Reg.lat.1300

He is called wise in Holy Scripture. ¶ And when he saw this book, he understood that the work of one treatise followed the work of another; he acted and compiled from all seven one single volume. ¶ And let us return thanks and praises to God, in whom all wisdom consists, who does not wish for holy things to be lost. ¶ And those who follow wisdoms and sciences, God himself calls them the sons of justice and equality. ¶ And therefore, may his holy name be blessed and praiseworthy, because he deigned to give to us on earth in our time a lord of justice, who is a knower of good and of sobriety, and is a pious seeker and lover of philosophy original: "phie" (philosophie) and of all other sciences.

¶ And this is the Lord Alfonso, by the grace of God the illustrious King of Castile, León, Toledo, Galicia, Seville, Córdoba, Murcia, Jaén, the Algarve, and Badajoz; son of the illustrious King Lord Ferdinand and of the Queen Lady Beatrice; who always labored so that he might be able to uphold justice and to exalt, illuminate, and perfect—or rather fulfill—the greatest defect and ignorance of those whom they called sages and philosophers original: "phe" (philosophe) which now occur in our time.

¶ And he placed beside himself the books of the philosophers and wise men who understood anything in them, granting them favor and reward. ¶ And they always translated, by his command, the better and more perfect books of any art and science, in whatever language they had been composed, converting them into the Castilian language The "Castilian language" refers to early Spanish; Alfonso X was famous for elevating the vernacular over Latin for scholarly works.. ¶ Whence our aforesaid Lord King, when there came into his hands so noble and precious a book as this is...