To the right honourable, and his verie singuler good maister, maister William Cecylle esquiere, one of the two

VPon a tyme, when tidynges came too the citie of Corinthe that kyng Philippe father to Alexander surnamed y• Great, was comming thetherwarde with an armie royall to lay siege to the citie. The Corinthiās being forth with stryken with greate feare, beganne busilie, and earnestly to looke aboute them, and to falle to worke of all handes. Some to […]owre & trymm[…] vp harneis, some to carry stones, some to amende and buylde hygher the walles, some to rampiere and fortyfie the bulwarkes, and fortresses, some one thynge, and some an other for the defendinge, and strengthenynge of the citie. The whiche busie labour, and toyle of theires when Diogenes the phylosopher sawe, hauing no profitable busi […]es wherupō to sette himself on worke (neither any man required his labour, and helpe as expedient for the commē wealth in that necessitie) immediatly girded about him his phylosophicall cloke, & began to rolle, and tumble vp and downe hether & thether vpon the hille syde, that lieth adioyninge to the citie, his great barrel or tunne, wherein he dwelled: for other dwellynge place wold he haue no[…]e. This seing one of his frendes, and not a litell musynge therat, came to hym: And I praye the Diogenes (quod he) whie doest thou thus, or what meanest thou hereby? Forsothe I am tumblyng my tubbe to (quod he) bycause it were no reason y• I only should be ydell, where so many be workīg. In semblable maner, right honorable sir, though I be, as I am in dede, of muche lesse habilitie then Diogenes was to do any thinge, that shall or may be for the auauncement & commoditie of the publique wealth of my natiue countrey: yet I seing euery sort, and kynde of people in theire vocatiō, & degree busilie occupied about the cō mō wealthes affaires: & especially learned mē dayly putting forth in writing newe inuentions, & deuises to the furtheraūce of thesame: thought it my bo[…] ̄ den duetie to God, & to my countrey so to tūble my tubbe, I meane so to occupie, & exercise me self in bestowing such spare houres, as I beinge at y• becke, & cōmaundement of others, cold conueniently winne to me […]elf: y• though no cōmoditie of that my labour, & trauaile to the publique weale should arise, yet it myght by this appeare, yt my[…]e endeuoire, & good wille hereunto was not lacking. To the accōplishemēt therfore, & fulfyllyng of this my mynde, & purpose: I toke vpō me to tourne, and translate out of Latine into oure Englishe tonge the frutefull, & profitable boke, which sir Thomas more knight compiled, & made of the new yle Vtopia, cō […]eining & setting forth y• best […], and fourme of a publique weale: […] worke (as it appeareth) writtē almost fourtie yeres ago by thesaid sir Thomas More ye authour therof▪ The whiche mā, forasmuche as he was a mā of […] tyme, yea almost of thies our dayes: & for y• excellent qualities, where […] the great goodnes of God had plētyfully endowed hī, & for y• high place, & […]owme, wherunto his prince had mo[…] graciously called hī, notably wel knowen, not only amōg vs his coūtremē ▪ but also in forrein coūtreis & nations▪ therfore I haue not much to speake of him. This only I saye[…] y• it is much to be lamēted of al, & not only of vs English men, y• a man of so incomparable witte, of so profounde knowlege, of so absolute learning, & of so fine eloquēce was yet neuerthelesse so much blinded, rather to obstinacie, then wt ignoraūce y• he could not or rather would not see the shining light of godes holy truthe in certein principal pointes of Christiā religion: but did rather che[…]se to perseuer, & continue in his wilfull & stubbourne obstinacie euē to y• very death▪ this I say is a thing much to be lamē ted. But letting this matter passe, I retourne again to vtopia. Which (as I said befor) is a work not only for y• matter y• it cōteineth fruteful & profitable, but also for y• writers eloquēt latine stiele pleasaunt & delectable. Which he y• readeth in latine, as y• authour himself wrote it, perfectly vnderstanding y• same: doubtles he shal take great pleasure, & delite both in y• swete eloquēce of y• writer, & also in y• wittie inuēcion, & fine cō […]eiaūce, or dispositiō of y• matter: but most of all in the good, & holsome lessons, which be there in great plēty, & aboūdaūce. But nowe I feare greatly y• in this my simple translatiō through my rudenes & ignoraūce in our english tonge all the grace & pleasure of y• eloquence, wherwith y• matter in latine is finely set forth may seme to be vtterly excluded, & lost: & therfore the frutefulnes of the matter it selfe muche peraduenture diminished, & app[…]yred. For who knoweth not whiche knoweth a […]y thyng, that an eloqent styele setteth forth & highly cōmendeth a meane, […] ter? Where as on the other side rude, & vnlearned speche defaceth and disgraceth a very good matter. According as I harde ones a wise man say: A good tale euel tolde were better vntold▪ & an euell tale well tolde nedeth none other sollicitour. This thing I well pondering & wayinge wt me self, & also knowing, & knowledging the barbarous rudenes of my translatiō was fully determined neuer to haue put it forth in printe, had it not bene for certein frendes of myne, & especially one, whom aboue al other I regarded, a mā of sage▪ & discret witte, & in wordly matters by long vse well experiēced, whoes name is George Tadlowe: an honest citi[…]ein of London, & in thesame citie well accepted, & of good reputatiō: at whoes request, & instaūce I first toke vpō my weake, & feble sholders y• heauie, and weightie bourdein of this great enterprice. This man wt diuers other, but this mā chiefely (for he was able to do more wt me, thē many other) after that I had ones rudely brought y• worke to an ende, ceassed not by al meanes possible cōtinualy to assault me, vntil he had at ye […]aste, what by y• force of his pitthie argumentes & strong reasons, & what by hys authority so persuaded me, that he caused me to agree & consente to the impryntynge herof. He therfore, as the chiefe persuadour, must take vpon him the daunger, whyche vpon this bolde, and rashe enterpryse shall ensue. I, as I suppose, am herin clerely acquytte, and discharged of all blame. Yet, honorable Syr for the better auoyding of enuyous and malycyous tonges, I (knowynge you to be a man, not onlye profoundely learned, and well affected towardes all suche, as eyther canne, or wyll take paynes in y• well bestowing of that poore talente, whyche GOD hath endued them wyth: but also for youre godlye dysposytyon, and vertuous qualytyes not vnworthelye nowe placed in aucthorytye, and called to honoure) am the bolder humblye to offer and dedycate vnto youre good mayst[…]rshyppe thys my symple woorke. Partly that vnder the sauffe conducte of your protection it may the better be defended frō the obloq[…]ie of thē, which can say well by nothing, that pleaseth not their fond, a[…]d corrupt iudgementes, though it be els both frutefull and godly: & partlye that by the meanes of this homely pre[…]e[…]t I may the better renewe, and reuiue (which of late, as you know, I haue already begonne to do) y• old acquayntaunce, that was betwene you and me in the time of our childhode, being then […]colefellowes togethers▪ Notdoubting that you for your nati[…]e goodnes, and gentelnes will accept in good parte this poore gift, as an argument, or token, that mine old good wil, and hartye affection towardes you is not by reason of long tract of time, and separrtion of our bodies any thinge at all quayled and diminished, but rather […] I assuer yo[…]) much augmented, and increased. This verely is y• chieffe cause, y• hath incouraged me to be so bolde with youre maistershippe. Els truelye this my poore present is of such simple and meane sort, that it is neyther able to recompense the least portion of your great gentelnes to me, of my part vn[…]eserued, both in the time of our olde acquayntance, and also now lately again bountifully shewed: neither yet fitte, & mete for the very basenes of it to be offered to one so worthy, as you be. But al mighty god (who therfore euer be thā ked) hath auaūced you to such fortune, & dignity, that yo[…] be of hability to accept thankefully aswell a mans goodwill as his gift. The same god graunte you and all yours long, and ioyfully▪ to contynue in all godlynes and prosperytye.