historical lectures and essays(查尔斯金斯利历史讲座)






Like the rest of his countrymen; he bowed himself in presence of the lustre 

that   surrounded      the  early   career   of   his  mistress。    More     than   once    he 

expressed his pride and reverence in the inspiration of a genius deemed by 

his contemporaries to be worthy of the theme。                  There is not; perhaps; to 

be   found   elsewhere   in   literature   so   solemn   a   memorial   of   shipwrecked 

hopes; of a sunny opening and a stormy end; as one finds in turning the 

leaves     of  the  volume     which     contains    the  beautiful    epigram     〃Nympha 

Caledoniae〃   in   one   part;   the   〃Detectio   Mariae   Reginae〃   in   another;   and 

this contrast is; no doubt; a faithful parallel of the reaction in the popular 

mind。      This reaction seems to have been general; and not limited to the 

Protestant party; for the conditions under which it became almost a part of 

the   creed   of   the   Church   of   Rome   to   believe   in   her   innocence   had   not 

arisen。〃 

     If Buchanan; as some of his detractors have thought; raised himself by 

subserviency   to   the   intrigues   of   the   Regent   Murray;   the   best   heads   in 

Scotland      seem    to  have    been   of   a  different   opinion。     The     murder    of 



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Murray did not involve Buchanan’s fall。               He had avenged it; as far as pen 

could do it; by that 〃Admonition Direct to the Trew Lordis;〃 in which he 

showed   himself   as   great   a   master   of   Scottish;   as   he   was   of   Latin   prose。 

His   satire   of   the   〃Chameleon;〃   though   its   publication   was   stopped   by 

Maitland;   must   have   been   read   in   manuscript   by   many   of   those   same 

〃True Lords;〃 and though there were nobler instincts in Maitland than any 

Buchanan   gave   him   credit   for;   the   satire   breathed   an   honest   indignation 

against that wily turncoat’s misgoings; which could not but remend the 

author to all honest men。           Therefore it was; I presume; and not because 

he   was   a   rogue;   and   a   hired   literary  spadassin;   that   to   the   best   heads   in 

Scotland   he   seemed   so   useful;   it   may   be   so   worthy;   a   man;   that   he   be 

provided with continually increasing employment。                    As tutor to James I。; 

as director; for a short time; of the chancery; as keeper of the privy seal; 

and privy councillor; as one of the missioners for codifying the laws; 

and againfor in the semi…anarchic state of Scotland; government had to 

do     everything      in   the   way     of   organisationin       the    mittee      for 

promulgating a standard   Latin grammar;   in   the mittee   for   reforming 

the   University   of   St。   Andrew’s:        in   all   these   Buchanan’s   talents   were 

again   and   again   called   for;   and   always   ready。     The   value   of   his   work; 

especially that for the reform of St。 Andrew’s; must be judged by Scotsmen; 

rather    than   by   an   Englishman;       but   all  that  one   knows     of   it  justifies 

Melville’s sentence in the well…known passage in his memoirs; wherein he 

describes the tutors and household of the young king。 〃Mr。 George was a 

Stoic philosopher; who looked not far before him;〃 in plain words; a high… 

minded and right…minded man; bent on doing the duty which lay nearest 

him。     The worst that can be said against him during these times is; that 

his name appears with the sum of 100 pounds against it; as one of those 

〃who were to be entertained in Scotland by pensions out of England;〃 and 

Ruddiman; of course; ments on the fact by saying that Buchanan 〃was 

at length to act under the threefold character of malcontent; reformer; and 

pensioner:〃 but it gives no proof whatsoever that Buchanan ever received 

any such bribe; and in the very month; seemingly; in which that list was 



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written10th March; 1579Buchanan had given a proof to the world that 

he    was    not   likely   to  be   bribed     or  bought;     by   publishing      a  book;    as 

offensive  probably  to   Queen   Elizabeth   as it   was   to   his own   royal   pupil; 

namely;      his   famous      〃De    Jure   Regni     apud     Scotos;〃    the    very   primer; 

according to many great thinkers; of constitutional liberty。                      He dedicates 

that    book    to   King    James;     〃not    only   as   his   monitor;     but   also   as   an 

importunate and bold exactor; which in these his tender and flexible years 

may      conduct      him    in   safety    past    the   rocks     of   flattery。〃     He     has 

plimented James already on his abhorrence of flattery; 〃his inclination 

far   above   his   years   for   undertaking   all   heroical   and   noble   attempts;   his 

promptitude   in   obeying   his   instructors   and   governors;   and   all   who   give 

him     sound    admonition;       and    his  judgment      and    diligence     in  examining 

affairs; so that no man’s authority can have much weight with him unless it 

be   confirmed   by   probable   reasons。〃           Buchanan   may   have   thought   that 

nine years of his stern rule had eradicated some of James’s ill conditions; 

the petulance which made him kill the Master of Mar’s sparrow; in trying 

to wrest it out of his hand; the carelessness with whichif the story told by 

Chytraeus; on the authority of Buchanan’s nephew; be trueJames signed 

away   his   crown   to   Buchanan   for   fifteen   days;   and   only   discovered   his 

mistake   by   seeing   Bachanan   act   in   open   court   the   character   of   King   of 

Scots。 Buchanan had at last made him a scholar; he may have fancied that 

he had made him likewise a manful man:                     yet he may have dreaded that; 

as James grew up; the old inclinations would return in stronger and uglier 

shapes; and that flattery might be; as it was after all; the cause of James’s 

moral   ruin。      He    at   least   will  be   no   flatterer。   He   opens   the     dialogue 

which   he   sends   to   the   king;   with   a   calm   but   distinct   assertion   of   his 

mother’s   guilt;   and   a   justification   of   the   conduct   of   men   who   were   now 

most of   them  past helping   Buchanan;  for they  were  laid   in   their  graves; 

and   then   goes   on   to   argue   fairly;   but   to   lay   down   firmly;   in   a   sort   of 

Socratic dialogue; those very principles by loyalty to which the House of 

Hanover   has   reigned;   and   will   reign;   over   these   realms。           So   with   his 

History of Scotland; later antiquarian researches have destroyed the value 



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of the earlier portions of it:           but they have surely increased the value of 

those   later   portions;   in   which   Buchanan inserted   so   much   which   he   had 

already spoken out in his Detection of Mary。                   In that book also liberavit 

animam suam; he spoke his mind fearless of consequences; in the face of a 

king   who   he   must   have   knownfor   Buchanan   was   no   dullardregarded 

him with deep dislike; who might in a few years be able to work his ruin。 

     But those few years were not given to Buchanan。                    He had all but done 

his   work;   and   he   hastened   to   get   it   over   before   the   night   should   e 

wherein no man can work。               One must be excused for tellingone would 

not tell it in a book intended to be read only by Scotsmen; who know or 

ought   to   know   the   tale   alreadyhow   the   two   Melvilles   and   Buchanan’s 

nephew       Thomas      went    to   see  him    in   Edinburgh;      in  September;      1581; 

hearing   that   he   was   ill;   and   his   History   still   in   the   press;   and   how   they 

found      the  old   sage;    true   to  his   schoolmaster’s       instincts;   teaching     the 

Hornbook   to   his   servant…lad;   and   how   he   told   them   that   doing   that   was 

〃better than stealing sheep; or sitting idle; which was as bad;〃 and showed 

them that dedication to James I。; in which he holds up to his imitation as a 

hero whose equal was hardly to be found in history; that very King David 

whose   liberality   to   the   Romish   Church   provoked   James’s   witticism   that 

〃David   was       a  sair   saint  for   the   crown。〃     Andrew   Melville;        so   James 

Melville says; found fault with the style。 Buchanan replied that he could 

do no more for thinking of