ABout two or three yeres past (good Knight) ransacking diuers olde and aside cast Papers of small mo­ment: I found some fragments of Ho­mers Iliades translated out of Frenche verse into Englishe metre at such time as I groped thereat, being a Scholer with you in my L. your fathers house: which when I had considered, & founde of as small reckening as the rest they were stored vp with, which was in truth none at all, I was about to bequeath thē to the fire. But being either better or worse aduised, for in your allowing & disallowing of this my proceeding consisteth the same: I tooke them againe in hand, & not onely as my leasure & capacitie did serue me, somwhat cor­rected my first Trāslatiō, which God knows needes euē now much meriding, and therefore in likelihood verie roughly hewed at the first: but also pro­ceeded to finishe vp tenne whole Bookes. The which hauing performed this yeere, I haue till nowe rested in diuers myndes touching the Publicati­on of them. In which warre with my selfe, I first did deale with mine owne want of abilitie to write any thing, much lesse to translate, and that out of verse into the same kinde, in my opinion the hardest matter belonges to the penne. Also I founde alwayes my selfe in such disquiet of minde, by meanes of some practise of my contraries (I must say vndeserued by me) such vexa­tion in Lawe, and carefull turmoyle to preserue somewhat to my poore house, in a manner ouerthrowne by my vngouerned youth: that I was fully perswaded I coulde not goe thorowe well with my desire, being so harried otherwayes, for your selfe best knowes, that to a Poet there is no greater [Page] poison, than vexation of sprite. Againe, when I considered of the ripe wittes of this age, and had read diuerse workes so exquisitely done in this kinde by our owne Nation. As the trauaile of M Barnabe Googe in Palingenius, the learned and painefull translation of part of Seneca by M. Iasper Hey­wood, the excellent and laudable labour of M. Arthur Golding, making Ouid speake English in no worse Termes, than the Authors owne gifts gaue him grace to write in Latine, the worthy workes of that noble Gentleman my L. of Buckhurst, the pretie and pythie conceites of M. George Gas­coyne, and others in great number, no more to be liked than praised, and not so much to be praised, as to be recorded for their eternall commendation. These persons, whose bookes I am not worthy to carie, when I minded, I wi­shed I had beene otherwise occupied, I condemned my trauaile, I scratched my head as men doe, when they are greatly barred of their willes. But when I lighted on M. Thomas Phaers Virgilian Englishe, quoth I, what haue I done? am I become senslesse, to trauaile to be laughed at, to presume, and to be scorned, and to put forth my selfe and not to be receiued: for I was so a­bashed looking vpon M. Phaers Heroicall Virgill, and my Satiricall Ho­mer, as I cried out, enuying Virgils prosperitie, who gathered of Homer, that he had fallen into the oddest mans hands, that euer England bred. And lamented poore blind Homers case, who gathered of no body, to fall to me poore blinde soule, poorely and blindly to learne him to talke our mother Tongue. These stoppes laide before me, and considered, made me for a while cast my papers behinde mee. But as it is a propertie of euerie man soone to finde a reason to will him proceede with his owne humour, be it neuer so vn­reasonably grounded, in like case fell it with me: for these were my Argu­ments against these sound persuasions obiected to staie me. First I remem­bred that about. 18. or. 19. yeeres past walking with M, Richard Askame, a verie good Grecian, and a familiar acquaintaunce of Homer, & reciting vpon occasion of talke betweene vs, certaine verses Englished by me of the said Author, he animated me much, with great entreatie to goe forwarde with my begun enterprise. The like did also about that time the erst named M. Iasper Heywood, a man then better learned than fortunate, and since more fortunate than he hath well bestowed (as it is thought) the giftes God and Nature hath liberally lent him. Secondly, I suppose also that indifferent Iudges will say, I haue my wares at the second hande, as by Fraunce out of Greece, bicause I am not able to trauaile so farre for them, not vnderstan­ding [Page] the language. Thirdly for asmuch as I did assure my selfe (good knight) that you, to whom I haue long vowed my labour, would regard my good will, more than the worthinesse of my Translation, which if you doe. I haue with a most contented minde made holiday. And wholy presuming therof, it hath made me blind Bayerd, as bold as euer blind Iade was: And that in putting my simple skill to the carping iudgement of so many as well learned, as vn­skilfull heads: which latter sort, though they be as blind as my milhorse with neuer an eye, no doubt wil be busier to iudge colours, & thinke they do it bet­ter then Poliphemus could, who had one perfect eye right in his forehead. Well, put case they do mislike, what helpe? If I thought I should in any Acti­on please all men, I were fondly minded. And if I would goe about to content ech ones humour, I were meeter to carie Esopes Asse, than to be wisely oc­cupied. My Author that most famous Poet had Momus and Zoilus, to take exceptions, & picke quarels to his bookes, & that at such time, as no mā could iustly commend them enough. I may not thinke the Apprentise to be greater than his Maister, neither yet the Translator to be compared to the first writer, wherefore for such persons the care is taken. As touching the Author himselfe, I know you shall finde him worthy the Englishing, though not worthily done. What fruites are to be gathered out of him, is lost labour to rehearse, your owne iudgement, whē you haue read him, will tell you more than I can, who haue dealt no small time with him. That happie conquerour Alexander the great, would not sleepe without him vnder his beddes head. He teacheth the dueties of many no small Babes, and in such sort as it shall not repent any man of his time imployed to reade him, as I haue sayde you can best iudge, and therefore for that here an ende. Some men haue con­demned him heretofore, and doe, for his fonde fabling of the Gods, truely I cannot allowe them therein, for I am not persuaded his beliefe was so grosse touching them, but that he obserued a Poeticall manner of discourse, in ci­ting so often the heauenly powers, as then they were taken, and that he had some peculiar meaning therein, which I conceyue in my opinion, and you I doubte not but will finde. In the latter ende of the Frenche seconde Booke, mention is made of the Cataloge of the Grecian Princes, that came from all partes to the besieging of Troy, and of the Troyan leaders and diuerse forreine Kings and Captaynes, that brought their people to the ayde of Priamus state: but looking to haue the same fol­lowe in the ende of th [...] sayde Booke, I perceyue the Frenche Translator [Page] hath omitted it [...] yet considering howe necessarie the recitall of the same is, I fought out the Latine, and there founde it, the which I haue al­so added in his place. I earnestly beseeche you to take in good part my good meaning, which I alwayes haue, and doe beare toward you, bound therto, not onely by that honourable and rare fauour of my L. your father, euen from my childhood dayly continued, yea maugre of such my contraries, who euer wanted good disposition to loue worthily his Lordshippes vertues. and neuer wanted good will crosse me with carelesse extremitie. To rehearse the parti­culers of your owne friendships towardes me, will aske long time, they are so diuers and many, and in this place not so needefull to repeate, as needefull in all other places for me to studie howe I may requite some part of them. To blase abroade the blessings of minde and otherwise, which God so aboun­dantly hath bestowed on you, and makes me the more to honour you, will lesse content you to heare your owne praise, than all the world well knowes you worthy thereof. And therefore wishing you all prosperitie, I committe you to him, who is best able, and no doubt will sende you enough.