| TO THE RIGHT HONO- | RABLE ROBERT EARLE OF ESSEX | AND EWE, VISCOVNT HEREFORD, | and Bourghchier, Lord Ferrers of Chart- | ley, Bourghchier and Louaine, Master of the | Queenes Maie∫ties Hor∫e, and Knight of the | mo∫t noble order of the Garter, RICHARD | PERCYVALL, wi∫heth all increa∫e | of Honor and Heroicall | vertues. | … But vnder∫tanding | that your Honor be∫toweth much time with happie ∫uc- | ce∫∫e, as well in the knowledge of the toongs; as of other | commendable learnings be∫eeming your place and per∫on; | and remembring that hauing emploied your ∫elfe ∫o hono- | rablie again∫t the Spanyard in Flanders, Spayne & Portugal; | you had gained an immortall memorie with all po∫teritie, & | might perhaps encounter with them againe vpon like occa- | ∫ion; I began to hope that your Honor would vouch∫afe the | entertainment of this your handmaid; that humblie offe- | reth hir ∫elfe, to attend on your Honorable ∫tudies as a dili- | gent ∫eruant: and in the other occa∫ion, (if it be offered) to | performe the part of a faithful Trucheman and interpretor… | R. PERCYVALL. |

[From the section entitled ‘To the Reader’.]

… | I open vnto thee a Librarie; wherein thou may∫t finde layed readie to | thy view v∫e, the toonge with which by rea∫on of the trouble∫ome times, thou arte | like to haue most acquaintance: hauing trauailed (though at home) with a more curi- | ous endeuour to ∫earch out the proprietie thereof; then many that haue ∫pent ∫ome years | in the Countrie where the toonge is naturall; yea then ∫ome Spaniardes, that haue | dealt in the ∫ame argument. For no doubt, tho∫e things that to me being a ∫traunger to | the toonge, appeared vpon good rea∫on to bee worth the obseruation: were ∫o ordinarie | with them, as they ∫eemed needle∫∫e to be drawen into rule. I am not ∫o malicious as to | detract from the labours of any that haue gone before me; but onfe∫∫e, that I haue both | ∫eene and v∫ed them where I thought it conuenient: referring it to the indifferent iudg- | ment of the di∫crete Reader, whether I haue rea∫on to di∫∫ent from them in ∫uch points | as wee varie. The Methode I ob∫erue, is ∫o playne and ea∫ie, if thou marke my first | Analytical table; as thou ∫halt neede no long di∫cour∫e to explane it; and though I | a∫∫ure thee I haue not concealed any thing which I knew to be needfull for thy furthe- | raunce herein; yet were the rule neuer ∫o playne and perfect; the liuely voice of the | teacher, is the best light to the learner: Howbeit the more ab∫olute and compleat the | rule is; with the le∫∫e time and trouble ∫halt thou attayne thy de∫ired acquaintaunce | with the language. I haue ∫tudied to be briefe, I hope withou ob∫curitie, for ∫paring | thy time the chiefest trea∫ure. The Dictionarie hath coste me greatest paynes; for | after that I had collected it into Spani∫h and Engli∫h out of Chri∫toval de las Ca- | ∫as, and Nebri∫∫ensis; casting in ∫ome ∫mall pittaunce of mine owne, amounting | well neere two 2000 wordes; which neither of them had; I ranne it ouer twi∫e with | Don Pedro de Valdes, and Don Va∫co de Sylua; to whome I had acce∫∫e, by the | fauour of my wor∫hipfull friend Maister Richard Drake, (a Gentleman as vertu- | ou∫lie minded as any to further any good attempt) and hauing by their helpe made it | readie for the pre∫∫e with the Engli∫h interpretation onely: In very good time, I chaun- | ced to be acquainted with the learned Gentleman, Ma∫ter Thomas Doyley doctor in | Phi∫icke; who had begunne a Dictionary in Spani∫h, Engli∫h, and Latine; and ∫eeing | mee to bee more foreward to the pre∫∫e then him∫elfe; very friendly gaue his con∫ent to | the publi∫hing of mine; wi∫hing me to adde the Latine to it as hee had begunne in his… | R. P. |

To the practitioners in the Spani∫h, | Iames Lea. | Though Spani∫h ∫peech lay long a∫ide within our Briti∫h Ile, | (Our Courtiers liking nought ∫aue French, or Tu∫cane ∫tately ∫tile) | Yet now at length, (I know not how) ∫teps Castile language in, | And craues for credit with the fir∫t, though late∫t ∫he begin: | Who li∫ts not yeeld to neither both, of tho∫e rehear∫t beforel, | But iumpe as ∫tately and as ∫weete, or rather ∫tately more: | As full of prety prouerbs, and mo∫t dainty priuie quips, | Of graue aduices, bitter taunts, and pa∫∫ing gawling nips. | Though learned pens in Italy and France do flori∫h more, | And in our happy Britaine, where are learned men ∫uch ∫tore: | Yet Spani∫h ∫peech li∫ts giue no ground: which here by painfull hand | Of Perciuall, is open laid, for all to vnder∫tand, | And ∫oon to ∫peake and write the ∫ame, by practi∫e in his booke: | In prati∫e, yeeld him prai∫e and thanks, for thee ∫uch paines that tooke | Then thanks, nought el∫e he doth require, though more he do de∫erue: | He ∫ets before thee ∫tore of eates, ∫pare not, but like and carue. |