Tag Archives: languages

The Guid Buik — Ex Libris VVV

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VIRAL LIBRARY DEPT.

  • Greek to me
  • Spes altera vitae — hope in the other life — the Lorimer motto

When King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England (1603), one of his famous projects was the Authorized English Bible. Any corresponding attempt to do a Scots version was scrapped. Duplicative at best, a “competing project” — at worst, a subversion of royal authority.

Un-authorized Scots translations existed, but were virtually outlawed (…blood, burnings, beheadings, mighty castles cast down.) For lang whiles, Scots itself was virtually outlawed (…mayhem, slaughter, massacres, cathedrals burnt.) Thus, Scots never had a language-unifying national Bible, the way English did. It set back Scots as a literary language by a couple hundred years.

This one came out in 1983; the year before I arrived in Edinburgh. (Milne’s Court is adjacent to New College, so I took meals with all the Kirk of Scotland divinity students. If anyone was excited about the first published translation of the Bible ever into Scots, I don’t remember it.) For readability, it beats the Sassenach Bible hollow. The print and binding are exemplary, the traditional gold leaf exquisite (with the Lorimer arms). Lorimer also did a Buik o Psaums, I’ll be hunting on Alibris for that one, too.

Imagine, all those dour Covenanters having witches’ tongues pulled out with red-hot iron pincers, had to lash them to damnation by reading out English Bible verses…it must have been exquisite torture to their own tongues. Well, now they have their own New Testament, so today’s exorcisms and shunnings must be more fun for everybody involved.


The translator, William Laughton Lorimer, (1885-1966) was a Professor of Greek at St. Andrews, seemingly an overlooked Mr. Chips sort, a shy genius. It’s appropriate that the city and University (and maybe even the miraculous bones) of St. Andrews should produce this masterpiece of literature. Add Lorimer (including his family and foundation) to the canon of St. Jerome, Wulfila, Cyril and Methodius, the King James council, Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, John Winthrop, and all the other brilliant Bible translators who have synthesized and preserved and extended human language and consciousness through their inspired hours of pedantry and word-sleuthing.