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 o-a
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 GEORGE BUCHANAN.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 GEORGE BUCHANAN. 
 
 DAVID IRVING, A. M. 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 
 FRINTID FOR BELL AHD 8RADFUTE, AND A. LAWKIE ; 
 
 AND LONGMAN, HURST, REES, AND ORMI, 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 1807.
 
 AU*. Zr<>-wrii & C: Printers, Edinburgh.
 
 DA 
 
 727 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 i he intellectual endowments of George 
 Buchanan reflect the highest splendour on 
 the land of his nativity ; and every scholar 
 who derives his origin from the same coun- 
 try, is bound to cherish and revere his me- 
 mory. Nor is his reputation confined to 
 his native soil, and to the sister kingdoms ; 
 he has received the homage of every learn- 
 ed nation of Europe. The most fastidious 
 of his cotemporaries recognized him as the 
 prince of poets : and by a rare felicity of 
 genius which yet remains without a parallel, 
 he attained to the same preeminence as a 
 writer of prose. His profound and masterly 
 treatise I)c Jure Regrri apud 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. 
 
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