On Choosing to Please My Friends

or rather to put my candle cleane out, then that it should bewraie euery vnswept corner in my house, but the opinion of my friends iudgement preuailed aboue mine own reason. So vpon hope to please them, I first vndertooke this labour, & I have gone through withall, the rather to acquaint my selfe with mine olde reading: whereto since the dispatch therof, I haue made, my friends priuie, & vpon good liking, with request thereto I haue passed my graunt unto them for the publication, referring for my selfe the order for the dedication, so as I shuld thinke best, either for the defence of my worke or for some perticular merit towards mee. And heerein I tooke no long leasure to finde out a sufficient personage. For the manifold benefites received from your honourable parents, my good Lord and Ladie, quickly eased me of that doubt, and presented your honour vnto my view: whome by good right I ought to loue and honour in especiall,

或更确切地说，我宁愿把我的蜡烛熄灭，而不是让它暴露我家中每一个未打扫的角落，但朋友们的评判胜过了我自己的理智。因此，为了希望取悦他们，我首先承担了这项工作，并且我已经完成了，尤其是为了让我自己熟悉我以前的阅读；因此，自从我完成后，我已告知我的朋友，得到了很好的赞同，并请求对此发表意见。我也同意将其公布，同时保留对献词顺序的决定权，以便于为我的作品辩护或为了某些特别功绩。关于这一点，我没有花费太多时间去寻找合适的人选。由于您那尊贵父母所赐予的诸多恩惠，我亲爱的领主和女士，很快就消除了我的疑虑，将您的荣光呈现在我面前：而您正是我理应以特别之心爱戴和尊敬的人。