"William Lauder, Teacher of Humanities at Edinburgh University" appears in a Disposition in the National Archives of Scotland, (GD267/27/138/1746) to Ninian Home of Billie, dated 25 August 1740.
These were published by Ruddiman in 2 volumes, under the title of Poetarum Scotorum Musae Sacrae, today a well-known work of Scottish literature.
In 1747 he wrote an article for the Gentleman's Magazine suggesting that John Milton's Paradise Lost was largely a plagiarism from the Adamus Exul (1601) of Hugo Grotius, the Sarcotis (1654) of Jacob Masen (Masenius, 1606–1681), and the Poemata Sacra (1633) of Andrew Ramsay (1574–1659).
Several scholars, who had independently studied the alleged sources of Milton's inspiration, showed that Lauder had not only garbled most of his quotations, but had inserted amongst them extracts from a Latin version of Paradise Lost.
This led to his exposure by Bishop John Douglas, and he was obliged to write a complete confession at the dictation of his former friend, Samuel Johnson.