Page:Witty and entertaining exploits of George Buchanan (15).pdf/28

                         28      T H E  W I T T Y  E X P L O I T S the biſhop took his leave of George, and deſired him next day to come and dine with him.

P A R T V. NEXT day, George according to promiſe, went to ſee George, then he ſaluted him with theſe words,

Your ſervant maſter wiſe man, And yet you have no books; How can one have knowledge That no man inſtructs;

[George anſwered, ]

Your ſervant maſter biſhop, Your ſalutation's good: Your knowledge is in your library, While others are in their hood.

Now, after a ſumptuous dinner, the biſhop took George into his library, ſhewing him a great quantity of books, which George praiſed very much, and amongſt the reſt an old Hebrew Bible, which George taking up, aſked at the biſhop what book it was; the biſhop looking at it: very ſincerely, ſaid he could not tell. Why then do you keep a book you do not know the name of? It may be the book of black art. No, I do not think that, ſaid the bishop, but can you tell what it is? Yes ſays George, it is the Bible, the beſt book for a biſhop I know, if he had eyes to ſee the inſide of it: So he deſired George to read a piece of it; but when he did, he could not underſtand it; therefore he deſired him to explain it, which ſentence he did as follows, Iſa. ix. 16. 'For the leaders of this people cauſe them to err, and they that are led of them are deſtroyed,' To which George added, This is the blind leading the blind. So taking his leave of the biſhop, he parted with him, ſaving theſe words,

Good night, hail maſter bishop, Of books you have great ſtore; Yet cannot read the half of them, Then what uſe are they for?

Many of the clergymen in England deſired greatly to be in company with George, becauſe of his comical and