The Epiſtle Dedicatorie,
To ſuche as vnderſtande howe the
moſt auncient and greateſt languages haue vſed, and to this day doo vſe their letters, John Hart Cheſter Heralt, prayeth God for your health and proſperitie.
S natvre doth generally vvork by certain vvaightes, meaſures, proportions and courſes, to the reſonable vvhich do beſt conſider and obſerue her order, do bring their vvorks to beſt perfection. But ſuche as neuer came forth of hel, thinke there is none other heuẽ, and others vvhich take the falſe tor the true, or the doubtful for certain, as bevvitched by Circes inchauntments, to vvhich ſort the prouerb may be vvell applied: the blynd can iudge no colors. and vvho is blinder than ſuch as vvil not ſe? Theſe be ſuch as haue bin trained in abuſe, vvher vvith their ſences are ſo imbued and intoxicate, as they vvil allovv none other maner (be it neuer ſo reſonable, profitable and certain) than that they haue ben traded in. VVherfore I do dedicate and direct this my trauail to you, vvhich I knovv are beſt able to be iudges therof. For lãguages vvhich are novv no longer from the mother to the child, nor of long tyme vſed vulgarly, but taught as it vver by ſtepmothers & ſtrange nurſes, can not be other than corrupted and aliened frõ the nature: ſo that the trauayled only in them, vvith this our mother tong, are not ſufficient censores in this matter. VVherfore thei may do vvel to be patient vntill they vnderstãd your opiniõs, or ſse vvhat experiẽce may do therin. And although I haue published an Orthographie, teaching the true vvriting of our English toung, I haue not vntill novve published the moſte eaſy vvay and order to teach the ſame to be read. VVhich I haue done, vpon the consideration of the intentes of the firſt inuentours of letters, (hovv ſoeuer their ſucceſſors Latins and others haue neglected it) vvhich is the reaſon of the facilitie taught hereafter, and ſo cauſeth it it to be the more ſtraunge, and therfore the more ſubiecte
