Bridging the Continental divide: neo-Latin and its cultural role in Jacobean Scotland, as seen in the Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum (1637)

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A poetic exhortation to the most serene and powerful prince, James VI, as he leaves his own Scotland

1Live long in safety, most agreeable of Kings to heaven, and go wherever the breeze of divine authority summons you, o happy one, and yield to fate's calling. Do you see how joyfully England has submitted her fasces a to you? England, most beautiful of neighbouring nations, blessed by a race of heroes, so fierce in the practices of Mars; protected by a great sea, at whose powers the Spanish fleet recently trembled under the command of Oceanus: b now Britannia, that queen of the waves, as she roars all around with the crashing of the sea, will protect you in all directions.

11Your virtue has been able to promise much for you, much too the very long line of your ancestral kings, and also the course of blue blood which runs through you: even the venerable power of the laws has enabled much. These things have often fallen to others, often before authority was granted by their great merits, and while virtue was granted through their bloodline, even granted by their titles, these men were far from admired and were disdained. But now through this honour, most fortunate person since the birth of man, the unanimous and harmonious vote of the people spontaneously falls to you alone, which no god or man before dared to yield to anyone asking for it. Everyone everywhere who lives within the British lands, the venerable and learned crowd of solemn fathers, the nobles, and the remaining elders, all the youths, they all happily ackowledge you as king, and they hail you as their lord, and they add to your glories what was missing from them. Ireland, blessed with a great number of cattle and with fish, and whom the wandering Sea separates from us by a narrow channel, and whatever island lies on Deucalion's sea, c give themselves completely to you, and indeed they had no greater thing to give, as they wished for every blessing for you, and for their prayers to be fulfilled. And when will you ever come to scale whatever boundaries of success the celestial authorities have placed upon human affairs, and seize the kingdoms owed to you?  [p231]All know how great a mysterious power you convey, and at the same time with how many fiery rays the protecting sight of your power burns (just like Phoebus' lamp). Indeed they are desperate to feast upon the light from your beloved face, and to be able to hear and speak to you; and they beseech you with prayers, and weary themselves in their attempts. Now quicken your steps, so that no loss through delay may come, and submit yourself to the fates' demands. To have deserved to be asked to rule is by far better for your royal authority.

45Often in the past a sister has succeeded upon their brother's death, or the son upon a parent's, and they have received ancestral sceptres; and then their minds were given over to unrestrained exuberance, yet when they disavow their ancient forefathers' achievements, knowingly reject them, and every joy during our era, then happiness never reared its pleasing head at any time, nor did it ever at such contempt show itself, until when the responsibility of governance was entrusted to your care. So the elders along with the lowly pleb, and everyone everywhere exhibited the public joy outwardly on their face. Without doubt here comes the nourishing day, most pleasing through the gift of the gods, which will put a stop to future disasters, a day long-awaited, and which must be marked with a white pebble. d After wars' great troubles, and grim frenzies, the gods have changed and now promise an eternal rest for Mars. The land will not be drenched in the blood of men, and will no longer be hateful to coming generations, and the fires will subside; pirates, now scared of the sea, will quit the oceans, and the sailor will seek his fortune safely on his ship.

64We have not seen the spirits of the people fluctuate (a wonder!) and sink, nor that their minds have been moved to any revolution. Eager to know new things, they searched in the dark recesses, and a new light appeared to dazzle the gaze of men. Such was the kindly disposition of starry heaven that, without force, without blood, but dutifully, the hostile tribes, with their passion for Mars abandoned have joined themselves in a pact of friendship under your command alone, a pact which neither Mars with his unyielding steel, nor Neptune with his water can destroy, not Vulcan with his fire,  [p232]not even if the Furies themselves unleash all Hell, and fierce Enceladus should cast out Mount Etna, his prison, even though the greatest part of humanity would say that such a thing could not happen.

77The unstable power of human fidelity had not made these things, nor do human authors articulate these fates. Nothing here has been done by mortal designs (that is clear). He who makes the whole globe tremble with a nod, whom sea and air serve, and all that the workings of the vast universe encompasses, he provided these things; these things were brought into being under his divine watch; this is his work, and it was achieved through his skilful mastery. Finally, after civil discord has been set aside, the warring nations have, of their own accord, came together in favour of a single lord.

88Then, while the royal city of the Saxons e was wet with tear-drops, raising loud cries to the heavens, and, beating its breasts, was in disorder because of such a great loss, that man, while creeping into the minds of men, secretly inspired a divine love; and as he passed across their excited lips, he presented the greatest comfort to their passing distress: and, with their fear left behind, he bid them hope for every joy. So with their laments ended, pleasing joys thereupon seize their anxious hearts, and gradually from all quarters they were venturing out, although hesitantly, without speaking and making any sound; but after they finished their wanderings, all the nobles and fathers happened upon your name, and they immediately wiped away their tears, demonstrated their new joys with their hands held high, and dispatched their laments across the ocean. Now the courtyards and every crossroad was resounding with happiness, and they rose in spirits; never was heaven more quickly filled with any omens, they were all of one mind and it sang a happy paean, and the respect of all the people resounded in the eagerness of their well-disposed applause, and, although so great a queen f had passed away, the royal city did not sense that the government of the state had been disturbed, and no night followed the setting of her sun.

109O three and four times blessed! If the creator of such a great work should be worshipped with untainted supplications and a chaste mind, if you should acknowledge the lord who recently handed down to you the reins of dominion over the Saxons from the highest citadel of heaven;  [p233]if he receives thanks, and the gifts that he bestowed are stored in a grateful mind, then he will want to give greater things, and his reciprocated gratitude will bear you new fruits, and as a tireless companion he will follow those who are mindful of his kindness. But wait! What more than this gift can the unrestrained imagination of a human hope for?

119An island rich in wealth, and made safe in all directions by the barrier of a sea with rocky shallows, fearsome with her stern arrows, and a most pleasing home for sacred virgins: there is no land more rich in wheat and wool than her; and she pledges herself and her people to you, her only lord, and in all directions she raises up her hands in service, and heart to heaven, and declares that, through his manifest protection, the lord of both heaven and earth himself is witness to her devotion. Now you will see that there is no sea that does not serve you. For your part make sure to respond to such great favour with dutifulness, and pious rewards in return: assume the mentality of the father of the fatherland: very often calm authority will accomplish what rash violence does not. Purge wickedness with justice, and error with piety; consider not what the limits of the law allow you to do, but rather what seems most fitting. There ought to be a minimal amount of arbitrary license when you are at the peak of your fortunes, lest your new kingdoms say that you are unlike their former mistress. You see this yourself: when the sun is at its highest on the meridian, as it appears less, driven on a decreasing course, and does not blaze so much in either light or heat. Therefore, this power, which has just now embraced you with such great favour, the royal city of the Saxons has granted, along with the seals of her kingdom; even though destined for you, always love them back in return, and may both of you fight to be the most dutiful: nothing would be more pleasing for both than this battle, nor would your descendants prefer to recall anthing else. Even if the one that has already completely entrusted itself to you g comes first: nevertheless you will not be outdone by the victor's distinguished praise, if he knows that you earned greater things in taking care to nurture them, and if they know that you are second to none in the art of governance - so that our age will doubt, and future ages not know, whether you are more indebted to them for your rewards, or they more indebited to you for theirs.

151So in this way may you preserve your love for our common homeland,  [p234]which gave you the sceptre when you first rose, which beheld your birth under a fortunate star, and then nourished you at each stage as befitted a prince. She has prepared herself for whatever death may come for your glory, so that no gloomy forgetfulness of her will touch your mind; but I pray in your name to you, and by the breathing air of heaven, that your ancient love for your people may endure.

159Indeed often mortal things touch the mind of those above, especially when anything has been decreed for mortals, or whenever its ancient love shows care for human travails. Live mindful of the goddess who bequeathed to you your crown, and who often made you remember her because of her merits; and when long ago her mortal life was at an end, when she saw from her earthly prison that it was time to depart, she handed over the glorious royal purple to you in your absence. See how greatly she was able to earn that sceptre of hers at the highest court, even if other things were amiss, since she owed nothing to the earth, nor to mortals moreover, since before her eyes, and the inner sanctum of her holy mind, only the judgment of Jupiter held sway. And the heir to her sceptre was not procured before by this great judge, and not predestined (nor indeed was he hiding out of view behind a cloud), but whoever stood out by the glory of their great virtue, whoever stood out through their merits, and under whose heart nourishing faith had found a home, and was holding their mind in its embrace, would be the one thought fitting to assume the heavy burdens of the kingdom. There was a trial of virtue: and the judge was in place to whom fortune submitted her helping hands, and both a numinous power of mind, and virtue was in attendance for every trial. Whilst she lived, this woman thought you worthy of the honour due a son, and, instead of a husband, a marriage of two kingdoms was chosen, which she was always secretly planning in her mind. So the father of the gods, having taken pity upon the divided empire, which was like a two-bodied monstrosity, having been beset by so many wars and misfortunes before, would finally, through you, join them to a single lord, to delight everyone with your countenance and pleasing beauty. Thereafter she was ignorant of the marriage bed, and hated wedding torches, and chose the glory of untouched chastity for herself.  [p235]Place your flowers and shorn locks upon the burial mound, and with fitting piety mourn your lost parent: who, having surpassed the glories of her predecessor kings, stands as high above all by her merits as Latonian Phoebus surpasses his Latonian sister's heavenly body. h A worthy person to sing about for all, whom now a new glory bears aloft on golden wings, over the walls of the great universe. From her take your inspiration for virtues, and your template for them, and may so great an image light you along the path of virtue. You must rise into her steps, if you wish glory to come to you without need for lying deceitfulness. Should you imitate this woman with due care, by following her in justice and piety, then expect the same rewards as she had for yourself: while you live, everything will flourish in festive peace, and in death you will extend your fame through every age, and in the minds of men, you will reign over a far greater triumph than if you were to join the Ganges to Cadiz under one empire, and both rising and setting Sun saluted you. i

209Indeed more has been done today for you, brave Saxons and wards of great Mars, than you know. For now at last you have what you wanted with your whole heart; what neither great-hearted Edward, savage in arms had done in war, nor his son, or he who stained the fields of Crécy with the slaughter of the Gauls, and then those who followed them in a long line: j today, without force, you have taken the kingdom with the king. You have left us in tears - the architect of the deed a woman! You have conquered in the fashion that good men are accustomed to conquer, and through which no good man would not rejoice to be conquered. Indeed it is the sort of victory that is of benefit to the conquered themselves. Your famous virtue provided the triumphal wreath, which fifteen generations had denied you in war before. Past slaughter, fires, and destruction are a price happily paid; we have till now fought in arms to our mutual shame, our contesting manly virtue providing the spur. Liberty rose amid hatred and amid a bounty of crimes to be ashamed of - what fields did we not formerly disgrace? Now we confess that we have been conquered by true virtue. Conquer! Whatever future travails will come,  [p236]however matters will transpire, there will be a single shared danger, and a single salvation for us both: in coming generations, we will follow a common bugle-call, attend a shared camp; and we will bear our united reins with a mind in unison. Welcome this, and unite neighbourly hands in a friendly pact; and, moreover, our hearts have been occupied by Mars, and our spirits, and our youth must be proved in deeds.

237And this not inconsiderable glory will befall your state, and this whole kingdom, more ancient than anything the sun beholds over the whole earth, it fights today on your side! A kingdom that neither the Romans, born of Mars, subdued; nor the Dane, with axe raised up, and growling heavily, when he bore his victorious standards across the globe; nor the Pict, nor the fierce Norwegian, who, fearsome with his savage arms, comes from the Hyperborean k pole. Whatever outstanding thing we have done in these times, it is all now yours today; we have fought for you, so that the end of our great empire would be on the edges of the sea, for Orkney, and for farthest Thule l to serve you.

249Indeed that man was born to this kingdom, and destined for a single kingdom (for, since he was fortunate, it is clear that we pleased heaven previously), he will be your lord. Should I be permitted to speak the truth, no land has produced any king with such great talent, whose heart is so well branded with a noble grace, in whom none of the honours of great virtue are lacking, or to whom the laws, and justice, and faith are more indebted. This guarantor of untainted piety from his earliest age, now rises as very high amid all kings, as the mountain ridges tower above low-lying valleys.

258And you, Ireland, crown your temples, which border our shores, with triumphal laurels, for what was your reason for rising up so often in arms? That you had foreign leaders, that you bear foreign rule, and that you were without your very own ruler? Now, finally, free and untouched by foreign control, learn to endure control: he who rules is your man, and he traces the beginning of his race from you through a long line of succession. All Scotland is descended from Ireland in the west, and the Scots incited all Ireland in a war against Rome,  [p237]and the Sea Goddess was made foamy by the enemy's oars. Mother Ireland wept over the tombs of the Scots. And these things will greatly be attested by the Latin bards: Fergus came to us from your shores, and he now returns to your shores, who, as heir, lays his claim to them by right. So both races split themselves from one stock. m Or rather, which I do not want, you prefer to put your faith in fierce Mars, and include yourself in a family war, you will learn how capable the joined courage of two is. Also we have in him the type of soldier who scorns the cold, is able to endure both sun and snow, and has been trained to endure the wintry frosts shoeless, and to winter-camp under the open sky.

281You also, warlike Wales (or do you prefer to be called Cambria after the ancient Cambrians), n as you are about to take your share in such goods, recognise the presence of the gods: now your prince is the most beautiful on our great globe, and he bears in his face and character the dawn of the heavens; the outstanding piety that showed itself in his early years, was as great as the light of Phoebus when it is spread out across the new dawn. No one from your stock (although each person can please themselves) shines brighter than him - who alone from the one source numbers one hundred and seven sceptre-bearing kings in his line! And the character manifest in the blood of your race is in him. At this you will be greatly amazed, if you think on your ancient history, Cambrian, for he is also descended from the Cambrian line!

294While the royal youth Fleance was evading his death by going into exile (because of the thunderous rage of a savage tyrant), o he had fled to the Cambrians, and the very beautiful daughter of the king bore him a son, Walter, from her impregnated womb, but her father bore ill-will for the youth with a hostile sword, as he demanded that such an undeserving grandson be left for dead in the open: having found him amid the woods and the caves of wolves, the royal guardian of the herds, while wondering at his eyes that rivalled fire in their brilliance, took pity upon his kindly soul, and, since he was without children, he led him home and adopted him, as if he were his own child. Ah, minds ignorant of fate: this is the ancestry of that man to whom alone all of Britain submits. May wonder-struck posterity stop singing of Astyages' Cyrus, p   [p238]and may it also stop boasting about the epic origins of Augustus. q

309Walter, r aware of his background, avenged his father's murder; after he fled, he bore himself in disguise to his father's homeland, and as he saw that the path to his ancestral rights was blocked, he made a path with his courage, and unharmed he sought out illustrious glories through every hardship in war; for he laid low and massacred the rebels in Galloway. And after many brave deeds (while following the king's command), he received Galloway - no mean reward for his labours. At that time he had neither an insubstantial courage, nor an abundant lack of spirit; nor had dissolution stained his character, nor had gold stained his robes. Thereafter he assumed the name of Steward as his prize (a venerable power only subordinate to the king), and he made it his own forever, and passed it on to his family. Yet the great-grandson s far outstripped the grandfather's praises, and he ejected the Norwegian ruling in the Hebrides, distinguishing himself with the spoils of the King of the North, Haakon. But his manly virtue strived for the heights on swift feet. Look at his grandson (thought by many to be his great-grandson): he attained an outstanding reputation for courage because of his deeds when the Scots were being oppressed by the hostile English in war; he earned the right to become son-in-law to the king, and thereafter he succeded as son and took the reins of the Scottish state. In this way the prince traces his family from their first origins; and he extends his kingdom to the Ocean, and then his fame to Olympus. Thus indeed (if we accept in any way what we have heard) he is that spirit manifest in human form, which once ran so augustly through Cadwallader, t and warned in vain his demented people not to try to bring about the destruction of their fatherland; and indeed that it was fated that the Britons would meet their end in a war with the Saxons; but yet he offered solace for their unfair lot: a king would come from his great bloodline, who would, as the British race's glory returned again, set the limit of their rule over the ocean, and set the limit of their fame on the edge of heaven, and he advised them that these fates would await our descendants. If we can have any faith in just rewards, the house of Stewart has, and will have forever, our state - no other is more illustrious in arms, no other more worthy to be praised in song for coming ages.

346And yet our fortune is the most pitiable amid the others -  [p239]we who drank in the prince's first tears when he was a child, and who had been accustomed to pass sleepless nights with anxious worry at the side of your cot. Yet now we are deprived of this very prince, and are not now permitted to enjoy his delightful face, nor ever to behold him who was accustomed to listen to our prayers, to drink in our entreaties with his ear; and we complain that our death comes too slowly, we testify to the gods, and the divinities who know our great universe, as they look down from high heaven on mortal affairs, that you have left behind your fatherland against our will. How grim were the faces of the people at that time! What a mass of groans! Did you witness the pious wailing, and the falling tears, and the mothers beating their breasts with their miserable hands, as unhappy Scotland lost such a king! In sadness they lamented, and they reproached the stars and heaven, and dejectedly filled up every place on earth with their complaints. Altogether they now grieve that, along with you, their solace has been snatched from them. The virgin is not pleasing to the young man, the wife to the husband, nor does the heart of wretched parents have love for their children. For whom will we now comb our hair? For whom will we get dressed up? What good would it do this man to change his robes on festival days? 'Nothing is pleasing without you', they say, 'nothing sweet has been left.' When Phoebus turns away to the south in this way (save, of course, that he will return!), and, escaping the confines of the northern sky, he departs to gaze upon the Ethiopians, then the paling horror of winter attacks, and the painted meadow's every glory perishes, gloomy desolation grips the fields, chill hardens the tender grass, and everywhere the lush delights of the forest are stored away.

375However, it is not right for anyone to bemoan these great successes, or to attest their grief in a sad lament, should you amass rewards on account of your former life, should you receive honour through your merits, even though you will proceed more distinguished than usual amid the arms and cities of the Saxons. Yet may that first glory await our descendants, and may this greatest light be remembered by us forever: that he was born from the Caledonian race, that he came from the summit of the airy Grampians, and not without the authority of the gods, to be the first to hold power far and wide, where Britannia extends her shores along the lapping sea.  [p240]At least may this comfort remain for us in place of the lord we have been deprived of, so that we may always afterward deservedly be borne in your mind, when we so often desire to gaze upon your delightful face; may you afford us ready access to you, and drink in our petitions with a thirsty ear, as you pour out these words to your new attendant: 'these people are still my own; Nature some time ago united and joined me to them at my birth under a friendly star; these people were recently ready to confront all dangers on my behalf, and they were not afraid to risk death on behalf on my laws.'

395Meanwhile may the season of your snowy time rise up for you, and may you hold your power for a long time, unblemished by any cloud, and may Aries, the carrier of fallen Helle, u who marked the beginnings of your kingdom's birth with its golden horns, draw out your every fortune from its golden fleece. Live long, prodigious guarantor of our prayers, and, as wars come to an end, may your new glories pile up. Wherever you shall go, wherever you shall raise up your sweet head, may victory on snow-white wings also attend your camp and always accompany you on your way. Each one of us will follow your conquering standards with relentless effort, and follow your triumphal chariot - whether you make ready tear-bringing war aganst the savage Turks, or, crowned victor by Phoebus' girl, v you carry back remarkable spoils from the Roman monster.

410Now I seem to see Babylon captured, which surrounds its seven hills with one wall; and I seem to see that the fields surrounded by the Tiber are smoking, and that arrogant pontiff, struck down from the seat of Christ, has been plunged into the Tiber by his unwilling neck, and thereupon the hooded brothers w are man-handled through the city's streets. Soon may the gloomy Iberian come to know you by your arms - that Iberian who now makes the globe resound in deathly war; and may you not bestow peace upon the Spaniard as a great gift, until he willingly comes as supplicant to your face. And were you the agent, then empty superstition, ignorance of the true Thunderer, power, anger, and deception, which up until now had abused the globe, would happily release the earth from its fear. And  [p241]piety, justice, and faith, and the remaining divinities of the ancient world, which were once known to us wretches by name only, would be restored through your agency.