THE LIFE AND MERITORIOUS TRANSACTIONS, OF $W ^O^ JH.JSSL i. ^ JEffe j- ^ xtj?z- THE GREAT SCOTTISH REFORMER. ■ f GLASGOW: PSIKTED FOR THE BOOESILL11S. 61. THE iilFE OF J At the Reformation one half of the lands of Scotland were the property of the church, David I. had made over almost the whole of those belonging to the crown, and his example was imitated, not only by many of his successors, hut by all orders of men, with whom the founding a monastery, or endowing a church, was thought to be a sufficient atonement for the breach of every command in the decalogue. Besides the influence derived from the nature and extent of their property, generally let on lease, on easy terms, to the younger sons and dependants of great families, the weight the clergy had in Parliament was very considerable. The number of temporal barons being extremely limited, and the lesser barons and representatives of boroughs looking upon it as a hardship to attend, combined with the mode of choosing the Lords of the Articles. Its proceedings in a great measure were left under their direction and control. The Lords of the Articles were a Committee ♦vhose business it was to prepare and digest all matters that were to be laid before Parliament. Every motion for a new law was made in this committee, and approved or rejected by the members of it; what they approved was formed into a bill, and presented to Parliament, what they rejected could not he introduced into the house. This commute* ——— 4 owed the extraordinary powers vested initio the military genius of the ancient nobles, and in this way not only directed all the proceedings of Parliament, but possessed a negative before debate. It consisted of eight temporal and eight spiritual lords, of eight representatives of boroughs, and of eight great officers of the crown, and when its composition is considered, it will easily be seen how much influence it would add to the already too great power of the clergy. Their character also was held sacred ; neither were they subject to the same laws, nor tried by the same judges as the laity, a remarkable instance of which occurred on the trial of the murderers of Cardinal Beaton, one of whom was a priest. He was claimed by a delegate from the clerical courts, and exempted from the judgement of Parliament on that account. By their reputation for learning, they almost wholly engrossed the high offices of emolument and trust in the civil government; but even this was not for acting in their capacity of confessors, they made use of all these motives which operate so powerfully on the human mind, to promote the in* terest of the church, so that few were allowed to leave the world without bestowing on her some marks of their liberality, and where credulity failed to produce this effect, they called in the aid of law. (When a person died intestate, by the 22d Statute of William the Lion, the disposal of his effects was vested in the bishop of the diocese, after paying his funeral charges and debts, and distributing among his kindred the sums to which they were respectively entitled* it being presumed that no Chfitti&tfc ^ould have chosen to leave the world without destining some of his substance to pious purposes.) Their courts bad likewise the cognisance of all testamentary deeds and matrimonial contracts, to these engines of power, and often in their hfiflds of oppression, they super-added the sentence of ex- communication, which besides depriving the ui> happy victim on whom it fell of all Christian pri- rileges, cut him off from every right as a man or citizen. To these, and other causes of a similar nature, may be ascribed the power of the Popish church; and to these, also, combined with the celibacy to which by the rule of their church they were restricted, may be attributed the dissolute and licentious lives of the clergy, which in the end destroyed that reputation for sanctity, the people hat/ been accustomed to attach to their character. According to the accounts of the reformers, confirmed by several popish writers, the manners of the Scottish clergy were indecent in the extreme. Cardinal Beaton celebrated the marriage of his eldest daughter with the son of the Earl of Crawford, with an almost regal magnificence, and maintained a criminal correspondence with her mother to the end of his days. The other prelates were not more exemplary than their primate, and the contrast he* tween their lives, and those of the reformers, failed not to make a considerable impression on the minds of the people. Instead of disguising their vices thf Popish clergy affected to despise censure; instead ef endeavouring to colour over the absurdity of iht* established doctrines, or found them on Scripture? they left them to the authority of the church an J decrees of the councils; the only apology they bat & ever been able, even to the present day, to offer for f he monstrous absurdity of their system. The du- ty of preaching was left to the lowest and most illiterate of the monks. The following anecdote will give a lively idea oi their mode of preaching:—M The prior of the Black Friars at Newcastle, in a sermon at St Andrews, asserted that the Paternoster should be said to God only, and not the saints. This doctrine not meeting the approbation of the learned of that city, they appointed a Gray Friar to refute it, who choose for his text, *' Blessed are the poor in spirit /' which he illustrated in this manner. Seeing we say, good day, father, to any old man in the street, we may call a saint pater, who is older than any alive ; and seeing they are in heaven, we may say to any of them, " Oar father who art in heaven ;" seeing they are holy, we may say," hallowed he thy name;" and, since they are in the kingdom of heaven, may add, " thy kingdom come;" and as their will is God's will, " thy will be done ;" hut when he come to " give us this day our daily bread,*' he was much at a loss confessing it was not in the power of the saints to give us our daily bread; 4C yet they may pray to God f»r us,'' he said, U that he may give us our daily bread.'' The rest of his commentary being not more satisfactory, set his audience a laughing and the children on the streets calling after him, Friar Paternoster, he was so much ashamed that he left the city. The only device by which they attempted to bring back the people to their allegiance wTas equally unfortunate and imprudent; they had recourse to false miracles, which the vigilance of the refur- xners detected and exposed to ridicule. The b*s*e» (aced impositions that were practised by the monks on the credulous, are almost inconceivable.--Among other customs of those times, it was common for them to travel to Rome and come home laden with relics, blessed by his holiness, dispensations for sin, by which they wheedled the credulous out of theii money. One of these, on a holiday, endeavouring to vend his wares to the country people, among other things shewed them a bell with a rent in it, possessing the virtue of discovering the truth oi fallacy of an oath ; for, as he pretended, if any one swore truly, with his hand on the bell, he could easily remove it, without any change; hut if the oath was false, his hand would stick to it, and the bell rent asunder. A farmer, rather more shrewd than the rest of his auditors, suspecting the truth of this assertion, asked liberty to take an oafh in the presence of those assembled, about an affair which nearly concerned him. The monk could not refuse; and the farmer addressing the crowd, t-aid, *k Friends, before I swear, yon see the rent, how large it is, and that 1 have nothing on my finger? to make them stick to the hell." Then laying his hand on it, he took this oath.—" I swear, in the presence of the living God, and before these good people, that the pope of Rome is Antichrist, and that all the rabble of his clergy, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, monks, with all the re&t of the crew, are locust, come from hell, to delude the t people, and to withdraw them from God; moreover, I promise they will all return to hell;" and lifting his hand he added. " See, friends, I have lift ed my hand freely from the hell, and the rent 8 h ao larger, this sheweth that I have sworn the truth." The cause of reformed religion, was powerfully supported by the ambition of the Queen-dowager. (Mary of Guise) After the death of James V. her husband, the Earl of Arran, was appointed Regent ri the kingdom during the minority of her daughter ; and from that situation she wished to exclude him, that she might enjoy the first honours of the state alone, and promote the designs of her brothers upon Scotland. For this purpose she applied to the favourers of the Reformation, as being the most numerous of the Regent's enemies, and forming a respectable body in the state; and although her promises of protection were insincere,' they, in a very considerable degree, abated the fury of persecution. John Knox, who contributed so much, both by precept and example, to work out the Reformation from Popery; was the descendant of an ancient family, and born at Giftbrd, near Haddington, in 1505. On finishing his education at the grammar school, he was removed to St. Andrew's, to complete his studies under the celebrated John Mair, by whose instructions he made such progress that he received orders before the time prescribed by the rules of the church. After this, he quitted scholastic learning, so much in reputation at that period, and applied himself with diligence to the reading of the fathers of the church, particularly St Angus- tine, from which, attending the preaching of one Thomas Euillam, a Black Friar, and the conversation of Mr George Wishart, a celebrated reformer, who came from England in 1545 with the commie* sioners sent by Henry VIIL to conclude a treaty with the Earl of Arran, after the death of James V. he attained a more than ordinary degree of scriptural knowledge, and entirely renounced the Roman Catholic religion. . On leaving St Andrew's, Mr Knox acted as tutor to the sons of Douglas of Longniddry, and Cockburn of Ormiston, whom, besides the different branches of common education, he carefully instruo ted in the principles of the reformed religion, having composed a catechism for their use, besides reading lectures to them on various portions of the scriptures. In this practice he continued till Easter 1547, when werried out by the repeated persecutions ol Cardinal Beaton, he left Longniddry for St. Andrew's, resolved to visit Germany, the state of England proving unfavourable to his views. Against taking this step, however, he was persuaded by the gentlemen whose children he had the charge, to remain in St. Andrews, the castle of that place being in the hands of the reformers. Here he continued to teach his pupils in the usual manner, but his lectures were now attended by a number of people belonging to the town, who earnestly intreated him to preach in public. This task he at first declined, but afterwards accepted a call from the pulpit, and in his very first sermon discovered such zeal, learning, and intrepidity, as evinced the prudence of their choice, and how eminently qualified he was for the discharge of those duties. This success caused such alarm among the Popish clergy, that a letter was sent to the sub- prior by the abbot of Paisley, natural brother of the Regent, who had been nominated to the archbish* 10 I oprio reproving him for his negligence, in allowing such doctrines to be taught without opposition. A meeting of the clergy was held in consequence, and every scheme they could devise put in practice to hurt Mr Knox's usefulness; hut, in a public disputation, he replied to all their arguments with so much acuteness as completely to silence them, and gained many proselytes, who-made profession of their faith by partaking of the communion openly, which he was the first to administer in the manner practised at present. This success was not of long duration, for a body of French troops was sent to besiege the castle, and it was compelled to surrender on the 23d July, when he, along with the garrison, was sent prisoner to France, and confined in the gallies till the year 1549. On obtaining his liberty he retired to England, where he preached sometime at Berwick, afterwards at Newcastle and London, and was at last chosen one of the itinerants appointed by Edward VI. to preach the Protestant doctrine through England. Upon the death of that prince, on the 6th July, 1553, he went to Geneva, where here- sided when he was chosen by the English church at Frankfort, on the 24th September, 1554, to be their pastor, a situation he accepted by the advice of the celebrated John Calvin, but which he did not long enjoy, for having opposed the introduction of the English liturgy, and refused to celebrate the communion according to the forms prescribed by it, he was deprived of his office § and, such was the malice of his enemies, that, taking advantage of a passage in his " Admonition to England," wherein he compares the Emperor to n Nero, end the Queen of England to Je&ebal, they accused him to the magistrates of treason. These gentlemen perceiving the spirit by which his accusers were actuated, found means to apprise him of his danger; and on the 26th march, 1555, he left Frankfort for Geneva, from whence he proceeded to Dieppe, and shortly afterwards to Scotland, where he arrived in the month of August. On his arrival he found the reformers much increased in number, and after assisting them to rectify some errors which had crept into their practice, accompanied John Erskine of Dun to his seat in the Mearns, where he continued a month, preaching to the principle people in that country. He afterwards resided at Calder-house, the residence of Sir James Sandilands, where he was attended by a number, of personages of the first rank; and, a- rnong others, by the prior of St Andrew's afterwards earl of Moray, During the winter he visited Edinburgh ; preached in many places of Ayrshire; and in the beginning of 1556, at the request of the earl of Glencairn, administered the sacrament of the Lord's Supper to his lordship's family, and a number of friends, at his seat of Fin- layston. In this way did Mr Knox continue preaching, sometimes in one place, and sometimes in another, when his success excited so much attention that the Popish clergy summoned him to appear before them, on the 15th of May, in the church of the Black Friars in Edinburgh. He did appear, but attended by such a number of followers that the clergy deemed it prudent to desist from their intended prosecution; and that same day he addressed a 12 much greater audience than ever he had done on any prior occasion, and continued to do so for ten days. Tiie earl of Glencairn, one of his firmest friends, prevailed on the earl Marshal, and Mr Henry Driimmond, to attend one of Mr Knox's sermons, they were so highly gratified with it that they persuaded him to address a letter to the Queen, in the hope she also mighube induced to hear the doctrine rrf* the reformers. In this letter, contending for the truth of what he taught, he says, " Albeit, Madam, that the messengers of God are not sent this day with visible miracles,, because they teach no other doctrine than that which is confirmed with miracles from the beginning of the world, yet will not he (who hath promised to take charge over his poor and little flock to the end) suffer the contempt of their ambassage to escape punishment and vengeance, for the truth itself hath said, * he that hear* eth you heareth one, and he that contemneth you eontemneth one.' I do not speak unto you, Madam, as Pasquillus doth to the Pope and his carnal cardinals, in the behalf of such as dare not uttef their names, but I come in the name of Christ Jesus ; affirming, that the religion ye maintain is damnable idolatry, which I offer myself to prove, fly the most evident testimony of God's Scriptures ; and in this quarrel I present myself against all the Papists in the realm, desiring no other armour but God's holy word, and the liberty of my tongue/ It was delivered to the Queen by the earl of Glen- aalrn, and by her to the bishop of Glasgow7, (nephew of Cardinal Beaton) with this observation, *V Please jou, my lord, to read a pasquil/' which 13 fomhig to the ears of Mr Knox, was the occasion \f his making a number of additions when the letter was printed afterwards at Geneva. At this time he received letters from the English church at Geneva, which had separated from the one at Frankfort, commanding him, " in Gods name, as he was their chosen pastor, to repair to them for their comfort." Having preached in almost every congregation he had formerly visited* and sent his wife and mother-in law before him to Dieppe, he sailed from Scotland in the month of July for Geneva. No sooner had he left the kingdom than the bishops summoned him to answer a charge of heresy; and, on his non-appearance, burnt him in effigy at the cross of Edinburgh. A- gainst this sentence, in 1558, he published his " Appellation," addressed to the " Nobility and Estates of Scotland." In this composition, which has been much admired, after appealing " to a lawful and general council," and requiring of them that defence which, as princes of the people, they were bound to give him, he adds, €i these things 1 require I of your honours to be granted unto me, viz. that the doctrine which our adversaries condemn for heresy may be tried by the plain and simple word of God ; that the just defences be admitted to us that sustain the battle against this pestilent battle of Antichrist; and that they be removed from judgment in our cause, seeing thatoni accusation is not intended against any one particular person, but against that whole kingdom which we doubt not to prove to be a power usurped against God, against his commandments, and against the ordinance of Christ Jesus, established in his church I 14 by his chief apostles; yea, we doubt not to prove the kingdom of the Pope to be the kingdom and power of Antichrist, and therefore, my lords, I cannot cease, in the name of Christ Jesus, to require of you that the matter may come to examination, and that ye, the estates of the realm, by your authority, compel such as will be called bishops, not only to desist from their cruel murdering of such as do study to promote God's glory, in detecting and disclosing the damnable impiety of that man of sin the Roman Antichrist; but, also, that ye compel them to answer to such crimes as shall be laid to their charge, for not righteously instructing the flock committed to their care. In March, 1557, sensible of his importance, a letter, subscribed Glencairn, Erskine, Lorn, and James Stuart, was transmitted to Mr Knox at Geneva, entreating him to return home. Having communicated its contents to his congregation, for which he provided another minister, and taking the advice of John Calvin, and other ministers, he set out for Scotland. Addressing himself to the lords who had invited his return, Mr Knox expostulates with them on their rash conduct, as having a tendency to cause both them and him to be evil spoken of.—** For either," said he, " it shall appear that I was marvellous vain, being so solicited, where no necessity required, or else that such as were my movers thereto lacked the ripeness of judgment in their first vocation." Along with this letter he sent one to the whole nobility, and others to particular gentlemen, advising them in what manner they ought to proceed. On their receipt a new consultation was held, and a bond subscribed at Edinburgh on the 13th December, 1557, whereby they agreed to " forsake and renounce the congregation of Satan, with all the superstitious abominations and idolatry thereof." From this period those subscribing, and their adherents, were known by the title of the Congregation. Previous to this agreement, however, a number of letters were sent off to Mr Knox, and to John Calvin, that he might use his influence in persuading him to return. This year (1558,) the Queen Regent, through the concurrence of the Protestant party in Parliament, obtained an act to be passed, conferring the matrimonial crown on the Dauphin, the nusband of her daughter, the unfortunate Mary. They had been induced to forward her views in this favourite scheme, that they might obtain from her an exemption from that tyranny with which the ancient laws armed the ecclesiastics against them, and enjoy the free exercise of their religion. No sooner, however, had she obtained the gratification of her wishes, than the accomplishment of a newr scheme, the placing her daughter on the throne of England, and to which she had been prompted by the ambition of her brothers, the princes of the house of Lorraine, at that time in the plenitude of their power at the Court of France, rendered an union with the Catholics necessary. It was vain to expect the assistance of the Scots Protestants to dethrone Elizabeth, whom all Europe considered as the most powerful defender of the Reformed faith. She therefore began to treat them with coldness and contempt, and not only approved the decrees of a coruscation of the Popish clergy, in which the prin- 16 eiples of the Reformation were condemned, hut at the same time issued a proclamation enjoining the observance of Easter according to the ritual of the Romish church. Alarmed at these proceedings, and still more at an order summoning ail the Reformed clergy in the kingdom, to attend a court of justice at Stirling, on the 10th May, 1559, the earl of Glencairn, and Hugh Campbell of Louden, were deputed to wait on her and intercede in their behalf* On urging their peaceable demeanour, and the purity of their doctrine, she said, " In despite of you, and your ministers both, they shall be banished out of Scotland, albeit they preached as true as ever did St. Paul." And on pleading her former promises of protection, she replied, " The promises of princes ought not to be too carefully remembered, nor the performance of them exacted unless it suits their convenience." Perth, in the meantime, having embraced the Reformed religion, added to the rage which agitated the Queen against the Protestants, and she commanded the provost (Patrick Ruthven,) to suppress all their assemblies. The answer of this gentleman deserves to be recorded for its manly freedom. " I have power over their bodies and estates," said he, " and these I will take care shall do no hurt; but have no dominion over their consciences." The day of trial now approached, and the town of Dundee, and the gentlemen of Angus and Mearns, in cornformity of an old custom which prevailed in Scotland, resolved to accompany their pastors to the place of trial. Intimidated by their sMi^ibers, though unarmed, she prevailed on Jolm 17 Erskirae of Dun, a person of great influence among them, to stop them from advancing nearer to Stirling, while she, on her part, promised to take no further steps towards the intended trial. This proposition was listened to with pleasure, the preachers and some of the leaders remained at Perth, and the multitude quietly dispersed U: thejfc respective homes. Notwithstanding this promise, on the 10th May, the queen proceeded to the trial of the persons summoned ; and, on their failing to appear, sentence of outlawry was pronounced upon them. This upen and avowed breach of faith added greatly to the public irritation, and the Protestants boldly prepared for their defence. Mr Erskine having joined his associates at Perth, his representation of the j Queen's irreconcilable hatred so inflamed the peo- le. that scarcely the authority of the magistrates, r the exhortations of their preachers, could prevent them from proceeding to acts of violence. At this juncture, Mr Knox landed in Scotland from France, and, after residing two days in Edinburgh, joined his brethren in Perth, that he might aid them in their cause, and give his confession a- \ong with theirs. On the 11th, the day after the sentence of outlawry was pronounced, he made a rehement discourse against idolatry, and while the minds of the people were yet in a state of agitation, from the impression made upon them by his ser- jnon, a priest prepared to celebrate mass, which made a youth observe, ** This is intolerable, that when God in his word hath plainly condemned idolatry we shall stand and see it used in despite." The irritated priest struck him a blow on the ear* and the youth in revenge threw a stone at him, which broke an image of one of the saints. This was the signal of tumult, and ere two days had elapsed, all the churches and convents about Perth w7ere destroyed. Such w?as the anger of the Queen on receiving this intelligence, that she avowed to reduce Perth to ashes, and ordered M. D'Ossal, the commander of a corps of French auxiliaries, at that time in the service of Scotland, instantly to march, and carry her threats into execution. Both parties, however, were desirous of accommodation, and a treaty was concluded, in which it was stipulated that the two armies should be disbanded, the gates of Perth set open to the queen, but that none of her French soldiers should approach within three miles of that city, and that a Parliament should be immediately held to settle the remaining differences. ' No sooner were the Protestant forces disbanded, than the Queen violated every article of the treaty. In consequence of which the earl of Argyle, and the prior of St Andrew's, who had been her commissioners for settling the peace, with some other gentlemen, openly left her. Having warned the confederates of her intention to destroy St Andrew's and Cupar, a considerable army was soon assembled, which assaulted Crail, broke down the altars and images, and proceeded thence to St Andrew's, where they levelled the Franciscan and Dominician monasteries to the ground. The Queen immediately gave orders to occupy Cupar, with the intention of attacking them at St Andrew's, but in this she was anticipated, an army equal to her own having occupied the place two days before. Finding herself 1$ too weak to encounter them in the field, she had again recourse to negotiation ; but mindful of hw former duplicity, the Protestants would only agree to a truce for eight days, by which the Duke of Chatelherault and D'Ossal became bound to transport all the French soldiers to the other side of the Frith, and send commissioners to St Andrew's with full powers to conclude a formal treaty of peace. Several days elapsed without any person appearing on the part of the queen, and suspecting some new plan to entrap them, the Protestants, after concerting measures to expel the French garrison from Perth, wrrote to her Majesty, complaining that j the terms of the first treaty were still unfulfilled, and begging her to withdraw her troops from that city in conformity with its stipulations. Their let- 1 ters remaining unnoticed, they laid siege to Perth, which surrendered, after a feeble resistance, on the 26th June, 1559. Being informed that the Queen resolved to seize Stirling, and cut off the communication between the reformers on the opposite sides of the Frith, by a rapid march they frustrated her plans, and in three days, after they had made themselves masters of Perth, the victorious reformers entered Edinburgh. The Queen on their approach retired to Dunbar,— where she amused them with hopes of an accommodation, in the expectation of being joined with reinforcements from France. Intelligence, in the meantime, was received of the death of the French king, which, while it was favourable to the cause of the reformers, rendered their leaders more negligent , and secure. Numbers of them left the city on their private affairs, their followers were obliged to dis* 20 perse for want of money, and those who did remain were without discipline or restraint. The Queen receiving advice of this, by means of her spies, marched with all the forces she could muster directly to Edinburgh, and possessed herself, on the 25th of July, of Leith. She consented, however, to a truce, to continue till the 5th January, 1560, by which liberty of conscience w7as secured; Popery was not to be established again where it had been suppressed, the reformers were not to be hindered from preaching wherever they might happen to be, and no garrison was to be stationed within the city. These terms wrere preserved till she received the expected reinforcements, when she fortified Leith, from which all the efforts of the reformers were unable to dislodge her troops. A mutiny also break, ing out among their soldiers for want of pay, and having been defeated in two skirmishes with the French troops, it was resolved, by a majority of the lords of the congregation, to retire to Stirling. This rash step was productive of great terror and confusion, and contrary to the advice of Knox ; who, notwithstanding, followed the fortunes of his friends, animating and reriving them by his discourses, and exhorting them to constancy in the good cause. At a meeting held shortly after their arrival af Stirling, it was resolved, to despatch William Mait« land, who had lately deserted the Queen's party ta England, to implore the assistance of Queen Elizabeth, and a treaty was at last concluded, by which a body of troops was sent to their assistance. These being joined by most of the Scottish nobility, a peace was established on the 8th July, 1560, by which 21 the reformed religion was fully established in Scotland. On the abolition of Popery, the form of church goverment establishment in Scotland was, upon the model of the church at Geneva, warmly recommended to his countrymen by Knox, as being farthest removed from all similarity to the Romish church ; and at his suggestion, likewise, the country was divided into twTelve districts, for the more effectually propagating the doctrines of the Reformation, of which Edinburgh was assigned to his care. Knox, assisted by his brethren afterwards composed a confession of Faith, and compiled the first books of discipline for the government of the church. These were ratified by a convention of Estates, held in the beginning of the following year (1571), and an act passed prohibiting mass and abolishing the authority of the Pope. On the return of Mary, daughter of Mary of Guise, from France, and so well known afterwards throughtout all Europe for her beauty, her accomplishments, and her misfortunes, after the death of her husband Francis II. the celebration of mass in the chapel royal excited a great tumult, many crying out, " The idolatrous papist shall die the death, according to God's law;" and John Knox, in a sermon preached the Sunday following after showing the judgments inflicted on nations for idolatry, added, " one mass is more fearful to me than if ten thousand armed enemies were landed in any part of the realm, of purpose to suppress the whole religion." In consequence of this language he was sent for by the queen, who accused him of endeavouring to excite her subjects to rebellion, of having written against her lawful authority, and of being the cause of great sedition. To this he answered, among other things, " that if to teach the word of God in sincerity, if to rebute idolatry, and to will a people to wrorship God according to his word, be to raise subjects against their princes, then cannot I he excused; for it hath pleased God in his mercy to make me one amongst many to disclose unto this realm the vanity of the papistical religion.-—And touching that book, that seemeth so highly to offend your majesty, it is most certain that if I wrote it I am content that all the learned of the land should judge of it. My hope is, that, so long as ye defile ^ot your hands with the blood of the saints of God, that neither I nor that book shall either hurt you or your authority; for, in very deed, Madam, that book was written most especially against that wicked Mary of England.'' To a question by the Queen, if subjects, having power, may resist their princes ? He boldly answered they might, " if princes do exceed their bounds." The following part of the dialogue will give a good idea of the character of Knox, and the freedom of his speech : Speaking of the church, the Queen observed, " but ye are not the church of Rome, fur I think it is the true church of God." " Your will, Madam," said he, 'Ms no reason; neither doth your thought make that Roman harlot to be the immaculate spouse of Jesus Christ. And wonder not, Madam, that I call Rome an harlot, for that church is altogether polluted with all kinds of spiritual fornication, as well in doctrine as in matters/' He had afterwards two other conferences with the<jueen, » 23 at the last of which she burst into tears, crying out, " Never prince was used as I am." Knox's situation became very critical in April, 1571, when Kircaldy received the Hamiltons, with their forces, into the castle. Their inveteracy against him was so great, that his friends were obliged to watch his house during the night. They proposed forming a guard for the protection of his person when he went abroad; but the governor of the castle forbade this, as implying a suspicion of him, and offered to send Melvil, one of his officers, to conduct him to and from church. " He wold gif the woulf the wedder to keip," says Bannatyne. Induced by the importunity of the citizens, Kircaldy applied to the Duke and his party for a special protection to Knox ; but they refused to pledge their word for his safety, because " there were many rascals and others among thern who loved him not, that might do him harm without their knowledge." Intimations were often given him of threatenings against his life; and one evening, a musket ball was fired in at his window, and lodged in the roof of the apartment in which he was sitting. It happened that he sat at the time in a different part of the room from that in which he had been accustomed to take his seat, otherwise the ball, from its direction, must have struck him. Alarmed by these circumstances, a deputation of the citizens, accompanied by his colleague, waited upon him, and renewed a request which they had formerly made, that he would remove from Edinburgh, to a place where his life would be in greater safety, until the Queen's party should evacuate the town. But he refused to yield to them* apf lending that his eneiiuf ^ wished to intimidate him into flight, that they might carry on their designs more quietly, and then accuse him of cowardice. Being unable to persuade him by any other means, they at last had recourse to an argument which prevailed. Upon this he consented, " sore against his will," to remove from the city. In May, 1571, at the desire of his friends, and for greater security, he left that city for St Andrew's, where he remained until the August following. The cause that forced him to change his residence having ceased to operate, at the express desire of his congregation he again returned, but could not long continue to preside over it, on account of the exhausted state of his health ; and on the 9th November, abmitted Mr James Lawson, formerly professsor of philosophy at Aberdeen, to be his successor. From this time till the 24th of the same month, when he expired, about eleven o'clock at night, in the 67th year of his age; his principal employment was reading the Scriptures and conversing with his friends ; and over his remains, which were accompanied to the churchyard by the Earl of Morton, the Regent, and a number of other noblemen, and people of all ranks, his lordship pronounced the following eulogium: " Here lies a man, who in his life never feared the face of man ; who hath been often threatened with dag and dagger, but yet hath ended his days in peace and honour." FINIS.
- Library Home /
- Search Collections /
- Open Collections /
- Browse Collections /
- Historical Children's Literature Collection /
- The life and meritorious transactions, of John Knox,...
Open Collections
Historical Children's Literature Collection
The life and meritorious transactions, of John Knox, the Great Scottish Reformer [between 1840 and 1857?]
jpg
Page Metadata
Item Metadata
Title | The life and meritorious transactions, of John Knox, the Great Scottish Reformer |
Publisher | Glasgow : [publisher not identified] |
Date Issued | [between 1840 and 1857?] |
Description | On cover: "Printed for the booksellers". |
Extent | 24 pages : illustration ; 14.9 x 8.8 cm |
Subject |
Children's Literature |
Genre |
Chapbooks |
Type |
Text |
FileFormat | application/pdf |
Language | English |
Identifier | PR974 .C493 PR974_C493_05 |
Collection |
Historical Children's Literature |
Source | Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. PR974 .C493 |
Date Available | 2019-02-20 |
Provider | Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library |
Rights | Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from Rare Books and Special Collections: http://rbsc.library.ubc.ca |
CatalogueRecord | http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1748081 |
DOI | 10.14288/1.0378832 |
AggregatedSourceRepository | CONTENTdm |
Download
- Media
- childrenlit-1.0378832.pdf
- Metadata
- JSON: childrenlit-1.0378832.json
- JSON-LD: childrenlit-1.0378832-ld.json
- RDF/XML (Pretty): childrenlit-1.0378832-rdf.xml
- RDF/JSON: childrenlit-1.0378832-rdf.json
- Turtle: childrenlit-1.0378832-turtle.txt
- N-Triples: childrenlit-1.0378832-rdf-ntriples.txt
- Original Record: childrenlit-1.0378832-source.json
- Full Text
- childrenlit-1.0378832-fulltext.txt
- Citation
- childrenlit-1.0378832.ris
Full Text
Cite
Citation Scheme:
Usage Statistics
Share
Embed
Customize your widget with the following options, then copy and paste the code below into the HTML
of your page to embed this item in your website.
<div id="ubcOpenCollectionsWidgetDisplay">
<script id="ubcOpenCollectionsWidget"
src="{[{embed.src}]}"
data-item="{[{embed.item}]}"
data-collection="{[{embed.collection}]}"
data-metadata="{[{embed.showMetadata}]}"
data-width="{[{embed.width}]}"
data-media="{[{embed.selectedMedia}]}"
async >
</script>
</div>

https://iiif.library.ubc.ca/presentation/cdm.childrenlit.1-0378832/manifest