Scottish Text Society publications > Old series > Historie of Scotland > Volume 1, 1888

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OF THE BEGINNING, THE MANERIS,
THE ACTES, AND DEIDIS DONE OF
THE SCOTIS MEN.
THE FIRST BUIK.
It was the jugement of sum of our Elderis of an-
tiquitie, that nocht only to gret kingdomes and peples
hot lykwyse to euerie citie and toune, war proffetable,
that me« of actiuitie, and indued with a singular ingine,
5 to the Godis sulde ascriue thair birth and ofspring.
* And with this opinione, albeit false, nochtwithstandeng
no1 vane thay thocht, thay intendet to persuade thair
cuntrey people, that haueng a sure confidence in thame,
quhome to thay had ascriuet thair natiuitie, thay mycht
10 with the gretter courage take in hand gret materis, ful
of perrel and danger, and farther throuch this occasione,
the hartes of the ennimies mycht be discouraged, quhen
thair forces, thair intentione, and thair counselis thay
war no1 to bring against me«, bot against the Godis.
15 That Alexander the 1 Magne sett him selfe furth for the
sone of Jupiter Amazon, promouet him nocht litle.
That the Romanes mycht cause thame selfes to be
thocht inuincible in the weiris, thay co/zfirmed Mars to
* L. “ea quoque opinione, quanquam falsa non tamen stulta,
suos etiam populares imbuendos esse existimarunt ”—and with this
notion, false indeed but not foolish, they thought their fellow-
countrymen also should be imbued.
Sum na-
tiouns vset
to the goddis
to ascriue
thair natiui¬
tie.