66 Buchanan, writes a contemporary, was of so flexible a mind that with boys he became a boy. He had the faculty and the will to adapt himself to every time of life, yet always in such a way as never to forfeit the respect due to himself." In the following year, great events occurred, which profoundly affected Scotland. In the month of February, Darnley was murdered. In the ensuing May, the Queen married Bothwell. Buchanan turned in sudden loathing from his Queen and pupil. He arraigned her before the bar of public opinion in a work entitled 'Detectio Mariae,' which was widely read. It was written in Latin, but was soon translated, and produced a powerful effect in England and in France. Buchanan was one of those who came to London in 1568 from Scotland, in order to state the case of the Scottish nation against Queen Mary in the presence of Queen Elizabeth; and on this occasion he met Roger Ascham, Elizabeth's classical tutor. The post to which Buchanan was next appointed was the reward of these efforts. He was selected by the Privy Council to be tutor to the little prince, then only four years old. He was a stern taskmaster. With James he read "Greek before breakfast, Latin and modern subjects after breakfast"; and gave his pupil instruction on the art of governing a great people. Out of these lessons grew the dialogue 'De Jure Regni,' in which he lays it down that a king exists for the people. These ethical appeals were reinforced by the use of other and more direct arguments ad hominem, in which he did not spare the person of his King. It was an age in which the rod was still in fashion with schoolmasters. It must be admitted that the result of Buchanan's instruction was to make James learned rather than wise. James remained obdurate on the subject of the royal prerogative, and transmitted his opinions to his son. But he had a considerable stock of knowledge, and he learned to speak Latin with facility. In the 'Fortunes of Nigel' (chap. ix.), Walter Scott has given an illustration of this fact, but fails to make mention of the credit due to Buchanan. Buchanan's last literary undertaking was also his most important. It was nothing less than the writing of the history of Scotland from the earliest times until the settlement which followed on the expulsion of Mary from Scotland. And the whole of this work was to be written in Latin. To this task Buchanan devoted the last twenty years of his life, and it was concluded only a short time before his death. It is in twenty books. The early part covers the legendary period, which is perhaps treated at too great length. When he reaches the fourteenth century, he shows a fine appreciation of the Ptolemaic system of Astronomy, called 'De Sphaera,' to which Buchanan himself attached much importance, but upon the translation of the Psalms, which (as we have seen) was the result of a few months' work in prison. the great qualities of William upon the elaborate poem on Wallace and of Robert Bruce. The battles are vigorously described; and some of the most striking passages are the speeches which are scattered through the work, after the manner of the ancient historians. His model was probably Livy ; writes with fine independence, and sustains the reader's interest to the end. Above all, he was on his native heath, and writing about his countrymen, which is a source of inspiration to all Scotsmen. but he As Buchanan lay dying, he gave a last proof of his grim humour when he was asked who would pay the expenses of his funeral. He answered that he was indifferent about that; for when he were once dead, if they would not bury him, they might let him lie where he was, or throw his body where they pleased. Accordingly the city of Edinburgh was obliged to bury him at its own expense. We are now in a position to consider the writings of Buchanan. They fall into into two sections his poetry and his prose. All his important works were written in Latin, and we may first note the width of his knowledge of that language, and the ease and grace with which he wrote it. He had great natural aptitude for composition in Latin, and he had developed this aptitude by constant practice from boyhood. In verse, his fame rests not He translated the Psalms into various metres, and we scarcely know which is more worthy of admiration : his command of Latin idiom, or his good taste in the selection of the metre which will be most effective for his purpose. Thus he uses Alcaics for the more solemn Psalms, such as those of a patriotic nature; elegiacs are used to suit the tone of melancholy; sapphics for gentle reflection; iambics for a stately marching tune. One or two examples will bring this out more clearly. Take, first, our Prayer Book version of Psalm 137 and Buchanan's translation of the same Psalm : By the waters of Babylon we sat As for our harps, we hanged them up, How shall we sing the Lord's Song in If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. Dum procul a patria maesti Babylonis in oris, Fluminis ad liquidas forte sedemus aquas, Illa animum subiit species miseranda Et nunquam patrii tecta videnda soli. Flevimus, et gemitus luctantia verba 2. Laudate Dominum fortiter repressit, Inque sinus liquidae decidit imber Et salices tacitas sustinuere lyras. Ecce ferox dominus, Solymae dominator opimae, Exigit in mediis carmina laeta malis; Qui patrium exilio nobis mutavit acerbo, Nos iubet ad patrios verba referre modos. Quale canebamus, steterat dum celsa Sionis Regia, finitimis invidiosa locis. Sicine divinos Babylon irrideat hymnos, Audiat et sanctos terra profana modos? O Solymae, O adyta, et sacri penetralia templi, Ullane vos animo deleat hora meo? Conprecor, ante meae capiant me oblivia dextrae, Nec memor argutae sit mea dextra lyrae. For five verses of the English, we have ten couplets in Latin. The expansion is free. Observe, for instance, how "Sing us one of the songs of Sion "is handled. Yet we gain in smoothness and in perfect ease of transition. The result is really felt to be an original Latin poem. Or again, take Psalm 150. The Prayer Book version isO praise God in his holiness: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him in his noble acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him in the sound of the trumpet: praise him upon the lute and harp. Praise him in the cymbals and dances: praise him upon the strings and pipe. Praise him upon the well-tuned cymbals: praise him upon the loud cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Buchanan has 1. Laudate Dominum lucidum Templum colentem siderum Qui vi suae potentiae Firmarit orbis cardines. Ubique gentis inclitum : Laudate magnitudinem Captum supra mortalium. Not with high walls nor fosses deep he guards His land, but in embattled ranks of war, Reckless of life, so he keep honour safe. His promise is his bond; he venerates The title "friend" as earth's most sacred tie, And loves his comrade's virtues, not his gold. Thus, when war ranged through all the bounds of earth, When every land lost its ancestral laws And was made subject to a foreign yoke, One nation only, in its ancient home, Held fast the freedom of the days of old. The fiery Goth paused here, the onslaught fierce Of Saxon, and the Saxon's conqueror. And when the Norman overthrew the Dane, Norman met here his match. And if we deem That olden story still is worth the search, E'en Rome, who conquered all the world beside, From the large number of shorter poems, which range from gaiety to savagery, and are not free from coarseness, but are always exquisite in their Latinity, we are tempted to quote. But we must content ourselves with a reference to the verses prefixed to the Paraphrase of the Psalms, in which he dedicates that work to Queen Mary: I mean the verses which begin Nympha, Caledoniae quae nunc feliciter orae Missa per innumeros sceptra tueris avos, and end with the sentiment that his verses had borrowed from the Queen graces which they did not possess in themselves Nam quod ab ingenio domini sperare nequibant, Debebunt genio forsitan illa tuo. Here we have Buchanan at his best: the playfulness of the friend tempering the dignity of the scholar and the courtier. The chief prose writings of Buchanan have been already mentioned. From the History ('Rerum Scoticarum Historia,' Bk. XVII. ch. 61) I select a passage describing the murder of David Rizzio. (The conspirators made a solemn compact to destroy Rizzio.) His omnium chirographo confirmatis, regeque caedis auctorem se profitente, tum ut condemnationem procerum absentium praevenirent, tum ne mora consilium palam fieret, statim facinus On Scotia's borders checked her swift aggredi visum est. Igitur cum regina career. in cellula augusta cenaret, adhibitis de more ad mensam Davide et comitis Argatheliae uxore, paucique adstarent ministri (locus enim non multos capiebat), Jacobus Duglassius, Mortonii comes, cum magno famulorum numero in extimo cubiculo ambulabat. In area subdiali e clientibus et amicorum fidissimis observare iussi erant, et tumultus, si qui orirentur, compescere. Rex e suo cubiculo, quod infra reginam erat, per scalas angustas, quae ei soli patebant, ascendit: sequebatur Patricius Ruvenus, armatus, cum quattuor ant quinque ad summum comitibus. lis in cellam ubi cenabatur ingressis, cum insolens rerum facies reginam non nihil commovisset, Ruvenum squalidum et e diuturno morbo macilentum, et tamen armatum aspiciens, ecquid rei novae esset percunctatur. Nam qui aderant e febre delirare ac sui parum compotem esse credebant. Ille Davidem surgere et prodire iubet: eum enim in quo sedebat locum non esse decorum. Regina statim assurgit, et corporis obiectu adversus venientes eum protegit. Rex eam complexus bono animo esse iubet, nihil enim esse quod ipsa timeret; caedem unius nebulonis decretam esse. David primum in proximum, deinde in extimum cubiculum pertractus, ibi ab eis qui cum Duglassio praestolabantur multis vulneribus con foditur. Idque praeter omnium qui ad caedem eius conspiraverant voluntatem, qui eum publice strangulandum, populoque, cui gratissimum fore sciebant, id spectaculum praebere destinabant. a small private room, and had with her at table, as usual, Rizzio and the Countess of Argyle. Only a few attendants were present, for the room was not large enough to hold many. James Douglas, Earl of Morton, with a number of his friends, was walking to and fro in an outer chamber. Some of his faithful followers and vassals were commanded to stay below in the yard, in order to quiet any disturbance that might occur. "The king then came out of his own chamber, which lay below that of the queen. He went up to her by a narrow flight of stairs, which was none but himself. open to Patrick Ruthven followed him, armed, with four or five companions at most. They entered the room where the party sat at supper. The queen was surprised at the unusual appearance (of armed men). Perceiving Ruthven to be haggard and lean as the result of his late illness, but still wearing The Latin is clear and ele- his armour, she asked him gant (except for publice what was wrong. The onpalam); the story is told easily and vividly. A straightforward translation is as follows:They all set their hands to this contract, wherein the king promised to accept responsibility for Rizzio's death. It was resolved to make the attempt forthwith, in order to forestall a verdict against the absent nobles, and to prevent the design from being discovered through delay. The queen was seated at supper in 66 lookers thought that Ruthven's sickness had disturbed his brain, and put him beside himself. Ruthven [instead of replying] commanded Rizzio to rise and come forth. 'Where you sit,' he said, 'is not the place for you.' The queen at once arose, and sought to defend Rizzio by interposing her own person; but the king took her in his arms, bidding her be of good courage, and have no fear for herself, because it was only |