En lector, librum damus vere aureum, planeque scholasticum, quo continentur haec

A protreptic exhortation or introductory discourse.

This little book is light and short to behold,
O boys, yet do not despise it for its smallness.
For as they say, grace often follows small things,
And often from a small thing comes a greater profit.
Where things are useless, small things should be rejected,
But such things as this book often holds for you.
Nilus, a man dear to Christ, shows here
Things breathed by God to those beneath the earth.
He urges the good to the exercise of piety,
And calls them to fear the holy God who exists.
Trusting in the only strong life, he casts hope there,
And when there was salvation, it was a defense against wickedness.
He speaks here as it is fitting for all,
That dear children should honor parents and be loved by all.
And where God is, there is a simple doctrine for mortals,
Even amidst the bitterest of all labors.
For we are unable to have divine grace,
To know what is good, or to do what is beautiful.
And God helps those who are not lacking in labor,
He aids them easily, but hates the one who remains idle.
He fashions other things and shows them to men of great value,
And wisely teaches the noble doctrines of the way.
May boys accompany these things in all their deeds,
And may the whole concern be for the letters they possess.
You will have the blameless voice of a friend for yourselves,
And Christ, the heavenly companion of the home.
And surely this will be the hope of parents and relatives,
That you will be renowned for virtue and words.
Becoming as scions, see the end of anger,
Be golden instruments for the fatherland and other mortals.
I pray that you all become very dear,
And that you are pleasing to God himself.
Obeying your learned teachers and parents,
And follow me in my work.