Noble womē lerned.
Cōclusio.
In your forenamed boke, cōposed first of all by the ryght vertuouse lady Margarete, syster sūtyme to the frenche kynge Frances, and quene of Nauerre, And by your noble grace most dylygently and exactly translated into Englysh, fynde I most precyouse treasure concernynge the sowle, Wherfor I haue added therunto the tytle of a Godly medytacyon of the sowle, concernynge a loue towardes God and hys Christ. Most lyuely in these and soch other excellent factes, expresse ye the naturall emphasy of your noble name Elischabeth in the hebrue, is as moch to saye in the latyne, as Dei mei requies, in Englysh, the rest of my God. Who can thynke God not to rest in that harte whych sendeth fourth soch godly frutes? I thynke nō that hath ryght dyscressyon. Your pēne hath here plenteouslye vttered the habundaūce of a Godly occupyed harte, lyke as ded the vyrgynall lyppes of Christes most blessed mother, whan she sayd with heauenly reioyce, My sowle magnyfyeth the lorde and my sprete reioyceth in God my sauer, Luce. 1. Many noble women of fresh literature haue bene afore tyme in thys regyon, whose nomēclature or rehearsall of names I intende to shewe in the ende of thys boke, but non of thē were euer yet lyke to those whych are in our age. No, neyther Cambra, Martia, Constantia, Agasia, Vodicia, Bunduica, Claudia, Helena, vrsula, hilda, nor soch other lyke. Thys one coppye of yours haue I brought into a nombre, to thintēt that many hungry sowles by the inestymable treasure contayned therin, maye be swetely refreshed. The sprete of the eternall sonne of God Iesus Christ, be alwayes to your excellent grace assystent that ye maye sende fourth more soch wholsome frutes of sowle, and become a noryshynge mother to hys dere congregacyon to their confort and hys hygh glorye Amen.
Your bounde oratour
Iohan Bale
A Godly Medytacyon
of the christen sowle, concerninge
a loue towardes God and hys
Christe, compyled in frenche by lady
Margarete quene of Nauerre, and aptely
translated into Englysh by the
ryght vertuouse lady Elyzabeth
doughter to our late souerayne
Kynge Henry the .viij.
The preface.
Math. 5.