Chapter IV

EVANGELIZATION, TRIBULATIONS, AND SUCCESS OF HAMILTON IN SCOTLAND.

(END OF 1527 TO THE END OF FEBRUARY 1528.)

The Church of Rome, in the sixteenth century, especially in Scotland, was far from being apostolic, although it assumed that title: nothing was less like St. John or St. Peter than its primates and its prelates, worldlings and sometimes warriors as they were. The real successors of the apostles were those reformers, who taught the doctrines of the apostles, labored as they did, and like them were persecuted and put to death. The theocratic and political elements combined in Rome have, with certain exceptions, substituted the law, that is, outward worship, ceremonial ordinances, pilgrimages and the exercises of ascetic life for the Gospel. The Reformation was a powerful reaction of the evangelical and moral element against the legal, sacerdotal, ascetic and ritualistic elements which had invaded the Church. This reaction was about to display its energy in Scotland, and Hamilton was to be at first its principal organ.

Already, before his return, the sacred books had arrived in large numbers in the principal ports of the kingdom. Attention had been awakened; but at the same time ignorance, dishonesty, and fanaticism had risen in revolt against the Evangelical Scriptures. The priests said that the _Old_ Testament was the only true one, and pretended that the _New_ had been recently invented by Martin Luther.[60] Consequently, in August 1527, the earl of Angus, at the instigation of Dunbar, bishop of Aberdeen, had confirmed the ordinance of 1525, and had decreed that the king’s subjects who circulated the sacred books should be visited with the same penalties as people from abroad. If, therefore, a vessel arrived at Leith, Dundee, St. Andrews, or Aberdeen, the king’s officers immediately went on board, and if any copies of the _New_ Testament were found there, the ship and the cargo were confiscated and the captain was imprisoned.

[Sidenote: HAMILTON’S ZEAL.]

Some time after this ordinance, the ship which carried Hamilton reached port, and although this young Christian always had his New Testament in his pocket, he landed without being arrested and went his way to Kincavil. It was about the end of 1527. Patrick tenderly loved his mother and his sister; everybody appreciated his amiable character; the servants and all his neighbors were his friends. This gentleness made his work easier. But his strength lay above all in the depth and the sincerity of his Christian spirit. ‘Christ bare our sins on his back and bought us with his blood’;[61] this was the master chord which vibrated in his soul. In setting forth any subject he silenced his own reasonings and let the Bible speak. No one had a clearer perception of the analogies and the contrasts which characterize the evangelical doctrine. With these intellectual qualities were associated eminent moral virtues; he practised the principles which he held to be true with immovable fidelity; he taught them with a touching charity; he defended them with energetic decision. Whether he approached a laborer, a monk, or a noble, it was with the desire to do him good, to lead him to God. He taxed his ingenuity to devise all means of bearing witness to the truth.[62] His courage was firm, his perseverance unflagging, and in his dignified seriousness his youth was forgotten. His social position added weight to his influence. We have seen that the aristocracy played a far larger part in Scotland than in any other European country. It would have seemed a strange thing to the Scots for a man of the people to meddle with such a matter as reform of the Church; but if the man that spoke to them belonged to an illustrious family, the position which he took appeared to them legitimate, and they were all inclined to listen to his voice. Such was the reformer whom God gave to Scotland.

Patrick’s elder brother, Sir James Hamilton, on succeeding to the estates and titles of his father, had been appointed sheriff of Linlithgowshire. James had not the abilities of his brother, but he was full of uprightness and humility. His wife, Isabella Sempill, belonged to an ancient Scottish family, and ten young children surrounded this amiable pair. Catherine, Patrick’s sister, bore some resemblance to him; she had much simplicity of character, sense, and decision. But it was most of all in the society of his mother, the widow of the valiant knight, that Patrick sought and enjoyed the pure and keen delight of domestic life. He opened his heart to all these beloved ones; he made known to them the peace which he had found in the Gospel, and by degrees his relations were brought to the faith, of which they afterwards gave brilliant evidence.

[Sidenote: HAMILTON’S PREACHING.]

The zeal which was consuming him could not long be confined within the limits of his own family. His love for the Gospel silenced within him all fear and, full of courage, he was ready to endure the insults which his faith might bring on him. ‘The bright beams of the true light, which by God’s grace were planted in his heart, began most abundantly to burst forth, as well in public as in secret.’[63] Hamilton went about in the surrounding country, his name securing for him everywhere a hearty welcome. When the young laird was seen approaching, laborers left the field which they were cultivating, women came out of every poor cottage, and all gathered about him respectfully and lent him an attentive ear.[64] Priests, citizens from the neighboring town, women of rank, lords quitting their castles, people of all classes, met together there.[65] Patrick received them with a kindly smile and a graceful bearing. He addressed to souls that first word of the Gospel, _Be converted!_ but he also pointed out the errors of the Romish Church.[66] His hearers returned, astonished at his knowledge of the Scriptures, and the people touched by the salvation which he proclaimed increased in number from day to day. Southward of the manor-house of Kincavil extends a chain of rocky hills, whose lofty peaks and slopes, dotted with clumps of trees, produced in the midst of that district a most picturesque effect. There more than once he talked freely about the Gospel with the country-folk, who in the heat of the day came to rest under the shadow of the rocks. Sometimes he climbed the hills, and from their tops contemplated the whole range of country in which he announced the good news. That _Craig_ still exists, a picturesque monument of Hamilton’s Gospel mission.[67]

He began soon to set forth the Gospel in the lowly churches of the neighboring villages; then he grew bolder and preached even in the beautiful sanctuary of St. Michael, at Linlithgow, in the midst of numerous and rich altars. No sooner had the report of his preaching begun to get abroad than everyone wanted to hear him. The name which he bore, his gracious aspect, his learning, his piety, drew about him day by day a larger number of hearers; for a long time such a crowd had not been seen flocking into the church.[68] Linlithgow, the favorite abode of the court, was sometimes bright with unaccustomed splendor. The members of the royal family, and the most illustrious nobles of the kingdom, came to unite with the citizens and the people in the church. This fashionable auditory, whose looks were fixed on the reformer of three-and-twenty, did not at all intimidate him; the plainness, clearness, and conciseness which characterized Hamilton’s style were better adapted to act on the minds of the great than pompous declamation. ‘Knowest thou what this saying means,’ said he, ‘_Christ died for thee_? Verily that thou shouldest have died perpetually: and Christ, to deliver thee from death, died for thee, and changed thy perpetual death into his own death; for thou madest the fault and He suffered the pain.... He desireth nought of thee but that thou wilt acknowledge what He hath done for thee and bear it in mind: and that thou wouldst help others for his sake, even as He hath holpen thee for nought and without reward.’[69]

[Sidenote: HIS MARRIAGE.]

Among his hearers was a young maiden of noble birth who with joy received the good news of salvation. Hamilton recognized in her a soul akin to his own. He had adopted the principles of Luther on marriage; he was familiar with the conversations which the reformer had with his friends on the subject and which were reported all over Germany. ‘My father and mother,’ said Luther one day, ‘lived in the holy state of marriage, even the patriarchs and prophets did the same; why should not I do so? Marriage is the holiest state of all, and the celibacy of priests has been the cause of abominable sins. We must marry and thus defy the pope, and assert the liberty which God gives us and which Rome presumes to steal away.’[70] However, to marry was a daring step for Hamilton to take, considering _the present necessity_, as speaks the apostle Paul. As abbot of Ferne, and connected with the first families of Scotland, his marriage must needs excite to the highest degree the wrath of the priests. Besides which, it would call for great decision on the part of Patrick and genuine sympathy on the part of the young Christian maiden, to unite themselves as it were in sight of the scaffold. The marriage however took place, probably at the beginning of 1528. ‘A little while before his death,’ says Alesius, ‘he married a noble young maiden.’[71] It is possible that the knowledge of this union did not pass beyond the family circle. It remained unknown to his biographers till our own time.[72]

While Hamilton was preaching at Linlithgow, archbishop Beatoun was at the monastery of Dunfermline, about four leagues distant, on the other side of the Forth. The prelate, when he learnt the return of the young noble who had so narrowly escaped him, saw clearly that a missionary animated with Luther’s spirit, thoroughly familiar with the manners of the people, and supported by the powerful family of the Hamiltons, was a formidable adversary. News which crossed the Forth or came from Edinburgh, did but increase the apprehensions of the archbishop. Beatoun was a determined enemy of the Gospel.[73] Having governed Scotland during the minority of the king, he was indignant at the thought of the troubles with which Hamilton’s preaching menaced the Church and the realm. The clergy shared the alarm of their head; the city of St. Andrews, especially, which one Scottish historian has called ‘the metropolis of the kingdom of darkness’,[74] was in a state of great agitation. The dean Spence, the rector Weddel, the official Simson, the canon Ramsay and the heads of various monasteries consulted together and exclaimed that peril was imminent, and that it was absolutely necessary to get rid of so dangerous an adversary.

The archbishop, therefore, took counsel with his nephew and some other clerics as to the best means of making away with Hamilton. Great prudence was needful. They must make sure of the inclinations of Angus; they must divert the attention of the young king who, with his generosity of character, might wish to save his relation; they must in some way ensnare the evangelist, for Beatoun did not dream of sending men-at-arms to seize Patrick at Kincavil in the house of his brother the sheriff. So the archbishop resolved to have recourse to stratagem. In pursuit of the scheme, Hamilton, only a few days after his marriage, received an invitation to go to St. Andrews for the purpose of a friendly conference with the archbishop concerning religion. The young noble, who the year before had divined the perfidious projects of the clergy, knew well the import of the interview which was proposed to him, and he told those who were dear to him that in a few days he should lose his life.[75] His mother, his wife, his brother, his sister, exerted all their influence to keep him from going; but he was determined not to flee a second time; and he asked himself whether the moment was not come in which a great blow might be struck, and the triumph of the Gospel be attained. He declared therefore that he was ready to go to the Scottish Rome.

[Sidenote: HAMILTON AT ST. ANDREWS.]

On his arrival at St. Andrews the young reformer presented himself before the archbishop, who gave him the most gracious reception. Is it possible that these good graces were sincere, and not treacherous as was generally supposed? Did Beatoun hope to win him back by such means to the bosom of the Church? Every one in the palace testified respect to Hamilton. The prelate had provided for him a lodging in the city, to which he was conducted. Patrick, when he saw the respect with which he was treated, felt still more encouraged to set forth frankly the faith that was in his heart. He went back to the castle where the conference with the archbishop and the other doctors was to be held. All of them displayed a conciliatory spirit: all appeared to recognize the evils in the church; some of them seemed even to share on some points the sentiments of Hamilton. He left the castle full of hope. He thought that he could see in the dense wall of Romish prejudices a small opening which by the hand of God might soon be widened.

He lost no time. Left perfectly free he went and came whithersoever he would, and was allowed to defend his opinions without any obstacle being thrown in his way. This was part of the plot. If the archbishop himself were capable of some kindly feeling, his nephew David and several others were pitiless. They wished Hamilton to speak, and to speak a good deal; he must be taken in the very fact, that they might dare to put him to death. Among those who listened to him there were present, without his being aware of it, some who took notes of his sayings and immediately made their report. His enemies were not satisfied with letting him move about freely in private houses, but even the halls of the university were opened to him; he might ‘teach there and discuss there openly,’ as an eyewitness tells us,[76] respecting the doctrines, the sacraments, the rites and the administration of the Church. Many people were pleased to hear this young noble announce, with the permission of the primate of Scotland, dogmas so strange. ‘They err,’ said Hamilton to his audience, ‘whose religion consists in men’s merits, in traditions, laws, canons, and ceremonies, and who make little or no mention of the faith of Christ. They err who make the Gospel to be a law, and Christ to be a Moses. To put the law in the place of the Gospel is to put on a mourning gown in the feast of a marriage.’[77] Then he repeated what he had already asserted at Marburg, what Luther had said, what Jesus Christ had said:--‘It is not good works which make a good man; but it is a good man who makes good works.’[78] It was above all for this proposition, so Christian, so clear, that he was to be attacked.

The enemies of the young reformer exulted when they heard him avow principles so opposed to those of Rome; but desirous of compromising him still further, they engaged him in private conversations, in which they tried hard to draw him to the extreme of his anti-Romish convictions. Nevertheless, there were among his hearers righteous men who loved this young Scotchman, so full of love for God and for men, who went to his house, confided to him their doubts, and desired his guidance. He received them with kindliness, frequently invited them to his table, and sought to do good to them all.

[Sidenote: HIS DISCUSSION WITH ALESIUS.]

Among the canons of St. Andrews was Alexander Alane, better known under the Latin name of Alesius, who in his boyhood had narrowly escaped death on Arthur’s Seat. This young man, of modest character, with a tender heart, a moderate yet resolute spirit, and a fine intelligence which had been developed by the study of ancient languages, had made great progress in scholastic divinity, and had taken his place at an early age among the adversaries of the Reformation.[79] His keenest desire was to break a lance with Luther; controversy with the reformer was at that time the great battle-field on which the doctors, young and old, aspired to give proof of their valor. As he could not measure himself personally with the man whom he named _arch-heretic_, Alesius had refuted his doctrine in a public discussion held at the university. The theologians of St. Andrews had covered him with applause.[80] ‘Assuredly,’ said they, ‘if Luther had been present, he would have been compelled to yield.’ The fairest hopes, too, were entertained respecting the young doctor. Alesius, alive to these praises, and a sincere Catholic, thought that it would be an easy task for him to convince young Hamilton of his errors. He had been acquainted with him before his journey to Marburg; he loved him; and he desired to save him by bringing him back from his wanderings.

With this purpose he visited the young noble. Conversation began. Alesius was armed cap-à-pié, crammed with scholastic learning,[81] and with all the formulæ _quomodo sit, quomodo non sit_. Hamilton had before him nothing but the Gospel, and he replied to all the reasonings of his antagonist with the clear, living, and profound word of the Scriptures. It has happened more than once that sincere men have embraced the truth a little while after having pronounced against it. Alesius, struck and embarrassed, was silenced, and felt as if ‘the morning-star were rising in his heart.’ It was not merely his understanding that was convinced. The breath of a new life penetrated his soul, and at the moment when the scaffolding of his syllogisms fell to the ground, the truth appeared to him all radiant with glory. He did not content himself with that first conference, but frequently came again to see Hamilton, taking day by day more and more pleasure in his discourse. His conscience was won, his mind was enlightened. On returning to his priory cell, he pondered with amazement on the way he had just gone. ‘The result of my visit has been contrary to all my expectation,’ said he; ‘I thought that I should bring Hamilton back to the doctrine of Rome, and instead of that he has brought me to acknowledge my own error.’[82]

[Sidenote: ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.]

One day another speaker came to Hamilton. This was a young ecclesiastic, Alexander Campbell, prior of the Dominicans, who like Alesius had a fine genius, great learning,[83] and a kindly disposition.[84] The archbishop, who knew his superiority, begged him to visit Hamilton frequently, and to spare no efforts to win him back to the Roman doctrine. Campbell obeyed his chief; but while certain priests or monks craftily questioned the young doctor with the intention of destroying him, the prior of the Dominicans had it in mind to save him. It is a mistake to attribute to him from the first any other intention. Campbell, like Alesius, was open to the truth, but the love of the world and its favors prevailed in him, and therein lay his danger. He frequently conversed with Hamilton on the true sense of the Scriptures, and acknowledged the truth of Patrick’s words. ‘Yes,’ said the prior, ‘the Church is in need of reformation in many ways.’[85] Hamilton, pleased with this admission, hoped to bring him to the faith, like Alesius, and having no fear of a friend whom he already looked on almost as a brother, he kept back none of his thoughts, and attached himself to him with all sincerity. But after several interviews, Campbell received orders from the archbishop to go to him to give an account of the result of his proceedings. This request astonished and disturbed the prior; and when he stood before Beatoun and his councillors, he was intimidated, overpowered by fear at the thought of offending the primate, and of incurring the censures of the Church. He would fain have obeyed at the same time both the Lord and the bishop,--he would fain have served God and _sucked-in_ honors; but he saw no means of reconciling the Gospel and the world. When he saw all looks turned on him he was agitated, he wavered, and told everything which the young noble of Kincavil had said to him in the freedom of brotherly confidence. He appeared to condemn him, and even consented to become one of his judges. Choosing ease, reputation, and life rather than persecution, opprobrium, and death, Campbell turned his back on the truth and abandoned Hamilton.

When the young reformer heard of Campbell’s treachery, it was a great sorrow to him; but he was not disheartened. On the contrary, he went on teaching with redoubled zeal, both at his own lodging and in the university. He bore witness, ‘with hand and with foot,’ as used to be said at that time (that is to say, with all his heart and with all his might), to the Word of God. For making a beginning of the work of reformation there was no place in the kingdom more important than St. Andrews. Hamilton found there students and professors, priests, monks of the orders of St. Augustine, St. Francis, and St. Dominic, canons, deans, members of the ecclesiastical courts, nobles, jurisconsults, and laymen of all classes. This was the wide and apparently favorable field on which for one month he scattered plentifully the divine seed.[86]

The adversaries of the New Testament, when they saw the success of Hamilton’s teachings, grew more and more alarmed every day. There must be no more delay, they thought; all compliance must cease, and the great blow must be struck. Patrick was cited to appear at the archiepiscopal palace, to make answer to a charge of heresy brought against him. His friends in alarm conjured him to fly: it seemed that even the archbishop would have been glad to see him set out once more for Germany. Lord Hamilton, earl of Arran, was at once Patrick’s uncle and the primate’s nephew by marriage. The primate would naturally show some consideration for a young man whose family he respected;[87] but the obstacle was to be raised on the part of Hamilton himself. When he crossed the North Sea to return to Scotland, he had resolved to lay down his life, if need be, if only by his death _Christ should be magnified_. The joy of a good conscience was so firmly established in his soul that no bodily suffering could take it away.

As Patrick was not minded to fly from the scaffold, his enemies determined to rid themselves of so formidable an antagonist.

One obstacle, however, lay in their way. Would the king, feeble and thoughtless, but still humane and generous, permit them to sacrifice this young member of his family, who excited the admiration even of his adversaries? James V. felt really interested in Patrick: he wished to see him, and had urged him to be reconciled with the bishops.[88] If at the last moment the Hamiltons should entreat his pardon, how could he refuse it? To evade this difficulty, the Roman clergy resolved to get the young monarch removed out of the way. His father, James IV., used to make a yearly pilgrimage to the chapel of St. Duthac, founded by James III., in Ross-shire, in the north of Scotland. The bishops determined to persuade this prince, then only seventeen, to undertake this long journey although it was then the depth of winter.[89] The king consented, either because he was artfully misled by the priests, or because, seeing that they were determined to get rid of Hamilton, he would rather let them alone, and wash his hands of it. He set out for St. Duthac,[90] and the priests immediately applied themselves to their task.

[Sidenote: HAMILTON’S DEATH RESOLVED ON.]

The tidings of the imminent danger which threatened Patrick brought anxiety into the manor-house of Kincavil. His wife, his mother, and his sister were deeply moved: Sir James was determined not to confine himself to useless lamentation, but to snatch his brother out of the hands of his enemies. As sheriff of Linlithgow and captain of one of the king’s castles, he could easily assemble some men-at-arms, and he set out for St. Andrews at the head of a small force, confident that in case of success James V., on his return from Duthac, would grant him a bill of indemnity.[91] But when he reached the shores of the Forth, which had to be crossed on his way into Fifeshire, he found the waters in agitation from a violent storm, so that he could not possibly make the passage.[92] Sir James and his men-at-arms stopped on the coast, watching the waves with mournful hearts, and listening in anguish to the roar of the storm. When the archbishop heard of the appearance of a troop on the other side the Forth, he collected a large body of horsemen to repulse the attack.[93] Those who were bent on rescuing Hamilton were as full of ardor as those who were bent on his destruction. Which of the two parties would win the day?