Uranus

The Edinburgh Annual Register Volume 15, 1822, edited by Walter Scott, contains a biography of William Herschel, who died that year, and who discovered the planet Uranus on March 13^th, 1781. 

‘…In the course of his observations, which were continued for eighteen months, he had the good fortune to remark, that a star, which had been recorded by Bode as a fixed star, was progressively changing its position.  Prolonged attention to it enabled him to determine that it was a hitherto undiscovered planet…This important discovery he made on the 13^th of March 1781, and bestowed on the planet the name of Georgium Sidus, in complement to the King of England, but the astronomers on the Continent chose to call it Herschell, in honour of the discoverer, an appellation that was subsequently changed to Uranus, as being consistent with the received astronomical nomenclature…’

Joseph Priestley

Joseph Priestley, the theologian and natural philosopher, was born on March 13, 1733.   Priestley helped establish Unitarianism in Britain, and influenced Thomas Jefferson, with whom he corresponded after escaping with his family to America.  The escape was precipitated by personal attacks on Priestley, who spoke and wrote in an inflammatory way about what he perceived as corruptions of Christianity, and against the Test Act, which favored members of the Church of England for public office.

Priestley also engaged in scientific study, being the first to identify oxygen. He also created soda water, which is something Walter Scott might have enjoyed with whiskey.  A more salient connection however, is that both Priestley and Scott benefitted from at least one common educator; philosopher Dugald Stewart.

The term common, of course, refers not to Stewart's efficacy in teaching, but in its being shared by these two; and other famous individuals.  And whether or not one believes in Priestley's or Scott's views one must appreciate the strength of thought behind them.  In our current days of budget cuts, in Education and all walks of life, a fundamental review of what constitutes effective education could benefit all concerned.  The list of contributions from individuals like Priestley and Scott who benefitted from a background in philosophy points to substantial benefit from a reemphasis on its study.

Fredome is a Noble Thing

One of the most important of Scottish poets, John Barbour, died on March 13, 1395.  Barbour was a clergyman, situated at Dunkeld Cathedral, who succeeded to the Archdeaconry of Aberdeen in 1356.  Barbour has been credited with translating Latin and French works into Scots, including, from two French poems, "The Buik of Alexander", which was reprinted by the Bannatyne Club in 1831.  Above all, Barbour is known for being the first major literary figure to write in the Scots vernacular.  His seminal work was "The Brus".

Barbour's story of Robert the Bruce, from which the famous quote "Fredome is a Noble Thing" comes, is known for being fairly accurate historically.  It is written in octosyllabic lines, a form that Scott employed in his poetry four centuries later.  Barbour's "The Brus" served as inspiration for Scott for his work "The Lord of the Isles".

From "The Brus":
"A! fredome is a noble thing!
Fredome mayss man to haiff liking;
Fredome all solace to man giffis:
He levys at ess that frely levys!
A noble hart may haiff nane ess
Na ellys nocht that may him pless,..."
 
 
And, at Bannockburn:
 
"And on schir Eduard the Brysis rout From "The Lord of the Isles":
That was so sturdy and so stout,
As dreid of nakyn thing had he,
He prykit, cryand “Argente!”
 
From Scott's "The Lord of the Isles":
"...'Twixt Bannock's brook and Ninian's shrine
Detach'd was each, yet each so nigh
As well might mutual aid supply.
Beyond, the Southern host appears
A boundless wilderness of spears,
Whose verge or rear the anxious eye
Strove far, but strove in vain, to spy.
Thick flashing in the evening beam.
Glaives, lances, bills, and banners gleam ;
And where the heaven join'd with the hill.
Was distant armour flashing still.
So wide, so far, the boundless host
Seem'd in the blue horizon lost..."