 The result was that in 1813, he published a second edition of the "Life of John Knox", so greatly amplified and improved, as to be almost a new work; and this, in course of time, was translated and published in French, Dutch, and German.Previous to the appearance of the second edition, the author had been honoured with the degree of doctor in divinity by the University of Edinburgh, the first instance in which it had ever conferred the title upon a Dissenting minister.This distinction, however, Dr. M'Crie had neither sought nor expected; it was frankly given upon the application of Mr. Blackwood, his publisher, and the chief difficulty lay in persuading the author to allow the initials to be appended to his name in the second edition of the work.