Ad serenissimum et potentissimum Principem Iacobum VI, e sua Scotia discedentem, Paraeneticon (1603)

This poem was one of a trio that Craig published as individual pieces in Edinburgh in 1603 to mark the departure of James VI and I, Prince Henry, and Princess Elizabeth to England, and James' coronation as James VI and I (see also d1_CraT_003 and d1_CraT_004). Craig was an ardent supporter of James' proposed union of the British Isles: in 1602 he wrote two tracts in support of this project (De jure successionis regni Angliae, libri Duo and De hominio disputatio adversus eos qui Scotiam feudum ligium Angliae, regemque Scotorum eo nomine hominium Anglo debere asserunt, both published for the first time (in translation) in 1703 and 1695 respectively: see John W. Cairns, 'Craig, Thomas (1538?-1608)', ODNB for details), and in 1604 he was appointed as one of the commissioners to explore the possiblities of a more 'perfect' and comprehensive legal union of the two kingdoms. This poem celebrates the immense achievement of a united British isles, an event all the more significant as it came about with no bloodshed, and argues that as a result it must have been guided to completion by divine power. The second half of the poem (lines 209-404) sketches out the early lineage of the Stewart family, back to its founder, Walter 'the Steward' Fitzalan; provides James with advice (similar to that in d1_CraT_001) on how to govern as a good and just king; and in the closing lines (410 onwards) foretells of a Protestant Stewart empire that will topple the powers of 'antichristian' Catholic Europe. A useful, if dated, critical synopsis of the poem can be found in Tyler, An Account of the Life and Writings of Sir Thomas Craig of Riccarton, pp. 183-188. Like the genethliacon that Craig wrote for James (d1_CraT_001), this poem is notable for its use of astronomical imagery and metaphors (for further discussion of this, see our our November 2014 feature). Metre: hexameter.

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Ad serenissimum et potentissimum Principem IACOBUM VI, e sua Scotia discedentem, Paraeneticon

1Vive diu sospes, caelo acceptissime Regum,
et qua divini te invitat numinis aura,
progredere o faelix, fatoque accede vocanti. 1
En tibi laeta suos submisit ut Anglia fasces?
5Anglia vicinas inter pulcherrima gentes,
prole virum faelix, 2 studiisque asperrima Martis:
tuta mari magno, cujus Tartessia classis
horruit, Oceano nuper sub judice, vires:
iam quacunque patet refluo, circumsona ponto, 3
10illa tibi undarum regina 4 Britannia servit.

Multa tibi merito potuit promittere virtus,
multa tibi Regum series longissima avorum,
et qui purpurei surgit tibi sanguinis ordo:
multa etiam potuit legum veneranda potestas;
15contigerant haec saepe aliis, saepe antea magnis
ius meritis junctum fuit, et cum sanguine virtus,
cum titulis tamen, hi longe jacuere repulsi.
Sed tibi post homines fortunatissime natos,
quam prius optanti Divum promittere nemo,
20non hominum audebat, 5 nunc ultro contigit uni,
cum titulo, unanimis populi sententia concors.
Te, quicunque habitat fines ubicunque Britannos,
te gravium veneranda patrum, consultaque turba, 6
te proceres, residesque senes, te tota juventus
25agnoscunt laeti regem, dominumque salutant,
arcessitque tuis titulis, quod defuit illis.
Quamque vagus Nereus angusto dividit aestu,
piscibus, et multa pecoris vi dives Ierne,
Deucalionaeo et si quae jacet insula ponto,
30se tibi dant totas, neque enim dare majus habebant;
omnia fausta tibi, non cassa in vota precantes.
Atque ut transcendas, si quas caelestia metas
crescendi humanis posuerunt Numina rebus, 7
omnibus una haec vox, haec acclamatio concors,
35ecquando venies, ut debita sceptra capessas?
Link to an image of this page  [p231] Certi omnes, quantum secreti numinis adfers:
quotque simul radiis (Phoebaeae lampadis instar)
imperii praesens species 8 flammantibus ardet.
Quinetiam ut pascant dilecto lumina vultu,
40ut veras possint audire et reddere voces,
sollicitant, precibusque rogant, studiisque fatigant.
Tu modo, ne qua morae veniant dispendia, 9 gressus
accelera, et fatis te ultro poscentibus infer. 10
Plus longe est regno, ut regnes meruisse rogari. 11

45Saepe prius, fratrisque soror, natusque parentis
funere successit, cognataque sceptra recepit,
et laxati animi plenis in gaudia habenis.
At veterum si quis monumenta resignet avorum,
si memor excutiat, nostris quaecunque sub annis
50gaudia, non ullo blandum caput extulit aevo
laetitia, aut tanto fastu se prodidit unquam,
quam commissa tuae cum rerum pondera curae.
Sic humili cum plebe patres, sic undique cuncti
publica testati manifesto gaudia vultu.
55Scilicet en dono Divum gratissima venit 12
alma dies, finem exitiis positura 13 futuris,
expectata diu, niveoque notanda lapillo. 14
Post tantos bellorum aestus, tristesque furores, 15
aeternam Martis spondent conversa quietem
60numina. Non hominum, saeclis odiosa futuris
sanguine sudabit tellus, ignesque resident,
aequora, jam pelagi metuens, pirata relinquet, 16
navitaque in tuta compendia puppe sequetur.

Non vulgi (mirum) variare labantia corda
65vidimus, 17 aut ullo turbatum pectora motu. 18
Res avidi conscire novas, 19 petiere latebras,
et nova lux, hominum perstringere lumina visa est.
Tantaque syderei fuit indulgentia caeli, 20
ut sine vi, sine caede, etiam pietate, sub uno
70te Domino, insensae, damnato Martis amore,
aeterno gentes junxerunt foedere dextras,
foedere, quod neque Mars duro convellere ferro,
non Neptunus aqua poterit, 21 non Mulciber igne,
Link to an image of this page  [p232] non si ipsae effuso laxentur Erinnyes Orco,
75Enceladusque ferox injectam excusserit Ætnam,
maxima pars hominum fieri cum posse negaret. 22

Non haec humanae male firma potentia dextrae
fecerat, authoresve homines haec fata loquuntur.
Consiliis nihil hic (certum est) mortalibus actum.
80Ille, supercilio totum qui concutit orbem, 23
omnipotens, quem terra tremit, cui pontus et aether
militat, et quicquid vasti ambit machina mundi, 24
haec dedit, illius praesenti haec numine facta,
illius hoc opus est, illius et arte magistra,
85depositis odiis tandem civilibus, ultro
insensae gentes, aeterno fœdere junctae
in Domini unius conspiravere favorem. 25

Iam dudum tollens ingentem ad sydera planctum
regia Saxonidum, turbataque funere tanto,
90pectoribus tunsis, 26 lachrymarum rore madebat:
ille animos hominum subiens, occultus amorem
divinum inspirat, simul ossa accensa pererrans,
maxima praeteriti ostendit solatia luctus: 27
laetaque cuncta metu jussit sperare relicto.
95Sic posito gemitu, suspensas blanda vicissim
gaudia pertentant mentes, 28 atque undique sensim
errabant, male certa tamen, sine voce, sine ullo
murmure; sed postquam positis ambagibus omnes
in nomen venere tuum proceresque patresque,
100detergunt subito lachrymas, nova gaudia dextris
testati erectis, gemitus trans aequora mandant.
Iam fota laetitia, jam compita cuncta sonabant,
exsuperantque animis, nunquam praesentius ullis
assuit ominibus caelum, mens omnibus una, 29
105quae laetum Paeana canat, studiisque faventum
consonat omnis 30 honos populi, tantaque remota
principe, turbatas rerum non sensit habenas 31
regia, et occasum Solis nox nulla sequuta est. 32

Ter quater o faelix! Tanti si muneris author
110suppliciis puris, et casta mente colatur,
si Dominum agnoscas, dominas qui nuper habenas
Saxonidum a summa coeli tibi tradidit arce:
Link to an image of this page  [p233] si gratum inveniet, memorique recondita mente
munera quae tribuit, cupiet majora dedisse,
115parturietque novos tibi gratia reddita foetus,
et memores grates comes indefessa sequetur.
Quanquam o! Quid potuit presenti hoc munere majus
humani effraenis sperare licentia voti? 33

Insula dives opum, 34 scopulosique objice ponti 35
120undique secura, et tristi metuenda pharetra,
virginibusque sacris eadem gratissima sedes:
qua neque divitior cerere est, neque vellere tellus;
seque suosque omnes, Domino tibi devovet uni,
et famulas ubicunque manus, et pectora tollit
125ad caelum, Dominumque ipsum, caelique, solique,
obsequii testem praesenti pignore firmat. 36
Iam nullum aspicies, quod non tibi serviat aequor.
Parte alia tanto tu respondere favori
officiis, meritisque piis, contende vicissim:
130indue mente patrem patriae: tranquilla potestas
non raro efficiet, quod non violentia 37 praeceps.
Iustitia scelus, errorem pietate 38 repurga:
nec tibi quid liceat, sed quid decet aspice. Debet
fortuna in magna minima esse licentia, 39 ne te
135dissimilem Dominae dicant nova regna priori.
Ipse vides, medio cum Sol altissimus orbe est, 40
ut minor apparet, gyro breviore coactus,
nec tantum specie, quantum virtute relucet.
Ergo hanc, quae tanto te dudum amplexa favore est
140regia Saxonidum, regnique insignia magni
detulit, ultro etiam quanquam tibi debita, rursum
inque vices tu semper ama, certetis utrinque,
quis prior officiis. nihil hoc certamine utrique
gratius, aut cujus mallent meminisse nepotes.
145Sit prior illa licet, tibi quae se credidit ultro:
non tamen egregia palmae superabere laude,
si meritum majora, et se coluisse colentem,
si te regnandi nulli sciat arte secundum;
ut dubitet nostra haec, ut postera nesciat aetas,
150tune illi meritis, an plus tibi debeat illa.

Sic tamen, ut patriae serves communis amorem, 41
Link to an image of this page  [p234] quae tibi primaevo tribuit cum lumine sceptrum,
quae tu faelici cunabula sidere vidit,
et dudum in veros eduxit Principis annos.
155Proque tuo titulo in mortem quamcunque parata,
tristia ne illius tibi mentem oblivia tangant;
sed maneat semper tibi cura antiqua tuorum,
per te, per caeli lumen spirabile adoro. 42

Saepe etiam mentes Superum mortalia tangunt, 43
160praecipue si quid sanctum est mortalibus, aut quae
respicit humanos pietas antiqua labores. 44
Vive memor Divae, tibi quae diadema reliquit,
quaeque sui memorem fecit te saepe merendo; 45
et dudum expletis humani finibus aevi,
165cum sibi cedendum terreno carcere vidit,
purpureos in te absentem transcripsit honores.
Aspice quantum illud fuerat, si caetera cessent,
indicio illius sceptrum meruisse supremo,
cum nil deberet terrae, aut mortalibus ultra,
170ante oculos cum jam, et sanctae penetralia mentis
sola Panomphaei staret censura Tonantis.
Nec tam quaesitus, tum a tanta judice, sceptri
debitus est haeres, (neque enim sub nube latebat
obscurus) sed quis magnae virtutis honore
175quis meritis primus, cujus sub pectore sedem
legerat alma fides, mentemque amplexa tenebat, 46
pondera sufficiens qui regni onerosa subiret:
indicium virtutis erat: judexque sedebat,
cui famulas fortuna manus submisit, et omnes
180enthea vis animi, et virtus comes ibat in actus. 47
Haec te dignata est, nati, dum vixit, honore,
proque viro lecta est gemini conjunctio regni,
quam tacita secum semper sub mente coquebat.
Sic pater ille Deum, caelo miseratus ab alto 48
185divisum imperium, monstrique bicorporis instar,
tot prius et bellis, et tempestatibus actum: 49
tandem aliquando tibi, Domino subjungeret uni,
ut facie, et forma quemvis delectet amoena.
Inde expers thalami taedasque exosa jugales, 50
190intactae elegit sibi virginitatis honorem.
Link to an image of this page  [p235] Tu tumulo flores, sectosque impone capillos,
et vera amissam defle pietate parentem:
quae meritis, Regum laudes transgressa priorum,
tantum omnes inter supereminet unica, quantum
195Sydera Latois, vincit, Latoida Phoebus. 51
Digna cani a cunctis, quam nunc nova gloria pennis
evehit auratis, 52 magni per moenia mundi. 53
Hinc tibi virtutum stimulos exemplaque sume:
et tanta ad virtutis iter te accendat imago.
200Hujus surgendum est tibi per vestigia, si vis
non ementito ut veniat tibi gloria fuco.
Hanc tu sollicita cura si imitere sequendo
iustitia, et pietate, eadem tibi praemia spera,
dum vives festa florebunt omnia pace,
205et famam moriens omne aeternabis in aevum,
inque animis hominum, longe meliore triumpho
regnabis, quam si Gangem cum Gadibus uno
imperio jungas, et Sol te observet uterque.

Plus etiam vobis hodie, quam creditis, actum est
210Saxonidae fortes, et magni Martis alumni.
Iam tandem, tota quod mente optastis, habetis.
Quod neque magnanimus, saevus Odoardus 54 in armis,
Marte suo poterat, natus non illius, aut qui
Cresciaca infecit Gallorum stragibus arva,
215quique illos longa serie sunt deinde sequuti:
vos hodie sine vi, regnum cum rege tulistis.
Liquistis nobis lacrymas, dux foemina facti. 55
Vicistis, quo more boni sunt vincere sueti,
et quo nemo bonus 56 vinci non gaudeat. Ipsis
220utilis est etiam quaedam victoria victis.
Quamque prius vobis bello ter quinque negarunt
saecla, triumphalem virtus dedit inclyta palmam.
Praeteritae nobis caedes, incendia, clades.
Hac mercede placent, 57 pugnavimus hactenus armis
225in commune nefas, 58 stimulos dabat aemula virtus.
Libertas odiis crevit scelerumque pudendo
proventu, quos non olim foedavimus agros?
Nunc vera victos tandem virtute fatemur.
Vincite, si qua super fuerit fortuna laborum, 59
Link to an image of this page  [p236] 230quo res cunque cadent, unum et commune periculum,
una salus ambobus erit: 60 saeclisque futuris,
communes lituos, communia castra sequemur,
et fraena unanimi concordia mente feremus. 61
Accipite, et socias in amico foedere dextras
235iungite, sunt etiam nobis habitata Gradivo
pectora, 62 sunt animi, et factis spectanda juventus. 63

Nec levis haec vestris accedet gloria rebus,
quod regnum, in toto quo non antiquius orbe
sol videt, hoc vobis hodie commilitat omne:
240quod neque Martigenae bello domuere Quirites;
nec Danus sumpta spirans immane securi, 64
cum totum inferret victricia signa per orbem: 65
non Pictus, non qui duris metuendus in armis
saevus Hyberboreo venit Norvegus ab axe.
245Quodcunque his saeclis praeclarum gessimus, omne
id vestrum est hodie; vobis pugnavimus, esset
terminus imperii ut magni cum margine ponti,
Orcades ut vobis, ut serviat ultima Thule. 66

Ille etiam natus regno huic, et debitus uni
250(quo coelo placuisse prius, nos sospite certum est)
vester erit Dominus. Fas sit mihi vera fateri,
non alium tanta regem tulit indole tellus;
cui magis inscriptum est generoso pectus honesto, 67
cui nulli desunt magnae virtutis honores,
255aut cui plus debent leges, 68 Astraea, fidesque.
Et purae assertor primo pietatis ab aevo,
tantum inter Reges assurgit celsior omnes,
quam superant humiles montana cacumina valles.

Et tu littoribus nostris contermina Ierne
260cinge triumphali lauro tibi tempora, nam quae
causa tibi toties fuerat consurgere in arma, 69
externos habuisse duces, externa tulisse
imperia, et proprio semper caruisse tyranno;
libera jam tandem, externaeque immunis habenae
265disce pati imperium, tuus est qui regnat, et a te
principium generis 70 qui ducit origine longa.
Omnis ab occidua descendit Scotia Ierne,
et bello Ausonio totam commovit Iernen
Link to an image of this page  [p237] Scotus, et infesto spumavit remige Tethys. 71
270Scotorum tumulos mater deflevit Ierne. 72
Et quae per Latios occurrent plurima vates, 73
ad nos a vestris venit Fergusius oris,
has repetit, meritoque suo sibi vendicat haeres.
Sic genus amborum se a stipite dividit uno.
275Aut si, quod nollem, saevo te credere Marti, 74
et consanguineo mavis includere bello,
disces quid virtus possit conjuncta duorum. 75
Est etiam nobis miles qui frigora spernat
et nivis et Solis patiens, doctusque pruinas
280ferre, pedes nudus, nudoque hyemare sub axe. 76

Tu quoque tantorum in partem ventura bonorum
praesentes agnosce Deos o Wallia pugnax
(seu potius prisco a Cambro bis Cambria dici)
iam tuus est magni princeps pulcherrimus orbis,
285qui vultu, aethereos ortus, atque indole praefert:
tantaque se primis pietas ostendit in annis,
quanta nova Phoebi cum lux diffunditur ortu:
quo nemo generis (placeat sibi quisque licebit) 77
luce prior vivit, qui solus origine ab una
290sceptriferos numerat centum et septem ordine Reges.
Nec desunt generis manifesti in sanguine mores. 78
Quodque magis mirere, et adhuc si prisca tibi mens,
Camber et a Cambra deducit origine stirpem. 79

Regius exilio juvenis cum fata Fleanchus 80
295vitaret, saevi invidia turbante tyranni,
fugerat ad Cambros, cui regis filia furto
Walterum enixa est utero pulcherrima pleno,
at pater infesto juvenum male sustulit ense,
exponi mandans meritum nil tale nepotem:
300illum inter sylvas, inter spelaea luporum 81
inventum, admirans certantia lumina flammis, 82
aemulaque ora rosis, animo miseratus amanti
regius armenti custos, cum prole careret,
inductum laribus, proprium ceu pignus adoptat. 83
305Ah fati ignarae mentes! Genus illius hic est,
cui Domino paret jam tota Britannia soli,
iam Cyrum Astyagis 84 sileat mirata vetustas,
Link to an image of this page  [p238] Iliadaeque ortum cesset jactare Quirini.

Walterus generis certus, caedisque paternae
310ultor, ubi effugit, patriae se incognitus infert,
dumque iter obseptum ad patrimonia vidit avita,
invenit virtute viam, perque ardua quaeque
Marte petens claros, vitae securus, honores;
clade rebellantes prostravit Galvvidianos.
315Multaque (dum regi obsequitur) post fortia facta
Galvvidiam accepit, pretium non vile laborum. 85
Tunc neque inops virtus fuerat, nec inertia dives,
non luxus mores, vestes corruperat aurum.
Inde Senescalli indutus cum munere nomen,
320(proxima quae Regi fuerat veneranda potestas)
perpetuumque sibi fecit, gentique reliquit.
At pronepos laudes longe transgressus avitas, 86
Norvvegum Hebridibus regnantem depulit, ipse
regis Hyperborei spoliis insignis 87 Achonis.
325Mascula sed celeri virtus pede tendit in altum.
Illius ecce nepos (pronepos plerisque putatur)
egregiam factis famam virtutis adeptus, 88
cum Scoti, infestis bello premerentur ab Anglis,
regius ut fieret meruit gener, inde sequutus
330filius imperii Scotorum accepit habenas.
Hinc genus a prima deducit origine Princeps, 89
qui regnum Oceano, famam jam extendit Olympo.
Sic etiam (auditis si quicquam credimus) 90 ille
spiritus humana specie qui augustior olim
335occurrit Cadavaladro, 91 monuitque furentem,
ne frustra patriae tentet fulcire ruinam:
esse etenim in fatis, ruituros Marte Britannos
Saxonidum, at sortis junxit solamen iniquae,
illius a magno venturum sanguine Regem,
340qui gentis rursus rediviva laude Britannae
imperium Oceano, famam qui margine caeli
clauderet, 92 et nostros ea fata manere nepotes. 93
Si qua fides meritis, tenet, aeternumque tenebit
imperium Steuarta domus, non clarior armis,
345non alia est saeclis melior cantanda futuris.

Ast alios inter fortuna miserrima nostra est: 94
Link to an image of this page  [p239] qui tenero primos vagitus Principis aevo
hausimus, et trepida circum cunabula cura
insomnes soliti tecum producere noctes; 95
350nunc etiam hoc ipso spoliamur Principe, nec jam
dilecto datur ore frui, neque cernitur usquam,
qui nostras audire preces, bibere aure querelas
suetus, et ignavae facimus convitia morti,
testamur Superos, et magni conscia mundi
355numina, res hominum caelo speculantia ab alto, 96
invitis nobis, patria te abiisse relicta.
Quis populi tum vultus erat, quae turba gementum!
Vidisti planctusque pios, lachrymasque cadentes,
et miseris matres tundentes pectora palmis, 97
360dum qualem infaelix amisit Scotia Regem,
ingeminant tristes, coelumque et sydera culpant,
omniaque in terris misere loca questibus implent: 98
omnia jam moerent, tecum solatia rapta. 99
Non juveni virgo; conjunx non grata marito, 100
365non natis cordi est miserorum cura parentum,
cui jam comemur? Cui nunc ornabimur? Ecquid
proderit huic festis vestes mutare diebus?
'Nil sine te gratum', (exclamant),'nil dulce relictum'.
Sic ubi deflectit (nisi quod rediturus) ad Austros
370Phoebus, et Arctoi fugiens confinia caeli
Æthiopas visurus abit, brumae ingruit horror
luridus, et picti perit omnis gloria campi,
tristis agros macies, teneras rigor alligat herbas, 101
undique sylvarum virides ponuntur honores.

375Non tamen his tantis fas est successibus ulli
ingemere, aut tristi testari voce dolorem,
si tibi praeteritae cumulentur praemia vitae,
si meritis accedat honos, arma inter et urbes
Saxonidum, quamvis solito conspectior ibis. 102
380Sed maneat nostros ea gloria prima nepotes, 103
haec aeternetur nobis lux maxima semper,
gente Caledonia, aeriique a vertice Grampi ,
progenitum venisse, et non sine numine Divum, 104
qui longe imperium primus lateque teneret,
385qua latera extendit, sinuante Britannia ponto. 105
Link to an image of this page  [p240] Pro domino saltem hoc maneat solamen adempto,
ut tecum semper merito post mente feramur,
dilecto ut quoties cupimus nos pascere vultu,
accessus tribuas faciles, avidaque querelas
390aure bibas, famulo instillans haec dicta sequenti:
'sunt etiam hi nostri, quos olim sydere amico
concilians Natura mihi conjunxit ab ortu,
hi pro me nuper discrimen in omne parati,
nec mortem horrebant nostro pro jure pascisci'. 106

395Interea nivei surgat tibi temporis ordo,
imperiumque diu teneas sine nube serenum,
et qui nascentis dederat primordia regni
cornibus auratis, dilapsae portitor Helles, 107
omne tibi fatum Nepheleio e vellere ducat. 108
400Vive diu nostri pignus memorabile voti, 109
et nova suppressis cumuletur adorea bellis,
quacunque ingrediere, caput quacunque decorum
attolles, tecum niveis victoria pennis, 110
castra simul jungens, semper comitetur euntem.
405Nos indefesso victricia signa labore,
atque triumphales currus quicunque sequemur;
sive 111 paras bellum in saevos lachrymabile Turcas,
seu tu Phoebaea redimitus virgine 112 victor
Romani referas spolium memorabile monstri. 113

410Iam mihi, jam videor, captam Babylona videre, 114
quae septem muro montes circumdedit uno: 115
atque catenati fumantia Tybridis arva,
et deturbatum Christi de sede superbum
pontificem obtorto mergi sub Tybride collo,
415inde cucullatos tundi per compita fratres.
Inque tuis te tristis Iber mox sentiat armis:
funesto qui nunc cum veniet ultro ad tua lumina supplex,
Hispano pacem magno pro munere dones.
Faelix si per te quae illuserat hactenus orbi
420vana superstitio, verique ignara Tonantis, 116
vis, furor, et fraudes, terras formidine solvant. 117
Et quae jam miseris solo sunt cognita nobis
Link to an image of this page  [p241] nomine, si per te pietas, Astraea, fidesque,
424et reliqua antiqui revocentur Numina mundi.

Link to an image of this page  [p230]

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?Link to an image of this page  [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,Link to an image of this page  [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;Link to an image of this page  [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,Link to an image of this page  [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.Link to an image of this page  [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,Link to an image of this page  [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,Link to an image of this page  [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 Link to an image of this page  [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 -Link to an image of this page  [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.Link to an image of this page  [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. AndLink to an image of this page  [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.

Notes:

Original

1: These first three lines are reproduced verbatim by Vitus Pederson Bering, Serenissimo Christiano 152-4. For Bering's extensive borrowing from Craig's poetry see d1_CraT_001.

2: Virgil, Aeneid VI.784

3: Buchanan, Psalms 45.61

4: Buchanan, Psalms 45.41-2

5: Virgil, Aeneid IX.6-7

6: Maffeo Vegio, Supplementum Aeneidos Vergilii 362

7: Lucan, Bellum Civile I.81-2. See d1_CraT_001 note 64 for another instance of Craig's use of this phrase from Lucan.

8: This line and two lines above: Claudian, De Consulatu Honoris VI.611-2. Post-18th century editors of Claudian prefer 'Genius' for 'species'.

9: Virgil, Aeneid III.453

10: Virgil, Aeneid VIII.477

11: A strange sentiment, perhaps mirroring Craig's view of royal authority found at d1_CraT_004 lines 525-6.

12: Virgil, Aeneid II.269

13: Virgil, Aeneid VII.129

14: A common saying, which refers to the practice of marking fortunate days with white and black pebbles. For the practice see Horace, Odes I.36.10; and Pliny, Natural History VII.131. However, this specific poetic form is found at Cristoforo Landino, Ad Bernardum Bembum II.39. Robert Ayton (d1_AytR_001, line 98) and Henry Anderson (d1_AndH_003, line 94) both also use the formula, so the sentiment, and poetic expression of it, were clearly part of the renaissance Latin literary landscape.

15: Another appearance for the renaissance supplement to Virgil's work: Maffeo Vegio, Supplementum Aeneidos Vergilii 86

16: Lucan, Bellum Civile II.578

17: Virgil, Aeneid XII.223

18: Cf: 'Mox Ithacum saevo turbatum pectora motu/ conspicit.' Taken from Poliziano, one of Craig's favourite authors (see d1_CraT_001 notes 46, 60, and 63): Poliziano, Libri Iliadis Homeri II.177.

19: Claudian, De Consulatu Stilichonis I.244. The word 'conscire' is perhaps a mistake for 'concire', the word found in Claudian. 'Conscire' is a rare word, whose meaning would be less pointed in the current context.

20: Virgil, Georgics II.345

21: Virgil, Aeneid VI.148

22: Full line taken from: Michel de l'H�pital, In Francisci et Mariae Nuptas 156. See lines 275-6 below for Craig's use of this same poem.

23: Cf. Horace, Odes III.1.8

24: This line and the previous, cf. Buchanan, Psalms 69.75-6.

25: Claudian, in Rufinum II.119

26: This and the previous two lines: Virgil, Aeneid XI.37-8. The phrase 'turbataque funere tanto' is also taken from Virgil: Aeneid XI.3.

27: The allusion is to Virgil, Aeneid XI.62-3. However Craig inverts the original sense of Virgil's passage (a slight solace for an unbounded grief) for maximum emotional impact (the greatest solace for grief that will pass).

28: Virgil, Aeneid V.827-8

29: Virgil, Georgics IV.212

30: Virgil, Aeneid V.148-9

31: Claudian, De Consulatu Stilichonis I.149-150

32: A line of uncertain poetic provenance, which Craig may have read in William Camden's Britannia (first edition 1586), p. 169 ('Barkshire').

33: A strikingly similar phrase to that used in another of Craig's poems: d1_CraT_001 lines 26-7.

34: Virgil, Aeneid II.22

35: Cf. Pliny's account of the islands of Asia Minor: Natural History IX.85.1.

36: Virgil, Aeneid III.611

37: Claudian, De Consulatu Manlii Theodori 239-240

38: Claudian, De Consulatu Stilichonis III.110-111

39: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae LI.13-14

40: Ovid, Metamorphoses I.592. Craig has a slightly different version of this Ovidian articulation of the sun at the meridian on the summer solstice at d1_CraT_001 line 188.

41: Virgil, Aeneid II.789

42: Virgil, Aeneid III.600

43: Virgil, Aeneid I.462. Line 156 above is also under the influence of this famous line from Virgil.

44: Virgil, Aeneid V.688-9

45: Virgil, Aeneid VI.664

46: Silius Italicus, Punica VI.131-2

47: Silius Italicus, Punica X.135

48: Virgil, Aeneid V.727

49: Virgil, Aeneid III.708

50: Ovid, Metamorphoses I.483

51: Cf. the comparison between Diana and Dido in Virgil, Aeneid I.500-4. Diana, the virgin huntress, is a particularly suitable point of comparison for Craig to make with Elizabeth, the virgin Queen.

52: Cf. Buchanan, Psalms 104.4

53: Cf. Lucretius, De Rerum Natura V.454; II.1144.

54: English King, Edward I (see note to translation). Craig produced several texts on the proposed union of England and Scotland (see introduction) which drew on Polydore Vergil's Anglica Historia. The current passage, like Craig's following account of Edward III and the battle of Crécy, relies on Anglica Historia XIX.19. See Dana Sutton's new edition of Polydore's work at The Philological Museum.

55: Virgil, Aeneid I.364

56: Possibly a generic reference to Sallust's 'no good man' comment from Manlius' speech at Bellum Catilinae XXXIII.4-5.

57: Lucan, Bellum Civile I.38

58: Lucan, Bellum Civile I.6

59: Virgil, Aeneid VII.559

60: Virgil, Aeneid II.709-10

61: Cf. Virgil, Aeneid III.542

62: Silius Italicus, Punica XV.337-8

63: Virgil, Aeneid VIII.150-1

64: Virgil, Aeneid VII.510

65: Silius Italicus, Punica I.31

66: Virgil, Georgics I.30

67: This verse comes from a description of William Wallace by an unkown poet (who follows Persius, Satires II.74). David Hume of Godscroft included the unknown poem in his History of the House of Douglas (see A General History of Scotland together with a Particular History of the Houses of Douglas and Angus (Edinburgh, 1648x1657), p. 22), so the poem appears to have had contemporary resonance.

68: This line and line 252 above: Lucan, Bellum Civile IV.814-5.

69: Virgil, Aeneid X.90

70: Cf. Virgil, Aeneid VII.219

71: This line and the previous line: Claudian, De Consulatu Stilichonis II.252-3.

72: Claudian, De Consulatu Honorii IV.33

73: Hector Boece and George Buchanan are the Latin bards, who both wrote on the origins of the Scottish kings. See notes below for specific passages.

74: Virgil, Aeneid XI.153

75: This and the previous two lines: Michel de l'H�pital, In Francisci et Mariae Nuptas 69-70.

76: This line and the previous line: Claudian, In Eutropium II.412-3.

77: Ovid, Metamorphoses II.58

78: Statius, Silvae II.6.23

79: Cf. Virgil, Aeneid X.618.

80: The myth of Fleance, Walter the Steward, and the lineage of the house of Stewart that follows, including its connection with Wales and the Welsh royal house, is found in Boece, Scotorum Historia XII.16 and 38.

81: Virgil, Eclogues X.52

82: Manilius, Astronomica V.511

83: Craig augments the myth of Fleance by adopting this story of the kindly herdsman from Justin, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus in 44 Books I.4-5. See next note for the original conext of the story in Justin.

84: Justin, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus in 44 Books I.4-5

85: Ovid, Epistles XVIII.163; and Claudian, De Nuptiis Honorii Augusti 142. However this phrase is also the motto of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and was inscribed upon their insignia. The house of Stewart ostentatiously drew attention to its own membership of the order: the armorial insignia of the order is displayed at the entrance of Linlithgow Palace, one of their main residences. Craig often equates (and conflates) the Golden Fleece with the constellation Aries, and also with the Golden Age, as he does below at line 399. See d1_CraT_004 line 128 for another particularly pointed example of the confluence of all three.

86: Claudian, De Consulatu Honorii IV.41

87: Virgil, Aeneid VI.355

88: Cf. Virgil, Aeneid X.468-9.

89: See note to line 293 above.

90: A reference to Virgil and his relationship with his historical (probably Alexandrian) sources: Aeneid VIII.140. Like Virgil, Craig is presenting us with an aetiology which, through allusion, he acknowledges as contingent upon the veracity of previous historical accounts.

91: Craig now begins to articulate the case for James' right to rule all Britain through Tudor genealogy, and the descent of all English kings and queens from the last king of the Britons, Cadwallader, who ruled Gwynedd from around 655AD to 682AD. His story is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae XII.14-20.

92: Claudian, De Consulatu Honorii IV.42-3

93: Virgil, Aeneid II.194. Another example of Craig's fondness for inversion of the original context: the doom-laden 'fata' of Virgil is now laden with the positive prospects that await the Britons reborn.

94: Ovid, Tristia III.11.71

95: Claudian, De Consulatu Honorii III.48

96: The highest divinity: Virgil, Aeneid I.229.

97: Ovid, Ars Amatoria I.515; Ovid himself takes the image from Catullus, Carmina LXIV.351.

98: Virgil, Georgics IV.535

99: Virgil, Eclogues IX.18

100: Tibullus, Carmina III.31

101: In this line and the previous four, we see Craig reusing some of his earlier poetry, as he does at line 384 below, to good effect. Unsurprisingly for someone intimately familiar with contemporary debate on astronomy, Craig's metaphorical account of James' departure (the sun's seasonal descent from zenith to nadir being the point of reference) is couched in the language of didactic Latin literature: cf. Manilius, Astronomica III.256. See Jamie Reid-Baxter's edition of Craig's lament on the death of James, Earl of Moray for the original context of the lines at The Philological Museum (lines 27-31).

102: This and the previous line: Claudian, De Consulatu Honorii IV.566-8.

103: Virgil, Aeneid II.194

104: Virgil, Aeneid II.777; and V.56.

105: A reference to Craig's own prediction of the king's future greatness, taken from his poem on the king's birth: d1_CraT_001, line 106.

106: Cf. Virgil, Aeneid XII.49.

107: The constellation Aries: Lucan, Bellum Civile IV.57. See next note for its significance in the current context.

108: Another allusion to Aries, this time with reference to the Golden Fleece. James became king of England on March 25, 1603, during Aries' transit through the sun. Craig's procession of time ('temporis ordo') is both James' accession and the seasonal rise of spring (dissipation of clouds). This golden age is highlighted by Craig by reference to the ram's golden horns (line 397) and its golden fleece. No doubt the Order of the Golden Fleece is also a point of reference, as above at line 316.

109: Statius, Silvae II.3.43

110: Silius Italicus, Punica XV.98-9

111: 'Sive...seu': structure, imagery, and diction taken from Virgil, Aeneid VII.604-6.

112: 'Phoebaea...virgine'/'Apollo's girl': allusion to the myth of Daphne, who, after being pursued by Apollo, was turned into the laurel tree (Greek 'daphne'). See Ovid Metamorphoses I.472-567. In the present context Daphne is metonymic for a laurel wreath, as it is in Ovid, Epistulae ex Ponto II.2.82 - this passage is surely the chief inspiration for Craig's poetic image here.

113: Ovid, Metamorphoses IV.615

114: Claudian, De Consulatu Honoris III.201

115: The poetic image comes from Virgil, Georgics II.535, and Aeneid VI.783. However the philosophical content alludes to Revelations XVII.

116: Virgil, Aeneid VII.187

117: Virgil, Eclogues IV.14

Translation

a: Fasces: a bundle of bound rods, often attached to an axe-head, and carried by the lictors of various Roman magistrates as a symbol of their office.

b: A reference to the failed assault of the Spanish Armada against England in 1588.

c: Deucalion, son of Prometheus, was warned by his father that Zeus intended to end civilisation with a flood. Deucalion built a chest in which he and his wife Pyrrha survived the deluge, and repopulated the earth. The implication here is that Deucalion's sea, like Noah's flood, covers the whole world.

d: See note to Latin text.

e: London.

f: Elizabeth I, who is the focus of much of the ensuing text.

g: Scotland.

h: Leto, or Latona, was a titaness and daughter of Coeus and Phoebe; she was in turn the mother of Apollo (the sun) and his sister Artemis (the moon).

i: See note to Latin text.

j: Edward I of England (r.1272-1307); his grandson (not his son) Edward III (r.1327-1377) won the Battle of Crécy on 26 August 1346, a major victory for the English during the Hundred Years War. See also note to Latin text.

k: Northern.

l: Shetland.

m: On the myth of Fergus I, see d1_CraT_001 and d2_MelA_001.

n: Cambria is the Latinized form of Cymru, but the mythical founder of Wales (according to Geoffrey of Monmouth) was Camber, the youngest son of the Trojan Brutus.

o: Fleance: son of Banquo, who flees when Macbeth is murdered (Shakespeare, Macbeth III.3). For more details see note to Latin text.

p: Cyrus (II) 'the Great', founder of the Persian (Achemenid) empire in 559BC.

q: As recounted in the Aeneid, the Julio-Claudian line of Roman emperors was descended from Aeneas, and thus from Venus (Aeneas' mother).

r: What follows is a heavily mythologised account of the life of Walter Fitzalan (c.1110-1177), the founder of the Stewart dynasty, who entered the service of David I around 1136 and ultimately became the king's 'dapifer' or 'high steward'. See G.W.S. Barrow, 'Stewart family (per. c.1110-c.1350)', ODNB, and note to Latin text.

s: Alexander of Dundonald (c.1220-1282), who was steward from 1241 and who commanded the armed force against Haakon IV of Norway at the Battle of Largs in October 1263. It was under Alexander that the Stewarts were awarded the title 'senescallus Scotie', or 'high-steward of Scotland'. See G.W.S. Barrow, 'Stewart family (per. c.1110-c.1350)', ODNB.

t: See note to Latin text.

u: Helle and Phrixus were the twins who fled the kingdom of Boeotia and their wicked stepmother Ino on a flying golden ram, which they rode to the kingdom of Colchis. Helle fell into the sea on route, which was named the Hellespont after her. Phrixus survived, and gave the ram and its fleece to King Aeëtes. See also note to Latin text.

v: 'Phoebus' girl' is Daphne, and thus Laurel - see note to Latin text.

w: ie, monks.