Johnston, Arthur (1587–1641)

Scottish writer of Latin verse. His Latin version of the Psalms 1637 is less popular and probably less good than that of George Buchanan, but his contributions to the Deliciae Poetarum Scotorum 1637, his satire entitled Consilium Collegii Medici Parisiensis 1619, and his elegy on James VI 1625, prove him a good Latin scholar and no mean poet.

He was born in Caskieben, Aberdeenshire, and graduated as a doctor from Padua 1610. During protracted foreign travels he visited Rome, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark, spent 20 years in France, and was for some time associated with the university of Sedan. About 1625 he was appointed physician to Charles I.