Dedicatory Letter.

...they have willed. This betrays a degenerate soul; those who fail to meet the obligations of an upright and honest man seek the noble title of magnanimity greatness of spirit in vain. But your character, Most Serene King, is of another sort; your path is different:

For I call to witness the trust of all Europe that in your public deeds—* whether at home or abroad, in war or in peace—no stain of fraud or a duplicitous mind has ever stuck to you, nor can any blot be cast upon your reputation.

These shall be your honors: there is no need to recount your lineage or your ancestors, however memorable they may be for their long succession and outstanding deeds. For what royal family tree is more illustrious than that of the House of Nassau, or more ancient? What line has been more beneficial to its own subjects, its neighbors, or the whole of Christendom? Yet your own Valor Virtus; intrinsic merit and bravery is enough for you; glory earned by one's own effort original: "suo marte"; literally "by one's own Mars," a Roman idiom meaning by one's own military skill or strength is sweeter than that inherited from forefathers. May you go forward, Most Invincible Leader, under God’s favor: to cast off the yoke of slavery from the British, as you once did for the Dutch Batavis; the people of the Netherlands, and to rekindle ancient valor in war...