"PRINCIPES omnes, tam supremi, quam inferiores, possunt et
debent reformari, vel deponi per eos, per quos eliguntur,
confirmantur, vel admittuntur ad officium, quoties a fide
præstita subditis per juramentum deficiunt: Quoniam relatio
juramenti subditorum et principum mutua est, et utrinque
æquo jure servanda et reformanda, juxta legem et conditionem
juramenti ab utraque parte facti."
"That is, All Reuleris, be thay supreame or be thay inferiour, may and
aucht to be reformed or deposed be thame be whom thay ar chosin,
confirmed, or admitted to thair office, as oft as thay brak that
promeis maid be the oath to thair subjectis: Because that thair Prince
is no less bound be oath to the subjectis, then is the subjectis to
thair Princeis, and thairfoir aucht to be keipit and reformed
equallie, according to the law and conditioun of the oath that is maid
of other partie."
"This Conclusioun, my Lordis, I heard sustenit and concludit, as I
haif said, in ane moist notabill auditour. The sustenar wes ane
leirnit man, M. Thomas de Finola, the Rectour of the Universitie, ane
man famous in that cuntrie. Magister Vincentius de Placentia, affirmed
the Conclusioun to be moist true and certane, agreable boith with the
law of God and man. The occasioun of this Disputatioun and
Conclusioun, wes ane certene disordour and tyrranie that wes attempit
be the Paipes Governouris, who began to mak innovationis in the
cuntrie aganis the lawis that wer befoir establischit, alledging thame
selfis nocht to be subject to sik lawis, be ressoune that thay wer
nocht institute be the peopill, but be the Paip, who wes King of that
cuntrie; and, thairfoir thay, haifing full commissioun and authoritie
of the Paip, mycht alter and change statuteis and ordinanceis of the
cuntrie, without all consent of the peopill. Aganis this [thair]
usurped tyrranie, the leirnit and the peopill opponcit thame selffis
opinlie: and when that all ressounis whilk the Paipis governouris
could allege wer heard and confuted, the Paip him self wes fane to tak
up the maitter, and to promeis to keip nocht onlie the lybertie of the
peopill, but also that he sould neither abrogat[1047] onie law [or]
statute, neither yit mak onie new law without thair awin consent. And,
thairfoir, my Lord, (said he,) my vote and consience is, that Princes
ar nocht onlie bound to keip lawis and promeisses to thair subjectis,
but also, that in caise thai faill, thay justlie may be deposeit; for
the band betwix the Prince and the Peopill is reciproce."
[1047] In MS. 1566, "haif brocht."
Then start [up] ane claw-back of that corrupt Court, and said, "Ye wat
nocht what ye say; for ye tell us what wes done in Bononia; we ar ane
kingdome, and thai ar but ane Commounwelth."
"My Lord," said he, "my jugement is, that everie kingdom is, or at
leist, sould be ane Commounwelth, albeit that everie Commounwelth be
nocht ane kingdom; and, thairfoir, I think, that in ane kingdom no
less dylligence aucht to be taikin, that lawis be nocht violatit, than
is [in] ane Commounwelth; because that the tyrranie of Princeis who
continwallie ring[1048] in ane kingdom, is moir hurtfull to the
subjectis, than is the misgovernment of those that from yeir to yeir
ar chaingit in fre Commounwelthis. But yit, my Lordis, to assure you
and all utheris farder, that heid wes disputed be the utermoist; and
than, in the end, it was concludit,[1049] that thay spak nocht of sik
thingis as wer done in diverse kingdomis and natiounis be tyrranie and
negligence of peopill. 'But we conclude,' said thai, 'what aucht to be
done in all Kingdomis and Commounwelthis, according to the law of God,
and unto the just lawis of man. And gif be the negligence of the
peopill, or be tyrranie of Princes, contrair lawis haif bene maid, yit
may that same peopill, or thair posteritie, justlie craif all thingis
to be reformed,[1050] according to the originall institutioun of
Kingis and Commounwelthis: and sik as will nocht [do] so, deserve to
eit the frute of thair awin folischnes.'"
[1048] In MS. 1566, "who continewing."
[1049] In MSS. 1566, and L 3, "nocht concluded."
[1050] In MS. 1566, "ressonit."
Maister James Makgill,[1051] than Clark of Register, persaifing the
voittis to be different, and heiring the bauld plainess of the
foirsaid servand of God, said, "I remember that this same questioun
wes lang debaittit aneis befoir this in my house, and thair, be
ressoune that we wer nocht all of ane mynd, it wes concludit, that Mr.
Knox sould in all our names haif writtin to Mr. Calvin for his
jugement in the contraversie."
[1051] Some notices respecting Mackgill, who was appointed Clerk
Register in 1554, are given at page 156. From the Treasurer's Accounts
it appears his salary was only 20 merks, or £13, 6s. 8d.
"Nay," said Mr. Knox, "my Lord Secretour wald nocht consent that I
sould wrytte, alleging, that the grittest weycht of the ansuer stude
in the narrative, and thairfoir [promeisit that] he wald wryte, and I
sould sey it. But when, (said he,) that diverse tymes I requyreit him
to remember his promeis, I fand no thing but delay."
Whairto the Secretour did ansuer, "True it is, I promeist to wryte,
and true it is, that diverse tymeis Mr. Knox requyreit me so to do.
But when I had moir deiplie consydderit the weycht of the maitter, I
began to find mo douttis than that I did befoir, and this one amangis
utheris, How I durst, I being ane subject, and the Quenis Majesties
Secretarie,[1052] tak upoun me to seik resolutioun of contraverseyis
depending betwix hir Heyness and hir subjectis, without hir awin
knawlege and consent." Than wes thair ane acclamatioun of the
claw-backis of the Courte, as if Apollo had gevin his response: It wes
wyselie and faythfullie done.
[1052] William Maitland, usually styled Laird of Lethington, was the
eldest son of Sir Richard Maitland of Lethington, and was born
probably between 1525 and 1530. He is said to have studied at St.
Andrews, but his name does not occur in the Registers as having taken
any degree. Chalmers has devoted much labour in tracing the career of
this very able man, whose policy in changing his views from time to
time proved equally unfortunate to himself and his country. (Life of
Mary Queen of Scots, 2d edit. vol. iii. page 530 to 615.) At an early
period of life Maitland took an active share in public affairs. Knox
mentions him under the year 1555, (vol. i. p. 247;) and on more than
one occasion calls him "the author of all the mischief" that had
occurred. He first appears in the service of the Queen Regent; and in
September 1555, the Treasurer paid "to William Maitland, be the Quenis
Grace precept, for his pension of this instant zeir, £150." After the
death of Bishop Panter, on the 4th December 1558, he was appointed
Secretary of State. In October 1559, he joined the Lords of the
Congregation; in August 1560, he acted as Speaker of Parliament; and
in the following year he was raised to the bench. After various
embassies to France and England, and after having an active share in
all the intrigues and public affairs of the time, he died at Leith, as
alluded to at page 363, note I, 9th June 1573. He was twice married.
On the 10th November 1552, he had a charter of lands in Stirlingshire
to himself and Janet Menteith his spouse: she was the daughter of
Menteith of Kerse. He married, secondly, at Stirling, 6th January
1566-7, Mary Fleming, daughter of Malcolm third Lord Fleming. After
his death she addressed a pathetic letter to Lord Burleigh, dated from
Edinburgh, 21st June 1573, praying that her husband's body might
"_receive no shame or ignominy_." The English General, on the 18th,
had also written, that he had been pressed by the Earl of Athole and
others, "that the body of Ledingtoun might be buried, _and not remain
above the ground as it does_."--In 1584, Parliament passed an Act of
"Pacification to Marie Flemyng, (relict of umquhill William Maitland
younger of Lethingtoun, Secretare to our Soverane Lord) and his
bairnis." (Acta Parl. Scot. vol. iii. p. 313.)
"Weill," said Johne Knox, "let warldlie men praise warldlie wisdome so
heichlie as thay pleise, I am assureit, that be sik shiftis, idolatrie
is mentenit, and the treuth of Jesus Chryste is betrayit, whairof God
one day will be revengit." At this, and the lyke scherpnes, monie
offendit, the voitting ceissit, and everie factioun began planelie to
speik as effectioun moveit thame.
Johne Knox in the end wes commandit yit to wryte to Mr. Calvin, and to
the leirnit in uther Kirkis, to knaw thair jugementis in that
questioune; quhilk he refuissit, schawing his ressoun, "I myself am
nocht onlie fullie resolved in conscience, but also I haif heard the
jugementis in this, and all uther thingis that I haif affirmit within
this Realme, of the moist godlie and moist leirnit that be knawin in
Europe. I come nocht to this Realme without thair resolutioun; and
for my assurance I haif the hand wrytingis of monie; and, thairfoir,
gif I sould [now] move the same questioun agane, what sould I do
uther, but either schaw my awin ignorance and forgetfulness, or ellis
inconstancey: And, thairfoir, it may pleise you to appardoune me,
albeit I wryte nocht. But I will teich you the surer way, whilk is
[this], that ye wryte and complayne upoun me, that I teich publictlie
and affirme constantlie sik doctrine as offendis you, and so sall ye
knaw thair plane myndis, and whidder that I and thay aggrey in
jugement or nocht."
[Sidenote: THE END OF THE RESSONYNG BETWIX JOHN KNOX AND THE SECRETOUR
IN JUNE 1564.]
Diverse said the offer wes gude; bot no man wes founde that wald be
the secretour. And so did that Assemblie in lang ressonyng brek up.
Efter the whilk tyme, the mynisteris, that wer callit preceissit, wer
haldin of all the Courteouris as monstouris.
In all that tyme[1053] the Erle of Murray wes so formed[1054] to Johne
Knox, that nowther be word nor write wes there ony communicatioun
betwix thame.[1055]
[1053] In MS. 1566, this short paragraph of three lines, is in a
different hand and colour of ink, and bears a close resemblance to
Knox's own writing.
[1054] So in the MS.; but evidently intended for _fremmit_, strange,
foreign: in MS. G, "fremmed;" in MS. M, "freamed;" in MS. L 4,
"frame;" in MS. A 1, "framed;" but MS. L 3, has "formed."
[1055] In the later MSS. there are several variations at the end of
this book. In MSS. A 1, and L 3, an extract from his Sermon in 1565,
is added with this title, "These words following are found written be
John Knox, in the preface of a certain Treatise maid be him upon the
xxvj. cap. Isayas." In MSS. M, and L 1, we read as follows: "In this
Conference, (with Lethington,) ye may see a proofe of Mr. Knox his
deep jugement and promptness in citing the passages of Scripture,
besides his great zeal, courage, and sinceritie in the cause of God,
without respect to flesh or blood." MS. L 4, adds, "Mr. Knox endeth
the 4 Buik of his Storie, with this Conference." In MS. M, "Heere
endeth the Fourth Booke of Mr. Knox his Historie of the Church of
Scotland." On a separate leaf in MS. L 4, are four paragraphs which
occur in Book Fifth, and are copied nearly _verbatim_ in Calderwood's
History, vol. ii. pp. 280, 284, 294, 295. The last paragraph breaks
off in the middle of a sentence, and in the margin is added, "The rest
of this section ye will find elsewhere, in the beginning of some writt
scrollis."
[Illustration: Hand written page]