“ Scottish nationality was another source of enthusiasm with him; and in this connexion he displayed real sympathy with Highland home life and the grievances of the crofters. The foundation of the Celtic chair at Edinburgh University was mainly due to his efforts. In spite of the many calls upon his time he produced a considerable amount of literary work, usually on classical or Scottish subjects, including some poems and songs of no mean order. He died in Edinburgh on the 2nd of March 1895. Blackie was a Radical and Scottish nationalist in politics, but of a fearlessly independent type ”

“ A journey to Greece in 1853 prompted his essay On the Living Language of the Greeks, a favourite theme of his, especially in his later years; he adopted for himself a modern Greek pronunciation, and before his death he endowed a travelling scholarship to enable students to learn Greek at Athens. ”

“ The Wisdom of Goethe (1883) ; The Scottish Highlanders and the Land Laws (1885) ; Life of Burns (1888) ; Scottish Song (1889) ; Essays on Subjects of Moral and Social Interest (1890) ; Christianity and the Ideal of Humanity (1893) . Amongst his political writings may be mentioned a pamphlet On Democracy (1867) , On Forms of Government (1867) , and Political Tracts (1868) .
See Anna M. Stoddart, John Stuart Blackie (1895) ; A. Stodart-Walker, Selected Poems of J. S. Blackie, with an appreciation (1896) ; Howard Angus Kennedy, Professor Blackie (1895) . ”