TO THE PRINCIPAL

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS

Dear PRINCIPAL DONALDSON,

I hope you will permit me to dedicate to the University of St. Andrews these chapters on the early History of Religion, in acknowledgment of the kindness she has shown to her former student throughout my life. These chapters may be considered a representation of the Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures are a prestigious series of lectures established in 1887 at Scottish universities to promote the study of natural theology and religion. which I delivered, although in reality they contain very little of what was actually spoken from Lord Gifford’s chair. I wish they were more worthy of a nourishing mother original: "Alma Mater" that nurtured in the past the leaders of desperate missions original: "forlorn hopes" that were destined to succeed, as well as the supporters of lost causes who fought bravely against fate—Patrick Hamilton, Cargill, and Argyll, Beaton, Montrose, and Dundee. Lang lists famous figures from Scottish history associated with St. Andrews who stood on opposing sides of religious and political conflicts: Patrick Hamilton (a Protestant martyr), Donald Cargill (a Covenanter martyr), the Marquess of Argyll (a Covenanter leader), Cardinal Beaton (a Catholic prelate), the Marquess of Montrose (a Royalist general), and Viscount Dundee (a Jacobite leader).