Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 1.djvu/156

 and also a testimony to the enlightened and upright character of Ballentyne, we shall extract into these pages:

"As Seneca says in his tragedeis, all ar nocht kingis that bene clothit with purpure and dredoure, but only they that sekis na singulare proffet, in dammage of the commonweill; and sa vigilant that the life of their subdetis is mair deir and precious to them than thair awin life. Ane tyrane sekis riches; ane king sekis honour, conquest be virtew. Ane tyrane governis his realmis be slauchter, dredoure, and falset; ane king gidis his realme be prudence, integrite, and favour. Ane tyrane suspeckis all them that hes riches, gret dominioun, auctorite, or gret rentis; ane kinghaldis sic men for his maist helply friendis. Ane tyrane luffis nane bot vane fleschouris, vicious and wicket lymmaris, be quhais counsall he rages in slauchter and tyranny; ane king luffis men of wisdom, gravite, and science; knawing weill that his gret materis maybe weill dressit be thair prudence. Treuth is that kingis and tyrannis hes mony handis, mony ene, and mony mo memberis. Ane tyrane sets him to be dred; ane king to be luffet. Ane tyrane rejoises to mak his pepill pure; ane king to mak thame riche. Ane tyrane draws his pepill to sindry factiones, discord, and hatrent; ane king maks peace, tranquillite, and concord; knawing nothing sa dammagious as division amang his subdittis. Ane tyrane confounds all divine and hummane lawis; ane king observis thaime, and rejoises in equite and justice. All thir properteis sal be patent, in reding the livis of gud and evil kingis, in the history precedent."

To have spoken in this way to an absolute prince shows Ballentyne to have been not altogether a courtier.

He afterwards adds, in a finely impassioned strain:—"Quhat thing maybe mair plesand than to se in this present volume, as in ane cleir mirroure all the variance of tyme bygane; the sindry chancis of fourtoun; the bludy fechting and terrible berganis sa mony years continuit, in the defence of your realm and liberte; quhilk is fallen to your hieness with gret felicite, howbeit the samin has aftimes been ransomit with maist nobill blude of your antecessoris. Quhat is he that wil nocht rejoise to heir the knychtly afaris of thay forcy campions, King Robert Bruce and William Wallace? The first, be innative desyre to recover his realme, wes brocht to sic calamite, that mony dayis he durst nocht appeir in sicht of pepill; but amang desertis, levand on rutes and herbis, in esperance of better fortoun; bot at last, be his singulare manheid, he come to sic preeminent glore, that now he is reput the maist valyeant prince that was eftir or before his empire. This other, of small beginning, be feris curage and corporall strength, not only put Englishmen out of Scotland, but als, be feir of his awful visage, put Edward king of England to flicht; and held all the borders fornence Scotland waist."

Ballentyne delivered a manuscript copy of his work to the king, in the summer of 1533, and about the same time he appears to have been engaged in a translation of Livy. The following entries in the treasurer's book give a curious view of the prices of literary labour, in the court of a king of those days.

"To Maister John Ballentyne, be the kingis precept, for his translating of the Chronykill, £30.

"1531, Oct. 4th. To Maister John Ballantyne, be the kingis precept, for his translating of the Chroniclis, £30.

"Item, Thairefter to the said Maister Johne, be the kingis command, £6.

"1533, July 26. To Maister John Ballentyne, for ane new Chronikle gevin to the kingis grace, £12.

"Item, To him in part payment of the translation of Titus Livius, £8.