. He drew the revenues, but did not
wear the costume of his place; in fact, he was an example of the ordinary
abuses. Educated at Paris and Louvain, he came in contact with the
criticism of Erasmus and the Lutheran controversy. He next read at St
Andrews, and he married. Suspected of heresy in 1427, he retired to
Germany; he wrote theses called 'Patrick's Places,' which were reckoned
heretical; he was arrested, was offered by Archbishop Beaton a chance to
escape, disdained it, and was burned with unusual cruelty,--as a rule,
heretics in Scotland were strangled before burning. There were other
similar cases, nor could James interfere--he was bound by his Coronation
Oath; again, he found in the bishops his best diplomatists, and they, of
course, were all for the French alliance, in the cause of the
independence of their country and Church as against Henry VIII.

Thus James, in justifiable dread of the unscrupulous ambition of Henry
VIII., could not run the English course, could not accept the varying
creeds which Henry, who was his own Pope, put forward as his spirit moved
him. James was thus inevitably committed to the losing cause--the cause
of Catholicism and of France--while the intelligence no less than the
avarice of his nobles and gentry ran the English course.

James had practically no choice. In 1536 Henry proposed a meeting with
James "as far within England as possible." Knowing, as we do, that Henry
was making repeated attempts to have James kidnapped and Archbishop
Beaton also, we are surprised that James was apparently delighted at the
hope of an interview with his uncle--in England. Henry declined to
explain why he desired a meeting when James put the question to his
envoy. James said, in effect, that he must act by advice of his Council,
which, so far as it was clerical, opposed the scheme. Henry justified
the views of the Council, later, when James, returning from a visit to
France, asked permission to pass through England. "It is the king's
honour not to receive the King of Scots in his realm except as a vassal,
for there never came King of Scots into England in peaceful manner
otherwise." Certain it is that, however James might enter England, he
would leave it only as a vassal. Nevertheless his Council, especially
his clergy, are blamed for embroiling James with Henry by dissuading him
from meeting his uncle in England. Manifestly they had no choice. Henry
had shown his hand too often.