D E D I C A T I O N

...and perform the duties of their religion original: Religionis suæ officia as an example. Both the condition of the times and the dispositions of men demand this: that by some distinguished and strenuous defender, failing virtue might be raised up, decorated, and commended. It is necessary that a Hero of the highest fortune—one who lacks none of those things that lead to luxury, pride, and lust—should not only be chaste, modest, generous, and ready to do good, suitable for gaining favor and esteem among men; but moreover, he should so order his life that he knows himself to be continually in the sight of God. He should strive to please Him in all things, desire to employ his resources for His glory, and finally hope to receive from Him life and honors that know no decay in eternity.

Unless a light of this kind is lit for us, we weigh and announce divine decrees in sermons in vain; in vain do we reprint the writings of ancient bishops and place them in libraries. Many look up to and value the lives of the Great original: Magnatum — the nobility or high-ranking officials. more than all preachers and libraries. Whatever dominates at Court original: Aula, whether it be virtue or vice, is greedily seized by evil spirits The author uses the term malis Geniis, referring to the classical idea of a guiding spirit; here it suggests the "bad influences" or sycophants who mimic the behavior of the powerful. and transferred to the gatherings of the common people, who think it especially laudable to model themselves after the manners of the nobility.

None of these things escape you, most prudent Sir. Therefore, since you are one who professes the Religion you have embraced sincerely and from the heart, you serve and fight for its triumphs as widely as you can through your own example. And this indeed is done under the most favorable omen. For how many, with you as their leader, will frequent the way that leads to the heavens? Who will decline the most beautiful contest under the auspices of such an excellent man? Who will not recognize and embrace Faith, Hope, and Charity—the truest and most beautiful Graces—following after you?

That pious and generous heart has been derived into you from a noble line of ancestors, whose names will breathe sweetly in our annals from the very beginnings of the Norman kingdom A reference to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, tracing the Duke's lineage back to the medieval aristocracy. even until the most recent day. These ancestors, while they surpassed their contemporaries in the bravest deeds of war, [surpassed] their own...