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

  [p251]

A poem on the coronation of James, the most serene and unconquerable prince of the British and Gallic realms

1So it was fated, and the songs of the poets prophesized that a man, born from a French wife, would come from the bloodline of the Bruce, but not before his turn, which would be after the ninth; a and for him beautiful Britannia will subject herself, all along where she is hemmed in by the surrounding swell of the Ocean.

6Many thought that these prophesies, just like the poets' empty predictions of ill-defined disaster, and all forewarnings with their menacing ambiguity, ought to be (as it were) sport for the Aeolian winds, b since it was sacrilege for anyone to disclose the laws of the fates. Yet others say that pious poets are able to produce unambiguous predictions of the future by mysterious divine power. Clearly, after a heavenly frenzy has purged the poets of every human sense,  [p252]it lifts their hearts into the ether, and returns them bearing the eternal light. Thus is that mind aware of fate, and adept in apprehending the future: not even the father of the underworld, c and last to inherit his domain, was believed by antiquity to be unaware of time to come. The songs of the Cumaean prophet d still live for us today, having been long praised by the ancients. In this way heaven in its providence allowed men to know that the great gods do not deceive, and did not allow them to know what happened in high heaven. So God obscured things to come behind a great fog, and determined that fate would be hidden under a dense cloud.

24I myself blindly attempt to know under which leader and in which house I shall shelter myself, and nevertheless, as I shall confess, momentous events often teach us that every promise cannot be borne by prophetic poets. Behold, the hoped-for promise of the prophesy, which lay lost in the hellish darkness, has now disclosed itself in the light, made manifest by its own realization. The most beautiful wife of a lily-bearing king e gave birth to a son, the heir to a powerful empire, and tenth descendant of the Bruce, and who today extends the boundaries of the realm over the sea, with which Britannia has been secured, as if with a natural rampart. So the fates have finally unfolded themselves along time's winding path, and revealed themselves in their own time. And just like the Meander that frolicks through the Phrygian fields, f it ebbs and flows so often back to its point of origin, and on an unfixed path it turns this way and that, until, surrendering its travel-wearied waves to the sea, it flows into the open water.

41O prince, almost an equal to the Gods, with whose name virtue, and whose merits piety are compared throughout the whole world, on whose face honesty, and in whose heart sincerity are imprinted, and whose eyes emit a joyous brilliance: advance, and, blessed by the prayers of men and the decrees of the gods, ascend your throne and take the sceptres owed to you. The glory of a greater fortune falls to no one; it is clear that the age of iron is now at an end, which was driven by mutual hatred and monstrous madness, and through you the golden age follows, bearing no danger to anyone. There have been enough battles to this point over power;   [p253]now, while the health of each people depends upon one, who has joined hands in friendship with himself as guarantor of the pact, battle must be joined in duty and reward, in piety and trust, as harmony joins us in an unbroken chain.

56No one knows more than you, great king, what love and unwavering displays of their genuine favour the great-hearted nobles of the English offered, and with what a great passion they were fired in their hearts. After the death of their former mistress g (whom the Fates recently let pass in fragile old age, after she had subdued the untameable Irish under law, and she increased the number of the immortals in these months), you, as if alone most fitting to the wishes of the people, you are summoned to public duties with the desire of all. Without doubt through you an unforseen salvation shone upon the people, then public prayers roared through the joyous cities, Hades' wreathes were exchanged for Apollo's laurels, as the nobles, fired with eager concern were arranging who would be first to congratulate you on assuming the offices of the state. A different horse every hour does not provide sufficent speed for the rider, nor the horses' fresh flanks for your hastening spurs. h But you departed too quickly, i and too heedless of your safety and your peoples, almost unaccompanied. Neither tears, nor our sadness, nor entreaties, nor prayers held you - nothing dear to man. The Forth, mindful of her former child, tearfully mourns you; and the Clyde, and the Tay, which flows to the sea brighter than amber, and the Leven, once traversed by you accompanied with so many howling dogs. The silvery Spey wept with glassy streams that you were leaving all of its springs and ponds.

81A boundary designated the divergence of the twin kingdoms: the Tweed, which, almost forgetting its master's pull, and its own laws, never before conveyed a captain of both its banks, then very gently offered its smooth currents in order to be able to come to meet its approaching lord. And after it was allowed to kiss your sweet hand (as a supplicant on bended knee), it pledged allegiance to you, wherever it ever after turned its wandering streams, and, having been ordered to submit, it yielded its waves to Astraea, and accepted her laws for all time.  [p254]Then, happily returning to its own bank under its native rock, having bound up its hair with a binding of reeds, it roused the amorous nymphs from the glassy depths, and straight away said (if, that is, you believe me): 'o daughters, you may sport and take pleasure in a festive dance; and we must now fear nothing hostile after this, for the night-time wood-dwellers, and the lecherous satyrs, and all others who laid traps to shame you, have all fled to the Low Countries across the sea. So that cattle can roam safely here on both sides, and neighbours herd their flocks without peril to pasture on each bank, the mother of peace, Astraea, has established a sacred council of the wise and aged for you. I am myself now constructing lofty temples at great effort, and the nobles' turreted palaces rise here. Here also are flowing springs, and meadows have dew upon the grass, and the twin offspring of the wool-bearing flock drink from the udder. Here the field is abundant with Ceres' bounty, and there is nowhere more delightful, nor anywhere after this does more reverence for celestial law hold sway, nowhere is grim brutality less prevalent.' Yet you, more swiftly than the arrow despatched behind the Parthians' backs, j after you left behind the Tweed, and its fields, where savage Bellona used to drive her chariot with her bloody whip, you finally end your journey in your promised land. After word had arrived, each and every person left their homes and rushed headlong to take part in the festivities. You would believe that the Hyblaean swarm had poured out, k about to depart into their new cells; everywhere they raised clouds of dust in their headlong desire to see. The years do not hold back the aged (the joys give them strength), and with their modesty forgotten, mothers and their son's wives run out, so that they can feast upon the sight of the face of their lord. After they saw you, their hearts were leaping with a new emotion, and they give out all kinds of shouts in your praise; and they pierce the stars above with their private prayers, some begging that your new crown is blessed and fortunate, some that both you and your children have three times the time of life as Pylian Nestor, l and that the season of your rule will take its lead from the rise of Aries. m Spring's every decoration, and the glory of the scented meadow  [p255]cover your path, and the streets bloomed with violets and garlands. And lest they should perhaps harm your eyes as you approached, the great clouds of dust were dampened by gushes of water, such was the great concern that moved the people to please you.

134After you went to the cities fortified by impressive walls, and entries defended by mighty doors, you were able to then see the rewards of your exemplary former life. The dear love of the people was inscribed upon the gates of every city you would enter, and a fortune-giving sign is joined to it: Victory shining with a garland entwined with ivy. Spread out everywhere across the streets, the citizens come to meet you. Some went into the upper floors of their homes with their windows open, in order to look out from them at you upon your arrival with their insatiable eyes, and pluck their delights from your sweet face. It was such a great journey amid the perfumed laurels and fresh violets, as you were borne through the middles of the cities. No less was the abundance of their hospitality wherever you were received, far and wide everything was decked in Attalican splendour, n and another Bacchus appeared in gold among his attendants. Very many goblets gleamed with Eastern sheen. o Afterwards many reclined upon the purple couches, and the feast gave the time and the place for your speech. One was astonished and amazed at the weighty words falling from your mouth, and that a youth surpassed the honeyed words of the Pylian old man; p another at your good manners and your delightful form; and all in heaven were amazed at the celestial gravity of your mind. They also brought some gifts, all an abundance of riches: one gave a wine jug made of solid gold; another led forth winged-feet horses, decked in purple; a third gave gems collected from the Eastern Sea. Such was the disposition of the people: every age group howled for joy with such zeal, and the public rejoicing showed itself with genuine affection in the spectacle of their great praise.

162Blessed in spirit, may the gods above see to it that you enjoy the favour of your people and nobles for ever more, and also that you be seen to deserve it all; and may you be spoken of as father of the fatherland for a long time after. Even should a watchful and sleepless guard protect you, or a hundred bronze bolts, and their bronze strength seal you in,  [p256]they will not provide more sleep free from worry than should you be enveloped by the perpetual love of the people. No one has ever forced the unwilling to love them, but rather good-will can through rewards - and it is provided by virtue alone.

172Now the high walls of the city appear in the distance to those approaching it. Its walls now rise up and rival those of Dardanian Rome. The city itself was once called New Troy in its early years, but since the fate and portent of the precedent displeased, it preferred to take its name from great Ludd. q And now hundreds of citizens of the great city are chosen to be present, resplendent in Tyrian purple, r high on their horses, all with shining breastplates, all having bands of plaited gold upon their necks, and they celebrated the start of their new kingdom with their lord; they begged him in deferential tones not to think the welcome unworthy of him, as he saw that they were displaying their love in their extended prayers, and they said that St Elmo's fire had never shone forth more agreeably to the ship that a fierce hurricane oppressed as it raged upon the ocean at winter, which the winds hurtle sideways and leave close to destruction in the hands of the gods and prayers. Not so sweet, they said, is the light of rising Phoebus on the eastern horizon, as he dissolves the lifeless dark with his rays, and illuminates the gloomy earth with his rosy torch, than is the agreeable face of their beloved lord.

194He knew that any delay in love was serious, and that mortals cannot be troubled by a greater suffering than when their desire is held back, and comes later than they want. So he quickly grants their ancient honours, and he names the day when he will take both the lofty badge of captaincy and the crown of the British empire. Instantly roused to hurried action, all stretch their anxious hearts to constant endeavour. The people were each apportioned tasks and work to do. Before the gates of the city the mass of equipment for the future party was being arranged, and the streets were lined with columns, and the walls resplendent and decorated with new colonnades; and roofs were being erected on the innumerable new theatres. And then the triumphal arches were erected to be marched through,  [p257]and structures glistening with many different shapes, and everything that one may hope for in such a great city. Never did the royal city of the Parthians rise so very proudly, s nor did Cleopatra, the queen of Alexandrian Egypt, receive the Italian lords into her palace in such a way. But there is no pure or unspoiled joy on earth, and in turn the joys were disturbed by intermingled grief.

215Ill-omened Alecto had emerged from the gloomy darkness, bearing war and plague in her bosom. As she circled the globe, when finally she came to the seat of the city of the sons of Hector, she saw buildings distinguished with well-crafted edifices, each building vying with the Babylonian theatres. And she could not contain her own grief when she saw that there was no sorrow. Then, when she beheld that all was aglow with fresh triumphs, inflamed by hostile envy and the sting of grief, she erected the infernal snakes that stood in place of her head's hair, and after striking her face, which was covered by an obscuring veil, she said this: 'I soon will change these triumphs to bitter grief, and I shall make them the memorial to my victory.' Then she scattered the seeds of the savage plague from her lap. t At first gradually, and not so much that you could sense it, the dry fever slipped inside the people and fed upon them, and a fiery thirst was driven through their veins, and black pus destroyed their limbs, as they decomposed little by little with the disease. And as it advanced, a heavy stupor sealed their tottering eyes, and their necks slumped to the ground under their own weight. And then she increased her death-bearing powers as she went, and the ghastly contagion, as it enveloped the people in its raging destruction, slowly infected the entire citizenry. Everywhere there were regular funerals, and many an image of death. But the never-dull virtue of their lord, fearing that the black poison would only increase by the people's contact with each other, ordered that all of the now-started triumphs cease. And just like the mindful master on the upper stern, looking for the rise of the south-west wind in the clouds, he pulled in the damp sails from the coming storm.

244The vast outlay of such great labours was spent in vain, but it was enough to have wanted it, and often the wish takes the role of the deed. No less pleasing, o brightest of all cities,  [p258]had been the display of your devotion to your Lord, than if he had entered a city not yet emptied of its many citizens, surrounded by a purple band of nobles, golden, and shining all over with sparkling jewels, borne on a chariot with select horses of snowy white, and with the people applauding in every street, in which fashion the triumphs were accustomed to convey Roman generals to the temples of the gods at the successful completion of a war. Meanwhile in place of such great devotion we pray for these things for you: may the kindness of heaven immediately restrain this plague, and may it never return to harm you or your citizens; may the machines of violent war not strike your walls, nor either the missiles launched from coiled springs break you, nor martial ships interrupt your sweet sleep; but rather let peace ever embracing you in her snowy arms heap up every shop with produce for you, let ships safely return full of profit for you, let the Arabs with their crops and India with its gems enrich you, and the Chinese with their soft thread that they strip from their plants; and may you sail upon no sea that does not serve you.

267But the wishes of the people, which had been focused upon the common health of the state, and which were frustrated for such a long time, were not able to endure the tedium and the long delays. Then the plots and wiles, which the impious father of the Roman court had woven, with which he designed to keep this sun away from his lands, they were uncovered by your manifest light!

273The fated day itself arrived, hidden in the white wool of the Fates, and ever to be marked by snow-white marble: the day in which the beloved of both heaven and earth would receive his head's delight, the crown of the British kingdom. Phoebus, rising more quickly than the design of the universe demands, opened wide his doors from their eastern pivot, and driving out night before him more speedily than usual, he wiped all the clouds from the now freshly-cleansed sky, and the stars reluctantly yielded to the new light. Father Oceanus himself, under whose guardianship Britannia is now made safe, high on his chariot of two-footed horses, pledged himself to your command, and to obey you, and he devoted his waves to your service.  [p259]And Jupiter, borne across the emptiness on his swift chariot, falls in pleasing torrential rain to soften the fury of the Dog Star and heat-bearing Leo.

289Yet the Thames showed its happiness with a pleasant wave, and softly calmed its waters just like a clear pool, and gently moderated its swollen waters through the night, so that there would be no struggle for both rowers and boats. Its broad shoulders covered in its native royal purple shell, it joyfully bound its translucent horns with laurels, and was almost thunderstruck at so great a guest. It received its lord as if a most beautiful bride, spending its time in worship and prayers, and a sweet torment to its husband, it opened the waves of its beautiful river, and all around and below and above innumerable boats cleaved its blue stream, and it hid its waters under their prows.

301Meanwhile standing upon the prow surrounded by his noble band, motionless with fixed expression, although his fortune was on the rise, he seemed to draw all the eyes of those watching with the glory of his face, and he directed his steps toward the threshold of the great temple, where the great-hearted kings of the Saxons were accustomed to ascend the throne, and assume the lofty honour of the crown, and first lift up the fasces u of the kingdom. As he progressed he stood out high above his entire retinue, and the people's joys moved his silent heart, and they worshipped the sight of living virtue in their Lord. What shall I say to begin with, or in the middle? And what conclusion will come after I am worn out? If I hasten to trace out each single thing, then I will appear to destroy the whole by the shortcomings of my ability. If the glory of Homer's pen were given to me, I could not match the innumerable sights and wonders of the place to Pierian metre, v nor could I set forth in any song, who had the greater nobility, who the greater beauty of garment - so many nobles shone forth in golden glory and jewels! Nevertheless I shall briefly revisit the upper peaks of the affair. Beauty graced every step along the entire route: tapestries beguiled the eyes of the spectators with their many figures. But after he had come inside the greatest temple in the city, as if there would now be no remaining marvels, everything  [p260]shone forth far and wide in Parthian splendour. Voluptas herself appeared to have constructed the temple. The oak beams stood covered in Dalmatian gold, the gables were supported by many columns of Numidian marble, and the ceiling was supported by solid metal; coverings inlaid with skill, and decorated with gold, and which Lydian art had interwoven with Sidonian purple, hung everywhere; w the gleam which pierced my thunderstruck eyes prohibits me from saying more. A most beautiful order marked out everything.

335But the king, when first he sat upon the destined marble, was just like a light sent from high heaven for his people; see how the Archbishop of Canterbury x anointed his shoulders, and breast, and hands, and feet with perfumed oil, the archbishop known far and wide by the honoured reputation of his virtues from the Pillars of Hercules to the mouth of the spreading Ganges. y Without doubt most learned in speaking about all the disciplines of philosophy, he assumed the robes of state and the garment of his high office. The remaining bishops and nobles, arranged in a long procession, conducted themselves solemnly (as was the custom) to the sacred altars. The king then first sought the favour of the highest deity with the accustomed prayer, afterwards he swore the oath with the formal declaration, and he promised himself to the eternal health of the people, as his face betrayed his innate modesty. Canterbury dictated the words, just as before, and from his eloquent lips he set forth the laws of the sceptre, and of the sacred crown, and what the king owes to his people, and in turn the people to the king, and his offspring, in the coming years, and he asked both what their faith pledged to the Lord. Then he placed the crown heavy with pearls and gems upon his head, and the sceptre destined for directing the people in his right hand, and with good omen he prayed for a fortunate rule for him, and most pleasing times for his long reign. The nobles shining in their purple robes, illustrious in their coronets, touched his crown with their right hands, and pledging their faith they showered kisses upon his sacred right hand. Each one present repeated the good words, and the sky, aflame with impassioned prayers, resounded with so many shouts. Then matching honours are sought for those who share the marriage bed.  [p261]The cross-roads light up with flames, z the indicators of joy, the court of Stygian Jupiter thunders with repeated lightning strikes, its citizens in laurels enjoy happy feasts. And although the infection of the dangerous sickness was oppressing in all directions, nevertheless grief was banished from the whole city. Now you are ennobled by your sceptre, now you are elevated by the majesty of your crown, and you offer hope: these things were never more worthily entrusted to anyone. In no other way has a crown united with the sceptre for a king unless when his highest power was supported by his utmost virtue: right to rule is signified by the sceptre, and virtue is signified by the crown. The sceptres, which are now golden, once used to fall from trees, and were given over for use by the ancient hands of kings, to encourage the lowly, and check the proud, so that the prince may rule over his people through the unwavering direction of punishment and reward, just as if his power were armed with justice - under its protection no one harms with impunity! And grass and wood made up this crown for the ancients, which today shines forth, studded with sparkling jewels. Then laurel was granted to the generals after successful completion of a war, and their hair encircled by Phoebus' flower, and they ascended the high Capitol in just triumph. As virtue rose, so did that stick of the ancients, which now is distinguished by gold and jewels; the ancients knew no other honour for virtue, and the crown was but the verdict of virtue. So the sceptre of rule was imparted to the royal seal of no other than the prince who by right inhabited the highest citadel of virtue, and who would, by fixed covenant, know how to tighten the reins, or loosen and relax them. Without doubt the ancients wanted to make known through these symbols what kings owed to their people, and to this covenant men were first bound and united under one prince, and willingly gave kings the right to rule over them. Indeed, may the prince set all upon justice's fixed scale, lest in any way force, or crazed power venture against the wretched, or the sword appropriate justice unto itself. May what is right and what is not right be weighted upon justice's scales alone, whose reasoning alone must be brought before the eyes: the savagery of no-one may overcome justice.  [p262]

403But may it always be an ever-enduring concern for Astraea aa to watch over you before all others, o most fortunate of kings; she produced the diadem of so large a dominion for you, and she will pass down these same sceptres to your descendants. You must see to it that everything does not return to ancient chaos, with the eternal structure of the universe undone. For the license that you had to check, which broke free of its chains, and raged without punishment through the poorer neighbourhoods, will raise its head so high, and will perhaps assail the mighty palaces and seize the fasces. And it will not then fear the lords of the world themselves, nor, so bold on its assumed wings, perhaps spare in its savagery those who were able to check it first beforehand with corrective punishment.

416It is believed that that holy man (and the stories of the poets are never untrue!) Orpheus enchanted the beasts and wild animals to live in fellowship together with the singing verses of his lyre. ab It is no different to soften wild animals with verse or lyre, than to let loose beastly men, who lack a clear head, and for whom the reason for living exists in their palate alone, into cities refined by a common culture, so that they can manage the cares of their life together. Undoubtedly there are no violent men under such a prince: hostile wildness has been checked by his rule; then no fierce tyrant oppresses the wretched, and no animal is afraid of fearful lions, but rather all the sheep lie hidden protected by their guardian wolves, and the deer revisit their pastures in the company of dogs, and the cattle lie asleep beside the Armenian tigers. ac Her hand bound behind her back, savage Violence in her filthy prison offered her back to be stung by bitter lashes, and her arms to be bound by the everlasting bonds of steel. May the true sister of this goddess, her inseparable partner throughout her entire life, Prudence, learned in history, be at your service for all occasions in your life to come - just as Minerva was at hand for mighty Achilles. Indeed that same goddess, Minerva, attached herself to Diomedes, and as an unwearied companion she accompanied the Ithacan ad across the seas, on all of his travels. But in truth only Prudence removes great men from dangers, and restrains the menacing fates with her shield.  [p263]Prudence alone is the ever-watchful guardian of all honour, and also an ever most faithful custodian of sceptres. If you can engage in the loves and habits of the people, you will completely win their support. The people are disdainful and hateful, they have an ill temper whenever they are enraged, but often they suffer the punishing rod without warrant, and wail under an unjust burden. Each remedy must be bespoke for these ills. May your first concern be to look into the causes of their sickness. May you be able to meet it on the rise with your healing hand, and you will cure it quickly, and be in no way deceived, if you will be gentle in speech; and may you receive the complaints of the people in their requests not with a hostile mind, but with a welcoming ear, nor may you ever turn away from humble supplications - and if you should perhaps say no, you will satisfy them by having looked at it at least, and having said no with reason, and not with an angry countenance.

457They say that Amphion enricled Aonian Thebes with walls by his tortoise-shell lyre, ae and that he brought to life insentient rocks, and that he did not transport the moving stones on any wagon (no device was supplied to undertake the task), and that the moving blocks assembled together into the walls by their own will. No different to the tortoise shell is clemency, more forceful than weapons, which alone breaks unwilling spirits. The good and wise man will draw the people to him with the gravity of his words, and will call upon them for whatever occasion, whom he has already been accustomed to lead by the brilliance of his rule, and he will direct them wherever he wishes without force or whip.

467The spirit of the brave man - in whatever peril - is not less worthy of praise, but make sure he serves justice. May Mars not delight you, unless it is unavoidable to take up arms - or rather may you think that force on its own runs counter to what is right and what is just. Never direct your anger towards anyone unless it is justified. The unhappiest virtue, that produced by the ills of others, grief, and fire, which rises from burning cities, and wretched hunger, and death all follow war. May a golden temperance, and a pleasing moderation in character keep in check both excess and too loose a rein. Every river flows gently when each man is at his greatest: raging rivers roar terribly, and after threatening much, they rarely settle back down without destruction.  [p264]

480See that you and your nobles live happily, and surpass the prayers of your supplicants, and remain ever mindful of what you swore at the sacred (if anything is sacred!) altars. You before all, under whose control the island rich in land, and wealth, and arms, and men is held (and upon whom the weighty affairs of the state now depend), you divide up your mighty tasks by yourself most excellently; may no age forget what you owe the people, and what you lately promised in reverence with the altars as witness, and may sudden tumult not bear off your oaths and make them void. Do not try to transgress the laws which the Divine Word's page prescribed for mankind. Piety, by right the greatest of things, is the most sensible virtue. Indeed may a reverence for the Lord, joined to a love for the people extend your rule, like an anchor with a twin hook that stabilises ships drifting on an unfixed course.

496O you chosen nobles, and eminent leaders of the council, may the coming age not show you unforgetful. Your pledged faith stands, noted by the everlasting matter in the sky - it is not sensible to trick the divinity. For no joys will stand long with heaven deceived. That kindly father of the gods so decreed - punishment stirs him down from on high, always mindful of wicked deeds. And may the anger of the outraged Thunderer not bear anything for you that will be remembered in every following age. Slow indeed is the anger of the ruler of Olympus, but oppressive nevertheless.

506Yet you, highest of the gods, who defile the nations with bloody exchanges, you who so often have taken pity from high heaven, grant that this day be a happy one for Saxons and Scots through the ages, and that our descendants remember this: that day was able to end the rage of each nation, the undying hatred, and the never-healing wounds; and what before was scattered, like a confused mass of matter, will appear to have come together into a new body and face. And may the people be happy under the new guardian of their affairs, and may he be far happier with the devotion of his people, and may he surpass all the years of the Sybil's sands. af But since that has been denied by the harsh law of the fates, and rather whatever comes from dust returns to ashes,  [p265]may Henry, his son and heir, later as an old man assume his father's crown, and later still pass it on to his descendant - and may the first rods of office ag not lack an heir. And may Charles, ah marking out his footprints with an unsteady step, rise up in prominence like his father, and may he procure for his own hand sceptres, and then rule in a land where approval alone provides kings that have been selected, and the diligence of the deserving is decorated by its own rewards. Bright Elizabeth grows in the hope of a royal union. So may the house of Stewart provide kings and the parents of kings, spreading its offspring East and West, as long as the pole carries the stars, and the waves strike the shores.