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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 Scotos y 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."
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,
Reuchlyn e 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 Scotos y
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 Buchanan 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 j q
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 j u 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.
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.
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 Hit. of Stirlingshire, p. 368. Edinb. 1777, 8vo.
c In the year 1531, a lease of two farms near Cardross was granted
hy Robert Erkine, 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 tw r o
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. 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 Leslu 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
c 22 '
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.
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-
l 25
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. 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 ete
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 Italy 11
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.
See Mr. Walker's Historical and Critical Essay on the Reviral of
the Drama in Italy. Edinb. 1805, 8vo.
" 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. 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!* Mueum 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 cI-
- 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 hec 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 j f 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 Taitaum t et 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 passage 1 , 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$ iu f '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.
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. 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.)
" 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,^. 164 v 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 Gelida v 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. Ramseum, 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 Comparisn 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 first 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.
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 a Plutus 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 Clarus p . 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 Chronicon r cap. 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 Getis 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'Almada 1 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. Hermicus Caiadus,
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 Rm<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.
" 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 aurijer y
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. 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.
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 mme
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."
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 Mons r 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. 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. 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
r ompanied 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.
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. Benson v 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."
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.
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, Traite 1 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
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
praise 5 . In one collection, 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 :
"aSjXv 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. 1527 3 8v#.
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 May c 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 equu v 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 publihed,
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,
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. 1C9.
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.
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. 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-
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. 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, 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 q Archbishop
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 w 7 ere 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.
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 attempt 6 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; 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.
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 atn 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 Ci"7f,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 ixi, 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. 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. 115, 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 et 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, Auratus r m Balduinus the ci-
vilian," Sambucus the Hungarian, 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.
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.
C J C 20
ing the native candour and probity of his mind
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. 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 ejudem 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
librum m 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, dulcis p 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.
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, 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, 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. 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 tho 1 ane gud fellow,
and panly at request of syk as I dar no 1 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 w c service,
G. Buchanan."
n Brantome, Vies des Hommes lllustres, torn, iii, p. 409.
Georgii Buchanani Scoti ad Viros sui seculi Clarisimos, 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 s u pp lem e 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 accessre 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." (DeSct-
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 par r
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."
" 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, 8o.)
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
Epitolx 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,
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 %tLi\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. 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<>
Zpf. (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. SX n^ap X<w.
Odyss. xvii, S22.
" 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, r Buchan-
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 k of 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 extremely 1
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#?*xg, 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 you v
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 other d 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. 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*gntl!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. 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." 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 Latv t 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 serv r
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 age f
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 sulo
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.
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. 176, 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, l r ,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,
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