauder  was  undertaken  by  Mr.  Love  f 
against  Benson,  by  Mr.  Ruddiman,  a  more  for- 
midable antagonist.  Not  satisfied  with  over- 
whelming Johnston  with  hyperbolical  praise, 
Mr.  Benson  had  laboured  to  prove  that  Buchan- 
an's paraphrase  is  unworthy  of  the  commenda- 
tion which  it  has  received  :  but  his  magisterial 
and  shallow  criticisms  were  most  completely  ex- 
posed by  that  excellent  grammarian  ;  whose  ela- 
borate performance,  though  perhaps  somewhat 
deficient  in  compression,  may  still  be  recom- 
mended for  its  intrinsic  value. 

The  elegant  and  melodious  version  of  John- 
ston is  almost  entirely  restricted  to  the  elegiac 
measure,  in  which  he  had  attained  to  great  pro- 

£  The  controversy  between  Lauder  and  Love  produced  many  pam- 
phlets ;  but  the  only  one  that  I  have  seen  is  the  first  part  of  Lauder's  Ca- 
lumny Display  d.  Of  that  work  there  are  at  least  other  two  parts.  In  tht 
catalogue  subjoined  to  this  volume,  1  have  mentioned  Love's  companion 
of  Buchanan  and  Johnston  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Chalmers,  p.  137. 

I 


130 

ficiency.  In  the  hundred  and  nineteenth  psalm 
alone,  h,;>  metre  is  varied;  and  each  stanza  is  ex- 
hibited in  a  new  species  of  verse.  Buchanan's 
plan  of  varying  the  measure  according  to  the 
characteristics  of  the  poem,  was  evidently  more 
eligible  to  a  writer  who  possessed  such  versatility 
of  talent.  His  friend  Beza  has  likewise  adopted 
a  variety  of  metres ;  but  he  has  not  perhaps  se- 
lected them  with  equal  judgment. 

Sir  Thomas  Hope,  who  was  king's  advocate 
from  1626  till  1641,  and  who  is  well  known  to 
Scotish  lawyers,  mu-t  also  be  commemorated 
among  the  Scotish  poets  who  have  executed  La- 
tin paraphrases  of  this  sacred  book.  His  ver- 
sion still  remains  in  manuscript ;  and  its  merit  is 
not  perhaps  sufficient  to  render  its  publication 
an  object  of  much  solicitude. h 

Buchanan's  paraphrase  continues  to  be  read  in 
the  principal  schools  of  Scotland,  and  perhaps  in 
those  of  some  other  countries.  Lauder's  attempt 
to  supplant  it  by  that  of  Johnston  proved  unsuc- 
cessful. During  the  lifetime  of  Buchanan,  it 
had  begun  to  be  introduced  into  the  schools  of 
Germany ;  and  its  various  measures  had  been 
accommodated  to  appropriate  melodies,  for  the 
purpose  of  being  chanted  by  academics.'     Pope 

h  Hope's  version  of  the  hundred  and  fourth  psalm  may  be  found  in 
Lauder's  Poetarum  Scotorum  Must*  Sacrx,  torn,  ii,  p.  xxvi.  To  this  famous 
lawyer  Johnston  has  addressed  one  of  his  epigrams.  (Jonstoni  Poemata, 
p,  374.     Middelb.  Zeland  1642,  16to.) 

i  Nathanis  Lbytrxi  prxf.  in  Collectanea  in  Buchanani  Paraphrasin  Psal- 


131 

Urban  the  eighth,  himself  a  poet  of  no  mean  ta- 
lents, is  said  to  have  averred  that  "  'twas  pity  it 
was  written  by  so  great  a  heretic,  for  otherwise 
it  should  have  been  sung  in  all  churches  under 
his  authority." k  The  famous  Bishop  Bedell  "  lov- 
ed it  beyond  all  other  Latin  poetry;"1  and  Ni- 
colas Bourbon,  who  was  himself  a  poet  of  consi- 
derable celebrity,  declared  that  he  would  rather 
have  been  the  author  of  this  paraphrase  than 
archbishop  of  Paris.m 

When  Buchanan  consigned  his  psalms  to  the 
printer,  he  was  probably  engaged  in  superintend- 
ing the  classical  studies  of  Queen  Mary  ;  and  to 
that  most  accomplished  and  hopeful  princess,  he 
gratefully  inscribed  a  work  destined  for  immor- 
tality. His  dedication  has  received,  and  indeed 
is  entitled  to  the  highest  commendation  for  its 
terseness,  compression,  and  delicacy. 

Nympha,  Caledoniae  quce  nunc  feliciter  or* 
Missa  per  innumeros  sceptra  tueris  avos  j 

Quae  sortem  antevenis  mentis,  virtutibus  annos, 
Sexum  animis,  morum  nobilitate  genus, 

morum. — The  edition  of  Chytraus,  which  has  frequently  been  reprinted, 
is  accompanied  with  the  music.  Dempster  mentions  an  earlier  edi- 
tion of  Buchanan's  psalms,  "  quos  musicis  legibus  accommodavit  Jo.  Servi- 
anus,  et  edidit  Lugduni  anno  m.d.lxxix."  (Hist.  Ecclesiast.  Gent.  Scotor. 
p.  109.) 

k  Sir  John  Denham's  preface  to  his  Version  of  the  Psalms.  Lond. 
1714,  8vo. 

1  Burnet's  Life  of  Bishop  Bedell,  p.  77.     Lond.  1685,  8vo. 

i*  Menage,  Observations  sur  les  Poesies  de  M.  de  Malherbe,  p.  995. 

j2 


132 

Accipc  (sed  facilis)  cultu  donata  Latino 

Carmina,  fatidici  nobile  regis  opus. 
Ilia  quidem  Cirrha  procul  et  Permesside  lympha, 

Pene  sub  Arctoi  sidere  nata  poli  : 
Non  tamen  ausus  eram  male  natum  exponere  foetum," 

Ne  mihi  displiceant  quae  placuere  tibi.° 
Nam  quod  ab  ingenio  domini  sperare  nequibant, 

Debebunt  genio  forsitan  ilia  tuo.fr 

Buchanan  recommended  himself  to  the  queen 
by  other  poetical  tributes.  One  of  his  most 
beautiful  productions  is  the  epithalamium  which 
he  composed  on  her  first  nuptials. q  This  attrac- 
tive subject  had  also  excited  the  poetical  talents 
of  De  PHospital  and  Turnebus ;  but  the  rival 
composition  of  Buchanan  displays  a  fertility  of 
fancy,  and  a  felicity  of  diction,  which  preclude 
all  comparison.  His  encomium  on  his  native 
land  it  would  be  unpardonable  to  overlook. 

Ilia  rpharetratis  est  propria  gloria  Scotis, 
Cingere  Venatu  saltus,  superare  natando 

n  This  verse  is  sometimes  misunderstood.  It  evidently  allude*  to  the 
practice  of  exposing  deformed  or  sickly  infants.  "  I  durst  not  however 
expose  my  unpromising  offspring." 

0  Invideo  Pisis,  Laurenti,  nee  tamen  odi, 
Ne  mihi  displiceat  quse  tibi  terra  placet. 

Politiani  Opera,  sig.  gg.  5.  Venet.  1498,  fol. 
V  This  famous  epigram  is  imitated  by  Johnston  in  the  dedication  o£ 
his  psalms,  and  by  Dempster  in  that  of  his  Latin  version  of  Montgomery 't 
Cberrie  and  Stat- 

*>  Buchanani  Silvae,  iv. 

r  "  Nostra  autem  astate,"  says  Crinitus, "  [Scotorum]  complures  cum  Ca- 
rolo  Francorum  rege  Italiam  invaserunt,  qui  sub  ejus  signis  militarent :  sunt 
*nim  in  dirigendi*  maxime  sagittis  viri  acres  atque  egregii."      (De  Htna- 


133 

Flumina,  ferre  famem,  contemnere  frigora  et  acstus  ; 

Nee  fossa  ct  muris  patriam,  sed  Marte  tueri, 

Et  spreta  iccolumem  vita  defendere  famam  ; 

Polliciti  scrvare  fidem,  sanctumque  vereri 

Numen  amicitise,  mores,  non  munus  amare.* 

Artibus  his,  totutn  fremerent  cum  bella  per  orbem, 

Nullaque  non  leges  tellus  mutaret  avitas 

Externo  subjecta  jugo,  gens  una  vetustis 

SedibuG  antiqua  sub  libertate  resedit. 

Substitit  hie  Gothi  furor,  hie  gravis  impetus  hxsit 

Saxonis,  hie  Cimber  superato  Saxone,  et  acri 

Perdomito  Neuster  Cimbro.     Si  volvere  priscos 

Non  piget  annales,  hie  et  victoria  fixit 

Prascipitem  Romana  gradum  :  quern  non  gravis  Auster 

Reppulit,  incultis  non  squalens  Parthia  campis, 

Non  aestu  Meroe,  non  frigore  Rhenus  ct  Albis 

Tardavit,  Latium  remorata  est  Scotia  cursum  : 

Solaque  gens  mundi  est,  cum  qua  non  culmine  montis, 

Non  rapidi  ripis  amnis,  non  objice  silvae, 

Non  vasti  spatiis  campi  Romana  potestas, 

Sed  muris  fossaque  sui  confinia  regni 

Munivit :  gentesque  alias  cum  peileret  armis 

Sedibus,  aut  viqtas  vilem  servaret  in  usum 

Servitii,  hie  contenta  suos  defendere  fines 

Roma  securigeris  pratendit  mocnia  Scotis  : 

Hie  spe  progressus  poska,  Carronis  ad  undam 

Terminus  Ausonii  signat  divortia  regni. 

ta  Disciplina,  p.  56, edit.  Lugd.  1554, 8vo.)    It  was  however  a  general  cha- 
racteristic of  our  ancestors  to  place  very  little  reliance  on  missile  weapon*. 
*  One  of  the  most  learned  of  Buchanan's  friends  had  bestowed  similar 
praise. 

Si  cui  simplicitas,  et  priscae  ssecula  vitae, 

Sors  sine  dissidiis,  mens  sine  fraude  placet, 

Ne  Scotix  dextras,  hirsutaque  pectora  spernat : 

Haud  bene  junguntur  luxus  et  arma  simul. 

Jul.  Scahceri  Poemata,  torn,  i,  p.  55.5. 

I  s 


134 

Neve  putes  duri  studiis  assueta  Gradivi 

Pectora  mansuetas  non  emollescere  ad  artes, 

Haec  quoque,  cum  Latium  quateret  Mars  barbarus  orbem, 

Sola  prope  expulsis  fuit  hospita  terra  Camoenis.' 

The  elegant  poem  which  he  composed  on  the 
birth  of  his  future  pupil  King  James,  affords  an 
interesting  proof  of  the  early  solicitude  with 
which  he  regarded  his  destiny,  as  connected  with 
the  welfare  of  his  native  country. 

Vos  quoque  felices  felici  prole  parentes, 
Jam  tenerum  teneris  puerum  consuescite  ab  annis 
Justitiae,  sanctumque  bibat  virtutis  amorem 
Cum  lacte ;  et  primis  pietas  comes  addita  cunis 
Conformetque  animum,  et  pariter  cum  corpore  crescat, 
Non  ita  conversi  puppis  moderamine  clavi 
Flectitur,  ut  populi  pendent  a  principe  mores. 
Non  career,  legumque  minse,  torvseque  secures 
Sic  animos  terrent  trepidos  formidine  pcense, 
Ut  verae  virtutis  honos,  moresque  modesti 
Regis,  et  innocui  decus  et  reverentia  sceptri 
Convertunt  mentes  ad  honesta  exempla  sequaces." 

Several  of  his  miscellaneous  poems  of  less  im- 
portance relate  to  the  same  accomplished  prin- 
cess; who  was  not  insensible  of  his  powerful 
claims  upon  the  protection  of  his  country.  In 
the  year  1564,  she  had  rewarded  his  literary  me- 
rit by  conferring  on  him  the  temporalties  of  the 

1  Archbishop  Usher  has  remarked  that  this  part  of  the  poet's  encomi- 
um belongs  to  Ireland,  the  Scotia  of  the  ancients.  "  Quod  de  sua  cecinit 
poeta  optimus,  de  nostra  Scotia  multo  rectius  possit  usurpari."  (VcUrum 
Mfiitolarum  H'ibctnharum  SyZ/^praef.     Dublin.  1632,  4to.) 

u  Buchauani  Silvae,  viii. 


135 

abbey  of  Crossragwell ;  which  amounted  in  an- 
nual valuation  to  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds 
in  Scotish  currency.* 

But  while  he  thus  enjoyed  the  favour  of  the 
queen,  he  did  not  neglect  his  powerful  friend  the 
earl  of  Murray.  To  that  nobleman  he  inscribed 
his  FrancisC'inus  during  the  same  year.  The  date 
of  the  earliest  edition  is  uncertain  ;  but  the  de- 
dication was  written  at  St.  Andrews  on  the  fifth 
of  June  l.r)64>,  when  he  was  perhaps  residing  in 
the  earl's  house. 

He  at  the  same  time  prepared  for  the  press  his 
miscellany  entitled  Fratres  Fraterrimi  ;  a  collec- 
tion of  satires,  almost  entirely  directed  against  the 
impurities  of  the  Popish  church.  The  absurdity 
of  its  doctrines,  and  the  immoral  lives  of  its 
priests,  afforded  him  an  ample  field  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  his  formidable  talents ;  and  he  has 
alternately  employed  the  weapons  of  sarcastic 
irony  and  vehement  indignation.  His  admirable 
wit  and  address  must  have  contributed  to  pro- 
mote the  cause  which  Luther  had  so  ardently 
espoused  ;  and  Buchanan  ought  also  to  be  class- 
ed with  the  most  illustrious  of  the  reformers. 
Guy  Patin  was  so  fascinated  with  his  satirical 
powers,  that  he  committed  to  memory  all  his 
epigrams,  his  Franciscans,  and  his  Fratres  Fra- 

x  Mr.  Ruddiman  has  published  the  writ  of  privy  seal,  dated  at  Holy- 
roodhouse  on  the  ninth  of  October  1 564.  (Animadversions,  p.  86.)  The 
abbacy  was  then  vacant  "  throw  the  deceis  of  umquhile  Master  Cjuintene 
Kennedie  late  abbot  thairof."  Quintin  Kennedy,  a  man  of  learning,  was 
the  brother  of  Buchanan's  late  pupil.  (Douglas's  Peerage  of  ScotlanJ,p. 
136.) 


136 

terrimi.  After  having  particularized  some  oi 
Buchanan's  verses,  he  subjoins,  Virgil  never  pro- 
duced better,  but  it  has  required  fifteen  centu- 
ries to  produce  a  poet  like  Virgil. y  This  lively 
and  intelligent  physician  was  evidently  no  bigot : 
"many  decided  Papists  have  however  mentioned 
the  heretical  poet  with  enthusiasm  ;  though  such 
indeed  as  expected  preferment,  have  constant- 
ly interposed  a  formal  caution  relative  to  his  he- 
resy/ 

To  these  satires,  which  seem  to  have  been  com- 
posed in  Scotland,  Portugal,  and  France,  he  pre- 
fixed a  poetical  dedication  to  his  friend  Carol  us 
Utenhovius.  Buchanan  and  Utenhovius  appa- 
rently maintained  a  particular  intimacy ;  aid 
they  have  repeatedly  interchanged  poetical  com- 
pliments. 

Carolus  Utenhovius  was  born  at  Ghent  in  the 
year  1536.  His  grandfather  Nicholas  was  distin- 
guished by  his  rank,  his  prudence,  and  his  erudi- 
tion ;  and  his  father,  who  bore  the  same  baptism- 
al name  with  himself,  was  considered  as  a  man 
of  piety  and  eloquence.  The  friend  of  Buchan- 
an prosecuted  his  studies  at  Paris  with  more  than 

*  Lettres  de  Guy  Patin,  torn,  i,  p.  592. 

a  "  Eorum  nemo  est,"  says  Scioppius,  "  cui  idem  quod  Buchanano  con- 
tigerit,  ut  in  quovis  carminum  genere  summam  obtineret :  cujus  quidem 
rei  laude  omnem  etiam  antiquitatem  provorat ;  ut  tanta  ilia  ingenii,  vere 
unici  et  incomparabilis,  ornamenta  ad  impietatem  con  versa  fuisse,  vehe- 
menter  non  ipsius  m  gis  quam  reipublicx  causa  dolendum  sit."  (De 
Rbetoi  tear  urn  Exereitationum  Generibus,  p.  26.)  Gaddius  characterizes  him 
as  "  historicus,  poeta  maxima?  famx,  propter  hasresin  non  nisi  cum  venia 
memorandus,  ingenio  vere  unico  et  incomparabili  ornatus."  (Dt  Serip- 
twribus  non  Eetlttientidt,  torn,  i,  p.  87.) 


137 

common  success.  His  birth  seems  to  have  been 
superior  to  his  fortune  ;  for  he  engaged  himself 
as  preceptor  to  the  daughters  of  Jean  de  Morel, 
so  highly  celebrated  for  their  literature.*  He 
afte  wards  visited  England  in  the  train  of  Paul 
de  Foix,  the  French  ambassador;  and  his  poetic- 
al incense  recommended  him  to  the  notice  of 
Queen  Elizabeth.  Having  entered  into  the  ma- 
trimonial state,  he  settled  at  Cologne  ;  where  he 
died  of  an  apoplexy  in  the  year  1600.  Thu- 
anus  represents  him  as  a  wanderer  all  his  life, 
but  still  constant  in  his  love  of  poetry.  His 
works  chiefly  consist  of  miscellaneous  verses, 
composed  in  seven  different  languages,  ancient 
and  modern.  He  was  long  understood  to  be  en- 
gaged in  preparing  an  edition  of  the  Dionysiacs 
of  Nonnus,  together  with  a  Latin  translation ; 
and,  in  the  opinion  of  Falkenburgius,  he  was  ex- 
cellently qualified  for  the  task.b  This  edition 
however  did  not  make  its  appearance.0 

a  Their  names  were  Camille,  Lucrece,  and  Diane.  The  eldest,  whft 
is  the  most  famous  of  the  three,  wrote  verses  in  Greek,  Latin,  and  French. 
Her  Greek  epigram  on  their  father's  death  is  quoted  by  Sammarthamis. 
(Elogia  Gallorum  Doctrina  Illustrlum,  p.  78,  edit.  Paris.  1630,  4to.)  Bu- 
chanan has  addressed  an  ode  to  this  learned  lady.  ( Misccll.  xxviii.) 
Their  mother,  as  well  as  their  father,  was  a  writer  of  verses.  ^  Menage, 
Remarqucs  sur  la  Vie  de  Pierre  Ayrault,  p.  1 90.  > 

b  Falkenburgii  Epist.  ante  Nonnum.  Antverp.  1.569,  4to. — Freherus 
has  erroneously  imputed  the  intended  edition  of  Nonnus  to  C.  Utenhovi. 
US  the  father.     (Tkeatrum  Virorum  Eruditione  Clarorum,  p.  1330.) 

c  Thuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis,  torn,  v,  p.  847.  Andres  Bibliotheca  Bel- 
gica,  p.  129.  Sweertii  Athenae  Belgicx,  p.  172.  Adami  Vit.-e  Germano- 
rum  Philosophicis  et  Humanioribus  Literis  Clarorum,  p.  443.  Du  Ver- 
dier,  Bibliotheque  Franchise,  torn,  i,  p.  310.  La  Croix  du  Maine,  Biblior 
theque  Francoise,  par  Juvigny,  torn,  i,  p.  119. 


138 

In  the  year  1561,  Buchanan  published  another 
eol!  ction,  consisting  of  Elegit,  )ilv<z,  hendeca- 
sylUibi*  To  this  miscellany  was  prefixed  an 
epistle  to  his  friend  Peter  Daniel;  a  learned 
man  who  is  still  remembered  for  his  edition  of 
Virgil  with  the  commentary  of  Servius.  This 
epistle  contains  several  hints  relative  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  author's  poetical  works.  "  Between 
the  occupations  of  a  court,"  says  Buchanan, 
"  and  the  annoyance  of  disease,  I  have  hardly 
been  able  to  steal  any  portion  of  time,  which  I 
could  either  devote  to  my  friends  or  to  myself; 
and  I  have  therefore  been  prevented  from 
maintaining  a  frequent  correspondence  with  my 
friends,  and  from  collecting  my  poems  which  lie 
so  widely  dispersed.  For  my  own  part,  1  was 
not  extremely  solicitous  to  recal  them  from  per- 
dition ;  for  the  subjects  are  generally  of  a  trivial 
nature,  and  such  as  at  this  period  of  life  are  at 
once  calculated  to  inspire  me  with  disgust  and 
shame.  But  as  Pierre  Montaure  and  some  other 
friends,  to  whom  I  neither  can  nor  ought  to  re- 
fuse any  request,  demanded  them  with  such 
earnestness,  I  have  employed  some  of  my  leisure 
hours  in  collecting  a  portion,  and  placing  it  in  a 
state  of  arrangement.  With  this  specimen,  which 
consists  of  one  book  of  elegies,  another  of  mis- 
cellanies, and  a  third  of  hendecasyllables,  I  in 
the  mean  time  present  you.  When  it  shall  suit 
your  convenience,  I  beg  you  will  communicate 

d  Parisiis,  apud  Robertum  Stephanum,  1567,  12mo. 


139 

them  to  Montaure',  Des  Mesmes,  and  other  philo- 
logical friends,  without  whose  advice  I  trust  you 
will  not  adopt  any  measure  relative  to  their  pub- 
lication. In  a  short  time,  I  propose  sending  a 
book  of  iambics,  another  of  epigrams,  another  of 
odes,  and  perhaps  some  other  pieces  of  a  similar 
denomination  :  all  these  I  wish  to  be  at  the  dis- 
posal of  my  friends,  as  I  have  finally  determined 
to  rely  more  on  their  judgment  than  on  my  own. 
In  my  paraphrase  of  the  psalms,  I  have  correct- 
ed many  typographical  errors,  and  have  likewise 
made  various  alterations :  I  must  therefore  re- 
quest you  to  advise  Stephanus  not  to  publish  a 
new  edition  without  my  knowledge.  Hitherto  I 
have  not  found  leisure  to  finish  the  second  book 
of  my  poem  De  Sphara ;  and  therefore  I  have 
not  made  a  transcript  of  the  first :  as  soon  as  the 
former  is  completed,  I  shall  transmit  them  to 
you.  Salute  in  my  name  all  our  friends  at  Or- 
leans, and  such  others  as  it  may  be  convenient. 
Farewell.  Edinburgh,  July  the  twenty-fourth 
1566."e  The  two  friends  whom  Buchanan  par- 
ticularizes in  this  letter,  were  men  of  no  inconsi- 
derable distinction.  Pierre  Montaure,  who  has 
been  commemorated  by  Thuanus  as  a  man  of 
excellent  talents,  was  master  of  the  requests,  a 
counsellor  of  state,  and  keeper  of  the  royal  li- 
brary. He  composed  Latin  verses  with  uncom- 
mon felicity,  and  was  profoundly  skilled  in  the 

c  Euchanani  Epistobe,  p.  5, 


140 

mathematical  sciences/  His  attachment  to  the 
cause  of  rational  religion  involved  him  in  mis- 
fortune :  having  been  driven  from  Orleans,  the 
place  of  his  nativity,  he  retired  to  Sancerre  sur 
Loire,  where  his  unmerited  exile  was  soon  termi- 
nated by  death.  He  died  on  the  nineteenth  of 
August  1570  ;  and  his  intimate  friend  De  l'Hos- 
pital  composed  his  epitaph  in  affectionate  and 
indignant  terms.2  His  library,  which  was  un- 
commonly rich  in  mathematical  manuscripts, 
was  pillaged  during  the  subsequent  tumults  of 
St.  Bartholomew.11  Henry  des  Mesmes,  who  was 
master  of  the  requests,  and  enjoyed  other  offices  of 
dignity,  descended  from  a  family  that  derived  its 
remote  lineage  from  the  native  country  of  Bu- 

f  Sammarthani  Elogia,  p.  48.-— The  commentary  of  Montaure*  on  the 
tenth  book  of  Euclid  was  published  in  the  year  1551.  (Vossius  De  Sc'tcn- 
tiis  Mathcmaticis,  p.  335.)  Three  of  his  Latin  poems  have  been  collected 
by  Janus  Gruterus.      (Delltia:  Poetarum  Gallorum,  torn,  ii,  p.  711.) 

8  One  of  the  epistles  of  De  l'Hospital  is  addressed  "  Ad  Petrum  Mont- 
aureum,    elegantissimum  poetam  et    mathematicum  praestantissimum." 
(P.  73.)      His  poem  entitled  "  P.  Montaurei  Aurelii  Tumulus,"  con 
eludes  with  these  verses. 

Conditus  hoc  terras  tumulo  Montaureus,  urbe 

Aurelia,  clarisque  parentibus  ortus,  honores 

Pnecipuos  vivens,  et  principem  adeptus  in  omni 

Laude  locum  :  patria  misere  civilibus  armis 

Oppressa,  profugus  Sancenas  venerat  alto 

Colle  sitas  :  ibi  dum  paucis  comitatus  amicis 

Expectat  qui  finis  erit,  quae  meta  laborum, 

Ante  diem  clausit  (sic  Dii  voluere)  supremum, 

Quam  daret  uxori,  quam  dulcibus  oscula  natis, 

Compositasque  domi  placida  res  pace  videret. 

Hospitalii  Epistolas,  p.  433,  edit.  Lugd.  1592,  8*e. . 
Thuana,  p.  1 97. 


141 


chanan.1  Although  he  did  not  court  the  fame 
of  authorship,  few  individuals  have  been  more 
generally  known  among  their  learned  cotempo- 
raries.k  He  was  not  only  a  generous  encourager 
of  literature,  but  was  himself  a  man  of  erudi- 
tion. He  was  possessed  of  a  noble  library,  which 
was  always  accessible  to  the  learned ;  and  his  il- 
lustrious family  was  long  afterwards  distinguished 
for  the  same  liberality  of  conduct.1  Buchanan 
was  not  the  only  poet  who  confided  in  the  critic- 
al judgment  of  Des  Mesmes;  his  decisions  seem 
to  have  been  very  generally  regarded  with  the 
utmost   deference."1     Having    retired   from   the 

i  Sammarthani  Elogia  Gallorum  Doctrina  Illustrium,  p.  121. 
k  Turnebus  dedicated  to  him  the  second  volume  of  his  Adversaria;  and 
Gruchius,  another  learned  friend  of  Buchanan,  inscribed  to  the  same  re« 
spectable  character  his  Responsio  ad  binas  Caroli  Sigonii  Reprehensiones.  Pa$« 
serat,  who  resided  many  years  in  the  family  of  Des  Mesmes,  has  written  a 
poem  in  celebration  of  his  library  (Del.  Poet.  Gall.  torn,  iii,  p.  2) ;  and 
has  likewise  devoted  many  other  effusions  to  the  praise  of  his  munificent 
patron. 

1  Le  Gallois,  Traite1  des  Bibliotheques,  p.  152. — See  likewise  the  de- 
dication of  Henninius's  edition  of  Juvenal.     Uhraj.  1685,  4to. 
m  Qui  si  judice  Memmio  probentur, 
Certe  non  fuerit  mihi  verendum, 
Quin  quovis  hominum  probante,  plausum 
Vel  quern  non  meruere  consequantur. 

Sammarthani  Poemata,  p.  1 90,  edit.  Lutet.  1629, 4t». 
Sed  quid  judicium  meuni  requiris, 
Memmi,  aevi  decus  atque  literarum  ? 
Cujus  judiciurnque  calculumque 
Tanti  omnes  faciunt  boni  poetx, 
Tanti  omnes  faciunt  viri  eruditi, 
Nil  tanti  ut  faciant  boni  poetae, 
Nil  t3nti  ut  faciant  viri  eruditi. 

Bonsfonii  Carmii:a,p.  48, edit.  Lond.  1720, 12m»; 


142 

court  in  disgust,  he  died  in  the  month  of  AugU3fc 
1596,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four. 

His  promise  relative  to  the  three  books  of  iam- 
bics,  epigrams,    and  odes,   Buchanan   seems  to 
have  forgotten :  after  an  interval  of  nearly  ten 
years,  Daniel  strongly  urged  its  performance.    It 
is  not  certain  whether  those  poems  were  printed 
before  the  author's  decease  ;  but  they  now  con- 
tribute to  form  the   stately  and  variegated  mo- 
nument of  his  fame.     Of  his  short  and  miscella- 
neous pieces,  the  subjects  are  sometimes  indeed 
of  a  trivial  nature  ;  but  even  those  lighter  efforts 
serve  to  evince  the  wonderful  versatility  of  his 
mind.     His    epigrams,    which    consist    of  three 
books,  are  not  the  least  remarkable  of  his  com- 
positions :  the  terseness  of  the  diction,  the  duc- 
tility and  pungency  of  the  thought,  have  deserv- 
edly placed  them  in  the  very  first  class.     The 
general  admiration  which  they  have  excited,  ap- 
pears  from  the  frequency  with   which  they  are 
translated  and  imitated  by  poets  of  various  coun- 
tries.    The  pointed  epigram   has  always  been  a 
favourite  mode  of  intellectual   exercise  with  the 
French;  and  several  accomplished  scholars  of  that 
nation  have  sufficiently  indicated  their  approba- 
tion of  Buchanan's  epigrammatic  wit.     Menage, 
who  has  pronounced  all  his  verses  to  be  excellent, 
was   particularly  delighted  with  the  felicity  of 
the  subsequent  lines.11 

B  Menagiana,  torn.  ii,p.  133. 


143 

Ilia  mihi  semper  praesenti  dura  Nexra, 
Me,  quoties  absum,  semper  abesse  dolet. 

Non  desiderio  nostri,  non  moeret  amore, 
Sed  se  non  nostro  posse  dolore  frui.° 

That  admirable  philologer  has  imitated  them  in 
one  of  his  Italian  madrigals. 

Chi  creduto  l'avrebbe  ? 

L'empia,  la  cruda  Iole 

Del  mio  partir  si  duole. 

A  quel  finto  dolore 

Non  ti  fidar,  mio  core. 

Non  e  vera  pietade 
Quella  che  monstra,  no  ;  ma  crudeltade. 

Dell'  aspro  mio  martire 

La  cruda  vuol  gioire  ; 
Udir  la  cruda  i  miei  sospiri  ardenti, 
E  mirar  vuole  i  duri  miei  tormenti.P 

M.  de  la  Monnoye,  a  man  of  extensive  and  ac- 
curate literature,  translated  the  same  epigram  in- 
to French. 

Philis,  qui  tete  a  tete  insensible  a  mes  feux, 

Comte  pour  rien  mes  pleurs,  mes  soupirs,  et  mes  vctux, 

Quand  je  suis  eloigne  regrette  ma  presence. 

Ah  !  dois-je  la-dessus  me  flater  vainement  ? 

Non,  non,  le  deplaisir  qu'elle  a  de  mon  absence 

Lui  vient  de  ne  pouvoir  jou'ir  de  mon  tourment.*1 

Buchanan's   epigram  In  Zoilum  has   frequently 

0  Buchanani  Epigram,  lib.  i,  31. 

P  Menagii  Poemata,  p.  267,  edit.  Paris.  1668,  8vo. 

1  Poesies  de  M.  de  la  Monnoye,  p.  47.     Haye,  1716,  8m. 


144 

been  repeated  with  relish,  and  frequently  trans- 
lated. 

Frustra  ego  te  laudo,  frustra  me,  Zoile,  laedis  : 
Nemo  mihi  credit,  Zoile,  nemo  tibi.r 

Menage,  who  has  written  another  in  the  very 
same  strain,  avers  that  Buchanan,  as  well  as  him- 
self, was  indebted  to  the  prose  of  Libanius.s 

Oi  yap  Iftois,  &  ffols  -rifis  htsi  Xoyeit.1 

The  following  verses  of  M.  de  la  Monnoye  are 
professedly  a  translation  of  Buchanan's  distich. 

Tu  dis  par  tout  du  mal  de  moi, 
Je  dis  par  tout  du  bien  de  toi : 
Quel  malheur  est  le  n6tre  ! 
L'on  ne  nous  croit  ni  l'un  ni  Pautre.u 

His  epigrammatic  epitaph  on  Jacobus  Silvius,  a 
famous  professor  of  physic  in  the  university  of 
Paris,  shall  close  these  motley  transcripts. 

Silvius  hie  situs  est,  gratis  qui  nil  dedit  unquam  : 
Mortuus  et  gratis  quod  legis  ista,  dolet.x 

Silvius  was  famous  for  his  learning,  and  infamous 
for  the  most  sordid  avarice.  Buchamn's  indig- 
nation had  been  provoked  by  the  indecent  rage 

r  Buchanan:  Epigram,  lib.  i,  12. 

•  Menage,  Anti-Baillet,  torn.  ii,p.  277. 

1  Menagii  Poemata,  p.  1 10. 

tt  Poesies  de  M.xie  la  Monnoye,  p.  242. 

x  Buchanani  Epigram,  lib.  ii,  10. 


145 

which  he  publicly  testified  against  two  poor  stu- 
dents, who  had  occasionally  attended  his  prelec- 
tions without  paying  their  fees.  He  died  in  the 
year  1555  ;  and  so  little  was  his  memory  rever- 
ed among  his  pupils,  that  during  the  very  crisis 
of  his  funeral  service,  some  of  them  exhibited 
Buchanan's  epigram  on  the  door  of  the  church.y 
H  Sfephanus  has  translated  this  distich  into 
French. 

Ici  gist  Sylvius,  auquel  one  en  sa  vie 
De  donner  rien  gratis  ne  prit  aucune  envie : 
Et  ore*  qu'il  est  mort  et  tout  ronge  de  vers, 
Encores  a  despit  qu'on  lit  gratis  ces  vers.* 

The  editors  of  Buchanan  have  uniformly  in- 
serted among  his  works,  and  without  any  sug- 
gestion of  its  spuriousness,  an  epigram  on  Julius 
the  second*  which  was  perhaps  written  bet< 
Buchanan  was  born,  and  certainly  before  he  had 
exceeded  the  seventh  year  of  his  age.  It  was 
composed  and  circulated  during  the  lifetime  of 
that  pontiff  who  died  on  the  twenty-second  of 
February  1513;  and  Janus  Lascaris  had  obtain- 
ed his  favour  by  repelHng  it  in  another  epi- 
gram, where  the  same  topics  are  converted  to  his 
praise5.     In  one  collection,0  the  satirical  lines  are 

y  Sammarthani  Elogia,  p.  24.    Bulasi  Hist.  V  niv.  Paris,  torn,  vi,  p.  933. 
z  Estienne,  Apologie  pour  Herodote,  p.  181. 
a  Buchanani  Miscell.xxi. 

b  Ferronusde  Rebus  Gestis  Gallorum,  f.  60,  b,  edit.  Lutet.  1554,  fob 

c  Pasquillorum  tomi  duo,  p.  91.     Euutlcrcfoli,l5'l!t,iivo. —  1  his  very 

rare  book  is  supposed  to  have  been  edited  by  Ccelius  Secundus  Curio. 

K 


146 

ascribed   to   C.   Gr.    supposed  to  be  Gonradus 
Grebelius  of  Zurich/ 

In  the  present  arrangement  of  Buchanan's 
oetry,  no  separate  book  of  odes  is  to  be  found  ; 
but  a  large  proportion  of  his  Miscellanen  is  of 
the  lync  denomination.  In  his  paraphrase  of 
the  psalms,  lyric  measures  are  chiefly  employed ; 
and  many  odes  occur  among  his  other  produc- 
tions. In  this  department  of  composition,  as 
well  as  in  various  others,  he  deservedly  holds  the 
first  rank  among  the  modern  Latinists.  His 
diction  is  terse  and  elegant ;  his  numbers  are 
harmonious ;  and  as  his  genius  possessed  a  na- 
tive elevation,  he  did  not  find  it  requisite  to  in- 
vest his  thoughts  with  an  eternal  pomp  of  words. 
Several  of  the  moderns,  and  even  Casimir  him- 
self, seem  to  have  entertained  an  opinion  that 

It  was  printed  by  Joannes  Oporinus  of  Basil.     (Gesneri  Part'ttionts  Uni- 
vert  ales,  f.  49.) 

d  Menagiana,  torn,  iii,  p.  57. — To  the  curious  remarks  of  M.  de  la 
Monnoye  it  may  be  added,  that  the  two  epigrams  are  printed  among 
those  of  Janus  Lascaris.  In  the  edition  published  by  Jacobus  Tusanus, 
they  stand  thus : 

"aS»jX«v  de  quodam  Pontifice. 
Patria  cui  Genua  est,  genitricem  Grzecia,  partum 

Pontus  et  unda  dedit,  qui  bonus  esse  potest  ? 
Sunt  vani  Ligures,  mendax  est  Graecia,  ponto 
Nulla  fides :  malus  est  hajc  tria  quisquis  habet. 
Lascaris. 
Est  Venus  orta  mari,  Graium  sapientia,  solers 

Jngenium  est  LigurUm  :  qui  malus  esse  potest 
Cui  genus  ut  Veneri,  a  Graiis  sapientia,  solers 
Ingenium  a  Genua  est  ?  MomeproterVe  tace. 

Lascaris  Epigrammata,  sig.  c, edit. Paris.  152738v#. 


147 

the  dignity  of  lyric  poetry  cannot  be  supported 
without  a  perpetual  straining  after  brilliant  me- 
taphors and  gorgeous  diction :  from  an  adher- 
ence to  this  notion,  their  productions  are  often 
removed  to  an  equal  distance  from  classical  ele- 
gance, and  from  genuine  sublimity.  Buchan- 
an's diction  is  lofty  when  the  subject  requires  it ; 
but  the  practice  of  Horace  had  suggested  to  him, 
that  every  ode  need  not  aim  at  sublimity,  and 
that  every  sublime  ode  need  not  be  darkened  by 
an  unbroken  cloud  of  metaphors.  His  ode  on  the 
first  of  Mayc  has  been  very  honourably  distinguish- 
ed by  a  late  ingenious  and  elegant  writer.  "  I 
know  not,"  says  Mr.  Alison,  "  any  instance  where 
the  effect  of  association  is  so  remarkable  in  bestow- 
ing sublimity  on  objects,  to  which  it  does  not 
naturally  belong,  as  in  the  following  inimitable 
poem  of  Buchanan's,  on  the  month  of  Vlay. 
This  season  is,  in  general,  fitted  to  excite  emo- 
tions very  different  from  sublimity,  and  the  nu- 
merous poems  wbic  .  h  ive  been  written  in  cele- 
bration of  it,  dwell  uniformly  on  its  circumstan- 
ces of  '  vernal  joy.'  In  this  ode,  however,  the 
circumstances  which  the  poet  has  selected,  are 
of  a  kind  which,  to  me.  appear  inexpressibly  sub- 
lime, and  distinguish  the  poem  itself  by  a  degree 
and  character  of  grandeur  which  I  have  seldom 
found  equalled  in  any  other  composition.'^ 

e  Buchanani  Miscell.  xi. 

f  Alison's  Essays  on  the  Nature  and  Principles  of  Taste,  p.  21.    Edinb. 
1 790,  4to. 

K2 


148 

His  bo^k  of  elegies,  nine  in  number,  is  com 
posed  w.th  his  usual  felicity.  Some  of  them 
however  which  relate  to  the  ladies  are  not  the 
most  pleasing  of  his  performances.  The  most 
beautiful  of  these  poems  is  the  elegy  on  the  first 
of  May ;  a  season  which  awoke  in  Buchanan  the 
fir  est  emotions  of  a  truly  poetical  mind.  The 
whole  is  tendei  and  exquisite  ;  but  the  opening 
may  be  produced  as  no  unfavourable  speci- 
men. 

Festa  vocant,  laetisque  comes  Lascivia  festis, 

Et  chorus,  et  chore  ae  blandus  amicus  Amor  : 
Li:        et  adroissis  levis  Indulgentia  rrenis, 

Et  levat  as^ueto  libera  coila  jugo. 
Interr :  vigiles  paullum  secedite  curae, 

Et  genitor  curae  dure  facesse  labor  : 
Este  procul  lites,  et  amarae  jurgia  linguae, 

Mixtaque  fleoilious  noesta  querela  sonisj 
Dum  renovat  Maius  senium  revolubilis  aevi, 

Et  tenerum  verno  pingit  honore  solum  j 
Dum  cceli  juvenile  decus,  mundique  juventa, 

Per  non  ingtatas  itque  reditque  vices, 
Inque  recurrentes  sine  fine  revertitur  ortus, 

Et  nunquam  fessis  secula  lustrat  equis. 

These  poetical  lines  are  conceived  in  the  genuine 
spirit  of  the  ancient  elegy  ;  and  the  subsequent 
description  is  not  of  inferior  excellence. 

Herba  comis,  tellus  nitet  herbis,  frondibus  arbor, 
Luxuriat  lxtum  Isetn  per  arva  pecus. 

Carcere  liber  equuv  spatiis  lascivit  apertis, 
Jactn  et  undantes  per  fera  colla  jubas. 

Tondet  ovis  pratum,  petulant  salit  agnus  in  herba, 
Fro  nivea  taurus  conjuge  bella  gerit. 


149 

Rupis  inaccessse  scandunt  duraeta  capelhe, 

Hoelus  et  tifirma  prselia  frontc  movet. 
Interea  pastor  geniali  stratus  in  umbra 

D   cutit  incomptis  tatdia  ienta  niodis : 
Nunc  et  odorata  somnos  invitat  in  hevba, 

Nunc  strepitum  captat  prajtereuntis  aquae. 
Int  nt usque  sedet  liquidas  piscator  ad  undas, 

Dum  tremulura  fallax  linea  sentit  onus : 
Forsan  et  elusos  quaerit  quibus  instruat  hamos, 

Ex  pi  i  cat  aut  cauta  retia  longa  manu. 
Pampinus  appositee  complexus  brachia  silvje 

Vestit  adoptivis  robora  nuda  comis. 
Poma  neraus  pingunt,  meditatur  vinea  botros, 

Proventu  segetis  dives  inundac  ager. 
Tityrus  in  calathis  tibi  lilia,  Thes'-yli,  cana 

Servat,  et  in  calathis  aurea  m-tla  suis ; 
Cumque  suis  nidis  Prognen,    Progne  que  sororem, 

Et  te  cum  nidis,  blanda  columba,  tuis. 
Garrula  per  virides  ludunt  examina  ramos, 

Et  tenui  silvas  gutture  muket  avis. 
Basia  Chaonise  jungunt  lasciva  columbae, 

Ingemit  extinctum  tinnula  mater  Ityn. 
Hanc  juvat  ad  nitidum  pennas  extendeie  solera, 

Hat :  querulam  pleno  convolat  ore  riomu  *i  : 
Hsec  luteum  suspendit  opus,  fugit  ilia  per  auras, 

Ec  liquidas  alis  stfingere  gaudet  aquas. 
Ridet  ager,  rident  silvae,  micat  igneus  axis, 

Et  placidum  sternit  lenior  aura  fretum. 
Hinc  procul  ergo  abeant  cruciantes  pectora  curx, 

Vanaque  quserendae  sollicitudo  rei. 
Pone  supercilium  capulo  vicina  senectus, 

De  tetrica  rigidas  excute  fronte  minas. 
Utque  novus,  positb  veteri  squalore  senectse, 

P  mdit  odonferas  fertilis  annus  opes  •, 
Po^tque  pruinosse  languentia  tngora  brurrae 
Rura  novat  veris  floridioris  honos ; 
K  3 


150 

Vos  quoquc  paullisper  placidos  diffundite  vultus,. 

A-.pera  cum  duris  ponite  jussa  minis  : 
Carpite,  dum  fas  est,  fugitivae  gaudia  vitae, 

Credite  vos  juvencs  esse,  fuisse  senes. 

In  the  sportive  effusions  of  his  youth,  Buchan- 
an has  occasionally  indulged  a  vein  of  prurien- 
cy, from  which  some  authors  have  very  rashly 
drawn  conclusions  respecting  the  morality  of  his 
conduct.  "  His  life,"  says  Dr.  Stuart,  "  was  li- 
beral like  his  opinions.  From  the  uncertain  con- 
dition of  his  fortune,  or  from  his  attachment  to 
study,  he  kept  himself  free  from  the  restraint  of 
marriage ;  but  if  a  judgment  may  be  formed  from 
the  vivacity  of  his  temper  and  the  wantonness  of 
his  verses,  he  was  no  enemy  to  beauty  and  to 
love,  and  must  have  known  the  tumults  and  the 
languors  of  voluptuousness."2  The  necessity  of 
this  inference  is  very  questionable.  Dr.  Black- 
lock  has  frequently  descanted  with  enthusiasm  on 
the  beauties  of  external  nature  ;  and  yet  he  was 
absolutely  blind  from  his  infancy.  Buchanan 
might  allude  to  raptures  which  he  never  felt. 
His  friend  Beza  had  indulged  his  youthful  fancy 
in  the  utmost  freedom  of  description  ;  yet  he 
afterwards  protested  with  solemnity,  that  although 
his  verses  were  lascivious,  his  conduct  was  chaste.1' 

S  Stuart's  Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii,  p.  243. 

l>  The  ancient  Latin  poets,  and  even  Ovid  himself,  adopted  the  same 
«xcuse. 

Nam  castum  esse  decet  pium  poetam 
Ipsum  ;  vereiculos  nihil  necesse  est. 

Catullus. 


151 

The  poets  of  that  aera  seem  to  have  entertained 
an  opinion  that  no  man  was  entitled  to  their  con- 
fraternity, unless  he  had  offered  an  early  sacri- 
fice on  the  altars  of  Venus.  This  notion  they 
might  partly  imbibe  from  their  perpetual  study 
of  the  Roman  authors ;  the  principal  Latin  poets 
of  antiquity  had  bequeathed  for  their  use  abund- 
ant examples  of  elegant  obscenity.  The  mo- 
dern Italians,  whether  laymen  or  priests,  did  not 
hesitate  to  follow  ancient  precedents :  some  of 
the  productions  of  Antonius  Panormita,1  Pontan- 

Crede  mihi ;  mores  distant  a  carmine  nostro  : 
Vita  verecunda  est,  Musa  jocosa  mihi. 

Ovid. 
Innocuos  censura  potest  permittere  lusus  : 
JLasciva  est  nobis  pagina,  vita  proba. 

Martial. 

Est  jocus  in  nostris,  sunt  seria  multa  libellis : 

Stoicus  has  partes,  has  Epicurus  agit. 
Salva  mihi  veterum  maneat  dum  regula  morum, 

Ludat  permissis  sobria  Musa  jocis. 

Ausonios. 

Muretus,  whose  juvenile  poems  are  not  altogether  unexceptionable 
has  however  insinuated  the  futility  of  such  allegations. 
Nil  immundius  est  tuis  libellis, 
Nil  obscenius,  impudiciusque ; 
Et  vis  te  tamen  ut  putemus  esse 
Numa  Fabricioque  sanctiorem. 
At  sententia  nostra  ea  est,  Noalli, 
Quisquis  versibus  exprimit  Catulluni, 
Raro  moribus  exprimit  Catonem. 

Mureti  Opera,  torn.  i»  p.  70£. 
i  For  the  benefit  of  studious  youth,  a  complete  edition  of  the  Htrm** 
pbroditus  of  Antonius  Beccatellus  of  Palermo  has  at  length  been  publi»hed, 
in  a  collection  entitled  Quinine   Jllustr'mm  Ptctarum  fatm  in  fonri*. 


152 

us,  and  Bembus,  verge  upon  the  very  extremi- 
ty of  wantonness  and  impurity.     The^e  examples 
passed  to  other  nations ;  Secundus,  Bonefonius, 
and  many  eminent  poets  beside,  vied  with  each 
other  in  the  elegance  of  their  language,  and  the 
grossness  of  their  ideas.     And,  what  may  perhaps 
be  regarded  as  still  more  extraordinary,  in  the 
scholastic  compilations  published  during  that  pe- 
riod for  the  use  of  Latin  versifiers,  this  department 
is  very  seldom  neglected :  the  Epithetorum  Opus  of 
Jo.  Ravisius  Textor  exhibits  the  most  obscene  words 
in  the  Latin  language,  studiously  illustrated  by 
accurate  quotations  from   ancient  and    modern 
poets.     A  long  train  of  Catholic  priests  have  ex- 
patiated on  the  languors  of  love  and  the  ecstacies 
of  enjoyment  :  as  they  were  doomed  to  perpetual 
celibacy,  they  must  either  have  entertained  a 
hardy  contempt  of  moral  reputation,  or  supposed 
that  such  productions  would  be  regarded  as  mere 
efforts  of  a  poetical  fancy.     Even  the  renowned 
queen  of  Navarre,  who  is  represented  as  a  woman 
of  consummate  virtue,  did  not  blush  to  write 
what  few  modern  ladies  would  profess  to  read." 

Paris.  1791,  8vo.  It  is  no  particular  disparagement  to  the  excellent  Mr. 
Roscoe,  that  he  was  unacquainted  with  this  precious  collection.  (Aife 
of  Lorenzo  de   Medici,  voL  i,  p.  71,  4th  edit.) 

k  The  poems  of  Queen  Margaret,  the  well-known  sister  of  Francis  the 
first,  are  chiefly  of  a  serious  cast,  and  some  of  them  are  very  pious  ;  but 
in  her  novels,  composed  in  imitation  of  Boccaccio,  she  indulges  herself 
in  the  utmost  freedom  of  description.  She  perhaps  entertained  an  opi- 
nion similar  to  that  of  Martial ; 


15'd 

There  are  some  poets,  says  Bayle,  who  are  equal- 
ly chaste  in  their  verses  and  in  their  conduct ; 
others  who  are  neither  chaste  in  their  conduct 
nor  in  their  verses  :  some  there  are  unchaste  in 
their  verses,  and  yet  chaste  in  their  conduct ; 
and  whose  fire  is  entirely  confined  to  the  head. 
All  their  wanton  liberties  are  sports  of  fancy ; 
their  Candidas  and  their  Lesbias  mistresses  of  fic- 
tion.1 Dr.  Stuart's  suggestion  ought  therefore 
to  have  been  delivered  in  more  cautious  terms : 
and  Mr.  Warton  has  likewise  mentioned  Buchan- 
an's amatory  verses  in  a  manner  which  betrays 
some  degree  of  precipitancy."1     These  observa- 

Lex  haec  carminibus  data  est  jocosis,  ' 

Ne  possint,  nisi  pruriant,  juvare. 
Many  of  her  novels  are  apparently  founded  on  real  incidents.  To  omit 
other  instances,  she  has  given  a  circumstantial  account  of  the  assassination 
of  Allessandro  de'  Medici.  See  "  L'Heptameron  des  Nouvelles  de 
tresillustre  et  tresexcellent  princesse,  Marguerite  de  Valois,  Royne  de 
Navarre,"  f.  44,  b,  edit,  de  Paris,  1560,  4to.  The  collection  of  her 
poems  bears  the  title  of  "  Marguerites  de  la  Marguerite  des  Princesses, 
tresillustre  Royne  de  Navarre."  Lyons,  1547,  *vo.  To  this  accom- 
plished princess,  who  was  equally  conspicuous  for  her  beauty  and  for  her 
virtue,  Buchanan  ha3  addressed  one  of  his  epigrams.  (Lib.  i,  11.) 
1  Bayle,  Eclaircissement  sur  les  Obscehitez,  §  iv. 
m  "  Milton  here,  at  an  early  period  of  life,  renounces  the  levities  of  love 
and  gallantry.  This  was  not  the  case  with  Buchanan,  who  unbecoming, 
ly  prolonged  his  amorous  descant  to  graver  years,  and  who  is  therefore 
ohliquely  censured  by  Milton  in  the  following  passage  of  Lycidas,  hitherto 
not  exactly  understood,  v.  67. 

Were  it  not  better  done,  as  ttlcrs  use, 

To  sport  with  Amaryllis  in  the  shade, 

Or  with  the  tangles  of  Neara's  bair  f 
The  Amaryllis  to  whom  Milton  alludes,  is  the  Amaryllis  of  Buchanan 
ihe  subject  of  a  poem  called  Desidtrium  Lutctix,  a  fond  address  of  consi- 


154 

tions,  which  are  merely  historical,  do  not  insi- 
nuate the  expediency  of  following  a  bad  example, 
however  prevalent.  Buchanan  has  repeatedly 
expressed  his  compunction  for  having  been  guilty 
of  such  levity  ;n  nor  is  it  incumbent  on  his  bio- 
grapher to  commend  the  youthful  sallies  which 
he  himself  condemned  in  his  graver  years.  By 
some  authors,  and  particularly  by  Mr.  Benson,0 
his  delinquency  has  however  been  described  in 
terms  of  illiberal  and  absurd  exaggeration. 
While  he  presided  over  St.  Leonard's  College, 

derable  length  from  an  importunate  lover It  is  allowed  that  the  com  - 

mon  poetical  name,  Amaryllis,  might  have  been  naturally  and  accidentally' 
adopted  by  both  poets ;  nor  does  it  at  first  sight  appear,  that  Milton  used 
it  with  any  restrictive  or  implicit  meaning.  But  Buchanan  had  another 
mistress  whom  he  calls  Nc&ra,  whose  golden  hair  makes  a  very  splendid 
figure  in  his  verses,  and  which  he  has  complimented  more  than  once  in 
the  most  hyperbolical  style."  (Warton's  Notes  on  Milton,  p.  474,  2d 
edit.)  That  Buchanan  prolonged  hi3  amorous  descant  to  graver  years 
than  Milton,  cannot  be  denied  ;  but  the  opinion  which  he  entertained  of 
his  love  verses  during  a  more  advanced  period  of  life,  ought  not  to  be 
overlooked.  These  notions  Mr.  Warton  seems  to  have  adopted  too  rash- 
ly. The  Amaryllis  of  Buchanan  is  not  his  mistress,  but  the  city  of 
Paris ;  and  Nesera  was  the  mistress  of  Tibullus,  Marullus,  Secundus 
Bonefonius,  and  five  hundred  poets  beside.  The  allusion  of  Milton,  with 
due  deference  to  his  commentator,  is  more  simple  and  obvious :  Ama- 
ryllis and  Nesera  are  names  very  generally  adopted  by  pastoral  and  ele- 
giac poets ;  the  question  which  Milton  asks  therefore  is,  whether  it  were 
not  better  to  apply  himself  to  the  composition  of  amatory  pastorals  or  of 
love  elegies. 

n  "  Argnmenta  enim  fere  levia  sunt,  et  quorum  hanc  aetatem  nescio 
pigeat  magis  an  pudeat."  (Buchanan!  Epistola,  p.  5.)  "  Elegias,  Silvas, 
ac  pleraque  Epigrammata  amicis  poscentibus  dedi,  quorum  nomina 
hie  subjicere  non  est  necesse.  Hsec  omnia,  si  per  amicos  licuisset,  semp- 
iternx  oblivioni  consecrassem."  (Ibid.  p.  25.) 

•  Benson's  Comparison  betwixt  Johnston  and  Buchanan,  p.  42. 


155 

he  appears  to  have  enjoyed  the  esteem  and  con- 
fidence of  the  university.  The  public  register 
bestows  upon  him  the  honourable  title  for  which 
he  was  indebted  to  Stephanus.  In  1566  and  the 
two  ensuing  years,  he  was  one  of  the  four  elec- 
tors of  the  rector ;  and  was  nominated  a  prorec- 
tor  by  each  of  the  three  officers  who  were  suc- 
cessively chosen.1*  For  several  years,  he  was  like- 
wise dean  of  faculty.*1 

Of  the  general  assembly  of  the  national  church, 
convened  at  Edinburgh  on  the  twenty-fifth  of 
December  1563,  Buchanan  had  sat  as  a  member; 
and  had  even  been  appointed  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners for  revising  "  The  Book  of  Discipline." 
In  that  commission  he  had  been  associated  with 
the  Earl  Marischal,  Lord  Ruthven,  the  bishop  of 
Orkney,  and  several  other  persons  of  distinction/ 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  assembly  which  met 
at  Edinburgh  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  June  1567; 
and  on  that  occasion  had  the  honour,  though  a 
layman,  of  being  chosen  moderator.8 

The  nation  was  now  in  a  state  of  anarchy ;  and 
Buchanan  was  soon  to  assume  the  character  of  a 
politician.  The  late  conduct  of  Queen  Mary, 
whom  he  once  regarded  in  so  favourable  a  light, 
had  offered  such  flagrant  insults  to  virtue  and  de- 

P  Sibbaldi  Comment,  in  Vitam  Buchanani,  p.  65, 

4  Sibbaldus,  p.  16. 

r  Love's  Vindication  of  Buchanan,  p.  61. 

s  Keith's  HUt.  of  Scotland,  p.  572. 


156 

eorum,  that  his  attachment  was  at  length  con- 
verted into  antipathy.  Having  placed  her  affec- 
tions on  the  earl  of  Both  well,  a  man  of  the  most 
profligate  manners,  she  deemed  it  expedient  to 
remove  every  object  which  might  obstruct  their 
mutual  views.  The  pusillanimous  and  ill-fated 
king  was  murdered  on  the  tenth  of  February 
1567;  and  it  is  but  too  evident  that  his  deluded 
consort  was  not  unacquainted  with  the  nefarious 
plot  by  which  he  fell.  The  nation  indignant- 
ly pointed  to  the  actual  murderer ;  but  she  pro- 
tected him  from  the  vengeance  of  the  law,  and 
distinguished  him  by  public  marks  of  her  favour. 
On  the  twenty-fourth  of  April,  Bothwell,  accom- 
panied by  a  numerous  train  of  horsemen,  seized 
the  person  of  his  sovereign ;  and  her  conduct 
very  clearly  evinced  that  this  expedient  had  ei- 
ther been  suggested  by  herself,  or  at  least  had 
been  adopted  with  her  entire  approbation.  Hav- 
ing precipitately  obtained  a  divorce  from  his  law- 
ful wife,  his  infamous  nuptials  with  the  queen 
were  solemnized  on  the  fifteenth  of  May,  about 
three  months  after  he  had  assassinated  her  former 
husband.  A  series  of  actions  so  unprecedented 
and  so  atrocious  could  not  fail  of  producing  un- 
bounded indignation.  But  the  schemes  of  Both- 
well  were  not  yet  accomplished :  his  extreme  so- 
licitude to  secure  the  person  of  the  young  prince, 
excited  new  apprehensions ;  and  a  powerful  con- 
federacy was  at  length  formed  for  the  purpose  of 


157 

defeating  the  design  which  he  had  evidently  con- 
ceived. Both  parties  had  recourse  to  arms,  and  Ma- 
ry followed  her  new  husband  to  the  field.  But  when 
the  hostile  armies  encountered  each  other,hefound 
his  followers  so  little  disposed  to  engage,  that  he 
abandoned  the  queen  in  the  midst  of  her  parley 
with  the  confederates,  and  quitted  the  scene  with 
precipitation.  She  now  found  herself  in  the 
power  of  her  indignant  subjects ;  and  was  cer- 
tainly exposed  to  treatment  which  cannot  be  re- 
membered to  their  honour.  As  her  undiminish- 
ed passion  for  the  ruffian  who  had  destroyed  her 
peace  and  her  reputation,  would  not  permit  her 
to  yield  to  their  proposal  of  dissolving  so  inde- 
cent a  marriage,  they  readily  perceived  the  con- 
sequences of  suffering  her  to  retain  that  power 
which  she  had  abused.  They  formed  the  resolu- 
tion of  securing  her  person ;  and  she  was  com- 
mitted to  strict  custody  in  the  castle  of  Loch- 
levin.  Her  policy  induced  her  to  accede  to  the 
proposition  of  resigning  her  crown,  and  to  invest 
her  natural  brother  the  earl  of  Murray  with  the 
regency.  On  the  second  of  May  1568,  she 
escaped  from  her  prison ;  and  soon  afterwards 
found  herself  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  army. 
The  defeat  at  Langside  terminated  her  prospects 
of  being  speedily  reinstated  in  her  authority.  She 
now  retired  into  England,  where  she  hoped  to 
find  an  asylum:  but  she  soon  discovered  that  she 
had  reposed  her  confidence  in  a  most  perfidious 


158 

and  cruel  rival.  Having  incautiously  offered  to 
subrrit  her  cause  to  the  cognisance  of  the  Eng- 
lish queen,  she  thus  furnished  a  pretext  for  de- 
grading her  to  the  level  of  an  English  subject ; 
and  she  was  most  ungenerously  detained  in  a 
state  of  captivity.  Elizabeth  required  the  regent 
to  empower  delegates  to  appear  before  her  com- 
missioners; but  as  his  principal  adherents  declin- 
ed so  hazardous  an  office,  he  was  reduced  to  the 
ignominious  necessity  of  attending  in  person. 
His  associates  in  this  commission  were  the  earl  of 
Morton,  Bothwell  bishop  of  Orkney,  Lord  Lind- 
say, and  Pitcaii  ne  commendator  of  Dunfermline. 
He  was  also  accompanied  by  Buchanan,  Maitland 
of  Lethington,  Balnaves  of  Hallhill,  Macgillof  Ran- 
keilor,  and  some  other  individuals  of  inferior  at- 
tainments. Balnaves  and  Macgill  bore  the  cha- 
racter of  able  civilians ;  and  the  abilities  of  Mait- 
land were  of  the  first  order.  The  delegates  no- 
minated by  the  unfortunate  queen  were  Dr.  John 
L<  sley,  bishop  of  Ross,  a  man  eminently  distin- 
guished for  his  talents  and  learning,  Lord  Living- 
ston, Lord  Boyd,  Lord  Herreis,  Sir  John  Gordon 
of  Lochinvar,  Sir  James  Cockburn  of  Skirling, 
and  Gavin  Hamilton,  commendator  of  Kilwin- 
ning. On  the  fourth  of  October  1,568,  the  confer- 
ence was  opened  at  York  before  the  commission- 
ers of  Elizabeth,  but  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing 
month  it  was  transferred  to  Westminster.  This 
Angular  transaction  was  managed  with  great  ad- 


159 

dress  on  both  sides.  Nor  was  Buchanan  the  least 
powerful  of  Murray's  coadjutors:  he  composed  in 
Latin  a  detection  of  Queen  Mary's  actions,  which 
was  produced  to  the  commissioners  at  Westmin- 
ster,1 and  was  afterwards  circulated  with  great 
industry  by  the  English  court.  His  engaging  in 
a  task  of  this  kind,  as  well  as  his  mode  of  execut- 
ing it,  has  frequently  been  urged  as  a  proof  of 
his  moral  depravity ;  and,  to  augment  his  delin- 
quency, the  benefits  conferred  upon  him  by  the 
queen  have  been  multiplied  with  much  ingenui- 
ty."    It  is  certain  that  she  granted  him  the  tem- 

1  Laing's  Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol.  i,  p.  161,241,  2d  edit. 

u  "  On  the  head,"  says  Dr.  Stuart,  "  of  his  ingratitude  to  Mary,  the 
evidences,  I  fear,  admit  not  of  any  doubt  or  palliation.  Mary  invited 
him  from  France  to  Scotland  with  a  view  that  he  should  take  the  charge 
of  die  education  of  her  son ;  and  till  James  should  be  of  a  proper  age  to  re- 
ceive instruction,  she  appointed  him  to  be  chief  master  of  St.  Leonard's 
College  in  the  university  of  St.  Andrews."  (Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii,  p. 
246.)  These  assertions  are  well  combined,  and  are  only  liable  to  one 
material  objection.  That  Mary  invited  him  from  France,  nominated 
him  preceptor  to  her  son,  and  appointed  him  principal  of  St.  Leonard's 
College,  are  bold  surmises  totally  unsupported  by  evidence.  In  the 
common  editions  of  Buchanan's  life,  he  is  said  to  have  been  appointed 
the  preceptor  of  King  James  "  anno  millesimo  quingentesimo  sexagesi- 
mo  quinto."  These  words  however  are  most  evidently  an  interpolation; 
and  in  some  of  the  earlier  editions,  for  example  those  printed  at  Her- 
born  in  1616  and  1624,  they  do  not  occur.  James  was  not  born  till  the 
nineteenth  of  June  1566;  nor  was  Buchanan  appointed  his  preceptor  till 
a  fter  Mary  had  been  expelled  from  the  kingdom.  Mr.  Chalmers  has  em- 
ployed what  he  deems  a  conclusive  argument  of  his  having  nevertheless  been 
indebted  to  the  queen  for  his  original  nomination.  "  Buchanan  says  ex- 
pressly in  his  history  [p.  386.],  '  Ut  ex  iis,  quos  mater,  antequam  se  regno 
abdicarat,  filio  tutores  nominaverat."  (Chalmers,  p.  329.)  The  learned 
critic  evidently  supposes  the  Latin  word  tutor  to  signify  a  preceptor;  with 
what  accuracy,  no  school-boy  need  be  informed.     By  referring  a  few 


160 

penalties  of  the  abbey  of  Crossragwell ;  and  be- 
yond this  single  point  the  evidence  cannot  be 
extended.  Nor  was  this  reward  bestowed  on  a 
man  who  had  performed  no  correspondent  ser- 
vice-,. He  had  officiated  as  her  classical  tutor, 
and  had  composed  various  poems  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  the  Scotish  court:  but  the  immortal 
dedication  of  his  psalms  was  alone  equivalent 
to  any  reward  which  she  conferred.  If  Buchan- 
an celebrated  her  in  his  poetical  capacity,  and 
before  she  ceased  to  be  an  object  of  praise,  it 
certainly  was  not  incumbent  upon  him  to  ap- 
prove tlie  atrocious  actions  which  she  afterwards 
performed/  The  duty  which  he  owed  to  his 
country  was  a  prior  consideration;  and  with  that 
dutv,  his  further  adherence  to  the  infatuated 
princess  was  utterly  incompatible. 

T  earl  of  Murray  and  his  associates  returned 
to  Scotland  in  the  beginning  of  the  ensuing  year. 
This  work  of  Buchanan/  which  was  not  publish- 


pages  back,  he  might  have  discovered  that  the  tutorei  or  guardians  nomi- 
nated by  the  queen  were  the  duke  of  Chutelherault,  and  the  earls  of 
Murray  Lennox,  Argyle,  Athole,  Morton,  Glencairn,  and  Mar.  (Bu- 
chanan. Rerum  Scotic.  Hut.  p.  365. 

x  Nunquam  ita  quisquam  bene  subducta  ratione  ad  vitam  fuit, 
Quin  res,  aitas*  usus  semper  aliquid  apportet  novi, 
Aliquid  moneat  :    ut  ilia  quae  te  scire  credas,  nescias, 
Et  qua;  tibi  putaris  prima,  in  experiundo  ut  repudies. 

Terentius. 
y  De  Maria  Scotorum  Regina,  totaque  ejus  contra  Regem  conjura- 
tione,  fcedo  cum  Bothuelio  adulterio,  nefaria  in  maritum  crudelitate  et 
rabie,  horrendo  insuper  ct  deterrimo  eju6dem  parricidio,  plena,  et  tra- 


161 

ed  till  1.571,  seems  to  have  been  intrusted  to  Dr. 
Thomas  Wilson;  Who  is  supposed,  \yith  great 
plausibility,  to  have  added  the  "  Actio  contra 
Marians  Scotorum  Reginam,"  and  the  Latin 
translation  of  Mary's  first  three  letters  to  the  earl 
of  Bothwell.2  From  a  manuscript  notice  insert- 
ed in  a  copy  which  belonged  to  Mr.  Herbert,  it 
appears  that  the  Actio  was  by  some  ascribed  to 
Sir  Thomas  Smith,  but  by  the  annotator  himself 
to  Wilson,3  of  whom  he  must  apparently  be  sup- 
posed  to    have    had   some  personal'  knowledge. 

gica  plane  Historia.  8vo. — This  unchssical  title,  as  Mr.  Laing  suggests, 
must  have  been  fabricated  by  the  editor.  A  translation,  with  the  fol- 
lowing title,  soon  afterwards  made  its  appearance.  "  Ane  DetectioVn  of 
the  Duinges  of  Marie  Queue  of  Scottes,  touchand  the  murder  of  hir  hus- 
band, and  hir  conspiracie,  adulterie,  and  pretensed  mariage  with  the 
Erie  Bothwell :  and  ane  Defence  of  the  trew  Lordis,  mainteineris  of 
the  Kingis  Graces  ctioun  and  awrbaoritie.  Translated  out  of  the  Latine 
quhilke  was  written  by  G.  B."  Hvo.  Black  letter.  These  two  publica- 
tions are  without  date,  place,  or  printer's  name ;  but  they  are  supposed 
to  have  issued  from  the  press  of  John  Day.  The  first  of  them  appears 
to  have  been  circulated  at  London  before  the  first  of  November  1571; 
the  second  before  the  close  of  the  same  month.  (Laing,  vol.  i,  p.  242, 
243.)  This  translation  was  unskilfully  executed  by  some  Englishman, 
in  imitation  of  the  Scotish  idiom  and  orthography.  It  was  afterward* 
transformed  into  the  genuine  Scotish  language,  and  reprinted  at  St  An- 
drews. "  Ane  Detectioun  of  the  Doingis  of  Marie  Quene  of  Scottis,"  &c. 
ImprentU  at  Sanctaitdrcis  be  Robrrt  Lekbi evict,  1572.  Black  letter.  The  Scot, 
ish  version  occurs  in  Mr.  Anderson's  Collectims,  vol.  it :  but  with  respect 
to  the  history  of  the  publication,  this  editor  has  committed  more  than  one 
mistake.  Other  three  editions  of  the  English  detection,  but  in  a  modernized 
style,  appeared  at  London  in  ltJ51,  1689,  and  1721.  A  Frencl.  trauma- 
tica bears,  in  the  title  page;  "  A  Edimbourg  par  Thomas  Waltem,  1572." 
It  appears  to  have  been  printed  by  the  Huguenot,  at  Rochelle.  (Laing, 
vol.  i,  p  25o,  259.) 

*  Laing's  Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol  i,  p.  243. 

8  Herbert's  Typographical  Antiquities,  vol.  iii,  p.  1€C9. 

L 


162 

Wilson  was  at  that  time  master  of  the  requests, 
and  afterwards  secretary  of  state.     Some  of  the 
sentiments,  and  the  general  texture  of  the  com- 
position, are  such  as  cannot  easily  be  supposed  to 
have   proceeded   from   Buchanan ;    and,    in    the 
present  enquiry,    it  is  of   more  consequence  to 
ascertain  that  it  was  not  written  by  him,  than 
who  was  its  real  author.     "  It  resumes,"  says  Mr. 
Laing,  "  the  detail  of  the  same  facts  contained 
in  the  Detection,  with  the  tedious  repetition  na- 
tural to  one  author,  when  retracing  the  footsteps 
of  another,   whom  he  strives  only  to  surpass  in 
violence  :    superadding    such    local    description, 
and  vulgar  reports  as  a  keen  enquirer,  who  had 
visited  Scotland   in  person,   might  collect  from 
Lesly,  and  other  Scots,  whom  he  examined  on 
the  subject.    The  Detection  is  a  concise  historic- 
al deduction  of  facts ;  a  rapid  narrative,  written 
with  that  chaste  and  classical  precision  of  thought 
and  language,  from  which  each  sentence  acquires 
an  appropriate  idea,  distinct  from  the  preceding, 
neither  anticipated,  repeated,  nor  intermixed  with 
others;  and  the  style  is  so  strictly  historical,  that 
the  work  is  incorporated  in  Buchanan's  history 
a  most  without  alteration.  But  the  Action  against 
Mary  is  a  dull  declamation,  and  a  malignant  in- 
vective, written  in  professed  imitation  of  the  an- 
cient orators,  whom  Buchanan  has  never  imitat- 
ed;  without  arrangement  of  parts,  coherence,  or 
a  regular  train  of  ideas ;  and  without  a  single 


163 

passage  which  Buchanan,  in  his  history,  has 
deigned  to  transcribe.  A  man  inured  to  extem- 
porary eloquence,  whose  mind  is  accustomed  on- 
ly to  popular  arguments,  and  his  tongue  to 
prompt,  and  loose  declamation,  never  writes  with 
such  lucid  arrangement,  with  such  accuracy  of 
thought,  or  compression  of  style,  as  a  professed 
author,  who  thinks  no  labour  too  great  for  what 
is  bequeathed  to  posterity ;  and  the  virulent  Ac- 
tion against  Mary  no  more  resembles  Buchanan's 
Detection,  than  the  coarse  and  verbose  ribaldry 
of  Whitaker,  or  the  elegant  yet  diffuse  rhapsodies 
of  Burke  and  Bolingbroke,  the  correct  and  class- 
ical precision  of  Junius  or  Hume."5 

The  regent,  to  whom  Buchanan  was  so  cor- 
dially attached,  did  not  long  survive  those  trans- 
actions. On  the  twenty-third  [January  1570, 
he  was  shot  in  the  street  of  Linlithgow  by  Ha- 
milton of  Bothwellhaugh,  whom  his  clemency 
had  formerly  rescued  from  an  ignominious  death.0 
The  assassin  had  been  confirmed  in  his  inhuman 
enterprize  by  the  approbation  of  his  powerful 
kinsmen.  The  indignation  of  Buchanan  was  na- 
turally roused  against  the  house  of  Hamilton  ; 
and  he  had  sufficient  cause  to  suspect  that  their 
purposes  were  not  yet  completely  effected.  Un- 
der these  impressions,  he  addressed  an  admoni- 

b  Laing's  Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol.  i,  p.  247. 

c  Buchanan  has  written  the  earl's  elogium  and  epitaph  in  very  affec- 
tionate terms.     (Rerum  Static.  Hist.  p.  385.     Epigram,  lib.  ii,  29.) 

L2 


164 

tion  to  the  faithful  peers  ;d  in  which  he  earnestly 
adjured  them  to  protect  the  young  king,  and  the 
children  of  the  late  regent,  from  the  perils  which 
seemed  to  await  them.  It  was  apparently  in  the 
course  of  the  same  year,  1570,  that  he  composed 
another  Scotish  tract,  entitled  Cbamaleon*  In 
this  satirical  production,  he  very  successfully  ex- 
poses the  wavering  politics  of  the  famous  secretary 
Maitland.  The  secretary,  who  was  justly  alarm- 
ed at  the  prospect  of  being  publicly  exhibited  in 
such  glaring  colours  entertained  a  suspicion  that 
the  work  was  to  issue  from  the  press  of  Robert 

d  Ane  Admonitioun  direct  to  the  trew  Lordis,  Mantenaris  of  the  Kingis 
Graces  Authoritie.  M.  G.  B.  Imprentit  at  Striviling  be  Robert  LeHprevicl, 
1571,  8vo. — Mr.  Laing  remarks  that  another  edition  was  printed  by 
Lekprevick  in  the  course  of  the  same  year  ;  and  a  third  was  "  imprinted 
at  London  by  Iohn  Daye,  accordyng  to  the  Scotish  copie,"  1571,  8vo. 
This  tract  is  inserted  in  The  Harletan  Miscellany,  vol.  iii,  p.  395.  "  The 
MS.  copy  of  it  in  the  Cottonian  library,"  says  Mr.  Goodall,  "  is  dated 
1570:  and  it  is  probable  that  it  was  first  printed  that  year.  There  is 
another  edition  of  it  by  Lekprevick  in  1571,  which  has  anew  paragraph 
concerning  a  pretended  third  conspiracy  of  Sir  James  Hamilton,  which  i> 
neither  in  the  MS.  nor  in  the  first  edition,  nor  in  the  later  editions  by  Mr. 
Ruddiman  or  Mr.  Burman."  (Examination,  vol.  i,  p.  342.)  This  writer 
first  supposes,  and  without  any  necessity,  that  the  admonition  was  print- 
ed in  1570  :  in  the  course  of  the  next  sentence,  he  assumes  that  it  actual- 
ly was  printed  during  that  year,  and  even  speaks  as  if  he  had  inspected 
the  imaginary  edition  :  and  lastly  he  quotes  other  two  editions  which 
never  existed  ;  for  the  work  in  question  was  neither  republished  by  Rud- 
diman nor  by  Burman.  This  is  a  very  adequate  specimen  of  Mr.  Good- 
all's  mode  of  vriting  ;  nor  shaH  I  again  advert  to  his  misconceptions  and 
misrepresentations. 

c  Of  Buchanan's  CbamaUon,  the  copy  preserved  among  the  Cotton  MSS. 
bears  the  date  of  1 570.  This  tract  was  first  printed  in  the  Miscellanea 
Stotica.  Lond.  1710,  8vo.  It  occurs  in  both  editions  of  the  author's 
work*. 


165 

Lekprevick ;  and  on  the  fourteenth  of  April  1571 , 
his  emissary  Captain  Melvin  searched,  for  the 
third  time,  that  printer's  house  in  Edinburgh. 
This  search  took  place  about  eleven  o'clock  on  a 
Saturday  night ;  but  Lekprevick  being  warned 
of  his  danger,  had  previously  disappeared  with 
such  papers  as  seemed  to  threaten  disagreeable 
consequences/  The  Chameleon,  if  it  was  actual- 
ly delivered  to  the  printer,  seems  to  have  been 
suppressed  by  Maitland's  vigilance  ;  for  it  re- 
mained in  manuscript  till  the  beginning  of  last 
century.  The  style  of  these  two  productions  is 
at  least  equal  in  vigour  and  elegance  to  that  of 
any  other  composition  in  the  ancient  Scotish  lan- 
guage ;  though  it  is  sufficiently  obvious  that  the 
happy  genius  of  the  author  cannot  there  appear 
in  its  genuine  splendour.  "  When  we  read," 
says  an  accomplished  and  able  writer,  "  the  com- 
positions of  Buchanan  in  his  native  tongue,  how 
completely  are  his  genius  and  taste  obscured  by 
those  homely  manners  which  the  coarseness  of 
his  dialect  recals ;  and  how  difficult  is  it  to  be- 
lieve that  they  express  the  ideas  and  sentiments 
of  the  same  writer,  whose  Latin  productions  vie 
with  the  best  models  of  antiquity  !"g 

Soon  after  the  assassination  of  his  illustrious 
friend,  Buchanan  was  removed  to  a  situation  of 
no  inconsiderable  importance  ;  he  was  appointed 

f  Dalyell's  Illurtrations  of  Scotish  History,  p.  130.  Edinb.  1806,  8v». 
I  Stewart's  Life  of  Robertson,  p.  43.  Edinb.  1801,  8vo. 

1.3 


166 

one  of  the  preceptors  of  the  young  king.  For 
this  preferment  he  was  apparently  indebted  to  the 
privy  council,  and  others  of  the  nobility  and 
gentry,  who  assembled  in  consequence  of  that 
disasterous  event,  for  the  purpose  of  regulating 
the  affairs  of  the  nation.11  Having  appeared  be- 
fore the  council,  he  resigned  his  office  of  princi- 
pal in  favour  of  his  friend  Patrick  Adamson,  pro- 
bably the  famous  poet  who  was  afterwards  arch- 
bishop of  St.  Andrews.1  The  circumstance  of  his 
being  permitted  to  nominate  a  successor,  may  be 
considered  as  an  additional  proof  of  the  high  es- 
timation in  which  his  character  was  held.  The 
privy  council  now  admitted  Adamson  to  the  prin- 
cipality; but  it  does  not  appear  from  the  univers- 

h  The  act  of  privy  council,  which  Mr.  Ruddiman  has  inserted  in  hi* 
notes  on  Buchanan's  life,  commences  thus  :  "  The  Lords  of  Secret  Coun- 
cil and  others  of  the  Nobility  and  Estates,  being  conveened  for  taking  or- 
der in  the  affairs  of  this  common-wealth,  among  other  matters  being 
carefull  of  the  King's  Majestie's  preservation  and  good  education,  and 
considering  how  necessary  the  attendance  of  Mr.  George  Buchanan,  Mas- 
ter of  St.  Leonard's  Colledge  within  the  University  of  St.  Andrews,  upon 
his  Highness  shall  be,  and  that  it  behoves  the  said  Mr.  George  to  with- 
draw himself  from  his  charge  of  the  said  colledge,"  &c.  This  record  af- 
terwards mentions  the  priory  of  St.  Andrews  as  being  without  a  com- 
mendator.  The  arrangement  must  therefore  have  taken  place  soon  after 
the  regent's  death.  "  As  to  its  date,"  says  Mr.  Ruddiman,  "  I  found 
none  at  the  act  itself;  only  at  the  top  of  the  page  is  marked  1569." 
( Animadversions,  p.  67.)  Our  ancestors  terminated  the  year  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  March. 

i  "  He  therefore  compearing  personally  in  presence  of  the  said  Lords  of 
the  Council,  Nobility,  and  others  of  the  Estates  above-written,  at  their 
desire,  and  of  his  own  freewill  and  proper  motive,  demitted  and  gave 
Over  his  charge  and  place  of  Master  of  the  said  Colledge  in  the  favours 
of  hi«  well-beloved  Master  Patrick  Adarrrton,  and  no  otberivisi" 


167 

ity  records  that  he  ever  exercised  his  new  func- 
tions. 

The  prince  had  been  committed  during  his  in- 
fancy to  the  charge  of  the  earl  of  Mar,  a  noble- 
man of  the  most  unblemished  integrity.  In  1570, 
when  Buchanan  entered  upon  his  office,  he  was 
only  four  years  of  age.  The  chief  superintend- 
ence of  his  education  was  intrusted  to  the  earl's 
brother  Sir  Alexander  Erskine,  '*  a  gallant  well- 
natur'd  gentleman,  loved  and  honoured  by  all 
men  "  The  preceptors  associated  with  Buchan- 
an were  Peter  Young,  and  the  two  abbots  of 
Cambuskenneth  and  Dryburgh,  both  related  to 
the  noble  family  of  Mar.  Young  was  respectable 
for  his  capacity  and  learning.  His  disposition 
was  naturally  mild ;  and  his  prudent  attention  to 
his  future  interest  rendered  him  cautious  of  of- 
fending a  pupil,  who  was  soon  to  be  the  dispenser 
of  public  favours.  He  was  afterwards  employed 
in  several  political  transactions  of  importance, 
obtained  the  honour  of  knighthood,  and  received 
an  annual  pension  of  considerable  amount. k .  The 
lofty  and  independent  spirit  of  Buchanan  was  not 
to  be  controlled  by  the  mere  suggestions  of  cold 
caution ;  the  honourable  task  which  the  voice  of  » 
his  country  had  assigned  to  his  old  age,  he  dis- 
charged with  simple  integrity,  and  was  little  so- 

k  An  account  of  the  life  of  Sir  Peter  Young  may  be  found  in  Dr.  Tho- 
mas Smith's  V ita  quorundam  Eruditissimorum  ct  Illustrium  Firorum.  Load* 
1707,  4t0. 


licitous  what  impression  the  strictness  of  his  dis- 
cipline might  leave  on  the  mind  of  his  royal  pu- 
pil.1 James,  who  was  of  a  timid  nature,  long 
remembered  the  commanding  aspect  which  his 
illustrious  preceptor  had  assumed."1     Qt  the  un- 

1  "  Now  the  young  king,"  says  Sir  James  Melvil,  "  was  brought  up 
in  Sterling  by  Alexander  Areskine  and  my  Lady  Mar.  He  had  four 
principal  masters,  Mr.  George  Buchuanan,  Mr.  Peter  Young,  the  ab- 
bots of  Cambuskenneth  and  Drybrugh,  descended  from  the  house  oi 
Areskine.  The  laird  of  Drumwhasel  was  master  of  his  household. 
Alexander  Areskine  was  a  gallant  well  natur'd  gentleman,  loved  and  ho- 
noured by  all  men,  for  his  good  qualities  and  great  discretion,  no  ways 
factious  nor  envious,  a  lover  of  all  honest  men,  and  desired  ever  to  see 
men  of  good  conversation  about  the  prince,  rather  then  his  own  nearer 
friends,  if  he  found  them  not  so  meet.  The  laird  of  Drumwhasel  again 
was  ambitious  and  greedy,  his  greatest  care  was  to  advance  himself  and 
his  friends.  The  two  abbots  were  wise  and  modest.  'My  Lady  Mar 
was  wise  and  sharp,  ar.d  held  the  king  in  great  awe ;  and  so  did  Mr. 
George  Buchuanan.  Mr.  Peter  Young  was  more  gentle,  and  was  loath 
to  offend  the  king  at  any  time,  carrying  himself  warily,  as  a  man  who 
had  a  mind  to  his  own  weal,  by  keeping  of  his  majesty's  favour :  but 
Mr.  George  was  a  Stoick  philosopher,  who  looked  not  far  before  him. 
A  man  of  notable  endowments  for  his  learning  and  knowlcge  of  Latin 
poesie,  much  honoured  in  other  countries,  pleasant  in  conversation,  re- 
hearsing at  all  occasions  moralities  short  and  instructive,  whereof  he  had 
abundance,  inventing  where  he  wanted."  (Melvil's  Memoires,  p.  125. 
Lond.  1683,  fol.)  This  is  the  first  edition  of  the  book;  but  Melvil  war. 
the  cotemporary,  though  not,  as  Mr.  Innes  asserts,  the  intimate  friend  of 
Buchanan. 

ra  "  King  James,"  says  Francis  Osborn,  "  used  to  say  of  a  person  in 
high  place  about  him,  that  he  ever  trembled  at  his  approach,  it  minded 
him  so  of  his  pedagogue."  ( Aivketo  a  Son,  p.  19.)  "  For  his  know- 
ledge," says  John  Hall,  "  he  had  some  glancings  and  nibblings, 
the  severity  of  the  excellent  Buchanan  forced  into  him  in  his  younger 
time,  and  after  conversation  somewhat  polish'd."  ( Grounds  and  Reasons  of 
Monarchy,  p.  30.)  This  tract  Mr.  Toland  has  inserted  in  his  edition  of 
"  The  Oceana  of  James  Harnngton,  and  his  other  Works."  Lond.  1700, 
id.   ' 


169 

courtly  discipline   to  which  he  was   subjected, 
two  instances  have  been  recorded  ;  but  with  re- 
gard to  their  authenticity,  every  enquirer  shall  be 
left   to  decide    for    himself.      The   king  having 
caught  a  fancy  for  a  tame  sparrow  which  belong- 
ed to  his  play-fellow  the  "master  of  Mar,  solicited 
him  without  effect  to  transfer  his  right  :  and  in 
endeavouring  to  wrest  it  out  of  his  hand,  he  de- 
prived the  poor  little  animal  of  life.     Erskine 
having  raised  due  lamentation  for  its  untimely 
fate,  the  circumstances  were  reported  to  Buchan- 
an ;  who  lent  his  young  sovereign  a  box  on  the 
ear,  and  admonished  him  that  he  was  himself  a 
true  bird  of  the  bloody  nest  to  which  he  belong- 
ed.    A  theme  which  had  one  day  been  prescrib- 
ed to  the  royal  pupil,  was  the  conspiracy  of  the 
earl  of  Angus  and  other  noblemen  during  the 
reign  of  James  the  third.     After  dinner,  he  was 
diverting  himself  with  the  master  of  Mar :  and 
as  Buchanan,  who  in  the  mean  time  was  intent 
on    reading,    found  himself  annoyed   by    their 
obstreperous  mirth,  he  requested  the  king  to  de- 
sist; but  as  no  attention  was  paid  to  the  suggest- 
ion, he  threatened  to  accompany  his  next  in- 
junction with  something  more  forcible  than  words. 
James,  whose  ear  had  been  tickled  by  the  quaint 
application  of  the  apologue  mentioned   in   his 
theme,  replied  that  he  should  be  glad  to  see  who 
would  bell  the  cat.    His  venerable  preceptor,  who 

*  See  Wallace  on  Ancient  Peerages,  p.  424. 


170 

might  have  pardoned  the  remark,  was  perhaps 
offended  with  the  mode  in  which  it  was  uttered : 
he  threw  aside  his  book  with  indignation,  and 
bestowed  upon  the  delinquent  that  species  of 
sholastic  discipline  which  is  deemed  most  igno- 
minious. The  countess  of  Mar,  being  attracted 
by  the  wailing  which  ensued,  hastened  to  the 
scene  of  his  disgrace  ;  and  taking  the  precious 
deposit  in  her  arms,  she  demanded  of  Buchanan 
how  he  presumed  to  lay  his  hand  upon  "  the 
Lord's  anointed  ?"  To  this  interrogation  he  is 
said  to  have  returned  an  answer,  that  contained 
a  very  unceremonious  antithesis  relative  to  the 
part  which  had  received  the  chastisement.0  A 
man  who  was  no  stranger  to  polished  society,  can 
hardly  be  suspected  of  such  unpoliteness  to  a  lady ; 
unless  we  suppose  her  to  have  assumed  a  degree  of 
insolence  which  rendered  it  expedient  to  convince 
her,  by  an  overwhelming  proof,  that  he  disowned 
her  authority. 

The  young  monarch's  proficiency  in  letters 
was  such  as  reflected  no  discredit  on  his  early  in- 
structors. He  undoubtedly  acquired  a  very  con- 
siderable portion  of  scholastic  knowledge,  and 
attained  to  the  command  of  a  fluent  and  not  in- 
elegant style.  By  some  of  the  most  illustrious 
of  his  cotemporaries,  he  has  even  been  extolled 
as  a  prodigy  of  erudition :  but  the  commenda- 

0  Mackenzie's  Lives  of  Scots  Writers,  vol.  iii,  p.  180.—"  Madam,  I 
have  whipt  his .... ;  you  may  kiss  it  if  you  pleat*." 


171 

tions  bestowed  upon  a  living  potentate  are  gener- 
ally to  be  received  with  the  utmost  caution. 
His  literary  attainments  are  however  commemo- 
rated in  terms  of  respect  by  several  eminent  writ- 
ers, who  cannot  be  suspected  of  the  same  partiality 
of  judgment.  Dr.  Parr  admits  that  he  was  pos- 
sessed of  no  contemptible  share  of  learning;13  and 
an  admirable  historian  mentions  his  b<wa./*«»  a^m 
with  appropriate  praise.  '*  Notwithstanding,'* 
says  Dr.  Robertson,  M  the  great  alterations  and 
refinements  in  national  taste  since  that  time,  we 
must  allow  this  to  be  no  contemptible  perform- 
ance, and  not  to  be  inferior  to  the  works  of  most 
cotemporary  writers,  either  in  purity  of  style  or 
justness  of  composition."  His  works  are  nu- 
merous, and  of  various  denominations.q 

That  he  should  regard  the  memory  of  his  pre- 
ceptor with  any  unusual  degree  of  affection,  could 
not  reasonably  be  expected.  The  character  of 
his  mother  Buchanan  had  discussed, in  a  very  un- 
ceremonious style  ;  and,  in  return,  James  has 
repeatedly  mentioned  the  name  of  Buchanan  with 
very  little   reverence/     The  royal  author  con- 

P  Parr,  prsef.  in  Bellendenum,  p.  kiii. 

1  An  imperfect  account  of  the  literary  character  of  King  James  may 
be  found  in   The  Lives  of  the  Scothb  Poets,  vol.  ii,  p.  209. 

1  K.  James's  Workes,  p.  176,  480.  Lond.  1616,  fel. — Buchanan  seem* 
to  have  been  a  favourite  author  of  a  much  greater  monarch.  The  sub- 
sequent anecdote  of  Gustaf  Adolf  it  would  be  improper  to  overlook. 
"  Some  days  afterwards  he  invested  Elbingen,  where  the  defendants  were 
almost  equal  in  number  to  those  that  assailed  them.  And  here  the  king  gave 
a  fresh  proof,  both  of  his  good  nature  and  contempt  of  danger ;  for  whilst 


172 

demns  his  history  of  Scotland  as  an  infamous  in- 
vective; and  admonishes  his  heir  apparent  to 
punish  such  of  his  future  subjects  as  should  be 
guilty  of  retaining  it  in  their  custody.  James  is 
to  be  considered  as  one  of  Buchanan's  most  for- 
midable enemies.  The  only  son  of  an  ill-fated 
princess  was  naturally  solicitous  to  wash  away  the 
foul  spots  of  her  reputation  ;  and,  with  this  view, 
he  exerted  all  the  powerful  influence  attached  to 
his  sceptre.  Men  of  letters  who  courted  his  fa- 
vour, were  too  easily  induced  to  consider  his  mo- 
ther's fame  as  immaculate  ;  and  as  her  reputa- 
tion was  incompatible  with  that  of  her  principal 
accuser,  the  next  step  of  expediency  was  to  con- 
vict Buchanan  in  the  most  summary  manner. 
His  strong  antipathy  cannot  indeed  excite  much 
surprize  ;  but  it  would  perhaps  have  been  more 
magnanimous  to  suppress  his  indignation  against 
a  preceptor,  who  had  discharged  his  duty  with 
the  most  conscientious  solicitude/     Of  the  future 

the  commander  and  burgomaster  were  signing  a  capitulation  in  the  royal 
tent,  he  walked  up  to  the  town-gates,  and  desired  to  be  admitted  within 
the  walls  upon  courteous  terms.  He  then  asked  pardon  of  the  inhabit- 
ants for  not  making  his  appearance  in  a  better  suit  of  apparel,  and  con- 
veying himself  from  the  crowd,  in  the  midst  of  their  admiration,  stepped 
unnoticed  into  a  bookseller's  shop,  and  desired  the  honest  man  to  supply 
him  with  an  edition  of  Buchanan's  poems."  ^Harte's  Hist,  of  the  Life  «f 
Guttavus  Adolpbus,  vol.  i,  p.  81.     Lond.  1759,  2  vols.  4to.) 

*  Tuque,  parens  patriae,  nisi  deliquisset  in  uno, 
Quid  de  te  vatem  non  meruisse  putas  ? 
Imbuit  ille  animum  studiis,  et  regibus  olim 
Invia  Pieridum  per  juga  rexit  iter  : 


173 

glory  of  his  pupil,  and  the  attendant  felicity  of 
his  country,  Buchanan  seems  to  have  cherished 
many  a  fond  and  anxious  hope  ;  but  all  his  la- 
bours proved  abortive,  and  his  expectations  de- 
ceitful. The  understanding  of  James,  which  had 
presented  no  unfavourable  dawn,  was  naturally 
opaque  ;  and  the  malignant  influence  of  courtly 
adulation  speedily  counteracted  the  effect  of  those 
salutary  maxims  of  virtue  and  polity,  with  which 
it  was  the  perpetual  solicitude  of  Buchanan  to 
fortify  his  tender  mind.  From  the  mature  wis- 
dom of  his  instructor,  he  might  have  imbibed 
the  durable  principles  of  a  legitimate  sovereign- 
ty ;  might  have  learned  to  secure  his  own  glory, 
to  provide  for  the  future  peace  of  his  race,  and 
to  consider  the  happiness  of  his  people  as  the  most 
splendid  object  of  regal  ambition.  But  his  no- 
tions of  prerogative,  after  having  been  fostered 
by  a  more  genial  atmosphere,  became  at  length 
so  utterly  extravagant  as  to  approach  the  borders 
of  phrensy.  In  his  native  country,  he  was  fre- 
quently treated  with  the  utmost  contempt ;  but 
England  had  long  been  habituated  to  the  tyran- 
ny of  the  house  of  Tudor.     His  son  inherited  his 

Finxit  et  os  tenerum  puero,  quo  pectora  mulces, 

Quosque  regis  populos  ncn  sinis  esse  feros  : 
Os  dedit,   et  dignos  formavit  principe  mores, 

Et  docuit  quae  vos  sjepe  latere  solent ; 
Quid  rex  privato,  quid  distet  rege  tyrannus; 

Quid  populus  regi  debeat,  ille  Deo. 

Jonstoni  Poemati,  p.  18K. 


174 

political  errors  as  well  aa  his  crown :  though  the 
royal  family  scorned  improvement,  the  rest  of 
the  nation  had  begun  to  sicken  at  perpetual  en- 
croachment and  submission  ;  and  the  ensuing 
struggle,  which  was  unquestionably  followed  by 
remote  consequences  of  a  salutary  nature,  involv- 
ed the  death  of  a  monarch  whose  faults,  though 
of  the  first  magnitude,  were  faults  of  education. 
If  the  pupil  of  Buchanan  had  been  worthy  of  such 
a  preceptor,  the  royal  house  of  Stewart  might 
still  have  swayed  the  sceptre  of  their  ancestors.1 

One  of  the  earliest  propensities  which  he  dis- 
covered, was  an  excessive  attachment  to  favour- 
ites ;  and  this  weakness,  which  ought  to  have 
been  abandoned  with  the  other  characteristics  of 
childhood,  continued  to  retain  its  ascendency 
during  every  stage  of  his  life.  His  facility  in 
complying  with  every  request  alarmed  the  pro- 
phetic sagacity  of  Buchanan.  On  the  authority 
of  the  poet's  nephew,"  Chytraeus  has  recorded  a 
ludicrous  expedient  which  he  adopted  for  the 
purpose  of  correcting  his  pupil's  conduct.  He 
presented  the  young  king  with  two  papers,  which 
he  requested  him  to  sign;  and  James,  after  hav- 
ing slightly  interrogated  him  respecting  their  con- 
tents, readily   appended  his  signature  to  each, 

1  Dr.  Smith  has  published  a  brief  sketch  of  the  method  of  study  pre* 
scribed  to  the  royal  pupil.     (Vita  Petri  Junii,  p.  6.) 

u  This  was  a  fraternal  nephew  of  Buchanan's.  Alexander  Morison, 
the  son  of  one  of  his  sisters,  published  a  new  edition  of  Buchanan's  pa- 
raphrase.    (Jos,  Scaligeri  Ofuscula,  p.  287,  Poemala,  p.  50.) 


175 

without  the  precaution  of  even  a  cursory  perusal. 
One  of  them  was  a  formal  transference  of  the  re- 
gal authority  for  the  term  of  fifteen  days.  Hav- 
ing quitted  the  royal  presence,  one  of  the  court- 
iers accosted  him  with  his  usual  salutation  :  but 
to  this  astonished  nobleman  he  announced  him- 
self in  the  new  character  of  a  sovereign  ;  and  with 
that  happy  urbanity  of  humour  for  which  he  was 
so  distinguished,  he  began  to  assume  the  high  de- 
meanour of  royalty.  He  afterwards  preserved 
the  same  deportment  towards  the  king  himself; 
and  when  .James  expressed  his  amazement  at  such 
extraordinary  conduct,  Buchanan  admonished 
him  of  his  having  resigned  the  crown.  This  re- 
ply did  not  tend  to  lessen  the  monarch's  surprize ; 
for  he  now  began  to  suspect  his  preceptor  of  men- 
tal derangement.  Buchanan  then  produced  the 
instrument  by  which  he  was  formally  invested  ; 
and,  with  the  authority  of  a  tutor,  proceeded  to 
remind  him  of  the  absurdity  of  assenting  to  pe- 
titions in  so  rash  a  manner. 

About  the  period  when  lie  was  nominated  pre- 
ceptor to  the  king,  other  marks  of  distinction 
were  conferred  upon  him.  His  first  civil  ap- 
pointment, which  he  seems  to  have  retained  but 
a  short  while,  was  that  of  director  of  the  chan- 
cery/    The  keeper  of  the  privy  seal,  John  af- 

*  Scot's  Staggering  State  of  the  Scots  Statesmen,  p.  109. — As  Sir  John 
Scot  soon  afterwards  held  the  same  office,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  he 
could  easily  be  mistaken  in  an  assertion  ef  this  kind,    Mr.  Chalmerj  ha« 


176 

terwards  Lord  Maitland/  having  been  deprived 
of  his  office  on  account  of  his  adherence  to  the 
unfortunate  queen,  it  was  very  laudably  confer- 
red on  Buchanan,  in  the  year  1.570. 2  The  earl 
of  Lennox  was  at  that  time  regent.  His  situation 
as  lord  privy  seal  was  undoubtedly  honourable, 
and  probably  lucrative.  It  entitled  him  to  a  seat  in 
parliament.'  This  office  he  retained  for  the  space 
of  several  years.  On  the  thirtieth  of  April  1.578, 
he  nominally  resigned  it  in  favour  of  his  nephew 
Thomas,  the  son  of  Alexander  Buchanan  of  Ib- 
bert  ;b  but  that  measure  seems  only  to  have  been 
adopted  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  reversion. 
For  in  the  month  of  June,  he  voted  in  parliament 
for  the  abbot  of  Dunfermline's  being  sent  as  am- 
bassador to  the  English  court;  and  in  that  of  July, 
for  the  earl  of  Morton's  beim*  excluded  from  the 
king's  council.0  So  late  as  the  year  1580,  one 
of  his  correspondents  addresses  him  by   the   title 

however  convinced  himself  that  Buchanan  never  was  director  of  the 
chancery,  because  his  admission  to  the  office  cannot  be  traced  in  the 
records.  This  acute  writer  must  have  forgotten  that  "  the  most  dili- 
gent search  could  not  find  the  appointment  of  Buchanan  to"  another  high 
situation,  which  he  most  unquestionably  enjoyed. 

y  Lord  Maitland  of  Thirlstane,  high  chancellor  of  Scotland,  was  the 
son  of  Sir  Richard  Maitland,  and  the  brother  of  Buchanan's  friend  Tho- 
mas Maitland  ;  all  of  whom  are  still  remembered  as  poets.  This  fa- 
mily has  long  been  distinguished  for  its  talents  and  literature;  and  I  need 
only  add  that  its  present  representative  is  the  earl  of  Lauderdale. 

'  Crawfurd's  Peerage  of  Scotland,  p.  252.  Edinb.  1716,  fol.  Doug- 
las's Peerage  of  Scotland,  p.  394.     Edinb.  1764,  foL 

*  Wight  on  Elections,  p.  G6. 

*  Chalmers,  p.  338.  c  Chalmers,  p.  339,  34a 


177 

or*  preceptor  and  counsellor  to  the  king  of  Scot- 
land.11 

With  the  three  former  regents  he  was  cordial- 
ly connected ;  but  the  conduct  of  Morton  had 
deservedly  excited  his  patriotic  indignation.  It 
was  by  the  seasonable  counsel  of  Buchanan  and 
Sir  Alexander  Erskine,  that  the  king  had  been  in- 
duced to  depose  him  from  his  office,0  which  how- 
ever he  afterwards  succeeded  in  regaining.  The 
situation  of  Scotland  during  that  unhappy  period 
is  sufficiently  known.  It  was  the  policy  of  Eliza- 
beth to  exert  over  this  country  a  very  unwarrant- 
able influence ;  and  the  anticipation  of  a  speedy 
union  might  perhaps  have  considerable  tendency 
to  reconcile  many  upright  men  to  her  views.  A 
list  of  twenty-four  persons  in  Scotland  whom 
she  proposed  to  attach  by  pensions  is  still  pre- 
served/ One  hundred  pounds  was  the  gratuity 
intended  for  Buchanan  ;  and  several  noble  earls 
are  not  there  valued  at  a  higher  price.  But  it 
is  far  from  being  certain  that  this  pension  was 
ever  conferred ;  nor  is  any  material  inference  to 
be  rashly  deduced  from  the  insertion  of  his  name 
in  the  scrolls  of  a  political  projector,  residing  in 
a  different  kingdom. 

Buchanan  was  equally  consulted  as  a  politician 
and  as  a  scholar.     The  inconveniences  which 

d  Buchanan!  Epistohe,  p.  27. 
e  Melvil'*  Memoires,  p.  12P. 
t  Chalmers,  p.  343. 

M 


178 

were  found  to  result  from  the  use  of  a  multipli- 
city of  Latin  gramm?rs  in  the  different  schools 
of  the  kingdom,  having  been  represented  to  the 
young  monarch,  a  committee  of  learned  men 
was  appointed  to  deliberate  respecting  a  compe- 
tent remedy.  Buchanan  presided ;  and  his  coad- 
jutors were  Peter  Young,  Andrew  Simpson,  and 
James  Carmichael.  They  assembled  in  the  roy- 
al palace  of  Stirling  ;  and  while  they  continued 
to  exercise  their  commission,  were  suitably  en- 
tertained at  the  charge  of  the  king.  Having 
found  the  grammars  commonly  in  use  to  be  ex- 
tremely defective,  it  was  resolved  that  three  of 
their  number  should  attempt  to  establish  a  more 
rational  standard.  Simpson,2  who  was  school- 
master and  afterwards  minister  of  Dunbar,  under- 
took the  rudiments ;  Carmichael,  who  was  like- 
wise a  schoolmaster,  what  is  improperly  termed 
etymology ;  and  to  Buchanan  was  assigned  the 
department  of  prosody .h  The  respective  tracts 
of  these  grammarians  were  in  due  time  commit- 
ted to  the  press ;  but  they  did  not  long  continue 
to  be  received  as  the  standard  introduction  to  the 
Latin  language.  The  expediency  of  the  legisla- 
ture interfering  in  a  case  of  this  kind,  may  very 
safely  be  called  in  question.  From  the  promis- 
cuous use  of  different  elementary  treatises,  some 

5  David  Hume  of  Godscroft  inscribes  his  elegies  "  Ad  Andream 
Sjrmonidem  ludimagistrum  Dumbarensem  pneceptorem  suum." 
•>  Sibbaldi  Comment,  in  Vitam  Buchanani,  p.  16. 


179 

inconveniences  undoubtedly  will  arise  :  but  if 
certain  grammars  were  to  be  authoritatively  in- 
truded on  all  the  schools  of  a  kingdom,  no  fu- 
ture opportunity  would  be  left  for  that  gradual 
improvement,  which  may  be  expected  in  every 
department  of  human  art.  If  King  James's  re- 
gulations, which  were  probably  authorized  by  an 
order  of  council,  had  continued  to  be  enforced 
with  any  degree  of  rigour,  the  grammatical  works 
of  Ruddiman  might  never  have  been  under- 
taken. If  the  Scotish  geometers  had  been  com- 
pelled to  adhere  to  a  particular  text-book,  Eu- 
clid would  in  all  probability  never  have  been  il- 
lustrated by  the  labours  of  Dr.  Simson  and  Mr. 
Playfair. 

In  the  month  of  July  1578,  the  parliament 
granted  a  commission  "  to  certain  noble,  rever- 
end, worshipful,  and  discreet  persons,  to  visit  and 
consider  the  foundations  and  erections  of  the  uni- 
versities and  colleges  within  this  realm ;  to  reform 
such  things  as  sounded  to  superstition,  idolatry, 
and  popery ;  to  displace  unqualified  and  unfit  per- 
sons from  the  discharge  of  their  offices  in  the  said 
universities ;  and  to  establish  such  qualified  and 
worthy  persons  therein  as  they  should  find  good 
and  sufficient  for  the  education  of  youth."  These 
commissioners  having  failed  to  convene  at  the 
time  specified,  the  business  was  consequently  de- 
layed ;  but  it  was   afterwards   expedited  by  a 

M  2 


180 

remonstrance  from  the  general  assembly.  The 
delegates  of  the  church  particularized  the  uni- 
versity of  St.  Andrews  as  a  proper  subject  for 
the  first  experiment  of  reformation  :  and  the 
privy  council  enjoined  the  heads  of  that  univers- 
ity to  repair  to  Edinburgh  on  a  certain  day, 
and  to  submit  their  charters  to  the  inspection  of 
a  commission  which  was  now  appointed.  The 
commissioners  who  acted  upon  this  occasion  were 
th"  earl  of  Lennox,  Robert  commendator  of 
Dunfermline,  George  Buchanan,  James  Halibur- 
ton,  and  Peter  Young.  Having  found  much  to 
alter  and  redress,  they  subscribed  a  memorial, 
dated  on  the  eighth  of  November  1579;  and 
their  scheme  of  reformation  was  ratified  by  par- 
liament on  the  eleventh  of  the  same  month. 
This  very  curious  memorial,  which  is  written  in 
the  Scotish  language,  is  known  to  have  been  the 
production  of  Buchanan.'  The  general  plan  is 
very  skilfully  delineated  ;  and  it  evidently  pre- 
supposed the  nation  to  abound  in  men  of  learn- 

i  A  "  Copie  of  George  Bucannan's  Opinion  ar.ent  the  Reformation 
of  the  Universitie  of  St.  Androis,  written  with  his  owne  hand  in  annt 
1579,  ut  intus,"  is  preserved  in  the  Advocates  Library.  Buchanan's  me- 
morial is  recited  at  length  in  the  act  of  ratification  ;  which  Mr.  Chal- 
mers has  inserted  in  his  appendix.  For  this  notice  respecting  the  ma- 
nuscript, 1  am  indebted  to  my  excellent  friend  Mr.  Nintan  Little,  to 
whom  these  memoirs  have '  many  other  obligations.  Mr.  Little,  I  may 
here  observe  in  passing,  has  suggested  to  me  that  the  commendatory 
versts  beginning,  "  Nomen  ab  ore  tibi,"  which  were  printed  anony- 
mously among  the  testimonies  collected  by  Dr.  Barclay,  are  the  produc- 
ts i.  of  an  Italian  author.  (Petri  Bizzari  OpuicuL,  f.  110.  Venet.  1565, 
8to.) 


181 


ing.     The  act  of  parliament  which  ratified  Bu- 
chanan's scheme  was  afterwards  repealed,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  confusion  and  uncertainty  which 
the  academics  pretended  to  have  arisen  from  the 
introduction  of  such  material  alterations.     But 
they  may  fairly  be  suspected  of  having  been  un- 
willing to  pursue  the  arduous  path  of  erudition 
which  had  been  prescribed  :  it  was  more  easy  to 
observe  the  old  formalities  of  the  schools,  than 
to  embrace  so  large  a  plan  of  discipline.     The 
former  act  was  repealed  on  the  fourth  of  August 
1621  ;  and  the  general  principles  of  the  repeal- 
ing statute  are  such  as  might  have  been  expected 
from   one   of  King   James's   parliaments.      To 
these  legislators  it  seemed  "  .most  equitable  that 
the  will  of  the  founders  should  take  effect,  ex- 
cept where  the  same  is  repugnant  to  the  true  re- 
ligion presently  professed  within  this  kingdom." 
But  it  was  certainly  as  far  remote  from  the  will 
of  the  founders,  that  their  colleges  should  ever 
become  seminaries  of  any  new  religion,   as  that 
the  plan  of  scholastic  discipline  originally  pre- 
scribed should  be  subjected  to  salutary  innova- 
tions.    If  in  one  instance  it  was  absolute  sa- 
crilege to  violate  the  tenor  of  their  bequest,  it 
must  in  all  other  instances  have  been  the  same. 
But  as  it  had  been  found  expedient  to  supersede 
their  regulations  with  respect  to  the  very  essen- 
tial article  of  religion,  it  ought  likewise  to  have 
occurred  to  the  legislature,  that  to  banish  un- 

M3 


182 

profitable  modes  of  study  was  a  measure  not  less 
consistent  with  equity.  Whatever  may  be  their 
genuine  origin,  it  is  always  proper  to  consider 
foundations  of  this  knd  as  having  originated  in 
the  pure  motives  of  benevolence  and  public  spi- 
rit ;  and  to  promote  their  correspondence  with 
the  progressive  nature  of  man,  must  be  deemed 
perfectly  consistent  with  the  general  principles 
which  their  authors  ostensibly  entertain. 

The  merit  of  Buchanan,  as  must  already  have 
appeared,  was  not  overlooked  by  his  country- 
men ;  and  his  consequence  abroad  had  been  in- 
creased by  the  respect  which  he  secured  at  home. 
From  the  general  state  of  religious  opinions  in 
the  nation,  as  well  as  from  the  conspicuous  cha- 
racter of  the  royal  instructor,  the  Protestants  on 
the  continent  seem  to  have  conceived  early 
hopes  of  finding  in  the  Scotish  monarch  a  power- 
ful accession  to  the  common  cause.  So  consi- 
derable was  the  influence  of  this  illustrious  scho- 
lar, that  his  favour  was  even  solicited  by  the 
king  of  Navarre,  afterwards  so  famous  by  the 
title  of  Henry  the  Great.  In  a  letter  addressed 
to  Buchanan,  that  accomplished  prince  requested 
him  to  instil  into  the  tender  mind  of  his  pupil, 
such  sentiments  as  might  conduce  to  their  future 
attachment.  This  letter  he  intrusted  to  his 
faithful  adherent  Philip  Mornay,  a  man  highly 
distinguised  for  his  literary"  and  political  talents. 

k  Colomesii  Gallia  Orientalis,  p,  249. 


183 

In  the  progress  of  his  voyage  to  England,  Mor- 
nay  fell  into  the  hands  of  pirates,  and  it  was  car- 
ried off  with  the  rest  of  the  plunder  ;  but  upon 
his  arrival  in  London,  he  apprized  Buchanan  of 
his  master's  wishes.1  The  French  Protestants 
were  extremely  solicitous  for  a  matrimonial  alli- 
ance between  James  and  the  king  of  Navarre's 
sister  ;  and  at  the  suggestion  of  several  persons 
of  that  class,  R.  Lemacon  de  la  Fontaine  re- 
quested Buchanan  to  promote  a  scheme  which 
might  essentially  contribute  to-  the  advancement 
of  the  reformed  religion.  T  ,vo  of  his  letters  re- 
lative to  this  subject  have  been  preserved  ;  but 
what  encouragement  the  project  received,  is  not 
known.™ 

Beza,  the  friend  of  Buchanan,  and  the  terror 
of  the  Papists,  addressed  himself  to  the  young 
king  with  similar  views.  In  the  year  1580,  he 
dedicated  to  James  one  of  his  publications,  in  a 
strain  sufficiently  calculated  to  preengage  his  at- 
tachment to  the  Protestant  interests."  On  this 
occasion,  he  wrote  a  short  epistle  to  his  early 

1  "  Quae  te  omnibus  notum,"  says  Mornay,  "  piis  vero  carissimum, 
fecit  eximia  virtus  tua,  vir  clarissime,  eadem  regi  Navarra  patrono  meo  in 
primis  commendavit.  Dederat  is  mini  literas  ad  te,  ut  quern  tua  educati- 
one  omnium  amore  dignissimum  facis,  tua  etiam  cohortatione  amicissimum 
ipsi  efficeres."  (Buchanani  Epistola,^.  15.)  This  letter  is  dated  at  Lond» 
on  on  the  first  of  June  1577. 

m  Buchanani  Epistola?,  p.  27,  28. 

a  Bezse  Icones  Viroi  um  Doctrina  simul  et  Pietate  lllustrium  :  quibui 
adjectx  tunt  nonnulke  pictune  quas  Emblemata  vocant.  Geneva,  1580, 
4to. 


184 

friend.  "  Behold,  my  dear  Buchanan,  a  notable 
instance  of  double  extravagance  in  a  single  act ; 
affording  an  illustration  of  the  characteristic 
phrensy  of  poets — provided  you  admit  me  to  a 
participation  of  that  title.  I  have  been  guilty 
of  trifling  with  a  serious  subject,  and  have  dedi- 
cated my  trifles  to  a  king.  If  with  your  usual 
politeness,  and  in  consideration  of  our  ancient 
friendship,  you  should  undertake  to  excuse  both 
these  circumstances  to  the  king,  I  trust  the  mat- 
ter will  have  a  fortunate  issue  :  but  if  you  refuse,  . 
I  shall  be  disappointed  in  my  expectations.  The 
scope  of  this  little  work,  such  as  it  is,  you  will 
learn  from  the  preface ;  namely  that  the  king, 
when  he  shall  be  aware  of  the  high  expectations 
which  he  has  excited  in  all  the  churches,  may 
at  the  same  time,  delighted  with  those  various 
and  excellent  examples,  become  more  and  more 
familiar  with  his  duty.  Of  this  work  I  likewise 
send  a  copy  to  you,  that  is,  owls  to  Athens ;  and 
request  you  to  accept  it  as  a  token  of  my  re- 
gard. My  late  paraphrase  of  the  psalms,  if  it 
has  reached  your  country,  will  I  hope  inspire  you 
with  the  design  of  reprinting  your  own,  to  the 
great  advantage  of  the  church :  and,  believe  me, 
it  is  not  so  much  myself  as  the  whole  church 
that  entreats  you  to  accelerate  this  scheme.  Fare- 
well, excellent  man.  May  the  Lord  Jesus  bless 
your  hoary  hairs  more  and  more,  and  long  pre- 


185 

serve  you  for  our  sake.     Geneva,  March  the  six- 
teenth 1580."° 

In  a  former  letter,  Beza  had  congratulated 
him  on  the  promising  disposition  of  his  royal 
pupil.  "  I  could  not  suffer  this  safe  messenger 
to  depart  without  a  letter,  at  once  to  convince 
you  that,  during  your  absence,  I  have  carefully 
preserved  and  continually  cherished  your  remem- 
brance, and  to  offer  you,  or  rather  the  whole  na- 
tion, my  congratulations  in  reference  to  what  you 
have  signified  to  our  friend  Scrimger;  namely 
that  you  are  blest  with  a  king  whose  childhood 
has  already  afforded  such  indications  of  piety  and 
every  virtue,  as  have  excited  in  the  public  mind 
the  hope  and  expectation  of  all  that  is  desirable. 
God  forbid  that  the  same  mischance  which  not 
long  ago  befel  a  neighbouring  nation,  should  be- 
fall you :  but  may  he  rather  grant  that  Scotland, 
being  thus  possessed  of  a  king  endowed  with  every 
accomplishment  of  body  and  mind,  may  at  length 
repose  from  the  domestic  wars  and  assassinations 
with  which  it  has  so  long  been  annoyed,  and  en- 
joy the  blessings  of  holy  peace.  May  the  same 
merciful  father  rid  you  of  your  Medea,  or  Atha- 
lia  :  for  I  cannot  find  a  name  suitable  to  her 
misdeeds.  With  respect  to  our  affairs,  you  will 
I  hope  receive  complete  information  from  our 
friend  Young.  From  the  perusal  of  your  psalms 
I  have  derived  incredible  delight :  although  they 

P  Buchanani  Epistolx,  p.  28. 


186 

are  such  as  could  only  have  proceeded  from 
yourself,  yet  I  wish,  what  to  you  will  by  no 
means  be  difficult,  that  from  being  good  you 
would  render  them  the  best,  or,  if  you  please,  bet- 
ter than  the  best.  Farewell,  excellent  man,  to- 
gether with  all  the  good  and  pious.  May  the 
Lord  Jesus  preserve  you  in  health  and  safety. 
Geneva,  April  the  twelfth  1572."p 

These  illustrious  friends  displayed  a  strong 
congeniality  of  disposition  :  they  were  animated 
with  the  same  ardent  spirit  of  independence,  and 
were  equally  attached  to  the  principles  of  the  re- 
formation. From  the  same  warmth  of  zeal  that 
prompted  them  to  the  pursuit  of  excellence,  they 
were  sometimes  betrayed  into  a  violent  and  in- 
temperate style.  The  terms  which  Buchanan 
has  applied  to  Queen  Mary  and  qArchbishop 
Hamilton  are  such  as  can  hardly  be  justified ; 
and  Beza  has  often  treated  his  literary  antagon- 
ists in  a  very  reprehensible  manner.  Beza,  like 
his  admirable  correspondent,  evinced  an  early 
predilection  for  poetry ;  and  he  likewise  execut- 
ed a  complete  paraphrase  of  the  psalms.  Their 
respective  versions  have  repeatedly  been  associat- 
ed together  ;r  but,  as  Le  Clerc  has  very  properly 

P  Buchanani  Epistolae,  p.  1 1 ,  collated  with  Bezac  Epistolse  Theologicx, 
f.  343.     The  variations  are  considerable. 

i  Buchanani  Epigram  lib.  ii,  30,  91. — The  archbishop,  it  ought  how- 
ever to  be  recollected,  was  a  profligate  priest  who  had  been  privy  to  the 
murder  of  King  Henry,  and  to  that  of  Buchanan's  patron  the  earl  of 
Murray. 

r  Morgiis,  1581,  8vo.     Geneva,  1594,  8vo. 


187 

suggested,  this  was   a  comparison   which  Beza 
ought  not  so  rashly  to  have  hazarded.5 

Theodorus  Beza  was  many  years  younger 
than  Buchanan :  he  was  born  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  June  1519,  at  Vezelay  a  city  of  Bur- 
gundy. Both  his  parents  were  noble,  and  he 
received  an  education  suitable  to  his  birth.  Un- 
der the  tuition  of  Melchior  Wolmar,  first  at  Or- 
leans and  afterwards  at  Bourges,  he  not  only 
made  uncommon  progress  in  classical  learning, 
but  was  also  initiated  into  the  principles  of 
the  reformed  religion.  Beza  continued  under 
his  roof  till  the  year  1535,  when  Wolmar  re- 
turned to  Germany,  his  native  country.  He* 
was  then  remanded  to  Orleans  for  the  purpose 
of  studying  jurisprudence;  but  this  was  a  pur- 
suit for  which  he  entertained  no' affection  ;  and 
instead  of  spending  his  eyes  on  Bartolus  and  Bald- 
us,  he  fed  his  youthful  fancy  with  the  strains 
of  Homer  and  Virgil.  Here  he  composed  sever- 
al Latin  poems,  which  being  distributed  in  ma- 
nuscript, procured  him  a  high  reputation  in  that 
seminary.  Having  taken  the  degree  of  licentiate 
in  1539,  he  returned  to  Paris  with  very  flattering 
prospects  of  ecclesiastical  promotion.  It  was  a- 
bout  this  time  that  he  became  acquainted  with 
Buchanan;  for  whom  he  seems  to  have  cherished 
the  highest  regard.  He  also  enjoyed  the  society 
of  Turnebus,  Ant.  Govea,  Tevius,  and  other  dis- 

*  Lc  Ckrc,  Bibliotheque  Choisie,  torn,  viii,  p.  128. 
/ 


188 

tin^uished  members  of  the  university  ;  and  his 
Latin  poems  obtained  the  most  flattering  marks 
of  their  approbation/  The  first  edition  was 
printed  by  Conradus  Badius  in  the  year  1.548. 
This  collection  includes  many  very  lascivious 
verses,  which,  although  he  rejected  them  in  the 
next  impression,  his  Popish  adversaries  were  ex- 
tremely solicitous  to  preserve  from  oblivion." 
These  wanton  prolusions  he  afterwards  classed 
among  the  sins  of  his  youth  ;  and  he  was  destin- 
ed to  employ  his  powerful  talents  for  much  no- 
bler purposes.  Beza  had  completely  imbibed 
the  characteristic  principles  of  the  reformation  ; 
and  although  the  gaiety  of  youth,  and  the  allure- 
ments of  wealth,  rendered  him  somewhat  irreso- 
lute, yet  he  was  too  honest  to  acquiesce  in  cor- 
ruptions which  were  so  palpable  to  his  senses. 
Having  adopted  the  resolution  of  entering  into 
the  open  profession  of  the  reformed  faith,  he  bade 
adieu  to  his  native  country,  and  arrived  at  Ge- 
neva on  the  twenty-fourth  of  October  1548.  In 
the  course  of  the  ensuing  year,   he  accepted  the 

*  Bezae  Epist.  ad  Dudithium,  p.  6,  ante  Poematum  edit,  secund.  £*- 
midebat  H.  Stepbanus,  1569,  8vo.  In  this  edition  are  inserted  some  of  the 
poems  of  Buchanan. 

u  The  juvenile  poems  of  Beza  occur  in  the  Delhi*  Poetarum  Gallorum, 
torn,  iii,  p.  £78.  His  posthumous  fame  was  vindicated  by  an  anonymout 
author,  in  a  work  entitled  "  De  Juvenilibus  Theodori  Bezae  Poematit 
Epistola  ad  N  C.  qua  Maimburgius,  aliique  Bezae  nominis  obtrectatores 
accurate  confutantur."  Amst.  1683,  12mo.  This  defence  indicates  suf- 
ficient zeal,  but  is  not  always  very  judicious.  It  was  written  by  Jean 
Qraverol.     fBayle,  Otuvrct  Divtntt,  torn,  iv,  p.  606.) 


189 

Greek  professorship  at  Lausanne.     This  charge 
he  retained  for  the  space  of  nine  or  ten  years  ; 
and   at  the  expiration  of  that  period,  removed 
to  Geneva,  where   he  was  ordained  a  minister, 
and  continued  to  exercise  his  clerical  functions 
till  the  time  of  his  death.     He  was  also  associat- 
ed with  his  illustrious  friend  Calvin  as  a  profess- 
or of  theology.     After  having  long  enjoyed  a 
very  splendid  reputation,  he  died  at  Geneva  on 
the  thirteenth  of  October  1605.x     The  zeal  and 
talents  which  Beza  displayed  in  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion, rendered  him  one  of  the  most  conspicu- 
ous characters  of  the  age.     He  has  always  been 
enumerated  among  the  chief  pillars  of  the  re- 
formed church  ;  and  his  proficiency  in  polite  li- 
terature must  likewise  have  contributed  to  insure 
Buchanan's  attachment.     His  works  are  numer- 
ous and  miscellaneous ;  and  he  generally  writes 
with  uncommon  force  and  elegance.     In  his  con- 
troversial writings,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  he 
has  frequently  expressed  himself  without  due  re- 
gard to  that  spirit  of  meekness  which  so  well  be- 
comes the  followers  of  Jesus  Christ.     His  treat- 
ment of  Sebastian  Castalio,  an  excellent  scholar 
and  a  worthy  though  unfortunate  man,  cannot 

x  An  account  of  his  life  was  soon  afterwards  published  by  Antonius 
Fayus  :  it  is  entitled  "  De  Vita  et  Obitu  Clariss.  Viri  D.  Theodori  Bezse 
Vezelii."  Genevse,  1606,  4to.  His  funeral  oration  was  pronounced  by 
Caspar  Laurentius,  the  learned  editor  of  Hermogenes.  Genevas,  8vo. 
Many  curious  particulars  respecting  Beza  may  be  found  in  the  dic- 
tionary of  Bayle. 


190 

easily  be  justified.  With  this  elegant  writer  he 
was  engaged  in  different  controversies ;  and  cer- 
tainly did  not  hesitate  to  retail  some  of  the  most 
gross  calumnies  which  had  been  propagated  to 
his  detriment.  Castalio,  with  a  degree  of  wis- 
dom and  humanity  of  which  that  age  did  not 
furnish  too  many  examples,  had  exerted  his  ta- 
lents to  inculcate  the  maxims  of  religious  tolera- 
tion ;  and  this  laudable  conduct  ought  alone  to 
endear  his  memory  to  a  more  enlightened  pos- 
terity. Calvin  and  Beza  howevei  entertained  a 
different  opinion  ;  they  evinced  themselves  as 
hostile  to  liberty  of  conscience  as  the  most  furi- 
ous bigots  of  the  Popish  party.  If  their  notions 
had  evaporated  in  mere  speculation,  such  won- 
derful inconsistency  might  have  excited  less  re- 
gret :  but  they  produced  effects  of  a  most  de- 
plorable kind.  Michael  Servetus,  a  Spanish 
physician,  having  published  a  book  which  con- 
tained heterodox  opinions,  was,  at  the  instigation 
of  Calvin,  arrested  by  the  magistrates  of  Geneva, 
and  inhumanly  committed  to  the  cflames.  Cal- 
vin, Beza,  and  the  other  luminaries  of  that  church, 
ought  to  have  paused  for  a  moment  upon  the 
obvious  reflection,  that  their  doctrines  respecting 
the  punishment  of  heretics  w7ere  an  indirect  vin- 
dication of  all  the  holy  butcheries  perpetrated  by 
another  church,  which  they  regarded  with  the 
most  sincere  detestation.  Heretic  is  one  of  the 
most  indefinite  terras  that  belong  to  the  univers- 


191 


al  vocabulary  :  after  having  applied  it  to  Calvin, 
the  Romish  inquisition  might  have  doomed  him 
to  a  cruel  death,  with  at  least  as  much  equity  as 
the  Genevan  inquisition  extended  to  the  unfor- 
tunate Servetus.  The  murder  of  this  ingenious 
man  must  affix  an  everlasting  stigma  on  the  me- 
mory of  those  who  urged  his  fate  ;  and  yet,  such 
is  the  natural  obliquity  of  the  human  mind,  many 
considerations  must  be  admitted  in  palliation  of 
so  atrocious  an  action. y  The  genuine  spirit  of 
toleration  is  very  imperfectly  diffused,  even  in  a 
country  which  has  long  been  accustomed  to  boast 
of  its  illumination. 

Beza  has  addressed  one  of  his  Latin  poems  to 
Buchanan,2  and  on  various  other  occasions  has 
mentioned  him  with  high  respect.  One  of  Bu- 
chanan's hendecasyllables,  inscribed  to  Beza, 
seems  to  have  been  transmitted  with  a  present  of 
the  author's  poetical  works.  Calvin  has  likewise 
been  enumerated  among  the  eminent  characters 
with  whom  he  maintained  a  literary  intercourse:* 

y  It  is  Calvin's  best  apology  that  he  adopted  a  hideous  error  from 
■which  very  few  of  his  cotemporaries  were  exempted.  The  execution  ©f 
Servetus  was  approved  even  by  Melanchthon,  so  highly,  and  indeed  so 
justly,  extolled  for  his  comparative  moderation.  In  one  of  his  epistles  t» 
Calvin,  the  subsequent  passage  occurs.  "  Affirmo  etiam  vestros  magistra- 
te juste  fecisse,  quod  hominem  blasphemum,  re  ordine  judicata,  mter- 
fecerunt."  (Calvini  Epistola,  p.  306.;  Every  age  has  its  peculiar  de- 
formities ;  and  some  of  our  present  maxims  will  not  fail  to  excite  the  ut- 
ter astonishment  of  the  more  enlightened  tribes  who  are  yet  to  people, 
the  earth. 

z  Bezae  Poemata  Varia,  p.  18.     [Exc.  H.  Sttfbanus],  1597,  4to. 

a  Sibbaldi  Comment,  in  Vitam  Buchanani,  p.  60. 


192 

but  of  their  personal  acquaintance,  or  epistolary 
correspondence,  no  evidence  occurs.  Buchanan 
has  indeed  written  a  poem  entitled  Joannis  Cal- 
vini  Epicedium  ;b  which  is  quoted  with  satisfac- 
tion by  one  of  Calvin's  most  eloquent  apologists.0 
Another  of  the  French  Protestants  who  courted 
the  favour  of  Buchanan's  pupil  was  Joannes  Ser- 
ranus.  His  splendid  edition  of  Plato,  consisting 
of  three  volumes  in  folio,  was  printed  by  H.  Ste- 
phanus  in  the  year  1578.  The  first  volume  he 
dedicated  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  the  second  to  King 
James,d  and  the  third  to  the  senate  of  Berne; 
where  he  had  found  a  place  of  refuge.  After  the 
completion  of  his  laborious  task,  he  wrote  to 
Buchanan  from  Lausanne  on  the  twenty-ninth 
of  February  1578.  "  Sir,  although  I  have  not  had 
the  happiness  to  know  you  except  by  your  learn- 
ed writings,  I  have  honoured  you  for  a  long  time, 
as  do  all  those  who  love  letters.  In  the  course 
of  last  year,  with  the  view  of  alleviating  the 
misery  incident  to  our  condition,  and  even  after 
the  remarkable  calamity  of  St.  Bartholomew,  I 
have  endeavoured  to  follow  your  footsteps  by 
teaching  David  to  speak  Greek  ;  though  I  ac- 
knowledge that  my  first  attempt6  does  not  afford 

b  Euchanani  Misceli.  xxiv. 

c  Alexandri  Mori  Calvinus,  p.  4. 

d  In  the  year  1581,  H.  Stephanus  dedicated  to  King  James  his  second 
edition  of  Xenophon. 

e  Psalrr.orum  Davidis  aliquot  Metaphrasis  Grxca,  Joannis  Serrani. 
Adjuncta  eregione  Paraphrases  Latina  Georgii  Buchanani.  £#at(/*iat  H> 
Supbanus,  1575,  8vo. 


19a 

me  any  encouragement  to  prosecute  the  under- 
taking; as  in  reality  I  did  not  commence  it  from 
the  hope  of  praise,  but  contented  myself  with 
the  salutary  effects  which  I  experienced  from  it 
as  a  remedy  against  my  inquietudes.  At  all 
events,  it  furnished  me  with  a  pretext  for  solicit- 
ing your  correspondence ;  and  I  then  wrote  to 
you,  without  receiving  any  answer.  Another 
occasion  now  presents  itself:  having,  by  the  ad- 
vice of  my  friends,  dedicated  a  portion  of  my  la- 
bour to  the  majesty  of  your  king,  I  have  been 
inclined  thus  to  address  you,  with  the  view  of 
entreating  you  to  love  one  who  loves  and  honours 
you;  and  to  do  me  the  honour  of  presenting  these 
volumes  to  his  majesty,  with  such  a  recommenda- 
tion  as  your  erudition  and  goodness  shall  deem 
suitable.  You  may  thus  oblige  a  man  who  will 
not  forget  this  favour,  but  who  will  pray  to  God 
for  your  prosperity.  I  might  find  many  subjects 
to  discuss  with  you ;  but  in  the  expectation  of 
receiving  an  answer  that  may  encourage  me  to 
familiarity,  I  shall  pray  God  to  bless  your  happy 
old  age,  and  to  permit  you  to  see  in  your  most 
noble  pupil  the  accomplishment  of  your  good  de- 
sires. Recommending  myself  very  humbly,  Sir, 
to  your  good  graces,  I  entreat  you  to  preserve  me 
in  those  of  the  king. ...  I  send  you  a  copy  of  Plato 
as  a  testimony,  if  you  please,  of  the  love  and  ho- 
nour which  I  bear  you." f  • 

f  Buchanani  Epistolse,  p.  1?. 


194 

Joannes  Serranus  who  translated  Plato,  and 
Jean  de  Sevres  who  wrote  the  inventory  of  the 
history  ol  France,"  are  known  to  be  the  same  in- 
dividual, though  the  Latin  is  sufficiently  remote 
from  the  French  name.  His  version,  though 
deficient  in  elegance,  is  commended  for  its  fideli- 
ty and  perspicuity .h  Dr.  Duport  regarded  him  as 
an  excellent  Greek  poet;  and  adjudged  him  a  de- 
cided superiority  over  all  others  who  had  versified 
the  psalms.'  His  Latin  version  of  Plato,  and 
his  Greek  version  of  select  psalms,  he  executed 
at  an  early  period  of  life  ;  and  high  expectations 
were  entertained  of  his  future  eminence  in  the 
department  of  philology.'-  But  he  was  induced 
by  laudable  motives  to  apply  his  talents  to  other 
subjects,  connected  with  his  views  as  a  Protest- 
ant. He  is  the  reputed  author  of  several  anony- 
mous works  relative   to  the  history  of  France ;' 

S  Sorel,  Bibliotheque  Franchise,  p.  33S. 

*>  Huetius  de  Interpretation,  p.  172. 

i  Duport,  praef.  in  Metaph.  Psalmorum.  Cantab.  1666,  4to. 

k  "  Si  diu  fuerit  superstes,"  says  Languet,  "  meo  judicio,  habebitur  in- 
ter clarissimos  viros  in  re  literaria ;  nam  est  adhuc  juvenis,  et  insiguiter 
doctus."     I Ephtoltt  ad  Syttie'ium,  p.  238,  edit.  Hailes.) 

1  Placcii  Theatrum  Anonymorum  et  Pseudonymoruni,  torn,  i,  p.  282. 
Deckheri  de  Scriptis  Adespotis,  Pseudepigraphis,  et  Supposititiis,  Con- 
jecturas,  p.  262,  edit.  Amst.  1686,  12mo.  Biclii  Epistola  de  Scriptis 
Adespotis,  p.  37S. — The  epistie  of  Bayle  is  appended  to  that  edition  of 
Deckherus,  and  is  reprinted  among  his  miscellaneous  works.  Serranus 
acknowledges  himself  to  be  the  author  of  the  commentaries  "  De  Statu 
Religionis  et  Reipublica:  in  Regno  Gallix."  (Heinsii  Epistola  Selcct'iora, 
p.  780.)  1  o  this  author  Pasquief  addressed  two  letters,  on  being  in- 
formed that  he  had  undertaken  t<>  write  the  history  "  de  nos  troubles." 
(Lcttru  de  Pasquier,  torn,  ii,  p.  211,  217.) 


195 

and  he  engaged  in  a  pertinacious  controversy  with 
John  Hay,  a  Scotish  Jesuit  of  considerable  note 
among  his  brethren.111  Though  thus  involved  in 
ecclesiastical  warfare,  he  indulged  the  pacific  hope 
of  a  general  and  lasting  union  of  the  great  divi- 
sions in  the  Christian  church :  he  was  led  to  a- 
dopt  a  plan"  which  had  been  entertained  by  Eras- 
mus, and  which  was  afterwards  revived  by  the 
piety  and  learning  of  Grotius;0  a  plan  which  has 
never  been  attended  with  the  slightest  degree  of 
success,  and  has  only  procured  general  odium  to 
the  excellent  men  by  whom  it  was  so  fondly  che- 
rished. The  honest  intentions  of  Serranus  seem 
to  have  been  strangely  misrepresented  ;p  and  even 
the  memory  of  Grotius  was  persecuted  with  de- 
plorable malignity.  Such  a  project  indeed  is  evi- 
dently wild  and  impracticable:  an  infallible  church 
can  never  acknowledge  itself  guilty  of  error  ;q  and 

m  Sotvelli  Bibliotheca  Scriptorum  Societatis  Jesu,  p.  459. 

n  Serranus  de  Fide  Catholica,  sive  Principiis  Religionis  Christianat, 
communi  omnium  Christianorum  consensu  semper  et  ubique  ratis.  Pam. 
1597,  fol.    lb.  160?,  8vo. 

°  Erasmus  de  Sarcienda  Ecclesiae  Concordia.  Grotii  Opera  Theologi- 
ca,  torn.  iii. 

P  Casauboni  EpistoUe,  p.  474,  edit.  Almeloveen.  Roter.  1 709,  fol.— 
What  is  stated  by  Cardinal  du  Perron  with  respect  to  his  abjuration  of 
the  Protestant  faith,  seems  to  be  totally  destitute  of  foundation.  (Perron- 
iana,  p.  299.) 

1  Every  church  indeed  that  imposes  its  articles  as  the  only  true  inter- 
pretation of  the  scriptures,  must  necessarily  be  understood  as  asserting  an 
arrogant  claim  to  infallibility ;  and  the  church  of  Rome  only  differs  from 
some  other  churches  in  advancing  this  claim  without  any  reserve  or  cir- 
cumlocution. The  reformed  churches  are  certainly  more  cautious  and 
bashful ;  but  whether  they  are  in  reality  more  modest,  is  another  quw 

*  2 


196 

it  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  reformed  church  will  ne- 
ver be  induced  to  reform  backwards. 

The  personal  history  of  Serranus,  who  was  a 
native  of  Viviers  or  the  adjacent  district,  is  in- 
volved in  obscurity/  It  however  appears  that 
soon  after  the  publication  of  his  edition  of  Plato, 
he  returned  to  France/  and  there  exercised  the 
functions  of  a  minister.  He  is  reported  to  have 
died  at  the  age  of  fifty,  in  the  year  ]  .598.  In 
the  respective  dedications  of  his  Greek  psalms, 
and  of  the  second  volume  of  Plato,  he  mentions 
Buchanan  with  high  commendation.  "  I  have 
been  wonderfully  charmed,"  he  remarks,  "  with 
the  erudite  felicity  of  George  Buchanan,  a  man 
indeed  not  only  to  be  equalled  to  the  greatest 
poets  of  our  own  age,  but  even  of  all  learned  an- 
tiquity.'" 

Rodolphus  GuartheruSj  an  eminent  minister  of 
the  reformed  church  of  Zurich  in  Switzerland, 

tion.  They  all  profess  to  regard  the  scriptures  as  the  only  standard  of 
faith ;  yet  not  one  of  them  will  permit  its  members  to  interpret  the  scrip- 
tures for  themselves.  Without  the  exercise  of  this  privilege,  the  scrip- 
tures are  no  standard  to  us ;  our  belief  is  nothing  better  than  a  blind  and 
bigoted  reliance  on  the  infallibility  of  the  original  imposers  of  articles. 
And  whence  did  these  article-mongers  derive  their  authority  to  interprer 
the  scriptures  for  all  posterity  ? 

r  Oeuvres  Diverses  de  Bayle,  torn,  iv,  p.  648.  Niceron,  Memoires  des 
Hommes  Illustres,  torn,  iv,  p.  316. 

•  Heinsii  Epistobe  Selectiores,  p.  778. 

1  "  Mirifice  vero  inter  cxteros  poetas  placuit  mihi  erudita  felicitat 
Georgii  Buchanani,  vin  profecto  non  tantum  cum  nostra:  ajtatis,  sed  et 
cum  totius  eruditae  antiquitatii  summis  poetis  sequandi."  (Serrani  Did. 
fsalmorum  Mftaphrtuit.) 


197 

^addressed  himself  to  Buchanan  on  a  similar  occa- 
sion. Having  inscribed  to  the  young  monarch 
his  homilies  on  the  epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Ga- 
latians,  which  were  printed  in  the  year  1.576,  he 
transmitted  two  copies  to  Buchanan  ;  requesting 
him  to  present  one  to  his  hopeful  pupil,  and  to  re- 
tain the  other  as  a  token  of  the  author's  regard. 
Relative  to  this  subject,  four  of  their  letters  are 
extant  ;u  and  they  tend  to  exhibit  our  illustrious 
countryman  in  no  unamiable  point  of  view.  His 
correspondent  Gualtherus,  the  author  of  various 
works,*  was  a  native  of  Zurich.  In  his  youth  he 
had  eagerly  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  polite 
literature ;  he  had  discovered  some  talent  for 
poetry,  and  had  executed  a  Latin  version  of  the 
Qnomasticon  of  Julius  Pollux/  He  afterwards 
acquired  distinction  as  a  theologian;  and  for  the 
space  of  more  than  forty  years,  he  exercised  with 
great  fidelity  and  diligence  the  pastoral  care  in 
fcis  native  city.2 

Buchanan,  about  this  period  of  his  life,  corre- 

u  Buchanani  Epistola:,  p.  16,  17,  20,  26. 

x  Teissier,  Eloges  des  Homme*  Savans,  torn,  ii,  p.  55. 

y  Gualtherus  is  a  contributor  to  the  Dtlitia  Poetarum  Germanotum. 
His  translation  of  Pollux  was  published  without  the  Greek  text,  accom- 
panied however  with  annotations.  Basil.  1541,  4to.  It  is  mentioned  in 
disparaging  terms  by  Jos.  Scaliger.  (Epistola,  p.  528.)-  Beza  has  written 
the  epitaph  of  Gualtherus,  and  that  of  his  son.  (  Ptemata  Varia,  p.  120> 
121.)      ' 

*  Verheiden,  Prastantium  aliquot  Theologorum  Elogia,  p.  200.  Hag. 
Com.  1602,  foL  Boissardi  Icones,  torn,  iv,  p.  154.  Adami  Vitx  Ger- 
manorum  Theologorum,  p.  .592. 

N3 


198 

sponded  with  many  other  characters  of  distinc- 
tion :  with  some  of  them  he  was  personally  ac- 
quainted; the  rest  he  attracted  by  the  unrivalled 
splendour  of  his  reputation.  Tycho  Brahe  hav- 
ing published  his  tract  De  Nova  Stella  in  the  year 
1573,  did  not  neglect  to  present  it  to  a  man 
who,  like  himself,  had  essentially  contributed  to 
advance  the  intellectual  fame  of  the  northern  na- 
tions. Buchanan  was  for  some  time  prevented 
from  acknowledging  this  gratifying  mark  of  at- 
tention ;  but  he  at  length  addressed  a  very  ele- 
gant and  polite  letter  to  that  renowned  astrono- 
mer.* When  King  James,  in  the  year  1590,  vi- 
sited Tycho  Brahe b  at  his  castle  of  Uranienburg, 
he  observed  Buchanan's  picture  hanging  in  the 
library ;  and  immediately  recognized  the  linea- 
ments of  his  deceased  preceptor.  This  picture 
had  been  presented  by  Sir  Peter  Young,  during 
one  of  his  embassies  to  the  court  of  Denmark.0 

Although  Buchanan  did  not  professedly  devote 
himself  to  the  illustration  of  ancient  authors,  yet 
he  bore  a  high  reputation  for  critical  sagacity. 
He  was  consulted  by  scholars  of  different  nations; 
and  some  of  his  corrections  have  been  published 

a  Buchanani  Epistolae,  p.  1 4. 

*  The  Latin  version  of  Hit  Maiesties  at»n  Sennet,  which  Gassendi 
ascribes  to  Tycho  Brahe,  was  unquestionably  executed  by  Lord  Maitland. 
Tt  is  printed  with  the  chancellor's  name  in  the  first  edition  of  King  James's 
"  Meditatiovn  vpon  the  xxv,  xxvi,  xxvii,  xxviii,  and  xxix  verses  of  the  xy 
chapt.  of  the  first  buke  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kingis."  Edinb.  1589, 
4to. 

c  Gaisendi  Vita  Tychonis  Brahei,  p.  123.     Paris.  1654,  4to. 


199 

by  Turnebus  and  Lambinus.d  It  cannot  indeed 
be  regretted  that  a  man  capable  of  originating 
works  of  such  uncommon  excellence,  should  not 
have  devoted  a  larger  portion  of  his  life  to  illus- 
trate the  reliques  of  ancient  genius ;  but  his  sa- 
gacity and  erudition  would  have  enabled  him  to 
secure  a  very  high  station  in  that  department, 
preoccupied  as  it  then  was  by  scholars  of  the  first 
magnitude.  Whatever  may  be  the  fashionable 
estimate  of  our  cotemporaries,  the  manly  and  ro- 
bust age  of  Buchanan  entertained  no  contemptu- 
ous opinion  of  the  character  or  occupation  of 
those  learned  men,  who  contributed  to  restore 
the  Greek  and  Roman  authors  to  their  original 
integrity.  To  acquire  distinction  as  a  classical 
commentator  was  one  of  the  principal  objects  of 
youthful  ambition:  the  splendid  talents  of  Calvin 
were  first  exercised  in  illustrating  a  treatise  of 
Seneca.6  The  useful  labours  of  verbal  criticism 
have  employed  some  of  the  most  powerful  intel- 
lects in  which  modern  Europe  can  glory.  That 
eminent  philologers  have  written  with  pedantic 
prolixity,  or  judged  with  precipitation,  or  have 
attached  an  inordinate  value  to  trifles  f  it  would 

i  These  emendations  are  reprinted  in  Ruddiman's  edition  of  Buchan- 
an, torn,  i,  p.  xx,  torn,  ii,  p.  103.  Lambinus  characterizes  him  as  "  vi 
omni  doctrina  praestans."  "  Neminem  esse,"  says  Turnebus,  "  existuno 
in  Gallia  paulo  humaniorem,  cui  Georgius  Buchananus  non  sit  notus, 
non  solum  eximius  poeta,  verum  etiam  vir  omni  liberali  eruditione  non 
leviter  tinctus,  sed  penitus  imbutus."     ( Adversaria,  lib.  i,  cap.  ii.) 

c  Calvini  Opera,  torn,  viii,  edit.  Amst. 

f  Joseph  Castalio  shall  supply  us  with  an  illustration.    "  Incrcdibili  mp 


200 

not  indeed  be  safe  to  dispute :  but  those  who 
deny  that  they  have  contributed  to  the  advance- 
ment of  solid  learning,  ought  to  be  superseded 
as  incompetent  judges.  To  treat  with  derision 
the  memory  of  scholars  who  have  subjected 
themselves  to  stupendous  labours  for  the  com- 
mon cause,  must  either  be  regarded  as  a  proof  of 
total  ignorance,  or  of  some  more  odious  quality. 
In  the  library  of  the  university  of  Edinburgh 
is  a  manuscript  ascribed  to  Buchanan,  consisting 
of  annotations  on  the  eclogues,  georgics,  and  first 
Seven  books  of  the  JEneid  of  Virgil.  These 
notes  were  inspected  by  Mr.  Ruddiman,  a  com- 
petent judge  of  their  merit ;  who  was  of  opinion 
that  they  had  either  been  falsely  imputed  to  Bu- 

nuper  itohptatc  perfudit  Vergilionim  nomen  in  marmore  pervetusto  in- 
uealptum,"  &c.  To  settle  the  mighty  contention  between  c  and  /,  he 
las  written  a  tract  entitled  "  De  Recta  Scribendi  Vergili  Nominis  Ra- 
tione  Commentarius:"  and  his  exultation  seems  not  so  much  to  arise 
from  his  ascertaining  the  orthography  of  the  name,  as  from  his  ascertain- 
ing it  to  be  Vergilius  instead  of  Virgilius.  (Van*  Letthnts  el  OfuscuU. 
Homx,  1594,  4to.) 

With  respect  to  conjectural  criticism,  it  would  have  been  fortunate  if 
tome  scholars  of  eminence  had  formed  the  same  estimate  as  J.  M. 
Gesner  "  Conjecturas  ingeniosas,"  says  Ernesti,  "  laudabat  magis  quam 
probabat :  et  nihil  magis  quam  dulces  illecebras  in  judicando  eavenaum 
monebat.  Nee  tamen  ingenio,  literis  et  doctrina  diu  subacto,  nihil  tri- 
buebat :  quo  et  ipse  non  pauca  feliciter  correjut."  (  Opuseula  Oratorio,  p. 
331,  edit.  Lugd.  Bat.  1762,  8vo.)  "  Nee  semper,  meo  judicio,"  says  the 
elegant  Gravina,  "  vera  lectio  erit  ea  quae  melior:  scriptores  enim,  varia 
ditttacti  scriptionis  cura,  industriam  aliquando  remittunt.  Nequi  hu- 
Bianum  ingenium  contendere  ubique  potest  omnibus  nervis :  ideo  ut  in 
acie  milites,  etsi  minus  fortes,  tamen,  quia  fessis  integri  succedunt,  pugnant 
aliquantisper  alacrius  ;  ita  evenit,ut  acutius  aliquando  comminiscinur  in- 
terpretes,  quam  ipsimet  auctoresinvenerunt,"  (Qriginetjurii  C»i"7»f,prat£) 


201 

chanan,  or  had  been  extemporaneously  commit- 
ted to  writing,  without  any  view  towards  publi- 
cation. They  are  adapted  to  the  capacity  of 
boys.2 

Among  other  scholars  who  solicited  his  con- 
tributions was  Obertus  Gifanius,  a  civilian  and 
philologer  of  no  inconsiderable  reputation.  One 
of  his  letters  to  Buchanan  has  been  preserved  i 
it  is  dated  at  Orleans  on  the  sixteenth  of  Janu- 
ary 1.567.  ?'  Relying  on  your  candour  and  good 
nature,"  says  Gifanius,  "  I  repeatedly  wrote  to  you 
some  months  ago.  Supposing  my  former  letters  to 
have  miscarried,  I  now  address  you  a  third  time  ; 
and  that  more  confidently  through  the  encour- 
agement of  your  countrymen  Gordon,  Cunning- 
ham, Guthrie,  and  other  youths  whom  I  under- 
stand to  be  very  dear  to  you,  and  with  whom, 
much  to  my  satisfaction  and  improvement,  I 
here  live  upon  terms  of  intimacy.  If  therefore 
my  correspondence  should  prove  irksome  to  you, 
which  I  should  very  much  regret,  recollect  what 
vouchers  I  have  it  in  my  power  to  allege ; 
vouchers  who  will  never  disown  their  having  in- 
stigated me  ;  such  is  their  candour,  such  their 
sincerity,  and  such  their  regard  for  me,  unworthy 
of  it  as  I  am.  In  those  my  former  letters,  I 
wrote  I  know  not  what  respecting  some  passages 
of  Caesar,  in  my  opinion  somewhat  obscure,  with 
the  view  of  obtaining  from  you  their  elucidation. 

t  Ruddimanni  prnsf.  in  Buchanan,  p.  ixK 


202 

It  you  have  made  any  remarks  upon  his  com- 
mentaries, is  I  doubt  not  you  have,  it  is  now  my 
request  that  you  will  communicate  them  to  me. 
I  shall  take  care  to  convince  both  yourself  and 
the  public  that  I  do  not,  as  that  fellow  Dionysi- 
us  has  with  abundant  impudence  objected  to  me,11 
produce  the  emendations  of  others  as  my  own, 
but  most  gratefully  recognize  every  man's  claims; 
and  to  you,  should  you  liberally  condescend  to 
favour  me,  an  obscure  individual  and  a  foreigner, 
with  such  a  communication,  I  shall  be  particu- 
larly studious  to  mark  my  obligations.  Although 
I  am  aware  of  your  being  admirably  versed  in 
writers  of  every  denomination,  yet  1  am  chiefly 
anxious  to  procure  your  assistance  with  respect 
to  Caesar,  as  I  have  determined  speedily  to  pub- 
lish an  edition  of  that  author  accompanied  with 
note*,  If  you  should  however  subjoin  by  way 
of  i™x»i,  and  corollary,  any  remarks  on  Livy,  Ovid, 
or  ;er  authors,  you  will  thus  strengthen  the 
hment  of  one  firmly  attached  before;  and 
having  already  been  bound  to  you  by  many  ties, 
I  shall  then  acknowledge  them  to  be  much  aug- 
mented. There  is  another  circumstance  of  which 
I  wish  you  to  be  apprized,  and  which  has  fur- 
ii'Micd  me  with  almost  the  only  reason  for  ad- 
dressing you   at  this  time.     Plantin,  a  Flemish 

h  Gifanius  published  an  edition  of  Lucretius  soon  after  that  of  Dionys- 
ius  Lambinus  had  made  its  appearance  ;  and  Lambinus,  in  his  preface  to 
the  third  impression,  has  in  strong  terms  accused  him  of  appropriating 
Ms  labours.     This  charge  is  confirmed  by  Thomasius  and  Bayle. 


203 

printer  who,  if  I  am  not  deceived,  is  known  to 
you,  and  who  is  remarkable  for  publishing  works 
of  value,  is  very  solicitous  to  edit  with  a  Latin 
version,  all  or  the  greater  part  of  those  Greek 
epigrams  which  form  the  Anthology.  Having 
learned  from  those  countrymen  of  yours  that  you 
have  translated  much  from  the  Greek  into  the 
Latin  language,  and  being  habitually  eager  to 
procure  for  my  friend  Plantin  all  the  assistance 
within  my  compass,  it  was  extremely  fortunate 
that  I  should  meet  with  this  Scotish  merchant, 
who  is  well  acquainted  with  you,  and  who 
was  then  hastening  directly  homeward  :  for  I 
am  persuaded  that  when  you  shall  have  received 
this  account  of  Plantin's  scheme,  you  will  ap- 
prove of  it,  and  will  also  promote  it  by  sending 
him,  as  soon  as  possible,  your  versions  of  some  of 
the  epigrams.  It  is  a  favour  which  I  entreat  of 
you,  but  with  due  regard  to  your  own  conveni- 
ence ;  for  I  would  not  be  guilty  of  importunity. 
This  is  a  person  who  is  both  worthy  of  being  in- 
trusted with  your  verses,  and  encouraged  by 
your  good  offices :  he  has  already  printed  a  very 
elegant  edition  of  your  psalms,'  and  is  hardly 
ambitious  of  undertaking  the  impression  of  any 
productions  except  your  own.  With  respect  to 
other  matters,  although  you  receive  abundant 
information  from  many  correspondents,  yet  it 
will  not  I   trust   be   disagreeable   if  I  add  my 

i  Antverpise,1566, 12mo, 


204 

contribution.  Your  Jephthes  and  Franciseanas, 
translated  into  French  by  your  friend  Chrestien, 
are  printing  in  this  city.k  An  edition  of  Lyco- 
phron  by  my  friend  Canterus  has  very  lately 
been  published  at  Basil,  together  with  the  young- 
er Scaliger's  translation,  replete  with  antiquity, 
and  in  the  style  of  Pacuvius.1  Your  astronomic- 
al poem  is  expected  with  the  utmost  avidity. 
Auratus  having  lately  been  presented  with  the  title 
of  Poeta  Regius,  and  with  a  pension  sufficiently 
ample,  will,  if  I  am  not  deceived,  discontinue  his 
professorial  functions.  Ramus  is  said  to  have 
published  some  very  learned  mathematical  pro- 
legomena.""1 Among  the  poetical  works  of  Bu- 
chanan several  translations  from  the  Greek  oc- 
cur :  but  Plantin's  project  was  never  carried  in- 
to execution.  Nor  did  Gifanius  publish  his  in- 
tended edition  of  Caesar. 

Obertus  Gifanius  was  a  native  of  Buren  in  Gel- 
derland.     Having  taught  jurisprudence  and  phi- 

k  he  Cordelier  de  Buchanan,  fait  en  Francis.  Geneve,  1567,  4to. 
The  reason  for  substituting  Geneva  instead  of  Orleans  is  sufficiently  ob- 
vious. 

I  Basilese,  1566,  4to.— This  very  obscure  poet  was  illustrated  by  Can- 
terus at  the  age  of  twenty-four.  Even  at  an  earlier  age,  he  produced  a 
philological  work  of  no  vulgar  erudition.  (Nova  Lectiones.  Basil.  1564, 
8vo.)  Guilielmus  Canterus  was  born  at  Utrecht  in  1542;  and  died  in. 
1575.  An  ample  account  of  his  life  may  be  found  in  Suffridus  Petrus 
Be  Scrip toribui  Friiix,  p.  111.  Colon.  Agrip.  1593,  8vo.  His  brother 
Theodoms  Canterus  wrote  his  Var'ut  Lsctienet  at  the  age  of  twenty. 
(Colomesii  Of>uscula,p.  231.)  Meursius  published  his  edition  of  Lyco* 
phron  at  the  age  of  eighteen.     Lugd.  Bat.  1597,  8vo. 

ra  Buchanani  Epistolx,  p.  6. 


205 

losophy  at  Strasburg,  and  jurisprudence  at  Altdorf 
and  Ingolstad,  his  literary  fame  procured  him  the 
patronage  of  the  emperor  Rodolph ;  who  confer- 
red upon  him  the  honourable  title  of  imperial  coun- 
sellor, accompanied  with  considerable  emolument. 
He  was  undoubtedly  a  man  of  no  vulgar  erudition ; 
but  his  moral  qualities  seem  to  have  been  of  a 
more  dubious  nature.  In  his  youth,  he  had  em- 
braced the  doctrines  of  the  reformation ;  but  as 
his  new  creed  was  not  sufficiently  adapted  to  the 
meridian  of  Vienna,  he  reverted  to  Popery.  His 
sordid  love  of  money  exposed  him  to  the  derision 
of  Joseph  Scaliger  ;  who  informs  us  that  although 
Gifanius  was  master  of  twenty-five  thousand  du- 
cats, he  lived  in  a  garret,  and,  to  avoid  the  ex- 
pence  of  company-keeping,  sent  his  wife  to  live 
at  Nuremberg.  From  the  same  dignified  mo, 
tives  of  economy,  he  exacted  from  his  children 
the  common  offices  of  domestic  servants.  After 
having  exceeded  the  age  of  seventy,  this  learned 
man  died  at  Prague  in  the  year  1604." 

Florent  Chrestien,  whom    he  mentions  as  the 
friend  of  Buchanan  and  the  translator  of  some 

n  Thuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis,  torn,  vi,  p.  243. — A  catalogme  of  his 
works  may  be  found  in  Andreas,  Bibliotbeea  Bclgica,  p.  703,  and  in 
Sweertius,  Athena  Bilgicee,  p.  586.  A  liit  of  books  which  Gifanhu 
left  for  publication  occurs  in  the  Amanitutes  Literati*,  torn,  xii,  p.  589. 
Bayle,  who  has  given  a  short  account  of  this  scholar,  was  not  aware  of 
the  publication  of  his  posthumous  production,  entitled  Obscr-vationts  Sin- 
gularcs  in  Linguam  Latinam.  Franc.  1624,  Svo.  This  work  had  been  pil- 
fered by  Scioppius.  "  Gifanius,"  says  Christopher  Wase,  "  rei  anti- 
quaris  peritia  ultra  atatem  eminuit."  (Dt  Ltgibut  tt  LUentia  VcUn% 
Ptetarum,  p.  244.) 


206 

or  his  writings,  was  born  at  Orleans  in  1540. 
His  father,  whose  name  was  William,  and  who 
descended  from  a  noble  family  of  Bretagne,  was 
a  favourite  physician  of  Henry  the  second  ;  and 
was  likewise  the  author  or  translator  of  several 
works.  Florent  was  his  mother's  fifth  child, 
and  was  born  in  the  seventh  month  of  gesta- 
tion :  in  allusion  to  these  circumstances,  he 
assumed,  when  he  wrote  in  Latin,  the  name 
of  Quintus  Septimius  Florens  Christianus.0  As 
he  had  attained  to  uncommon  proficiency  as  a 
classical  scholar,  he  was  selected  as  a  fit  precept- 
or for  the  prince  of  Navarre.  His  pupil,  af- 
terwards so  conspicuous  by  the  title  of  Henry 
the  Great,  is  said  to  have  regarded  him  with  little 
kindness ;  and  to  have  bestowed  upon  him  with 
considerable  reluctance  the  office  of  keeper  of 
the  royal  library.  Chrestien,  like  his  friend  Bu- 
chanan, had  perhaps  enforced  subordination  ;  to 
which  royal  pupils  cannot  be  supposed  to  recon- 
cile themselves  with  much  facility.  At  Orleans 
he  was  invested  with  some  military  command, 
which  he  discharged  with  bravery.  Having  af- 
terwards retired  to  Vendome,  he  fell  into  the 
power  of  the  Leaguers  upon  the  capture  of  that 
town  ;  but  his  pupil  soon  delivered  him  by  pay- 
ing his  ransom.  He  was  one  of  the  duke  of 
Vendome's  counsellors.  His  character  was  hat 
of  an  excellent  scholar  and  a  worthy  man.     He 

•  Jos.  Scriigeri  Poonnta,  p.  40.    Lngd.  Bat.  1€15,  16to, 


207 

was  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  Grecians  of 
age;  and  Jos.  Scaligerwas  of  opinion  that  France 
could  not  boast  of  another  person  who  composed 
in  Greek,  Latin,  and  French,  with  equal  felicity. 
He  wrote  many  poems  upon  occasional  subjects, 
but  only  an  inconsiderable  portion  has  been 
printed.11  His  translating  those  works  of  Bu- 
chanan must  have  afforded  the  author  no  trivial 
gratification  ;  for  Ghrestien  was  both  respected 
and  feared  by  his  brother  poets.  His  satire, 
though  it  did  not  originate  in  a  malevolent  tem- 
per, was  sufficiently  formidable  :  and  Ronsard, 
who  had  experienced  its  keenness,  deemed  him- 
self very  fortunate  in  a  reconciliation.  In  the 
year  1.596,  his  life  was  terminated  at  Vendome 
by  a  rapid  fever.*1  The  only  stain  which  affixes 
itself  to  his  memory  is  that  of  apostasy.  His  at- 
tachment  to   the    reformed    religion    had    been 

p  Janus  Gruterus,  or,  according  to  his  anagram,  Ranutius  Gherus,  has 
inserted  some  of  Chrestien's  Latin  verses  in  the  Delitia  Poetarum  Gal/o- 
rum ;  but  many  of  diem  had  escaped  his  notice,  and  many  more  wert; 
never  printed.  Nine  poems  written  by  Chrestien  in  Greek,  Latin,  and 
Trench,  occur  in  the  collection  entitled  Chthtophori  Tbuani  Tumulus. 
Lutetian,  1583,  4to.  He  translated  the  Cynegetics  of  Oppiai.  into  French, 
and  various  other  poems  into  Latin.  His  version  of  the  Cyclops  of  Eu- 
ripides is  appended  to  Casaubon  Dc  Satyrica  Grxcorum  Pocsi,  et  Romano- 
ruin  Satira.  Paris.  1605,  8vo.  He  likewise  translated  some  of  the 
dramas  of  JEschylus,  Sophocles,  and  Aristophanes.  His  version  of  Mu- 
sa?us  is  reprinted  in  Rover's  edition  of  that  poet.  Lugd.  Bat.  1737,  Bvo. 
Some  of  his  epistles  occur  in  the  collections  of  Gabbema  and  Burman. 

See  also  Ep'ntres  Francoises  a  M.  dc  la  Scala,  p.  58,  229,  386. 

1  Thuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis,  torn,  v,  p.  643.     Sammarthani   I 
p.  124.     Niceron,  Memoires  des  Homme s  Illuetres,  tcm.  xxxiv,  p.  l'2'2. 

Beauchamps,  Recherches  sur  les  Theatres  de  France,  torn,  i,  p.  434. 


208 

marked  by  no  inconsiderable  zeal ;  and  yet 
Fronto  Ducasus,  a  learned  and  honest  Jesuit  who 
flourished  soon  afterwards,  alludes  to  his  recon- 
version as  a  circumstance  well  known/  If  such 
conduct  may  admit  of  palliation,  it  was  certainly 
excusable  in  France  after  the  massacre  of  St. 
Bartholomew ;  and  the  conversion  of  Petrus 
Pithceus,  a  man  equally  revered  for  his  probity 
and  learning,  had  been  effected  by  the  same  aw- 
ful process  of  reasoning. 

Lucas  Fruterius,  the  friend  of  Gifanius,  is  like- 
wise entitled  to  a  place  among  the  more  remark- 
able correspondents  of  Buchanan ;  to  whom  he 
has  repeatedly  addressed  himself  in  affectionate 
terms.  In  an  epistle,  written,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, with  sufficient  pedantry,  he  reminds  Bu- 
chanan of  a  promise  to  aid  him  in  a  critical  work 
with  which  he  was  then  occupied.8  This  was 
his  Verisimilia ;  to  which  he  was  apparently  an- 
xious that  so  brilliant  a  name  should  impart  its 
lustre.  From  the  same  letter,  it  appears  that 
they  had  been  personally  acquainted  at  Paris, 
subsequent  to  the  nuptials  of  the  Scotish  queen. 
Her  marriage  was  celebrated  on  the  twenty-ninth 
of  July  1565,  and  the  letter  of  Fruterius  was 
written  on  the  first  of  February  1566/  A  tra- 
dition formerly  prevailed  that    Buchanan    stole 

r  Burmanni  Sylloge  Epistolarum,  torn,  i,  p.  647. 

*  Buchanani  EpistoUe,  p.  4. 

1  Ruddinun's  Animadversions,  p.  65. 


209 

away  from  St.  Andrews  in  one  of  his  humorous 
moods,  and  without  having  communicated  the 
project  to  any  of  his  friends,  made  a  voyage  to 
France."  This  rumour  has  been  supposed  to  de- 
rive considerable  probability  from  the  epistle  of 
Fruterius. 

Fruterius,  a  native  of  Bruges  in  Flanders,  was 
regarded  by  his  cotemporaries  as  a  young  man 
of  the  highest  promise  ;x  but  a  fatal  accident 
soon  arrested  him  in  the  career  of  glory  which 
he  hoped  to  run.  After  having  heated  himself 
by  playing  at  tennis  with  too  much  eagerness,  he 
unadvisedly  swallowed  a  draught  of  cold  water, 
and  was  immediately  seized  with  a  distemper 
which  his  constitution  could  not  resist.  Hj  died 
at  Paris  in  the  month  of  March  1566J  Al- 
though he  had  scarcely  entered  the  twenty-fifth 
year  of  his  age,  he  had  arrived  at  uncommon 
proficiency  in  the  study  of  philology,  and  had 
even  executed  a  portion  of  the  various  plans 
which  suggested  themselves  to  his  youthful  ar- 
dour. Dousa,  Gifamus,  and  other  young  Belgi- 
ans of  talents  and  learning,  were  residing  in  Pa- 
ris at  the  time  of  his  death.     As  Gifanius  had 

u  "  I  have  heard  it  related  an  hundred  times,"  says  Mr.  Ruddiman, 
"  that  Buchanan,  when  principal  of  St.  Leonard's  College  at  St.  Andrews, 
without  acquainting  any  of  his  friends  of  it,  did  make  such  a  voyage  td 
France."     (Antiuisis,  p.  139.) 

x  Thuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis,  torn,  ii,  p.  479.  Miraei  Elogia  Illustrium 
Belgii  Scriptorum,  p.  199.  Antv.  1602,  8vo.  Andreae  Bibliotheca  Bel- 
jica,  p.  623.     Sweertii  Athenx  Belgicx,  p.  517.     Antv.  1628,  foL 

y  Gabbems  £pistobe,  p.  650. 

O 


210 

watched  his  death-bed  with  uncommon  solici- 
tude, he  confided   to  him   the  sacred  deposit  of 
his  manuscript  productions ;  but  it  soon  appear- 
ed that  he  had  confided  in  a  treacherous  friend. 
Gifanius,  who  deferred  their  publication  on  va- 
rious pretexts,  had  too  evidently  formed  a  design 
of  appropriating  the  successful  labours  of  this 
young  philologer.     Dousa  urged   him,  with  all 
the  warmth  of  honest  zeal,  to  discharge  the  trust 
which  had  thus  devolved  upon  him ;  and,  when 
he  found  his   persuasions  ineffectual,  subjected 
him  to  a  legal  prosecution.     But  it  was  only  by 
means  of  a  stratagem  that  he  was  at  length  ena- 
bled to  obtain  a  transcript  of  the  principal  pa- 
pers.3    These  he  committed  to  the  press  eighteen 
years  after  the   death  of  Fruterius.     The  title- 
page  of  the  collection  bears  an  evident  allusion 
to  the  conduct  of  Gifanius  ;*  whom  Dousa  has 

*  Dousx  Poemata,  p.  339,  edit.  ScriveriL 

a  JLuca;  Fruterii  Brugensis  I.ibrorum  qui  recuptrari  potucrunt  Reliqnix. 
Antverpiae,  1584,  8vo.  Prefixed  is  an  epistle  from  Lipsius  to  Dousa  the 
editor,  which  commences  thus :  "  Vere  mihi  sstpe  adfirmasti :  inter  pri- 
»ia  ingenia  Iklgii  nostri,  imo  Galliae,  Lucas  Fruterius  fuit."  The  vo- 
lume includes  "  Julii  Severiani  Syntomata  Rhetorices:  nunc  primum 
diligentia  et  studio  Fruterii  in  lucem  edita."  This  tract  is  very  brief. 
Gruterus  afterwards  published  a  third  book  of  the  Verhimilla  of  Fruterius, 
?nd  some  of  his  philological  epistles.  (Thesaurm  Critics,  toni.  v,  p.  339, 
384.;  A  long  epis>tle  from  this  young  Belgian  occurs  among  those  of 
Wuretus.  (Lib.  i,  epist.  xxv.)  Two  of  his  letters  to  Guilielmus  Camer- 
as may  be  found  in  the  collection  of  .Simon  Abbes  Gabbema,  entitled 
'•  Epistolarum  ab  Illustrious  et  Claris  Viris  Scriptarum  C'enturix  tres," 
p.  €15,  629.  Harlingas  Frisiorum,  1G64,  8vo.  The  edition  of  Aulus 
Gellius  printed  at  Geneva  in  1  609  includes  the  annotations  of  Fruteriu*. 
Some  of  his  unpublished  poems  are  mentioned  by  Saiius.  ( Onnnmij:c. 
littrarium,  towuiii,  p.  390.) 


211 

satirized  with  great  keenness  in  several  of  his  in- 
genious poems. 

The  name  of  Peter  Daniel,  a  scholar  of  no  in- 
considerable erudition,  is  frequently  mentioned 
with  that  of  Buchanan  ;  with  whom  he  appears 
to  have  been  intimately  connected.  At  the  sug- 
gestion of  several  of  their  common  friends,  he 
addressed  a  letter  to  Buchanan  for  the  purpose 
of  urging  the  impression  of  those  poetical  works 
which  had  been  promised  many  years  before. 
This  letter  is  short,  and  indicates  the  general  re- 
spect.in  which  his  correspondent  was  held.  "  Se- 
veral learned  men/'  says  Daniel,  "  by  whom 
you  are  very  much  este-eroed,  have  requested  me 
to  stimulate  you,  through  the  medium  of  a  let- 
ter, to  the  publication  of  those  iambics,  epigrams, 
and  odes,  which  we  have  now  been  expecting  for 
the  space  of  nearly  ten  years.  This  commission 
I  certainly  undertake  with  cheerfulness;  and  I 
adjure  you  by  the  sacred  rites  of  the  Muses,  not 
to  withhold  from  your  friends  what  will  so  much 
conduce  to  the  common  advantage  of  men  of 
letters,  but  to  proceed,  when  your  leisure  shall 
permit,  with  the  plan  of  collecting  your  scatter- 
ed productions.  Their  impression  will  be  care- 
fully managed  by  my  countryman  Mamert  Pa- 
tisson,  who  has  married  the  widow  of  Stephanus, 
and  whom  you  will  find  extremely  disposed  to 
comply  with  your  wishes.  Your  books  Dt? 
Sphcsra  are  also  expected  with  anxiety  :  and  if 

o2 


212 

you  likewise  transmit  to  me  any  other  work 
which  you  have  recently  finished,  you  will  at 
once  fulfil  both  your  promises,  and  preserve 
your  writings  from  perishing.  By  this  plan,  they 
who  ascribe  your  productions  to  themselves  will 
be  put  to  the  blush  ;  and  they  will  be  derided 
who,  under  your  name,  either  publish  other  men's 
works  or  their  own  ;  as  we  readily  supposed  to 
have  been  done  of  late  with  respect  to  the  verses 
on  the  admiral.  Farewell,  distinguished  man. 
All  the  learned  and  pious  salute  you,  especially 
Scaliger,  La  Hatte,b  and  Chrestien.  Cujacius 
is  in  town,  and  it  is  rumored  that  he  is  speedily 
to  open  a  school  of  civil  law.  If  you  have  made 
any  alterations  in  your  paraphrase  of  the  psalms, 
let  me  request  you  to  send  them."c 

Peter  Daniel  was  a  native  of  St.  Benoist  sur 
Loire,d  but  the  principal  part  of  his  life  was  spent 
at  Orleans.  His  profession  was  that  of  an  advo- 
cate, and  he  held  the  office  of  bailli  of  the  abbey 
of  Fleuri.  But  he  was  zealously  attached  to  cri- 
tical studies,  and  attained  to  uncommon  famili- 
arity with  ancient  manuscripts.6  Scioppius  cha- 
fe ««  Nicolai  Hattsei  Aurclii,  regis  et  Aureliorum  ducis  secretarii,  Car- 
men ad  P.  Danielem  civem  suum,"  is  prefixed  to  Daniel's  edition  of  the 
Qutrolut.  Thuanus  mentions  "  Nic.  Hata  actuarius  publicus"  as  a  viol- 
ent partisan  of  the  League  in  the  year  1587.  (Hist,  tut  Temferis,  torn, 
iv,  p.  441,  467.)  But  it  is  not  probable  that  this  was  the  friend  of  the 
heretical  poet. 

c  Buchanani  Epistolse,  p.  1 2. 

•"  Baillet,  Jugemens  des  Sc,avans,  torn,  ii,  par.  ii,  p.  251. 

'  "  Egregins  e«t  adolescens  Petrus  Daniel  Aurelianus,  et  bonis  Uteris 


213 

racterizes  him  as  a  storehouse  of  every  species  of 
antiquities/  He  lived  on  terms  of  intimacy  with 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  scholars  of  the  age : 
Scaliger  and  Turnebus  acknowledge  themselves 
indebted  to  him  for  the  communication  of  his 
manuscript  treasures.  After  his  death,  which 
happened  in  the  year  1603,  his  manuscript  libra- 
ry was  purchased  by  Bongars  and  Paul  Petau, 
for  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  livres.5  His  only 
publications  were  editions  of  Petronius,h  Servius,1 
and  of  the  curioUs  relique  entitled  J^uerolus,  sive 
Aulularia.*  To  this  comedy,  which  had  not 
formerly  been  printed,  he  prefixed  the  commend- 
atory verses  of  Buchanan.1 

Hubert  Languet  seems  likewise  to  claim  a  share 
of  our  attention.     His  letter  to  Buchanan,  dated 

ita  deditus,  ut  nihil  aliud  in  delitiis  habere  videatur  :  librorum  autem  ve- 
terum  tarn  cupidus,  ut  bibliothecas  omnes  pervestiget,  et  aliquid  semper 
in  lucem  proferat,  et  libros  vetustate  sepultos  velut  redivivos  hominum 
lectioni  reddat." 

Turnebi  Adversaria,  lib.  xxvi,  cap.  xxi. 

f  Scioppius  de  Arte  Critica,  p.  13. 

2  Mabillon  de  Liturgia  Gallicana,  prxf.  Paris.  1685,  4t0. 

h  Daniel's  preface  is  reprinted  in  Burman's  edition  of  Petronius  Arbi- 
ter, p.  256.  Traj.  ad  Rhen.  1709,  4to. 

i  Parisiis,  1600,  fol. 

k  Paris.  1564,  8vo.  Thig  is  the  Aulularia  of  Plautus  transprosed.  An- 
other edition  was  afterwards  published  by  Rktershusius;  who  has  sub- 
joined the  same  comedy  transformed  into  elegiac  verse  by  Vitalis  Blesen- 
»is.  Heidelb.  1595,  8vo.  The  notes  of  Daniel,  and  his  dissertatioa 
respecting  the  author,  are  likewise  retained.  Pareus  has  inserted  the 
prose  Aulularia  in  his  edition  of  Plautus,  and  has  strangely  enough  im- 
puted it  to  Gildas. 

1  Buchanani  Opera,  torn,  ii,  p.  102. 

o  3 


.  214 

at  Delft  on  the  twentieth  of  February  1581,  will- 
illustrate  the  nature  of  their  connexion.  "  By 
your  virtue,  and  by  the  various  and  noble  mo- 
numents of  your  genius,  you  have  rendered  your- 
self so  conspicuous  in  the  Christian  world,  that 
hardly  a  single  lover  of  science  and  literature  can 
be  found,  who  does  not  regard  you  with  the  ut- 
most reverence  and  admiration.  I  consider  it  as 
an  instance  of  no  common  felicity,  that  about 
twenty  years  ago,  it  was  my  lot  not  only  to  see 
you  at  Paris,  and  to  enjoy  your  most  pleasant  and 
most  learned  conversation,  but  also  to  entertain 
you  as  my  guest,  together  with  those  distinguish- 
ed men,  Tumebus,  Auratusrm  Balduinus  the  ci- 
vilian," Sambucus  the  Hungarian,0  Carolus  Clu-- 
sius,p  and  some  others.  We  then  heard  you  dis- 
cuss various  subjects  in  a  manner  which  tended 
very  much  to  our  edification  and  delight.  To 
those  circumstances  I  now  allude  for  the  purpose 
of  trying  whether  I  can  suggest  to  your  recollec- 

111  Bayle,  Dictionaire  Historique  et  Critique,  art.  Dourat.  Niceran, 
Memoires  des  Homines  Illustres*  torn,  xxvi,  p.  109.— -His  real  nasie 
seems  to  have  been  Dorat. 

■  Bayle,  art.  Baudtuin.     Niceroa,  torn,  xxviii,  p.  255. 

0  Thuanus,  torn,  iv,  p.  252.  Boissardus,  torn,  iii,  p.  44.  Ghilini, 
vol.  i,  pi  86.  Freherus,  p.  1282.  Pope  Blount,  Censura  Celebriorutu 
Authorum;  p.  551.  Lond.  1690,  fol.  Bullart,  Academie  des  Sciences, 
.torn,  ii,  p.  184.  Joannis  Fabricii  Hist.  Bibliothecae  Fabriciana:,  torn.  iii„ 
p.  465.    Bezse  Poemata  Varia,  p.  109. 

*  Meursius,  p.  186.  Andreas,  p.  1 18.  Sweertius,  p.  116.  Boissard- 
us, torn,  ii,  p.  3.  Bullart,  torn,  ii,  p.  114.  Adami  Vita  GermaEoror* 
Medicorum,  p.  407. 


215 

tion  who  I  am :  but  whoever  I  am,  assure  your- 
self of  my  being  a  very  warm  admirer  of  your 
virtue.  For  several  years,  I  have  lived  with  Phi- 
lip Melanchthon,  and  I  then  seemed  to  myself  to 
live  happily .q  Having  after  his  decease  been  ex- 
posed to  various  chances,  I  have  at  length  betaken 
myself  to  these  regions,  as  to  a  haven  more  secure 
than  any  other  that  I  could  find,  notwithstand- 
ing their  having  been  agitated  for  many  years  by 
the  storms  of  civil  war.  Even  amidst  these  war- 
like tumults,  the  light  of  the  gospel  shines  forth ; 
to  us  is  announced  the  doctrine  which  points  out 
the  true  path  of  salvation;  and  while  the  Spani- 
ards threaten  devastation,  the  superstition  which 
infects  their  minds  is  expelled  from  the  churches. 
It  wa9  the  prince  of  Orange,  the  great  ornament 
of  our  age,  who  commanded  me  to  accompany 
him  to  this  place.  Supported  by  the  vigour  and 
acuteness  of  his  mind,  he  has  hitherto  maintain- 
ed such  a  contest  with  the  formidable  power  of 
the  Spaniards  as  has  procured  him  immortal  glo- 
ry. After  having  under  his  auspices  severed  their 
tyrannical  empire,  these  provinces  have  happily 
constituted  various  republics  and  churches,  which 
being  closely  leagued  together,  have  hitherto  re- 
sisted the  attacks  of  the  enemy.  The  king  of 
Spain  having  for  several  years  endeavoured  with- 
out success  to  overwhelm  him  by  force,  has  at 

*  Camerarii  Vita  MelanchthonU,  p.  333. 


216 

length  resorted  to  arras  which  do  not  seem  alto- 
gether suitable  to  so  great  a  monarch  ;  he  has 
issued  an  edict  in  which  he  pronounces  sentence 
of  prescription,  and  endeavours,  by  proposing  re- 
wards, to  impel  assassins  to  accomplish  his  murder. 
Since  many  falsehoods  are  there  alleged  against 
him,  he  has  been  induced  by  his  friends  to  pub- 
lish an  apology,  for  the  purpose  of  vindicating 
his  innocence  against  the  calumnies  of  the  Spani- 
ards. This  apology  I  transmit  to  you/  During 
the  winter,  I  have  lived  in  these  puddles  of  the 
Dutch,  which  nature  seems  rather  to  have  in- 
tended for  the  habitation  of  frogs  and  eels  than 
of  men  This  town  is  however  very  handsome  ; 
and  at  the  distance  of  three  hours  journey  stands 
Leyden,  or  Lujdunum  Batavorum,  as  they  now 
speak,  the  residence  of  Justus  Lipsius,  Janus 
Dousa  the  poet,  and  Donellus  the  French  civi- 
lian,' men  of  learning  and  celebrity.  From  the 
vicinity  of  this  town,  we  have  a  prospect  of  Ro- 
terdam  ;  a  prospect  which  not  only  recals  to  my 
memory  the  great  Erasmus,  in  whom  it  glories 
as  a  citizen,  but  also  you  :  for  I  cannot  suffici- 
ently express  my  astonishment,  that  such  horrid 
places  should  produce  men  to  whose  talents  nei- 
ther our  own  age,  nor  that  of  our  fathers  or 
grandfathers,  has  exhibited  a  parallel.     Erasmus 

r  The  apology  issued  by  the  prince  of  Orange  is  supposed  to  have  been 
vfritten  by  Languet.     (Niceron,  torn,  hi,  p.  305.) 

•  Gravina,  p.  131.    BrunqueUi  Hist.  Juris  Romani,  p.  377. 


217 

was  invited  to  inform  the   youth  of  Ferdinand 
brother  to  the  emperor  Charles,  but  he  declined 
this  employment.     I  account  you  more  fortunate 
and  virtuous  in  not  having  refused  to  aid  your 
country,  when  it  called  you  to  imbue  the  king's 
tender  mind  with  those  precepts  which  being  ob- 
served in  his  riper  years,  will  secure  the  happi- 
ness and  prosperity  of  himself,  and  of  all  those  to 
whom  his  dominion  extends.      Daniel  Rogers, 
our  common  friend,  who  regards  you  with  singu- 
lar veneration,  was  four  months  ago  seized  by 
the  Germans  serving  under  the  king  of  Spain; 
nor  has  the  queen  of  England,  who  had  sent  him 
upon  an  embassy  to  the  emperor  and  some  other 
,  German  princes,  hitherto  been  able  to  obtain  his 
release/     He  was  lately  reported  to  have  made 
his  escape  through  the  assistance  of  some  woman ; 
but  we  have  heard  of  his  being  retaken,  and  com- 
mitted to  more  rigorous  confinement.     I  am  ex- 
tremely concerned  that  such  an  accident  should 
have  befallen  a  worthy  man,  with  whom  I  have 
cultivated  a  particular  intimacy  for  many  years. 
I  am  very  anxious  to  learn,  provided   it  should 
not  be  disagreeable  to  you,  when  you  shall  pub- 
lish your  Scotish  history.     From  Melvil,  an  ex- 
cellent man,  you  may  know  the  state  of  my  af- 
fairs.    Fare  well. "u 

1  Langueti  Epistolse  ad  Sydneium,  p.  287. 

u  Buchanani  Epistolas,  p.  31.     Clarisiimo  et  Prastantiu'mo  flrt,  X)mi» 
no  Giorgio  Busbanano,  doming  tuo  et  amino  tbttrvando. 


218 

This  letter  must  have  been  highly  grateful  to 
Buchanan's  feelings :  it  expressed  the  warm  ad- 
miration of  a  distinguished  and  truly  honest  man, 
whose  applause  was  not  rashly  distributed  ;  and 
it  recalled  to  his  memory  some  of  the  learned  as- 
sociates of  his  earlier  years.  Languet  himself  was 
equally  conspicuous  for  his  talents  and  for  his 
virtues.  He  was  the  son  of  Germain  Languet, 
governor  of  Viteaux  in  Burgundy  ;  and  was  born 
at  that  place  in  the  year  1518.  He  prosecuted 
his  studies  at  Leipzig  under  the  excellent  Came- 
rarius,  for  whom  he  maintained  the  highest  re- 
gard. At  an  early  period  of  life  he  had  begun  to 
entertain  serious  doubts  respecting  the  doctrines 
of  Popery  ;  and  after  having  consulted  the  theo- 
logians of  that  city,  he  openly  embraced  the  re- 
formed religion.  He  studied  the  laws  in  the 
university  of  Padua,  where  he  received  the  de- 
gree of  doctor,  and  afterwards  removed  to  that 
of  Bologna.  Prompted  by  the  innate  curiosity 
of  a  philosophical  mind,  he  determined  to  visit 
several  other  countries,  and  he  even  penetrated 
so  far  as  Lapland.  His  profession  of  heretical 
opinions  rendered  his  return  to  France  less  de- 
sirable :  the  best  part  of  his  life  was  spent  among 
the  honest  Germans ;  and  for  a  long  time  he  ex- 
ercised the  charge  of  counsellor  to  the  elector  of 
Saxony,  by  whom  he  was  likewise  intrusted  with 
different  embassies.  It  was  apparently  during 
one  of  his  embassies  to  the  court  of  France,  that 


219 

he  became  acquainted  with  Buchanan.  Being 
suspected  of  having  encouraged  Gaspar  Peucer 
to  publish  a  Calvinistic  exposition  of  the  euchar- 
ist,  he  found  it  expedient  to  withdraw  himself 
from  the  elector's  service  ;  and  he  now  retired  to 
Holland,  where  he  was  intrusted  by  the  prince 
of  Orange  with  the  management  of  some  import- 
ant affairs.  He  died  at  Antwerp  on  the  thirtieth 
of  September  1.581. x  During  his  last  moments, 
he  was  very  affectionately  attended  by  the  wife 
of  his  excellent  and  accomplished  friend  Mornay; 
and  he  expressed  an  earnest  wish  that  her  illus- 
trious spouse  should,  in  the  next  work  which  he 
published,  commemorate  their  mutual  attach- 
ment and  regard/  This  dying  request  Mornay 
executed  in  the  preface  to  a  Latin  translation  of 
his  treatise  "  De  la  Verite  de  la  Religion  Chrest- 
ienne."  To  his  natural  endowments  Languet  had 
united  much  variegated  and  accurate  knowledge ; 
he  was  well  acquainted  with  books,  and  still  bet- 
ter with  the  dispositions  and  manners  of  mankind. 
His  long  experience  of  public  affairs  had  render- 
ed him  a  very  able  politician,  without  diminish- 

x  Bezahas  written  his  epitaph.    (Pcsmata  Varia,  p.  111.) 

y  De  Liques,  Vie  de  Philippes  de  Mornay,  Seigneur  du  Plessis  Marlay, 

p.  57.  Leyde,  1647,  4to.     Marii  Vita  Huberti  Langneti,  p.   151.  HuI.t, 

1700,  12mo. — This  account  of  Languet  was  written  by  Philibert  de  la 

Mare,  a  counsellor  of  Dijon  ;  who  appears  from  one  of  his  epistles  to  N. 

Heinsius,  to  have  been  occupied  in  its  composition  about  the  year  1 660. 

(Burmanni  Sylloge  Epistolarum,  torn,  v,  p  682)     It  was  edited  by  J.  P. 

Ludovicus,  or  Ludewig ;  who  has  very  strangely  suppressed  the  name  of 

the  author. 


CJC20 

ing  the  native  candour  and  probity  of  his  mind0 
His  admirable  sagacity  was  accompanied  with  the 
utmost  modesty  and  benevolence.  His  literary 
performances  exhibit  sufficient  proofs  of  a  culti- 
vated and  elegant  mind  ;  and  if  his  active  life  had 
been  devoted  to  letters,  he  might  have  arrived  at 
very  high  celebrity  as  a  polite  writer/ 

Besides  the  continental  scholars  who  have  al- 
ready been  enumerated,  there  were  various  others 
who  regarded  Buchanan  with  particular  affection! 
and  whatever  may  be  the  notion  of  a  few  specu- 
lators of  the  present  age,  certain  it  is  that  his 
moral  and  intellectual  qualities  procured  him, 
among  the  most  enlightened  of  his  cotempora- 
ries,  the  same  high  degree  of  respect.  Daniel 
Rogers  informed  him  that  in  Holland  he  had  ma- 
ny zealous  admirers,  and,  among  the  chief  of 
them,  Janus  Dousa,  and  Philippe  de  Marnix  de 
Ste.  Aldegonde;  men  equally  illustrious  by  the 
nobility  of  their  birth,  and  by  the  superiority  of 
their  endowments.  "  The  former  of  these,"  he 
subjoins,   "  I  introduced   to  your  acquaintance 

a  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  works  of  which  Languet  is 
the  undisputed  author.  "  Historica  Descriptio  suiceptaj  a  Cxsarea  Ma 
jestate  Executionis  contra  S.  Rom.  Imperii  Rebelles."  Sine  loci  indicio, 
1568, 1569, 4to.  Bremx,  1 735, 4to.  The  last  edition  was  published  by 
Ehrenreich  Gerhard  Coldwey.  "  Epistola;  Politic*  et  Historicx  ad 
Philippum  Sydneium."  Franc.  1633,  12mo.  "  Epistolx  ad  Joachimum 
Camerarium  P.  et  Joachimum  Camerarium  F."  Groningx,  1646,  12mo. 
"  Epistolx  Secretx  ad  August um  Saxonias  Ducem."  Hake,  1699,  4to. 
Of  the  epistles  to  Sir  Philip  Sidney  a  valuable  edition  was  published  by 
the  late  Lord  Hailes,    Edinb.  1776,  8vo. 


221 

while  you  were  residing  in  Paris ;  and  I  now  at 
his  particular  request  transmit  to  you  a  copy  of 
his  poems,  which  have  recently  been  published. 
The  latter,  whose  intrinsic  merit  has  rendered 
him  the  favourite  of  a  most  excellent  prince,* 
you  also  knew  at  Paris.  When  I  lately  returned 
from  my  embassy  to  that  prince,  he  addressed  to 
you  the  letter  which  accompanies  this."b  Janus 
Dousa,  born  at  Noortwyck  in  Holland  in  the  year 
1545,  was,  like  Buchanan,  a  poet  and  a  states- 
man. He  enjoyed  some  of  the  highest  civil  ho- 
nours which  his  country  could  bestow;  and  hav- 
ing been  appointed  governor  of  Leyden,  he  de- 
fended it  during  a  memorable  siege  with  distin- 
guished bravery.  He  was  one  of  the  first  cura- 
tors of  the  university  founded  in  that  city  in 
1575.  He  died  in  the  year  1604,  much  lament- 
ed by  the  republic  of  letters.  His  moral  character 
seems  to  have  been  blameless;  and  he  held  a  very 
respectable  station  among  the  scholars  of  that 
learned  age.  His  merits  are  highly  celebrated  in 
the  poems  of  Jos.  Scaliger,  Grotius,  Heinsius,  and 
Baudius.  His  reading,  according  to  Meursius, 
was  multifarious,  his  memory  almost  incredible: 
he  was  the  Varro  of  Holland,  and  the  common 
oracle  of  the  university.  Nor  was  he  more  con- 
spicuous for  his  learning  than  for  his  humanity, 
candour,  urbanity,  and  modesty.0     His  amiable 

a  The  prince  of  Orange. 

b  Buchanani  Epistolje,  p.  IS. 

c  Meursii  Athens  Batavae,  p.  89.    Lugd.  Bat.  1625,  4to. 


223 

family  was  singularly  attached  to  letters :  five  of 
his  sons,  namely,  Janus,  Francis,  George,  Ste- 
phen, and  Theodore,  were  known  as  authors ; 
and  the  Latin  poems  of  the  first,  who  died  be- 
fore he  had  completed  his  twenty-sixth  year, 
have  been  preferred  by  Grotius  to  those  of  his 
father.d  Ste.  Aldegonde,  another  of  Buchanan's 
friends,  has  also  been  classed  among  the  illustri- 
ous characters  of  that  age.e  Descended  of  French 
lineage,  he  was  born  at  Brussels  in  the  year  153S; 
and  after  having  equally  distinguished  himself  as 
a  politician  and  a  man  of  letters,  he  died  at  Ley- 
den  in  the  year  1.598.  He  was  well  acquainted 
with  jurisprudence  and  theology  ;  with  the  He- 
brew, Greek,  and  Latin,  as  well  as  with  several 
of  the  living  languages.  At  the  time  of  his 
death,  he  was  engaged  in  a  Flemish  translation  of 
the  scriptures.  Grotius  has  repeatedly  mention- 
ed him  in  very  respectful  terms ;  and  his  epi- 
taph was  written  by  Heinsius  in  a  strain  of  high 
admiration/  These  were  individuals  entitled  to 
Buchanan's  esteem,  and  he  certainly  was  not  un- 
worthy of  theirs.  In  the  same  epistle,  which 
bears  the  date  of  August  the  thirtieth  1576,  Ro- 
gers alludes  to  his  friendship  with  another  scho- 
lar of  distinction.  "  Joannes  Sturmius,  in  a  let- 
ter which  I  lately  received,  earnestly  entreats  me 

d  Grotius  de  Rebus  Belgicis,  p.  267.     Amst.  1657,  fol. 
e  Bayle,  art.  Saiutt- Aldegonde. 

f  Heinsii  Auriacus,  sive  Libertas  Saucia:   accedunt  eju»dem  Iambi,  p. 
121.  LugcV  Bat.  1602,  4to. 


223 

to  send  him  some  intelligence  respecting  you.-  I 
now  forward  a  letter  of  his,  which  however  is  of 
an  old  date."  Sturmius,  who  was  born  at  Sleida 
near  Cologne  in  the  year  1.507,  was  at  the  period 
of  that  correspondence  rector  of  the  College  of 
Strasburg ;  which  under  his  auspices  became  the 
most  flourishing  in  Germany.  He  was  equally 
distinguished  by  his  skill  in  ancient  literature, 
and  by  his  familiarity  with  the  political  affairs  of 
his  own  times.  Such  was  the  benevolence  of  his 
disposition,  that  his  house  was  regarded  as  a  com- 
mon asylum  for  exiles,  and  a  retreat  for  poor 
strangers :  those  in  particular  who  had  abandon- 
ed their  country  from  motives  of  conscience,  he 
entertained  with  unbounded  generosity.  This 
excellent,  man  died  at  an  advanced  age  in  the  year 
1.589,  after  having  produced  many  elegant  and 
learned  works.8     As  a  polite  writer,  he  has  been 

*  An  account  of  Sturmius  may  be  fpund  in  the  cunous  work,  of  Bayle, 
and  in  many  other  biographical  collections.  Lord  Monboddo  talks  of  "em 
Sturmius,  a  German."  (Origin  and  Progress  of  Language,  voL  iii,  p.  390.) 
His  illustrations  of  the  rhetorical  productions  of  Aristotle,  Hermogenei, 
and  Cicero,  might  alone  have  recommended  him  to  his  lordship's  ac- 
quaintance. Among  other  original  works,  he  published  treatises  "  De  Pe- 
riodis,"  "  De  Imitatione  Oratoria,"  and  "  De  Amissa  Dicendi  Centre* ' 
Beza  has  written  his  epitaph  in  terms  of  high  respect. 
Si  laudem  p;etas  ullam  sincera  meretur 

Veris  suis  cultoribus ; 
Eximix  si  qua  est  doctrinx  gloria ;  doctse 

Est  si  qua  laus  facundix ; 
Si  summis  imisque  piis  placuisse,  malorum 

Hostem  fuisse  perpetem, 
Est  vitas  loc  p  •- s  testis  vindexque  prebztx, 
Ipsis  crepantibus  invwiis ; 


224 

classed  with  Cicero,  Bembus,  and  Manutius.u  His 
intercourse  with  Buchanan  and  Ascham  contri- 
buted to  render  his  name  familiar  to  the  scho- 
lars of  this  i&land.  Among  the  epigrams  of  Bu- 
chanan, are  three  inscriptions  for  the  portrait  of 
Sturmius.' 

Roger  Ascham,  the  accomplished  friend  of 
Sturmius,  must  not  be  excluded  from  the  present 
enumeration.  Buchanan  and  he  were  personally 
acquainted;14  and  they  have  celebrated  each  other 
in  their  respective  writings.  Ascham  has  bestow- 
ed high  commendation  on  the  tragedy  of  Jeph- 
thes.1  The  following  epigram  of  Buchanan  is  ad- 
dressed "  Ad  Rogerum  Aschamum  Anglum,  qui 
librumm  cum  honorifico  elogio,  et  sui  amoris  sig- 
nificatione  miserat." 

Ecquis  te,  Sturmi,  vixit  felicior  ?  ecquis 

Te  mortuo  beatior  ? 
Non  igitur,  Sturmi,  te  lugeo,  lugeo  nullos 
Superesse  nobis  Sturirtios. 

Be  2*  Poemata  Varia,  p.  135. 
*  Sambucus  de  Imitatione  Ciceroniana,  f.  47,  b    Paris.  1561,  8vo. — 
See  aiso  Bergenia  de  Naturali  Pulchritudine  Orationis,  p.  707.     Lipsiz, 
J720,  4to. 

i  Buchanaiii  Icones,  p.  91. 
k  Buchanani  Epistolae,  p.  30. 
I  Ascham's  English  Work9,  p.  S20. 

n  This  book  I  have  accidentally  discovered  in  Williams's  Library :  if 
is  a  copy  of  the  work  of  Fulvius  Ursinus,  entitled  Virgiliui  CollatUnt 
Scriptorum  Gracorum  Illuitratus.  AntT.  1567,  8vo.  The  title-page  is 
confronted  with  the  subsequent  inscription.  "  Rogerus  Aschamus  Geor- 
gio  Buchanano,  Anglus  Scoto,  amicus  amico,  hunt  poetam  omnis  vete- 
ris  memorix  optimum,  poetae  hujus  nostra  aetatis  Optimo,  amoris  ergo, 
<}ono  dat :   cum  hoc  monasticho : 

"  «t>iXov  Qi\u  ptriftirtnioi  tifntHf  }•;£»>" 


225 

Amplector,  Rogere,  tuum  vehementer  amorera, 

Et    mnii  dictum  pignus  amoris  amo  : 
Nee  minus  est  animus  genitor  mihi  gratus  amoris, 

Quseque  aniraum  virtus  ornat  amatque  tuum : 
Nee  minus  est  gratus  magni  comes  error  amoris, 

Et  nimio  caecum  pectus  amore  mei.n 
Et  cum  cunc  a°  probem,  virtutem,  munus,  amorem, 

Et  nimio  factum  pectus  amore  mei, 
Absque  errore  meo  vellem  fas  esset  amare 

Errorem  de  me,  dulcisp  amice,  tuum.q 

Ascham  and  Buchanan  are  regarded  as  the 
most  elegant  and  classical  Latinists  vviiom  their 
respective  nations  have  produced.  The  preemi- 
nence of  Buchanan  will  not  be  controverted;  and 
a  German  critic  of  various  erudition  pronounced 
Ascham  to  be  the  only  Englishman  who  had 
caught  any  considerable  portion  of  the  genuine 
diction  of  antiquity/  The  elegance  of  hi*  Eng- 
lish productions  is  much  superior  to  the  common 
standard  of  the  age :  his  Schole  Master  is  equally 
valuable  as  a  specimen  of  style,  and  as  a  treatise 
of  practical  application.  In  the  composition  of 
Latin  verse  he  attained  to  less  proficiency/ 

This  inscription  is  dated  at  Hampton  Court,  on  the  twentieth  of  Novem- 
ber 1568.  Ascham  died  on  the  thirtieth  of  the  following  month-  Bu- 
chanan's epigram,  written  apparently  with  his  own  hand,  occurs  at  the 
end  of  this  precious  volume.     I  shall  subjoin  the  various  reading*. 

n  Quo  pectus  nimio  csecus  amore  mei. 

0  Multa.  P  Oandide. 

q  Buchanani  Epigram,  lib.  i,  39. 

r  Morhofius  de  Pura  Dictione  Latina,  p.  41.     Hanov.  1724,  8vo. 

*  The  Latin  epistles  and  poems  of  Ascham  were  published  by  Dr. 
Grant,  who  has  prefixed  an  account  of  the  author's  life.     Lond.  1576, 

P 


226 

The  personal  history  of  Ascharn,  the  precept? 
or,  and  afte;  wards  the  Latin  secretary  of  Eliza- 
beth, is  not  obscure ;  it  has  been  detailed  by  his 
cotemporary  Dr.  Edward  Grant,  master  of  West- 
minster school,  and  at  a  later  period  by  Dr.  Sa- 
muel Johnson.  He  died  in  1568  in  the  fifty- 
third  year  of  his  age  ;  and  Buchanan  consecrated 
the  subsequent  lines  to  his  memory, 

Aschamum  extinctum  patriae,  Graiseque  Camoeno;, 

Et  Latiae  vera  cum  pietate  dolent. 
Principibus  vixit  cams  jucundus  amicis, 

Re  modica,  in  mores  dicere  fama  nequit/ 

Ascham  seems  to  have  been  a  very  amiable, 
though  not  a  very  prudent  character.  Notwith- 
standing the  elegance  of  his  mind,  he  was  immo- 
derately addicted  to  the  degrading  amusements 
of  dice  and  cock-fighting ;  and  as  he  was  an  ho- 
nest man,  his  losses  were  so  considerable,  that  he 
lived  and  died  in  poverty,  or  at  least  not  in  opu- 
lence." 

Dr.  Walter  Haddon  was  another  English  scho- 

*vo.  The  collection  has  frequently  been  reprinted.  The  best  edition  of 
the  epistles  is  th<it  of  Mr.  Elstdb,  who  has  however  omitted  Aschani't 
verses.  Oxon.  1703,  8vo.  Dr.  Johnson's  life  of  Ascham  was  prefixed 
to  the  collection  of  his  English  works,  published  by  Mr.  James  Bennet. 
Lend.  1761,  4to.  One  of  hi*  productions  has  escaped  the  researches  of 
this  biographer.  It  is  entitled  "  Apo.ogia  doctiss'mi  viri  Rogeri  Aschami, 
Angli,  pro  Ccena  Dominica,  contra  Missam  et  ejus  Praestigias."  I,ond. 
1577,  8vo.  This  work,  of  which  I  possess  a  copy,  was  likewise  edited 
by  Dr.  Grant. 

t  Buchaiani  Epigram,  lib  ii,  27. 

u  Camdeni  Annales,  voL  i,  p.  J  77,  edit.  Hearnii. 


227 

lar  of  reputation  with  whom  Buchanan  seems  to 
have  enjoyed  familiar  intercourse.  To  that  learn- 
ed man  he  addressed  the  first  of  his  iambics,  when 
he  was  verging  towards  the  .sixtieth  year  of  his 
age.  Haddon,  who  descended  from  a  genteel 
family  in  Buckinghamshire,  had  contributed  with 
Ascham,  Cheke.  and  Smith,  to  reform  the  uni- 
versity of  Cambridge  from  monkish  barbarism. 
Though  a  layman  he  had  been  the  master  of  a 
college  at  Cambridge,  and  at  Oxford;  and  on  the 
accession  of  Elizabeth,  he  was  appointed  one  of 
the  masters  of  the  court  of  requests.x  The  style 
of  his  Latin  prose  is  not  inelegant ;  but  he  was 
much  less  successful  as  a  versifier. 

Dr.  John  jewel,  the  famous  bishop  of  Salisbu- 
ry, has  also  been  enumerated  among  the  learned 
men  with  whom  he  maintained  a  literary  inter- 
course ;y    but  this   suggestion  seems  merely  to 

x  Biographica  Britannica,  vol.  iv,  p.  2458. — The  same  office  was  af-r 
terwards  enjoyed  by  Bellenden :  but  in  explaining  its  nature,  the  erudi- 
tion of  Dr.  Parr  has  decoyed  him  too  far  from  home.  (Prof,  in  Bclkn- 
Jtnum,  p.  lxiii.)  The  court  of  requests  v.-as  instituted  about  the  ninth  of 
Henry  VII,  and  v  as  dissolved  by  statute  16  Car.  I,  c.  10.  Of  this 
court,  which  professed  to  distribute  justice  gratuitously,  the  lor^  privy- 
seal  was  chief  judge;  and  was  assisted  by  the  two  masters  of  the  requests. 
The  tribunal  of  the  star-chamber  was  abolished  by  the  same  statute. 

y  Sibbaldi  Comment,  in  Vitam  Buchanani,  p.  GO. — One  of  Buchanan** 
English  friends  was  Edward  Bulkeley,  1).  D.  a  clergyman  of  Shrewsb  <rj. 
(Buchanani  EfistoU,  p.  30.)  The  Bodleian  catalogue  ascribe-  to  him 
two  co:  troversial  works  in  English.  I  have  a  curious  collection  edited 
by  Dr.  Bulkeley  under  the  titie  of  Speculum  Reclaim  Pontifici*.  Lond. 
1606,  8vo.  The  principal  tract  in  the  volume  is  that  o*f  Nicolaus  Cle» 
mangis  Dc  Ccrruftt  Ealts'ue  Statu, 

p2 


228 

have  originated  from  Buchanan's  having  cele- 
brate: him  in  two  funeral  inscriptions.  These 
inscriptions  were  first  published  by  his  biogra- 
pher Dr.  Laurence  Humphrey;  who  has  exhibit- 
ed the  similar  contributions  of  many  other  scho- 
lars.1 

Sir  Anthony  Cooke  and  his  learned  daughters 
are  highly  extolled  in  the  poems  of  Buchanan.* 
Cooke  had  been  associated  with  Sir  John  Cheke 
as  one  of  the  preceptors  of  Edward  the  s  xth;b 
and  his  virtue  and  erudition  entitled  him  to  so 
important  a  trust,  With  this  most  accomplished 
family,0  Buchanan  probably  became  acquainted 
during  his  political  visit  to  London  in  the  year 
1568.  The  favourable  opinion  which  he  enter- 
tained of  it  will  sufficiently  appear  from  the  sub- 
sequent address. 

Cucides,  Antoni  soboles  generosa  parentis, 
JEt  sobolis  doctse  doctior  ipse  parens, 

*  Humfredi  Vita  Joannis  Juelli.  Lond.  1573,  4to. — Dr.  Humphrey 
is  the  author  of  several  works.  The  most  remarkable  of  them  is  entitled 
Interpretatio  Linguarum :  seu  de  Ratione  Convertendi  et  Explicandi  Autores  tarn 
Sacra  quam  Profanes,  libritrcs.  Basil.  1559,  8vo.  This  production  dis- 
plays considerable  learning,  but  not  much  precision  of  thought,  or  ele- 
gance of  diction.  He  was  regius  professor  of  divinity,  and  president  of 
Magdalen  College,  at  Oxford  :  he  likewise  enjoyed  the  deanry  of  Gloo- 
cester,  and  afterwards  that  of  Winchester.  His  portrait  may  be  found  in 
Hugh  Holland's  Herultgia  Anglha,  p.  207. 

a  Buchanani  Epigram,  lib.  i,  53,  lib.  iii,  12,  13,  14,  17. 

b  Strype's  Life  of  Sir  John  Cheke,  p.  28.     Lond.  1705,  8vo. 

c  Ballard's  Memoirs  of  Learned  Ladies,  p.  182,  188,  194.  Oxford, 
1752,  4to. 


229 

Non  ego  Pieridas,  vobis  in  vota  benignis, 

Nee  precibus  Clarium  sollicitabo  Deum. 
Cucides  Aonidae  mihi  erunt,  pater  alter  Apollo, 

Ingenio  vires  sufficietque  meo. 
Inde  mihi  surget  xeniorura  maxima  merces, 

Largaque  de  vestra  munera  fruge  dabo. 
Ludere  me  forsan  perfricta  fronte  putetis, 

Quod  fieri  alterius  merce  benignus  amem. 
Non  ita :  nam  cum  det  Deus  omnibus  omnia,  lastus 

Accipit  e  donis  munera  parva  suis. 
Vos  quoque  germanse  Dis  tot  virtutibus  sequae, 

E»  studiis  docti  docta  propago  patris, 
Este  Dei  similes,  nee  munere  pendite  mentera  : 

Muneribus  pretium  mens  generosa  facit.d 

Mildred  Cooke,  the  eldest  of  these  learned  ladies , 
was  the  second  wife  of  the  famous  Lord  Burleigh. 
Buchanan  congratulates  her  on  having  produced 
a  poem  more  precious  than  gold ;  and  her  pro- 

d  Buchanani  Epigram,  lib.  iii,  17. — "  Praetereo  filias,"  says  Dr.  Hum- 
phrey, "  Antonii  Coki  equestris  ordinis  dignitate  clari,  linguarum  orna- 
mentis  clarioris,  religionis  fideique  laude  clarissimi,  Joanuis  Cheki  in  Edo- 
vardi  sexti  pueritia  informanda  collegae  :  quae  parentem  suum  vere  iefer- 
unt,  Latinis  Grxcisque  Uteris  eruditaj,  quarum  Guilielmi  Cicilii  electis- 
simi  viri  uxor  Grascam  linguam  perbene  exacteque  callere  dicitur."  (Dt 
Ratione  Interpretandi,  prxf.)  The  father  is  mentioned  by  Sleidan,  De 
Statu  Religionis  et  Reipublica,  f.  481,  edit.  Argent.  1557,  8vo.  An  epistle 
to  Cooke  from  Ccelius  Secundus  Curio  is  prefixed  to  the  work  of  his  col- 
league Cheke,  De  Pronunciation  Gracee  potissimum  Lingua.  Basil.  1555, 
8vo.  See  also  Aschami  EpistoU,  p.  395, 414,  418,  427,  429,  edit.  Elstob, 
Fuller's  Hist,  of  the  Worthies  of  England,  p.  327,  and  Tanneri  Bibliotheca 
Britannico-Hibernica,  p.  197.  Lond.  1748,  fol.  Cooke  is  by  some  writ- 
ers supposed  to  be  the  author  of  a  work  published  at  Strasburg,  under 
the  title  of  "  Diallacticon  de  Veritate,  Natura,  atque  Substantia  Corporis  et 
Sanguinis  Christi  in  Eucharistia."  (Placcii  Taeatrum  Anon,  et  Pteudon- 
torn,  i,  p.  107.  Blackburne's  Memoirs  of  Thomas  Hollis,  Esq.  vol.  ii,  p. 
565.) 

P  3 


280 

ficiency  in  the  Greek  language  was  so  consider- 
able, that  she  translated  a  work  of  Chrysostom 
into  English.2  The  poet,  who  seems  to  have 
been  repeatedly  indebted  to  her  munificence,  has 
addressed  her  in  several  epigrams.  Anne  the 
second  daughter,  who  was  married  to  Sir  Nichol- 
as Bacon,  is  likewise  celebrated  for  her  uncom- 
mon skill  in  the  classical  languages/  She  trans- 
lated from  the  Italian  twenty-five  sermons  of 
Ochino,  and  from  the  Latin  the  famous  apology 
of  Bishop  Jewel  for  the  church  of  England.  Both 
her  versions  were  published.  When  she  com- 
municated her  manuscript  to  the  learned  prelate, 
she  accompanied  it  with  an  epistle  written  in 
Greek.8  But  it  is  her  highest  praise  that  she  was 
the  mother  and  early  instructor  of  the  great  Lord 
Bacon. 

Daniel  Rogers,  whom  the  English  court  em- 
ployed in  various  embassies,  appears  to  have  been 
one  of  Buchanan's  particular  friends.  A  greater 
number  of  the  letters  which  passed  between  them 
lias  been  preserved,  than  of  those  between  Buchan- 
an and  any  other  of  his  correspondents ;  and  yet 
that  number  only  amounts  to  six.  He  was  the 
son  of  John  Rogers,  a  Protestant  clergyman,  and 
of  Adriana  de  Weyden.  His  father  had  con- 
ducted him  to  Frankfort  at  an  early  age ;  and 

e  Peck's  Desiderata  Curiosa,  vol.  i,  p.  7. 

f  Caiusde  Libris  suis,  f.  12,  b.  Loud.  1570,  8vo. 

5  Stryp«'»  Life  of  Archbishop  Parker,  p.  178.  Lond.  1711,  fol, 


231 

he  there  obtained  a  familiar  acquaintance  with 
the  classical  languages.  Returning  to  his  native 
country  at  the  commencement  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth's reign,  he  prosecuted  his  studies  at  Oxford. 
He  married  the  daughter  of  Nicasius  Yetswiert, 
French  secretary  to  the  queen,  and  one  of  the 
clerks  of  the  signet ;  and  by  means  of  this  con- 
nexion was  introduced  to  the  notice  of  the  court. 
He  was  appointed  one  of  the  clerks  of  the  privy 
council.  Rogers,  who  died  on  the  eleventh  of 
February  1591,h  is  represented  as  a  man  of  an 
excellent  character ;  and  he  was  undoubtedly 
possessed  of  talents  and  learning;1 

Sir  Thomas  Randolph,  LL.D.  whose  name  is 
familiar  to  the  readers  of  Scotish  history,  was  also 
a  warm  admirer  of  Buchanan's  genius  and  virtues. 

h  Wood's  Athenat  Oxonienses,  vol.  i,  col.  199. 

i  Three  Latin  poems  by  Rogers  are  inserted  in  Ortelius'*  TLeatrum 
Orbit  Terrarum,  edit.  Antv.  1579,  fol.  :  nine  in  Latin,  and  one  in  Greek, 
are  published  in  Humphrey's  Vita  "Joann'u  Juelli.  Many  of  his  occa- 
sional verses  occur  in  other  books  bee  Dousx  Poemata,  p.  470,  Heinsii 
Epistolx  Selcctiores,  p.  667,  Meursii  Athena  Buti-va,  p.  28,  and  Hearnii 
Pr&f.  in  Camdini  An/tales,  p.  cxxxix.  "  De  veterum  Britannorum  moribui 
et  legibus,"  says  Ortelius,  "  scripsit  commentarium  Daniel  Rogersius  cog- 
natus  meus.  Idem  de  Romanorum  in  Britannia  imperio  pr.-e  manibut 
habet."  (Tbeatrum  Oriis  Terrcrum,  f.  10.)  In  the  Cotton  Library  is  a 
quarto  MS.  entitled  "  Danielis  Rogersii  Angli  Antique  Britannia;  Ob- 
lervationes  [manu  propria]."  At  p.  89,  occurs  a  division  of  the  work, 
entitled  "  Polita,  seu  Documenta  Administrationis  Romance  in  Britaniis." 
These  observations,  which  merely  consist  ol  digested  extracts  from  an- 
cient and  modern  writers,  were  apparently  never  intended  for  publication. 
Rogers  was  a  very  intimate  friend  of  Janus  Dousa  ;  who  has  deduced  to 
him  his  Pracidanea  pro  SatyrUo  Petronii  Arbitri,  and  addressed  him  in  se- 
veral of  his  poems.     (Dousx  Potmata,  p.  5,  IS,  174,  185,  604.) 


232 

He  was  the  son  of  Avery  Randolph  of  Badles- 
mere  in  Kent ;  prosecuted  his  studies  in  Christ 
Church  at  Oxford  ;  and  about  the  period  when 
he  took  his  bachelor's  degree,  was  made  a  no- 
tary public.  In  1549  he  was  constituted  prin- 
cipal of  Broadgate  Hall,  and  retained  the  office 
till  1553.  In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  he  was  em- 
ployed in  various  embassies  to  Scotland,  France, 
and  Russia. k  Nor  were  his  faithful  services  un- 
rewarded; he  received  the  honour  of  knighthood, 
and  enjoyed  the  office  of  chamberlain  of  the  ex- 
chequer, and  that  of  comptroller  general  of  the 
post  horses.  He  died  on  the  eighth  of  June  1590, 
at  tiie  age  of  sixty-seven.1  Of  the  mutual  epistles 
of  Buchanan  and  Randolph,  only  two  have  been 
preserved  :  Buchanan's  is  written  in  the  Scotish,*1 

k  Some  papers  of  Randolph  may  be  found  in  Hakluyt's  Voyages  and 
Discoveries  of  the  F.nglsb  Nation,  p.  399.  Lond.  1589,  foL  Buchamui  ha« 
addressed  to  him  hi6  verses  on  the  character  of  a  good  king,  and  has  written 
the  epitaph  of  his  lady,  Anne  Walsingham.   fJcones,  p.  89.  Miscell.  xxvii.) 

I  Wood's  Athenx  O.xonienses,  vol   i,  col.  195. 

m  Buchanan's  letter,  which  occurs  in  Mr.  Ruddiman's  preface,  p.  xix, 
is  not  unworthy  of  attention.  "  To  Maister  Randolf  Squi.tr,  Maister  of 
Postes  to  the  Quenes  Grace  of  Ingland.  Maister,  1  haif  resavit  diverse 
letters  frome  you, and  yit  I  have  ansount  to  naine  of  thayme:  of  the  quhylke 
albeit  I  haif  mony  excusis,  as  age,  forgetfulnes,  besines,  and  disease,  yit 
I  wyl  use  nane  as  now,  eccept  my  sweirnessand  your  gentilnes;  and  geif 
ye  thynk  nane  of  theise  sufficient,  content  you  with  ane  confession  of  the 
fait  w^out  fear  of  punition  to  follow  on  my  onkindnes.  As  for  the 
present,  I  am  occupiit  in  writyng  of  our  historie,  being  assurit  to  content 
few,  and  to  displease  mony  tharthrow.  As  to  the  end  of  it,  yf  ye  gett  it 
not  or  thys  winter  be  passit,  lippin  not  for  it,  nor  nane  other  writyngs 
from  me.  The  rest  of  my  occupation  is  wyth  the  gout,  cjuhilk  haldisme 
besy  both  day  and  ny'.  And  quhair  ye  say  ye  half  not  lang  to  Iyif,  I 
tram  to  God  to  go  before  yow,  albeit  I  be  on  fut,  and  ye  ryd  the  fost : 


233 

and  Randolph's  in  the  English  language.  In  the 
collection  is  a  French  letter  of  Buchanan,  ad- 
dressed to  M.  de  Sigongues,  who  had  been  go- 
vernor, while  Buchanan  was  preceptor,  to  Timo- 
leon  de  Cosse,0  and  who  was  afterwards  governor 
of  the  city  and  castle  of  Dieppe.  These  two  are 
the  only  epistles  of  his  which  are  not  written  in 
Latin.  The  correspondence  of  Buchanan  was 
originally  published  by  James  Oliphant ;  who 
appears  to  have  been  but  indifferently  qualified 
for  such  an  undertaking.0  The  collection  only 
occupies  a  very  inconsiderable  volume  ;  nor  can 
it  be  sufficiently  regretted  that  there  is  little  pro- 
bability of  its  ever  being  augmented. 

Though  so  small  a  portion  of  his  correspond- 
ence has  been  preserved,  it  is  certain  that  his 
intercourse  with  learned  foreigners  was  very  ex- 
tensive :  and  he  may  be  supposed  to  have  been 
acquainted  with  most  of  the  remarkable  scholars 
of  whom  his  native  country  could  then  boast ; 
with  the  exception  however  of  such  as  were  se- 
parated from  him  by  theological  and  political 

praying  you  al*  not  to  dispost  my  hoste  at  Newwerk,  Jane  of  Kelstcrne. 
Thys  I  pray  you,  partly  for  his  awyne  sake,  quhame  I  tho1  ane  gud  fellow, 
and  panly  at  request  of  syk  as  I  dar  no1  refuse.  And  thus  I  tak  my  Leif 
shortly  at  you  now,  and  my  lang  leif  quhen  God  pleasis  committing  you 
to  the  protection  of  the  almytty.  At  Sterling  xxv.  day  of  August,  1577. 
Yours  to  command  wc  service, 

G.  Buchanan." 

n  Brantome,  Vies  des  Hommes  lllustres,  torn,  iii,  p.  409. 

•  Georgii  Buchanani  Scoti  ad  Viros  sui  seculi  Claris«imos,  eorumque 
*d  eundcm,  Epistolx.     Lond.  1711,  Svo. 


234 

prejudices.  The  celebrated  John  Knox,  who  had 
likewise  been  a  pupil  of  Mair  at  St.  Andrews, 
seems  to  have  belonged  to  the  number  of  his 
friends  p  The  talents  of  Knox,  if  we  may  judge 
from  their  effects,  were  powerful  and  command- 
ing :  his  share  of  acquired  knowledge  was  far 
from  being  inconsiderable  ;  his  eloquence  was 
vehement  and  impressive  ;  his  vernacular  style 
is  copious,  forcible,  and,  for  the  age  in  which  he 
lived,  not  inelegant.*1     He  died  at  Edinburgh  in 

P  Buchanani  Epistolas,  p.  8.     Bezx  EpistoUe  Theologies,  p.  336. 

1  King  Jair.es,  if  we  may  rely  on  Jchn  Barclay,  regarded  Knox  as  a 
•warlock.  "  Ut  de  cxteris  sileam,  Knoxium  (quern  Beza  Apostolum  Scotia 
•vocat  non  impium  modo  fuisse,  sed  maguni,  serenissimus  Britanniarum 
rex  saspe  magnis  argumentis  asseruit."  f  Paranesis  ad  Secturios,  p.  S8. 
Romx,  1617,  8vo.  Calvin  and  Beza  seem  to  have  regarded  him  in  a 
very  different  light.  Two  epistles  from  Calvin  to  Knox,  and  one  from 
Knox  to  .Calvin,  are  preserved.  (  Calvini  EpUtolj:,  p.  460,  461,  503, 
edit.  Lausan  1576,  8vo.)  Two  of  the  epistles  of  Beza  are  addressed  to 
this  Scotish  apostle.  (Bezas  hphttla  Theohgtctr,  p.  333,  344.  Geneva, 
1573,  8vo.)  One  of  them  opens  in  an  elegant  strain  of  affection.  "  Etsi 
tanto  terrarum  et  maris  ipsius  intervallo  disjuncti  corporibus  sumus,  mi 
Cnoxe,  tamen  minime  dubito  quin  inter  nos  semper  viguerit  et  ad  ex« 
tremum  vigeat  summa  ilia  animorum  conjunctio,  unius  ejusdemque 
•piritus  fideique  vinculo  sancita."  A  high  elogium  of  Knox  occurs  in 
Beza's  Iconcs  Virorum  lilustrium,  sig.  Ee.  iij.  Genevas,  1580,  4to.  Of  this 
•work,  a  French  version  was  published  under  the  title  of  Les  Vrais  Pour- 
traits  des  Hommes  Illustres  en  Piete  et  Doctrine.  Geneve,  1581,  4tO.  In  thfc 
translation  are  inserted  original  verses  on  Knox,  Patrick  Hamilton,  Adam 
Wallace,  and  Alexander  Hales.  It  is  not  professedly  executed  by  Beza 
himself ;  but  it  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  a  mere  translator  would 
have  intermingled  verses  of  his  own. 

A  remarkable  passage  respecting  Knox  occurs  in  Milton's  Ariopagitica, 
p.  302  "  Nay,  which  is  more  lamentable,  if  the  work  of  any  deceased 
author,  though  never  so  famous  in  his  life-time,  and  even  to  this  day, 
come  to  their  hands  for  licence  to  be  printed  or  reprinted,  if  there  be 
found  in  his  baok  one  sentence  of  a  ventrous  edge,  utter'd  in  the  height 


235 

the  month  of  November  1572,  and  the  Papists 
immediately  began  to  revile  his  memory  in  a  most 
inhuman  manner.  Archibald  Hamilton,  one  of 
their  most  bitter  revilers,  attempted  to  involve 
Buchanan  in  the  same  infamy/  His  work  was 
formally  refuted  by  Thomas  Smeton,  principal 
of  the  university  of  Glasgow  ;  who  has  vindicat- 
ed the  character  of  Knox  with  great  zeal  and  suc- 
cess. Smeton  has  incidentally  extolled  Buchan- 
an as  the  glory  of  the  age,  as  a  miracle  of  erudi- 
tion, as  the  prince  and  parent  of  all  learning  and 
of  all  the  learned,  as  an  exemplar  of  ancient 
virtue  and  piety,  as  an  ornament  to  Scotland  and 
to  human  nature.5 

Andrew  Melvin,  principal  of  St.  Mary's  Col- 
lege St.  Andrews,  is  entitled  to  a  place  among 
the  accomplished  friends  of  Buchanan.  He  was 
himself  a  Latin  poet  of  no  mean  character  ;  and 

of  zeal,  and  who  knows  whether  it  might  not  be  the  dictat  of  a  divine 
spirit  ?  yet  not  suiting  with  every  low  decrepit  humor  of  their  own, 
though  it  were  Knox  himself,  the  reformer  of  a  kingdom,  that  spake  it, 
they  will  not  pardon  him  their  dash  :  the  sense  of  that  great  man  shall  to 
all  posterity  be  lost,  for  the  fearfulnesse,  or  the  presumptuous  rashnesse 
of  a  perfunctory  licencer.  And  to  what  an  author  this  violence  hath  bin 
lately  done,  and  in  what  book  of  greatest  consequence  to  be  faithfully 
publisht,  1  could  now  instance,  but  shall  forbear  till  a  more  convenient 
season."  This  treatise  of  Milton  appeared  in  1644;  and  in  the  very 
same  year,  David  Buchanan's  edition  of  Knox's  history  of  the  reformation 
was  published  in  London. 

r  Hamiltonius  de  Confusione  Calvinanae  Sectx  apud  Scotos.  Paris. 
1577,  8vo. 

s  Smetonii  ad  Virulentum  Hamiltonii  Dialogum  Orthodoxa  Responsio, 
p.  44,  89.  Edinb.  1579,  4to. 


236 

has  composed  many  verses  in  celebration  of 
Buchanan,  whom  he  addresses  as  his  preceptor, 
and  the  parent  of  the  Muses.  Melvin  was*  a  stern 
and  undaunted  presbyter  :  when  cited  before  the 
king  and  privy  council,  to  answer  to  the  charge 
of  sedition,  he  deported  himself  with  a  degree  of 
resolution  which  bordered  on  extreme  insolence/ 
It  was  his  duty  to  teach  theology  to  the  students 
of  his  college  ;  but  he  was  apt  to  discuss  some  of 
the  great  topics  of  political  science,  with  a  free- 
dom of  sentiment  which  he  had  perhaps  imbibed 
from  his  illustrious  friend.  It  was  alleged  by 
Archbishop  Spotswood  that  his  pupils  bestowed 
more  attention  on  Buchanan's  political  dialogue, 
than  on  Calvin's  theological  institution."  This 
poetical  and  political  divine  was  a  man  of  power- 
ful talents  ;  profoundly  skilled  in  the  Hebrew, 
Greek,  and  Latin  languages."  But  his  fervent  ad- 
miration of  a  particular  form  of  ecclesiastical  po- 
lity betrayed  him  into  considerable  excesses. 
Buchanan,  as  appeared  from  their  final  interview, 
entertained  no  mean  opinion  of  his  literature  ; 
and   Melvin's   attachment   to  his  preceptor  was 

1  Stuart's  Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii,  p.  258. 

u  Spotswood,  Refutatio  Libelli  de  Regimine  Ecclesix  Scoticanae,  p. 
U7.  Lond.  1620,  8vo. 

x  Archbishop  Spotswood,  who  cannot  be  suspected  of  any  undue  pre- 
judice in  his  favour,  has  yielded  his  suffrage  to  Melvin'*  literary  preten- 
sions. "  Redit  in  patriam  \ndreas  Melvinus  bonis  literis  excultus,  et 
trium  lmguarum,  quarum  eo  seculo  ignorantiu,  illi  famam  et  tantum  non 
j<lmirationem  apud  omnes  peperit,  callentissimus."  (Ibid.  p.  SI.) 


237 

filial  and  enthusiastic.  Buchanan's  benevolence 
and  urbanity,  united  to  his  unrivalled  intelli- 
gence, seem  to  have  rendered  his  familiarity 
highly  grateful  to  ingenuous  and  aspiring  youth; 
and  it  unquestionably  afforded  him  a  generous 
pleasure  to  mark  and  accelerate  the  progress  of 
the  tender  and  plastic  mind.y  The  premature 
death  of  Alexander  Cockburn  he  has  commemo- 
rated in  terms  so  remote  from  vulgar  regret,  that 
it  would  be  unpardonable  in  his  biographer  to 
leave  unnoticed  what  was  apparently  so  interest- 
ing to  his  feelings. 

Omnia  quae  longa  indulget  mortalibus  aetas, 

Haec  tibi,  Alexander,  prima  juventa  dedit : 
Cum  genere  et  forma  generoso  stemmate  digna, 

Ingenium  velox,  ingenuumque  animum. 
Excoluit  virtus  animum,  ingeniumque  Camcenae 

Successu,  studio,  consilioque  pari. 
His  ducibus  primum  peragrata  Britannia,  deinde 

Gallia  ad  armiferos  qua  patet  Helvetios : 
Doctus  ibi  linguas,  quas  Roma,  Sion,  et  Athense, 

Quas  cum  Germano  Gallia  docta  sonat. 
Te  licet  in  prima  rapuerunt  fata  juventa, 

Non  immaturo  funere  raptus  obis. 
Omnibus  officiis  vitae  qui  functus  obivit, 

Non  fas  est  vitas  de  brevitate  queri.2 

J  "  Erat  enim  vir  ilk,"  says  Alexander  Yule,  who  in  his  youth  had 
been  personally  acquainted  with  Buchanan,  "  ea  ingenii  dexteritate,  ut 
cum  pueris  repuerascere,  et  ad  omnes  omnium  atatum  usus  modeite  et 
•apienter  sese  accommodare  et  posset  et  vellet."  (Julii  Ecfbraiit  Parapbra- 
t$*s  G.  Buchanani  in  Psalmos  Davit/it,  epist.  nunc.  JLond.  1620,  8vo;) 

*  Buchanani  Epigram,  lib.  ii,  26. 


238 

Not  satisfied  with  this  enviable  tribute,  he  has 
anxiously  devoted  another  elegant  little  poem  to 
the  commemoration  of  talents  and  virtues,  which 
might  otherwise  have  remained  without  a  lasting 
memorial. 

Ingratis  vexata  hominum  Jtfatura  querelis, 

Et  sterilis  lassis  credita  visceribus, 
Cocbutnum  in  lucem  dedit,  et  rude  pignus  alendum 

Mnemosynes  natis  tradidit  et  Sophiae  : 
Sors,  ubi  maturis  accessit  robur  ab  annis, 

Addidit  et  dotes  ambitiosa  suas. 
Sed  sibi  praeferri  Virtutem  irata,  doloris 

Exegit  poenas  vindice  morte  sui. 
Si  numeres  annos,  cecidit  florente  juv&nta, 

Si  studia,  et  mores,  et  benefacta ,  senex." 

Some  of  these  expressions  seem  to  elevate  this 
youthful  prodigy  to  a  competition  with  the  ad- 
mirable Crichton  ;  nor  can  it  fail  to  excite  the 
most  poignant  regret,  that  intellectual  splendour 
capable  of  attracting  the  admiration  of  Buchan- 
an, should  thus  have  been  extinguished  in  its 
earliest  dawn.  The  untimely  fate  of  an  ingenu- 
ous youth,  adorned  with  superlative  talents,  and 
panting  perhaps  with  a  feverish  pulse  for  the 
sublimity  of  fame,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
objects  that  can  arrest  the  attention  of  a  pensive 
mind. 

Alexander  Cockburn,  for  the  subject  cannot 
be  dismissed  but  with  reluctance,  is  said  to  have 

Buchanani  Miscell.  xii. 


r 


239 

died  in  the  year  1572,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five.1* 
Dempster,  the  suspicious  author  of  this  report, 
likewise  affirms  that  he  composed  various  works, 
and  that  some  of  them  had  fallen  under  his  own 
inspection.  Hume  of  Godscroft  commemorates 
the  premature  death  of  an  Alexander  Cockburn, 
son  to  the  laird  of  Langton.c 

The  infirmities  of  age,  and  a  multiplicity  of 
engagements,  did  not  render  Buchanan  unmind- 
ful of  his  literary  character.  Having  prepared 
his  tragedy  of  Baptistes  for  the  press,  he  dedicat- 
ed it  to  the  young  king  in  the  year  1576.  The 
dedication  is  characterized  by  a  manly  freedom 
of  sentiment  which  has  never  been  paralleled  on 
a  similar  occasion.11  The  precarious  state  of  his 
health  did  not  however  permit  him  to  complete 
his  poem  D.j  Spba-ra,  which  he  had  begun  sever- 
al years  before.  In  the  month  of  September 
1576,  he  informed  Tycho  Brahe  that  during  the 
two  precedent  years  he  had  been  so  severely  af- 

b  Dempster.  Hist  Ecclesiast.  Gent.  Scoter,  p.  1 83. 

c  Humii  Poemata,  p.  110.  Paris  1639,  8 vo. — Daniel  Rogers  men- 
tions a  Captain  XJockburn,  who  seems  to  have  been  one  of  Buchanan's 
friends.     See  the  epistle  inserted  in  Mr.  Ruddiman's  preface,  p.  xx. 

d  Some  of  the  expressions  are  too  remarkable  to  be  omitted.  "  Illud 
autem  peculiarius  ad  te  videri  potest  spectare,  quod  tyrannorum  cruciatus, 
et,  cum  florere  maxime  videntur,  misenas  dilucide  exponat.  Quod  te 
nunc  intelligere  non  conducibile  modo,  sed  etiam  necessarium  existimo  : 
ut  mature  odisse  inc'pias  quod  tibi  semper  est  fugiendum.  Volo  etiam 
hunc  hbellum  apud  posteros  testem  fore,  si  quid  aliquando  pravis  consul- 
toribus  impulsus,  vel  regni  licentia  rectam  educationem  superante,  secus 
tommittas,  non  prseceptoribus,  sed  tibi,  qui  eis  recte  rnonentibus  non  sis 
tbsecmus,  id  vitio  vertendum  esse." 


240 

ilicted  with  violent  diseases,  as  to  be  hardly  able 
to  devote  a  single  hour  to  composition  ;  so  that 
besides  other  projects  of  less  moment,  he  was 
compelled  to  relinquish  his  astronomical  poem 
in  an  unfinished  state,  and  even  to  abandon  the 
hope  of  renewing  his  poetical  efforts.6  At  the 
distance  of  three  years,  he  again  alludes  to  the 
frustration  of  this  plan  with  some  degree  of  re- 
gret/ A  fragment  of  the  poem  was  inserted  in 
an  edition  of  his  poetical  works  which  appeared 
after  his  decease;2  and  in  1587-  as  much  o  it  as 
he  had  completed  was  published  by  John  Pmcier, 
a  German  professor,  who  has  added  suppleme  its 
to  the  fourth  and  fifth  books.11     The  same  defi- 

c  Buchanani  Epistolae,  p.  1 4 

f  "  Astronomica,"  says  Buchanan,  "  non  tarn  abjeci,  quam  extorqueri 
invitus  tuli;  neque  enim  aut  nunc  libet  nugari,  aut  si  maxime  vellem,per 
ztatem  licet."     ( Epistolte,  p.  25.) 

S  Geneva:,  1584,  8vo. 

1»  Sphsera ;  a  Georgio  Buchanano  Scoto,  Poetarum  nostri  seculi  facile 
Princh  e,  quinque  libris  descripta,  multisque  in  locis  ex  collatione  alio- 
rum  exemplorum  integritati  restituta:  cui  access«re  libri  quarti  et  quinti, 
quos  autor  non  absolveiat,  Supplementa,  autore  Johanne  Pinciero, 
Aulx  Dillebergensis  Medico.  Herbornas,  1587,  8vo. — Pincier  pub- 
lished a  corrected  edition  of  his  arguments  and  supplements,  at  the 
end  of  his  P^rerga  Otii  Marfurgensis  Pbilulogiui.  Herb.  1617,  8VO. 
This  philological  work  includes  many  occasional  remarks  on  Bu- 
chanan. See  pages  117,  125,  127,  196,  253,  267,  307,  350.  380, 
534,  634.  He  is  the  author  of  several  other  publications,  and  among  the 
rest,  of  a  curious  poem  which  bears  the  title  of  "  Olium  Marpurgtme,  in 
sex  libros  digestum  :  quibus  fabrica  corporis  humani,  insertis  passim  dis- 
putationibus,  historiis,  et  fabulis  ad  rem  pertinentibus,  facili  ac  perspicuo 
carmine  describitur."  Herb.  1614,  8va  In  one  of  the  epigrams  pre- 
fixed, he  records  some  particulars  of  his  own  history.  Pincier  was  born 
at  Wettera  in  the  year  1556  ;  but  the  time  of  his  death  is  uncertain- 
(Freheri  Tbeatrum  Vim  urn  Eruditione  Claroium,  p.  1305.  Noribergat' 
1688,  fol.) 


241 

ciencies  were  afterwards  supplied  by  our  country- 
man Adam  King ;  who   has   composed  several 
other  poems  in  the  Latin   language.1     Though 
the  efforts  of  these  two  poets  are  not  despicable, 
yet  they  evidently  serve  as  a  foil  to  the  more 
happy  effusions  of  Buchanan.     That  he  did  not 
himself  complete    so   remarkable  a  production, 
must  excite  considerable  regret.     To  invest  so 
intricate  a  subject  with  the  precision  of  science, 
and  with  the  allurements  of  poetry,  certainly  re- 
quired talents  of  no  ordinary  denomination.     His 
versification  is  elegant  and  lofty.     In  illustrating 
some  of  the  abstruser  parts  of  astronomy,   he 
evinces   a  happy  dexterity  peculiar  to  himself. 
His  acquaintance   with  the  dogmas   of  ancient 
philosophy  was  familiar  ;  and  if  he  has  occasion- 
ally been  betrayed  into  a  radical  error  in  science, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  he  wrote  in  the  six- 
teenth century.     The  difficulties  of  the  subject, 

i  King  likewise  illustrated  this  poem  of  Buchanan  with  a  commentary, 
which  Mr.  Ruddiman  has  characterized  as  "  luculentum  admodum  om- 
nigenasque  eruditionis  copia  refertum."  Though  he  certainly  intended 
it  for  publication,  it  never  made  its  appearance  ;  but  the  manuscript  is 
preserved  in  the  library  of  the  university  of  Edinburgh.  His  poems  oc- 
cur in  the  Delitia  Foetarum  Scotorum,  torn  ii.  He  published  a  Scotish 
translation  of  the  catechism  of  Canisius.  Dempster,  who  imputes  to 
him  other  works,  has  extolled  him  as  a  miracle  of  learning.  "  Adamus 
Regius,  vulgo  Kyng,  Edimburgensis,  bonis  artibus  instructissimus,  ad  mira- 
culum  usque  doctus,  maximo  auditomm  concur.iu  philosophiam  Parisiis  do- 
-cuit,  et  [disciplinas]  mathematicas,  in  quibus  facile  eo  saculo  pniiceps  ha- 
bebatur."  (Hist.  Ecclcsiast.  Gent.  Scotor.  p.  576.)  David  Chalmers  de- 
nominates him  "  vir  doctissimus,  histerhgrafhus  clarissimus."  (DeSc»t- 
trum  Fortit'-tdirtc,  p.  46.) 


which  might  seem  almost  insuperable,  afforded 
him  an  opportunity  of  displaying  that  singular 
combination  of  talents  for  which  he  was  so  pre- 
eminent; but  he  might  easily  have  selected  some 
theme  of  a  more  popular  nature.  Poetical  astro- 
nomy Cannot  hope  to  allure  a  very  numerous 
class  of  readers.  The  principal  object  indeed  of 
poetry  is  not  profit  but  pleasure :  if  however  a 
scientific  poem  be  intended  for  solid  instruction, 
the  endless  progression  of  human  knowledge  will 
speedily  abridge  the  importance  of  almost  every 
precept  vyhich  it  may  contain ;  and  when  the 
scientific  part  is  completely  obsolete,  the  poetry 
will  no  longer  be  found  attractive.  Aratus,  Ger- 
manicus,*  and  Manilius,  among  the  ancient  poets, 
had  applied  their  talents  to  the  embellishment  of 
astronomical  subjects ;  and  perhaps  the  most  re- 
markable of  Buchanan's  successors  in  the  same 
department  is  Boscovich,  who  hqs  written  a  La- 
tin poem  on  the  solar  and  lunar  eclipses.  Mani- 
lius, from  whom  the  Scotish  author  apparently 
derived  considerable  aid,  has  evinced  an  elegant 
and  copious  fancy  ;  but,  in  the  judgment  of  Sca- 
Iiger,  his  science  was  not  sufficiently  accurate  or 
profound.1  Some  of  the  digressive  parts  of  his 
work  are  extremely  beautiful,  but  the  whole  can- 
not be  perused  with  uninterrupted  pleasure.  Bu- 
chanan's  poem,   though  less   generally  relished 

*  See  Grotii  Syntagma  Arateorum.     LugA  Bat.  1600,  4to. 
1  Jos.  Scaiiger  ad  Manilium,  p.  10. 


243 

man  most  of  his  other  productions,  contains  pass- 
ages of  superlative  excellence :  without  anxious 
research,  the  opening  of  the  fifth  book  may  be 
particularized  as  an  adequate  specimen.  The 
hexameters  of  this  poet  are  not  the  least  perfect 
of  his  various  measures.  His  pauses  are  distri- 
buted with  eminent  skill ;  his  verses  are  sonor- 
ous and  magnificent.  The  complexion  of  his 
mind  did  not  lead  him  to  entertain  the  sole  am- 
bition of  transfusing  the  characteristic  beauties 
of  some  particular  poet :  of  the  majestic  suavity 
of  Virgil  he  has  caught  no  inconsiderable  por- 
tion ;  but  his  genius  was  original,  and  the  Vir- 
gilian  graces  would  often  have  been  incompatible 
with  the  subjects  which  he  had  chosen.  He  was 
familiarly  acquainted  with  «very  poet  of  the 
purer  ages  of  antiquity  ;  and  had  even  profited 
by  the  perusal  of  Claudian,  whom  he  mentions 
in  terms  of  high  respect."4  Claudian,  who  ap- 
peared long  after  the  decline  of  Roman  literature, 
succeeded  in  reviving  it  with  some  degree  of  an- 
cient splendour ;  and  although  his  writings  parr 
take  of  the  general  deterioration  of  the  age,  yet 
his  genius  was  elegant,  vivid,  and  lofty. 

Notwithstanding  the  precarious  state  of  his 
health,  and  the  number  of  his  avocations,  Bu- 
chanan had  found  leisure  to  compose  a  most  pro- 
found and  masterly  compendium  of  political  phi- 

■*  Buchanan,  de  Jure  Regal  apud  Scotos,  p.  18. 

0.2 


244 

losophy."  Its  professed  subject  are  the  rights  of 
the  crown  of  Scotland ;  but  the  work  compre- 
hends a  subtle  and  eloquent  delineation  of  the 
general  principles  of  government.  The  origin 
of  this  production  is  sufficiently  detailed  in  the 
author's  manly  dedication  to  his  royal  pupil. 
"  Several  years  ago,"  says  Buchanan,  "  when 
our  affairs  were  in  a  most  turbulent  condition,  I 
composed  a  dialogue  on  the  prerogatives  of  the 
Scotish  crown  ;  in  which  I  endeavoured  to  ex- 
plain from  their  very  cradle,  if  I  may  adopt  that 
expression,  the  reciprocal  rights  and  privileges  of 
kings  and   their  subjects.     Although   the   work 

n  De  Jure  Regni  apud  Scotos,  Dialogus,  authore  Georgio  Buchanano 
Scoto.  Edimburgi,  apud  Joannem  Roseum  pro  Henrico  Charterss.  Cum 
privilegio  regali,  1579,  4to. — Archdeacon  Blackburne  mentions  an  edi- 
tion published  during  the  same  year  without  any  notification  of  the  place 
of  printing.  (Memoirs  of  Thomas  Hollis,  Esq.  vol.  ii,  p.  549.)  There 
are  several  other  editions  in  a  separate  form.  Sine  loci  indicio,  1580, 
4to.  Edinb.  1581,  4to.  Glasg.  1750,  12mo.  Lond.  1765,  8vo.  i'his 
work  is  printed  with  all  the  editions  of  the  history  except  the  first.  It 
has  repeatedly  been  translated  into  English.  In  the  archiepiscopal  li- 
brary at  Lambeth,  Mr.  Todd,  the  editor  of  Milton  and  Spenser,  pointed 
out  to  me  a  MS.  version  which  bears  the  following  title.  "  A  Dialogue 
made  by  George  Buchanan,  Schottishman,  of  the  Prerogative  and  Right 
of  the  Kingly  Governement  in  Scotlande."  It  has  this  colophon:  "  Finis, 
Maii  4,  1607.  Labour  no  burden  to  Love."  (N°.  509.)  In  the  year 
1 680,  a  translation  was  published  in  duodecimo,  but  the  place  of  print- 
ing is  concealed.  This  is  evidently  the  version  alluded  to  by  Sir  George 
Mackenzie :  "  Buchannan's  book  De  Jure  Regni  being  lately  translated 
and  many  copies  dispers'd,  his  majesties  advocate,  in  duty  to  the  king, 
a.nd  compassion  to  the  people,  who  are  thus  likely  to  be  poison 'd,  has 
written  this  answer."  The  dialogue  has  been  exhibited  in  an  English 
dress  at  several  other  times.  Lond.  1689,  4to.  Edinb.  1691,  l2mo. 
Lond.  1721,  8vo.  The  last  translation  that  has  appeared  was  executed  by- 
Mr.  Macfarlan.    Lond.  1799,  8vo. 


215 

seemed  to  be  of  some  immediate  utility,  by  si- 
lencing certain  individuals  who  with  importunate 
clamours  rather  inveighed  against  the  existing 
state  of  things,  than  examined  what  was  con- 
formable to  the  standard  of  reason,  yet  in  conse- 
quence of  returning  tranquillity,  I  willingly  con- 
secrated my  arms  to  public  concord.  But  hav- 
ing lately  met  with  this  disputation  among  my 
papers,  and  supposed  it  to  contain  many  pre- 
cepts necessary  to  your  tender  age  (especially  as 
it  is  so  conspicuously  elevated  in  the  scale  of  hu- 
man affairs),  I  have  deemed  its  publication  ex- 
pedient, that  it  may  at  once  testify  my  zeal  for 
your  service,  and  admonish  you  of  your  duty  to 
the  community.  Many  circumstances  tend  to 
convince  me  that  my  present  exertions  will  not 
prove  fruitless ;  especially  your  age,  yet  uncor- 
rupted  by  perverse  opinions ;  a  disposition  above 
your  years,  spontaneously  urging  you  to  every 
noble  pursuit;  a  facility  in  obeying  not  only 
your  preceptors,  but  all  prudent  monitors ;  a  judg- 
ment and  dexterity  in  disquisition,  which  pre- 
vent you  from  paying  much  regard  to  authority, 
unless  it  be  confirmed  by  solid  argument.  I 
likewise  perceive  that  by  a  kind  of  natural  in- 
stinct you  so  abhor  flattery,  the  nurse  of  tyranny, 
and  the  most  grievous  pest  of  a  legitimate  mo- 
narchy, that  you  as  heartily  hate  the  courtly  so- 
lecisms and  barbarisms  as  they  are  relished  and 
affected  by  those  who  consider  themselves  as  the 


246 

arbiters  of  every  elegance,  and  who,  by  way  of 
seasoning  their  conversation,  are  perpetually 
sprinkling  it  with  majesties,  lordships,  excellen- 
cies, and,  if  possible,  with  other  expressions  still 
more  putid.  Although  the  bounty  of  nature  and 
the  instruction  of  your  governors  may  at  present 
secure  you  against  this  error,  yet  am  I  compelled 
to  entertain  some  slight  degree  of  suspicion  lest 
evil  communication,  the  alluring  nurse  of  the 
vices,  should  lend  an  unhappy  impulse  to  your 
still-tender  mind ;  especially  as  I  am  not  ignor- 
ant with  what  facility  the  external  senses  yield 
to  seduction.  I  have  therefore  sent  you  this 
treatise,  not  only  as  a  monitor,  but  even  as  art 
importunate  and  sometimes  impudent  dun,  who 
in  this  turn  of  life  may  convoy  you  beyond  the 
rocks  of  adulation ;  and  may  not  merely  offer 
you*  advice,  but  confine  you  to  the  path  which 
you  have  entered,  and,  if  you  should  chance  to 
deviate,  may  reprehend  you  and  recall  your 
steps.  If  you  obey  this  monitor,  you  will  insure- 
tranquillity  to  yourself  and  to  your  subjects,  and 
will  transmit  a  brilliant  reputation  to  the  most 
remote  posterity."0 

0  "  Crawfurd,"  exclaims  Mr.  Chalmers,  "  was  so  absurd  as  to  say 
that  Buchanan  laid  it  [the  dialogue]  as  a  scheme  of  politics  before  his  royal  pu~ 
pill"  (P.  344.)  It  would  be  no  difficult  task  to  mention  an  individual 
infinitely  more  absurd  than  "  poor  Crawfurd,  with  his  feeble  eyes."  It 
Mr.  Chalmers  had  ever  read  Buchanan's  dedication,  he  would  have  spac- 
ed his  insult. 

Cacns  videntes  cjedtatis  arguit. 


241 

This  dedication,  which  is  dated  at  Stirling  on 
the  tenth  of  January  1579,  affords  another  proof 
of  his  solicitude  to  form  the  character  of  a  patriot 
king  ;  and  it  is  only  to  be  regretted  that  his  fa- 
vourable  prognostications  should  have  proved  so 
fallacious.  The  work  itself  is  exhibited  in  the 
form  of  a  dialogue  between  the  author,  and  Tho- 
mas the  son  oT  Sir  Richard  Maitland  of  Lething- 
ton.  This  interlocutor  was  likewise  a  votary  of 
the  Latiari  Muses  ;p  and  his  illustrious  friend 
seems  to  have  entertained  a  favourable  opinion 
of  his  juvenile  efforts.     He  was  a  younger  bro- 

P  Thomas  Maitland  composed  the  subsequent  verse*  Id  commendation 
«t'f  Buchanan's  paraphrase  of  the  psalms. 

En  lector  lepido  tibi  libello, 

Docto,  Jupiter  !  et  brevi  libello, 

Donatos  Latio  nitore  cantus 

Vatis  fatidici  lyrse  suaves ; 

Tanto  floridius  venustiusque, 
.  Quanto  cultiorelegantiorque 

Hebrseis  Latia  est  Camcena  Musis. 

Dat  vates  Buchananus  ille  princepa, 

Et  flos  Aonix  cohortis  unus, 

Tanto  suavior  omnibus  poetis, 

Tanto  clarior  omnibus  poetis, 

Quanto  psalmographus  potentior  iti 

Est,  et  sanctior  omnibus  poetis. 

Delitise  Poetarum  Scotorum,  torn,  ii,  p.  178. 
Between  these  interlocutors  some  family  connexion  must  have  subsist- 
ed. One  of  the  daughters  of  Sir  Richard  Maitland  was  married  to  Jame» 
Heriot  of  Trabroun,  probably  the  cousin  of  Buchanan.  (Crawfurd,  p, 
252.  Douglas,  p.  393.)  Mr.  Innes  mentions  a  letter  of  T.  Maitland  to 
Queen  Mary,  "  in  which  he  protests  to  her  majesty,  that  his  being 
brought  interlocutor  into  that  dialogue,  to  say  whatever  Buchanan  thought 
proper  for  his  purpose,  was  wholly  Buchanan'*  own  invention. "  {Criticl 
£s>aj,  voL  i,  p.  359'.) 


248 

ther  of  William  Maitland,  whom  Buchanan  ha-3 
so  keenly  satirized  in  the  Cbamaleon.     The  ex- 
ordium of  this  political  dialogue  is  not  uninterest- 
ing.    "  When  Thomas  Maitland  lately  returned 
from  France,  and  1   had  carefully  interrogated 
him  with  regard  to  the  state  of  affairs  in   that 
kingdom,  I  began,  from  a  motive  of  personal  at- 
tachment, to  exhort  him   to  persevere    in  that 
course  of  glory  which  he  had  commenced,  and 
to  inspire  him  with  the  best  hopes  respecting  the 
progress  of  his  studies.     For  if  I,  with  moderate 
talents,  with  hardly  any  pecuniary  resources,  and 
in  an  unlearned  age,  have  yet  maintained  such  a 
conflict  with  the  iniquity  of  the  times  as  to  be 
thought  to  have  effected  something,   assuredly 
they  who,  born  in  a  happier  age,  are  abundantly 
blest  with  youth,  wealth,  and  genius,  should  nei- 
ther be  deterred  by  labour  from  so  honourable  a 
pursuit,  nor,  when  aided  by  so  many  supports, 
can  yield  to  despair.     They  ought  therefore  to 
persist  with  strenuousness  in  advancing  the  glory 
of  letters,  and  in  recommending  themselves  and 
their  countrymen  to  the  regard  of  posterity.     A 
little  perseverence  in  their  literary  efforts  would 
serve  to  banish  from  the  minds  of  men  an  opini- 
on, that  those  who  inhabit  the  frigid  regions  of 
the  globe  are  as  remote  from  literature,  politeness, 
and  every  species  of  intellectual  cultivation,  as 
they  are  distant  from  the  sun.     For  although  na- 
ture may  have  favoured  the  Africans,  Egyptians, 


£49 

and  various  other  nations,  with  more  prompt  con- 
ceptions, and  greater  keenness  of  intellect,  yet 
to  no  people  has  she  been  so  unpropitious  as  to 
preclude  them  from  all  access  to  virtue  and  glo- 
ry.11 

"  After  he  had,  according  to  his  wonted  mo- 
desty, spoken  of  himself  with  reserve,  but  of  me 
with  more  affection  than  truth,  the  course  of  con- 
versation at  length  conducted  us  so  far,  that  when 
he  had  interrogated  me  concerning  the  turbulent 
state  of  our  native  country,  and  I  had  returned 
such  an  answer  as  I  then  deemed  suitable,  I  be- 
gan in  my  turn  to  question  him  respecting  the 
opinion  generally  entertained  of  our  transactions, 
either  by  the  French,  or  by  such  strangers  as  he 
had  met  in  France.  For  I  was  sufficiently  aware 
that  the  novelty  of  the  events,  as  is  usually  the 
case,  must  have  furnished  occasion  and  materials 
for  universal  discussion." 

Buchanan's  dialogue  excited  a  degree  of  atten- 
tion which  will  not  appear  surprizing,  when  we 
consider  the  high  reputation  of  the  author,  and 
the  boldness  of  the  precepts  which  he  inculcated. 
M  Your  dialogue  De  Jure  Regni?  says  his  cor- 
respondent Rogers,  "  which  you  transmitted  to 
me  by  Zolcher  the  letter-carrier  of  our  friend 
Sturmius,  I  have  received ;  a  present  which  would 
be  extremely  agreeable  to  me,  if  the  importunate 

9  Bartholinus,  a  learned  Dane,  has  not  neglected  to  enforce  the  »air.« 
doctrine.     (Dt  Liiris  Legendis,  p.  46.     Hafnite,  1676,  8»o.) 


250 

entreaties  of  some  persons  did  not  prevent  me 
from  enjoying  it :  for  the  moment  it  was  deliver- 
ed into  my  hand,  Dr.  Wilson  requested  the  loan 
of  it :  he  yielded  it  to  the  importunity  of  the 
chancellor  ;  from  whom  the  treasurer  procured  a 
perusal  of  it,  and  has  not  yet  returned  it :  so  that 
to  this  day  it  has  never  been  in  my  custody. 
The  work  is  commended  by  those  who  possess 
ingenuity,  directed  by  judgment,  and  improved 
by  an  acquaintance  with  public  business,  and 
who  remark  the  present  aspect  of  political  affairs ; 
but  it  is  rejected  by  those  who  study  to  concili- 
ate by  means  of  flattery  the  favour  of  princes, 
and  who  wish  the  reins  of  law  to  be  relaxed  ac- 
cording to  their  pleasure  :  almost  all  admire  the 
genius  of  a  man  who  in  the  declining  winter  of 
age,  is  capable  of  imitating  with  such  dexterity 
the  Platonic  mode  of  composition.  I  have  laid 
my  injunctions  on  Vautrollier/  a  very  honest  man 
who  is  the  bearer  of  this  letter,  to  procure  some 
copies  which  I  intend  to  communicate  to  our 
friends.     For  Sturmius,  Metellus,s  Hotman,  Dou- 

r  ■  Thomas  Vautrollier,  a  Frenchman,"  says  Mr.  Herbert,  "  was  a 
scholar  and  printer,  as  is  said,  from  Paris  or  Rouen,  who  came  into  Eng- 
land about  the  beginning  of  Q.  Elizabeth's  reign,  and  was  admitted  a 
brother  of  the  stationers' company,  Oct.  2, 1 564,  for  which  he  paidijs.  vjd. 
He  set  up  his  press  in  Black-friars,  where  it  appears  to  have  continued 
all  his  lifetime,  notwithstanding  his  residence  for  some  time  in  Scotland.' 
{Typographical  Antiquities,  vol.  ii,  p.  1065.) 

*  Joannes  Metellus,  a  native  of  Franche  Comte",  was  closely  connect- 
trd  with  some  ef  the  eminent  scholars  of  the  age.  While  he  prosecuted 
hi.  studies  at  Bologna,  he  contracted  an  intimacy  with  Augustinus  and 


251 

sa,  and  other  friends,  expect  your  dialogue  with 
eagerness.'"  Of  Hotman's  connexion  with  Bu- 
chanan no  other  document  occurs ;  but  his  geni- 
us and  erudition  amply  entitled  him  to  Buchan- 
an's regard."  He  is  the  author  of  a  famous  poli- 
tical work,  entitled  Francogallia?  which  bears 

Osorius :  Augustinus  and  Metellus  are  the  interlocutors  in  the  dialogue 
of  Osorius  De  Gloria.  Metellus  afterwards  attended  Augustinus  during 
his  nunciate  to  England ;  and  he  there  became  acquainted  with  Roger 
Ascham.  He  resided  a  long  time  at  Cologne.  Though  he  wished  for 
a  reformation  in  the  Catholic  church,  he  did  not  secede.  His  cotempo- 
raries  have  frequently  mentioned  him  as  a  man  of  learning  ;  but  his  liter- 
ary productions  are  inconsiderable.  He  laid  the  foundation  of  a  work 
which  was  completed  after  his  decease  :  it  bears  the  title  of  Asia  Tabulis 
JEntis  secundum  ratienes  geographical  Delineata.  Ursellis,  1600,  fol.  The 
Bodleian  catalogue  ascribes  to  him  an  Epistola  it  Lusitanorum  Navigationi- 
bus  in  utramque  Indiam.  Coi.  Agrip.  1576,  8vo-  Ten  of  his  epistles  occur 
in  the  collection  of  Heinsius,  entitled  "  Illustrium  et  Chrorum  Virorum 
Epi«tolx  Selectiores,  superiore  sxculo  script*  vel  a  Belgis,  vel  ad  Belgas.** 
Lugd.  Bat.  1617,  8vo.  See  also  Aschami  Epistola,  p.  424,  edit.  Elstob, 
and  Burmanni  Sylloge  Epistolarum,  torn,  i,  p.  60,  torn,  ii,  p.  288.  Verses 
by  Metellus  are  prefixed  to  Stewechius's  edition  of  Vegetius,  Antv.  1585, 
4to,  and  to  Suffridus  Petrus  De  Scripteribus  Erisia.  Col.  Agrip.  1593, 
8vo.  He  reedited  two  productions  of  his  elegant  friend  Osorius.  f  De 
Rebus  Gestis  Emmamtelis.  Col.  Agrip.  1574,  8vo.  De  Regis  lnstitutione  ei 
Disdplina.  Ibid.  1588,  8vo.)  To  these  editions  he  has  prefixed  long  de- 
dications, which  are  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  singularity  of  the  punctu- 
ation. In  his  superscription  he  denominates  himself  "  Jo.  Matalius  Me- 
tellus. J.  C.  Sequanus."  He  is  mentioned  in  De  1  iques'  Vie  de  Philippe: 
de  Mornay,  p.  15,  17.  The  suavity  of  his  disposition  and  the  multiplicity 
of  his  erudition,  are  commemorated  by  Osorius.  (In  Gualierum  Haddonum, 
f.  8.    Olysippone,  1567,  4to.) 

1  Buchanani  EpistoUe,  p  22. 

"  Hotman  mentions  him  in  very  respectful  terms.  "  Animadverts 
prseterea  Dionys.  Lambinum  in  suis  scholiis  iu  Orat.  Ciceron.  pro  Cz- 
cina,  scripsisse  Georgium  Buchananum  singulari  doctrina  virum,  &c.  Bu- 
chanani  judicio  nemo  plus  tribuit,  quam  ego."  (Hotomani  Observation 
lib.  ii,  cap.  xix.) 

*  Geneva:,  1573,  8vo. 


252 

some  affinity  to  that  of  our  countryman.  An- 
other work  of  a  similar  complexion  presents  in  its 
title-page,  the  same  time  and  place  of  printing 
as  the  dialogue  of  Buchanan.  This  production 
bears  the  title  of  Vlndicia  contra  Tyrannos  ;y  a 
title  which  alone  was  sufficient  in  those  days  to 
excite  a  general  alarm  among  the  advocates  of 
hereditary  tyranny.  It  has  been  imputed  to  Bu- 
chanan,2 Hotman,  Beza,  Mornay,  and  to  various 
other  authors ;  but  it  appears  with  a  considerable 
degree  of  certainty  that  its  real  author  was  Hu- 
bert Languet.1 

y  Vindiciae  contra  Tyrannos :  sive  de  Principis  in  Populam,  Populique 
a  Principem,  Legitima  Potestate,  Stephano  Junio  Bruto  Celta  auctore. 
iiimburgi,  anno  m.d.lxxix,  8vo. 

Another  remarkable  work  of  the  same  class,  and  of  the  same  age,  is 
that  of  the  famous  Jesuit  Mariana,  De  Rege  et  Rtgis  Institutions  Toleti, 
1599,  4to.  This  composition  is  distinguished  by  the  very  uncommon 
boldness  of  its  sentiments ;  but  it  is  not  a  little  deformed  by  the  author's 
professional  bias. 

*  This  production  has  only  been  imputed  to  Buchanan  by  the  inad- 
vertency of  Placcius.  (Theatrum  Anon,  et  Pseudon.  torn,  ii,  p.  143.)  In  the 
■work  which  he  quotes  as  his  authority,  Buchanan  is  clearly  distinguished 
from  the  author  of  the  Vindici*  contra  Tyrannos.  See  the  Acta  Eruditorum 
anno  1684  fublicata,  p.  22,  or  the  book  which  is  there  quoted,  Jurieu's 
H'utoire  du  Calvinism*  et  celle  du  Pap'umt  mises  en  Parallele,  torn,  ii,  p.  286. 

a  See  Bayle's  Dissertation  concernant  It  livre  d'Etienfie  Junius  Brutus,  ap- 
pended to  the  last  volume  of  his  dictionary  ;  and  Blackburne's  Memoirs 
of  Thomas  Ho/lis,  Esq.  vol  i,  p.  129,  vol.  ii,  p.  545.  Languet  has  also 
been  reputed  the  author  of  a  book  entitled  u  De  Furoribus  Gallicis 
Vera  et  Simplex  Narratio,  Ernesto  Varamundo  Frisio  auctore."  Edim- 
iurgi,  1573,  4to.  His  biographer  contends  that  this  composition  could 
not  proceed  from  the  pen  of  Languet,  because  it  betrays  great  ignorance 
of  French  affairs.  (Marii  Vita  Hubert's  Langueti,  p.  68.)  But  this  rea- 
soning is  fallacious;  for  if  Languet  undertook  so  hazardous  a  woik,  it 


253 

That  Buchanan's  political  principles  rendered 
him  extremely  odious  to  the  more  zealous  of  the 
Popish  party,  may,  without  offering  any  wanton 
insult  to  their  memory,  be  recorded  as  highly 
honourable  to  his.  Between  the  Catholics  of 
those  and  of  the  present  times,  every  Protestant 
of  common  intelligence  and  candour  will  readily 
acknowledge  a  wide  and  glaring  distinction :  he 
will  not  be  more  inclined  to  compare  them  toge- 
ther, than  to  assimilate  himself  to  the  bigoted 
and  persecuting  Protestants  of  the  sixteenth,  or 
even  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  point  of  li- 
berality, the  two  denominations  will  not  now  be 
found  so  essentially  different  as  some  individuals 
may  be  inclined  to  suppose  :  and  in  a  country 
like  this,  where  they  are  blended  with  each  other, 
Protestants  and  Catholics  who  have  enjoyed  si- 
milar advantages  of  education,  may  very  fairly 
be  placed  on  the  same  level.  Nor  ought  it  here 
to  be  forgotten  that,  from  the  age  of  Erasmus  to 
that  ol  Dr.  Ceddes,  the  Catholic  church  has  pro- 
duced many  writers  who,  in  genuine  liberality 
and  benevolence  of  sentiment,  do  not  yield  to 
any  of  their  Protestant  brethren.  If  religion 
could  be  extricated  from  politics,  which  so  fre- 
quently absorb  its  vital  essence,  the  animosities 
of  Christian  sects  might  speedily  subside ;  and  as 
every  man  is  persuaded  that  his  own  religion  is 

must  have  been   a  principal  object  of  his  care  to  preserve  the  assumed 
character  of  a  foreigner. 


254 

the  best,  he  might  quietly  enjoy  his  felicity,  with- 
out endeavouring  to  disturb  the  religious  medita- 
tions of  his  neighbour.  During  the  age  of  Bu~ 
chanan  however,  and  especially  in  those  coun- 
tries where  the  reformation  had  newly  reared  its 
standard,  the  Popish  writers  inculcated  many  per- 
nicious doctrines,  and  generally  conducted  their 
enquiries  with  great  ferocity. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  years,  his  tenets  were 
formally  attacked  by  his  learned  countrymen 
Blackwood,  Winzet,  and  Barclay.  They  were 
also  attacked,  though  in  an  indirect  manner,  by 
Sir  Thomas  Craig,b  and  by  Sir  John  Wemyss,0 
who  were  both  of  the  reformed  religion.  Craig 
was  a  Presbyterian,  and  his  learning  and  virtue 
reflected  the  highest  honour  on  that  denomina- 
tion. Sir  George  Mackenzie,  the  servile  tool  of 
a  most  profligate  court,  undertook  to  defend  a- 
gainst  Buchanan  the  same  slavish  maxims  of  po- 
lity; and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  he  lived 
at  a  period  when  it  was  expedient  enough  to  per- 
suade his  fellow  subjects,  that  the  persons  of 
good  and  bad  kings  are  equally  sacred  and  invio- 
lable. "  The  right  divine  of  kings  to  govern 
wrong,"  was  a  very  suitable  doctrine  for  the  mi- 

b  Cragii  de  Jure  Successions  Regni  Angliae  libri  duo.  MS.  penes 
P.  I. — Of  this  work,  the  original  has  never  been  printed ;  but  a  transla- 
tion of  it  was  published  by  Bishop  Gatherer,  under  the  title  of  The  Right 
*f  Suucision  to  the  Kingdom  of  England.      Lond.  1  703,  fol. 

c  Wemii  %tL«i\iui  'T*if<>xv,  sive  de_Regis  Primatu  Libellue.  Edinh. 
1623,  4tO. 


Q55 

nisters  of  Charles  and  James.  In  another  work. 
Mackenzie  has  exhibited  a  further  specimen  of 
his  talent  for  historical  and  political  investigation: 
the  learned  Bishop  Lloyd  had  rationally  exploded 
the  fabulous  catalogue  of  our  ancient  kings ;  and 
his  majesty's  advocate  very  wisely  maintained, 
that  he  who  denies  the  antiquity  of  the  royal  line 
is  guilty  of  lese-majesty.  In  the  course  of  the  se- 
venteenth century,  the  leading  principles  or  Bu- 
chanan were  also  oppugned  by  Sir  Lewis  Stewart, 
a  lawyer,  and  by  Sir  James  Turner,  a  soldier. 
The  former  wrote  in  Latin,d  the  latter  in  Eng- 
lish ;e  but  neither  of  their  productions  has  been 
printed;  and  the  republic  of  letters  has  probably 
sustained  no  very  heavy  detriment  by  their  long 
suppression.  He  was  incidentally  assailed  by 
many  foreign  authors ;  and,  among  the  rest,  by 
Henningus  Arnisaeus,  who,  though  a  man  of 
learning,  was  bewildered  by  the  current  doctrine 
of  the  divine  and  indefeasible  right  of  kings,  and 
the  passive  obedience  of  subjects.  Grotius,  though 
born  under  a  free  republic,  and  certainly  a  man 
of  a  great  and  liberal  mind,  did  not  entirely 
escape  the  contamination  of  those  slavish  maxim* 
that  were  so  prevalent  during  the  age  in  which 

d  Ruddiman's  Answer  to  Logan's  Treatise  on  Government,  p.  18g. 
Edinb.  1747,  8vo. — Mr.  Ruddiman  afterwards  prosecuted  his  controversy 
with  Logan,  in  an  elaborate  "  Dissertation  concerning  the  Competition 
for  the  Crown  of  Scotland,  betwixt  Bruce  and  Baliol,  in  the  year  1291."* 
JEdinb.  1748,  8vo. 

*  Nicolson's  Scottish  Historical  Library,  p-  15- 


256 

he  lived :  the  right  of  resisting  any  superior  pow- 
er which  happens  to  be  established,  he  has  dis- 
cussed in  a  manner  that  could  hardly  offend  the 
completest  despot  in  Europe/  It  is  the  perpe- 
tual fault  of  those  writers,  to  found  their  princi- 
pal theories  on  passages  of  scripture  which  are  not 
didactic  or  exegetical,  but  merely  historical.  The 
degrading  doctrine  of  divine  right  and  passive 
obedience  was  inculcated  by  Salmasius,g  Bochart,h 
Usher,'1  and  indeed  by  several  very  able  men  who 
approached  much  nearer  to  our  own  times ;  it  is 
however  a  doctrine  which  no  Briton,  capable  of 
reflection,  will  now  hesitate  a  single  moment  in 
rejecting  with  the  utmost  indignation.  So  slow, 
and  yet  so  certain,  is  the  progress  of  reason  ; 
which,  however  retarded  in  its  course,  or  absorb- 
ed by  the  quicksands  of  ambition,  avarice,  and 
superstition,  will  never  fail  to  roll  onward  with  one 
irresistible  tide,  till  it  at  length  reach  the  ocean 
of  eternity.  That  this  general  tide  is  only  be- 
ginning to  flow ;  that  even  in  those  countries 
which  at  present  are  most  enlightened,  some  of 
the  principal  topics  of  human  speculation  are  on- 
ly beginning  to  be  understood  ;  may  perhaps  be 
regarded  as  no  very  absurd  conjecture.  "  Me- 
thinks  I  see  in  my  mind  a  noble  and  puissant  na- 

f  Grotius  de  Jure  Belli,  lib.  i,  cap.  iv. 

*  Salmasii  Defensio  Regia.    Sumptibut  regiis,  1649,  fol.  et  12mo. 
h  Bocharti  Opera,  torn,  i,  col.  988. 

i  Usher's  Power  communicated  by  God  to  the  Prince,  and  Obedieicce 
required  of  the  Subject.   Land.  1661,  4to. 


257 

tion  rousing  herself  like  a  strong  man  after  sleep, 
and  shaking  her  invincible  locks:  methinks  1  see 
her  as  an  eagle  muing  her  mighty  youth,  and 
kindling  her  undazl'd  eyes  at  the  full  midday 
beam  ;  purging  and  unsealing  her  long  abused 
sight  at  the  fountain  it  self  of  heav'nly  radiance  ; 
while  the  whole  noise  of  timorous  and  flocking 
birds,  and  those  also  that  love  the  twilight,  flut- 
ter about,  amaz'd  at  what  she  means."k 

But  the  full  measure  of  Buchanan's  ignominy 
has  not  yet  been  related.  In  the  year  1584,  the 
parliament  condemned  his  dialogue  and  history 
■*'  as  not  meet  to  remain  for  records  of  truth  to 
posterity ;"  and,  under  a  penalty  of  two  hundred 
pounds,  commanded  every  person  who  possessed 
■copies,  to  surrender  them  within  forty  days,  in 
order  that  they  might  be  purged  of  "  the  offens- 
ive and  extraordinary  matters"  which  they  cor. 
tained.  In  1683,  the  loyal  and  orthodox  univers- 
ity of  Oxford  doomed  to  the  flames  the  political 
works  of  Buchanan,  Milton,  Languet,  and  sever- 
al other  heretics.1     The  Scotish  parliament,  the 

k  Milton's  Areopagitica,  p.  345. 

1  Smithi  Vita  R.  Huntingtoni,  p.  xxv. — "  The  Judgment  and  Decree 
.of  the  University  of  Oxford,  passed  in  their  Convocation,  July  21,  1683, 
against  certain  pernicious  Books,  and  damnable  Doctrines,  destructive  to 
the  sacred  Persons  of  Princes,  their  State  and  Governmenr,  and  of  all 
■human  Society,"  may  be  found  in  Lord  Sommcrts  Tracts,  voi.  lii,  p.  22-J,. 
The  first  of  these  damnable  doctrines  is,  that  "  All  civil  authority  is  de- 
rived originally  from  the  people."  This  notable  decree  found  a  panegy- 
rist in  some  nameless  member  of  Christ  Church.  The  subsequent  pa*** 
age  of  his  Dccretum  Oxonitnse  relates  to  Buchanan. 

R 


258 

English  university,  and  the  Popish  tribunal  of 
inquisition,  seem  to  have  regarded  this  unfortu- 
nate speculator  with  equal  abhorrence.  All  the 
despicable  arts  of  ignorance,  superstition,  and  sy- 
cophancy, have  not  however  been  able  to  quench 
the  vital  principle  of  his  immortal  productions; 
but,  like  oil  added  to  a  rising  flame,  have  only 
served  to  augment  their  splendour .m 

Other  individuals,  and  those  too  of  great  name, 
have  viewed  him  in  a  different  light :  he  has  found 
enthusiastic  admirers  among  the  most  enlighten- 
ed of  modern  scholars ;  and  the  effects  of  his  bold 
and  manly  speculations  have  been  widely  felt. 
It  was  objected  to  Milton  that  he  had  stolen  his 
celebrated  defence  of  the  people  of  England  from 
the  eloquent  work  of  Buchanan."     And  what  are 

life  etiam  Scotica  qui  quondam  turbidus  aula 
»  Jus  regum  angusti  contraxit  limite  gyri, 

Qui  toties  populos  immisit  in  arma  furentes, 
Multaque  subjecit  gliscenti  incendia  hello, 
Nunc  ignem  subit,  et  flammis  ultricibus  ardet. 

Musarum  Anglicanarum  Analecta,  voL  ii,p.  18.1. 
The  Oxford  decree  was  dutifully  presented  to  Charles  the  second ;  and, 
about  thirty  years  afterwards,   was   treated  with  that  respect  which  it 
so  justly  merited.     In  1710,  the  house  of  lords  ordered  it  to  be  burnt  by 
the  hands  of  the  common  hangman. 

m  "  Libros  per  xdiles  cremandos  censuere  patres;  sed  manserunt  occul- 
tati,  et  editi.  Quo  magis  socordiam  eorum  inridere  libet,  qui  prsesent' 
potentia  credunt  extingui  posse  etiam  sequentis  a;vi  memoriam.  Nam 
contra,  punitis  ingeniis  gliscit  auctoritas  :  neque  aliud  externi  reges,  aut 
•qui  eadem  seevitia  usi  sunt,  nisi  dedecus  sibi,  atque  illis  gloriam  peperere." 

Taciti  Annales,  lib.  iv,  §  35. 
fl  Dryden's  Epistle  to  the  Whigs;  prefixed  to  The  Medal.— Vhe  poli- 
tical work  of  Buchanan  leetns  to  have  been  read  and  approved  by  a  pa. 


259 

the  terrible  doctrines  which  once  excited  so  vio- 
lent an  alarm?  Buchanan  maintains  that  all 
power  is  derived  from  the  people;  that  it  is  more 
safe  to  entrust  our  liberties  to  the  definite  protec- 
tion of  the  laws,  than  to  the  precarious  discretion 
of  the  king;  that  the  king  is  bound  by  those  con- 
ditions under  which  the  supreme  power  was  ori- 
ginally committed  to  his  hands;  that  it  is  lawful 
to  resist,  and  even  to  punish  tyrants.  Those  who 
maintain  the  contrary,  must  have  recourse  to  the 
absurd  aud  exploded  doctrine  of  divine  and  inde- 
feasible right.  When  he  speaks  of  the  people  as 
opposed  to  the  king,  he  evidently  includes  every 
individual  of  the  nation  except  one.0  And  is  a 
noble  race  of  intelligent  beings  to  be  assimilated 
to  a  tract  of  land,  or  to  a  litter  of  pigs  ?  to  be 
considered,  absolutely  and  unconditionally,  as 
the  lawful  patrimony  of  a  family  which  either 
merit,  accident,  or  crime,  may  originally  have 
elevated  to  the  summit  of  power?  What  is  term- 

trlot  of  the  first  order.  A  copy  of  the  dialogue,  formerly  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mr.  Hollis,  exhibited  the  following  sentence,  subscribed  with 
the  venerable  name  of  Chatham.  "Hpiro  yaf  r  ifirnt  afroalturai  S*Xi<>» 
Zp«f.  (Blackhurne's  Memoirs  of  Thomas  Hollis,  Esq.  vol  ii,  p.  550.) 
These  remarkable  expressions,  which  had  likewise  been  adopted  by  Lon. 
ginus  (Dc  Sublimit ate,  §  xliii,  edit.  Tollii),  are  derived  from  the  subsequent 
verses  of  Homer. 

"Hfuro  yap  r  apirn;  kxttuvvrtu  ivfvoxtt  Zibf 
'Ahvos,   ivt  £>  /u»  xecra.  S»X«»  n^ap  »X<w». 

Odyss.  xvii,  S22. 
0  "  Nam  appellatione  populi,"  says  Justinian,  "  universi  cives  signifi- 
cantur,  conmimeratis  etiam  patriciis  et  senatoribus."    (Inst.  lib.  i,  tic  ii, 

$4.) 

R2 


260 

ed  loyalty,  may,  according  to  the  circumstances 
of  the  case,  be  either  a  virtue  or  a  vice.  The 
doctrine  of  punishing  tyrants  in  their  persons,  ei- 
ther by  a  private  arm,  or  by  the  public  forms  of 
law,  is  indeed  of  a  delicate  and  dangerous  nature; 
and  it  may  be  considered  as  amply  sufficient,  to 
ascertain  the  previous  right  of  forcible  resistance. 
But  that  tyrants  ought  to  be  punished,  is  an  ab- 
stract proposition  which  cannot  easily  be  contro- 
verted :  for  under  the  word  tyranny,  is  generally 
included  all  that  is  most  odious  and  intolerable  in 
human  delinquency.  If  mankind  be  at  length  rous- 
ed to  the  redress  of  enormous  wrongs,  the  prince 
who  has  either  committed  or  sanctioned  a  habitual 
violation  of  the  best  rights  of  the  people,  will 
seldom  fail  to  meet  with  his  adequate  reward  ; 
and  in  spite  of  all  the  slavish  theories  of  his  priests 
and  lawyers,  mankind  will  not  long  be  reasoned 
out  of  the  strongest  and  most  characteristic  feel- 
ings of  their  nature.  Divine  right  and  passive 
obedience  were  never  more  strenuously  inculcat- 
ed, than  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  first.  That 
Buchanan  endeavoured  to  undermine  the  very 
foundations  of  monarchical  government,  is  an  as- 
sertion utterly  false  :p  he  has  indeed  affirmed, 
what  every  man  of  common  sense  must  admit, 

P  Mr.  Hutcheson,  a  learned  and  able  lawyer,  hints  at  the  injustice  of 
this  imputation.     ("Justice  of  Peace,  vol.  ii,  p.  299.     Edinb.  1806,  2  vols. 
8vo.)     It   has   however   been    renewed    in    a   very  recent  publication 
(Woodhouselee's  Mimoirs  of  Ltrd  Kama,  vol  i,  p.  §.) 


261 

that  it  is  of  little  importance  whether  the  su- 
preme magistrate  be  denominated  king,  duke, 
emperor,  or  consul ;  but  with  regard  to  the  dis- 
tinguishing qualities  of  a  good  king,  no  writer 
has  expressed  himself  with  higher  enthusiasm. 
His  general  principles  seem  to  be  incontrovert- 
ible ;  though  it  may  certainly  be  admitted  that 
some  of  his  illustrations  are  not  introduced  with 
sufficient  caution.  That  his  chief  scope  was  to 
prepare  the  nation  for  receiving  Murray  as  their 
lawful  sovereign,  is  another  calumny  which  party 
zeal  has  frequently  propagated ;  it  is  a  calumny 
totally  unsupported  by  any  degree  of  probable 
evidence  that  could  Satisfy  an  unprejudiced  mind. 
Buchanan,  like  other  men  who  have  attained  to 
superlative  distinction,  had  his  personal  and  poli- 
tical enemies ;  and  for  every  action  of  his  life  the 
worst  motives  have  too  often  been  assigned.  He 
was  animated  with  an  ardent  and  disinterested 
love  of  mankind ;  and  it  was  upon  the  most  en- 
larged principles  that  he  undertook  to  instruct 
them  in  their  dearest  rights.  The  best  com- 
mentary on  his  immortal  work  is  the  memorable 
revolution  of  1688. 

An  ardent  love  of  freedom  was  long  a  charac- 
teristic of  the  Scotish  nation.  Mair  and  Boyce 
.had,  in  their  historical  productions,  vindicated 
with  becoming  zeal  the  unalienable  rights  of  the 
people;"  but  to  Buchanan  must  unquestionably 

1  These  two  writers  had  completely  imbibed  the  maxims  of  a  free  jo- 

R  3 


262 

be  awarded  the  high  praise  of  having  been  the 
earliest  writer  who  established  political  science  on 
its  genuine  basis.  The  southern  part  of  this 
island  had  likewise  produced  political  speculators: 
Sir  John  Fortescu?  had  endeavoured  to  trace  the 
line  of  distinction  between  an  absolute  and  a  li- 
mited monarchy;  and  Sir  Thomas  More  had  en- 
grafted his  novel  theories  on  the  description  of  an 
imaginary  commonwealth.  More  afterwards  for- 
got the  liberal  speculations  of  his  youth :  in  his 
Utopia'  he  inculcates  the  doctrine  of  religious  to- 
leration, and  yet  he  lived  to  assume  the  odious 

▼ernment.  Mair,  who  was  a  doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  inculcates  some  of 
the  leading  doctrines  that  were  afterwards  methodized  and  embellished 
by  his  pupil  Buchanan.  "  Populus  liber  primo  regi  dat  robur,  cujus  po- 
testas  a  toto  populo  dependet;  quia  aliud  jus  Fergusius  primus  rex  Scotia; 
non  habuit :  et  ita  est  ubilibet,  et  ab  orbe  condito  erat  communiter.  Hoc 
propter  reges  Judsese  a  Deo  institutos  dico.  Si  dicas  mihi  ab  Henrico 
septimo  Henricus  octavus  jus  habet,  ad  primum  Anglorum  regem  ascen- 
dam,  quserendo  a  quo  ille  jus  regni  habuit ;  et  ita  ubivis  gentium  proce- 
dam.  Et  quod  jus  a  populo  habuit  dicere  necesse  est,  quia  aliud  dare  non 
potes:  sed  sic  est  quod  totus  populus  in  Robertum  Bruseum  consensu,  dc 
republica  Scotica  optime  meritum.  Tertio  arguitur  ad  eandem  conclu- 
sionem  probandam  :  Regem  et  posteros  pro  demeritis  populus  potest  ex- 
authorare  sicut  et  primo  instituere."  (Major  Dc  Gestls  Scotorum,  p.  175, 
edit  Edinb.  1740,  4to.)  The  whole  of  the  passage  from  which  I  have 
extracted  this  specimen  is  extremely  curious. 

During  the  minority  of  King  James,  several  coins  were  struck  with  a 
very  remarkable  inscription.  One  side  presents  a  naked  sword,  support- 
ing a  crown  on  its  point,  and  surrounded  with  this  legend:  pro.  me.  si. 
meeeor.  in.  me.  "  Hoc  lemma,"  says  Ruddiman,  "  (quo  et  suum  ad- 
jrersus  reges  ingenium  prodit)  Georgium  Buchananum  Jacobi  VI.  prsecep- 
torem  6ubministrasse  omnes  consentiunt."  (Andersoni  ScUctut  Diploma' 
turn  et  Numismatum  Scotia  Tkcsaurus,  p.  103.     Edinb.  1739,  fol.) 

'  Basil.  1518,  4 to. 


26 


4> 


character  of  a  persecutor.  That  he  was  himself 
a  victim  of  divine  retribution,  it  would  be  inde- 
cent to  affirm  :  but  it  is  a  historical  fact  that  he 
was  wantonly  sacrificed  by  the  execrable  tyrant 
whom  he  had  served  with  too  much  zeal.  On, 
the  solid  foundation  which  had  been  laid  by  Bu- 
chanan, a  spacious  edifice  was  afterwards  reared 
by  Milton,  Sidney,  and  Locke;  names  which 
every  enlightened  Briton  will  always  recollect 
with  peculiar  veneration.  That  two  of  them 
were  republicans,  need  not  alarm  the  most  zeal- 
ous friends  of  a  legitimate  monarchy  :s  if  the 
same  individuals  had  flourished  at  a  more  recent 
period,  they  would  undoubtedly  have  entertain- 
ed different  sentiments.  The  principles  which, 
prompted  stern  resistance  to  the  wide  encroach- 
ments of  the  house  of  Stewart,  are  perfectly  com- 
patible with  those  which  recommend  a  cordial  at- 
tachment to  the  house  of  Hanover. 

In  the  seventy -fourth  year  of  his  age,  rBuchan- 

s  See  Dr.  Symmons's  Life  of  Milton,  p.  519. 

£  The  sagacity  and  erudition  of  Mr.  Chalmers  again  obstruct  our  pro- 
gress. "  Ruddiman,"  he  remarks,  "  gives  a  sceptical  note,  which  seems 
to  discover  his  doubts  of  an  assertion,  which  has  never  been  supported  by 
proof.  Yet  he  saw  only  part  of  the  truth.  He  did  not  perceive,  what 
appears  to  have  been  the  /act,  that  of  this  life  Sir  Peter  Young  was  the 
author.  (Life  of  Ruddiman,  p.  68.)  Mr.  Ruddiman's  note,  the  first  on 
Buchanan's  life,  is  very  far  from  being  sceptical ;  as  any  person  capable, 
of  reading  it  may  easily  satisfy  himself.  The  reasons  which  have  here 
convinced  Mr.  Chalmers,  are  such  as  will  make  no  impression  on  any 
60und  skull.  His  first  reason  is,  that  on  the  fifteenth  of  March  1579-80, 
Randolph  advised  Young  to  write  Buchanan's  life!  But  the  biographical 
tract  in  question,  as  appears  from  the  concluding  sentence,  w2s  written 


264 

an  composed  a  brief  sketch  of  his  own  life.     To 
this  task  he  was  urged  by  some  of  his  numerous 

when  Buchanan  was  in  the  seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age :  it  was  there- 
fore written  before  the  beginning  of  February  1580,  that  is,  at  least  a 
month  before  Randolph's  letter.  His  second  and  last  reason  is,  that  "  Dr. 
Thomas  Smith  says  expressly,  That  Peter  Young  wrote  briefly  the  life  of 
Buchanan."  This  therefore  is  a  very  formidable  train  of  argumentation. 
"  Cujus  vitam  compendio  descripsit,"  says  Dr.  Smith  in  the  seventeenth 
pige  of  his  life  of  Sir  Peter  Young ;  but  in  another  part  kof  the  sam* 
work,  he  only  mentions  as  a  probable  conjecture  what  he  had  before  as- 
serted in  positive  terms  :  "  Nullus  dubito,  quin  D.  Junius  importunis  D. 
Thomae  Randolphi,  qui  crebris  in  Scotia  legationibus  functus  fuerat,  alior- 
umque  precibus  et  postulationibus  obseoutus,  Georgii  Buchanani,  summi 
sui  amici,  vitam  descripserit."  (Vita  Petri  Junii,  p,  29.)  This  mode  of 
writing  history  must  have  recommended  Dr.  Smith  to  the  particular  re. 
gard  of  the  author  of  the  "  New  Anecdotes."  But  if  Young  actually 
wrote  a  life  of  Buchanan,  are  we  under  the  necessity  of  concluding  that 
he  must  have  written  the  identical  life  which  has  uniformly  been  ascrib- 
ed to  Buchanan  himself?  Mr.  Chalmers's  notion  of  evidence  is  extremely1 
ludicrous.  This  tract  k  written  in  a  strain  of  dignified  simplicity,  high- 
ly becoming  an  illustrious  character  who  had  undertaken  to  be  his  own 
historian  ;  but  if  the  same  events  and  circumstances  had  been  related  by 
a  friend,  they  would  undoubtedly  have  been  related  in  a  different  man- 
ner. On  the  characteristics  of  style,  I  found  no  argument,  for  that  would 
he  superfluous.  The  time  of  its  original  publication  has  not  been  ascer- 
tained; but  it  underwent  several  impressions  before  the  death  of  Young. 
It  has  invariably  been  ascribed  to  Buchanan  ;  and  yet  neither  Sir  Peter, 
nor  his  learned  son  Patrick  Young,  ever  informed  the  world  of  its  spu- 
riousness. 

"  This  writer,  whoever  he  were,"  proceeds  the  learned  critic,  "  talks 
of  John  Major  as  being  in  cxlrcma  senrctute,  in  1524,  when  he  was  only 
fifty-five."  The  period  of  Mair's  birth  is  neither  known  to  Mr.  Chal- 
mers nor  to  any  other  person ;  for  Dr.  Mackenzie's  date  is  a  mere  fig- 
ment. George  Crawfurd,  the  most  industrious  of  his  biographers,  could 
discover  no  better  datum  th.m  this  incidental  notice  of  Buchanan  :  he  ac- 
cordingly refers  the  birth  of  Mair  to  the  year  1446. — **  He  speaks  of 
Henry  VIII.  a*  jam  senior?,  in  1539,  when  he  was  but  forty-eight."  And 
therefore  he  speaks  as  any  man  of  learning  might  do  without  hesitation. 
Consult  Aulus  Gellius,  Ntaa  Attic*,  lib.  x,  cap.  xxviii. — «  He  makes- 


265 

friends  ;u  and  the  annals  of  literature  supplied  him 
with  abundant  instances  of  autobiography.  The 
practice,  as  we  learn  from  Tacitus,  was  not  un- 
usual among  the  ancient  Romans,*  though  not  a 
single  specimen  has  descended  to  our  times.  Au- 
gustus wrote  an  account  of  his  own  life,  consist- 
ing of  thirteen  books  ;y  but  it  has  perished  with 
the  other  literary  monuments  of  that  prince.  The 
work  of  Josephus  is  the  only  specimen  of  this  mode 
of  composition  which  antiquity  has  bequeathed. 
More  recent  examples  are  exhibited  by  Erasmus 
and  Cardan;  who  have  likewise  been  followed  in 
the  same  tract  by  Thuanus,  Huet,  Herbert,  Hume, 
Gibbon,  Franklin,  Rousseau,  Wakefield,  and  five 
hundred  authors  beside.    In  Cardan  and  Rousseau 

Buchanan  meet  Cardinal  Beaton  at  Paris,  in  1539,  a  twelve-month  after 
he  had  returned  to  Scotland :  I  am  thence  led  to  suspect,  that  Buchanan 
made  his  escape  ffom  St.  Andrew  s,  by  the  way  of  London,  to  Paris,  not 
in  1539,  but  in  1538,  when  he  might  have  met  the  cardinal."  The 
dates  on  the  margin  are  not  those  of  the  author,  but  of  the  editor.  In 
his  history,  Buchanan  however  informs  us  that  he  did  not  leave  his  na- 
tive country  till  1539;  and  therefore  this  redoubtable  critic  may  suspect 
what  he  pleases.  Because  Cardinal  Beaton  was  at  Paris  in  1538,  he 
could  not  also  be  at  Paris  in  1539,  is  the  next  proposition. — "  I  could  run 
through  the  whole  life,  and  shew  similar  fooleries,  and  some  malignity, 
in  every  page  of  it."     AvrZ  raZra.  <roi  Vtiap  «#«». 

u  "   Hxc  de  se   Buchananus,  amicorum  rogatu,"  is  the  colophon  of 
some  of  the  early  editions. 

x  "  Ac  plerique  suam  ipsi  vitam  narrare,  fiduciam  potius  morum 
^uam  arrogantiam  arbitrati  sunt.  Nee  id  Rutilio]  et  Scauro  citra  iidem, 
aut  bbtrectationi  fuit :  adeo  virtutes  iisdem  temporibus  optime  xstimant- 
ur,  quibus  facillime  gignuutur." 

Taciti  Vita  Agricolae,  p.  4,  edit.  Boxhornii. 
'  Augusti  Temporum  Notatio,  Genus,  et  Scriptorum  Fragmenta,  cu« 
rante  J.  A.  Fabricio,  p.  190.     Hamb.  1727,  4to. 


266 

it  might  perhaps  have  been  more  prudent  to  leave 
the  task  unperformed;  for,  even  according  to  then- 
own  representation,  their  genius  must  have  been 
accompanied  with  a  much  larger  portion  of  folly. 
Buchanan's  little  work  is  composed  with  his  usual 
elegance,  and  with  a  degree  of  modesty  and  can- 
dour worthy  of  so  illustrious  a  character.  It  has 
been  liberally  commended  by  a  most  learned  writ- 
er, who  entertained  very  different  opinions  relative 
to  some  of  the  leading  topics  of  human  specula- 
tion.* 

Buchanan  still  continued  his  epistolary  cor- 
respondence with  some  of  the  surviving  friends 
of  his  earlier  days.  By  the  Scotish  merchants 
who  resorted  to  Bourdeaux  for  the  purpose  of 
procuring  wine,  he  annually  transmitted  a  let- 
ter to  his  former  colleague  Vinetus.*  But  of 
those  letters,  only  one  has  been  preserved :  it  is 
dated  at  Edinburgh  on  the  sixteenth  of  March 
1581.  "  Upon  receiving  accounts  of  you  by  the 
merchants  who  return  from  your  coasts,  I  am  fill- 
ed with  delight,  and  seem  to  enjoy  a  kind  of  se- 
cond youth;  for  I  am  then  apprized  that  some 
remnants  of  the  Portugueze  peregrination  still  ex- 
ist.    As  I  have  now  attained  to  the  seventy-fifth 

*  •  Parcior  fuit  et  verecundior  in  narranda  vita  sttse  historia  Georgiu* 
Buchanan m,  bravis  etiara  et  adstrictus,  et  candide  quoque  se  ipse  denu- 
dans,  ut  nee  de  novis  pravisque  religionibus,  qux  multorum  animos  infe» 
cerant  ilia  xtate,  quid  ipse  senserit  satis  dissimulet." 

Hubtii  Comment,  de  Rebus  a    eum  pertinent,  pi  424, 

*  Thuanus  de  Vita  sua,  p.  39,  edit.  Buckley. 


267 

year  of  my  age,  I  sometimes  call  to  remembrance 
through  what  toils  and  inquietudes,  I  have  sailed 
pasi  all  those  objects  which  men  commonly  re- 
gard as  pleasing,  and  have  at  length  struck  upon 
that  rock,  beyond  which  (as  the  ninetieth  psalm 
very  truly  avers)  nothing  remains  but  labour 
and  sorrow.  The  only  consolation  which  now 
awaits  me,  is  to  pause  with  delight  on  the  recol- 
lection of  my  coeval  friends,  of  whom  you  are  al- 
most the  only  one  who  still  survives.  Although 
you  are  not,  as  I  presume,  inferior  to  me  in  years, 
you  are  yet  capable  of  benefiting  your  country 
by  your  exertion  and  counsel,  and  even  of  pro- 
longing, by  your  learned  compositions,  your  life 
to  a  future  age.  But  I  have  long  bade  adieu  to 
letters.  It  is  now  the  only  object  of  my  solici- 
tude, that  I  may  remove  with  as  little  noise  as 
possible  from  the  society  of  my  ill-assorted  com- 
panions ;  that  I  who  am  already  dead,  may  relin- 
quish the  fellowship  of  the  living.  In  the  mean 
time,  I  transmit  to  you  the  youngest  of  my  liter- 
ary offspring,  in  order  that  when  you  discover  it 
to  be  the  driveling  child  of  age,  you  may  be  less 
anxious  about  its  brothers.  I  understand  that 
Henry  Wardlaw  or  iv#?*x«g,  a  young  man  of  our 
nation,  and  the  descendent  of  a  good  family,  is 
prosecuting  his  studies  in  your  seminary  with  no 
inconsiderable  application.  Although  I  am  aware 
of  your  habitual  politeness,  and  you  are  not  ignor- 
ant that  foreigners  are  peculiarly  entitled  to  your 
attention,  yet  I  am  desirous  he  should  find  that 


2GS 

our  ancient  familiarity  recommends  him  to  youv 
favour.  "b 

This  epistle,  says  the  illustrious  Thuanus,  was 
written  with  a  tremulous  hand,  but  in  a  generous 
style.  He  had  seen  it  in  the  possession  of  the 
amiable  old  man  to  whom  it  is  addressed ;  and 
his  high  admiration  of  Buchanan's  genius  and 
virtue  induced  him  to  record  that  little  circum- 
stance in  his  modest  and  interesting  account  of 
his  own  life.  The  answer  of  Vinetus  is  dated  at 
Bourdeaux  on  the  ninth  of  June  1581.  "  Your 
letter  of  the  sixteenth  of  March  was  delivered  to 
me  on  the  third  of  June:  and  from  its  being  writ- 
ten at  such  an  age,  and  at  such  an  interval  of 
time  and  place,  and  from  its  mention  of  our  Por- 
tugueze  peregrination,  and  of  far  happier  times 
than  the  present,  nothing  could  afford  me  higher 
delight.  I  have  read  it  again  and  again,  and 
read  it  still ;  together  with  the  book  which  you 
sent  as  its  companion.  This  book,  if  I  may  rely 
upon  my  own  judgment,  and  upon  that  of  many 
friends  who  were  formerly  your  pupils,  and  to 
whom  I  have  lent  it,  is  by  no  means  the  produc- 
tion of  a  driveling  author.  A  certain  country- 
man of  yours,c  a  counsellor  of  the  parliament  of 

t>  Buchanani  Epistobe,  p.  32. 

c  He  alludes  to  Adam  Blackwood;  whom  Mr.  Ruddiman  styles 
"professor  of  law  in  the  university  of  Poictiers."  ( Vindication  of  Bu- 
chanan, p.  1 24.)  But  it  does  not  appear  that  he  ever  taught  in  that  uni- 
versity. See  the  elogium  which  Gabriel  Naude"  has  prefixed  to  "  Blacvo- 
dxi  Opera  Omnia."  Paris.  1644,  4to.  Blackwood  lived  to  publish  a 
second  edition  of  his  Apologia  pro  Regihus.    Paris.  1 588,  8vo. 


269 

Poitiers,  is  however,  I  understand,  of  a  different 
opinion ;  and  he  has  written  a  book  which  I  shall 
transmit  to  you  as  soon  as  it  is  published  in  that 
city.  What  brothers  of  your  literary  offspring 
you  allude  to  that  I  have  not  already  seen,  I 
know  not:  for  the  tragedies,  psalms,  elegies,  and 
epigrams  of  George  Buchanan  are  sold  here.  It 
is  your  sphere  only,  which  you  are  understood  to 
have  composed  at  an  earlier  period,  that  many 
persons,  and  I  among  the  first,  are  now  anxious- 
ly expecting :  but  perhaps  that  poem  has  not  yet 
been  prepared  for  the  press  by  your  final  cor- 
rection. The  works  of  mine  which  you  mention 
are  of  a  puerile  kind,  and  composed  for  the  be- 
nefit of  the  youth  whom  I  educate  in  this  semi- 
nary. If  you  doubt  my  assertion,  you  may  con- 
vince yourself  of  its  accuracy  by  inspecting  my 
commentary  on  the  Somnium  Scipionis ;  which  I 
now  present  to  you,  with  the  epistles  of  Gelida. 
With  respect  to  your  particular  recommendation 
of  Henry  Wardlaw,  I  beg  leave  to  assure  you  that 
from  the  time  when  I  here  became  acquainted 
with  you,  with  your  personal  character  and  your 
erudition,  I  for  your  sake  love  and  respect  all  your 
countrymen,  and  render  them  every  service  in 
my  power;  which  indeed  is  very  limited.  This 
school  is  rarely  without  a  Scotishman :  it  has  two 
at  present ;  one  of  them  is  professor  of  philoso- 
phy, the  otherd  of  the  Greek  language  and  of 

#  This  was  probably  Robtrt  Balfour,  the  learned  editor  of  Cleomedes 


270 

mathematics :  both  are  good,  honest,  and  learned 
men,  and  enjoy  the  favourable  opinion  of  their 
auditors.  Farewell ,  and  expect  to  hear  from  me 
frequently,  provided  I  can  lind  a  conveyance  for 
my  letters."6 

Elias  Vinetus  must  have  interested  those  who 
are  sufficiently  interested  in  Buchanan  ;  and  it 
may  not  therefore  be  superfluous  to  devote  a  di- 
gressive page  to  his  commemoration.  Descend- 
ed of  humble  parents,  he  was  born  in  the  village 
of  Vinet,  situated  in  the  dmtcllenie  of  Barbe- 
sieux  in  Saintonge.  He  received  the  rudiments 
of  education  atBarbesieux,  and  afterwards  studied 
four  years  at  Poitiers.  Having  returned  to  the 
foimer  place,  he  there  amassed  a  small  sum  of 
money  by  engaging  in  the  tuition  of  youth,  and 
was  thus  enabled  to  gratify  his  literary  curiosity 
by  paying  a  visit  to  Paris.  He  began  to  teach 
humanity  in  the  College  of  Guienne  at  Bourdeaux 
in  the  year  1539,  which  was  the  period  when 
Buchanan  likewise  became  a  member  of  that  fa- 
mous seminary.  Having  fallen  into  an  infirm 
state  of  health,  he  retired  for  some  time  to  his 
native  province  ;  and,  in  1542,  he  again  betook 
himself  to  Paris,  where  he  became  acquainted 
with  Anthony  Govea/     The  elder  Govea  hav- 

and  commentator  on  Aristotle.  He  was  afterwards  principal  of  the  col- 
lege. 

e  Buchanani  £pi6tolx,  p.  33. 

'  These  two  dates,  1539  and  1542,  are  copied  from  an  epistle  of  Vi- 
aetus  which  Schottui  has  inserted  in  bit  Bibliotbeca  H'ufanua,  p.  475. 


21  i 

ing  invited  him  back  to  Bourdeaux,  he  there 
continued  to  discharge  his  academical  functions 
till  the  year  1547,  when  he  emigrated  with  Bu- 
chanan and  other  learned  men  to  the  university 
of  Coimbra.  What  treatment  he  experienced 
among  the  Portugueze,  is  uncertain  ;  but  soon 
after  the  death  of  Govea,  he  returned  to  Bour- 
deaux, and  taught  humanity  and  mathematics. 
After  the  decease  of  his  friend  Gelida,  which 
happened  in  the  year  15J6,e  he  succeeded  him 
as  principal  of  the  college  ;  which  he  continued 
for  many  years  to  govern  with  great  credit  to 
himself,  and  with  great  utility  to  the  public. 
Having  exceeded  the  age  of  seventy-eight,  he 
died  on  the  fourteenth  of  May  1587.h  His  cha- 
racter seems  to  have  been  that  of  a  modesj  and 
worthy  man.  If  not  entitled  to  rank  with  scho- 
lars of  the  first  order,  he  was  at  least  furnished 
with  a  very  considerable  share  of  erudition.  He 
published  some  original   works,5  and  editions  ot 

*  In  one  part  of  his  extensive  work,  which  consiits  of  forty-two  volume* 
in  small  octavo,  Niceron  refers  the  death  of  Gelida  to  the  nineteenth 
«f  February,  in  another  to  the  nineteenth  of  June,  1558.  (Memoiru  itt 
Hommei  Illustres,  torn,  xxii,  p.  107,  torn,  xxx,  p.  224 )  Both  these  dates 
are  erroneous-.  Gelida  died  on  the  nineteenth  of  February  155€. 

h  Niceron,  Memoires  des  Homines  Illustres,  torn,  xxx, p.  224. 

i  One  of  them  is  entitled  De  Logistka  libri  tret.  Burd.  1573,  8vo. 
Vinetus  remarks  that  this  art,  originally  denominated  algorism,  was 
derived  from  the  Arabians;  and  that  Joannes  de  Sacrobosco,  who  com- 
posed a  treatise  De  Al^orismo  about  the  year  1250,  was  the  earliest  writ- 
er on  the  subject  with  whom  he  was  acquainted.  "  L'algorismo,"  say« 
Menage,  "  propriamente  e  una  aritmetica  logica."  (Origin  della  Lingua 
Ztaliana,  p.  43,  fol.) 


272 

several  ancient  writers  ;  and  has  evinced  an  ac- 
quaintance with  science  as  well  as  literature. 
His  editions  of  Pomponius  Mela  and  Ausonius 
were  once  held  in  no  common  estimation  :  Vos- 
sius  was  of  opinion  that  after  Hermolaus  Barbar- 
us,k  no  editor  had  contributed  so  much  to  the 
illustration  of  the  former  author.1 

The  last  epistle  which  Buchanan  is  known  to 
have  written,  is  consonant  to  the  tenor  of  his  be- 
nevolent character.  It  is  addressed  to  his  early 
friend  Beza.  "  Although  my  attention  is  divided 
by  various  occupations,  and  the  state  of  my 
health  is  so  desperate  as  to  leave  me  no  leisure 
for  the  common  duties  of  life,  yet  the  departure 
of  Jerome  Groslot  has  banished  all  my  excuses. 
For  as  the  father,  who  was  a  man  of  distinction, 
loaded  me,  during  my  residence  in  France,  with 
every  species  of  kindness,  and  the  son  has  ho- 
noured me  here  as  another  parent,  I  was  aware 
that  among  you  I  could  not  escape  the  heavy 
charge  of  ingratitude,  if  I  should  now  overlook 
the  kindness  which  I  experienced  from  the  one, 
the  pleasant  intercourse  which  I  have  enjoyed 
with  the  other,  and  the  polite  attention  which 
you  have  uniformly  paid  me.  Yet  among  those 
who  are  not  unacquainted  with  my  present  con- 

k  This  learned  writer'*  corrections  of  Mela  are  printed  with  hi* 
C litigation  i  Plinidn*.  Komz,  1493,  fol.  A  copy  of  this  rare  book  is  in 
my  pouession. 

I  Vowiu*  de  Scientii*  Mathematicis,  p.  258, 


273 

dition,  such  a  fault  would  readily  find  its  apology. 
It  is  my  best  apology,  that  all  my  senses  dying 
before  me,  what  now  remains  of  the  image  of  the 
former  man  testifies,  not  that  I  am,  but  that  I 
have  been,  alive ;  especially  as  I  can  neither 
cherish  the  hope  of  contracting  new  intimacies, 
nor  of  continuing  the  old.  These  circumstances 
I  now  mention  with  greater  Confidence,  as  the 
present  occasion  affords  you  an  opportunity  of 
learning  my  condition  from  Groslot:  whom  it  ap- 
pears superfluous  to  recommend  to  your  atten- 
tion. The  dispositions  of  youth  disclose  them- 
selves without  our  aid.  I  have  however  furnish- 
ed him  with  a  recommendation,  rather  to  comply 
with  the  common  practice,  than  because  it  is  re- 
quisite. With  regard  to  myself,  since  I  cannot 
continue  my  former  mode  of  life  by  the  recipro- 
cation of  friendly  offices,  I  shall  refrain  from  those 
exertions  to  which  I  have  long  been  unequal,  and 
indulge  in  silence.  Farewell.  Edinburgh,  July 
the  fifteenth,  1581."  This  interesting  letter  is 
followed  by  a  more  formal  testimonial  in  favour 
of  the  young  and  accomplished  emigrant.  "  Je- 
rome Groslot,  a  young  man  of  Orleans  who  is  the 
bearer  of  this,  although  born  in  a  distinguished 
city  of  most  distinguished  parents,  is  however 
best  known  in  consequence  of  his  calamities.  In 
that  universal  tumult,  and  universal  phrensy, 
which  prevailed  in  France,  he  lost  his  father  and 
his  patrimony,  and  was  himself  exposed  to  jeo- 

s 


274 

pardy.  As  he  could  not  remain  at  home  in  safe- 
ty, he  chose  to  fix  his  residence  in  Scotland  till 
the  violence  of  that  storm  should  a  little  subside. 
As  the  state  of  national  affairs  is  now  somewhat 
more  tranquil,  and  his  domestic  concerns  require 
his  return,  he  is  determined  to  travel  through 
England,  that,  like  Ulysses,  he  may  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  manners  and  cities  of  many 
nations,  and,  as  far  as  the  shortness  of  his  time 
will  permit,  may  familiarize  himself  with  a  branch 
of  civil  ltnowledge  which  is  of  no  trivial  import- 
ance. This  journey  I  trust  he  will  not  perform 
without  reaping  some  benefit;  such  as  he  h^s  de- 
rived from  his  late  peregrination.  I)uring  his 
residence  in  Scotland,  ]ie  has  not  lived  like  a 
stranger  in  a  foreign  land,  but  like  a  citizen 
among  his  fellows.  The  study  of  letters  he  has 
prosecuted  so  successfully,  as  not  only  to  be  able 
to  sooth  by  their  suavity  the  sorrows  incident  to 
his  disastrous  condition,  but  also  to  have  pro- 
vided for  himself  and  his  family  a  resource  against 
the  future  contingencies  of  life.  Here  it  is  not 
necessary  for  me  to  persuade, '  or  even  to  admon- 
ish you,  to  treat  this  excellent  youth  with  kind- 
ness :  for  that  the  uniform  course  of  your  life, 
and  the  bond  of  the  same  faith,  demand  of  you ; 
nay,  even  compel  you  to  do,  for  the  sake  of 
maintaining  your  own  character."m  This  young 
stranger,   in  whom  he  seems  to  have  been  yo 

■  Iqchanani  Eputolse,  p,  S3. 


275 

much  interested,  was  the  son  of  Jerome  Groslot, 
bailli  of  Orleans ;  who  was  assassinated  at  Paris 
during  the  infamous  massacre  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew." The  father  likewise  appears  to  have  been 
attached  to  letters.0  The  son,  though  he  did  not 
himself  publish  any  work,  was  well  known  to  the 
scholars  of  the  age:  he  was  one  of  the  intimate 
friends  pjf  Dousa,  and  enjoyed  the  acquaintance 
of  Gujacius,  Casaubon,  and  Lipsius." 

The  last  production  which  Buchanan  lived  to 
complete  was  his  history  of  Scotland.*     Jn  the 

n  Thuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis,  torn,  v,  p.  42,  44,  torn,  iii,  p.  132. 

•  Saxius  supposes  him  to  be  the  author  of  two  juridical  tracts,  written 
in  Latin,  and  published  at  Paris  in  1538.  (Qnomasticon  Literariua,  torrrf 
iii,  p.  193,  554.)  These  tracts  occur  in  Otto's  Thesaurus  Juris  Civilit, 
Jtom.  t,  p.  1,  48. 

P  Colomies  mentions  a  volume  of  Latin  and  Italian  letters  from  Fa- 
ther Paul  to  M.  de  Tlsle  Groslot  and  M.  Gillot,  printed  at  Geneva  in  the 
year  1673.  Several  philological  epistles  of  Groslot  may  be  found  in  the 
collections  of  Goldastus  and  Burman.  Ifl  the  latter  collection  occur  hit 
annotations  on  Tacitus.  (Burmanni  Syllogt  Ephtdarum,  torn,  i,  p.  348.) 
He  is  the  anchor  of  a  decastich  inserted  in  the  Delhi*  Poetarum  Gal- 
forum,  torn,  i,  p.  955.  Casaubon  styles  him  "  nobdissimus  doctissimusque 
vir  "  { Animadversinies  ad  Suetonium,  p.  2.)  He  may  be  supposed  to  have 
recovered  his  patrimony  :  he  denominates  himself  Hieronymus  Or  jsio- 
tius  Lislaus.  and  some  of  his  letters  are  dated  at  l'lsle,  evidently  hit 
country-seat.  Burman  has  mistaken  the  import  of  the  word  Lislatus  t 
*•  Foitasse  originem  maternam  ex  Scotis,  apud  quos  gens  Lislxa  vel  Lei- 
lza  ctleberrima,  repetebat." 

*  Rerum  Scoticarum  Historia,  auctore  Georgio  Buchanano  Scoto. 
Edimburgi,  apud  Alexandrum  Arbuthnetum  typographum  regium. 
Cum  privilegio  regali.  1582,  fol. — Thisedition  contains  many  typo- 
graphical errors;  a  list  of  which  may  be  found  appended  to  Thomas 
Crawford's  Notei  on  Butbanan.  Of  the  history  of  Scotland  there  are 
seventeen    editions.      The   two   last   are  those   of  Alexander  Finlattr 

s  2 


276 

year  15S2,  it  issued  from  the  office  of  Alexander 

and  James  Man.  Edinb.  1727,  8vo.  Abe'rd.  1762,  8vo.     Finlater  is  men- 
tioned by  Ruddiman  as  "  a  gentleman   well  versed  in  classical  learning." 
(Further  Vindication,  p.  7.)  Archbishop  Nicolson  remarks  that  Buchanan's 
history  was  "  epitomized  in  a  good  Latin  style  by  Mr.  Alexander  Hume  ; 
who  was  sometime  chief  master  of  the  grammar  school   at  Edinburgh.' 
(Scottish  Historical  Library,  p.  43.)     This  epitome  was   never  printed. 
The  history  was  translated  into  the  Scotish  language  by  John  Reid,  or 
Read  ;  who,  according  to  Calderwood's  MS.  was  "  servitur  and  writer  to 
Master  George  Buchanan."     In  the  library  of  the  university  of  Glasgow, 
I  have  inspected  a  MS.  of  this  unpublished  version,  which  bears  the  fol- 
lowing inscription.     "  The  Historic  of  Scotland,  first  written  in  the  La- 
tine  tungue  by  that  famous  and  learned  man  George  Buchanan,  and  af- 
terward translated  into  the   Scottishe  tungue   by   John   Read-  Esquyar, 
brother  to  James  Read,  person   of  Banchory  Ternan    whyle  he   liued. 
They  both  ly  interred  in  the  parishe  church  of  that  towne,  seated  no$  farre 
from  the  banke  of  the  riuer  of  Dee,  expecting  the  general  resurrection,  and 
the  glorious  appeering  of  Jesus  Christ  there  redimer."    This  transcript  ap- 
pears from  the  colophon  to  have  been  completed  on  the  twelfth  of  Decem- 
ber 1634.     Another  unpublished  version  belongs  to  the  British  Museum  : 
"  An  History  of  the  State  of  Scotland,  by  George  Buchquhanane  a  Scotch- 
man."    (Bib.  Har.  N°.  7539.)     This  MS.  is  imperfect  ;   it  commences 
with  the  twelfth,  and  ends  in  the  nineteenth  book.     The  idiom  is  Eng- 
lish, and  the  hand  apparently  of  the  seventeenth  century.'     An   English 
translation  of  Buchanan's  history  and  dialogue  was   printing  in  London 
about  the  asra  of  the  restoration :  but  on  the  seventh  of  June  1660,  the 
publication    was    prohibited  by  an  order  of  council.       (Chalmers's  Life 
nf  Ruddiman,  p.  350.)      This  prohibition  of  the  dialogue,  as   my  learned 
friend  Mr.  Little  suggests,  is  mentioned  with  some  degree  of  triumph  by 
the  apostate  Bishop  Parker.     ( De  Rebus  tut   T.mfioris  Commentarii,  p.  77. 
Lond.  1726,  8vo.)     In  1690,  an  English  translation  of  Buchanan's  history 
was  published  at  London  in  folio.     Prefixed  is  a   very  good  portrait  of 
the  author,  engraved  by  R.  White  from  an  original  painting  in  the  pos- 
session of  Sir  Thomas  Povey.     In  1 722,  the  same  version  was  reprinted 
at  London  in  two  volumes  octavo.     This  edition  professes  to  be  "revised 
and  corrected  from  the  Latin  original,  by  Mr.  Bond:"  but  it  is  remark- 
ed by  Ruddiman  that  although  the  first  abounds  with  errors,  yet  he  has 
not  made  the  least  alteration.  (Answer  to  Logan,  p.  315.)     Of  this  trans- 
lation there  are  other  five  editions,  each  consisting  of  two  volumes  oc- 
tavo. Lond.  1733.   Edinb.  1751-2.    Edinb.  1762.    Edinb.  1766.   Glasg. 


277 

ubuthnot,  printer  to  the  ki  ig.b  It  bears  the 
royal  privilege,  and,  like  other  works  of  the  same 
author,  is  dedicated  to  the  young  monarch. 
The  dedication  is  not  unworthy  of  our  attention. 
"  When  after  a  peregrination  of  twenty-four 
years,c  I  had  at  length  returned  to  my  native 
country,  the  first  object  of  my  care  was  to  col- 
lect my  papers,  dispersed  by  the  malignity  of 
former  times,  and  in  many  respects  exposed  to 
improper  treatment.  For  partly  through  the 
undue  partiality  of  my  friends,  who  precipitated 
their  publication  at  a  premature  crisis,  partly 
through  the  immoderate  licence  which  printers, 
assuming  the  character  of  censors,  exercise  with 
re-pect  to  other  men's  works,  I  find  many  pass- 
ages changed,  chiefly  according  to  their  respect- 
ive fancies,  and  some  vilely  corrupted. 

"  While  I  was  attempting  to  remedy  those  in- 
conveniences, the  sudden  entreaties  of  my  friends 
disordered  all  my  plans.  For  all  of  them,  as  if 
they  had  conspired  with  each  other,  exhorted  me 

1799.  An  English  version  of  several  books  of  Buchanan's  history  wai 
published  as  an  original  work,  under  the  title  of"  An  Impartial  Account 
of  the  Affairs  of  Scotland,  from  the  death  of  King  James  V.  to  the  tra- 
gical Exit  of  the  Earl  of  Murray  :  by  an  eminent  hand."  Lond.  1705, 
8vo. 

b  See  the  Lives  of  the  Scotish  Poets,  vol.  ii,  p.  175. 

c  "  Post  viginti  quatuor  annorum  peregrinationem."    This  reading  ronit 
be  erroneous.     Buchanan  left  his  native  country  in  1539  ;  and  he 
the  Scotish  court  in  the  month  of  January  1562.    Mr.  Love  is  inclined  to 
suppose  that  he  returned  with  the  prior  of  St.  Andrews  in  May  1561. 
(Vindicathn  if  Buchanan,  p.  61.) 

s  3 


278 

to  relinquish  those  performances  of  a  more  trivial 
nature,  which  rather  sooth  the  ear  than  inform 
the  mind,  and  to  occupy  myself  in  writing  the 
history  of  our  nation.  This  occupation,  they 
urged,  was  worthy  of  my  age,  and  of  the  expect- 
ations concerning  me  which  my  countrymen 
had  formed ;  and  no  other  subject  presented 
j  tronger  incentives  of  praise,  or  promised  to  con- 
fer a  more  lasting  reputation-.  To  omit  other 
considerations,  as  Britain  is  the  most  renowned 
island  in  the  world,  and  its  history  involves  trans- 
actions  highly  memorable  in  every  respect,  you, 
will  hardly  discover  in  the  course  of  ages  an  in- 
dividual who-  has  ventured  to  undertake  so  im- 
portant a  subject,  and  has  evinced  himself  eq.ua I 
to  the  undertaking. 

"  It  was  likewise  no  slight  incentive  to  me,  that 
I  concluded  my  labour  would  neither  be  undue 
nor  unacceptable  to  you.  For  it  appeared  absurd 
and  shameful  that  you,  who  at  this  early  age  have 
perused  the  histories  of  almost  every  nation,  and 
have  committed  many  of  them  to  memory,  should 
seem  to  be  a  stranger  at  home.  Besides  as  the 
incurable  state  of  my  health  will  not  permit  me 
to  discharge  the  office  intrusted  to  me  of  culti- 
vating your  genius,d  I  have  deemed  it  my  next 
duty  to  betake  myself  to  that  species  of  compos- 
ition which  is  calculated  for  improving  the  mind. 

*  "  Parte*  ingenii  tui  exc6len<Ls.n     This  passage  is  evidently  inaccurate 
The  genuine  reading,  excolent/i,  is  given  in  the  edition  of  Finkter. 


2*79 

With  the  view  of  extenuating  as  fat  as  lies  in  my 
power  this  fault  of  cessation,  I  have  therefore  de- 
termined to  send  you  faithful  monitors  drawn 
from  history,  that  you  may  adopt  their  counsel 
in  your  deliberations,  and  imitate  their  virtue  in 
your  actions.  For  there  are  among  your  ances- 
tors men  distinguished  by  every  species  of  excel- 
lence, arid  of  whom  their  posterity  will  never  be 
ashamed.  To  omit  other  instances,  the  records 
of  hitman  affairs  will  not  supply  you  with  a  cha- 
racter whom  you  can  compare  to  our  king  David, 
It  to  him  divine  benignity  has  vouchsafed  this 
preeminence,  not  only  in  most  miserable,  but 
even  in  most  flagitious  times,  we  may  reasonably 
hope  that  you)  as  the  royal  prophet  has  ex- 
pressed himself/  may  likewise  become  to  mo- 
thers the  standard  of  their  request  whenever  they 
pray  for  the  prosperity  of  their  offspring ;   that 

e  "  Ut  ait  vote:  regiui."  The  purity  of  this  phrase,  as  it  is  here  ap- 
plied, has  been  called  in  question  ;  and  perhaps  with  sufficient  reason. 
(Ruddiman'i  Antitrisis,  p.  77.)  fates  regiut  seems  rather  to  denote  a 
king's  prophet,  than  a  person  who  was  at  once  a  prophet  and  a  king. 
To  this  very  pure  and  correct  writer,  a  few  other  improprieties  have  been 
imputed,  but  most  of  them  without  any  competent  foundation.  Charge* 
of  solecism  are  more  easily  advanced  than  refuted ;  and  many  writers  have 
advanced  them  with  great  temerity.  Dr.  Johnson,  for  example,  objecti 
to  Dryden's  using  a  word  of  most  unquestionable  authority.  "  Thr 
'Threnedia,  which,  by  a  term  I  am  afraid  neither  authorized  nor  analogic- 
al, he  calls  Augustalit."  (Li-vet  of  English  Pottt,  vol.  ii,  p.  153.)  The 
word  Augustalit  is  used  by  Columella,  Suetonius,  Tacitus,  and  other  an- 
cient authors  :  it  is  sufficiently  familiar  to  the  ears  of  a  civilian,  for  it 
repeatedly  occurs  in  the  Theodosian  Code,  and  in  the  Code  and  Pandects 
of  Justinian.  "  De  Officio  Prjefecti  A*gnt«l!t*  'n  one  of  ?he  rubric*  !rt 
•ach  of  the  two  last  collections. 


280 

this  commonwealth,  now  hastening  to  univers- 
al destruction  and  ruin,  may  even  he  stayed 
in  its  career,  till  it  at  length  approach  those 
times  when  human  affairs  having  fulfilled  the 
decree  fixed  from  eternity,  are  to  reach  their 
destined  close." 

Between  the  original  formation  of  his  plan, 
and  the  publication  of  the  history  itself,  nearly 
twenty  years  must  have  elapsed :  but  it  is  to  be 
supposed  that  he  long  revolved  the  subject  in  his 
mind,  and  had  proceeded  to  amass  the  greater 
part  of  his  materials,  before  he  applied  himself  to 
its  composition  ;  and  during  that  interval,  his  at- 
tention had  been  distracted  by  various  pursuits, 
political  as  well  as  literary.  His  progress  seems 
also  to  have  been  interrupted  by  another  accident 
which  cannot  easily  be  defined/  Notwithstand- 
ingthe  manifest  disadvantages  of  divided  attention, 
of  infirm  health,  and  of  a  languid  old  age,  he  has 
produced  one  of  the  most  eloquent  and  masterly 
performances  that  has  ever  been  submitted  to  the 
inspection  of  the  learned  world.  Wicquefort 
prefers  it  without  hesitation  to  the  Roman  history 

f  The  following  passage  occurs  in  a  letter  from  Sir  Robert  Bowes  to 
Lord  Burleigh,  dated  at  Stirling  on  the  eighteenth  of  September  1578. 
"  Buchanan  hath  ended  his  story  wrytten  to  the  death  of  the  Erie  of 
Murrey.  He  proposith  to  commend  it  to  print  shortly ;  but  one  thing  of 
late  hatb  been  ■withJmtven  from  bim,  which  he  trusteth  to  recover,  or  else 
to  supply  of  new  "  ith  soer  travell.  He  accepteth  your  lordships  com- 
mendations wiib  peal  comfort,  and  returneth  to  your  lordship  his  humble 
duty  ar.U  thanks."  (Murdin's  Collection  of  State  Paperiy  p.  316.  Lond. 
1759,  fol.) 


28  L 

of  Livy.*  It  is  very  justly  remarked  by  the  ex- 
cellent Thuanus,  that  although  much  of  Buchan- 
an's time  had  been  spent  in  scholastic  occupa- 
tions, yet  his  history  might  be  supposed  the  pro- 
duction of  a  man  whose  whole  life  had  been  ex- 
ercised in  the  political  transactions  of  the  state ; 
the  felicity  of  his  genius,  and  the  greatness  of  his 
mind,  having  enabled  him  so  completely  to  re- 
move every  impediment  incident  to  an  obscure 
and  humble  lot.h 

Buchanan  has  divided  his  history  into  twenty 
books.  The  first  three  ought  rather  to  have  been 
exhibited  in  the  form  of  an  introductory  dissert- 
ation ;  for  the  historical  narrative  properly  com- 
mences with  the  fourth  book  His  preliminary 
enquiries  are  directed  to  the  geographical  situ- 
ation, the  nature  of  the  soil  and  climate,  the  an- 
cient names  and  manners,  and  the  primitive  in- 
habitants of  the  British  islands.  The  third  book 
consists  of  a  digest  of  apposite  quotations  from 
the  Greek  and  Latin  authors.     The  whole  how- 

S  Wicquefort,  Memoires  touchant  les  Ambassadeurs  et  les  Ministret 
Publics,  p.  442.  Haye,  1677,  8vo. 

J»  "  In  senili  otio  patriam  historiam  aggressus  est ;  quam  tanta  puritate, 
prudentia,  et  acumine  scripsit,  quamvis  interdum  libertate  genti  innaU, 
contra  regium  fastigium  acerbior,  ut  ea  scriptio  non  hominem  in  pulvere 
literario  versatum,  sed  in  media  hominum  luce  et  in  tractandis  reipublica 
negotiis  tota  vita  exercitatum  redoleat :  adeo  ingenii  felicitas  et  animi 
magnitudo  omnia  obscure  et  humilis  fortunx  impedimenta  ab  eo  remo- 
verant,  ut  propterea  non  minus  recte  de  maximia  rebus  judicare  et  scribere 
prudenter  posset." 

Thuani  Hist,  sui  Temporis,  torn,  iv,  p.  9* 


282' 

etcr  of  this  introductory  part  displays  his  usual 
erudition  and  sagacity  ;  and,  in  the  opinion  of 
Archbishop  Usher,  no  writer  had  investigated 
the  antiquities  of  his  country  with  superior  dili- 
gence.' In  these  curious  disquisitions,  he  evinces 
his  knowledge  of  the  Celtic  as  well  as  of  the  class- 
ical tongues :  during  that  age,  Gaelic  was  per- 
haps the  language  of  Lennox*  his  native  province." 
He  has  manifested  an  unnecessary  degree  of  soli- 
citude and  warmth  in  exposing  some  of  the  anti- 
quarian reveries  of  Humphrey  Lhuyd,  aCambro- 
Briton  who  published  an  historical  fragment  in 
the  year  2572.1     This  was  only  ten  years  before 

i  Uiserii  Britannic.  Eccle«.  Antiq.  p.  733.     Dublin.  1639,  4to. 

k  "  And  this,"  says  Mr.  Man,  "  puts  me  in  mind  of  an  arch  and  hu- 
morous passage  of  his  behaviour,  which  I  found  in  some  MS.  excerpts  taken 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Melvil,  who  was  minister  of  Alford  in  the  last  century. 
Buchanan  being  once  on  a  time  in  France,  and  meeting  with  a  possessed 
woman  that  spoke  all  languages,  he  having  been  born'  in  Lennox,  where 
he  learned  the  Irish,  made  trial  whether  the  devil  had  that  language,  and 
he  answered  nothing  :  whereupon  he  toot  instrumtnt  [entered  a  protest] 
that  the  devil  knew  it  not,  nor  consequently  that  people  in  the  High~ 
lands."  (Centure  of  RudJiman,  p.'  329.) 

J  Commentarioli  Britannic*  Descriptions  Fragmentum,  auctore  Hum- 
fredo  Lhuyd,  Denbyghiense,  Cambro-Britanno.  Hujus  auctoris  diligen- 
tiam  et  judicium  lector  admirabitur.  Col.  Agrip  1572,8vo.  Mr.  Herbert 
mentions  an  earlier  edition  %  but  I  do  not  suppose  that  it  ever  existed.  This 
fragment  is  dedicated  to  Abraham  Ortelius,  who  in  his  Tbeatrum  Orbit  Ter. 
rarum  has  inserted  Lhuyd's  Efisttla  de  Mona  Druidum  Insula.  A  correct 
edition  of  these  two  tracts  of  Lhuyd  was  published  by  his  countryman 
Moses  Williams,  A.  M.  Lond.  1731,  4to.  A  translation  of  the  frag - 
mentjhad  formerly  appeared  under  the  title  of  "  The  Breuiary  of  Britagne, 
itc  by  Thomas  Twyne,  Gentleman."  Lond.  1573,  8vo.  A  third  pro- 
duction of  the  same  author  is  entitled  Tie  Hittoric  of  Cambria,  n»%r  calLJ 
ff*let.  Lond.  1584,  4to.    This  work  was  augmented,  and  published  after 


283 

the*  appearance  of  Buchanan's  work :  but  the  three 
books  which  are  first  in  the  present  arrangement 
do  not  seem  to  have  been  first  composed  ;m  and 
it  is  only  in  those  books  that  he  refers  to  Lhuyd's 
production. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  his  narration,  lie  has  re- 
posed too  much  confidence  on  his  predecessor 
Hector  Boyce.  Many  of  the  fables  of  that  ro- 
mantic writer  he  has  indeed  rejected;  but  he 
was  not  sufficiently  aware  of  the  extreme  hazard 
of  relying  on  such  an  authority.  Boyce,  whose 
history  of  Scotland  was  printed  at  Paris  in  the 
year  1526,  had  not  yet  begun  to  be  generally  re- 
garded as  a  notable  impostor.  Buchanan  ha9 
appealed  to  several  other  Scotish  historians ; 
and  he  unquestionably  had  access  to  historical 
documents  which  are  no  longer  extant.  He  has 
occasionally  availed  himself  of  the  collateral  aid 
of  the  English  and  French  writers.0     His  sketch 

hit  death,  by  David  Powell,  D.  D.  "  It  pleased  God,"  says  Powell, "  t« 
takt  him  awaie  in  thefloure  of  his  time."  He  had  been  educated  at  Ox- 
ford, and  his  profession  was  that  of  physic.  "  Afterwards  retiring  to  hi* 
•wn  country,  lived  mostly  within  the  walls  of  Denbigh  castle,  practised 
his  faculty,  and  sometimes  that  of  musick  for  diversion  sake,  being  then 
esteemed  a  well  bred  gentleman.  He  was  a  passirg  right  antiquary, and 
a  person  of  great  skill  and  knowledge  in  British  affairs."  v  Wood's  Atbe- 
tt*  Oxcniensts,  vol.  i,  col.  129.'  Mr.  Barrington,  a  more  competent 
jud^e,  acknowledges  that  Lhuyd  "  is  generally  very  accurate  in  what 
relates  to  the  histery  of  Wales,  or  its  antiquities."  ( '  Obtervatiini  on  the 
Statutes,  p.  323.)  But  many  of  his  notions  are  sufficiently  absurd.  Of  his 
antiquarian  theories,  Languet  did  not  entertain  a  more  favourable  opinion 
than  Buchanan.   (Langueti  Epittola  ad  Sydaeium,  p.  29,  41.) 

*  Ruddiman,  Anticrisis,  p.  6,  Answer  to  Logan,   p.  80. 

■  In  his  history,  Buchanan  refers  to  Fordun,  Winton,  Mair,  Boyce, 


of  the  earlier  reigns  is  brief  and  rapid  ;  nor  has 
he  attempted  to  establish  any  chronological  no- 
tation till  he  descends  to  the  tour  hundred  and 
fourth  year  of  the  Christian  asra.  It  must  indeed 
be  acknowledged  that  he  has  repeated  the  fabul- 
ous line  of  our  ancient  kings ;  but  that  continu- 
ed till  a  much  later  period  to  be  regarded  as  an 
article  of  national  faith  :  the  erudition  and  judg- 
ment of  Lloyd  and  Stillingfleet,  of  Innes  and 
Pinkerton,  had  not  then  been  applied  to  the  in- 
tricate investigation.  Like  most  of  the  classical 
historians,  Buchanan  is  too  remiss  in  marking 
the  chronology  of  each  event  which  he  records. 
His  narrative,  from  the  reign  of  the  great 
King  Robert,  becomes  much  more  copious  and 
interesting;  but  the  history  of  his  own  times, 
which  were  undoubtedly  pregnant  with  remark- 
able events,  occupies  far  the  largest  proportion  of 
his  twenty  books.  In  some  of  the  transactions 
which  he  relates,  his  own  affections  and  passions 
were  deeply  concerned,  and  might  not  unreason- 
ably be  expected  to  impart  some  tincture  to  his 
style.  "  His  bitterness  in  writing  of  the  queen," 
says  Archbishop  Spotswood,  "  and  troubles  of 
the  time,  all  wise  men  have  disliked.  But  other- 
wise no  man  did  merit  better  of  his  nation  for 
learning,  nor  thereby  did  bring  to  it  more  glo- 
ry."0 This  is  the  remark  of  a  candid  and  en- 
Matthew  Paris,  William  of  Newbury,  Thomas  Walsingham,  Polydore 
Virgil,  Caxton,  Hall,  Grafton,  Froissart,  and  Monstrellet. 
•  Spottwood'*  Hist,  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  p.  325. 


2B6 

lightened  man  who  enjoyed  the  particular  favour 
of  the  queen's  son  and  grandson  :  he  has  not 
however  hazarded  the  slightest  insinuation  of 
Buchanan's  having  asserted  what  he  did  not  him- 
self believe.  It  was  manifestly  the  interest  as 
well  as  the  inclination  of  this  prelate,  to  exhibit 
the  character  of  Mary  in  the  most  favourable 
point  of  view  ;  and  yet  his  love  of  truth,  and  the 
force  of  cotemporary  evidence,  have  compelled 
him  to  sanction  the  general  tenor  of  his  prede- 
cessor's narrative.  His  indignation  against  that 
deluded  princess  Buchanan  shared  with  a  very 
large  proportion  of  his  fellow  subjects ;  and  many 
of  her  actions  were  such  as  could  not  fail  of  excit- 
ing the  antipathy  of  every  well-regulated  mind.4> 
The  storm  has  now  subsided,  and  we  may  calm- 
ly blend  her  virtues  with  her  vices ;  but  her  sub- 
jects found  it  absolutely  necessary  to  oppose  her 
mad  career,  and  afterwards  to  vindicate  their 
own  conduct  by  exposing  hers.  It  were  certain- 
ly to  be  wished  that  Buchanan  had  expressed 
himself  in  more  moderate  terms  ;  though  his  un- 
bounded indignation  is  evidently  that  of  an  ho- 
nest mind,  unable  to  disguise  its  genuine  senti- 
ments. That  some  of  the  circumstances  which 
he  relates  are  not  altogether  consistent  with  ac- 
curacy,  is  only  what  may  be   affirmed  with  re- 

P  Thuanus  to  Camden.  "  Acerbius  haec  fortasse  a  Buchanano  «cripU, 
et  audio  discipulura  praeceptori  ob  id  succensere ;  et  tamen  quia  gettt 
$unt,  citra  flagitium  dissimulari  non  possunt."  (Camdeni  £j>ittof<t,  p.  68. 
JLond.  1691,  4to.) 


286 

spcct  to  any  other  historian.  He  was  not  him- 
self an  eye-witness  of  every  transaction  of  his 
own  age  ;  and  amidst  the  animosities  of  that  out- 
rageous period,  he  must  chiefly  have  derived  his 
information  from  the  adherents  of  one  party. 
That  Bishop  Lesley  has  exhibited  a  more  faith- 
ful detail  of  the  singular  events  of  that  crisis,  is 
an  assertion  which  has  indeed  been  hazarded, 
but  which  it  would  be  extremely  easy  to  refute. 
Lesley's  history  was  published  in  the  year  1578 : 
his  Latinity  is  elegant,  and  he  has  generally  evin- 
ced more  candour  than  could  have  been  expected 
from  a  writer  placed  in  such  circumstances ;  but 
Lesley  was  a  Papist ;  he  was  one  of  the  queen's 
chief  agents  ;  he  had  been  deprived  of  a  bishop- 
ric ;  and  his  work  was  printed  at  Rome.  The 
veracity  of  Buchanan  with  respect  to  the  most 
controverted  facts  recorded  in  his  history,  has 
been  confirmed  by  a  very  recent  examination  of 
original  documents :  some  of  the  darkest  trans- 
actions of  that  period  have  been  placed  in  a 
clear  and  steady  light  by  the  able  disquisitions  of 
Mr.  Laing  ;  to  whom  Buchanan  has  many  obli- 
gations. 

The  style  of  his  history  betrays  no  symptoms 
of  the  author's  old  age  and  infirmities :  it  is  not 
merely  distinguished  by  its  correctness  and  ele- 
gance, it  breathes  all  the  fervent  animation  of 
youthful  genius.  The  noble  ideas  which  so  fre- 
quently rise  in  his  mind,  he  always  expresses  in 


m 

language  of  correspondent  dignity.  His  narra- 
tive is  extremely  perspicuous,  variegated,  and 
interesting  :  it  is  seldom  deficient,  and  never  re- 
dundant. Notwithstanding  his  long  habits  of 
poetical  composition,  he  has  carefully  refrained 
from  interspersing  this  work  with  phraseologies 
unsuitable  to  the  diction  of  prose ;  and  in  the 
whole  course  of  his  narrative,  he  has  only  intro- 
duced a  single  quotation  from  a  poet.q  His  mor- 
al and  political  reflexions  are  profound  and  mas- 
terly. It  is  with  the  utmost  propriety  that  he 
has  been  characterized  as  a  man  of  exquisite 
judgment/  Of  the  inherent  and  unalienable 
rights  of  mankind,  he  has  never  lost  sight  for  a 
single  moment ;  and  he  uniformly  delivers  his 
sentiments  with  a  noble  freedom  and  energy.* 
His  zeal  in  branding  vice  is  only  equalled  by  his 
zeal  in  commending  virtue.  The  martial  ex- 
ploits of  his  valiant  countrymen  he  has  often  re- 
cited with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  a  young  war- 
rior. 
To  some  of  his  principal  characters  he  has  as- 

*  Buchanan.  Rerum.  Scotic.  Hist.  p.  175. 

r  Conringius  de  Antiquuatibus  Academic  is,  p.  74. 

•  "  It  has  been  reproached  to  this  cultivated  icholar,"  says  Dr.  Stuart, 
"  that  he  gives  his  sentiments  with  too  much  liberty.  1  am  surprized 
that  so  many  critics  have  concurred  in  this  censure.  Is  there  a  quality 
in  an  author  so  honourable,  so  useful,  as  that  of  expressing  what  he 
thinks  ?  Is  it  proper  that  science  and  learning  should  be  put  in  prison, 
and  dishonoured  by  confinement  and  fetters?  Miserable  is  that  nation 
where  literature  is  under  any  form  but  that  of  a  republic."  ( '  Qbiervationt 
'ctnctrniag  tbt  Puilit  Latvt  and  tic  Ctmtitutitnal  History  of  Scttlani,  p.  876. 
Edinb.  1779,  8yo.) 


288 

signed  formal  speeches.  This  was  the  general 
practice  of  the  ancient  historians,  and  has  like- 
wise been  adopted  by  several  of  the  moderns : 
it  is  however  a  practice  which  has  at  length  been 
exploded ;  and  whatever  it  may  contribute  to 
diversity  or  interest,  it  may  safely  be  stigmatized 
as  unsuitable  in  a  composition  which  professes  to 
record  events  and  circumstances  as  they  actually 
occurred.1  Buchanan's  orators  are  uncommonly 
eloquent.  The  most  admired  of  his  harangues 
is  that  which  he  imputes  to  Archbishop  Kennedy 
after  the  death  of  James  the  second  :u  its  prin- 
cipal position  is,  that  the  sovereign  power  ought 
not  to  be  intrusted  to  the  hands  of  a  woman  ;  a 
position  which  had  been  maintained  with  equal 
strenuousness  by  John  Knox.  Some  of  the  speeches 
which  he  ascribes  to  cotemporary  characters,  are 
such  as  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  really  de- 
livered ;  for  the  author  must  have  been  present 
on  the  occasions  to  which  they  are  referred.  But 
it  is  one  of  the  inconveniences  attending  factiti- 
ous harangues,  that  their  introduction  renders  it 

*  "  I  hold,"  «ays  Lord  Monboddo,  "  that  in  every  history  well  com- 
posed, there  ought  to  be  spades,  without  which,  1  think,  a  history  hardly 
deserves  that  name,  but  should  be  called  a  chronicle  or  annals"  (Origin 
and  Progress  tf  Language,  vol  v,  p.  280.)  That  is  to  say,  a  history  ought 
not  to  be  called  a  history  unless  it  assume  the  appearance  of  a  romance. 
Dr  Lawson  has  paid  more  respect  to  common  sense.  "  I  grant  that 
modern  historians  have  erred  herein  by  injudicious  imitation,  not  consi- 
dering the  difference  of  times ;  for  set  speeches  would  be  absurd  now,  on 
occasions  wherein  they  would  have  been  necessary  at  Athens  or  Rome." 
(Lectures  concerning  Oratory,  p.  216,  edit.  Dublin,  1760,  8vo.) 

u  Buchanan.  Rerum  Skotic.  Hist.  p.  221. 


289 

impossible  to  distinguish  those  which  are  ge- 
nuine. 

Buchanan  may  be  compared  to  the  ancient 
historians  in  another  respect :  with  regard  to 
prodigies,  he  has  betrayed  some  degree  of  creduli- 
ty. But  this  was  a  defect  incident  to  the  age, 
rather  than  the  individual ;  nor  must  it  be  for- 
gotten that  he  records  some  of  those  preternatur- 
al circumstances  without  professing  to  consider 
them  as  entitled  to  credit.  The  national  rumour 
concerning  them  appears  to  have  been  strong ; 
and  he  might  deem  it  incumbent  upon  him  to 
submit  them  to  the  discussion  of  his  readers. 
During  the  age  of  Buchanan,  even  the  most  in- 
telligent were  credulous ;  and  many  of  the  opi- 
nions revered  by  the  present  a^e,  which  is  so  fre- 
quently charged  with  scepticism,  may  possioly 
excite  the  pity  or  dension  of  the  more  enlighten- 
ed ages  which  are  yet  to  come.  The  intellectual 
slumber  of  a  thousand  years  had  rec  mtl  f  been 
shaken  off:  but  so  prodigiously  slow  is  the  progress 
of  good  sense,  which  is  nothing  else  but  vigorous 
reason  improved  by  experience,  that  sven  now  it 
can  only  be  considered  as  proceeding  towards  a 
very  distant  maturity.  Every  age  is  however  dis- 
posed to  rest  satisfied  with  its  own  attainments ; 
and  this  is  at  once  the  effect  and  the  cause  of  ig- 
norance. 

What  particular  historian  among  the  ancients 
he  had  selected  as  his  model,  is  a  question  which 


290 

some  learned  men  have  not  been  able  to  deter- 
mine. Rapin  the  Jesuit  represents  him  as  a  servr 
ile  imitator  of  Livy  ;x  but  this  servile  imitation 
is  very  far  from  being  evident  to  more  candid  and 
intelligent  arbiters.  It  was  an  opinion  of  the  ce- 
lebrated Andrew  Fletcher  that  his  diction  bears 
a  nearer  resemblance  to  that  of  Caesar.y  Bu- 
chanan, says  Le  Clerc,  has  united  the  brevity  of 
Sal  lust  with  the  elegance  and  terseness  of  Livy  ; 
for  those  are  the  two  authors  whom  he  proposed 
chiefly  to  imitate  ;  as  they  who  have  perused 
them  with  attention,  will  easily  recognize  when 
they  come  to  read  the  Scotish  historian.2  These 
various  assertions  are  manifestly  irreconcilable 
with  each  other  ;  nor  do  they  serve  to  evince 
that  Buchanan  has  selected  any  particular  model, 
but  rather  that  he  has  singly  rivalled  the  charac- 
teristic excellencies  of  several  historians  of  the 
greatest  name.  The  style  of  his  history  is  not 
a  borrowed  style  :  he  had  formed  his  diction  by 
a  long  familiarity  with  the  best  writers  of  an- 
tiquity ;  and  his  manly  and  delicate  taste  en- 
abled him  to  exhibit  an  admirable  model  of  his 
own.  It  is  not  his  chief  praise  that  he  writes 
like  a  diligent  imitator  of  the  ancients,  but  that; 
he  writes  as  if  he  himself  were  one  of  the  an- 
cients. 

*  Papin,  Reflexions  sur  l'Histoire,  p.  252. 

*  Ruddimanni  pra;f.  in  Buchananum,  p.  x. 

a  Le  Clerc,  Bibliotheque  Choisie,  torn,  viii,  p.  174. 


291 

The  motives  which  impel  men  to  arduous  un- 
dertakings, are  generally  scrutinized  with  per- 
haps too  much  nicety.  In  his  dedication,  Bu- 
chanan has  sufficiently  revealed  the  motives 
which  induced  him  to  write  the  history  of  his 
native  country :  but  some  of  his  enemies  per- 
suade themselves  that  they  have  discovered  an- 
other powerful  motive,  which  he  has  excluded 
from  his  enumeration.  The  earl  of  Murray, 
they  imagine,  had  formed  a  secret  plan  of  usurp- 
ing the  crown  ;  and  the  sole  or  at  least  the  prin- 
cipal object  of  that  history  was,  to  prepare  the 
nation  for  receiving  him  as  their  legitimate  mon- 
arch. That  Murray  ever  entertained  such  a 
project,  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  mere  fiction  ;a  nor 
must  it  be  forgotten  that  he  died  twelve  years 
before  the  history  was  published.  If  such  there- 
fore was  the  ambition  of  the  one,  and  the  obse- 
quiousness of  the  other,  they  might  certainly 
have  embraced  a  more  direct  method  of  accom- 
plishing their  purpose.  Buchanan  is  accused  of 
having  frequently  employed,  in   his  account  of 

a  "  Nam  demus,"  says  the  impartial  Thuanus,  "  quod  ab  diversa  tra- 
dentibus  jactatur,  Moravium  ambitione  ardentem  scelerate  regnum  ap- 
petiisse:  quod  tamen  constanter  negant  omnes  fide  digni  Scoti,  quoscun- 
que  mihi  alloqui  contigit ;  etiam  ii  quibus  alioqui  Moravius  ob  religiooit 
tausam  summe  invisus  erat ;  nam  virum  fuisse  aiebant  extra  religionis 
causam  ab  omni  ambitione,  avaritia,  et  in  quenquam  injuria  alienum ; 
•virtute,  comitate,  beneficentia,  vitaeque  innocentia  praestantem  ;  et  qui  nisi 
fuisset,  eos  qui  taptopere  mortaum  exagitant,  hodie  minime  rerum  poti- 
turos  fuisse."  (Camdem  Eputola ,  p.  73.)  Thuanus,  it  will  be  recollected, 
was  himself  a  Catholic 

T  2 


292 

the  regal  succession,  such  terms  as  insinuate  po- 
pular election,  rather  than  hereditary  right ;  w.th 
the  oblique  view  of  reminding  the  nation  of  its 
inherent  power  to  elevate  the  good  regent  to  the 
permanent  dignity  of  a  king.  But,  unfortunate- 
ly for  this  hypothesis,  the  very  same  phrases  had 
been  adopted  by  his  predecessor  Boyce,  and  even 
by  Lesley,  the  faithful  adherent  of  the  exiled 
queen.  This  conduct  is  in  Lesley  ascribed  to 
accident,  but  in  Buchanan  to  treasonable  inten- 
tions :b  and  it  is  according  to  the  same  variable 
standard,  that  the  actions  of  the  latter  have  ge- 
nerally been  estimated  by  his  malignant  censors. 
The  reason  of  such  phrases  being  adopted  by 
those  authors  is  simple  and  obvious.  Although 
they  had  undertaken  to  unfold  the  progress  of  a 
hereditary  monarchy,  yet  they  had  formed  their 
style  by  a  long  and  careful  perusal  of  the  histori- 
ans of  an  ancient  republic.  To  the  succession 
of  the  Scotish  kings  they  applied  the  phrases  by 
which  Livy  had  described  the  succession  of  the 
Roman  consuls.  This  practice  of  accommodat- 
ing classical  terms  to  modern  subjects  which 
they  only  explain  by  a  faint  analogy,  is  notori- 
ous to  every  man  of  learning;  and  by  some  his- 
torians, particularly  by  Bembus,  it  has  been  car- 
ried to  a  ridiculous  excess. 

b  "  The  other  (Lesly)  inconsiderately,  and  contrary  to  hi*  own  principle, 
following  his  leader  Boece,  sometimes  stumbles  en  that  phrase."  (Ruddi* 
man's  Answer  to  Ltgan,  p.  71.) 


293 

As  Buchanan  is  supposed  to  have  commenced 
his  great  undertaking  from  motives  of  treason, 
so  he  is  charitably  represented  as  having  termin- 
ated it  from  motives  of  revenge.  "  His  history," 
it  has  been  remarked,  "  comes  no  farther  than 
the  end  of  the  year  1572,  in  which  the  earl  of 
Lenox  was  slain  ;  and  though  he  lived  ten  years 
after,  yet,  because  he  hated  (as  Sir  .James  Mel- 
vil  informs  us)  the  earl  of  Morton,  he  would  not 
continue  the  history  through  his  regency  ."c  To 
some  men,  the  motives  of  the  living  and  of  the 
dead  are  wonderfully  transparent.  To  dislike 
the  earl  of  Morton  was  certainly  no  crime ; 
for,  according  to  Melvil's  own  account,  he  was 
haughty,  avaricious,  and  cruel.  Buchanan  how- 
ever has  frequently  mentioned  him  in  his  history, 
without  any  invidious  insinuations;  and  this  cir- 
cumstance, if  he  actually  hated  him,  must  at 
least  be  regarded  as  a  strong  proof  of  his  mag- 
nanimity.'1    But  it  was  not  sufficient  to  remark 

c  Ruddiman's  Answer  to  Logan,  p.  80. 

d  "  He  was  also  religious,"  says  Sir  James  Melvil,  ■  but  was  easilj 
abused,  and  so  facile,  that  he  was  led  by  every  company  that  he  haunted, 
which  made  him  factious  in  his  old  days,  for  he  spoke  and  wrote  as  those 
who  were  about  him  informed  him  :  for  he  was  become  careless,  follow- 
ing in  many  things  the  vulgar  opinion :  for  he  was  naturally  popular, 
and  extreamly  revengeful  against  any  man  who  had  offended  him,  which  - 
was  his  greatest  fault.  For  he  did  write  despightful  invectives  against 
the  earl  of  Monteeth,  for  some  particulars  that  were  ben  een  him  and 
the  laird  of  Buchuanan.  He  became  the  earl  of  Mortoun's  great  enemy 
for  that  a  nagg  of  his  chanced  to  be  taken  from  his  servant  during  the 
civil  troubles,  and  was  bought  by  the  regent,  who  had  no  will  to  par 
with  the  said  horse,  he  was  so '  sure'  footed  and  so  easie,  th.it  albeit  Mr, 

T  3 


294 

that  he  survived  the  earl  of  Lennox  ten  years ; 
it  ought  likewise  to  have  been  ascertained,  whe- 
ther he  desisted  from  his  task  ten  years  before 
his  own  decease/  Human  actions  were  never 
estimated  in  a  more  perverse  manner  ;  for  the 
completion  of  his  history,  and  the  termination  of 
his  life,  arrived  about  the  very  same  crisis. 

In  the  month  of  September,  some  of  his  learn- 
ed friends,  namely  Andrew  Melvin,  James  Mel- 
vin,  and  his  own  cousin  Thomas  Buchanan,  pro- 
vost of  the  collegiate  church  of  'Kirkhaugh,  hav- 

George  had  oft-times  required  him  again,  he  could  not  get  him.  And 
therefore,  though  he  had  been  the  regent's  great  friend  before,  he  be- 
came his  mortal  enemy,  and  from  that  time  forth  spoke  evil  of  him  in  all 
places,  and  at  all  occasions."  (  Memoir  et,  p.  125.)  Here  Melvil  must 
have  written  ■  as  those  who  were  about  him  informed  him ;"  nor  must 
it  be  forgotten  that  his  politics  were  in  direct  opposition  to  those  of  Bu» 
chanan.  The  best  refutation  of  these  assertions  is  that  Buchanan's  his- 
tory, which  was  published  after  the  earl's  execution,  contains  not  a  single 
insinuation  to  his  prejudice  r  on  the  contrary,  he  is  repeatedly  mentioned 
in-  very  respectful  terms ;  for  it  was  not  till  after  he  became  regent,  that 
his  conduct  was  so  obnoxious. 

Nisbet's  story  of  Buchanan's  enmity  towards  William  Earl  Marischal 
is  of  a  similar  complexion.  "  Buchanan  being  by  the  earl  refused  the 
purchase  of  a  piece  of  land,  said  to  have  of  old  belonged  to  some  of  his 
relations,  as  is  vulgarly  reported  in  the  family,  threatened  revenge,  which 
he  seems  to  have  performed  by  his  profound  silence  through  all  his  his- 
tory of  this  noble  family,  and  their  heroic  actions."  (System  of  Heraldry, 
vol.  ii,  app.  p.  7.)  In  his  history,  Buchanan  has  frequently  mentioned 
the  noble  family  of  Keith. 

e  "  Accessit  eo  historic  scribendx  labor,"  said  Buchanan  on  die  ninth 
of  November  1579,  "  in  astate  Integra  permolestus,  nunc  vero  in  hac  me- 
ditatione  mortis,  inter  mortahtatis  metum,  et  desinendi  pudorem,  non  pot- 
est non  lentus  esse  et  ingratus,  quando  nee  cessare  licet,  nee  progred: 
lubet."  {Epittola,  p.  25.)  He  was  then  in  the  seventy-fourth  year,  of 
hh  age. 


295 

ihg  heard  that  the  work  was  in  the  press  and 
the  author  indisposed,. hastened  tj  Edinburgh  to 
pay  him  a  final  visit.     James,  who  was  the  ne- 
phew of  Andrew  Melvin,  and  professor  of  divini- 
ty at  St  Andrews,  has  in  simple  terms  recorded 
the  principal  circumstances  which  occurred  dur- 
ing their  interview.     Upon  entering  his  apart- 
ment, they  found  the  greatest  genius  of  the  agef 
employed  in  the  humble  though  benevolent  task 
of  teaching  the  horn-book  to  a  young  man  in  his 
service.     After  the  usual  salutations,  "  I  perceive, 
Sir,"  said  Andrew  Melvin,  "  you  are  not  idle." 
"  Better  this,"  replied  Buchanan,  "  than  stealing 
sheep,  or  sitting  idle,  which  is  as  bad."    He  after- 
wards shewed  them   his  dedication   to  the  young 
king ;  and  Melvin  having  perused  it,  remarked 
that  it  seemed  in  some  passages  obscure,  and  re- 
quired  certain    words   to    complete   the   sense. 
"  I  can  do  nothing  more,"  said  Buchanan,  "  for 
thinking  of  another  matter."     "  What  is  that  ?" 
rejoined  Melvin. — u  To  die.     But  I  leave  that, 
and  many  other  things  to  your  care."     Melvin 
likewise  alluded  to  the   publication  of  Black- 
Wood's  answer  to  his  treatise  De  Jure  Regni  apud 
Scotos.     These  visitors  afterwards  proceeded  to 
Arbuthnot's   printing-office,   to  inspect  a  work 
which  had  excited  such  high  expectation.    They 

t  Salmasius  has  characterized  Buchanan  a»  "  summum  atatis  sua 
virum."  {Ephtola  ad  Menagium,  p.  54.)  Heinsius,  who  differed  so  wide* 
ly  from  Salmasius  on  other  subjects,  denominates  him  "  virum  tuo  s»«ulo 
jnajorem."     ^Burmanni  Syllog*  EfitUlamm,  torn,  ii,  p.  451.) 


found  the  impression  had  proceeded  as  far  as  the 
passage  relative  to  the  interment  of  David  Riz- 
zio  ;  and  being  alarmed  at  the  unguarded  bold- 
ness with  which  the  historian  had  there  express- 
ed himself,  ihey  requested  the  printer  to  desist. 
Having  returned  to  Buchanan's  house,  they 
found  him  in  bed.  In  answer  to  their  friendly 
enquiries,  he  informed  them  that  he  was  "  even 
going  the  way  of  welfare."  His  kinsman  then 
proceeded  to  state  their  apprehensions  respecting 
the  consequence  of  publishing  so  unpalatable  a 
story ;  and  to  suggest  the  probability  of  its  in- 
ducing the  king  to  prohibit  the  entire  work. 
"  Tell  me,  man,"  said  Buchanan,  "  if  1  have  told 
the  truth."  "  Yes  Sir,"  replied  his  cousin,  "  J 
think  so."  "  Then,"  rejoined  the  dying  historian, 
"  I  will  abide  his  feud,  and  all  his  kin's.  Pray 
to  God  for  me,  and  let  him  direct  all."  And  so, 
subjoins  the  original  narrative,  "  by  the  printing 
of  his  chronicle  was  ended,  that  most  learned, 
wise,  and  godly  man  ended  this  mortal  life."s 

Such  is  the  substance,  and  nearly  the  form,  of 
James  Melvin's  relation ;  which  is  sufficiently 
probable  in  itself,   and  is  sanctioned  by  the  au- 

t  Man's  Censure  of  Ruddiman,  p.  53.  Laing's  Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol. 
ii,  p.  137.— It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  entire  work  of  James  Melvin, 
his  memoirs  of  his  own  life,  has  not  yet  been  printed.  Another  curious 
relique,  the  life  of  Sir  Robert  Sibbald,  was  in  the  possession  of  the  late 
Mr.  Boswell ;  who  considered  it  as  "  the  most  natural  and  candid  ac- 
count of  himself  that  ever  wa3  given  by  any  man."  {Life  ofjobnton, 
vol.  iii,  p.  246.)  David  Buchanan's  catalogue  of  Scotish  writers,  though 
composed  in  Latin,  might  be  associated  in  the  same  volume  with  these  two 
production!* 


297 

thority  of  a  clergyman  and  professor  of  theology. 
It  furnishes  a  complete  refutation  of  a  ridiculous 
tale  told  by  Camden,  that,  upon  the  approach 
of  death,  Buchanan  testified  the  utmost  com- 
punction for  havingwielded  his  pen  against  Queen 
Mary.h   This  tale  could  indeed  have  been  explod- 

*  Camdeni  Annales,  vol.  i,  p.  130,  edit.  Hearnii. — The  story  of  Bu- 
chanan's repentance  is  repeated  by  Strada,  De  Bella  Belgico,  dec.  ii,  lib. 
viii,  p.  481,  and  by  Dr.  Robert  Johnston,  Return  Britannicarum  Hutorij, 
p.  81.  Amst.  1655,  fol.  Strada,  with  more  than  Jesuitical  impudence, 
asserts  that  he  was  "  partim  spe  inductus  a  Moravio,  si  hie  regnum  poti- 
retur,  se  in  Scoriae  patriarcham  assumendum ;"  that  he  hoped  to  be  re- 
warded with  the  archbishopric  of  St.  Andrews.  To  the  vague  report 
of  Camden,  Mr.  Sage  added  an  old  woman's  tale  which  sufficiently  con- 
futes itself.  His  letter  is  appended  to  Bishop  Gillan's  Lift  of  the  Reverend 
and  Learned  Mr.  John  Sage,  p.  70.  Lond.  1714,  8vo.  See  also  Hearne's 
preface  to  Camden,  p.  cv,  Love's  Vindication  of  Buchanan,  p.  18,  and 
JLaing's  Hist,  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii,  p.  139. 

Thuanus  has  related  an  anecdote  which  must  not  here  be  entirely 
overlooked.  "  Cum  autem  morti  proximus  esset  Buchananus,  a  rege 
alumno  rogatus,  ut  quae  de  Maria  parente  nimis  libere  scripserat  revoca- 
ret,  et  infamiam  ejus  nomini  scriptis  suis  inustam  insigni  aliquo  testimc- 
nio  elueret,  nihil  aliud  respondit,  quam  brevi  fore  ut  ipsius  desiderio 
abunde  satisfieret.  Repetitis  dein  vicibus  per  fidos  eadem  de  re  interpel- 
latus,  hoc  postremo  responso  regi  satisfecit :  se,  quae  ex  animi  sententia 
vere  scripserat,  revocare  quidem  non  posse ;  ceterum,  ubi  exspiraverit,  in 
regis  potestate  futurum,  ut  de  scriptis  illius  pro  arbitrio  suo  statueret : 
tantum  quid  in  ea  re  acturus  esset,  pro  prudentia  sua,  ante  mature  con- 
suleret  ■  sciretque  reges  cum  soluta  potestate  a  Deo  constitutes  nihil  non 
posse  ;  sed  veritatem,  quae  a  Deo  vires  sumit,  quantum  Deus  hominibus 
major  est,  tantum  potentia  adversus  reges  ipsos  pra;pollere."  (Hiit.  iui 
'femporis,  torn,  iv,  p.  100.  Var.  Led.)  It  is  no  refutation  of  Thuanus, 
to  urge  that  more  than  a  month  previous  to  Buchanan's  death,  the 
king  had  been  seized  by  the  earl  of  Gowrie  and  his  accomplices.  He 
was  seized  on  the  twenty-third  of  August ;  and  it  may  certainly  be  af- 
firmed that  before  that  period  Buchanan  was  morti  frexhnui.  Nor  is  it 
difficult  to  suppose  that  even  after  his  forcible  detention,  the  king  might 
intrust  repeated  messages  to  some  of  his  faithful  adherents. 


298 

ed  without  the  aid  of  such  a  document ;  for  the 
dedication  of  his  history,  in  which  he  certainly 
retracts  none  of  his  former  opinions,  is  dated  on- 
ly thirty  days  prior  to  his  decease.  Camden  was 
undoubtedly  a  man  of  virtue ;  and  although  his 
Latinity  is  somewhat  barbarous,  he  was  possessed 
of  no  contemptible  share  of  learning.  But  he 
wrote  under  the  immediate  control  of  King 
James;  who  was  extremely  anxious  to  prejudice 
his  mind  against  the  character  of  an  historian, 
who  bad  treated  that  of  his  royal  mother  with  so 
little  ceremony.  .  Casaubon  and  he  were  employ- 
ed by  his  majesty  in  transmitting  various  coun- 
terstatements  to  Thuanus ;  but  this  impartial  fo- 
reigner preferred  the  authority  of  Buchanan  to 
that  of  the  learned  monarch.'  Thuanus  was  one 
of  the  most  valuable  characters  whom  the  world 
has  yet  beheld.  His  testimony  in  favour  of  the 
Scotish  historian  was  uniform ;  nor  ought  it  to  be 
overlooked  by  those  who  prefer  truth  to  sophist- 
ry. If  Buchanan  had  asserted  what  he  knew  to 
be  false,  it  would  be  charitable  to  suppose  his 

i  A  curious  collection  of  papers,  "  De  Thuani  Historic  Successu  apud 
Jacobum  I.  Magnae  Britannise  Regem,"  may  be  found  in  Buckley's  no- 
ble edition  of  the  works  of  Thuanus,  torn.  vii. — "  Rem,"  says  Thuanus 
to  Camden,  "  ut  ex  Scotorum  qui  interfuerant  sermombus  didici,  ita  li- 
teris  mandavi;  et  ad  eorum  fidem  scripta  a  Buchanano  expendi.  De 
csetero,  nigrum  in  candidum  in  cujusquam  gratiam  convertere,  neque 
animus  ab  initio  fuit,  neque  nunc  esse  debuit."  (Camdeni  Eputola,  p. 
74.)  From  this  passage,  as  «  ell  as  from  various  others  which  might  be 
produced,  it  evidently  appears  that  the  illustrious  historian  had  duly  ap- 
pretiated  the  communications  of  Casaubon  and  Camden. 


299 

subsequent  repentance ;  but  the  simple  and  au- 
thentic narrative  of  Melvin  leaves  no  room  for 
suppositions. 

Buchanan  expired  a  short  while  after  five 
o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  Friday  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  September  1582.k  He  was  then  in  the 
seventy-seventh  year  of  his  age.  His  remains 
were  interred  in  the  cemetery  of  the  Grey-friars ;' 
and  his  ungrateful  country  never  afforded  his 
grave  the  common  tribute  of  a  monumental 
stone.m    After  an  interval  of  some  years,  his  tomb 

k  "  Obiit  Edinburgh  paulo  post  horam  quintam  matutinam,  die  Veneris 
28  Septembris."  "  Die  Veneris"  Mr.  Chalmers  has  with  his  wonted  feli- 
city translated,  on  Saturday.  The  same  writer  affirms  that  he  died  in 
the  seventv-sixth  year  of  his  age.  He  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six 
years  and  nearly  eight  months. 

1  "  I  was  told,"  says  Dr.  Mackenzie,  "  by  the  Right  Honourable  the 
Earl  of  Cromarty,  who  died  in  the  83  year  of  his  age,  who  had  it 
from  hjs  grandfather  the  Lord  Invertyle,  one  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  scholars, 
being  brought  up  with  the  young  prince  King  James  the  VI.  that  when 
Buchanan  was  dying,  he  called  for  Mr  Young  his  servant,  and  asked 
him  how  much  money  he  had  of  his,  and  finding  that  it  was  not  suffi- 
cient for  defraying  the  charges  of  his  burial,  he  commanded  him  to  dis- 
tribute it  amongst  the  poor.  Upon  which  Mr.  Young  asking,  who  then 
would  be  at  the  charges  of  burying  him  ?  he  answered  that  he  was  very 
indifferent  about  that,  for  if  he  was  once  dead,  if  they  would  not  bury 
him,  they  might  let  him  lye  where  he  was,  or  throw  his  corps  where 
they  pleased;  And  that  accordingly  the  city  of  Edinburgh  was  obliged 
to  bury  him  upon  their  own  expences."  (Lives  of  Scats  Writers,  vol  iii, 
p.  172.)  The  two  anecdotes  introduced  above,  p.  J  69,  Dr.  Mackenzie 
has  stated  on  the  same  authority :  but  the  vile  use  which  he  makes  of 
printed  books,  renders  his  credit  extremely  dubious. 

m  The  author  of  the  "  Ne*w  Anecdotes"  has  bestowed  heavy  castiga- 
tion  on  Mr.  Thomson  Callender  for  asserting  that  Buchanan's  grave  wa* 
never  distinguished  by  a  tomb-tone.  (Miscellanies,  p  252.)  "  Yet," 
be  remarks,  "  is  this  positive  assertion,  of  confident  ignorance,  contra- 


300 

was  opened;  and  his  skull,  or  at  least  a  skull  sup- 
posed to  be  his,  was,  by  the  intervention  of 
Principal  Adamson,   deposited  in  the  library  of 

dieted  by  the  following  record  :  '  At  Edinburgh,  the  3d  day  of  Decem- 
ber 1701;  the  same  day  the  council  being  informed,  that  the  through 
stone  [tomb-stone]  of  the  deceast  George  Buchanan  lyes  sunk  under  the 
ground  of  the  Grey-friars:  therefore,  they  appoint  the  chamberlain  to 
raise  the  same,  and  clear  the  inscription  thereupon  ;  so  as  the  same  may 
be  legible."  The  inscription,  which  was  thus  restored  to  the  eye  of  the 
passenger,  by  the  piety  of  Edinburgh,  was  written  by  John  Adamsone. 
From  these  facts,  we  may  learn,  what  an  easy  task  it  is  to  write  me- 
moirs, without  research ;  to  praise,  without  knowledge ;  and  to  censure, 
without  proof."  (Chalmers,  p.  349.)  The  record  certainly  proves  that 
the  town-council  had  been  assured  of  the  existence  of  such  a  stone  ;  but, 
like  other  councils,  it  may  often  have  been  assured  of  what  is  absolutely 
false.  The  supposed  tomb-stone,  being  sunk  under  ground,  was  confess- 
edly invisible.  Adamson's  epigram,  which  is  not  of  the  monumental 
kind,  most  unfortunately  evinces  that  Buchanan's  tomb  was  totally  unde- 
rrated by  the  art  of  the  sculptor. 

Marmoreae  cur  stant  hie  omni  ex  parte  column*, 
Signaque  ab  artificum  dasdala  facta  manu  ? 

Ut  spectent  oculis  monumenta  insignia  vivi, 
Per  qua?  defunctis  concilietur  honos. 

Talia  nonne  etiam  debet  Buchananus  habere, 
Doctius  aut  melius  quo  nihil  orbis  habet  ? 

Gloriolas  vivus  qui  contemnebat  inanes, 
An  cupiet  divus  se  decorent  lapides  ? 

lllis  fas  pulchro  nomen  debere  sepulchro, 
Qui  nil  quo  melius  nobilitentur  habent. 

Per  te  olim  tellus  est  nobilitata  Britanna, 
Et  decus  es  tumulo  jam,  Buchanane,  tuo. 
For  this  epigram  Mr.  Chalmers  refers  to  Sir  Robert  Sibbald's  comment- 
ary, p.  61  ;  where  it  is  thus  introduced :  "  Joannes  Adamsonus  Ue  (u- 
fj'ttio  Georgii  Bmbanani  tumulo  in   coemeterio  Edincnsi,  multorum  aliorum 
marmoreis  monumentis  affabre   exstructis  septo  et  circundato,   cecinit." 
This  will  serve  as  one  specimen  of  Mr.  Chalmers's  scholarship ;  five  hund- 
red more  might  very  easily  be  produced. 
Ninian  Paterwn,  who  flourished  at  a  later  period  than  Adamson,  ha* 


301 

the  university  of  Edinburgh.     It  is  so  thin  as  to 
be  transparent." 

The  death  of  this  illustrious  man  was  less  com- 
memorated by  the  surviving  poets  than  might 
reasonably  have  been  expected.  Some  poetical 
tributes  were  however  produced  on  the  occasion. 
Andrew  Melvin,  who  had  frequently  celebrated 
him  while  alive,  did  not  fail  to  discharge  the  last 
debt  of  lettered  friendship. 

Ergo  silent  magni  Buchanani  in  funere  Musae  ? 

Nee  vatem  Aonidum  flet  pia  turba  suum  ? 
An  secum  Buehananus  habet  niontem,  unde  Camoenae 

Devolvunt  moestis  murmura  trunca  modis  ? 
An  secum  Buehananus  habet  fontem,  unde  poetse 

Pieriis  poti  collachrymantur  aquis  ? 
Aonio  frustra  quoeruntur  vertice  Musk  : 

Castalio  frustra  e  fonte  petuntur  aquae. 
Pro  monte  est  ccelum,  pro  fonte  est  Christus :  uttumque 

E.  Christum  et  caelum  nunc  Buehananus  habet. 
Hau^isti  hire  sacros  latices,  divine  poeta  : 

Fudisti  hinc  sumrrto  carmina  digna  Deo. 
Hauriat  hinc  quisquis  Buchanani  in  funere  moertt, 

Ut  vatum  fundat  carmina  digna  deo.° 

repeatedly  upbraided  the  native  country  of  Buchanan  with  neglecting  tfc 
testify  its  gratitude  by  the  erection  of  a  funeral  monument. 
Quern  mihi  tu  tumulum  patria  (O  ingrata)  negasti, 

In  terra  inque  polo  famaque  mensque  dedit. 
Arcta  meis  titulis  tellus  fuit,  itur  ad  astra, 

Spreta  chelys  superi  jam  decus  una  chori. 
Qui  parit  egregium  patriae  post  saecula  nomen, 
Huic  datur  aeternum  non  potuisse  mori. 

Patersoni  Epigrammata,  p.  66.  Edinb.  1678,8TB. 
n  Sibbaldi  Comment,  in  Vitam  Buchanani,  p.  62. 
0  Melvini  Musx,  p.  6.    Sine  too,  1620,  4to. 


302 

Joseph  Scaliger  has  also  written  his  epitaph,  and 
in  terms  of  liberal  and  appropriate  praise. 

Postquam  laude  tua  patriam,  meritisque  beasti, 

Buchanane,  tuis  Solis  utrumque  latus, 
Contemptis  opibus,  sprctis  popularibus  auris, 

Ventosaeque  fugax  ambitionis,  obis  j 
Praeraia  quina  quater  Pisaeae  functus  olivae, 

Et  linquens  animi  pignora  rara  tui : 
In  quibus  haud  tibi  se  anteferent  quos  Itala  vatcs 

Terra  dedit :  nee  quos  Gallia  mater  alit, 
JEquabunt  genium  felicis  carminis,  et  quae 

Orbis  habet  famae  conscia  signa  tuae. 
Namque  ad  supremum  perducta  poetica  culmen 

In  te  stat,  nee  quo  progrediatur  habet. 
Imperii  fuerat  Romani  Scotia  limes : 

Romani  eloquii  Scotia  finis  erit.p 

Buchanan  had  consecrated  a  monument  of  his 
own  fame,  composed  of  materials  more  perman- 
ent than  brass  or  marble;  but  his  country  has 
at  length  afforded  him  one  of  those  memorials 
which  are  of  least  value  when  most  merited,  and 
which  contribute  more  to  the  honour  of  the  liv- 
ing than  of  the  dead.  An  obelisk,  nineteen  feet 
square  at  the  base,  and  extending  to  the  height 
of  one  hundred  and  three  feet,  was  lately  erected 
to  his  memory  at  the  village  of  Killearn.  The 
plan  was  suggested  by  the  late  Robert  Dunmore, 
Esq.  to  a  very  numerous  company  assembled  in 
the  house  of  a  gentleman  in  that  vicinity.  Pro- 
fessor Richardson,  well  known  as    a  successful 

*  Jo».  Scaligeri  Opuscula,  p.  286.     Paris.  1610,  4to. 


803 

cultivator  of  polite  literature,  was  present  on  the 
occasion.  A  subscription  was  immediately  open- 
ed, and  nearly  completed,  by  those  classical 
guests ;  and  one  of  their  number,  the  late  Mr, 
Craig,  a  nephew  of  Thomson,  furnished  the  ar- 
chitectural design  as  his  contribution^  To  this 
memorial  of  departed  genius  the  intelligent  tra- 
veller resorts  with  veneration  and  enthusiasm. 

Buchanan  had  experienced  many  of  the  vi- 
cissitudes of  human  life,  and,  in  every  situa- 
tion, had  adhered  to  those  maxims  of  conduct 
which  he  deemed  honourable.  His  integrity  was 
stern  and  inflexible :  what  has  been  regarded  as 
the  least  immaculate  part  of  his  character,  na- 
turally resulted  from  the  prominent  qualities  of  a 
mind  which  could  not  sufficiently  accommodate 
itself  to  the  frailties  of  mankind.  The  misdeeds 
of  the  ill-fated  queen  were,  in  his  opinion,  such 
as  dissolved  every  tie  by  which  he  might  once  be 
bound  :  her  conduct,  he  supposed,  had  not  only 
destroyed  her  hereditary  claims  of  allegiance,  but 
had  even  reflected  disgrace  and  infamy  on  human 
nature.  This  sentiment,  whatever  may  be  the 
legitimacy  of  its  origin,  was  certainly  entertain- 
ed by  Buchanan;  who  has  accordingly  vented 
his  unbounded  indignation  in  terms  which  can- 
not otherwise  be  justified.  But  the  age  in  which 
he  lived  was  rude  and  boisterous;  nor  did  the  ex- 
quisite cultivation  of  his  mind  entirely  defend  him 

*  Richardwn'i  Foems  and  Playi,  vol.  i,  p.  126. 


$04 

from  the  general  contagion.     He  was  subject  to 
the  nice  and  irritable  feelings  which  frequently 
att  -id  exalted  genius;  enthusiastic  in  his  attach- 
ment, and   violent  in   his  resentment;  equally 
sincere  in  his  love  and  in  his  hatred.    His  friends, 
among  whom  he  numbered  some  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished characters  of  that  sera,  regarded  him 
with  a  warmth  of  affection   which  intellectual 
eminence  cannot  alone  secure.     Of  an  open  and 
generous  disposition,   he  displayed  the  enviable 
q  ;  lities  which  render  domestic  intercourse  pro- 
fi  able  and  interesting.     The  general  voice  had 
a  warded  him  a  preeminence  in  literature  that 
seemed  to  preclude   all  hopes  of  rivalship :  but 
his  estimate  ot  his  own  attainments  was  uniformly 
consistent   with   perfect  modesty;  and  no  man 
Could  evince   himself  more   willing  to  acknow- 
ledge genuine  merit  in  other  candidates  for  fame. 
This  affability,  united  to  the  charms  of  a  brilliant 
Conversation,  rendered  his  society  highly  accept- 
able to  persons  of  the  most  opposite  denomina- 
tions.    His  countenance   was  stern  and  austere, 
but  his  heart  soft  and  humane.     In  hi^  writings, 
he  inculcates  the  principles  of  patriotism  and  be- 
nevolence, and  in  his  commerce  with  the  world, 
he  did  not  depart  from  his  solitary  speculations. 
His  patriotism  was  of  that  unadulterated  species 
which  flows  from  general  philanthropy  :  his  large 
soul  embraced  the  common  family  of  mankind, 
but  his  affections  taught  him  that  his  first  regards 


305 

were  due  to  the  barren  land  from  which  he  de- 
rived his  birth.  Notwithstanding  his  lorlg  ha- 
bituation to  an  academical  life,  his  manners  be 
trayed  none  of  the  peculiarities  of  a  mere  peda- 
gogue. During  his  latter  years,  when  his  con- 
stitution was  broken  by  complicated  diseases, 
and  his  mind  sick  of  terrestrial  objects,  he  be- 
came negligent  in  his  dress,  and  perhaps  some- 
what inattentive  to  the  ceremonials  of  private  in- 
tercourse ;  but  his  general  character  was  that  of 
a  man  conspicuous  for  the  urbanity  of  his  wit/ 
His  conversation  was  alternately  facetious  and 
instructive.  George  Buchanan's  wit  is  still  pro- 
verbial among  his  countrymen ;  and  a  motley 
collection  of  his  supposed  repartees  and  adven- 
tures is  one  of  the  most  common  books  in  the  li- 
braries of  the  Scotish  peasantry.  His  humour 
was  however  of  a  more  dignified  denomination 
than  it  is  there  represented ;  nature  seemed  to 
have  intended  him  for  the  ornament  and  reform - 

r  "  Albeit,  in  his  person,  behaviour,  and  fashion,  hee  was  rough- 
hewen,  slovenly,  and  rude,  seldome  caring  for  a  better  outside  than  « 
rugge-gowne  girt  close  about  him,  yet  his  inside  and  conceipt  in  poesie 
■was  most  riche,  and  his  sweetnesse  and  facilitie  in  a  verse  unimitably  ex- 
cellent." (Peacham's  Comfleat  Gentleman,  p.  91,  edit.  Lond.  1634,  4to.) 
**  Erat  austero  supercilio,"  says  David  Buchanan,  "  et  toto  corporis  habi- 
tu  (imo  moribus  hie  noster)  subagrestis;  sed  stylo  et  sermone  perurbanus, 
quum  ssepissime,  vel  in  seriis,  multo  cum  sale  jocaretur.  Denique  vir 
quern  mirari  facilius,  quam  digne  prsedicare  possis."  (De  Serif  tcrlbut  8*t- 
tis  Illustribus.  MS.  in  Bib.  Jurid.)  Both  these  writers  seem  t»  have  ex. 
pressed  themselves  in  too  unqualified  terms ;  and  their  observations,  as 
must  appear  in  the  course  of  thes«  page«>  could  hardly  apply  to  Badiar%k 
a»  in  his  better  days. 


SOQ 

ation  of  a  court.*  The  native  elegance  of  his 
mind,  and  the  splendour  of  his  reputation,  secur- 
ed him  the  utmost  respect  and  deference  from 
such  of  his  countrymen  as  were  not  separated 
from  him  by  the  rancour  of  political  zeal :  and 
although  he  even  assumed  considerable  latitude 
in  censuring  the  errors  of  exalted  station,  yet  the 
dignified  simplicity  of  his  manners  prevented  his 
liberties  from  exciting  resentment.  Conscious  of 
personal  worth  and  of  intrinsic  greatness,  he  did 
not  fail  to  assert  his  own  privileges :  mere  supe- 
riority of  rank  was  not  capable  of  alluring  him  to 
a  servile  and  degrading  attachment ;  but  it  was 
equally  incapable  of  provoking  his  envy  or  ma- 
lice. In  the  course  of  his  chequered  life,  he 
found  himself  not  unfrequently  exposed  to  the 
miseries  of  poverty;  but  his  philosophical  mind 
never  learned  to  stoop  to  the  suggestions  of  sord- 
id prudence.  Although  he  at  length  enjoyed 
one  of  the  great  offices  of  the  crown,  and  pos- 
sessed other  sources  of  emolument,  yet  his  liber- 
ality seems  to  have  encreased  in  proportion  to 
his  opulence  ;  he  purchased  no  estates,  and  had 
no  hoards  of  treasure  to  bequeath.  Of  his  pro- 
digality or  ostentation  no  evidence  occurs :    it 

*  "  Aiunt  Buchananum,"  says  Daniel  Heinsius,  "  virum  suo  satculo 
majorem  ...  ad  reginam  suam,  monstrum  illud  fceminse,  attulisse  quod 
inirari  satis  ip6a  nor.  posset.  Nam  cum  afftUaret  libertatem  quamdam  in 
censura  morum,  dilutbat  specie  simplicitatis  omnem  protinus  offensam. 
Ut  non  tantum  auke  natus  videretur,  sed  et  huic  emendand*."  (Bur- 
manni  Syllege  Efhhlarum,  totn.  ii,  p.  451.) 


307 

is  not  therefore  unreasonable  to  conclude  that  the 
principal  charms  of  his  wealth  arose  from  its  ap- 
plication to  benevolent  purposes.  Of  the  truth 
of  the  Christian  religion,  and  consequently  of  its 
eternal  moment,  his  conviction  seems  to  have 
been  complete  and  uniform.  Sir  James  Melvil, 
although  his  political  enemy,  has  candidly  re- 
presented him  as  a  man  of  piety.  The  nature  of 
his  attachment  to  the  reformation  was  consistent 
with  his  usual  wisdom:  he  eagerly  hailed  the 
dawn  of  an  sera  which  promised  to  relieve  the 
world  of  enormous  delusion,  and  of  enormous  pro- 
fligacy; but  he  certainly  could  not  approve  the 
excesses  of  a  party  which  evinced  sufficient  in- 
clination, as  soon  as  it  possessed  sufficient  power, 
to  tyrannize  over  the  consciences  of  mankind. 
The  extravagances  of  John  Knox,  with  whom  he 
appears  to  have  been  personally  acquainted,  and 
who  was  undoubtedly  a  most  powerful  champion 
in  a  cause  of  which  they  entertained  the  same 
general  sentiments,  have  received  no  splendid 
encomiums  from  the  historical  pen  of  Buchanan. 
He  was  too  delicate  to  devour  popular  creeds, 
and  too  enlightened  to  applaud  the  fierce  spirit 
of  intoleration  in  men  who  had  themselves  been 
roused  to  strenuous  action  by  the  bitterness  of 
persecution. 

Nor  was  the  genius  of  Buchanan  less  variegat- 
ed than  his  life.  In  his  numerous  writings,  he 
discovers  a  vigorous  and  mature  combination  of 

U2 


i508 

talents  which  have  seldom  been  found  united  in 
equal  perfection.  According  to  the  common 
opinion,  intellectual  superiority  is  almost  inva- 
riably circumscribed  by  one  of  the  two  grand 
partitions  which  philosophers  have  delineated;  it 
is  either  founded  on  the  predominancy  of  those 
capabilities  which  constitute  what  is  termed  the 
imagination,  or  of  those  which  in  contradistinc- 
tion are  denominated  the  understanding.  These 
different  powers  of  exertion,  though  certainly  not 
incompatible  with  each  other,  are  but  rarely 
found  to  coalesce  in  equal  maturity.  Buchanan 
has  however  displayed  them  in  the  same  high 
degree  of  perfection.  To  an  imagination  excurs- 
ive and  brilliant,  he  unites  an  undeviating  rec- 
titude of  judgment.  His  learning  was  at  once 
elegant,  various,  and  profound :  Turnebus,  who 
was  associated  with  him  in  the  same  college,  and 
whose  decisions  will  not  be  rashly  controverted, 
has  characterized  him  as  a  man  of  consummate 
erudition.  Most  of  the  ancient  writers  had  li- 
mited their  aspiring  hopes  to  one  department  of 
literature;  and  even  to  excel  in  one,  demands 
the  happy  perseverence  of  a  cultivated  genius. 
Plato  despaired  of  securing  a  reputation  by  his 
poetry  ;  the  poetical  attempts  of  Cicero,,  though 
less  contemptible  perhaps  than  they  are  com- 
monly represented,  would  not  have  been  suffi- 
cient to  transmit  an  illustrious  name  to  future 
ages.     Buchanan  has  not  only  attained  to  excel- 


309 

lence  in  each  species  of  composition,  but  in  each 
species  has  displayed  a  variety  of  excellence :  in 
philosophical  dialogue  and  historical  narrative, 
in  lyric  and  didactic  poetry,  in  elegy,  epigram, 
and  satire,  he  has  never  been  equalled  in  modern, 
and  hardly  surpassed  in  ancient  times.  A  few 
Roman  poets  of  the  purest  age  have  excelled 
him  in  their  several  provinces;  but  none  of  them 
has  evinced  the  same  capability  of  universal  at- 
tainment. Horace  and  Livy  wrote  in  the  lan- 
guage which  they  had  learned  from  their  mo- 
thers ;  but  its  very  acquisition  was  to  Buchanan 
the  result  of  much  youthful  labour.  Yet  he 
writes  with  the  purity,  the  elegance,  and  free- 
dom of  an  ancient  Roman.  Unfettered  by  the 
classical  restraints  which  shrivel  the  powers  of  an 
ordinary  mind,  he  expatiates  with  all  the  charac- 
teristic energy  of  strong  and  origi.!'.!  sentiment; 
he  produces  new  combinations  ot  fancy,  and  in- 
vests thern  with  language  equally  polished  and 
appropriate.  His  diction  uniformly  displays  a 
happy  vein  of  elegant  and  masculine  simplicity; 
and  is  distinguished  by  that  propriety  and  per- 
spicuity, which  can  only  be  attained  by  a  man 
perfectly  master  of  his  own  ideas,  and  of  the  lan- 
guage in  which  he  writes.  The  variety  of  his 
poetical  measures  is  immense,  and  to  each  spe- 
cies he  imparts  its  peculiar  grace  and  harmony. 
The  style  of  his  prose  exhibits  correspondent 
beauties ;  nor  is   it  chequered  by  phraseologies 

8  3 


310 

unsuitable  in  that  mode  of  composition.  Hi$ 
diction,  whether  in  prose  or  verse,  is  not  a  tissue 
of  centos ;  he  imitates  the  ancients  as  the  an- 
cients imitated  each  other.  No  Latin  poet  of 
modern  times  has  united  the  same  originality  and 
elegance;  no  historian  has  so  completely  imbibed 
the  genius  of  antiquity,  -without  being  betrayed 
into  servile  and  pedantic  imitation.  But  his 
works  may  legitimately  claim  a  higher  order  of 
merit ;  they  have  added  no  inconsiderable  influx 
to  the  general  stream  of  human  knowledge.  The 
wit,  the  pungency,  the  vehemence,  of  his  eccle- 
siastical satires,  must  have  tended  to  foment  the 
genial  flame  of  reformation ;  and  his  political  spe- 
culations are  evidently  those  of  a  man  who  had. 
nobly  soared  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  his  age, 


LIST  OF  PUBLICATIONS 


RELATINO    T» 


BUCHANAN. 


Adam  Blackwood.  Advcrsus  Georgii  Buchanani  Dialo- 
gum,  De  Jure  Regni  apud  Scotos,  pro  Regibus  Apologia. 
Pictavi%  1581,  4to.     Pp.  341. 

NlNIAN  WlKZET,  D.  D.  Velitatio  in  Georgium  Buchanan- 
um  circa  Dialogum  quem  scripsit  De  Jure  Regni  apud  Sco- 
tos. Printed  with  Winzet's  Flagellum  Sectarioram.  Ingol- 
stad.  1582,  4to. 

William  Barclay,  LL.  D.  De  Regno  et  Regali  Potestate 
ad  versus  Buchananum,  Brutum.  Boucherium,  et  reliquos 
Monarchomachos,  libri  sex.     Paris.  1600,  4to.     Pp.  542. 

George  Eglisham,  M.  D.  Poeticum  Duellum  :  seu  Geor- 
gii Eglisemmii  cum  Georgio  Buchanano  pro  Di^nitate  Pa- 
raphraseos  Psalmi  civ.  Certamen.     Lond.  1619,  8vo. 

Arthur  Johnston,  M.  D.  Hypermorus  Medicaster :  sive 
Consilium  Collegii  Medici  Parisiensis  de  Mania  G.  Egli- 
semmii.    Edinb.  1619. 

William  Barclay,  M.D.  Judicium  de  Certamine  G.  Eglis- 
emmii cum  G.   Buchanano.     Lond.    1620,  8vo.    Pp.  54. 

Sir  George  Mackenzie.  Jus  Regium:  or,  the  Just  and 
Solid  Foundations  of  Monarchy  in  general,  and  more  espe- 
cially of  the  Monarchy  of  Scotland)  maintain'd  against 
Buchannan,  Naphthali,  Dolman,  Milton,  &c.  Edinb.  1684, 
Svo.     Pp.  200. 


'6X2 

Sir  Robert  Sibbald,  M.  D.  Comment arius  in  Vitam 
Gcorgii  Buchanani,  ab  Ipsomet  scriptam.  Edinb.  1702, 
8vo.     Pp.  84. 

Thomas  Crawford.  Notes  and  Observations  on  Mr. 
George  Buchanan's  History  of  Scotland.  Edinb.  1708, 
8vo.     Pp.  187- 

John  Love.     Buchanan's  and  Johnston's   Paraphrase  of  the 
Psalms  compared.     Edinb.  1740,  8vo.     See  above,  p.  129. 
A  Vindication  of  Mr.  George  Buchanan.      Edinb.  17*9, 
Svo.     Pp.  93. 

William  Lauder,  A.  M.  Calumny  Displayed  :  or,  Pseudo- 
Philo-Buchananus  couch'd  of  a  Cataract.  Edinb.  1740, 
4 to.     Pp.  36.     See  above,  p.  129. 

William  Benson.  Esq.  A  Prefatory  Discourse  to  a  New 
Edition  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  translated  into  Latin  verse 
by  Dr.  Arthur  Johnston  :  to  which  is  added  a  Supplement, 
containing  a  Comparison  betwixt  Johnston  and  Buchanan. 
Lond.  1741,  8vo.     Pp.  119. 

James  Man,  A.  M.  A  Censure  and  Examination  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Ruddiman's  Philological  Notes  on  the  Works  of 
the  great  Buchanan.     Aberdeen,  1753,  12mo.     Pp.  574. 

Thomas  Ruddiman,  A.  M.  A  Vindication  of  Mr.  George 
Buchanan's  Paraphrase  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  from  the 
Objections  rais'd  against  it  by  William  Benson,  Esq.  Au- 
ditor in  Exchequer.     Edinb.  1745,  Svo.     Pp.  390. 

Animadvert  us  on  a  late  Pamphlet,  intituled,  A  Vindica- 
tion of  Mr.  George  Buchanan.  Edinb.  1749>  Svo.  Pp. 
110. 

jfnticrhh  :  or,  a  Discussion  of  a  scurrilous  and  malicious 
Libel,  published  by  one  Mr.  James  Man  of  AbertUen, 
Edinb.  1754,  8vo.     Pp.  226. 

Audi  alteram  partem  ;  or,  a  Further  Vindication  of  Mr. 
Tho.  Ruddiman's  Edition  of  the  great  Buchanan's  Works. 
Edinb.  17£6,  8vo.     Pp.  62. 

George  Chalmers,  Esq.  The  Life  of  Thomas  Ruddiman, 
A.  M.  to  which  are  subjoined  New  Anecdotes  of  Buchan- 
an.    Lond.  1794,  8vo.     Pp.  467. 


313 

Robert  Macfarlan,  A.  M.  George  Buchanan's  Dialogue 
concerning  the  Rights  of  the  Crown  of  Scotland  translated 
into  English  ;  with  two  Dissertations  prefixed ;  one  Arche- 
ological  inquiring  into  the  pretended  identity  of  the  Getes 
and  Scythians,  of  the  Getes  and  Goths,  and  of  the  Goths  and 
Scots  $  and  the  other  Historical  vindicating  the  character  of 
Buchanan  as  an  historian,  and  containing  some  specimens  of 
his  poetry  in  English  verse.    Lond.  1799,  8vo.    Pp.  205. 


INDEX. 


Adamson,  John,  300. 

Adamson,  Dr.  Patrick,  166. 

JEschylus,  35. 

D'Almada,  Manuel,  101. 

Alyarez,  103. 

Amatus  Lusitanus,   102. 

Antonius,  Nicolaus,  88. 

Apollinarius,  123. 

Aratus,  242. 

Arnisasus,  255. 

Ascham,  224. 

Augustinus,  Antonius,  100,  250. 

Augustus,  265. 

Auratus,  204,  214. 

Ausonius,  43. 


Bonadus,  45. 

Bonefonius,   152. 

Boscovich,  242. 

Bourbon,  Nicolas,  61,  IS  1. 

Boyce,  10,  261,  283. 

Brahe,  Tycho,  198. 

Brinon,  39. 

Brutus,  Joannes  Michael,  71. 

Buchanan,  David,  235,  296. 

Buchanan,  'William,  3. 

Budaeus,   13,  68. 

Bulasus,  1 1. 

Bulkeley,  Dr.  Edward,  227. 


B 

Bacon,  Lord,  230. 

Balduirus,  214. 

Bale,  24. 

Balfour,  Robert,  269. 

Balzac,  36. 

Barbarus,  Helmolaus,  272. 

Barbosa,  89. 

Barclay,  Will.  LL.D.  254. 

Barclay,  Will.  M.D.  124,  128. 

Bargagli,  Scipione,  39. 

B*udius,  58. 

Bedell,  131. 

Bellenden,  William,  227. 

Beilicarius,  44. 

Bembus,  152,  292. 

Bencius,  74. 

Benson,  William,  129,. 

Bentley,  38. 

Betuleius,  37. 

Beza,  150,  183,  234,  272. 

Bizzarus,  180. 

Blacklock,  86.' 

Blackwood,  268. 

Bochart,  256. 

Bodin,  69. 


Cabedius,  Antonius,  9,*?. 

Cabedius,  Michael,  92. 

Caslius  Khodiginus,  52. 

Caiadus,  Hermicus,  101. 

Calvin,  190,  191,  199,  234. 

Camden,  298. 

Camoens,  88. 

Canterus,  204. 

Cardan,  57,  265. 

Carmichael,  James,  178. 

Casaubon,  Isaac,  121,  29$. 

Casimir,   146. 

Castalio,  Joseph,  199. 

Castalio,  Sebastian,  189. 

Castellanus,  13. 

Castellanus  of  Louvain,  103. 

Castelvetro,  120. 

Chalmers,  George,    25,  69,    15S, 

175,246,263.299,300. 
Cheke,  227,  228,  229. 
Chrestien,  39,  205,  212. 
Chytneus,  Nathan,  120. 
Claudian,  243. 
Clusius,  214. 

Cockburn,  Alexander,  237. 
Cockburn,  Patrick,  117. 
Ccelius,  Georgius,  102, 


316 


Cooke,  Sir  Anthony,  228. 
Correa,  102. 
Craig,  Sir  Thomas,  254. 
Crawford,  Thomas,  312. 
Crucius,  102. 
Cujacius,  59,  67,  97. 


G 


Graverol,  Jean,  188. 
Grarina,  97. 
Grimoald,  Nicholas,  34. 
Groslot,  Jerome,  272. 
Grotius,  38,  195,  255. 
Gruchius,  41,  79,  141. 
Gualtherus,    196. 
Gyraldus,  51. 


Daniel,  Peter,  138.  211. 
Dempster,  17,  132. 
Digne,  Nicolas  le,  39. 
Donellus,  216. 
Dousa,  210,  220,  231. 
Dryden,  279. 
Dunbar,  William,  16. 
Duport,  123,  194. 


FgKsham,  124,  128. 

Ennius,  38. 

Erasmus,  38,    55,  92,    195,    216, 

253. 
Euripides,  30,  38. 


H 

Haddon,  101,  226. 
Hamilton,  Archibald,  2S5. 
Hay,  John,  195. 
Heinsius,  D.  34,  35,  50,  58. 
Hoelzlin,  123. 
Holland,  Lord,  114. 
Hope,  Sir  Thomas,  130. 
L'Hospital,  43,  113,  132,  140. 
Hotman,  251. 
Huet,  59. 

Hume,  Alexander,  276. 
Humphrey,  Dr.  Lawrence,  22$. 
Hunter,  Robert,  120. 
Hutcheson,  Gilbert,  260. 


Faber  Stapulensis,  77, 
Fabricius,  J.  A.   80. 
Ferrerius,  83. 
Finlater,  Alexander,  275. 
Forerius,  103. 
Fortescue,  Sir  John,  262. 
Fruterius,  6,  208. 


Garentaeut,  41,  79. 
Gatherer,  Bishop,  254. 
Geddes,  Dr.  Alexander,  255. 
Gelida,  76,  82. 
Germaricus,  242. 
Gesner,  Conrad,  84. 
Gifaniui,  201,  209. 
Goodall,  164. 

Govea,  Ant.  76,  95,  99,  i  87. 
«rast,  Dr.  Edward,  225,  226. 


Innes,  Thomas,  II. 

Irving,  Dr.  Christopher,  9,  10. 


James  VI.  167. 

Jamotius,  120. 

Jewel,  227. 

Johnson,  226,  279. 

Johnston,  Dr.  Arthur,  128,  ISO, 

132. 
Josephus,  265. 
Junius,  Hadrianus,  119, 


Kennedy,  Quintin,  135. 
King,    <dam,  241. 
Knox,  John,  234, 


317 


Laing,  Dr.  James,  24. 

Laing,  Malcolm,  286. 

Lambinus,  71,  202. 

Languet,  213,  252. 

Lascaris,  Janus,  145. 

Lauder,  124,  129. 

Lesley,  158,  286. 

Lhuyd,  282. 

Linacre,  15. 

Lippius,  Lanrentiui,  70. 

Lipsiut,  123. 

Little,  Ninian,  180,  276. 

Lobeira,  88. 

Locke,  263. 

Love,  120,  129. 

Lubiiius,  50. 

Lurbe,  Gabriel  de,  43. 

Luxembourg,  Jean  de,  30. 

Lycophron,  204. 


M 

Macfarlan,   313. 

Mackenzie,  Dr.  George,  299. 

Mackenzie,  Sir  George,  254. 

Macropedius,  37. 

Mair,  9,  261,264. 

Mait land,  earl  of  Lauderdale,  176. 

Maitland,  Lord,  176, 198. 

Maitland,  Sir  Richard,  176. 

Maitland,  Thomas,  176,  247. 

Man,  James,  276. 

Manilius,  242. 

Mare,  Philbert  de  la,  219. 

Margaret,  q.  of  Navarre,  152. 

Mariana,  252. 

Mary,  q.ofScotl.  114,  155. 

Maussac,  56. 

Melanchthon,  191. 

Melvin,  Andrew,  235,  294,  301. 

Melvin,  James,  296. 

Menage,  142,  144. 

Mesmes,  Henry  des,  140. 

Metellus,  Joannes,  250. 

Mickle,  88. 

Milton,  34,39,  153,  258,263. 

Monnoye,  73,  143,  144. 

Montagne,40. 

Montanus,  B.  A.  102. 


n 

Montaure",  139. 

Moralis,  Ignatius,  102. 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  26S, 

Morel,  136. 

Mornay,  182,  219. 

Muretus,  14,  41,  46,  69,  7©,  v*. 


N 

Nancelius,  95,  108. 
Nebrissensis,  89. 
Niceron,  271. 
Nonius,  Petrua,  105. 
Nonnus,  137. 


Oppian,  69k 

Osorius,  88,100,  251. 

Otterburn,  Sir  Adam,  20. 


Panormita,  lr,l. 
Passerat,  141. 
Patin,  Guy,  135. 
Peck,  Francis,  39. 
Perionius,  80,  95. 
Persius,  91. 
Petavius,  123. 
Philelphns,  15. 
Pimenta,  Manuel,  102. 
Pincier,  240t 
Pint  us,  Hector,  10:'. 
Pitcairne,  127. 
Pithctus,  Petrus,  208* 
Placcius,  50. 
Plato,  - 
Plautus,  2 1 3. 
Pole,  101, 
Pollux,  197. 
Pontanus,  151. 
Portus.^Emilius,  I 
Port  us,  h'ranuscus,  12tA 
Powell,  Dr.  David,  2»* 
Procopius,  7 1 . 
Pyrrhus,  Didacoi,  1*1  . 


318 


Ramsay,  William,  81. 
Ramus,  59,  69,  95,117. 
Randolph,  Sir  Thomas,  231. 
Reid,  John,  276. 
Reinesius,  92. 
Reseudius,  91. 
Richardson,  302. 
Rogers,  Daniel,  217,230,  249. 
Ronsard,  75,  207. 
Rousseau,  J.  J.  265. 
Ruddiman,  129. 
Ruhnkenius,  75. 
Rutgersius,  50. 
Rutherford,  John,  81. 


St.Gelais,  106. 

Ste.  Aldegonde,  220,  222. 

Salmasius,  36, 256. 

Sambucus,  214. 

Sanctius,  90. 

Sanderus,  97. 

Scaliger,  Josephus  Justus,  49,  58, 

212,302. 
Scaliger,  Julius  Caesar,  45. 
Schonseus,  33. 
Schottus,  79,  91. 
Scioppius,  50. 
Scrimger,  185. 
Secundus,  152. 
Serranus,  192. 
Servetus,  1 90. 
Severianus,  Julius, 210. 
Sibbald,  Sir  Robert,  296. 
Sidney,  Algernon,  263. 
Silvius,  Jacobus,  144. 
Simpson,  Andrew,  178. 
Smeton,  235. 

Smith,  Sir  Thomas,  161,227. 
Sophocles,  35. 
Southey,  88. 
Spotswood,  284. 
Statius,  Achilles,  102. 
Stephanus,  Garolus,  63. 
Stephanus,  Henricus,  37,63, 121. 
Sephanus,  Robertus,  63. 
Stewart,  Sir  Lewis,  255. 


Strangford,  Viscount,  88.     . 
Stuait,  Dr.  Gilbert,  61,  159. 
Sturmius,  223. 
Sylvius,  Michael,  102. 


Talacus,  Audomarus,  69. 

Talpin,  Jean,  83. 

Tevius,  45,  79,  98,  187. 

Textor,  Jo.  Ravisius,  152. 

Thuanus,  298. 

Turnebus,  43,59, 65, 75, 1 13, 152, 

187,  214. 
Turner,  Sir  James,  255. 
Twyne,  Thomas,  282. 


U 

Urban  VIII.  131. 
Usher,  256. 
Utenhovius,  136. 


Varro,  101. 
Vasconcellus,  93. 
Vatablus,  125. 
Vinetus,  43,79,266. 
Vitalis  Blesensis,  213. 
Vives,  76. 


W 

Waddel,  Andrew,  120. 
Walker,  37,  38. 
Wemyss,  Sir  John,  254. 
Wilson,  Dr.  Thomas,  161,  250. 
Winzet,254. 


Yule,  Alexander,  120. 


AltK.  La-wrie  &  Ct.  Printtri,  Edinburgh, 


LATELY  PUBLISHED 
In  Iwo  Volumes  Octavo^ 

Price  iSs.  in  boards, 

THE 

LIVES 

or   THE 

SCOTISII  POETS; 

WITH 

PRELIMINARY  DISSERTATIONS, 

ON    THE 

LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND, 

AND    THE 

EARLY  SCOTISH  DRAMA. 

BY 

DAVID  IRVING,  A.M. 


Preparing  for  the  Press, 

THE 

LIVES 

01  THE 

PRINCIPAL  LATIN  POETS 

OF  ANTIQUITY. 

ST 

NINIAN  LITTLE,  ESQ. 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parking  Lot  17  •  Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA  90095-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library  from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


(VSOl* 


ZPV 


tvtjcyv'       %/n. 


UF<%, 

-^   <y 

DA 

787 

B8£l72 

Lilo           LI  In 

3  1158  00831  6928 


Ijpa-gaaasE 


M      000  100  567    7 


1    ^^^ 


^5V