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V

THE HISTORY

THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

JOHN SPOTTISWOOD,

ARCHBISHOP OF ST ANDREWS.

IN THREE VOLUMES. VOLUME I.

EDINBURGB: M.DCCC.L.

■y>V

At a Meeting of the Committee of THE BANNATYNE CLUB, held on Monday, the 29th of March 1847.

That Club Paper be furnished for One Hundred and Twelve Copies of the Edition of ARCHBISHOP SPOTTISWOOD'S HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND, in three volumes, octavo, to be Edited by Bishop Russell for the Spottiswoode Society.

At a Meeting of the Committee of THE BANNATYNE CLUB, held on Thmrsday, the 31st of August 1848.

A letter from the Secretary of the Spottiswoode Society was read, ex- plaining that arrangements were now made with Messrs Oliver & Boyd for completing the republication of Aechbishop Spottiswood's Histoet, under the superintendence of Makk Napiek, Esq., Advocate, in the event of the Bannatyne Club continuing their Subscription, upon the same terms, as had been agreed upon, when the Work was originally undertaken.

The Committee directed the Secretary to express their willingness to accede to the proposed arrangement, as their chief desire was to have the Work completed under the charge of an ostensible Editor, whose name might be a sufficient guarantee for the fidelity of the republication.

JExtractedfrom (he Minutes,

Davtd Laino, iSecretary.

THE BAiNNATYNE CLUB.

DECEMBER M.DCCC.L.

THOMAS THOMSON, ESQ. PRESIDKM

THE EARL OF ABERDEEN. VICE-ADMIRAL SIR CHARLES ADAM. THE EARL OF ASHBURNHAM. LORD BELHAVEN AND HAMILTON. WILLIAM BLAIR, ESQ. BERIAH BOTFIELD, ESQ. THE MARQUESS OF BREADALBANE. SIR THOMAS MAKDOUGALL BRISBANE, BART. 10 GEORGE BRODIE, ESQ.

CHARLES DASHWOOD BRUCE, ESQ. 0. TYNDALL BRUCE, ESQ.

THE DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH AND QUEENSBERRY. VERY REV. DEAN RICHARD BUTLER. JAMES CAMPBELL, ESQ. PATRICK CHALMERS, ESQ. SIR GEORGE CLERK, BART., M.P. HON. HENRY COCKBURN, LORD COCKBURN, (VICK PREvSIDENT 1

THE BANNATYNE CLUB.

DAVID CONSTABLE, ESQ. 20 ANDREW COVENTRY, ESQ.

JAMES T. GIBSON CRAIG, ESQ., IKEASliRER.! SIR WILLIAM GIBSON CRAIG, BART., M.P. GEORGE CRANSTOUN, ESQ., [Deceased.] THE MARQUESS OF DALHOUSIE. THE MARQUESS OF DOUGLAS AND CLYDESDALE, HENRY DRUMMOND, ESQ., M.P. SIR DAVID DUNDAS, M.P. GEORGE DUNDAS, ESQ. WILLIAM PITT DUNDAS, ESQ. 30 THE EARL OF ELLESMERE.

JOSEPH WALTER KING EYTON, ESQ. LIEUT.-COL. ROBERT FERGUSON, M.P. COUNT MERCER DE FLAHAULT. THE EARL OF GOSFORD. WILLIAM GOTT, ESQ. ROBERT GRAHAM, ESQ. THE EARL OF HADDINGTON. THE DUKE OF HAMILTON AND BRANDON. SIR THOMAS BUCHAN HEPBURN, BART. 40 JAMES MAITLAND HOG, ESQ. JAMES R. HOPE, ESQ.

RIGHT HON. JOHN HOPE, LORD JUSTICE-CLEBK.. COSMO INNES, ESQ. DAVID IRVING, LL.D. HON. JAMES IVORY, LORD IVORY. SIR HENRY JARDINE.

HON. FRANCIS JEFFREY, LORD JEFFREY, [Deceased.] DAVID LAING, ESQ., .sF.cra:TA la THE EARL OF LAUDERDALE. 50 VERY REVEREND PRINCIPAL JOHN LEE, D.D. LORD LINDSAY.

THE BANNATYNE CLUB.

JAMES LOCH, ESQ., M.P.

LORD LOVAT.

ALEXANDER MACDONALD, ESQ.

HON. J, H. MACKENZIE, LORD MACKENZIE.

JAMES MACKENZIE, ESQ.

JOHN WHITEFOOED MACKENZIE, ESQ.

KEITH STEWART MACKENZIE, ESQ.

WILLIAM FORBES MACKENZIE, ESQ., M.P. 60 ALEXANDER MACONOCHIE, ESQ.

JAMES MAIDMENT, ESQ.

HON. THOMAS MAITLAND, LORD DUNDRENNAN.

THE VISCOUNT MELVILLE.

THE HON. WILLIAM LESLIE MELVILLE.

THE EARL OF MINTO.

HON. SIR JAMES W. MONCREIFF, LORD MONCREIFF.

JAMES PATRICK MUIRHEAD, ESQ.

HON. SIR JOHN A. MURRAY, LORD MURRAY.

WILLIAM MURRAY, ESQ. 70 ROBERT NASMYTH, ESQ.

CHARLES NEAVES, ESQ.

THE EARL OF NORTHESK.

LORD PANMURE.

ALEXANDER PRINGLE, ESQ.

JOHN RICHARDSON, ESQ.

THE DUKE OF ROXBURGHE.

RIGHT HON. ANDREW EUTHERFURD, LORD ADVOCATE, M.P.

THE EARL OF SELKIRK.

JAMES SKENE, ESQ. 80 WILLIAM SMYTHE, ESQ.

JOHN SPOTTISWOODE, ESQ.

EDWARD STANLEY, ESQ.

REV. WILLIAM STEVENSON, D.D.

THE BANNATYNE CLUB.

THE HON. CHARLES FRANCIS STUART.

THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND.

ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL SWINTON, ESQ.

ALEXANDER THOMSON, ESQ.

SIR WALTER CALVERLEY TREVELYAN, BART.

WILLIAM B. D. D. TURNBULL, ESQ.

ADAM URQUHART, ESQ.

HISTORY

OF TDE

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND,

BEGINNING THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 203, AND CONTINUED TO THE END OF THE REIGN OF KING JAMES VI.

BY THE

RIGHT RKV. JOHN SPOTTTSWOODE.

ARCHBISHOP OF ST ANDREWS, AND LORD CHANCELLOR OF SCOTLAND.

WITH

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH AND NOTES,

BY THE

RIGHT REV. M. RUSSELL, LL.D., D.C.L.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOLUME I.

EDINBURGH:

PRINTED FOR THE SPOTTISWOODE SOCIETY.

M.DCCC.XLVII.

kLKX. LAimiE AND CO. PRINTEBS TO HBU MAJESTY.

The Editing Committee of The Spottiswoode Society consider it incumbent upon them to express their deep regret, that this first accurate Edition of Archbishop Spottiswoode's History of the Church should be issued to the Members of the Society, under different auspices from those they had anticipated. They alhide to the sudden and unforeseen dispensation of an all-wise Providence, which has recently deprived them and the Scottish Epis- copal Church of the services of one of its most able and learned Prelates, the Right Rev. Dr. M. Russell, Bishop of Glasgow, &c., who for more than two years had been engaged in preparing this Edition of Spottiswoode's History for the press.

His sudden removal from this earthly scene left part of the Work unfinished, though the History itself was fully corrected, and had been carefully collated with the original MS. The Life of Archbishop Spottiswoode, with the exception of a few paragraphs, was completed ; but the summary of his character as an Author was left incom- plete, and it is evident that to it no addition could be made. Under these melancholy circumstances, the Committee trust that criticism will be disarmed, and indulgence secured for this Work, by the consideration, that the hand which alone could have corrected inaccuracies and supplied omissions, was suddenly arrested by death ; and that the vigorous mind and cultivated taste for which the Right Reverend Editor had been long distinguished, are for ever quenched in the silence of the tomb.

THE EDITOR'S PREFACE.

T may be satisfactory to the reader to receive some information in regard to the several Manuscripts, on the faith of which this edi- tion of Archbishop Spottiswoodo's History is presented to the public. Four different copies have passed through my hands, which, without vouching for the precise date at which they were written, I arrange in the following order : —

No. 1. The oldest apparently, and the least perfect, is that which belongs to the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, and appears to have been presented to that learned body by Bishop Keith, or by some one into whose possession it fell after the death of this Prelate. It extends only to Five Books, bringing down the narrative to no later date than the year 1602, and stops in the middle of a sentence. It presents, indeed, ample proof that the plan of the Work was not fully arranged in the mind of the author; for not only is the composition imperfect as to style, but deficient in many of the historical details which are afterwards introduced into later copies, written, or at least attested, by the hand of the author himself.

The penmanship, too, is in many parts so defaced, that it is almost impossible to read it — a fact repeatedly mentioned by Keith with feelings of deep disappointment and im- patience. This defect had suggested to him the expediency of transcribing part of the Manuscript ; and a copy of the Fifth Book accordingly, written in a very distinct manner, is now in my hands, bearing the following note : — " These sheets are copyed from the MS. Book or History of Arch-

A

vi THE EDITOR S PREFACE.

bishop Spottswood, where it begins to be bad writing ; and which MS. History I have gifted to the Advocates' Library." But it is worthy of notice, that neither in this transcribed copy, nor in the original Manuscript itself, is the Fifth Book finished. On tlie contrary, it terminates in the most abrupt manner, without bringing either the genei-al narra- tive, or the particular train of thought to a full close.

As the plan of the Work in this earliest Manuscript (for such I consider it to be,) differs considerably from that which the author subsequently prepared for the press, I here insert the " Contents" of the several Books, as originally conceived by him.

" The First Boole showeth the beginnings of Christian Keligion into this Kingdom ; the propagation thereof, and the troubles that fell out in the same by the Pelagian heresy, and the contention for the keeping of Easter. It containeth likewise a description of those that were famous in the Church for their piety and learning during the first ages, till the subversion of the Picts, which happened in the year of Christ 838.

" The Second Book containeth the succession of Bishops in the See of Sanct- Andrews, and other Sees of this Church, with the special accidents that fell out in the same, till the time of Reformation.

" The T/iird Book dcclareth the manner of the Reforma- tion that was here made, with the proceedings both in the Church and State, untill the resignation of the Crown by Queen Mary in favour of her sonne and heyre. King James the Sexth.

" The Fourth Booh relateth the proceedings of Affairs under the Regents who governed the kingdom in the minority of the King, untill the acceptation of tiie govern- ment in his own person.

" The Fifth and last Book containeth the chief matters which have fallen out since that time, as well in the State as in the Church, untill this present."

THE EDITOll S PREFACE. Vll

To this Manuscript is prefixed an Address " To the Reader," which, as it is not to be found in any other copy of the History, I have thought proper to insert in a sub- sequent page.

It appears to have been the original intention of the author to confine his " History of the Church of Scotland" to the period which terminated at the accession of James the Sixth to the English throne, and to comprehend the whole narrative in five Books. But he afterwards extended his plan so far as to carry down the narrative to the death of that monarch ; and with this view he added two Books more, carrying part of the fifth, as it stands in this Manu- script, into the sixth, according to a new division of the matter as it is found arranged in the more complete copies of his transcript, as well as in the printed volume. The Seventh Book comprehends the transactions which took place after the union of the Crowns, so far as such events bear upon the interests of the Church in the isorthern division of the kingdom.

No. 2. This Manuscript, which is marked '■'■Ex Bihliotlieca ap%d SpottisiDoode,'''' was put into my hands by the present representative of the Primate's family. It is Avritten in a very distinct and even beautiful character, containing nume- rous marginal notes, as well as some alterations of the text, inserted by the Archbishop himself. The Seventh Book, for some reason not assigned, is supplied in separate sheets, copied by a diflFerent person, and without the re- ferences and annotations by the author which are found in every page of the preceding Books. In this case the style of penmanship proves that he must have employed the aid of more than one amanuensis.

No. 3. This Manuscript belongs to the public library at Kelso, and is, with the exception of a few verbal alterations, an exact copy of the foregoing. That it is of more recent date may be inferred from the fact that it contains the " Letter Dedicatorie," addressed by the author to King

Vm THE EDITOR S PREFACE.

Charles the First, though without the signature of the Primate. The date of this copy must therefore be held postei'ior to the death of King James, which took place in the year 1G25, and before the commencement of the troubles in Scotland, which ultimately led to the temporary downfall of the Church in both divisions of Great Britain.

This Manuscript, it is presumed, originally belonged to the Duke of Lauderdale, who was in possession of two written copies of the Work before it was printed by Roy- ston, at London, in the year 1655. It was probably bought at the sale of his Grace's books, to which the following notice bears a reference : —

" In the year 1G92 a collection of Manuscripts, amounting to one hundred and seven different Works, was sold by auction in Tom's Coffee-house, Ludgate Hill." The Duke of Lauderdale died in lGo2 ; and seven years afterwards, Evelyn, in a letter to Samuel Pepys, writes — " The Duke's library is still entire, choicely bound, and to be sold by a friend of mine, to whom they are pawned." Among the Manuscripts inserted in the sale Catalogue, were No. 11, " Spotswood's History of Scotland (upon paper), folio ; " No. 12, Spotswood's History of Scotland, from the first " planting of the Christian Faith in that Kingdom (on " paper), folio." The distinction of being written on "paper" arises from the circumstance that many of the Manuscripts then exposed to sale were written on vellum.i

The Manuscript in the Kelso Library is probably one of the two now described. It bears the word " Lauderdale," in large letters, and must, it is hence inferred, have be- longed to that family.

No. 4. This Manuscript, and by far the most important of the whole, is that which is in the possession of the Univer- sity of DubUn, the use of which has been liberally granted to me by the Curators of their Library, — the Provost and Senior Fellows of Trinity College,

' See Bannatyne Miscellany, Vol. II. p. 149.

THE EDITOR S PREFACE. IX

The history of this copy cannot now be clearly traced ; but, as it is the one which the Archbishop himself prepared for the press, and is sanctioned by the Licence of two Secretaries of State, its fortunes cannot be viewed without interest. On the first page or fly-leaf of the volume itself, an allusion to its singular destiny is made in the following words : — •' For an account of this Manuscript, see the Life of John Forbes of Corse, by Doctor Garden."" After some search, for the reference is rather vague, I found the following statement contained in a letter from Robert Burnet, brother of Sir Thomas Burnet of Leyes, in Aber- deenshire, and father of the celebrated Bishop Burnet, addressed to the famed antiquary, Gordon of Straloch.

" Archiepiscopi S. Andrese Historia adhuc salva est, et licet prajcipium exemplar semel incident in manus Foeder- atorum, nunc tamen est in manibus D. Patricii Drummond, viri integerrimi, et pignori oppositum a quodam Law servo Comitis Lanerick, cui, cum esset a secretis Regi, commis- sum fuit exemplar, Urgebat me D. Patricius Drummond, postquam hue veni, ut a volentibus exigerem collatitiam pe- cuniam ut typis mandaretur ; sed in his turbis et in hac pecuniffi inopia, nemine volente, ego me ipsum scripto obli- gavi ad quatuor exemplaria emenda, quamprimura historia foret typis mandata. Et conatus sum similem syngraphum ab aliis extorquere ad plura vel pauciora exemplaria emenda, sed nulli persuasi. Verum Archiepiscopi historia non at- tingit haec tempera, finiens cum morte Jacobi Sexti Regis.

Nunquam mihi coutingit videre aut legere, sed audivi

a quondam Comite Lauderio, cui per quindecim dies a D.Roberto Spotswodo commodatafueritLondini, nihil magis candide, ingenue, moderate, vere, et prudenter ab ullo Scriptum, seque ex ungue leonem judicasse, nempe ex rela- tione rerum suo tempore gestarum, quarum si non maxima, non minima pars fuit." ^

^ Reverend! Viri Jobannis Forbesii a Corse, Presbyteri et S. S. Theolo- gi£e Doctoris, ejusdemque Professoris in Academia Aberdoneusi, Opera omnia, &c. &c. Tom. prim. p. 67.

X THE EDITOR S PEEFACE.

For the use of such as arc not in the habit of reading Latin, I subjoin a translation of the notice now given, which, considered in relation to the time at which it was written, is certainly not without some degree of interest.

" The history of the Archbishop of Saint Andrews is still safe, and, although the principal copy once fell into the hands of the Covenanters, it is now nevertheless in the possession of Sir Patrick Drummond, a man of great integrity, to whom it was pawned by a certain individual named Law, a servant of the Earl of Lanerick, to whom, when he was of the Privy Council, the said copy was committed in trust. Sir Patrick Drummond, after I came hither, urged me to obtain subscriptions from tliose friendly to the cause, that the Work might be committed to the press ; but, in these troubled times and during the present scarcity of money, I found no one willing to engage : I bound myself, however, by a written obligation, to purchase four copies as soon as the History should be printed. I endeavoured to obtain a similar pledge from others to buy more or fewer copies, but I prevailed with no one. It deserves notice, that the Archbishop's History does not come down to our times, but ends at the death of King James the Sixth. It has never fallen to my lot to see or read the Work, but I learned from the late Earl of Lauder- dale, to whom it was lent fifteen days by Sir Robert Spots- wood at London, that nothing was ever written by any one, more candidly, ingenuously, moderately, truly, and pru- dently— that he judged of his high qualities from the portion he had read, especially in regard to the events which had taken place in his own time, in which he per- formed, if not the greatest, at least a very prominent, part."

This letter is dated at Aberdeen in the year 1G52 ; and it is well known that the first edition of Archbishop Spottiswoode's History was published at London in 1655, not more than three years afterwards. It is nevertheless more than doubtful whether the Manuscript, to which

THE EDITOR S PREFACE. XI

Mr Burnet alludes, was ever in the hands of the metro- pohtan printer ; nor is it now possible to ascertain which of the several transcripts of the Primate's Work was used by Royston. I am inclined to believe that a copy may have been written out for the press from the Dublin ^lanuscript, which was probably still in Scotland; and that all the en-ors in the printed volume may be ascribed to haste or carelessness on the part of the amanuensis. None of the variations seem to have originated in design, because, generally considered, they are of very little interest, viewed with a reference either to historical facts or party- feeling.

A short quotation made by Nicolson from a communi- cation addressed to him by Gordon of Straloch, indicates that the latter cherished the hope of seeing the Arch- bishop''s book published at no distant period. "Bene se habet et mihi ipsi gratulor quod antequam vita abeam, videam has lucubrationes posthumas in lucem editas, de quibus edendis, hoc perditissimo seculo, omnes desperaverant." ^ — "It is well," says the learned chieftain, " and I congratulate myself upon the fact, that before I shall depart this life, I may see these posthumous lucubrations brought to light, in regard to the publishing of which, in this most unhappy age, all men had despaired."

But, whatever might be the ground on which Straloch reposed his hope of seeing the Manuscript passed through the press, it is certain that the first edition of the " History of the Church of Scotland " was not printed directly from the copy prepared by the Archbishop. At tliis distant date it is impossible to trace the precise time and manner in which it passed from the hands of Sir Patrick Drummond into those of Nicolson, when Archdeacon of Carlisle ; but it admits not of doubt that it was in the possession of this learned writer about the beginning of last century.

In the Work of Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty, en- titled, the " Discovery of a most exquisite Jewell," tiiere is 1 Nicolson's ?cottidh Historical Library, page 194, 8vo. edition.

xn THE EDITOR S PREFACE.

a notice supplied relative to the Spottiswootle Manuscript, which, considered in connection with the circumstance men- tioned by the author, is extremely interesting. He saw the Manuscript delivered by the Bishop of Ross to the King, who immediately handed it over to the Earl of Lanerick.

Alluding, in his peculiar manner, to certain professional men, he says, " we may now for the souFs sake, have another hint at some of our late Scottish Divines ; the first whereof, and that prioritate dignitatis, that to my memory presenteth himself, is Doctor William Forbes, Principal once of the College of Now Aberdeen, and after- wards made Bishop of Edinburgh ; who was so able a scholar, that since the days of Scotus Subtilis, there was never any that professed either Divinity or Philosophy in Scotland that in either of these faculties did parallel him. He left Manuscripts of great learning behind him, which, as I am informed, were bought at a good rate by Doctor Laud, late Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of Eng- land ; whose spiritual brother Spottiswoode, late Arch- bishop of St Andrews and Chancellor of Scotland, was like- wise endowed with a great deal of learning, by means where- of, though he wrote many good books, yet that whereon he bestowed most pains was a large boolc in folio, intituled, '' The History of the Church of Scotland," which I believe was never printed. Yet the manuscript thereof, written with Spottiswoode's own hand, I saw presented at White- hall, in the lobby betwixt the Little Gallery and Privy- Chamber, now called the Admiralty-Court, by Maxwell late Bishop of Ross, to the late King, who even then de- livered it to his Secretary of State for Scotland, William Earl of Lanerick by name, who was the same Duke Hamil- ton of Hamilton that was killed at Worcester, and only brother to James, Duke by the aforesaid title, who, two years before that, lost his head at Westminster in the Palace-yard. But what became of the Manuscript after- wards I cannot tell : but this I know, that the tenderer

THE EDITOR S PREFACE. XUI

thereof (upon his knees to his Majesty as the gift of a de- ceased man, for the author died but the day before) Master John Maxwell by name, was a very learned man, and author of some good books."!

In the letter from Robert Burnet to Gordon, already quoted, it is mentioned that the Manuscript had fallen into the hands of the Covenanters (in manibus Foederatorum) ; and it is certain that it was for some time in the possession of Principal Baillie, an individual who, as every one knows, occupied a prominent station in those troubled times. In his " Historical Vindication of the Government of the Church of Scotland," written in 1646, he mentions— "among the authors out of which the chief testimonies of the subsequent Vindica- tion are taken, is the ' Ecclesiastical History of Scotland,"" written by John Spotswood, pretended Archbishop of St Andrews, licensed for the press under the hands of Secretary Stirling and Windebank. " This allusion to the License leaves no doubt as to the particular copy of the Manuscript which was used by the reverend author of the Vindication, about nine years before the appearance of the first printed edition in London.

The next notice of the Archbishop's corrected Manuscript which has fallen under my observation, is contained in a Work entitled "HistoricalCoUectionsofEcclesiastick Affairs in Scotland and Politick related to them, including the Murder of the Cardinal of St Andrews, and the Beheading of their Queen Mary in England." By Ri. Watson. Printed by John Garfield, London, 1657. Alluding to his own Work he says — " But this endeavour may seem imper- tinent, if not impudent, in the face or memory of that most reverend heroic Prelate, whose greater eminency in authority and interest in the same country hath, with much more advan- tage, particularly and amply satisfied the world by a greater volume, for the suppressing which so many subtilities and violencies had been used, besides the power of a forraign magistrate (at Schidam in Holland) for the surprisal of the 1 Pp. 214-215, Edition 1652, London.

XIV THE EDITOKS PREFACE.

secretary in his preparing it for the press, tiuit nothing could be a surer evidence than such self-confessing guiltinesse against that party; nor ought else, after the grace and rever- ence of the renowned author, put a greater estimate and opinion upon the book, at least if published as he wrote it." What were the " subtilities and violencies " used for the suppression of the Archbishop"'s Manuscript I have no means of determining : nor is it more evident by whom it was carried to Holland, and by what means it was recovered. But a short time afterwards it was, as already mentioned, in the possession of Doctor Nicolson, the Archdeacon of Carlisle, well known as the author of the English, Irish, and Scottish Historical Libraries. In the last of these Works, which he published at London in 1702, he writes as follows, in reference to the " History of the Church of Scot- land."— " I have now by me a very fair transcript of this History, the same which was provided by the author for the press ; as both his name subscribed to the Epistle Dedica- tory with his own hand, and the licenses under the hands of the Secretaries of both kingdoms, Sterlin and Windebank, do sufficiently prove. That which INIr Koyston procured afterwards was less exact than this ; as appears from the marginal notes, which are all in the author's proper hand- writing, and from some defects in the print (many of which are omissions of whole lines), which may be hence supplied. I shall instance only a couple, which are within the compass of one page ; wherein the learned author tells us that the Isles of Orkney were possessed by the Picts, whilst that kingdom stood ; and that St Kentigern's Hymn began thus :

* O Sacer Antistes, Regis clarissima proles, Per quern Laudonia nitet, ot jam Cambria tota, Magna pars Scotiai fidei convertitur alma.'

Both which stories are very defective in the printed books of both editions."

Indeed the greater part of the quotation is left out by Eoyston, and the remainder in consequence is totally with- out meaning. But th(re is a still greater mistake in the

THE EDITOR S PREFACE. XV

Sixth Book, where are described the proceedings adopted against Archbishop Adamson. The Synod hehl at St Andrews accused him, among other things, of devising the Statutes passed in the year 1584. This charge, according to the printed narrative, is met as follows — " The Bishop, repeating his protestation, answered, That the Statutes were not of his devising ; but when they were proposed, he gave his opinion that they were good and lawful Acts, and therein had served his conscience, the very second Act of that Parliament being an express confirmation of Popery, in so far as by it the dignity and authority of the Three Estates was ordained to stand unaltered, according to the ancient custom of the realm.""

This appears a very odd defence in the mouth of a Prelate who was accused of shewing a Romish tendency and a marked disaffection towards the constitution of the Eeformed Church ; but the statement, according to the latest and correct Manuscript of Archbishop Spottiswoode, stands as follows : — " To this the bishop (Adamson), repeating his protesta- tion, answered, ' that the Statutes were not of his devising ; but when they wore proposed, he gave his opinion that they were good and lawful Acts, and therein had served his con- science."' At this word a confused clamour was raised ' that he was a man of no conscience ; the very second Act of that Parliament being an express confirmation of Popery, in so far as by it the dignity and authority of the Three Estates was ordained to stand unaltered, according to the ancient custom of the I'ealm. This, said they, is a ratifying of the Episcopal jurisdiction according as it was in the time of Popery.' '"

It is manifest that according to the copies hitherto printed, Adamson is represented as maintaining, in a tone of appro- bation, an inference which he openly disavowed, namely, that the Act of Parliament conveyed an express confirma- tion of Popery ; which inference, drawn by his enemies, was the principal ground of the charge urged against him

XVI THE EDITORS PREFACE.

by the two Melvilles, who were then meditating his over- throw. The error, it is clear, arises from two sentences being incautiously run into one; the effect of which, however, is to injure greatly the memory of the unfortunate Primate. In many other parts of Royston s edition, there arc whole lines and even larger portions of sentences left out, whereby the meaning of the author is not a little obscured and his argument weakened ; a result which may be confidently ascribed to undue haste, or the ignorance of the transcriber, whose thoughts seem to have been directed to the mere mechanical department of his office, without any regard to the accuracy of the text.

Nearly fifty years had elapsed between the appearance of the first London edition and the notice given by Archdeacon Nicolson, of " the very fair transcript of the History of the Church of Scotland, provided by the author himself for the press, and licensed by the two Secretaries of State." The Scottish Historical Library, in which this notice is con- tained, was, as already stated, first published in 1702. In the same year the Archdeacon was raised to the Episcopate as Bishop of Carlisle. In 1718 he was promoted to the See of Derry ; and in 1727, nominated to the Archiepiscopal See of Cashel, of which, as he died the same year, he appears not to have taken possession. It is probable that he carried with him to Ireland the manuscript of Spottiswoode's History ; but whether it passed immediately upon his death into the hands of the Trustees of the Library of Trinity College, or had, in the meantime, fallen into the possession of some private person, is a point which cannot now be ascer- tained. It is conjectured that the University bought it at the sale of Nicolson's books and papers, soon after his death ; for, upon inspecting the proper Record, no evidence was discovered that the ^Manuscript had been pre- sented to the College, either by the owner or by any of his representatives.

It is of more importance to the reader of the present

THE EDITOR S PREFACE. XVU

edition, to be assured that the Manuscript in question has been carefully compared with tJie printed copy which issued from Royston's press in 1655, and that every word has been inserted which was either omitted or incorrectly placed in the latter.

This assurance will, it is hoped, put an end to the various complaints, and somewhat ungenerous insinuations which have been made in regard to the genuineness of the text of Spottiswoode's History. Of all the writers who have indulged in this freedom of stricture, it is somewhat remarkable that Bishop Keith should be one of the most vociferous, and, con- sidering his opportunities, the least reasonable. For ex- ample, at page 495 of his " History of the Affairs of Church and State in Scotland," he copies a passage from the first or earliest Manuscript, in which the Primate narrates the counsel said to have been given by Archbishop Hamilton to John Knox, through the Reverend John Brand, minister at Holyroodhouse. Keith remarks in a foot-note, — •" These are the Archbishop's (Spottiswoode) precise words, though not a syllable thereof is to be found in the print."

The anecdote in question, as quoted by Keith, is to be found at the beginning of the Third Book of Spottiswoode's History, according to the Manuscript in the Advocates' Library, which, it has been remarked, is clearly the original draft of the Archbishop's Work, and the only copy which Keith appears to have read. Indeed, it is generally believed that it was his own property, and is certainly the only written copy of the History to which he any where makes a reference. But he moreover falls into a great mistake when he asserts that " not a syllable of the story is to be found in the print." It is to be found in the very Book to which he refers, though transferred to the end, instead of the beginning, as originally placed in the Advocates' Manuscript. Alluding to the " Policy" sanctioned by Knox, Spottiswoode remarks, that " the churchmen who went before had been provident enough in these matters ; and good had it been for those

XVIU THE EDITOR S PREFACE.

who succeeded to have kept fast that which they found esta- bhshcd to their hand, as the Archbishop of St Andrews did at the same time advise them ; for he employing John Brand, a INIonk of Halyrudhouse (who served, many years after, minister at the Canongate), to go unto John Knox, willed him to say from him, ' that albeit he had inno- vated many things, and made reformation of the doctrine of the Church, whereof he could not deny but there was some reason; yet he should do wisely to retain the old policy which had been the work of many ages, or then put a better in place thereof, before he did shake off the other. Our High- landmen, said he, have a custom when they will break young colts, to fasten them by the head with strong tethers, one of which they keep ever fast till the beast be thoroughly made. The multitude, that beast with many heads, should just be so dealt with. Master Knox, I know, esteemeth me an enemy ; but tell him from me he shall find it true that I speak.' "

In his " Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops," p. 264, second edition, Keith again refers to the subject in these words : — " I must inform the reader of this, that there are two manuscript copies of that History extant, and that both of these do not only vary from each other, but the print also varies from each of them. Great freedoms have been taken in publishing it."

A satisfactory reply to this charge or insinuation of dis- honesty is supplied by Sir David Dalrymple, afterwards Lord Hailes, in his Memorials and Letters relating to the History of Britain in the reign of James the First, p. 44. " The editor takes this opportunity of correcting an error committed by Mr Keith, both in his History of the Reformation in Scotland, and in his Catalogue of Scottii-h Bishops. He asserts ' that great freedoms have been used in publishing Spotiswood's Work ; ' ho even points out certain interpolations in one of the Manuscripts; but the truth is, that those interpolations are corrections of (in)

THE EDITOR ,S PREFACE. XIX

the handwriting of Spotiswood himself; and the error of Mr Keith is the more strange, as the Manuscript which he endeavours to depreciate, was his own property, and as it contains the first draught of some part of the History in the handwriting of Spotiswood."

This statement, on the part of Lord Hailes, is perfectly correct. About four hundred and sixty pages of the !Manu- script in question (now the Advocates"') are written in a good and legible style by an amanuensis ; the remainder is in the handwriting of the author, in the character of the seventeenth century ; but throughout the whole volume there are marginal additions and remarks by the Archbishop, in his own peculiar penmanship, which cannot be mistaken.

It is clear, therefore, that the imputation of dishonesty hitherto so freely charged upon the editor or publisher of the printed " History of the Church of Scotland," is entirely groundless. There were in existence not fewer than four Manuscripts ; and every reader formed his opinion as to the purity of the text, according to the transcript to which he happened to have access. The author, in re-writing his volume, used the privilege which every historian claims, of altering the arrangement of his materials, correcting his style, and of adding to his narrative new facts or reflections. It is manifest that as his inquiries ceased not, until he had, according to his maturer views, entirely exhausted the sub- ject, our main reliance must be placed on the latest of his Manuscripts.

From the constant complaints of modern compilers, in- cluding Laing, Cook, and others of less name, a strong sus- picion has been propagated that Spottiswoode's great Work is defective loth as to its authenticity and genuineness. It was therefore desirable to fix, if possible, the limits of this uncertainty ; and it is manifest that this object cocld not be attained in any way so well as by comparing his several Manuscripts, the order and succession of which may now be fixed with some degree of accuracy. Our confi-

XX THE EDITORS PREFACE.

dence is increased beyond the reach of any reasonable doubt, by the important fact, that we have in our hands the copy which he himself prepared for the press, authenticated by the highest authority, as well as by his own signature in the Dedication to the King. Of the existence of this Manuscript, Bishop Keith, and all the more modern annalists who have followed him in his doubts and repeated his complaints, appear to have been entirely ignorant. It is therefore of no small consequence that we have it in our power to give an unquestionable assurance that Spottiswoode's History of the Church of Scotland is at length printed from the sheets which he himself destined for the press, containing his latest improvements, both in matter and style.

It was the wish of the Archbishop, expressed in his Will, that his Work should come forth under the auspices of Max- well, Bishop of Ross, whom he had named as his principal executor, " commending to his fidelitie the edition of my Historic, if the same be not done by myselfe, and the pre- senting thereof to his Majestic, for whose service and the Church's I did only take these pains."

As there is no trace of any attempt on the part of the Bishop of Ross to pass the History through the press, it might have been conjectured that he presented the Manuscript to the King; and that being confided to the care of the Earl of Lanark, it encountered the fate mentioned by Robert Burnet — was removed from the house of the Earl by Mr Law, a member of his establishment, and pledged for a sum of money. Sir Thomas Urquharfs statement removes all doubts as to the presentation of the Manuscript to his Ma- jesty, and its transference to the Earl of Lanark.

I have remarked that it is now impossible to remove the obscurity which attends the transmission of the Arch- bishop's History, from the time when it was in the hands of Principal Baillie till we find it in those of Archdeacon Nicolson. A distinguished member of the University of Dublin, to whom I am chiefly indebted for the loan of

THE EDITOR S PREFACE. XXI

their JNIanuscript, has written to me as follows : — " I re- gret to say that I am unable to give you any informa- tion as to its history, nor can I tell how it came into our possession. It is very probable that it remained in the hands of the representatives of Bishop Nicolson, and was either purchased from them by the University or presented to our library. I think it must have been purchased, as it is not entered among our donations.

" Nicolson died suddenly about a fortnight after his pro- motion to the See of Cashel ; we have his Common-place book here in manuscript. I am sorry to say that I can give you no information about the letters committed by Archbishop Spottiswoode to Maxwell, Bishop of Killala."

In mentioning the name of the Archdeacon of Carhsle — for under that title he acquired his celebrity — I am reminded of another testimony which he bore in favour of the integrity and genuineness of Spottiswoode's Manuscript. Bishop Sage, at page 118 of his " Fundamental Charter of Presbytery " writes, in allusion to a fact omitted in the Primate's Work, as follows : — " For my part, I should rather think that we have not his History entire^ and as he designed it for the press (for which I have heard other pregnant presumptions) than that so great a man was guilty of so great an oscitancy." Wodrow seems to have applied to Nicolson for his opinion in regard to Sage''s suspicions as to the entireness of the Archbishop's narrative ; in return to which we have a letter from him addressed to the " lleverend Eobert Wodrow, dated 29th February 1700," which contains the following notice : — " I have a manuscript of Spotiswood's History, wherein the marginal notes and some additions are in the author's own handwriting, which is fairly vn-itten for the press, and is licensed under the hands of the Secretaries of State of both kingdoms. This differs sometimes from what we have in print ; but I find nothing in it that confirms the forementioned remark,"" — that namely made by Sage.i 1 Wodi'ow's Correspondence, Vol. I. No. 73.

B

XXU THE EDITOR S PREFACE.

An allusion has been made to the Address prefixed by the Archbishop to the oldest of his Manuscripts, but which he has not repeated in any of the later copies. It is as follows : —

" TO THE READER.

"These factious times which, according to their nature, are full of calumnies and misinterpretings, require that I should say somewhat concerning this History, and my purpose in collecting the same ; for I am not ignorant what the judg- ment of diverse men will be, and that I shall be held a par- tiall witness in the matters of this last lime. But I will pray those who think so not to give sentence before they have examined what I have written. Sure I am they shall find no untruth therein, nothing said without warrand, nothing out of humour, nay, not the smallest prejudice offered in the relation, either to the cause or person. Whatsoever my private opinion is of matters, I studied to keep an indiffer- encie in writing, and so, contented to propound the causes, counsels, and success of every business, I leave to each man his liberty of approving or disapproving things as he shall have reason. This is all I will say for that part of the History, at which I forsee most exception will be taken.

" Touching the rest, the trueth is, that my purpose was not at first to have gone without the compasse of our owne time, much lesso to have played the antiquarie, and made a search of the beginnings of our Church ; yet afterwards I was brought unto it upon diverse considerations. As first, I perceived the memories of those ancient times, whereof we have but a few rescued, lying scattered in histories, most of them in old Manuscripts which fall not in every hand ; and that the same, being collected and digested in order, would represent the state of the Church in the severall ages of it, and make the story pcrfite in a sort, which otherwise would be but maimed and mutilate. Next, I considered, that our neglect of those times, and the persones who lived

THE EDITOR S PREFACE. XXUl

in them, had emboldened forraine writers to place in their catalogues diverse of the rarest lights that have shined in our Church, whereby they robbe us of our honour, and give many to think that either this kingdome was not Christian till of late, or if it were, that our Church was but obscure, and yielded no men of any worth or excellencie ; which imputations being most untrue, could not be removed by a better meane than by deducing the history of our Church from the very beginnings, and setting down a particular description of the persones that were famous therein for piety and learning. A third and more important considera- tion I had, which was this ; that they who are possessed with a misconceit of the present policie of the Church, might possibly be wonne from their opinions, when they should see the forme of governement now established to be the same that was observed in the Church in the most pure and uncorrupt times. In which point our histories are most clear, for they relate that the first preachers of the Gospell among us, though they were not many in number, had their owne Bishop and Overseer, whom they honoured and rever- enced as their superiour, doing nothing in any matter of weight or moment without his direction. In processe of time, the faith increasing and the people of God being mul- tiplied, as the number of pastors grew in the Church, so was the number of Bishops proportionably increased ; and from those primitive times, through the succession of all ages, have not been wanting, but still continued without change, till of late, after the Reformation some fifteine yeares or more, an innovation was made, by certaine ill advised persones, to the extreme hurt of the Church, as the event proved, and direct against the mind of our Reformers. The platforme of policie which they proposed is extant, and in the hands of many, which I thought meet also to insert in this history, that all might see their meaning was never to frame and erect a new Church, or yet to abolish the policy thereof, but only to restore and reforme the Church which was, from the

XXIV THE EDITOll S TREFACE.

disorders and errors wherewith it was blemished. Now when this shall be knowne, and men shall see that the gouvemeraent of the Church by Bishops was neither the devise of Antichrist, nor yet rejected of our Keformers, as they have bene made to beleive, I doe not think but a better information will take place with those that love to guide themselves by trueth and reason. Last of all, I thought that this history might perhaps serve to reclaime such of our countreymen as have been coosened by the popish braggs of succession and antiquity. For here they shall see, if they will not wilfully shut their eyes, true antitjuity to be on our side, and that wee are the same Church, professing the same faith, which our fathers were taught at first. In the be- ginning a Church pure and sound, as the adversaries them- selves will not deny, corrupted in after dayes by our too great familiarity with Eome, and now againo, through the mercyes of God, happily reformed. If any desire to know our pedegrec and descent, which long hath been called for, it is here in a sort demonstrated, and might, no doubt, have been more fully cleared by shewing the lineall succession of pastors in this Church, if our Records had not beene lost : But as to require this of us (considering the confusions which have happened in this kingdom, partly by foiTaine warres, and partly by domestick broilcs,) were a demand most unreasonable, so is it no way necessary for us to do ; this sufficing to prove, we are not a new Church, but one truely Apostolicall, that we can derive the doctrine we professe from the Apostles of our Lord, and from their next suc- cessors : It being true which Tertullian saith, Ecclesice in eadem fide conspiranies^ licet nullum ex AjwstoUs vel Apos- tolicis authorem suum proferant, Apostoliccv depufaniur, pro consanguinitate dodrince ; that is, the Churches which pro- fesse the same faith with the Apostles, howbeit they cannot verify any one of the Apostles or Apostolic men to have been their founders, are yet to be esteemed Apostolicall for the consanguinity they have with the doctrine of the

THE EDITOR S PREFACE. XXV

Apostles. This consanguinity we ean evidence in every point of religion that we hold, and farther, can manifest those errors for which we have departed from the now Romane Church not to have been in the beginning, nor heard of in our Church for many ages, which, as occasion hath offered, I make plaine in the History following.

" These be the considerations that drew me upon this labour, and have put me to more paines than I think good to expresse. If they may prove in any sort beneficiall to the Church, or the meanest member of it, my contentment shall be great. I confess no travell did ever more sweetly steal away my time, than that which I spent on this sub- ject ; neither was it without profit. The like I wish to thee, and so leaving the Worke to thy use, I commit the successe of my purpose in it, to God his blessing."

In the original Manuscript, or that marked No. 1, and belonging to the Advocates' Library, " The Proeme of the whole Work " is as follows : — " Having purposed to write the History of our Church, I judged it convenient to deduce the same from the beginning — that is, from tlie time in which this kingdom first received the Christian Faith. For albeit the memorials and monuments of times past be perished for the greater part, yet so much is remaining as may let us see the estate and condition of the Church in every age, which for clearing the passage of things in after times is very needful to be knowne.

" When I shall come to the matters of our own time I will write of them more particularly, because they do more nearly concern us, and the Eecords of these be all extant to witness the truth of every thing, if, perhaps, the relation I make shall be questioned in any point.

" I am not ignorant that this will he a labour full of trouble, and the work itself a subject of great envie ; but for the Church's sake I will not decline either of the two, my interest being to procure the good and benefit thereof, by

XXVI THK EDITOR .S PREFACE.

some means which this piece of history is not unlike to do ; for one of the best means to make men wise, and teach them to govern aright, is to inform them truly of things done be- fore their time, and of the events, good or evil, that have ensued. The short life of man sufficeth not, as one hath truly said, to purchase the experience of many things ; whereas, in a few hours' reading of an history wisely digested, we may gain more instruction than twenty men living suc- cessively, one after another, can acquire by their own observations.

" Now, because truth is the quality that gives chief life to a history, I will study to deliver things faithfully ; occurrents especially of this last time, which will be most pried into, I shall set down without passion or partiality, as becometh him who makes profession of the simple truth."

In the Manuscript belonging to the Library of Spottis- woode, that namely marked No. 2, the Preface appears in the following terms : — " Having purposed to write the His- tory of our Church, I thought meet to deduce the same from the beginning, that is, from the time this kingdom did first resave the Christian faith ; for albeit we have no Records left of those first times, yet in stories wee find as much as may shew what was the condition of the Church in every age : And therwith wee must rest satisfied till wee come to the times that are more near our own days, and which will yield greater plcntie of matter. When I shall come to our own days, if God spare my life so long, although I know it is not safe to deal in matters of that kind, I purpose to set down at length the things which have fallen out both in the State and Church ; and not the events only (these are easily seen of the common sort), but the reasons and causes of the events, without which all his- tory is to little use ; for to take away from story, as an ancient writer saith, the causes whereupon, the manner how, and the purpose wherefore, things were done, and whether the action had that success, which on probabilitie was

THE EDITOR S PREFACE. XXVll

expected, is a tale rather than history — delighting for the present, but profiting him that readeth it, little or nothing at all."

Upon turning to the Introduction, as it was finally pre- pared for the press, and is now printed, the reader will find that the alterations are unimportant. It concludes with the following sentence, which simply re-states, in different words, an opinion embodied in the older Manuscripts. — " I am not ignorant how unsafe it is to write of matters so recent, and what offence it may give to divers persons ; but the desire I have to give to posterity a true information of things, and to have them made wise by our errors, weigheth down with me all such fears."

The lithogi-aphed title-page is an exact copy of that prefixed to the Dublin Manuscript, the one prepared for the press by the author, and presents an accurate facsimile of the Licences granted by the Earl of Stirling and Sir Francis Windebank, Secretaries of State.

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

iHE Memoirs of a writer, distinguished at once by the high place he held during a mo- mentous period in the annals of Great Britain, and by the part which he was called upon to act as a public character, require a more par- ticular account of his principles and administration than is contained in the brief notice prefixed to his History of the Church of Scotland, He occupied a prominent station, not only as a ruler in the ecclesiastical body, and as a statesman possessing the confidence of two successive sovereigns, but also as a public writer, who witnessed many of the occurrences described by him in the latter part of his Work, and as a divine who was compelled to share in some of those contro- versies which embittered the period wherein his lot was cast. In all these respects, many details are wanting which seem necessary to afibrd a complete view of his conduct, whether viewed in connection with his duties as a Bishop ; his wisdom as a Councillor ; or his success in defending the faith and discipline of the religious Communion over which he presided. Nor would such an undertaking be complete, without some notice of his family, his education, and the circumstances under which he originally entered into professional life.

Proceeding on the ground now indicated, I shall divide this Biographical Sketch into three parts : the first embody- ing the few notices which, after the lapse of more than two hundred years, have descended to our times, respecting the personal history of the Archbishop ; the second having a reference to his official conduct as one of the heads of the Episcopal Church ; and the third embracing some remarks

XXX LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

on his character as an author, whether viewed as a contro- versialist, or as a narrator of public events for the instruction of posterity.

It is stated by a writer, who appears to have founded his narrative on a personal knowledge of the facts which he records, that the Archbishop was descended from the Lairds of Spottiswoode ; an ancient race of gentlemen in the county of Berwick, and the Chiefs of their name in that part of the kingdom. His grandfather was slain at the battle of Flod- den in the year 1513, where, it is well known, King James the Fourth perished, with many of his nobles and a great number of the inferior tenants of the Crown, who had fol- lowed his standard across the Tweed. This catastrophe was succeeded, in many families, by the most disastrous results, and more especially in the border counties, where much pro- perty was destroyed by the victorious enemy ; nor do the Spottiswoodes seem to have enjoyed any exemption from this national calamity. John, the future Superintendent and father of the historian, was left an orphan at the age of four years, with means, it is probable, greatly diminished, and deprived of tho counsel of those whose affection would have guided his youth and promoted his studies. But not- withstanding, having a desire to prepare himself for the Church, ho proceeded to the University of Glasgow, where he appears to have acquired distinction by his talents and assiduity.

After finishing the usual course of literature and philo- sophy, he found himself opposed by a serious obstacle, aris- ing from the unsettled state of religious opinion in his native Church ; and on this ground ho hesitated for some time whether he ought to enter into the profession for which his studies had qualified him, and towards which the full bent of his inclination had been all along directed. He made a journey into England, carrying with him, says his biographer, an " unsettled mind ;" but, having tho good fortune to be introduced to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the celebrated

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. XXXI

Oranmer, his hesitation was removed, and he was confirmed in those truths from which he never afterwards varied. 1

The fact now mentioned is of some importance when con- sidered in relation to the ecclesiastical principles of the Superintendent and his two sons, who steadily opposed themselves to the new views on Church Government which were gradually introduced into Scotland during the later stages of the Reformation.

About the year 1542, young Spottiswoode was employed by Matthew, Earl of Lennox, in a diplomatic mission ; so far, at least, as to be the bearer of a communication to Henry the Eighth of England, relative to the policy of the French King, who cherished impressions unfavourable to the views of this Scottish nobleman. On his return home he was recommended by the Earl to Sir James Sandilands, a person of considerable influence in those times, who nomi- nated him to the parsonage of Calder, a charge which at that period happened to be vacant. After a brief space, when the Church was in a state of transition from Episco- pacy to Presbyterianism, he was appointed Superintendent of Lothian, Merse, and Teviotdale ; in reference to which nomination it was said, " he exercised fully the power and discharged faithfully the office of a Bishop ; for it was not the office but the name at which the first Reformers startled."

In due time he married Beatrix Crichton, a daughter of the Laird of Lugton, one of the minor barons of Scotland. This lady, remarkable for her pious and intelligent character, became the mother of two sons ; John, the future Primate and Historian ; and James, who, after serving a cure in

^ Life prefixed to former Editions of the " History of the Church of Scotland," the writer of which is not certainly known ; supposed by some to have been Bishop Duppa, though there is reason to believe that it proceeded from the pen of a native of Scotland, as the Work was " printed at London, 1655, by the care of Mr Alexander Spottiswoode, Advocate, son to Sir Robert Spottiswoode." See Notes by Father Richard Hay, Spottiswoode Miscellany, Vol. I. p. 7.

XXXU LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

Norfolk, obtained the Bishopric of Clogher in Ireland, and was subsequently nominated to the Archiepiscopal See of Cashel, upon the duties of which he never entered.

John, the elder son, with whose fortunes we are chiefly concerned, was born in the year 1565. At an early period he was sent by his father to the University of Glasgow, where he displayed considerable abilities, " a pregnant wit, great spirit, and a good memory." As students are admitted at that seminary when not more than twelve or thirteen years of age, he obtained his first degree when about six- teen ; a proof not so much of any precocious talent on his part, as of the elementary and imperfect nature of the in- struction with which, at that period, Scottish churchmen were obliged to be contented.

The defects of his education, we are assured, were sup- plied by great diligence and indefatigable exertion in the pursuits of science, and more particularly of theology, whereby he qualified himself, at the early ago of eighteen, to act as assistant to his father, who, owing to his advanced period of life and increasing infirmities, was no longer able to perform all the duties of the pastoral office. Diligence, and a conscientious feeling of the responsibility which had devolved upon him, supplied in the young divine the defects of inexperience ; and the greenness of his years was tem- pered by so much gravity, that no man could despise his youth, or think him in any respect unfit for the employment. Upon the death of his revered parent, he succeeded to the incumbency of Calder, where his memory is still respected ; and the ruins of the house in which he dwelt are said to bo still pointed out to the stranger who may happen to take an interest in such memorials of the past.

As the Presbytery of Linlithgow possesses no Record so ancient as the date of the Supcrintendent''s ministry, I could not receive any information relative to the form of admission or ordination, if any, which was practised in those troubled times. Eighteen years, in ordinary cases, could hardly sup-

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. XXXUl

ply the qualifications necessary to him who did the duties of a priest, even under the eye of an experienced father. It was indeed one of the evils of that period, and is deeply lamented by some of the gravest writers who witnessed it, that young men of the slenderest acquirements rushed into the pulpit, and performed with more confidence than talent the most sacred offices of the Christian priesthood.

The Parson of Calder, as well as his brother James, the future Bishop of Clogher, enjoyed the confidence of the great family of Lennox. In the year 1601, he was appointed by the Duke to attend him, as his chaplain, on an embassy to Henry the Fourth of France, the object of which was to confirm the amity then subsisting between the two nations. In this office he conducted himself so wisely as to add much to his reputation for prudence and talent, and justify the high opinion which was already entertained of his character. After the lapse of two years Lennox returned homewards through England, on which occasion the ambassador and his chaplain were presented at the court of Elizabeth. The Duke is said to have remarked, after his interview with the Queen, that " her night was drawing on so fast, that his master's rising in the same horizon could not be long deferred."

At the accession of James to the English throne, Mr Spottiswoode, by his knowledge and moderation, so far recommended himself to his Majesty, that he selected him to be one of his attendants when proceeding into his new kingdom. But he remained not long in the south, for the death of Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow, creating a vacancy in a very important station, the Parson of Calder was nominated to the vacant See. Soon after he had taken possession of his charge, he was appointed to attend the Queen on her journey to London ; by whom, on account of his integrity and gentle manners, he was entrusted, in the capacity of almoner, with the distribution of her charities in his native countrv.

XXXIV LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

Upon his accession to the Archiepiscopal See of the West, ho found, according to some writers, that, owing to the rapacity whicli disgraced the earlier stages of the Kefor- mation, the revenue did not exceed one hundred pounds a-yoar. By the use of means, recommended to all classes by their justice and moderation, he succeeded in recovering part of the lands and tithes which belonged to his high place, without exciting the jealousy of those who had pro- fited most by the irregular seizure of ecclesiastical property during the non-age of the King.

The statement now made as to the amount of official income has not been allowed by ecclesiastical chroniclers to pass without a certain qualification, with the view, it should seem, of lessening the merit of the Archbishop on the only point where his success would not have been held by him as a subject of personal congratulation. It is indeed admitted by the authors to whom allusion is here made, that Beaton, the last of the Roman Catholic Pre- lates, anticipating the obvious effects of the Reformation on church property, alienated to a considerable extent the lands belonging to his See; and that Porterfield, Boyd, and Montgomery, his successors, in order to secure the affections of the nobility, or to disarm their resentment, followed his example in making liberal grants to the laity. But never- theless, it is maintained by Crawfurd and others, that not less than five hundred pounds per annum still remained at the death of Beaton.

It is well known that Porterfield, the first of the Reformed series, was a " kind of Titular Bishop, and placed in that position by the influence of certain persons, lay and clerical, to enable him to convey away the benefice of the Church with some appearance of law." lie consented, in the year 1571, to the alienation of the manse and rectory of Glasgow to a commoner, who, a short time afterwards, sold them to Robert Lord Boyd. Montgomery, who was placed in the See in 1581, owed his preferment to the recommendation of the

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. XXXV

Duke of Lennox, who found no difficulty in inducing his contemptible nominee to dispone to him the revenues of the Archbishopric. In return, his Grace bound himself to pay annually the sum of a thousand pounds Scottish money, with some corn and poultry.!

Crawfurd, in his Lives of the Chancellors of Scotland, states, that he had not seen any document to prove that Archbishop Spottiswoode had ever recovered to the See of Glasgow any thing that had been alienated by his prede- cessor's. He was, indeed, he adds, a benefactor to the cathedral, which had been much ruined and neglected since the suppressing of Popery, and to the archiepiscopal palace ; both of which he put into a tolerable condition of repair, and began the noble leaden-roof on the church as it now stands, which was completed by his successor. Archbishop Law.2

On the demise of Archbishop Gladstanes, in the year 1615, Spottiswoode was preferred to the higher office of Primate and Metropolitan of Scotland. The revenues of St Andrews, like those of Glasgow, had been greatly diminished during the feeble and corrupt rule which marked the pro- ceedings of the later Eegents. After the death of Adamson in 1591, the Archiepiscopal Diocese remained vacant fifteen years ; and, during that period, the rents were bestowed upon the Duke of Lennox and other needy courtiers. As a considerable proportion was still in possession of the Crown, the King consented to restore about three hundred pounds

1 Keith's Catalogue, second edition, pp. 261, 262.

^ Lives, p. 164. Crawfurd supplies some details in regard to the pro- cess of alienation in the Diocese of Glasgow. Bishop Beaton alienated the forty-eight pound land of Carstairs to Sir James Hamilton of Evan- dale, from -whom it came to the house of Lee ; and Bishop Boyd feued out the lands of Bedlay to the Lord Boyd, the lands of Gorbals to George Elphinston of Blythswood ; and, by a special grant from the Crown, the Prior of Blantyre, then Lord Privy-Seal, feued out most of the barony of Glasgow to the old rentallers themselves, when the King had but little view of seeing Episcopacy revived with any kind of lustre in the Church.

XXXVl LIFE OP THE AUTHOR.

a-year. A farther addition was made to the revenue by procuring a grant of the lands and tithes which had belonged to the Priory of St Andrews, and were now also in the hands of such laymen as had succeeded in obtaining a share of the ecclesiastical plunder.

Such exertions on the part of the Primate, have by cer- tain annahsts been ungenerously ascribed to personal motives, more especially the desire to aggrandize his own official state, and to secure the means of sumptuous living. It is therefore just to his character to mention that he suggested to his Majesty the propriety of establishing an Episcopal See at Edinburgh, and for that purpose to withdraw from the Diocese of St Andrews, the counties of Berwick, Had- dington, Mid-Lothian, Linlithgow, and Stirling, the richest portion of the domain from which he derived his own profes- sional income.

In connection with the statement now made, it may not be out of place to mention the reason why, until after the union of the two British Crowns in the person of James the First, there was no Bishop of Edinburgh. This omission arose from the fact that, as the south-eastern counties of Scotland made part of the ancient kingdom of Northumbria, and were therefore included in the ecclesiastical province of York, the Bishop of Edinburgh, had there been one, must have yielded canonical obedience to an English Pri- mate ; an arrangement to which a very natural reluctance was felt on this side of the Tweed. It is well known that the Saxons of Northumberland had, prior to the period now under consideration, extended their kingdom along the southern shore of the Forth, as far as to the neighbourhood of Linlithgow, so that Ida, one of their princes, occupied the Merse, Toviotdale to the vicinity of Melrose, and the three Lothians, which afterwards became an integral part of Scotland, properly so called. Under Edwin, at a later period, they built the castle, called from his name Edwins- burgh, now Edinburgh, the capital of the northern kingdom.

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. XXXVU

A line drawn from Linlithgow to Melrose would, it is said, mark out that portion of territory which belonged to the State of Northumbria, and subject, of course, in all spiritual matters, to the Archbishop of York.^

The suggestion of placing a Bishop in Edinburgh, as has just been noticed, originated with Archbishop Spottiswoode, who saw the expediency of dividing his own large Diocese. But the selection of the clergyman who was first called to fill that office is usually ascribed to Charles the First, who during his visit to Scotland in 1633, had become acquainted with Doctor William Forbes, formerly Principal of Marischal Col- lege, Aberdeen. Happening to hear him preach, and being aware of his extensive knowledge, especially in theology, his Majesty was pleased to say that he had found a man who deserved to have a See erected for him ; and the patent accordingly for his appointment was presented in the month of January 1634. He died about the middle of April the same year ; leaving some valuable Works, all of which have been lost, with the exception of his " Considerationes Modestse et Pacificse."

The candid reader will easily discover, for " the care and husbandry" with which Archbishop Spottiswoode managed the revenues of the two Sees over which he presided, motives much more creditable to his memory than the love of filthy lucre, or the desire to aggrandize his family. If Episcopacy were to exist, as the form of the national religion, it was necessary that the endowments of the several Bishoprics should be at least partially recovered, as well from the Crown as from the more tenacious grasp of those members of the aristocracy, who had already learned to identify their own interests with the depression of the Church.

Such were the irregularities which, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, marked the course of ecclesiastical affairs in Scotland, that Spottiswoode enjoyed the title and income of an Archbishop seven years before he was conse-

1 Scott's History of Scotland, Vol. I. p. 11.

XXXVIU LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

crated. The anomalous position of the Prelates in his an- cient kingdom attracted at length the attention of the King, who, being now accustomed to the forms and ritual of a more regular Church, resolved to introduce a juster form of Episcopacy among his native subjects. In the year IGIO, accordingly, he communicated his wishes to the Archbishop of Glasgow, and desired him, and any two other of his brethren whom he might chuse to select, to proceed to Lon- don, in order to receive the episcopal character from certain dignitaries in the south. He chose for this important purpose Hamilton, the Bishop of Galloway, and Lamb, the Bishop of Brechin,

He himself narrates in his History the chief particulars connected with this very interesting event. After stating that they reached the metropolis about the middle of Sep- tember, he mentions that, at their first audience, the King declared what was the business for which he had called them, — that he had, at great charge, recovered the Bishoprics out of the hands of those who possessed them, and bestowed them upon such as he hoped would prove worthy of their places. But since he could not make them Bishops, nor could they assume that honour to themselves, and that in Scotland there was not a sufficient number to enter them to their charge by consecration, he had called them to Eng- land, that, being consecrated themselves, they might, at their return, give ordination to those at home, and so the adversaries' mouths would be stopped, who said that he did take upon him to create Bishops and bestow spiritual powers, which he never did, nor would presume to do ; acknowledging that authority to belong to Christ alone, or to those whom he had authorized with his power.

The Archbishop answered, in name of the rest, that they were willing to comply with his Majesty's desire, and only feared that the Church of Scotland, because of old usurpa- tions, might take this as a sort of subjection to the Church of England, The King replied, he had provided sufficiently

LIFE or THE AUTHOR. XXXIX

against that ; for neither of the English Primates, who wero the only pretenders, should have any hand in the business, but that the consecration should be administered by the Bishops of London, Ely, and Bath. The Scottish Prelates thanked his Majesty for the care he had of their Church, and professed their willingness to obey what he should com- mand. It was therefore resolved that the consecration should take place on the twenty-first day of October, in the chapel of London House.

At this stage a question was raised by Doctor Andrew, the Bishop of Ely, touching the consecration of the three candidates, who, he insisted, ought first to be ordained Presbyters, as they had not received episcopal ordination in their own country. Bancroft, the Archbishop of Canter- bury, who was present, maintained that there was no neces- sity for such a step, seeing that, where there were no Bishops, the ordination given by Presbyters must be esteemed lawful ; otherwise it might be doubted whether there were any regu- lar vocation in most of the Reformed Churches. The other Prelates acceded to this view of the question ; and the con- secration accordingly took place at the time and place appointed.

The argument of the English Primate has not been approved in later times in any country where the true principles of the Church have been received, though instances may be found at an earlier period in which the Episcopate was obtained in a manner not less uncanonical. The loose notions derived from Wittemberg and Zurich had not ceased to exert their influence in some portions of the Anglican Communion ; and the opinions of Zuinglius and Calvin were in certain quarters more powerful than the Apostolical Canons, which at least indicate the practice of the Church at a very early period of her history .^

There exists not, indeed, any proof that Archbishop

* See Bishop Burnet's " Observations on the First and Second of the Apostolical Canons."

xl LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

Spottiswoode had obtained ordination in any form when he became assistant to his father at Calder. The venerable Superintendent of Lothian, Merse, and Teviotdale, died in 1585, when his son, who had ah-eady been two years an officiating minister, succeeded to the pastoral care of the parish at the age of twenty ; but no details relative to his Orders or Institution have reached our time. Were any conclusion to be drawn from the instructions given to the Court of High Commission for regulating the induction of ministers, the reader would be led to infer that no form of ordination whatever was observed, but that the call or con- sent of the congregation was held sufficient to establish the pastoral relation between the minister and his people. To check this irregularity, power is granted to the Commis- sioners to enforce the laying on of hands, or some equivalent form, before any candidate shall be admitted to a charge ; " because young men in Scotland, having gone through a course of philosophy, frequently press into the pulpit before they have either orders or discretion : to prevent this abuse, strict care must be taken for putting a restraint upon such persons, and that none unordained bo allowed to preach ordinarily or in public." 1

The Spottiswoode succession, it is well known, did not continue many years in the Scottish Church, and therefore all question as to the validity of the consecration at London House has been long superseded by a more canonical minis- tration of that sacred ritual. The line which commenced in the persons of the Archbishop of Glasgow, Hamilton, and Lamb, was cut asunder before the conclusion of that

* Crawfurd's Lives, p. 172. The " Instruction," as given by Areli- bishop Spottiswoode in his History, p. 515, First Edition, is as follows : — " And because there liath been a general abuse in that Church, that youths, having passed their course in philosophy, before they have at- tained to the years of discretion, or received lawful ordination by imposi- tion of hands, do engage themselves to preach : that a strict order be taken for restraining all such persons, and none permitted but those who have received Orders to preach ordinarily and in public."

LIFE UF THE AUTHOli. xli

intestine war, both civil and religious, which effected the temporary overthrow of the monarchy and the suspension of the Church in both kingdoms. At the Restoration of the royal family, Episcopacy was revived in Scotland under more favourable auspices, and in a more regular form, with- out any violation of those principles which have usually regu- lated the ordination of clergymen, in the several orders of Bishop, Priest, and Deacon; by whom, according to the belief of the most learned divines, the sacred duties of the Church have been administered since the days of the Apostles,

It belongs, perhaps, to his personal history, rather than to a review of his professional duties, to relate that Arch- bishop Spottisvvoode had the honour to crown King Charles the First, when His Majesty, in the year already indicated, paid his memorable visit to his northern kingdom. The re- spect entertained for the Primate by James the Sixth was inherited by his son ; both of whom shewed a marked re- gard for men of letters, more especially among the higher orders of the clergy. These two Monarchs corresponded with his Grace ; and the letters which he received from them were, as already mentioned, committed to a friend who was also charged with the publication of his History, according to the Manuscript which he himself had pre- pared for the press. The royal autographs have not been recovered ; and the Manuscript, as has been re- lated, nearly shared the same fate. " It was left, like an infant of the Israelites, in an ark of reeds ; and if Provi- dence had not found out very tender hands and hearts to save it, it had been lost." ^

The " History of the Church of Scotland," it may not be unseasonable to remark, was written at the suggestion or command of King James, who saw that the Archbishop possessed such talents, prudence, and candour, as eminently fitted him for the work ; " that he would neither fear to 1 Memoir prefixed to First P^dition, 1655.

xlii LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

speak the truth, nor dare to tell a lie." It was not without some degree of reluctance that he undertook the task as- signed to him by his royal master, though deterred neither by the labour incident to such a composition, nor by the personal responsibility to which a contemporary annalist is always subjected. His main difficulty had a reference to the character of the unfortunate Queen Mary, the latter part of whose public life had caused great grief to her friends, and a triumph to her enemies. " It is not unknown to your Majesty," said the Primate, " that your Majesty's mother, being defamed by the bold writings of a malignant party and the credulity of easy people, hath not left a clear name behind her. And as in mine own particular judgment I cannot join with them in those scandals which they have, with so mahcious a ftxlsehood cast upon her, so your Majesty will give me leave to say, that in all things she did I cannot approve her ; and being of necessity to speak of her in the series of this History, what to do therein I know not." The King made to him the following reply, more honourable to his candour, perhaps, than to his filial affection : — " Speak the truth, man, and spare not.''''

With this permission and encouragement he undertook the work, laying aside all partiality, fear, and favour. By the royal command, he was supplied not only with all the Registers, ecclesiastical and civil, in Scotland, but also with all such State- Papers and Letters as might aid him in his undertaking. These were either sent to him in their origi- nal form from the public offices, or transmitted for his use by persons sworn to fidelity, and attested by the signatures of the several secretaries from whose department they were drawn. Before the author had finished his undertaking James was in his grave ; and the History, in a printed form, saw not the light till his grandson, Charles the Second, was wandering a fugitive in a foreign land, after the desolation and bloodshed, the changes and chances, of the Grand K'jbcUion ; which, in point of fact, did not reach its con-

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. xUii

summation till the direct line of the Stewart dynasty was set aside in the year 1G89.

The Earl of Kinnoul, who for some time had held the office of Lord High Chancellor, died about the end of 1634, when his Majesty resolved to confer on the Primate the honour of succeeding to that elevated and very responsible appointment. The commission, which is dated on the four- teenth day of January 1635, passed under the seals of the two kingdoms in the customary form. No clergyman since the Reformation had enjoyed this office ; and as the Church was now opposed by a powerful body, some of whom con- demned her constitution, and others grudged her emolu- ments, the favour bestowed upon the Archbishop was not universally approved. The popular party had forgotten that in former times the seals had usually been held by some learned divine, who, being master of canon as well as of civil law, could guide the Sovereign in all cases of diffi- culty where the rights of the subject might be involved. Hence the Chancellor, who was usually the royal Confessor, was called the keeper of the King's conscience ; and this practice was followed in England a considerable time after the Reformation. But whatever might be the secret dissatis- faction among those who laboured to depress the ecclesiasti- cal body, no insinuation was ever made against the wisdom or integrity of the Primate, who on no occasion permitted his civil avocations to interfere with the higher claims of his professional duties as a father of the Church.

The promotion of the Archbishop was made in pursuance of a plan cherished by the King, whereby he hoped to add at once dignity and authority to the Episcopal Order. Ho elevated seven or eight other Bishops to the Privy Council, presuming that, by their influence in the civil government, they would attract greater respect, and enjoy an encreased power towards settling the Church on a stable foundation. The object contemplated by his Majesty was entirely defeat- ed ; and the new rank bestowed upon the Prelates produced

Xliv LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

results very different from what he expected. This unseason- able accumulation of honours, apparently inconsistent with their clerical functions, exposed them to the envy of the nobility ; many of whom, though they chei'ished sentiments favourable to their ecclesiastical establishment, could not endure to see them possessed of those offices and emolu- ments which they considered as naturally belonging to them- selves. Such proceedings on the part of the Crown not only sharpened the edgeof malice and envy against the Archbishop, viewed as the Lord Chancellor, but withdrew the affections of many from the Established Church itself, which they now regarded as the gulf destined to swallow up all the great offices of State. Lord Clarendon further asserts, that " the number of the Bishops was thought too gi-eat, so that they overbalanced many debates, and some of them, by want of temper or want of breeding, did not behave themselves with that decency in their debates towards tho greatest men of the kingdom, as in discretion they ought to have done, and as the others reasonably expected from them." Instead of bringing any advantage to the Church, or facilitating the intentions of the King towards promoting Episcopacy in Scotland, the policy of Charles had no other effect than to create a more general prejudice against it. It is true, that while these matters were passing, there appeared no particular sign of discontent or systematic opposition to the heads of the clerical body. So far, indeed, did this apparent acquiescence extend, that the less intelligent of the higher orders were Induced to believe that the popular party had undergone a complete change in their sentiments, or had, at least, resolved to submit to authority, and sacrifice their peculiar notions to the love of peace. " But this tem- porary calm," says the noble author just quoted, " arose from a different motive, and was meant to serve very differ- ent ends :" for it appeared afterwards, that the enemies of the Church, observing the want of temper and discretion in some of the Bishops who held the highest authority, con-

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. xlv

eluded that " the}' were like to have more advantages administered to them by their ill managery than they could raise by any contrivance of their own." 1

As the Primate accepted the office of Chancellor, rather in compliance with the wishes of the King than to gratify any feeling of personal ambition, he held it no longer than the circumstances of the times permitted him to discharge its duties in a manner advantageous to the public. In the year 1638, when the troubles occasioned by the Liturgy were about to be consummated by actual rebellion, the Archbishop received permission from his Majesty to resign the Great Seal into the hands of the Koyal Commissioner, the Marquis of Hamilton. On this occasion Charles was pleased to write to him with his own hand a letter, which was first published by Crawfurd in his Life of Spottiswoode ; and which, as the autograph no longer remains, I have judged it proper to in- sert in this place. It is addressed — " To the Eight Rever- end Father in God, John Archbishop of St Andrews, our Chancellor,''''

" Charles K.

" Right Reverend Father in God, and right trusty and well-beloved counsellor, we greet you well.

" Having understood from you heretofore how that, in regard of your age and infirmity, you are willing to demit the charge of Chancellor, though (knowing your faithfulness and earnest care in our service,) we were not then pleased that you should do the same ; yet considering your estate, and the troublesomeness of this time, we have resolved to give way thereunto ; and it is our pleasure that you cause deliver (having made your demission) the Great Seal up

'■ History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, &c. By Edward, Earl of Clarendon, Vol. 1st, page 146. Oxford Edition, 1819.— Crawfurd's Lives and Characters of the Officers of the Crown and of the State in Scotland, &c. P. 177-178.

Xlvi LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

into tho hands of our right trusty and well-beloved cousin and counsellor, James Marcjuis of Hamilton, our Commis- sioner, that he may dispose of it as he shall have order from us. And that it may appear that we are well satisfied with your service in that place, we have appointed our said Com- missioner to give unto you a testimony of our favour. And as we are pleased that you, and your brethren with you, remain there where you are, or in any part to the north thereof that you shall find most convenient, till you hear back from our said Commissioner ; we will you thereafter to do as you shall be directed by him ; and so we bid you farewell. Given from our Court at Hampton Court, the IGth of September 1G38."

In connection with the event to which his Majesty's letter refers, tho Archbishop wrote to his son, Sir Robert, President of the Court of Session, as follows : —

" Sonne, the enclosed letter came to me this day, which I believed at first had been a direction to return home. But that had been impossible for me at this season. Now I per- save it is for the demission of the Chancellarie, qch I am most willing to doe, and more willing than ever I was to resave it. Do therefore in it qhat my Lord Commissioner thinks good ; and as I have written to you by Henry Lynd- say, tak the securitie in your own person, for I am not very well, and should wish to see you in the Christmasse vacancie, if I live so long. If this may furder his m. (Majesty's) ser- vice, I shall be glade, and as glade, if death intervene not, to demit the Archbishoprick, for I will trouble myself with those things no more. Remember my service to my Lord Commissioner, and pray his G. (Grace) to shew that Assem- bly that they will be no longer troubled with me. So I rest in haste, yor father,

SanctAnduois.

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. xlvii

Addressed thus — " To my Sonne, the President of the Session :"

And folded and endorsed by the latter thus — " My Father." " Uth Novr. 1638." 1

II. It seems convenient to interrupt at this period the personal narrative of the Archbishop's life, and to consider his official conduct as a Ruler of the Church, and his charac- ter as an Author. The few incidents which remain, illus- trative of his family and individual fortunes, will find a more appropriate place towards the close of his career, when he had retired from public duties, both as a Prelate and a Statesman, after the memorable Assembly held at Glasgow in the year 1638.

The Reformation had assumed a stable footing in Scot- land before he was called to assume the pastoral office at Calder ; though its principles were not yet accurately defined, nor had its ecclesiastical form been permanently ratified, either by lay or spiritual authority. The older edifice had been overthrown so completely that there remained no longer any hope that it could be restored ; but the opinions of men were still divided as to the plan of the new structure which was destined to succeed it. The popular voice had, at an early period, been invited to put forth its strength — an instrument which has ever been found better fitted to pull down than to rebuild — to demolish than to reconstruct. " It is with the vulgar," says a great author, " that the supreme power in church affiiirs finally rests ; and there, if not in reason, at least in fact, is the supreme tribunal. Such is especially the condition of a spiritual despotism. It may lean on the occasional interest of princes — it may court

^ From the original at Spottiswoode.

XlVlll LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

the precarious favour of the great — but its last appeal is to the fidelity of the common people." ^

Perhaps at the beginning of the sixteenth century the people of Scotland were very little prepared to decide on the momentous questions of doctrine and ecclesiastical polity. They had, however, able leaders who had been trained on the Continent, and who, if they did not bring with them a clear light, conveyed a sufficient degree of heat to kindle the cold minds of the Scottish nation into a flame which the strongest outworks of the Romish Church could not withstand. It was found here, as elsewhere, that the power of the Vatican could not be seriously shaken un- til its enemies should find access to the minds of the common people ; and this could not be accomplished until at least the first elements of learning and reasoning were somewhat diffused among the mass of the inhabitants. The Papal system had laid its foundations in utter darkness, and on the ignorance of mankind. To correct this evili a certain por- tion of literature, and of the reflection which results from it, was absolutely necessary ; but it is nevertheless manifest, that the operation of mere human learning would never have brought about, in the Church, a revolution equal to that accomplished by Luther in Germany, or by Knox in Scot- land. It might have occasioned the removal of some scan- dals and absurd practices ; it might have roused the clergy to some sense of the shame, or at least of the danger of professional ignorance ; it might have purified the theological schools from nmch dogmatism and sophistry ; but it would never have accomplished any extensive reformation, nor overthrown any large portion of the established evils.

The value of education was perceived, though somewhat dimly, by the legislators of North Britain so early as the year 1404, when an Act of Parliament was passed, im- posing a fine of twenty pounds upon every baron and sub-

^ Pallavicino, Istoria del Concilio di Trcnto, Lib. 1, cap. ix., quoted by Dean "VVaddington in his Ilistory of the Reformation, Vol. I. p. 3.

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. xlxix

stantial freeholder who neglected to put his son and heir to school. The application of this Statute, it is true, was ex- tremely limited ; it respected only the son and heir, the rest of the family being privileged as to the enjoyment of their natural ignorance and barbarity. All the classes, too, above and below the baron and the freeholder, were per- mitted to enjoy the same exemption ; the nobility being either above the reach of the law, or, it may be charitably supposed, were so sensible of the benefits of education as not to require the interposition of authority. But it will not be denied, that until the Reformation had made some progress in Scotland, learning was at a very low ebb ; and if it was not altogether dead, it showed only occasional signs of animation. When the rest of Europe could boast of such men as Petrarch, Erasmus, Regiomontanus, Copernicus, and Roger Bacon, the extensive provinces northwards of the Tweed showed no acquaintance with any branch of knowledge, if we except the technical theology of the schools.

After a brief space, when the desire for an improved form of faith and worship had descended to the lower ranks of society, the demand to have the Scriptures in their native tongue proved that the knowledge of letters was gradually extending over the whole land. This fact should have awakened the fears or exertions of the clergy, who ought not any longer to have expected implicit obedience, when there existed the means of ascertaining how far the doc- trines and ritual of the Church coincided with the evangeli- cal Record. Frederick, the Elector of Saxony, sounded this note of alarm even in the ears of the Pope himself. " The state of Germany," said he, " is not now such as it was for- merly. Arts and literature are flourishing, and even many of the people are filled with a thirst for scriptural know- ledge. So, if the Court of Rome shall proceed only by the form of ecclesiastical authority, and if the conditions pro-

I LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

posed by Luther shall be rejected with a haughty refusal to examine his doctrine, and if no solid evidence and argument shall be brought against it from Scripture, very great com- motions will arise out of this matter, from which the Pope will assuredly derive no sort of advantage."

The immorality and scepticisim of the Romish Com- munion were agents not less powerful in hastening the Reformation, than the professional ignorance with which her clergy were charged. Hence it is not surprising that the first Reformers in Scotland, as well as in Germany, were members of the sacred Orders, either monks or secular priests. The determination of Luther to work out a change in her system, was confirmed by a visit which he made to Rome. At the period of this memorable journey, " he was so wild a Papist," that he considered all the eulogies be- stowed upon the Church as cold and faint, compared with the eternal majesty of the subject.^ When he entered the gate of the city, he fell down on his knees and lifted up his hand to Heaven, and cried, — " Hail, revered Rome, sancti- fied by the blessed martyrs, and by their blood which has been shed into thy bosom." Under the influence of this enthusiasm, he presently hastened to the holy places — he visited all their precincts — he listened to all the legends by which they are consecrated ; and all that he saw and heard, he believed. 2

But his anticipations were all deceived — his hopes were disappointed, and his ardent adoration was turned into disgust, alarm, and contempt. Everywhere he witnessed the grossest self indulgence, infidelity, and impious mockery of sacred things. He spent among the priests fourteen days

^ Sciat lector me fuisse aliquando monachum ct papistam insanissinnini, cum istam causam aggressus sum, ita ebrium ita siibinersum in tlogmati- Lus Papa>, ut paratissimus fuerim omnos, si potuissem, occidore, si Papoe una syllaba obodientiam dctractarent.

'^ Waddington, Vol. I. p. 57.

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. H

of astonishment and mortification, and returning home, felt himself doubly armed against the errors and corruptions of Eome.

The same causes which agitated society on the Continent soon extended their influence to Scotland, where similar reasons had led no small portion of the people to desire improvement in the principles and discipline of the Church. In the year 1508, the art of printing was introduced by King James the Fourth; an expedient for extending human improvement which has, more than any other inven- tion, changed the condition and prospects of the world. About twenty years afterwards, the first victim of intoler- ance was sacrificed in the Archiepiscopal city, being con- victed of lending a favourable ear to the new doctrines with which he had become acquainted in foreign parts. The mul- titude who witnessed this painful sight, though not qualified to decide in regard to the disputed tenets, were ready to sympathize in the sufferings of a virtuous young man who had taught the truths of Christianity with fearless zeal.

Though Patrick Hamilton was not the first who suffered death for what was then deemed an erring faith, he was, owing to his birth and amiable character, considered the most interesting of the early Scottish martyrs. The eai'liest victim who endured capital punishment as a reviler of the Church, was a priest named Resby, who having adopted the senti- ments of Wicliff", was induced, by his zeal, to cross the Tweed and preach the new doctrine to the Scots, in the year 1407. But the field not being prepared for the good seed, the pious labourer was requited with contumely and violence. Being summoned before the established Inquisitor, and accused of heretical pravity, he was pronounced guilty, and committed to the flames.

About twenty-five years afterwards a similar fate attended the preaching of Paul Craw, a native of Bohemia, who ven- tured to promulgate the notions of Huss in the University of St Andrews. The charges brought against these two

lii LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

Eeformers are nowhere cleai-ly defined ; though in both cases they appear to have been founded on certain conclu- sions as to the Papal office, the authority of the Priesthood, and the nature of the Lord's Supper. The former resolutely maintained that the Pope is not, in fact, the Vicar of Christ, and that no one ought to be received as such, who is not dis- tinguished for his personal sanctity.!

From the year 1407, accordingly, the pillars of the Roman Church no longer stood with their wonted firmness, but gradually declined till they ultimately fell. Various causes had contributed to weaken the authority which the Papal institutions had so long exercised over the minds of men. The unseemly schism which, originating in the ambition of Clement the Fifth, continued many years to disturb the tran- quillity of the Church, diminished, in no small degree, the reverence with which the people at large were wont to regard the supreme Pontiff. Finding it impossible to obey the con- tradictory mandates which were issued by the rival occu- pants of St Peter's chair, they gradually became accustomed to examine into their pretensions as the Vicars of Christ upon earth ; and at length they assumed courage to ask whether any man ought to assume so high a title, even were he adorned with all the virtues to which human nature can ever attain. The sacred attributes, too, ascribed to the Pope, began to assume an air of inconsistency, when one after another of that exalted order was seen descending from his throne, deposed by a subordinate tribunal. It was difficult to connect the belief of doctrinal infallibility with the character of a priest who aspired to discharge the duties of an office to which, upon suitable investigation, it was found he had no canonical right.

But the avarice and immorality of which the great body

1 Fordun, the author of the Scotichronicon, informs us, that the first conclusion was," quod Papa de facto non est ChristiVicarius :" Secunda, (conchisio) "nuUus est Papa, nee Christi Vicarius, nisi sit sanctus." — Tom. Secun., p. 442.

LIFE OF Tin: AUTHOR.

liii

of the clergy were accused, operated with a still greater effect in alienating the lay-members of the Church. The numerous devices employed by ecclesiastics, both secular and regular, for enriching the several Foundations to which they were attached, had transferred into their hands more than half of the territorial property of Scotland, or of its annual produce. It is not surprising, therefore, that all orders of the people should have lent a ready ear to those who exposed at once the selfishness of such spiritual guides, and the luxurious intemperance which was said to disgrace their lives. The annals of the fourteenth century accordingly leave no room for doubt that the first dissentients from the Roman See were actuated by their indignation at the Papal pretensions on the one hand, and, on the other, by their disgust at the voluptuous indolence of the priesthood.

It is worthy of observation, accordingly, that literature had no sooner shewn symptoms of a revival in Italy, than it directed its irresistible power against the Church. The in- decent deportment of some monkish fraternities, their hypo- crisy, and the domineering spirit of their leaders, opened an inexhaustible field to the poet and the satirist. Dante and Boccaccio were among the first to exercise their splendid talents in exposing the vices of monastic life ; and the Works of these authors are still admired, not more for the excel- lence of their literary merit than for the picture they exhibit of the times in which they were written. The great poet, just named, had no difficulty in recognising in the Head of his Church the famed apocalyptic woman, who sat on the waters, or occupied the seven hills, and thence carried on her traffic of iniquity with the Kings of the earth.

In respect to the papal office, it may be remarked, that the great Reformer of Germany held what in his circum- stances must have been regarded as very moderate views. He extols the character of Leo the Tenth, who, no doubt, was a man of a liberal character, and possessed many amiable dis- positions. In reference to the Prelates by whom he was sur-

liv LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

rounded, Luther compares him to holy Daniel among the lions. His main objection was directed against the impiety of the preachers, who, he maintained, by their mode of pro- claiming the Indulgences, rendered of none effect the media- tion of the Redeemer, and undermined the great evangelical doctrine of pardon through His blood alone. He condemned not the Papal remissions considered in themselves, for he continued to believe in purgatory, and denied not the efficacy of such intervention, on the part of the Church, to mitigate, or even to shorten, the pains due to sin in the intermediate state. He simply denounced the abuse which was carried to an intolerable length by Tetzel, without venturing to call in question either the object or the authority.

In a letter which he addressed to Leo, he writes in the following dutiful and submissive terms — " I fear, most holy Father, that my name is in ill favour with your Holiness ; that I am called heretic, apostate, traitor, with a thousand similar appellations. I am surprized by what I see, and alarmed by what I hear ; but the foundation of my quiet remains unmoved — a pure and peaceful conscience. Deign to listen to me, who am but a child, and stand in need of instruction. To the end that I may both appease my adver- saries and comply with the wishes of my friends, I send you these mere trifles, things explanatory of my theses, that I may be safer under the shadow of the pontifical name, and

the shadow of its protection.' Prostrate at thy feet, most

blessed Father, I offer myself, with all that I am and have. Give me life or death ; call or recall, approve or reprove, as seemeth best to thee. I shall recognize thy voice as the voice of Christ speaking in thee ; and if I have deserved death, I will not refuse to die. The earth is the Lord's, and all that therein is. May he be praised for ever and ever ! May he uphold thee to all eternity ! "

In Scotland as in Germany, the early llcformcrs directed their attacks, not against the constitution of the Church, but against the impiety and abuses of its administration.

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. IV

They denounced the false doctrine and bad lives of those to whom its powers were committed, and who, while they studied their own ease and sensual enjoyments, neglected the flock of Christ, which they had been appointed to teach, admonish, and protect from deadly errors. In both cases the views of the leaders gradually changed ; and finding that no alteration for the better could be obtained, they at length, though not without fear and reluctance, resolved to leave a Church in which the means of salvation could no longer be obtained.

As a proof that the Scottish Reformers denounced the doctrinal errors, and not the constitution or ritual of the Church, it may be mentioned, that Sir John Borthwick, who in the year 1539 was accused of heresy, was merely charged with the crime of teaching that " the tenets of the English and their new Liturgy were commendable, and worthy to be embraced by all Christians — that churchmen ought not to enjoy any temporalities — that the King ought to employ the rents of the Church for other pious uses — that the various orders of monks and friars ought to be abolished — and finally, that the Kirk of Scotland ought to be governed after the manner of the English."

The spirit of the age, too, was hostile to the continued ascendancy of the ecclesiastics raised to civil power by the Fifth James, who had bestowed many of the more dignified offices under the Crown upon churchmen. The warlike barons were not only ignorant of letters, and un- practised in deliberation, but shewed the utmost contempt for such accomplishments, as being at once unsuitable to their rank, and to the more manly exercises in which their youth had been trained. They were, therefore, little pre- pared to brook the elevation of timid clergymen, whose strength appeared to them to consist in intrigue, and whose merit, in their eyes, was confined to the ambiguous task of perplexing the counsels of more honest men. The laity, in general, who by their superstition and profuseness had con-

Ivi LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

tributed to raise the ministers of the altar to wealth and eminence, had already begun to resist their encroachments as statesmen and councillors. They now perceived that the means were placed within their reach of throwing off the yoke of sacerdotal dominion, long felt to be oppressive, and which they were now taught to consider as also unchristian. They expected to recover possession of the revenues which their ancestors had appropriated to pious uses ; and they flattered themselves, at the same time, that by resuming such property, they should impose a check on the ostenta- tion of the Prelates, and compel them to confine their views within bounds more suited to their sacred calling.

Such feelings, however, under a steady government, might have been checked, or at least prevented from assuming an active form, had not the multitude, at the same time, been taught to entertain similar impressions of pious indignation ; which the preachers of the new opinions laboured to excite, by constantly declaiming against the Popish ecclesiastics, as men who had corrupted the doctrines of Christianity, per- verted the true faith, and substituted in its place the unpro- fitable exercises of bodily penance, or the observances of an obscure ritual. At all times the lower classes of the people have a natural aversion to every appearance of pomp and riches in clergymen ; expecting rather to find in the minister of Christ tokens of a meek and self-denying spirit ; an example of pious and virtuous living ; a counsellor in diffi- culties ; and a comforter in distress. They are accordingly not less shocked than disappointed when they have pre- sented to them a picture of pride, avarice, and dissipation, though the lineaments may have been drawn by the hand of an enemy. Without exercising either candour or inquiry, they make haste to denounce those against w^hom such bitter sarcasms are uttered by an eloquent tongue, though the harangue may have been inflamed much more by per- sonal animosity than by zeal for pure religion. At all events, at the epoch now under consideration, the ancient

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. Ivii

hierarchy had ceased to rest on the solid foundation of respect and love ; and, accordingly, when the arm of the State was no longer able to support it, the counsels of the aristocracy were employed to undermine it, and the hands of the people were stretched out to pull it down.

In all the kingdoms of Europe, to which the principles of the Reformation extended, its progress was marked by the singular desire of putting into the hands of the temporal Sovereign the power which had just been wrested from the Bishop of Rome. The new teachers justified their conduct on the ground that all authority in ecclesiastical matters proceeds from the civil magistrate, and consequently, that the Church, though regarded as an institution founded by Christ, has not the right of judging even in spiritual things ; no direct control over the avowed opinions of its members ; and no claim for a legal or independent endowment. The history of Wicliff supplies many instances wherein he acted on the principles now explained, at once so derogatory to the clerical order, and so flattering to ambitious monarchs. When, for example, he was accused of inculcating doctrines hostile to the purity of the faith, as then professed by nearly the whole christian world, and was threatened by the University in which he held a public charge, that unless he desisted from such practices he should be proceeded against according to the laws of the Church, we find him, instead of entering into any explanation, boldly denying the competency of an ecclesiastical tribunal upon earth, and determined to appeal forthwith to the King. In strict conformity with such opinions, he maintained that " a Prelate or Bishop excommunicating any of the clergie which hath appealed to the King or to the Councell, is thereby a traitour to the King and the realme." Nay, he extended the same conclusion to the jurisdiction of the Pope himself; who, he asserted, if a bad man, had " no power, by any manner of means, given to him over faithful

Iviii LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

Christians, unless, peradventure, it be given him from the Emperor."

The same spirit was manifested by the original Reformers in Scotland ; not only did they refuse to acknowledge the superintendence of the Pope, but, following the example of Wicliff and Luther, laboured to transfer to the Crown the spiritual jurisdiction of which they had deprived him. For example, when Seaton, the Confessor of James the Fifth, found his life endangered by the churchmen, he exhorted the King " to use the authority committed to him by God;" offering to prove from reason and Scripture, that the eccle- siastical estate should in all cases be rendered subordinate to the civil, and also that the determination of religious con- troversies belongs to the Prince, and not to the clerical tyrants who had usurped his rights.!

At a subsequent period, these Erastian notions, as they would now be described, were utterly rejected by the Scot- tish Protestants, and their place supplied by a firm resolu- tion to invest the preachers of the Gospel with all the power and terrors which had belonged to the older estab- lishment. Had the royal authority, at the important crisis when the new doctrines began to be generally received by the people, been wielded by the hands of a vigorous mo- narch, the external form of the Church would, it is probable, have been moulded according to his wishes, and established on a more regular and permanent foundation than it actu- ally acquired, till after the lapse of many years. But, on the untimely death of the King, the sceptre fell into the hands of his infant daughter, Mary, who could not exercise that prerogative in ecclesiastical affairs which, agreeably to the spirit of the age, would have been readily conceded to a maturer mind ; and as the Regent, the Earl of Arran, was not possessed either of talent or principle sufficient to qualify him to take the lead in a discussion so delicate, the ' Spottiswoode's History of the C'hurch of Scotland, Book Second, p. 65.

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question of Church Government was left undetermined until another influence arose, which entirely changed the scene as well as the grounds of deliberation. The wishes of the Sovereign, at this new era, being entirely overlooked, the wisdom of certain lords, aided by the counsels of Knox and other ministers, suggested a scheme of ecclesiastical policy, which, without any particular reference to the standard of antiquity, would, it was hoped, conciliate all parties ; those, on the one hand, who were desirous to retain some resem- blance to the ancient pattern, and on the other, that more numerous body who thought it impossible to recede too far from the usages of a Communion, whose corruptions they had taken the utmost pains to expose. To a variety of motives which had not yet in Scotland exerted all their power, thei-e was soon added the working of a secret bias derived from those congregations which, at Geneva, in the southern parts of France, and in the Low Countries, had originated a new plan for regulating the discipline of the Church, as well as for communicating to their members the blessings of the Gospel.

In 1560, a Parliament or Convention was held at Edin- burgh, when the Reformers, with very Httle respect for the royal prerogative, proceeded to frame a Constitution for the Church, into which was introduced a species of Episcopal rule, under the name of Superintendency. Being aware that it was the name, not the office, which had given offence to the popular mind, the authors of the Book of Discipline avoided the term Bishop ; and by altering the translation of the Greek word, which literally means overseer, they sub- stituted the less displeasing title of Superintendent. These persons, of whom ten were appointed to a corresponding number of Dioceses or Districts, were instructed to move from place to place, as necessity should require. They were enjoined to enter upon a visitation of their whole bounds, and not to rest till the Churches should be wholly planted and provided with ministers or readers. " In their visitation,

IX LIFE OF THE AUTnOR.

they must try the life, diligence, aud behaviour of the minis- ters; the order of the churches, and manners of the people; how the poor are provided, and how the youth is instructed ; thoy must admonish where admonition nccdeth, and address all things that by good counsel they are able to compose."

Knox informs his readers that Superintendents were no- minated, not so much to meet any special emergency con- nected with the times in which he lived, as " that all things in the Church may be carried with order and welL" This plan of Church Government did not long continue ; and a question has arisen, whether those who devised it meant that it should be permanent. Episcopalians, no doubt, would have preferred to it an exact resemblance to the Church of England ; while those who afterwards embraced, with so m,uch zeal, the exclusive and divine authority of the Presby- terian model, consider it as a stumbling-block which they are eager to remove. They have accordingly represented the institution of Superintendents as not designed by Knox to continue in tlie Church, and on this ground endeavour to gain to their principles his countenance and authority. " But," sa3^s a modern author of their own Communion, *' the ground upon which they rest this assertion is not suf- ficient to bear it. It is apparent from the manner in which Knox has spoken of the state of religion while Superinten- dents were recognised, from the uniformity with which he inculcated deference to the higher ecclesiastical powers, and from the language used in the Acts of the successive Assem- blies, in some of which Superintendents are explicitly classed among the needful members of the Church, that he was firmly persuaded that his plan ought to be permanent ; that so far from being only a ' devout imagination,'' as it was by some of tlie nobility contemptuously chai'acterised, it was the best scheme which presented itself to his mind." i

There is no reasonable ground for doubting that this modified species of Episcopacy was meant to be permanent^

* Cook's History of the Refonnation in Scotland, Vol. II. p. 417.

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. 1x1

for the persons who promoted it, and took a share in its administration, were not indined to adopt the system of parity which was afterwards introduced. This conclusion is confirmed by the remarkable fact that the compilers of the First Book of Discipline were distinguished by prelatical principles to the end of their days. Winram, for example, died Superintendent of Strathern ; Willock was Superin- tendent of the West ; Spottiswoode was many years Super- intendent of Lothian and Tweeddale, and, as we learn from his son the Primate, continued hostile to Presbyterianism throughout his life ; Douglas became Archbishop of St Andrews ; and Row was one of the three who afterwards defended the lawfulness of Diocesan Episcopacy at the Con- ference appointed by the General Assembly in 1575. The associates of Knox, it is manifest, were not Presbyterians, and had no intention of erecting a system of equality among the ministers of their new establishment. If evidence were wanting, a reference might be made to a letter written by Erskine to the Regent, dated November 1571, in which he maintains not only the expediency, but even the divine authority of the Episcopal office in the Church of Christ. Every one knows that he was a fellow-labourer with the great Reformer in new-modelling the Constitution of the Kirk, and was himself one of the original Superintendents ; hence it may be inferred that the opinions which he ex- presses in an official communication to the head of the government, were those entertained by the whole body to which he belonged. Alluding to the instructions and authority which St Paul directed to Timothy and Titus, when he appointed them respectively to the charge of Ephesus and Crete, he remarks, " Thus have I expressed plainly by Scripture, that to the office of a Bishop pertain examination and admission into spiritual office, and also to oversee them who are admitted, that they walk uprightly, and exercise their office faithfully and purely : to take away this power from the Bishop or Superintendent, is to take

bdi LIFE or THE AUTHOR.

away the office of a Bishop, that no Bishop be in the Church. As to the question, If it be expedient that a Superintendent be where a quahfied Bishop is ? I understand a Bishop or Superintendent to be but one office, and where the one is the other is."

The foregoing remarks, extended perhaps to an undue length, will prepare the reader to comprehend the position of ecclesiastical affiiirs at the period when the Spottiswoodes, father and son, were called to occupy the prominent place which they held in the Scottish Church.

The Superintendent was one of the six persons appointed by the Lords of the Congregation " to commit to writing their judgment touching the Reformation ;" and the fruits of their labours were the First Book of Discipline and a Con- fession of Faith. " Divers of this number," says his son, the Archbishop, " persuaded the retaining of the ancient polity, and to purge it from the corruptions and abuses only which had crept into it, forasmuch as they were not to make a new Church, but only to reform it, and to reduce things to that perfection from which they had swerved. But these devices took no place : John Knox, who then carried the chiefest sway, liked that course best which stood in extreme opposition to the Church of Rome, and studied by all means to conform the government of the Church to that which he had seen in Geneva." This govei'nment, it need not be added, was monarchical and despotic, the President of the Consistory being Calvin himself, who held this office during his whole life ; an eminence to which Knox might have at- tained, had his ambition pointed in that direction.

A modern biographer, who does not, it is true, regularly quote his authorities, relates that the elder Spottiswoode, about the year 1534, withdrew into England, where the Reformation had already made a considerable progress, and where a greater degree of liberty with regard to religion was then allowed. " He now intended, it has been said, to follow some secular employment ; but Providence so ordered

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. Ixiil

that he was introduced to Archbishop Oranraer, who after- wards, in the reign of Queen Mary, suffered death as a martyr to his religion. This great and good man was much pleased with Mr Spottiswoode ; he admitted him into his familiarity, and fully instructed and confirmed him in the Protestant faith. It may be presumed that, if he had not received clerical Orders before, he now received them from the hands of the Archbishop. It is probable that he resided chiefly in the Primate's family as one of his chaplains, and assisted him in the various parts of public business, in which, from the nature of his office, he was necessarily engaged. It must have been in some such situation that he became a person well known at the court of England." i

If the facts here stated could be entirely relied upon, there would be no difficulty in accounting for the strong bias in favour of Episcopacy manifested by the Superin- tendent of Lothian, Merse, and Teviotdale, as well as by his more distinguished son. The motives of the latter have been questioned by uncandid writers, who forget that before Presbyterianism was fully established in Scotland, Arch- bishop Spottiswoode was advanced to the See of Glasgow.

No event occurred in this Diocese of sufficient import- ance to arrest the attention of the reader till the year 1610, when a General Assembly was appointed to be held in that city on the Gth day of June. The Earl of Dunbar was named by his Majesty, Chief Commissioner, and the Archbishop was elected to preside during the delibera- tions of the Convocation, lay and clerical, who represented the Church of Scotland. The Commissioner drew the attention of the members to " certain points of discipline," which his Majesty desired should be determined by them, that " all things might be done thereafter orderly in the Church, and with that consent and harmony which was fitting among preachers." After an amicable discussion,

1 A History of the Lives of the Protestant Reformers in Scotland. By the Reverend James Scott, late Senior Minister of Perth. 1810.

Ixiv

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

which continued three days, the following Resolutions were adopted as the Conclusions of the Assembly : —

1. The Assembly did acknowledge the indiction of all such General Assemblies of the Church to belong to his Majesty by the prerogative of his Crown, and all Convoca- tions of that kind without his licence to be merely unlawful; condemning the Conventicle of Aberdeen, made in the year 1605, as having no warrant from his Majesty, and contrary to the prohibition he had given.

2. That Synods should be kept in eveiy Diocese twice in the year, namely, in April and October, and to be mode- rated (presided over) by the Archbishop or Bishop of the Diocese, or where the Dioceses are so large as all the ministers cannot conveniently assemble at one place, that there be one or more held, and in the Bishop's absence, the place of Moderator be supplied by the most worthy minister having charge in the bounds, such as the Archbishop or Bishop shall appoint.

3. That no sentence of excommunication, or absolution from the same, be pronounced against or in favour of any person without the knowledge and approbation of the Bishop of the Diocese, who must be answerable to God and his ]\Iajesty for the formal and impartial proceedings thereof. And the process being found formal, that the sentence be pronounced, at the Bishop's direction, by the minister of the parish where the offender hath his dwelling, and the process did first begin.

4. That all presentations, in time coming, be directed to the Archbishop or Bishop of the Diocese within which the benefice that is void lieth, with power to the Archbishop or Bishop to dispone or confer the benefices that are void within the Diocese, after the lapse, jure devoluto.

5. That upon the deposition of ministers, on any occasion, the Bishop do associate to himself some of the ministers within the bounds where the delinquent serveth, and after just trial of the fact, and merit of it, pronounce the sentence

LIFE OF THE AUTHOJR. IxV

of deprivation. The like order to be observed in the sus- pension of ministers from the exercise of their functions.

6. That every minister, at his admission, swear obedience to his Majesty and to his Ordinary, according to the form agreed upon, anno 1571.

7. That the visitation of the Diocese be made by the Bishop himself, and, if the bounds be greater than he can well undertake, by such a worthy man of the ministry, within the Diocese, as he shall choose, to visit in his place. And whatsoever minister, without just cause or lawful excuse, shall absent himself from the Visitation or Diocesan Assembly, be suspended from his office and benefice, and, if he do not amend, be deprived.

8. That the convention of ministers for exercise be moderated by the Bishop being present, and in his absence, by any minister in his Synod that he shall nominate.

9. And last, it was ordained that no minister should speak against any of the foresaid Conclusions in public, nor dispute the question of equality or inequality of minis- try, as tending only to the entertainment of schism in the Church, and violation of the peace thereof,

I have copied these Kesolutions without any abridgement ; because, in regard to them, the accuracy and good faith of the Archbishop, as an author, have been seriously impeached. The latest historian of the Scottish Church, after mention- ing some deviations from the record made by other writers, adds, — " but the charge against Spottiswoode is of a much more serious nature. Although he was Moderator of the Assembly, and must, when he wrote his History, have had full access to the official Record, he has not only misrepre- sented some of the Articles and suppressed some clauses, but two of the Articles he has entirely omitted. That this was not the effect of negligence or of accident, is evident, from the nature of the alterations and omissions. The First Article, as it is in the Register, provides that an Assembly should

Ixvi LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

be held onco a-year. The Archbishop, in the Article, as given by him, makes not the least allusion to this important stipulation, which he knew, when he wrote, had been most flagrantly violated. In the Third Article, instead of the words " answerable to his Majesty," Spottiswoode has " answer- able to God and his Majesty ;"" and he leaves out the con- cluding clause of the Article, which was not consistent with his high notions of Episcopal dignity. In the Sixth Article, ho omits the form of the oath, perhaps from his having been struck with the curious fact, that there is in it no mention of the Ordinary to whom the minister was said to swear ; a fact upon which Caldorwood, not without some plausibility, rests a conjecture that the words " to his Ordinary," had been inserted in the Article after it was enacted. The Primate omits entirely the Ninth Article, by which Bishops were in all things subjected to the Assembly, authorizing even their deposition, if they should be found guilty ; and also the Tenth, respecting the age of a Bishop, and the necessity of his having been ten years an officiating minister before he could obtain a mitre. If we suppose that the History was printed exactly as it was written by the author, the conduct of Spottiswoode cannot be too severely repro- bated ; for he was attempting to mislead posterity, and to support, by an unfair or false representation, the authority and the powers of the Scottish Prelates." i

1 The History of the Church of Scotland, from the Establishment of the Reformation to the Revolution. By George Cook, D.D. Vol. II. p. 235, 236. To the remarks quoted in the text, Dr Cook adds, " it is proper to observe that most unwarrantable freedom was used with the Archbishoj)'s Manuscript. Crawfurd mentions that the copy left for publication had fallen into bad hands ; and Wodrow, he continues, not only states the same fact, but contrasts the printed Work with what had been actually written by the Primate. We may, therefore, for the honour of a writer who often shows considerable candour, and who was possessed of talents highly respectable, hope that some of the changes which have been noticed maybe ascribed to the Editor ; but it is impossible not to deplore the influence of party spirit which darkens the understanding, and per- verts that integrity which is the basis of virtue."

LIFK OF THE AUTHOR. Ixvli

As the imputation cast upon the Archbishop in this case does not apply to carelessness or misapprehension, I have consulted Calderwood and other authorities, and find not the slightest evidence that it was provided by the Convocation at Glasgow that " an Assembly should be held once a-year." The words of Calderwood, the author on whose accuracy the chief reliance seems to be placed, are as follows : — Under the title of Heads of Articles concerning the Discipline of the Kirk to be observed in all time coming, he states, that " in the first, it is declared that the alleged Assembly, holden at Aberdeen, is null in itself, specially in respect it had not his Majesty's allowance, and was discharged by his Highnesses Commissioner, And because the necessity of the Kirk craveth that for order-taking with the common enemies and other affairs of the Kirk, there be yearly General Asseniblies, the indiction whereof the Assembly acknowledgeth to apper- tain to his Majesty by the prerogative of the royal Crown ; and therefore, the General Assembly most humbly request his Majesty that General Assemblies be held once in the year ; or, at least, in respect of the necessities foresaid, his Majesty would appoint a certain time at v^•hich the same shall be holden in all time coming." 1

In the Scottish Acts of Parliament, as lately printed, there is a " Ratification of the Acts and Conclusions set down and agreed upon in the General Assembly of the Kirk, keepit in Glasgow in the year 1610 ; together with an explanation made by the Estates of some Articles of the same." In the first Conclusion, " the foirsaid Assemblie acknowledgeth the indiction of the General Assemblie of the Kirk to appertain to his Majestic by the prerogative of

' All the authorities I have seen agree in this, that the Assembly resolved to petition the King that he would summon an Assembly once a-year, or at least at certain periods. But no writer of that age asserts that the Assembly decreed that there should be such a convocation annually. On the contrary, they admit that the indiction of such meet- ing belonged to his Majesty's prerogative, and could not be convened without his consent.

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

his royall Crowne." There is no allusion whatever even to the desire expressed by some of the ministers to have periodical meetings of their principal judicatory ; nor is there any reference made to the supposed llesolution by which tiiemselves are represented to have decreed that there should be a meeting every year. They resolved to petition the King, but nothing more. In truth, as Dr Cook himself remarks, " the stipulation in favour of annual Assemblies '(which he assumes was made) would have amounted to nothing ; for as no Assembly was valid which the King did not sanction, it might have been apparent, even to the most careless, that he would never summon those who were to resist him, and that, by degrading submission alone, the ruins of Presbytery would be permitted to exist."

It is proper to add, that Calderwood's volume does con- tain the Ninth Article, which is omitted by Spottiswoode ; namely, that " the Bishops should be subject in all things concerning their life, conversation, office, and benefice, to the censure of the General Assembly, and being found culpable, should, with his Majesty's consent and advice, be deprived." The original Record no longer exists, and there remain no longer any means of determining whether such a Resolution was passed. There is no allusion to it in the Parliamentary Ratification of the Acts of the Glasgow Assembly ; a circumstance which tends to confirm the accu- racy of the Archbishop's narrative.

In the " Continuation of Mr James Melville's Diary," the Conclusions are presented in nearly the same terms which Calderwood employs, without professing to be a literal copy of the original. Addressing a friend, in a private letter, " touching the proceedings of the Assembly at Glasgow," he writes, " the principal Articles concludit were. First, the General Assemblic at Abcrdeene condemnit : 2. The hail power of visitationc of Kirks, of excommunicatioune, of admitting and deposeing of Ministeres, to be in the handis of Bishopis, everie ane within their awin Diosie, and sua

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. l.\ix

many as they pleis to joyne thame, twyse in the yeir ; Dio- cesiane meittingis to be twyse in the yeir ; General Assem- bhes to be none, except as the King shall think meitte to appoint. If the Bischop doe amiss in the power committed to him, it shall be lawful to the ministers to complain against him to the General Assemblie, quhilk shall take order with him, according to the King's advice, as shall be qualified against him."

From the extracts now made, it is manifest that the First Article does not provide that an Assembly should be held once a-year ; and as that Court was not to convene except when specially summoned by his Majesty, it is not probable that the deputies assembled at Glasgow would subject to its jurisdiction the conduct of the Bishops. James had the remedy in his own hand ; and he would never have con- sented to see a Prelate arraigned at the bar of the Presby- ters whom they were appointed to govern. To put an end to this unseemly state of things — this collision of authority and pretension among the several orders of ministers — had been the main object of regal policy during many years. It is, therefore, highly improbable that the Royal Commissioner would have consented to the Ninth Article, or that the King would have accepted it, if allowed to pass. It is not, therefore, surprising that this Resolution is not found either in Spottiswoode's History, or in the Ratification by Parlia- ment of the " Acts and Conclusions set down and agreed upon in the General Assemblie of the Kirk keepit in Glas- gow, in the month of June 1610." Indeed, it is manifest that the Archbishop, in collecting materials for his Work, and the members of the Parliament now mentioned, must have drawn their information from the same source, which, in all probability, was the original Register which was still in possession of the Church.

It ought not to be forgotten that the author of the " His- tory of the Church of Scotland" is accused by the writers to whom I have alluded, not of simple inaccuracy, but of a

E

IxK LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

preineuitiitcd corruption of a public Kecord, to which, as President of a great Ecclesiastical Convention, and as Ordi- nary of the Diocese in which it was held, he had official access. To every one, however, who examines with candour the grounds of this serious charge, it will appear that the impeachment rests entirely on the fact, that several incorrect copies of the Resolutions having been obtained through pri- vate channels, and put in circulation, the decisions of the Assembly were mixed up with the wishes of some indivi- duals, and with the comments of others. There are not to be found two transcripts which entirely agree in all the points which fell under the discussion of the members at their several sittings. The majority, too, in favour of the Resolutions was so great, that his Majesty's Representative could have found no difficulty in procuring the concurrence of the clerical body in the enactment of such measures as would give satisfaction to his royal master. Out of a hun- dred and forty members not more than three dissented ; or according to Oalderwood, " there were only five who refused their assent to these damnable Conclusions of this woful Assembly."

This unanimity has given occasion to a reproach, from which it was not meant by its authors that the character of the Archbishop should be exempted. It is maintained that the more influential of the members were bribed by the Earl of Dunbar, who acted on this occasion as Royal Com- missioner. He poured gold into their pockets, and thereby gained their suffrages to an iniquitous measure, fatal to the Church and dishonourable to the religion of Christ. Were this accusation just, it is manifest that, like a two-edged sword, it would cut on both sides, for bribery implies guilt in two parties ; — he who offers, and he who takes. But that there was no blame chargeable cither on the Earl or on the ministers, will appear from a simple statement of historical facts. In the Assembly holden at Linlithgow, in December 1606, it was resolved that permanent Moderators should be

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. Ixxi

appointed in Presbyteries as well as in Synods, in order to avoid the evil arising from the " lack of wisdom and experi- ence" in young men who might be elected to fill those offices. As some degree of expense might be incurred in the dis- charge of these duties, especially in those connected with the Provincial Assemblies, it was resolved that a small salary should be granted by the Crown, amounting to a hundred pounds Scottish money, or eight pounds six shillings and eightpence sterling. This small allowance not having been paid, the Moderators, when assembled at Glasgow in 1610, complained to the Commissioner that, " notwithstanding of the promise made at their accepting of the charge, they had received no payment at all of the stipend allowed." The Earl of Dunbar excused the neglect, on the ground that he had been out of the country, and that no application had ever been made to him ; but added, that before the Assembly should be dissolved, he would cause satisfaction to be given to them for the time past. The ministers therein remitting themselves to his Majesty's good pleasure, gave his Lordsliip thanks for what he had offered, which he did also see per- formed ; some four thousand pounds Scots being distributed by the Treasurer's servants among those who had borne the charge. "Certain of the discontented sort,''''as is stated by the Archbishop, " did interpret it to be a sort of cori'uption ; giving out that this was done for obtaining the ministers'" voices. Howbeit the debt was known to be just ; and that no motion was made of that business before the foresaid Conclusions were enacted."

Much calumny was connected with this simple transac- tion ; and even at this day the charge of corruption is repeated, though it must be admitted that the debt was unquestionable, and that the business of the Assembly was finished before the Commissioner was reminded of this small claim on the public purse.

It was not without reason that the Right Reverend author anticipated both slander and misinterpretation. " I

IXXll LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

am not ignorant what the judgment of divers will be, and that I shall be held a partial witness in the matters of this last time. But I will pray those who think so, not to givo sentence before they have examined what I have written. Sure I am they shall find no untruth therein ; nothing said without warrant ; nothing out of humour ; nay, not the smallest prejudice offered in the relation either to the cause or person. Whatsoever my private opinion is of matters, I have studied to keep an indifferency in writing; and so, con- tented to propone the causes, counsels, and success of every business, I leave to each man his liberty of approving or disapproving things as he shall have reason,"

The Primate does not here assume a merit to which he had not the most unquestionable right. Those who impeach his accuracy have, with hardly any exception, allowed them- selves to be misled by ignorance of facts, or by the malignant strictures of party -writers, whose passions darkened or para- lysed their judgment. Calderwood is generally admitted to be a very acrimonious writer ; but in regard to the Resolu- tions of the Assembly held in Glasgow in 1610, his state- ments are accurate, or when he is in error, his mistakes, in point of fact, are corrected by his own reasoning. So far from asserting that the majority resolved that there should be annual meetings of the whole Church, he relates, in distinct terms, that the Assembly " was to petition the King " to allow such Convocation, either every year, or, at least, at certain fixed periods. This failing, he acknowledges that the Resolutions, which subjected the Bishops to the control of the Assembly, in respect to their morals and official con- duct, " fell to the ground."" Having admitted that the power of indicting or summoning an Assembly belonged exclusively to the royal prerogative, all discipline connected with such Convocations was necessarily suspended.

The anxiety of the King, in regard to these popular meetings, arose from the rather turbulent, and sometimes rebellious, spirit which animated their proceedings, and

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. Ixxiii

which thwarted all his views towards public peace. A de- mocratical impulse already prevailed throughout the nation, especially in the Church ; and, in the royal eye, nothing appeared more likely to check its progress than a system of ecclesiastical polity which would give repose to the multi- tude, and remove the more violent of the clergy from all direct interference in the management of theological dis- cussions. The sentiments of his Majesty were more clearly revealed in his celebrated Work, the " Basilikon Doron," some extracts from which, even before it was put to press, were obtained by Andrew Melville, who, without being deterred by any of those considerations which condemn a breach of confidence, laid them on the table of the Synod of which he was a member, accompanied by some severe reflections on the author. The passage which gave most offence is as follows : — " That parity amongst ministers is inconsistent with monarchy; that without Bishops the Three Estates in Parliament cannot be restored ; and that the design of the Presbyterian ministers is to establish a de- mocracy." Spottiswoode says that the extracts now men- tioned were produced in Synod by Mr John Dikes, minister at Anstruther ; and that they were procured by Melville from Sir James Semple, who had been employed by the King to transcribe his manuscript.^

Nor was the King himself permitted to remain ignorant of the feelings with which he was regarded by the leading mem- bers of the reformed body, who had alienated his affections entirely from the presbyterian system of church-government. At a Conference, to which his Majesty invited some of the ministers in the Diocese of St Andrews, Melville, perceiving that the royal patience was exhausted, " uttered his com- mission as from Almighty God ; called the King God's silly vassal ; and, taking him by the sleeve, said this in effect — ' Sir, we will humbly reverence your Majesty always, namely, in

History of the Church of Scotlaud, p. 156. Koystuii's Edition, 1655.

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public; but as wc have this occasion to be with your Majesty in private, and you are brought into extreme danger both of your Hfe and crown, and with you the country and Kirk of God is like to be wrecked, for not telling you the truth and giving a faithful counsel, we must discharge our duty or be enemies to Christ and you. Therefore, Sir, as divers times before, so now I must tell you, that there are two kings and two kingdoms, — there is Christ and his kingdom — the Kirk, whose subject King James the Sixth is, and of whose kingdom he is not a king, nor a head, nor a lord, but a member ; — and they whom Christ hath called and com- manded to watch over his Kirk, and govern his spiritual kingdom, have sufficient power and authority from him to do so ; which no Christian king can control nor discharge, but fortify and assist — otherwise they are not faithful sub- jects to Christ. The wisdom of your Council, which is devilish and pernicious, is this — that you may be served by all sorts of men to come to your purpose and grandeur, Jew and Gentile, Papist and Protestant. Because the ministers in Scotland are too strong and control the King, they must be weakened and brought low by stirring up a party against them ; and the King being equal and indifferent, both shall be fain to flee unto him, so shall he be well settled. But, Sir, let God's wisdom be the only true wisdom, this will prove mere folly and madness ; for his curse cannot but light upon it, so that in seeking both you will lose both ; — whereas, in cleaving uprightly to God, his true servants will be your true friends, and he will compel the rest, countcr- fcitingly and lyingly, to serve you.' " 1

In this address to the Sovereign of Scotland, pronounced by him who was the real founder of presbyterianism in that country, there arc very distinct reasons given for thp para- mount authority claimed by the Spiritual Estate, as well as for all the measures adopted by its more active members, to

^ Calderwood, p. 329.

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. Ixxv

oppose the pacific designs of his Majesty. Of the two king- doms mentioned by .Melville, that assigned to the Redeemer was unquestionably greater, and more worthy of unlimited obedience than the one possessed by James the Sixth ; and the ministers of Christ accordingly were entitled to a larger deference than the highest servants of an earthly monarch, who, in relation to divine matters, was himself a subject and a pupil. But the orator could hardly fail to be aware, that in employing the argument by means of which he attempted to diminish the prerogative of his Sovereign, he was using the very reasons which, during several centuries, had been urged by the Roman Catholics with the view of maintaining the universal supremacy of the Pope. From Thomas of Canterbury down to Cardinal Beaton, no papal dignitary ever exacted obeisance from earthly rulers in his own per- sonal right, but in all cases claimed submission as the repre- sentative of the Celestial Head of the Church. The Presby- terian seized the same vantage-gvound in the Conference at Falkland. The Kirk is the kingdom of Christ ; her ministers are his chosen servants, and entrusted with authority to govern that kingdom independently of every temporal potentate ; and therefore their allegiance to the King of Scots must be measured by the extent of his submission to their theological injunctions. On one occasion, the same individual told the King to his face, " that he and his Council presumed too boldly in a constituted estate of a Christian Kirk — the Kingdom of Jesus Christ — to take upon them to judge the doctrines, and controul the ambassadors and messengers of a King and Council greater than they, and far above them ;" and hence, that " all godly princes and magistrates ought to hear and obey their voice, and rever- ence the majesty of the Son of God, by them speaking." i

The same spirit, somewhat modified by political circum- stances, continued to animate the leaders of ecclesiastical

' James Melville's Diai-y, pp. 105, 142. Wodrow Edition,

\x\\i LIFE OF THE AUTHUK.

affairs down to the accession of Charles the Second, when they joined in a Remonstrance, exhorting the Committee of Estates " to adhere to the King only in defence of religion and liberty, and if he shall forsake the counsels of the Church and State, and bo guided by ISIalignants, that he be removed from the exercise of government." ^

Such discussions, mingling politics with religion, and restricting the duty of a subject by the measure of his theological opinions, '' split the Church into parties, and made a breach not yet fully healed up." 2

James the Sixth, of whom it has been said, more smartly, perhaps, than justly, " that he was learned without being wise, and good-natured without being good," could not endure the freedoms used with his prerogative, and was driven into hostility with the Presbyterians, not because he dissented from their opinions as Divines, but because he dreaded that their ecclesiastical system was inconsistent with the exercise of monarchy in a free state. When a peti- tion was presented to him after his accession to the English throne, touching certain alleged abuses in the Church, he exclaimed, that " his mother and he had been haunted by a Puritan Devil from their very cradles," and entreated that he might now be permitted to enjoy some repose. He remarked at the same time, that the revolt in the Low Countries, which had lasted ever since ho was born, and of which he did not expect to see the end, began by a petition on matters of religion.

Such was the state of things when Archbishop Spottis- woode found himself placed in the See of Glasgow ; and it was varied only by royal favour and popular insolence till the end of his life. His prudence and gentle rule secured to him many faithful friends in all ranks of society ; and even those who were opposed to the Church over which he presided, acknowledged his moderation, and were ready to

' Shaw's History of Moray, p. 368. ' Shaw, j). :W7.

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admit his candour in the opinions he expressed regarding his avowed antagonists. At the time he was raised to the Episcopate, it is true, the first heats produced by a con- tested reformation had passed away. There had, no doubt, succeeded among the higher ranks of laymen, an indifference to the interests of the new establishment which threatened worse effects than the hostility of the Romanists. At a Parliament held in 1571, it was resolved that the property of the Church should be alienated for ever from the ecclesi- astical body. This Statute was formed upon the plea, that since the Reformation, most of the Bishops, Priors, and Abbots had died, and that, as successors to them were not to be appointed, no title to lands or tithes could be given, except by some new provision of the legislature. By this one sweeping Act, that large division of the Church's patri- mony that had been seized during the troubled period which followed the death of James the Fifth, was converted into a royal fee, and secured, in the meantime, to the rapacious retainers of the Court.

This violent measure induced the Protestant ministers to listen to a plan for revising the principles of their Constitu- tion. They were soon convinced that, as ecclesiastical pro- perty was originally vested in the dignified clergy, the right to its inheritance, in a legal point of view, depended upon the existence of the several orders of the hierarchy as mem- bers of the Establishment. One of the leading Reformers, addressing the Regent, observed, " that the fault of the whole stands in this, that the polity of the Church of Scot- land is not perfect ; nor has there been any solid conference amongst godly men of sound judgment and of good inten- tions as to what remedy should be provided." It was therefore proposed that certain changes should be intro- duced, which, by bringing the ecclesiastical form of the Protestant body nearer to the ancient model, would at once restore the Third Estate to their place in Parliament, and thereby entitle tlie revived Prelacy to deuKind possession of

Ixxviii LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

the various revenues belonging to their order. On their part, the clergy, in general, felt that it was highly important to their interests that they should, as of old, be represented in the legislature.

^Vith the concurrence of the Earl of Mar, then at the head of affairs, an Assembly was convened in January 1572 ; and, after due deliberation, it was resolved that the names and titles of the Archbishops and Bishops be not altered, nor the bounds of the Dioceses confounded, but that they continue in time coming as they did before the reformation of religion, at least till the King's majority, or till Parliament shall deter- mine otherwise ; that all spiritual jurisdiction shall be exer- cised by the Bishops in their several Districts; and that ministers should receive ordination from the Bishop of the Diocese, and, where no Bishop was as yet placed, from the Superintendent of the bounds.

The ground upon which Episcopacy was now placed, proved not sufficiently strong to bear the assaults of an able enemy who watched every opportunity to renew their attacks against it ; and, accordingly, though the King exerted all the in- fluence of his Crown in its behalf, he was compelled to wit- ness its temporary decline. But the Bishops still held seats in Parliament, and were recognised as the chief office-bearers in the Church ; and though the exercise of their spiritual authority was restricted and frequently opposed, their function was not superseded even by the provisions of the Second Book of Discipline, ratified in 1502. James would not consent to the petition of the ministers, when they soli- cited that the diffi^rent orders of Prelates might be deprived of their votes in the legislature. Had the expedient of dissent been known in those days, the more violent preachers would probably have seceded from the ]<]stablishmcnt, even when under the mild but inefficient sway of the Superin- tendents, and thereby afforded, to the better experienced and temperate among the brethren, an opportunity of strength- ening its foundations, and consolidating its structure. But,

LIPE 0¥ THE AUTHOll. Ixxix

at this early period, respect for the unity of the Church prevented even the most refractory from attempting to create a new Communion. They adopted the notion which had descended to them on the current of Ecclesiastical his- tory, that the visible body of Christ could have only one form ; that there could be no more than one Church ; and, accordingly, when they were employed in setting up the reformed model with the one hand, they were busy tearing down the ancient fabric with the other. Proceeding on the same principle, they denominated themselves the " Universal Kirk ;" and no sooner had they obtained even the partial countenance of the civil government, than they declared that the Romish Priests had ceased to be clergymen ; that " they had neither power nor authority to minister the sacraments, and were consequently exposed to the punishment due to those who counterfeit the seals of the Redeemer" — a painful death inflicted by the hands of the civil magistrate.

The polity delineated in the Second Book of Discipline granted to the Presbyterians an extent of power in eccle- siastical matters, for the exercise of which they found them- selves quite unprepared ; and a short experience convinced the leaders that they could not yet dispense with all the institutions of Episcopacy. During the temporary decline of the Prelatical government, it became customary to elect, once a-year, from among the ministers certain Commis- sioners, or Visitors of Districts, who were invested with powers similar to those which the Bishops had enjoyed ; and it was not uncommon to confer this appointment on some of these dignitaries themselves. This office, indeed, was at open variance with those principles of parity for which the preachers had so long contended ; and yet at an Assembl}^ held v.ithin a year after the new Constitution was ratified, the function of Visitor was revived, and clothed too with an authority very closely resembling that which had been wrested from the former governors of the Church, as one of

JXXX LIFE OF THE AUTHOK.

the greatest coiTuptions of religion. The Act was iramed in the following terms : —

" Forasmuch as the visitation of Presbyteries throughout the whole nation is thought very necessary, and from diverse Assemblies commissions have been given to that effect : the necessity still existing, the Church and Commissioners pre- sent have given commission to certain brethren, to visit, and try the life, doctrine, conversation, diligence, and fidelity of the pastors within the said Presbyteries ; and also to ascertain whether if there be any of the beneficed ministers within the same not residing, and who have no just cause of non-residence ; to proceed with the consent of Presby- teries against all who have dilapidated their benefices, set tacks, and made other arrangements, without the consent of the Church ; and to try slanderous persons unmeet to serve in the ministry, and unable or unqualified to teach and edify their hearers,"

This, says a Presbyterian author, " was certainly a wide step towards the restoration of Episcopal privileges. In this light it was regarded, and had the King, availing him- self of it, studiously conciliated the ministers, he might have seen, what he was so desirous afterwards to introduce, an uniformity of ecclesiastical polity in both the British King- doms, with the concurrence of the great majority of his

people." 1

The observation just quoted is not without reason, and the result anticipated would probably have been realized, had not civil strife, originating in the South, mixed itself so deeply with religious dissension. The agitations which divided the English Parliament soon extended themselves into the North, and put a sword into the hands of churchmen which was not sheathed until the King had fallen from his throne, and a new stimulus suppHed to the lovers of innova- tion.

1 Cook's History of tlio Churcli of Scotland, ^'oI. II, p. 21.

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. Ixxxi

At this important period, when the elements of ecclesi- astical polity were as yet unfixed and the two rival systems striving for the ascendency, Archbishop Spottiswoode still presided in the See of Glasgow. A collision with the Roman Catholics was also apprehended, on account of an act of justifiable lenity performed by the King, who refused to seize the property of certain ladies of rank, whose hus- bands were in exile on account of their religion. The ministers immediately sounded the alarm to all the Presby- teries in the country — warned them of the approaching danger — exhorted them to stir up the people in defence of their just rights — commanded them to publish in their churches the sentence of excommunication which had been pronounced on the Popish Lords ; and enjoined them, with- out observing any of the usual formalities of trial, to subject to the same formidable censure all who were suspected of favouring the old religion. To meet still more effectually the pressing emergencies of the crisis, they constituted a Board at Edinburgh, under the designation of the Standing Council of the Church, whom they invested with the supreme authority, and instructed to watch over the general interests of the ecclesiastical body.

In 1606, the administration of the Western Arch- bishop had been marked by the enactment of certain public Statutes, of which the main object was the increased stability of the Church. By one of these the royal pre- rogative in ecclesiastical matters was so defined, as to pre- vent the recurrence of such disputes as had arisen from the meditated Assemblies at Aberdeen ; and by another was repealed the Act of Annexation, which had vested in the Crown the temporalities of the several Bishoprics. It had become manifest that owing to the want of a settled revenue, the Prelates could not perform their duty, either as ecclesi- astics or as members of the civil government. The title of the latter Act, says the Primate, " being expressed in rather ambiguous terms, has led some writers into the error

Ixxxii LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

of conceiving that the Spiritual Estate was thereby placed on a new footing, whereas it applied solely to the landed property and tithes whence their income was derived," He justly remarks, that " the Episcopal order, as one of the Three Estates of the Kingdom, had neither been cast down nor was intended to be overthrown by the legislature, even when the polity of the Second Book of Discipline was sanctioned in the year 1592 ; and accordingly, that the Bill, entituled the ' Restitution of the Estate of Bishops,' provided exclusively for their rank and sustentation as occupants of the ancient Sees."l

Finding that contention was not yet allayed in the North, his Majesty devised an expedient for reconciling the two parties, or at least for ascertaining the points on which they differed. For this purpose he summoned to London the two Archbishops, and the Bishops of Orkney, Galloway, and Dunkeld, to represent the Episcopal in- terest ; while, as advocates of the Presbyterian cause, he named the two Melvilles and five others, than whom there were none better qualified, both by talent and courage, to support the tenets of the Genevan school, whether in doctrine or discipline.

To prepare the champions for the amicable contest in which they were about to engage, the King had provided that they should all go to church, and listen to a series of discourses on the several points at issue. The first who mounted the pulpit was Barlow, the Bishop of Lincoln, who undertook to prove from Scripture and the Fathers, the " superiority of Bishops to Presbyters, and also to set forth the inconvenience of parity in the Church."" Dr Buckridge, Bishop of Rochester, who appeared next in order, handled the " King's supremacy in causes Ecclesiastical," to the satisfaction of, at least, one part of his audience. It, in-

^ History of the Church of Scotland, p. 499. Wodrow's Life of Forbes, p. ^7. Baillie's Historical Vindication, p. 55, &c.

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. Ixxxiii

deed, grieved the Scottish ministers to hear the Pope and Presbytery so often equalled in their opposition to sovereign princes. The Bishop of Chichester, Dr Andrews, had for his task, " to confirm the power of Monarchs in convocating Synods and Councils." Dr King, Bishop of London, dis- coursed on the office of Presbyters, and " did prove lay- elders to have no place nor office in the Church, and that the late device was without warrant of precept or example, either in Scripture or antiquity." l

Ample details are supplied by Archbishop Spottiswoode, who appears not to have taken any active part in the dis- putation which ensued ; the result of which, as is usual in all such cases, was a more rigid adherence on either side to the controverted tenets. The elder Melville, whose temper was seldom under control, gave additional offence by his undutiful language, as well as by indulging his humour for ridicule at the expense of theEnglish clergy and ritual. When summoned before the Council, as the author of a lampoon against the Church, he boldly acknowledged himself as the author of the verses laid to his charge, and even attempted to justify them as a lawful attack on a hated superstition. He then assailed Bancroft, the Primate, in very opprobrious terms, denouncing him as the persecutor of God's faithful servants ; as the abettor of all the corruptions and vanities which adhered to the Anglican Communion ; and, in short, as the principal enemy of the reformed religion throughout all the nations of Europe. Yielding to the impulse of his passion, he laid hold of the Archbishop's lawn-sleeves, and shaking them violently, called them Roman rags, and one of the marks of the beast. Spottiswoode, who, as has been already stated, was one of the persons summoned from Scot- land to attend the Conference, remarks that he " behaved insolently, and more like a madman than a Divine." 2

^ Spottiswoode, p. 497.

^ History of the Church of Scotland, p. 500. Heylin, p. 385. Wod- row's Life of A. MelviUe, p. 82.

Ixxxiv LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

One of tlio most important duties in which the Archbishop was engaged, while Primate of the West, was that of pre- siding in the Assembly of IGIO, by whom those important Resolutions were passed to which the attention of the reader has been already directed. Allusion has also been made to the motives which are supposed to have secured an unanimity, at that time so unusual, among the clergy ; though the reasons which really influenced their decisions, it may be charitably presumed, were more honourable to their charac- ters. They had experienced the evils inseparable from the turbulent and mutinous disposition which had distracted the Church during many years ; and they were now willing to take refuge under a system of ecclesiastical rule which held out the prospect, at least, of comparative tranquillity and order. Nor could they be ignorant of the fact, that the Roman Catholics had gained many advantages from the unhappy condition of the Protestant Communion. These adherents to the older ritual saw, in the new establishment, numerous laymen performing the most solemn acts of the Christian priesthood, while the great body of the ministers, ordained and unordained, were more frequently occupied in contentions with one another on points of external discipline, than in instructing the youth of their congregations, or in manifesting in their own manners the mild spirit of the Gospel. It is not surprising, therefore, that an increasing number of proselytes should have been seen to flock around the less variable standards and polity of the ancient Church; an evil which having been long ascribed to the will of God, was now perceived to have for its more immediate cause the anger and folly of man.

Besides, in contemplating the surprising change which, at this period, took place in the sentiments of the Scottish clergy, it ought not to be forgotten, that the party who originated the more violent measures into which they were occasionally led, was not numerous, if compared with the whole body of the Church. Two or three Presbyteries had

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. IxxXV

influence enough to excite the fears or resentment of the important districts of Fife and Lothian; and it was accord- ingly found, that as soon as Andrew Melville, Bruce, and a few others were removed, the agitation ceased on both sides of the Forth. The experience of every day proves to what an extent the public peace may be disturbed by the artifices of a minority, remarkable in no other respect but that of perseverance. The Puritans, too, who shook the fabric of the English Church, were few in number, and not distin- guished at first either for learning or ability. They were, however, loud in their complaints, representing their griev- ances as intolerable to every enlightened conscience ; and yet, of more than nine thousand clergymen belonging to that establishment in the reign of James the First, not more than forty-nine individuals were deposed for non-conformity. In all national commotions, the immense majority who are silent and comply, are too often overlooked ; and it is not until the alarm has subsided that men become aware of the real state of public feeling, and perceive how diminutive were the objects which had excited their apprehensions, when seen through the clouded medium of rage and con- troversy.

In the year 1612, soon after the Archbishop of Glasgow, the Bishops of Brechin and Galloway, had returned from London, a Parliament was holden at Edinburgh, in which all the Resolutions of the Assembly of 1610 were ratified, and all Acts inconsistent with them were rescinded and annulled. Among these last was the celebrated Statute of 1592, by which the Second Book of Discipline was acknow- ledged as the standard of government and worship in the National Church.

This temporary triumph of Episcopacy gave rise among writers on the other side to much bitter animosity, of which the remains may still be detected in more modern compositions. The piety of that age, in many respects sufficiently sullen and austere, shewed itself, nevertheless, abundantly indul-

F

ixxxvi LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

gent to satirical invective and furious railing, when directed against the enemies of the popular cause. The wrath which burned in the breast of the elder Melville, for example, has perpetuated its fervour not less strikingly in his speeches for the truth and liberty of the Gospel, than in personal abuse and in slanderous epigrams on the characters of men, who, while they were not inferior to him in professional acquirements, in point of christian temper were incomparably more estimable.

The Bishops, it need not be added, received their full share of this calumny, of which a large portion fell to the Archbishop of Glasgow, who, in point of fact, was Primate of the whole kingdom, Adamson being driven from the helm of affairs. Those very persons who, it is admitted, had, by their mild behaviour, gained the suffrages of the parochial clergy in support of the Church, have been described in lampoons, issuing from the school of Melville, as drunkards, gluttons, debauchees, gamblers, and extortioners. Besides, they had been recently selected from the ranks of the Pres- byterians themselves; and as their " lives and conversations," even after they became Bishops, were, during a certain period, subject to the censure of the General Assembly, who had authority not only to reprove but even to depose them, it may bo concluded that their chief offence consisted in their having inflicted a severe disappointment on certain ambitious rivals.

Nor are the severe strictures now mentioned, less just or generous when applied to the great body of the clergy who readily assented to the changes which took place in tho Church between the years 1592 and 1G12. Oalderwood maintains that " by policy on the one side, and terror on the other, the Prelates got too much advantage among tho weak and simple of the ministry." But he does not perceive what advantage he gives to the adversary by allowing that hope or fear prevailed over principle, so far as to make the larger number of tho clergy sacrifico to such motives tho

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clearest views of duty. The Assembly at Glasgow, for example, consisted of about a hundred and forty members, of whom the greater part were ministers, and yet the Re- solutions were not opposed by more than five individuals. What must be thought of a Church, and one, too, so exactly reformed, in which policy or terror could secure a majority so overwhelming ! The gradual change of sentiment which succeeded the promulgation of the Second Book of Discipline, may be ascribed to considerations much more creditable to the characters of the ecclesiastical body than those sug- gested by Oalderwood, as well as by several writers in later times who have adopted his views. An unprejudiced inquirer will find that the true reasons for the gradual change of views mentioned, were disgust at the seditious spirit which had so long divided their body, and the pro- spect of tranquillity under the revived form of church- government.

At the period to which we have now arrived Spottiswoode was Primate of the Scottish Church, having in the year 1615 been promoted to the See of St Andrews, rendered vacant by the death of Archbishop Gladstanes. His admi- nistration was soon disturbed by the action of two very different causes ; namely, the popular jealousy against Roman Catholics, and the imprudent wish of King James to effect an entire uniformity in discipline and worship in both divisions of his realm. In regard to the former point, punishment was inflicted, and disabihties were im- posed, in a manner which reflected no honour on the dis- cernment of the ecclesiastical leaders ; who, it is probable, nevertheless, if they had been left to the guidance of their own feelings, would not have disturbed the exercise of private devotion, nor the settled convictions of conscience. But the popular voice required that the idolatry of the Mass should be visited with the severest penalties of law ; and accordingly, a priest was put to death by the public execu- tioner, while some of the more prominent among the Catholic

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laity were compelled or induced to renounce the only creed in which they had been accustomed to repose their belief.

But the innovations in the Protestant body, contem- plated by his Majesty, were the occasion of evils much more serious and lasting. As yet there were not in the Scottish Church .'iny authoritative Articles of Belief ; Canons for the regulation of Discipline ; nor a Liturgy for the common use of the several congregations. The only Confession of Faith acknowledged by the clergy was that which was introduced in the days of Knox, which, though no longer sanctioned by law, was generally held as the symbol of the national doc- trine. Since the Liturgy of Edward the Sixth was discon- tinued, the prayers, founded on the devotional usages of Geneva, and recommended by the same Reformer, consti- tuted the only Service used in church, and that, too, accord- ing to the discretion 'of the officiating clergyman. It there- fore appeared in the eyes of the King extremely desirable that all these deficiencies should be supplied without delay ; and that the theological tenets, worship, discipline, ritual, and vestments should be brought to a near resemblance with those to which he w^s now accustomed in the south.

In 1617 James paid a visit to his native country, where he soon manifested an injudicious anxiety for the establish- ment of his prerogative in matters ecclesiastical. He in- duced Parliament to enact, that " whatever his Majesty should determine in the external government of the Church, with the advice of the Archbishops, Bishops, and a com- petent number of the clergy, should have the strength of a law." The opinions of the Prelates being opposed to such a stretch of regal authority, this Act received not the royal sanction. The King soon perceived that the Bishops were not less desirous than the inferior clergy that the forms of the Church should not be tampered with ; and that he should not, by any unseasonable pretensions to a paramount authority, awaken jealousies which were yet hardly lulled to sleep. He accordingly returned to London without having

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accomplished the main object of his visit to Scotland, the con- formity of the Scottish Communion to the ritual and usages of their English brethren ; but it is understood that Arch- bishop Spottiswoode and his brethren had given his Majesty an assurance that all regular means should be employed, to procure the sanction of a General Assembly for the cere- monies which he considered so important to the interests of the Church.

The rites to which allusion has now been made, were the Five Articles of Perth, which afterwards obtained great celebrity when the disputes, which divided the clergy in the reign of Charles the First, once more called the theological combatants into the field. The first respected the attitude simply, in which the Holy Communion ought to be received, that is, whether sitting or kneeling ; the second had refer- ence to the administi-ation of the same sacrament to the sick or infirm who were not able to attend church ; the third allowed private Baptism to infants in the case of imminent danger, or in the prospect of death ; the fourth enjoined Confirmation of young persons, properly instructed in the principles of the Christian religion; and the fifth related to the Commemoration of the Birth of our Blessed Lord, his Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, and his send- ing down the Holy Ghost, — in other words, to the religious observance of Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension- day, and Whitsunday.

Certain points being adjusted at a preliminary meeting of the Church at St Andrews, his Majesty issued authority for the summoning of an Assembly, which met at Perth on the 25th August 1618. On thi3 occasion the Archbishop preached a sermon, remarkable at once for candour, learn- ing, and moderation. He does not conceal that, in yielding to the wishes of the King, the Bishops had sacrificed their private opinions as well as their views of expediency. '* My Lords and Brethren," he begins, " the business for which we meet here is known to you all, namely, to take some

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resolution on these Articles which we are required to admit into our Church by that power unto which wo be all subject. Of the indifferency of these Articles, I think there is little or no question amongst us ; the conveniency of them for our Church is doubted by many, but not without cause. They are new and uncouth ; such things we have not been accustomed with ; and innovations in a Church, even in the smallest things, are dangerous, though the utility may not be questioned. Augustine uttered this sentiment long ago ; and we have experienced the truth of it during the year just past. I beseech God we may feel no more of it here- after. Had it been in our power to have dissuaded or declined them, most certainly we would ; and if any of you think otherwise, ye are greatly mistaken. But now, being brought to a necessity (I am sorry to speak, more sorry to think, of the means that wrought the same,) either of yielding, or of disobeying him whom, for myself, I hold it [contrary to] religion to offend. I must tell you that the evil of innovation, especially in matters of rite and ceremony, is nothing so great as the evil of disobedience. That which is new this day, will, with a little use, become familiar and old. But how far disobedience may go, and what evils it may produce, God knows."

Concerning ceremonies in general, he observes that, though the Church of Rome may, in this particular, have run into excess, and thereby made the very name of them hateful to Protestants, they are yet necessary in the performance of all public duties, whether civil or ecclesiastical ; but, how- ever expedient certain forms may be, such is the variety of mens"' minds and opinions that it is next to impossible that they shall ever be brought to an entire agreement in regard to them. " In this case," says the Archbishop, " what is to be done ? "" Some recommend that a search should be made into apostolic times, and a rule founded upon the usage of that pure period. But he reminds his hearers that " this cannot well be our guide, inasmuch as the Apostles have not

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delivered in writing all that they did, and besides many of their observances would not be found suitable to our times and circumstances."" Among these he mentions the practice of assembling the people in close and secret meetings ; tlieir baptisms in rivers ; their administering of the Lord's Supper after love-feasts ; the abhorring of unleavened bread ; the abstaining from the use of blood and of animals which had been put to death by strangling. " To re-introduce such practices and opinions, would, in a great measure, change the aspect and spirit of Christianity itself. The doctrine of the Apostles, on the other hand, was so exact and perfect that we must not either add any thing to it, or diminish ought from it ; but as to the ceremonies or usages which they countenanced, it is clear that they had a special respect to the times, and places, and circumstances wherein they exercised their ministry, and some of them, therefore, were by the Church very properly abolished." In support of his views he quotes from the writings of Beza and Calvin, whose authority was great in the reformed Churches of England and Scotland, the former of whom declared that he did not think that every thing done by the Apostles, so far as rites and ceremonies are concerned, ought, in all cases, to be fol- lowed. The judgment of the latter author is, " that the power of adding, altering, innovating, and appointing cere- monies, remains with the Church to do therein as she, in her wisdom, shall think meet. And certainly there is no other method of keeping away differences in matters of rites and ceremonies but this, that every man keep the customs of the Church wherein he lives, and observe that which is appointed by the governors thereof ; for in things indifferent we must always esteem that to be the best and most seemly which appear so in the eye of public authority."

" Unless this rule hold," adds the Pi'imate, " there can be no order, and all must be filled with sti-ife and conten- tion. But thou wilt say, my conscience suffers me not to obey, for I am persuaded that such things are not right nor

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well appointed. I answer tliat in matters of this nature, the sentence of thy superiors ought to direct tliee, and that is a suflScient ground to thy conscience for obeying. But may not superiors err I JNIay not Councils decree that which is wrong I This no man denies, and if they decree any thing against Scripture, it is not to bo obeyed ; for there that sentence holds, it is better to obey God than man ; but if that which is decreed be not repugnant to the Word, and that thou hast no more than thine own inferences and motions of conscience, as thou callest it, how strong however thy per- suasions be, it is presumption in thee to disobey the ordi- nance of the Church ; and of this we may be sure, that who- ever denies obedience to Church ordinances in things in- different, the same will not stick to reject God's own Word, when it crosses his fancy."

With regard to the Communion of the sick, he remarks, that " the mind which is offended hardly interprets any thing well ; so fared it in this matter." His Majesty, it appears, was dissatisfied with a previous Assembly, who expressed some doubts as to the expediency of the proposed Articles. " I was bold in a private letter," continues his_ Grace, " to shew there was a mistaking, and justify that which was done ; neither should I speak any more of it, but that it hath been complained that some of our ministry, being earnestly entreated by certain sick persons for the comfort of that sacrament since that time, have denied the same. To justify, therefore, that which was enacted, I say shortly that by our calling we are directly bound to minister unto men, in the last hour, all the helps and comforts we possibly can. Why this sacrament, which is the seal of God's promises, and a special means of binding up our com- munion with Christ, should be denied to such as desire the same in that time, there can be no reason." He proves from the writings of Calvin, Bucer, BuUingcr, and Zipperus, that the Protestant Churches on the Continent gave their countenance to the practice of private Communion when sick

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persons desired it ; and on this ground, if such authority were necessary, he remarks in conclusion, — " so when the Keformed Churches have approved it, were we ourselves, by our own practice, now to stand against it, when by a special Canon it is appointed to be done, it could not but be thought obstinate disobedience."'^

His remarks on the administration of Baptism are not only very weighty, considered in themselves, but supported by the authority of reformed Divines, whose opinion, he was perfectly aware, would produce a greater effect on the minds of his audience than any appeal to more primitive times. At a somewhat earlier period, when the principle adopted in arranging the usages of the Kirk was to avoid every prac- tice which might seem to coincide with the Romish super- stition, the rule was to confine the baptism of infants " to the ordinary day of teaching," or the first day of the week. " The question," says the Archbishop, " was then of the time, now it is of the place. Respecting this you all know that in the institution of baptism the Lord Jesus hath not tied us to any place, but his command binds all men to bo baptized ; and we that are ministers by our calling, are obliged to baptize, although we may not think baptism necessary to salvation, or that the child who wants it, through an inevitable necessity, is any thing prejudiced that way ; yet if the occasion present, there is no doubt that the minister hath a necessity lying upon him to baptize, although time, place, and other circumstances required for the due and solemn administration be not concurring. But this, ye will say, fosters the popish opinion of the necessity of bap- tism." He answers these objections in the words of Bucer, who maintains that to withhold baptism for want of the due solemnities, opens a door to the devil to bring in the con- tempt of Christ's ordinance, and our whole redemption by him. We have a commandment to baptize, and this to us . is a necessary duty, which we may not leave undone. As for inconveniencies, we must meet them as wisely as we may,

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by doctrine and diligent catechising, but in no sort neglect the commandment that is given. When, again, Calvin was asked—" Where baptism may be rightly administered ? '' He answered — " It is not lawful to administer baptism except in a meeting of the faithful ; not indeed that a temple is required for this purpose, but anywhere you please, pro- vided some number of believers be assembled, for this con- stitutes the body of the Church."

With equal wisdom and moderation the Primate speaks concerning Confirmation, as one of the most ancient customs of the Christian Church ; maintaining that it began with the Apostles, and from their days it hath continued. The neglect of this duty hath, he remarks, done much harm in the Church ; and the restoration of that good custom, which Calvin earnestly wished, could not but bring with it an exceeding great benefit. What is imposition of hands, said St Augustine, but a prayer for the man upon whom hands are laid ? But I hear, the Archbishop exclaims, that some cannot abide to hear the word Confirmation : the thing itself they gladly admit, but they would have the term Examina- tion, or some similar word, substituted for it. Thus, not only the abuse, but the very name of the thing abused (so tender on the hearts of some), must be put away ! Besides, the word Confirmation was used in the Church long before Popery was intruded ujjon her, as is manifest from the writ- ings of Cyprian, Augustine, Tertullian, Enscbius, and others." The author of the sermon might have farther strengthened his argument by stating that Calvin, in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, includes Confirmation among the elements of Christian doctrines. These elements or principles mentioned in the sixth Chapter, are by the Apostle said to be repentance, faith, baptism, the laying on of hands, belief in the resurrection, and in eternal judgment. Both from the natural import of the expression itself — the laying on of hands — and the place which it occupies, im- mediately after faith and baptism, Calvin infers that it

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could mean nothing other than what is now called Confirma- tion. But he, like many other reformers, was compelled to yield to the popular mind several things which he felt were due to truth, usage, and authority.

Referring the reader to the sermon itself for the Primate"'s reasoning on the expediency of observing the festivals of the Church, those days, namely, which have been set apart for commemorating the more solemn events in the history of the Redeemer, I pass on to the Fifth Article, which respects the attitude or gesture in which the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ought to be received. In regard to this matter, he remarks, " great stirs have been made, and, as I esteem, without any cause. The Apostle, when he pro- fesses to deliver unto us that which he received of the Lord, speaks not either of sitting, or kneeling, or standing ; from which it is evident that the position of the body is not of the essence of the sacraments, but may be numbered among those circumstances which the Church may alter or change at pleasure. It is said that we ought to conform ourselves to the example of Christ in this matter. If this bo so, you know that it would behove us neither to sit nor kneel, but to lie round about the table ; to communicate with men exclusively, and not with women ; and in the evening, after supper, to receive the sacrament ; which things were ridicu- lous to affirm."'"'

The Archbishop alludes to a pamphlet written by some perverse spirit in the English Chui'ch, whose argument had found too good a reception among some ministers in Scot- land. The unknown author maintains that in receiving the holy Communion, we ought not to use any rite that may signify our inferiority unto Christ, neither should we abase ourselves there, but acknowledge and think ourselves as his equals. This very low notion, entertained by the " perverse spirit," arose from the too liberal acceptation of the term Supper, as apphed to. the holy Communion. If in common life we sit down with the host to an entertainment, we may for the

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time consider ourselves his equals ; but to apply this analogy to the most sacred institution of the Christian religion, were, indeed, profane in the extreme. " I pray God, said the Primate, to keep us from this divinity. We have learned to honour the Son even as we honour the Father ; and ho who honours not the Son so in every place, especially in the participation of the Holy Supper, should be to us as a Jew or Pagan. For myself, he adds, I think sitting, in the be- ginning, was not evilly instituted, and since, by our Church continued, for we may adore while we are sitting as well as kneeling ; yet the gesture which becometh adoration best is that of bowing of the knee ; and the irreligion of these times craves that we should put men more unto it than we do.""

" Thus have I showed you the judgment of the best reformed Churches touching these Articles. Thereby you have seen that there is nothing impious or unlawful in them ; they who showed a dislike of them in the last Assembly, could not say either. And surely if it cannot be showed that they are repugnant to the written Word, I see not with what conscience we can refuse them, being urged, as they are, by our sovereign Lord and King ; a King who is not a stranger to divinity, but hath such acquaintance with it, that in the confessions of all men, Rome never found a more potent adversary ; a King neither superstitious nor inclin- able that way, but one who seeks to have God rightly and truly worshipped by all his subjects."

The Archbishop next adverts to the suspicion entertained by some of the ministers that the Articles were introduced under foreign influence, more especially that which was sup- posed to be exercised on the mind of the King by certain dignitaries of the Anglican Church. In reply to this insinua- tion, the Primate remiixls them of a solemn declaration made by his Majesty himself at St Andrews, that neither the desire of bringing the two churches to a full conformity in rites and ceremonies, nor the solicitation of any person whatsoever, did stimulate him to this pious work, but simply

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his zeal for the honour of God, and a deep feeling that he could not be acquitted in the great day of judgment if he should neglect this duty.

In regard to himself and the influence he was supposed to have used in order to meet the views of the Sovereign, he adds — " I solemnly protest before Almighty God and this honourable Assembly, that without my knowledge, against my desire, and when I least expected, these Articles were sent unto me, not to be proponed unto the Church, but to be inserted among the Canons thereof which then were in gathering : touching which point, I humbly excused myself that I could not insert among the Canons that which was not first advised with the Church, and desired that they might be referred to another consideration. Neither did I hear after tliat time any thing of them until that Protesta- tion was formed to be presented to the States of Parliament; at what time his Majesty taking advantage of the misbe- haviour of those persons who penned the Protestation, and proudly stood to the same, resolved to have these Articles admitted into our Church ; wherein all my care was to save the Church's authority, and labour that they might be referred to an Assembly, which was obtained upon promise that his Majesty should receive satisfaction ; and this pro- mise was not made by me alone, but ratified by yourselves, as you remember, at St Andrews. In the Assembly that followed, however, my advice took no place -\ I joined, after the dissolving thereof, with my lords the Bishops, to excuse the delay that was made at the time. But our letter being ill accepted, and another returning full of anger and indig- nation, which divers of yourselves have seen, I travelled, at the earnest solicitation of the ministers, by all the ways I could, to divert the troubles which, before this time, you most certainly would have felt. And all that has proceeded since, you know ; so, as I spake before, I would, if it had been in my power, most willingly have declined the receiving of these Articles ; not that I did esteem them either unlaw-

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ful or inconvenient, for I cam so far persuaded of the contrary as I can be of any thing ; but I foresaw the contradiction that would be made, and the business we should fall into ; therefore, let no man deceive himself. These things pro- ceed from his Majesty, and are his own motions, not any other's."

An objection to the Five Articles had been raised, on the ground that the English Church intended to renew her old claim of superiority over the Scottish, and that the proposed conformity about to be established by the decision of the Assembl}', would pave the way for this assumption on the part of the southern Prelates. The Archbishop observes — " this reason is so ill-founded, that were wo to conform with them in every outward rite, observed not only by them but by the whole Church of Christ, long before it was infected with Popery, it would not infer the dependanco of our Church upon theirs, but simply that there would bo between us such harmony as ought to exist among all the Reformed Churches, both in doctrine and discipline. But if matters should come to be thus contested as to our independence, which is not to be apprehended, we should not be found neglectful either of our Church or Country. What ground is there for this jealousy ? We live under a King who loves this nation's honour more than we all, and who has never omitted an opportunity to express his natural affection to- wards his native land."

The preacher concludes by saying, — " Brethren, we have made too much business about these matters. The king- dom of God consists not in them, but in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Away with fruitless and contentious disputings — remember the work wo are sent for is to build the Church of God and not to destroy it ; to call men to faith and repentance ; to stir them up to the works of true piety and love ; and not to make them think they have religion enough, when they have talked against Bishops and ceremonies. If we shall go about this carefully, and

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all of US strive in our places, by fruitful preaching, by honest living, and a wise governing, to, approve ourselves to the consciences of our people, we shall shortly find matters in a better state than we have seen, and be all of us an accept- able people unto the Lord our God."

Before the calling of the roll, the King'^s letter was again read ; and the vote being taken, the Five Articles were approved by a large majority ; on the 25th October they were sanctioned by an Act of the Privy-Council ; and the King''s proclamation, ratifying and confirming them, was published at the Cross of Edinburgh on the 26th of the same month.

It is not till 1621 that the Resolutions of the Perth Assembly were ratified by the authority of Parliament ; and on this occasion his Majesty reminded the Bishops that as they had to do with two sorts of enemies, Papists and Puri- tans, so they should go forward in action against both the one and the other ; that papistry was a disease of the mind, and puritanism of the brain ; and that the antidote to both was a grave, settled, and well ordered Church, in the obe- dience of God and their King. As might have been antici- pated, the simple circumstance that the Articles originated in a suggestion of his Majesty, prevented them from giving full satisfaction to all the ministers ; many of whom re- tained, not unreasonably, a strong jealousy against royal in- terference in the discipline or worship of the Church. But even the most rigid of these must have admitted that there was more to blame in the manner in which the Sovereign pursued his object, than in the decisions of the Assembly, considered apart from the exercise of the royal prerogative. For example, it may be remarked that, though the private administration of either sacrament, under certain urgent circumstances, was now permitted by law, no one was obliged to avail himself of that privilege. The same remark applies to the rite of Confirmation, and the observance of the several festivals. Every individual,

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not in holy orders, was left at perfect freedom to omit the celebration, or to conform to the rule of the Church, as he should see proper. Even in regard to the attitude enjoined for receiving the holy Communion— the point in which there seemed to be the least discretionary power — there were some congregations who, though they refused to conform, were, as long as they conducted themselves with quietness, permitted to follow the wonted method without fear or disturbance. The expectation of the Archbishop was fully realized, that as the Articles were passed by a large majority, most of the clergy obeyed the injunctions of their national convocation.

It is true that several of them were prosecuted for non-com- pliance ; but, in such cases, the refusal was generally accom- panied with expressions of disloyalty to the government, or of insult towards those of their brethren who had set an example of obedience. The first who was summoned before the High Commission for this offence, had not only forbid- den the people to kneel at the Communion, but openly de- clared that " the conclusion of the Assembly on this head was in itself superstitious and damnable, and inclined for the most part to idolatry."

At the accession of Charles the First, the anti-episcopal party made an effort to gain the favour of the Court and thereby thwart the policy of Archbishop Spottiswoode. They entrusted to the hands of one of the ministers of Glas- gow a supplication addressed to his Majesty, intreating relief from the grievances imposed by the Resolutions of the Perth Assembly. But the young King, who was not less desirous than his father had been to establish a complete uniformity in the Church on both sides of the Tweed, turned a deaf ear to their solicitations. The Bishops accordingly enjoyed a temporary repose, till political aspirations mingled with religious feelings in England and called into the field of battle the leading men in both kingdoms.

The conduct of Archbishop Spottiswoode, during the troubled period which preceded the meeting of the Assembly

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at Perth, was marked with great moderation, self-denial, and firmness. He did not conceal from the King his opinion, well weighed and matured, that the introduction of the Five Articles would certainly be attended with much hazard to the peace of the Church. Exposing himself to the displeasure of his Majesty, he did not refrain from urging upon him that the innovation was unseasonable ; and though none of the ceremonies were in themselves objection- able, they would excite much opposition among such of the ministers as v.ere not yet reconciled to Episcopacy. On the other hand, he reasoned with the clergy as to the inexpediency and folly of provoking the anger of their Sovereign, whose prerogative in ecclesiastical matters had been recently extended by an Act of Parliament, by oppos- ing his views in matters of ct)mparative indifference. No wise man could hold it a matter of conscience whether he sat or knelt when receiving the holy Communion ; and whether a sick person, who earnestly desired it, might not be allowed the comfort of commemorating the death of his Redeemer, in the society of his friends and relations solemnly assembled around his bed. The case of aged per- sons, who for years had been unable to attend church, and were desirous of receiving the Sacrament, was perhaps still more urgent, and not less common. Episcopal clergymen, at the present day, are frequently applied to by such persons, though not of their Communion ; and in no instance is the request denied without regret and compassion on the part of him who declines compliance.

The Primate, in his History, very modestly passes over his own exertions connected with the Assembly now men- tioned ; simply alluding to his " Exhortation "" — the able sermon he pronounced — and to his painful correspondence with the King, touching the proposed Articles. It is to his friend, Doctor Lindesay, the Bishop of Brechin, that we are indebted for the preservation of his admirable discourse, as well as the cogent reasoning by means of which he induced

a

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a large majority of the ministers to vote in favour of the Resohitions.l He who peruses the Archbishop's own narra- tive will not, indeed, perceive any proof that he bore on his slioulders the heavy burden of an unpopular measure, which he carried with success through the thorny path of vulgar contro- versy and (lemocratical agitation. He seems rather disposed to confine the attention of his reader to the proceedings which took place during the former year, when the King manifested so strongly his most injudicious desire to have his preroga- tive, in matters ecclesiastical, fully established, that the Parliament was induced to enact, that " whatever his Majesty should determine in the external government of the Church, with the advice of the Archbishops, Bishops, and a competent number of the ministers, should have the force of a law." The Primate had not studied the history of the Church so carelessly as not to perceive the inconvenience of urging the popular mind, especially when moved by ignorant or artful leaders, beyond the point which is limited by the means of knowledge or habits of reflection possessed by the mass of any nation. He has related in his great Work the agitation which was excited in Scotland at an early period, by the determination of the question which respected the keeping of Easter ; when the people at large confounded an astronomical problem with an evangelical truth, and struggled for the accustomed rule for observing the festival, as if it had been founded on Apostolical injunction. Not being aware that the discussion which had kindled their zeal and alarmed their fears, had no higher an object than to determine whether a star-gazer at Athens were more worthy of confidence than one at Alexandria, they divided the Church, and made themselves unhappy during several generations. As it affords a key to the principle on which he himself was always inclined to act, when the uninformed

' In leforence to the majority in favour of tlio rcrtli Articles, tlic Bishop of Brechin remarks, in his " True Narrative," that they were carried by " more than double the number " of the opposers, p. 11.

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portion of tho community were excited, I shall transcribe the paragraph which contains his remarks.

Alkiding to the divisions occasioned by the violence of the contending parties, he observes — " after this time we find a continual declining in the Ohurcli ; for the decision taken in that conference of Whitby, touching the contro- versy of Easter, increased the dissension and put all out of frame ; they that were in place urging the rites more strictly than was convenient, and others choosing rather to quit their charges than give way unto them. Theodorus, then Archbishop of Canterbury, is blamed for exercising the authority of his place too peremptorily about these things, and forcing the British bishops to conform themselves : Wilfred, Archbishop of York, dealing in like sort with the Scottish preachers who had planted the Gospel among the northern English, thrust them from all their places. The clergy at home became also divided ; for Adamnanus, a Bishop who had been tutor to Eugenius the Sixth, being sent in embassage to Alfrid, King of Northumberland, fell in such a liking of the rites he saw there used, as at his return he became an earnest persuader of his countrymen to receive them, and prevailed with many. Yet the monks of lona, whose governor he had sometime been, did strongly oppose; others who chose not to be contentious retired themselves." ^

No one, under the influence of that charity which thinketh no evil, will condemn either the decision at Whitby or the Articles of Perth. Both were right in point of principle, and unquestionably within the bounds of ecclesiastical deter- mination ; both divided the Church, and caused a " con- tinual declining." The Eesolutions of the Assembly afforded a plausible pretext for reviving animosities in the breasts of the multitude, and for assailing the motives of the Bishops who had consented to the enactment. Spottiswoode set an

1 History of the Church of Scotland, p. 18, First Edition.

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example of moderation, and did not urge the rites more strictly than was convenient. In an important i)art of his Diocese the clergy declared themselves ready to administer the holy Comnmnion to the people kneeling, sitting, or even standing, as their consciences or taste might dictate ; a concession which in many instances was rejected, with what consistency it does not appear, as a violation of order.

Those who may wish to see the reasons urged against the adoption of the Perth Articles, will find them, amounting to fifteen in number, in Calderwood's History, page 708 ; and they apply not only to the usages themselves, as sanctioned by the Assembly, but also to the alleged informalities which attended the proceedings of that learned body. He men- tions not, however, any indication of the Divine displeasure, until they were ratified by Parliament on the fourth day of August 1621. At the moment the Commissioner rose from his seat, with the sceptre in his hand, to perform that act in the name of the Sovereign — " at that same very instant, was sent from the heavens in at the windows of the house, which was dark before by reason of the darkness of the day, an extraordinary great lightning ; after the first, a second ; and after the second, a third more fearful. Imme- diately after the lightnings followed an extraordinary great darkness, which astonished all that were in the house. The lightnings were succeeded by three loud claps of thunder !" The one party viewed this as a proof that God was angry ; the churchmen (called Atheists by the author) suggested, that as the Law was given on Sinai amidst appalling thunder and flames of fire, so the Divine approbation of the Articles was in like manwer expressed on this occasion.

The Archbishop was doomed to sustain, at no distant period, a very powerful opposition, arising from a (juarter whence no evil could have been apprehended by him. Charles the First, in the year 1633, paid a visit to Scotland with the view of redressing grievances and securing the affections of his northern subjects, whose attachment to the Crown

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had been somewhat alienated by the policy of his father. The disaffected party among the parochial ministers had not forgotten their discomfiture at Perth ; and thougli they refrained from open resistance to the law, they sedulously pursued measures which could not fail to increase the num- ber of their adherents. They had recourse to frequent Fasts in the several parishes devoted to their interests — a practice which was introduced without authority and continued without any public sanction. On such occasions they were wont in their sermons to hint at the danger to which religion was exposed by the dominance of Episcopacy ; and in their prayers to supplicate a remedy for this evil, with a blessing on all the means which providence should present to further the accomplishment of it. By this course, long and steadily pursued, they perverted the minds of the com- mon people, and rendered them indifferent or hostile towards the Ohurch.l

But these arts, though they might have perpetuated, and even strengthened the opposition which was to be expected from the more violent Presbyterians, would not alone have endangered the stability of the Church. The main hazard arose from the measures which Charles had resolved to adopt for consolidating the Spiritual Estate in Scotland, and whereby he was unconsciously rousing into action a much moi-e formidable enemy than the rigid pastors of a few rural districts. James the Sixth had denuded the Crown of a considerable portion of ecclesiastical property, which had been seized by the Government at the beginning of the Reformation, and restored it to the higher orders of the clergy — a measure v/hich, except as a precedent of evil omen, could not excite any dissatisfaction among the nobility. But Charles, less discerning than his father, or less acquaint- ed with the feelings of the Scottish aristocracy, made known

1 Guthry's Memoirs, wherein the conspiracies and rebellion against Charles the First, &c. are briefly and faithfully related, p. 8. Burnet's History of his Own Time, p. 29, &c. Oxford Edition.

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his intention of revoking, in favour of the Prelates, all the grants of church-lands and tithes, from which many of his most powerful subjects derived the larger share of their income. He began by recommending a sclu-me for the sale or commutation of tithes, reserving the more efficient resource of an entire revocation of territorial endowments until his plans should be better matured. If to this threat- ening be added the fact, that several of the Prelates were raised to high secular offices, as Lords of the Privy-Council, Judges in the Court of Session and Exchequer, there will be no difficulty in accounting for the jealousy entertained by the nobility against the Bishops and other dignitaries, for whose benefit the gifts of land and tenths were about to be recalled.

It is stated by Guthry in his Memoirs, that the heads of the Church themselves did not act harmoniously, and that the younger members of the Episcopate were deficient both in wisdom and experience. During the reign of King James, whenever a Bishopric became void, his Majesty instructed the Archbishop of St Andrews to convene the others, and after consulting with them, to name three or four well qualified persons, so that there should be no error in the choice ; and out of that list the King selected one, whom in all respects he thought the most suitable. It happened accordingly, that during all this time the most able men were advanced. But Charles followed another plan, and without any consultation with the Scottish Primate, he preferred