¶ There is yet an other fourme & maner
to begyn by insinuacion / wherfore it beho[-]
ueth to know that insinuacion is / whā in
the begynnyng / yf the mater seme nat lau[-]
dable or honest / we find an excuse therfore.
¶ Example / Homere in his Iliade des-
cribeth one Thersites / that he was moost
foule and euyll fauored of all the Grekes
that came to the batayle of Troye / for he
was both gogle eyed / and lame on the one
legge / with croked and pynched shulders /
and a longe pyked hede / balde in very ma-
ny places. And besyde these fautes he was
a great folysshe babler / and ryght foule
mouthed / and ful of debate and stryfe / car-
rynge alwayes agaynste the heddes and
wyse men of the armye.
¶ Nowe if one wolde take vpon hym to
make an oraciō to the prayse of this losel /
whiche mater is of litle honesty in it selfe /
he must vse in stede of a preface an insinu-
acion. That what thynge poetes or com-
mune fame doth eyther prayse or dispraise
ought nat to be gyuen credence to / but ra-
ther to be suspecte. For ones it is the na-
ture of poetes to fayne and lye / as bothe
Homere and Virgile / which are the prin-
ces and heddes of al poetes to witnesse thē
selfe. Of whome Homere sayth / that poe-
tes make many lies / and Virgile he saith:
The moost part of the sene is but deceyte.
Poetes haue sene blake soules vnder the
erthe / poetes haue fayned and made many
lyes of the pale kyngdome of [Plato] / and
of the water of Stigie / and of dogges in
hell. And agayne cōmune rumours howe
often they ben vayne / it is so open that it
nede nat to be declared. Wherfore his trust
is that the hearers wyll more regarde his
saynge than fayned fables of poetes / and
fleyng tales of lyght folkes / whiche ar for
the more parte the grounders of fame &
rumours.
¶ An example may be fet out of the decla-
macion that Erasmus made to the prayse
of folysshenes.
¶ An other example hath the same Eras-
mus in his second booke of Copia / which
is this: Plato in the fyfte dialogue of his
communaltie wyllethe that no man shall
haue no wyfe of his owne / but that euery
woman shalbe commune to euery man. If
any man than wolde eyther prayse or de-
fende this mynde of Plato / which is both
contrarie to Christes religion and to the
commune lyuynge of mē / he myght as E-
rasmus teacheth / begynne thus.
¶ I knowe very well that this mater
whiche I haue determyned to speke of /
wyll seme vnto you at the fyrste herynge /
nat onely very straunge / but also right ab-
hominable. But that nat withstandynge /
yf it wyll please you a litle while to deferre
you iugement tyll ye haue herde the sūme
of suche reasons as I wyll brynge forthe
in the cause / I doubte nothynge but that
I shall make the trouthe so euydent that
you all will with one assent approue it / &
knowlege that ye haue ben hitherto mar-
uelously deceyued in your oppynyon / and
somdele to alleuiate your myndes / ye shall
vnderstande that I am nat my selfe au-
thour of the thynge / but it is the mynde &
saynge of the excellent & moost highly na-
med philosopher Plato / whiche was vn-
doubted so famouse a clerke / so discrete a
man / and soo vertuouse in all his dedes /
that ye may be sure he wold speke nothīg
but it were on a right perfyte ground / and
that the thynge were of it selfe very expe-
dient / thoughe peraduenture it shewe ferre
otherwise at the fyrst herynge.
¶ In all prefaces [of] preambles must be
good heed taken that they be nat to ferre
fet / nor to longe.
¶ These affectuouse wordes / I reioyce / I
am sorye / I meruaile / I am glad for your
sake / I desire / I fere / I pray god / and such
other lyke / be very apte for a preface.
¶ Of the seconde place of a
preface / called Attencion.
