CRICHTON, James, commonly known by the appellation of the Admirable Crichton, was born on the 19th of August 1560.^[1. An Italian broadside, printed at Venice in 1580, states that he had completed the twentieth year of his age on the 19th of August, l’his curious document, which was lately discovered, and which affords some confirmation of the account which Manutius and lmpe-iali have given of Crichton’s character and attainments, may be found in the appendix to the second edition of Mr Tytler’s Life of he Admirable Crichton, p. 289. Edinb. 1823, 12mo. ] His father was Robert Crichton, who, in conjunction with John Spence, executed the office of lord advocate; his mother was Elizabeth, the only daughter of Sir James Stewart of Beath, by Margaret, the eldest daughter of Lord Lindsay of Byres. It appears highly probable, if not certain, that by the father’s side he derived his lineage from Sir Robert Crichton of Sanquhar, ancestor of the earl of Dumfries; and his maternal grandfather, ancestor of the earl of Moray, was the son of Lord Avandale, who was descended from Murdac duke of Albany, and through him from Robert II. It is indeed to be recollected that the birth of the first Lord Avandale was illegitimate; but it is likewise to be recollected that he obtained letters of legitimation under the great seal.^[2. Wood’s Peerage of Scotland, vol. i. p. 158. ] His grand-uncle Lord Methven was the third husband of Margaret Tudor, the relict of James IV. It is therefore sufficiently obvious that he was entitled to speak of his high descent; but his extraordinary endowments of mind conferred upon him much higher distinction than he could derive from any accidental circumstances of birth. The place of his birth is somewhat doubtful. According to one tradition, he was born in the castle of Cluny, situated on a small lake bearing the same name; but as the father did not acquire his estate in Perthshire till two years after the birth of James, his eldest son, this may be considered as entitled to less attention than another tradition, which represents him as having been born at Elliock in Dumfriesshire, the more ancient seat of the family. The estate of Cluny, which belonged to the bishopric of Dunkeld, was conveyed to the king’s advocate by Robert Crichton, the last popish bishop of that wealthy see.

In the year 1570, when he had only attained the age of ten, he was sent to the university of St Andrews, where he was entered at St Salvator’s College. According to Aldus Manutius, his father placed him under the tuition of Buchanan, Hepburn, Robertson, and Rutherford, who are all mentioned as very eminent persons. John Rutherford, whose name is sufficiently known, was provost of the college to which Crichton belonged. Buchanan, who was principal of St Leonard’s College, resigned his office about the time when he became a student; but, according to the statement of his Italian friend, he was partly educated along with the young king of Scotland; and Buchanan was appointed to the office of preceptor to the king when he quitted St Andrews, in the year 1570. On the 20th of March 1573, or, according to our present mode of computation, 1574, Crichton took the degree of A. B. He proceeded A. Μ. in the year 1575, and thus completed the regular course of study at the premature age of fifteen. In the university of St Andrews, the candidates for the higher degree were then distributed into [7:7:468]circles, according to the comparative proficiency displayed in the course of their previous examinations. Each circle was likewise formed on the same principle. Of the thirty-six masters who took their degrees on this occasion, there were three circles; and the third name in the first circle is that of James Crichton. At the head of the list appears David Monypenny. It is highly probable that Crichton was the youngest of all those graduates; and as his proficiency was only exceeded by two out of thirty-five, it is evident that he had already begun to distinguish himself by his extraordinary aptitude in the acquisition of knowledge.

As the king was six years younger than Crichton, they could not well participate in the same studies, although they could receive instructions from the same tutors. Crichton must have continued to devote himself with intense ardour to the pursuits of science as well as literature; for to a knowledge of many languages he added a familiar acquaintance with the philosophy and even the theology of the age. The power of genius is shewn in the use of the materials which are placed within its reach; but there is no royal road to learning, which, if acquired to any extent, must be acquired by much labour and perseverance, although their particular degree must vary according to the quickness of apprehension and tenacity of memory belonging to various individuals.

Crichton may for some time have enjoyed the benefit of such able instruction; for he appears to have been still residing in Scotland towards the close of the year 1577. His subsequent movements are represented as being partly influenced by some domestic disagreements. As the father embraced the reformed doctrines, while the son adhered to the ancient superstition, disputesand reproaches could scarcely fail to intervene at a erisis of si ch high and general exciteinent. The young scholar repaired to France, where he is said to have distinguished himself equally by his skill in literature and in arms. Of a marvellous disputation which he held in the university of Paris, there is an account which passes very currently, although it is only stamped with the authority of Sir Thomas Urquhart. According to this account, he affixed a program in the most public places of the city, inviting all men of learning to meet him, after an interval of six weeks, at the College of Navarre, where he should “be ready to answer to what should be propounded to him concerning any science, liberal art, discipline, or faculty, practical or theoretick, not excluding the theological nor jurisprudential habits, though grounded but upon the testimonies of God and man, and that in any of these twelve languages, Hebrew, Syriack, Arabick, Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, English, Dutch, Flemish, and Selavonian, in either verse or prose, at the discretion of the disputant -,”^[3. Urquhart’s Discovery of a most exquisite Jewel, p.‘ 94. Bond. 1652, 8vo—This writer is pleased to inform us, that about afort-night before the appointed day of meeting, some person, less acquainted with Crichton himself than with his reputation, subjoined the following sarcastic inscription to his program on the gate of the Sorbonne: “If you would meet with this monster of perfection, to make search for him either in the taverne or bawdy-house, is the readyest way to finde him.” The hint for this part of the story is to all appearance borrowed from a work of mere fancy, in which Boccalini relates that a similar mordace facetia was practised upon Crichton, not. ⅛ Paris, but in Parnassus: “Ľ chi lo vuol vedere, vada all’ hosteria del Falcone, che li farà mostrato.” (Ragguagli di Parnaso, tomi. p. 181.) l ] in the mean time, as we are duly instructed, “the admirable Scot (for so from thence forth he was called) minding more his hawking, hunting, tilting, vaulting, riding of well-managed horses, tossing of the pike, handling of the musket, flourishing of colours, dancing, fencing, swimming, jumping, throwing of the bar, playing at the tennis, baloon, or long-catch, and sometimes at the house-games of dice, cards, playing at the chess, billiards, trou-madam, and other such like chamber-sports, singing, playing on the lute, and other musical instruments.” But when the appointed hour arrived, he acquitted himself with stupendous learning and ability, having for the space of nine hours maintained his ground against the most eminent antagonists in all the faculties. The rector of the university concluded the ceremony by presenting him with a diamond ring and a purse full of gold. It would be a mere waste of criticism to enter into a minute examination of the narrative to which we have now referred. The details are sufficiently circumstantial, but they have much of the aspect of a downright romance; and such details from the knight of Cromarty would have required the strong confirmation of collateral evidence. It might perhaps be admitted with some degree of safety that Crichton was engaged in a public disputation at Paris, and that he acquitted himself with consummate ability; but as to his fluency in twelve languages, and his maintaining so long and powerful a contest, not merely with grammarians, rhetoricians, and philosophers, but even with theologians, canonists, and civilians, all these particulars must be received with extreme hesitation; and perhaps it may be considered as much more probable that such a disputation never took place at Paris, but was merely fabricated from another, which took placeat Venice.

The intellectual endowments of Crichton seem to have been equalled by his personal accomplishments. He is highly celebrated for his martial prowess, and as a complete master in the use of the sword and spear. Some degree of military experience he must have acquired during his two years service in the civil wars of France: but this term of service was apparently sufficient to gratify his youthful inclination for the life of a soldier; and he next directed his steps towards Italy, where be must have arrived in the year 1580. According to Dr Mackenzie, he proceeded to Rome, and there gave another demonstration of his talents for public disputation;^[4. Mackenzie’s Lives of Scots Writers, vol. iii. p. 200—From the very loose and erroneous account of Crichton which occurs in this work, was fabricated a separate tract published under the title of The Life of James Crichton of Clunie, commonly called the Admira- lie Crichton. Aberdeen, 1760, 8vo. It was printed, and probably, edited, by Francis Douglas, w ho was a person of some taste for literature. Dr Mackenzie’s account, thus disguised, was inserted in an appendix to Mr Pennant’s Tour in Scotland, vol. i. p. 315. edit. Lond. 1700, 3 vois. 4to. ] but this account is evidently destitute of all foundation, and the only authority alleged by its author is that of Boccalini, whose meaning is either completely misrepresented or completely misunderstood.^[5. Boccalini, Ragguagli di Parnaso, tom. i. p. 180. ed. Amst. 1669, 2 tom. 12mo∙ ] Dempster has stated that he went to Genoa, attracted by the offer of a considerable salary; but in what capacity he appeared there, we are left to conjecture.^[6. Dempsteri Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum, p» 188. Bononiae, 1627, 4to. ] Whatever might be his first place of residence in Italy, it is at least ascertained that he arrived at Venice before the close of the year 1580. He now addressed a Latin poem to the younger Aldus Manutius, a name highly celebrated in the annals of typography; and this laid the foundation of a literary friendship, which was not without considerable influence in perpetuating his fame.^[7. Jacobi Critonii in Appulsu ad celeberrimam Urbem Venetam Carmen ad Aldum Manutium⅛ Venetiis, 1580, 4to. (Renouard, Annales de l’imprimerie des Aides, tom. ii. p. 125.)—Gabriel Naudé speaks of Crichton’s orations being printed; “Tel negligera, par exemple, les Oraisons de Jacques Criton, parce qu’elles ne se troiweiit qu’ímpríme'es séparément, qui aura dans sa bibliothèque celles de Raymond, Gallutius, Nigronius, Bencius, Perpinian, et de beaucoup d’autres autheurs, non pas qu’elles soient meilleures ou plus disertes et esloquentes que celles de ce docte Escossois, mais parce qu’elles se trouvent reserrées et continues dans de certains volumes.” (Advis pour dresser one Bibliothèque, p. 76. edit. Paris, 1644, 8vo.) Naudé apparently confounds him with George Crichton, doctor of the canon law, who was royal professor of Greek in the university of Paris, and the author of various orations published in a detached form. He married a daughter of his countryman Adam Blackwood. (Niceron, Mémoires dés Hommes illustres dans la Republique des Lettres, tom. xxxvii. p. 346.)' The poems of the two Crichtons are mentioned in the following terms by Olaus Borrichius: “Jacobo Crittθnio Scoto non ignotum fuisse Peġascium melos docent heroica, quibus suum in urbem Venetam appulsum designat. Plus tamen vividi caloris cultusque in epicis Georgii Crittonii.” (Dissertationes Academicae de Poetis, p. 151. Francof. 1683, 4to.) ] He [7:7:469]likewise formed an intimate acquaintance with other men of letters, particularly with Sperone Speroni, Lorenzo Massa, and Giovanni Donati. An ode addressed to Massa, and another to Donati, are preserved among his literary reliques. But the friendship of Manutius was distinguished by a more than ordinary degree of zeal: he highly extolled Crichton when living, and deeply bewailed' him when dead. To the notices which he has introduced into his edition of Cicero, we are in a great measure indebted for our knowledge of the young scholar’s proceedings in the territory of Venice. His edition of the Paradoxa he inscribed “Nobilissimo juveni Jacobo Critonio Scoto;” and the dedication, dated on the first of June 1581, contains a recital of some of those literary exploits which astonished the Italians. 1

An oration which Crichton pronounced before the Doge and the nobility of Venice excited the admiration of his audience, by the eloquence of the composition, as well as by the gracefulness of the elocution, insomuch that the young orator was regarded as a person of the most extraordinary endowments. He afterwards engaged in various disputations on subjects of divinity, philosophy, and the mathematical sciences; and such was the reputation which he now acquired, that, during the remainder of his short career, he seems to have been viewed as one of the wonders of Italy. It has been thought a circumstance worthy of being recorded in the life of Mazzoni, celebrated among his countrymen for his powers of literary debate, that he thrice encountered Crichton at Venice, and overwhelmed him by the astonishing copiousness and subtilty of his arguments. If it was reckoned an honour for a man of high reputation to sustain a contest with so youthful an antagonist, we cannot fail to perceive the singular estimation in which that antagonist must have been held.^[8. The dedication of Aldus Manutius, together with the four Latin poems of Crichton, are reprinted in Graevius’s edition of Cicero De Officiis, &c. Amst. 1688, 8vo∙ They may likewise be found in the Biographia Britannica, vol. iv. p. 4õ2, and in the appendix to Mr Tytler ’ ⅛ Life of the Admirable Crichton, p. 292. Only two of the poems, the hexameters on Venice and the ode to Manutius, occur in the Delìtiae Poetarum Scotorum, tom. i. p. 268. ] ı

These intellectual exertions were succeeded by an infirm state of health, which continued for upwards of four months; and before he had completely recovered, he made an excursion to Padua, the seat of a flourishing university. The professors in all the different faculties were invited to meet him in the house of a person of rank; and there, in the midst of a numerous assembly, he exhibited new and striking proofs of the versatility of his genius. He commenced his performances with the recitation of an extemporaneous poem in celebration of Padua; a subject which was only then proposed to him, and which he treated in a manner that is described as very elegant. With much acuteness and learning, he afterwards discussed various topics of science with the doctors who were there assembled; and it is particularly mentioned that he exposed many of the errors of Aristotle and his commentators. Having thus displayed his knowledge for the space of six hours, the final theme proposed to him was the praise of ignorance; and on this subject he pronounced an oration, which still further excited the admiration of his learned auditors. A similar exhibition was announced to be held in the bishop’s palace, but, for some reason which is not plainly stated, it did not take place. The popular applause which attended such demonstrations of intellectual superiority, had too natural a tendency to excite envy, and to provoke detraction, nor did Crichton escape that lot which has been common to so many others. On his return to Venice, he was induced by the malignity of certain individuals, whom he does not mention by name, to publish a remarkable program, which has been preserved by his friend Manutius. In order to expose the futility of their cavils, he undertook to refute innumerable errors of Aristotle, and of all the Latin philosophers, that is, all the schoolmen, both in their expositions of his doctrines, and in their disquisitions on subjects of theology, together with the errors of certain professors of mathematics, and to answer suwh objections as might be urged against him. He further gave his antagonists the option of selecting their topics of disputation from any other branch of science, whether publicly taught in the schools, or privately investigated by the most profound philosophers; and he undertook to return his answers, as the proponents should themselves determine, either according to the usual figures of logic, according to the secret doctrine of numbers, or mathematical figures, or in any one out of a hundred different species of verse. The challenge may appear sufficiently bold, if not arrogant; but unless it came from a person who was conscious of possessing very extraordinary powers of intellect, and who had repeatedly applied to them a severe and - unequivocal test, it could scarcely be viewed in any other light than as an indication of insanity. He appealed to a community^ which included many competent judges of such pretensions, and therefore could not hope to impose upon an unlearned multitude. The appointed place of meeting was the church of St John and St Paul; and there, for the space of three days, this young man sustained the arduous trial in a manner which fully justified his confidence in his own intellectual resources. His friend Aldus Manutius was a spectator of his triumphs upon this occasion; and though some allowances must doubtless be made for the warmth of friendship, and for an Italian taste in writing, it is still to be remembered that when he published his account, the event to which it referred was altogether recent, and he necessarily appealed to a cloud of living witnesses, who would have treated his panegyric with derision, if Crichton bad obviously failed in supporting his own lofty pretensions.

After his departure from Venice, he betook himself to Mantua; and there, according to Urquhart’s romantic narrative, he rendered himself very conspicuous by his valiant encounter with a fierce Italian gentleman, who had recently slain three antagonists. Crichton is said to have challenged this redoubtable champion, and, after many efforts of mutual skill, to have brought the matter to this conclusion: “His right foot did beat the cadence of the blow that pierced the belly of this Italian; whose heart and throat being hit with the two former stroaks, these three franch bouts given in upon the back of other: besides that, if lines were imagined drawn from the hand that liver [7:7:470]ed them, to the places which were marked by them, they would represent a perfect isosceles triangle, with a perpendicular from the top-angle, cutting the basis in the middle.”^[9. Urquhart’s Discovery of a most exquisite Jewel, p. 90. ] The learned knight had studied mathematics, and he seems to have been fully resolved that his knowledge should be turned to some account. This combat he has described in a very circumstantial manner; but, viewing his unsupported authority with no small degree of suspicion, we feel no inclination to repeat his martial details, which however are not a little curious in themselves. But it is a fact confirmed by other evidence that Crichton was invited or attracted to the court of Mantua, and that the duke appointed him tutor to his son Vincenzo Gonzaga. Here, according to the knight of Cromarty, he displayed his dramatic talents as conspicuously as he had formerly displayed his learning and his prowess. In the space of five hours, he is said to have represented fifteen different characters, and to have supported each of them with marvellous effect. But his brilliant career was speedily to close. When he was one evening walking in the streets of Mantua with his lute in his hand, he was unexpectedly assailed by three individuals; and drawing his sword, he pressed upon them with so much skill and resolution, that the; principal aggressor was impelled by his fears to discover himself as young Gonzaga. Crichton fell upon his knees, and entreated forgiveness for an act which evidently inferred no guilt, when the prince instantly pierced him through the body, and terminated the mortal existence of one of the most remarkable persons of the era to which he belonged.^[10. Imperialis Musaeum Historicum, p. 242. Venetiis, 1640, 4to.—In mentioning their first encounter, he uses the expression, “consulto an casu, incertum nor are we in possession of any more specific information. With regard to the date, there is some degree of uncertainty. In the month of November 1583, Manutius bewailed his young friend as already dead, and pointedly referred to the fatal third of July. Imperiali likewise states that he died on the third of July 1583. On the other hand, Serassi, in his Vita del Asazzoni, p. 127, speaks of a poem written by James Crichton on the death of Cardinal Borromeo, which did not take place till the third of November 1584. But for such a fact as this, the authority of Manutius cannot well be called in question; and we must rather conclude that the poem was written by another James Crichton, or by some person who thought proper to adopt his name. ] This act of base ferocity was perpetrated on the third of July 1583, when Crichton had nearly completed the twenty-third year of his age.

The elegance of his person had procured him the admiration of those who were unable to estimate the powers of his mind. His countenance is described as beautiful; but his right eye was marked, if not somewhat disfigured, by a red spot, or, as Manutius describes it, a red rose by which it was surrounded. His reputation as a scholar did not render him indifferent to the more superficial accomplishments of a gentleman: his address was courteous, and he was a proficient in dancing, as well as in the gymnastic and martial exercises to which youths of his condition were then addicted.

The unrivalled fame of this young scholar is certainly allied to romance; but, on the other hand, it is very difficult to imagine that it was not originally founded on some qualities which eminently distinguished him from other forward and aspiring youths, who at that period were sufficiently numerous in the more learned countries of Europe. A reputation so splendid, and so uniformly maintained, cannot reasonably be ascribed to a mere concurrence of accidental circumstances. The specimens of his Latin poetry which have been preserved do not indeed contain any thing very remarkable; but they are few in number, and were not published by himself; nor does his reputation depend upon one species of excellence. He is celebrated for the wonderful facility with which he composed verses, for his knowledge of ten or twelve different languages, for his acquaintance with the writings of the fathers, for his uncommon powers of memory, and for his promptitude and acuteness in public disputation. We must not therefore hastily conclude that he “was in Italy considered as one of those literary mountebanks who were numerous in that age or that his reputation chiefly depends on the romantic flights of Sir Thomas Urquhart, who wrote about seventy years after his death. Joseph Scaliger, who flourished at the same period with himself, who professes to have obtained his information in Italy, and who besides was not too prone to admiration, mentions Crichton as a prodigious genius, and indeed enumerates all the most essential qualifications that are commonly ascribed to him.^[11. “J’ay oüy parler d’un Critton Escossois en Italie, qui n’avoit que 21 ans, quand il a esté tué par le commandement du due de Mantouë; et qui sçavoit 12 langues, avoit leu les peres, poètes, disputoit de omni scibili, et respondoit en vers. C’estoit ingenium prodigiosum, admiratione magis quam amore dignum· Il estoit un peu fat. Ei judicium non tantum adfuit. Principes soient ilia ingenia amare, non vero bene doctos. Manutius praefatione ad Paradoxa, quam dicat Crittonio, meminit illius ingenii.” (Scaligerana, p. 58.) ] His testimony, which is entirely overlooked by the late Dr Black,^[12. Black’s Life of Tasso, vol. ii. p. 413. Edinb. 1810, 2 vols. 4to. ] is certainly of considerable weight and importance. Crichton is likewise extolled in terms of the highest admiration, in a work published so early as the year 1609 by Dr Abernethy, a native of Edinburgh, and a member of the university of Montpellier.^[13. Adam Abernethy took the degree of A. Μ. at Edinburgh on the 7th of August 1594. He afterwards took that of Μ. D. proba∙ bly in some foreign university. He is described as “Monspeliensis academiae moderator.” ] The longer of the two poems which he wrote in celebration of his young countryman, commences with these verses:

O foelix animi juvenis Chrichtone! vigore Ingenii volitante supra qui vectus in astra Humanam sortem, et mortalis culmen honoris, Seu placuit Musas colere, aut glomeramine campum Tundere cornipedis, pictisve ardescere in armis; Grandia sublimis nuper miracula mentis Monstrasti attonito, et rapuisti protinus orbi.^[14. Musa Campestris, &c. authore Adamo Abrenetheo ex Scoto-Britannia, Edinburgeno∙ Monspelii, 1609, 8vo. ]

To the early testimonies which we have already produced, many others, somewhat more recent, might easily be added; and we are fully prepared to acquiesce in the opinion of Dr Johnson, that of Crichton’s history, “whatever ' we may suppress as surpassing credibility, yet we shall, upon incontestible authority, relate enough to rank him among prodigies.”^[15. Adventurer, No. 81. ] Dr Kippis, who has written a copious account of this renowned youth, has legitimately applied the test of criticism to several of the early notices; and many of his strictures, particularly those on Urquhart and Mackenzie, every person of a sober judgment must admit to be too well founded. We have however placed no reliance on such authorities, but have derived all our materials from better sources. “He appears,” says this biographer, “to have had a fine person, to have been adroit in his bodily exercises, to have possessed a peculiar facility in learning languages, to have enjoyed a remarkably quick and retentive memory, and to have excelled in a power of declamation, a fluency of speech, and a readiness of reply. His knowledge, [7:7:471]likewise, was probably very uncommon for his years; and this, in conjunction with his other qualities, enabled him to shine in public disputation. But whether his knowledge and learning were accurate or profound, may justly be questioned; and it may equally be doubted whether he would have arisen to any extraordinary degree of eminence in the literary world. It will always be reflected upon with regret, that his early and untimely death prevented this matter from being brought to the test of experiment.”^[16. Biographia Britannica, vol. iv. p. 455. ] In all controversies, it is of the first importance to ascertain the real state of the question. In a youth of twenty-three, whatever superiority of intellect he may possess, we do not expect to find the erudition of Scaliger or Salmasius. Those who extol Crichton as a very extraordinary person, do not necessarily suppose that his attainments exceeded the limits of human genius: but they may reasonably believe that in various departments of science and literature he arrived at a degree of proficiency wonderfully premature; that he evinced great energy of application, with unusual powers of memory; and that of the knowledge which lie so rapidly acquired, he possessed so ready a command, together with so much promptitude and acuteness of mental exertion, that he appeared as a prodigy among men of the ordinary standard of intellectual excellence.^[17. “Ce fut,” says Bayle, “l’un des plus extraordinaires prodiges d’esprit qu’on ait jamais vus.” (Dictionaire Historique et Critique, tom. i. p. 941.) This is scarcely exceeded by the panegyric of Imperiali: “Hic, est Critonius ille Scotus, transacti duodum saeculi monstrum, prodigioso naturae opificis conatu editum, quo Parnassi spacia stupendo et inusitato spectaculo illustrarentur. Hic est totius adhuc orbis judicio Phoenix habitus ingeniorum, ¢ìivinae mentis igniculis summi potius datoris referens majestatem, quam mortalem ad aemulandum lacessens industriam.” (Musaeum Historicum, p. 241.) ]. (x.)