Francisci Porti Cretensis... In omnes Sophoclis tragoedias prolegomena, ut vulgo vocantur

Decorative horizontal printer's ornament consisting of floral and foliate scrollwork.

ÆMILIUS [SON OF]
FRANCISCUS PORTUS
OF CRETE, TO THE MOST LEARNED MAN,
MR. IOANNES ACANTHIUS,
a most faithful minister of the Divine Word,
his master, and one to be honored as a father.
Greetings.

Decorative drop cap 'Q' featuring a scene of a figure kneeling before a seated figure, representing a scene of supplication.

Since, most learned sir, my father, as you were able to understand from many sources, departed from this life to the seats of the blessed against the hope and expectation of all, afflicted by a most serious, though not long-lasting, illness, such that he was not permitted the leisure to review his own writings, I had decided to keep them at home and not publish them. For I feared that many would be found who would condemn my plan and accuse me of excessive rashness if I attempted, with my limited strength, to fulfill the duty owed to my father in this matter. Although, indeed, it never occurred to me to hope that I could polish a work after his death that the author himself, while he lived, had not finalized to his own satisfaction. For regarding the writings of others, especially those who, because they no longer dwell in these lands, cannot reveal their own mind nor defend their own opinion against the importunate envy of detractors, it is well known that it is a very dangerous thing to make a judgment.