And the most glorious exploits do not always furnish us with the clearest discoveries of virtue or vice in men sometimes a matter of less moment, an expression or a jest, informs us better of their characters and inclinations, than the most famous sieges, the greatest armaments, or the bloodiest battles whatsoever. It must be borne in mind that my design is not to write histories, but lives. S I am about to write a very truthful account of the life and deeds of Henry VII, King of England France, that most fortunate and victorious of sovereigns, it first strikes me as worthwhile to say to what the Greek historian did in his Life of King Alexander and Caesar, “the multitude of their great actions affords so large a field that I were to blame if I should not by way of apology forewarn my reader that I have chosen rather to epitomize the most celebrated parts of their story, than to insist at large on every particular circumstance of it. THE PREFACE TO THE L IFE OF H ENRY VII BY B ERNARDUS A NDREAS OF T OULOUSE And later, when you come to appreciate the crudeness and quality of my style, and have commanded me to be given material to write, I shall attempt to set it down, if not brilliantly, at least faithfully and as clearly as my industry can achieve, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, and may He always speed your royal wishes. Wherefore, like a blind man walking about in darkness, I would prefer you blame me for my audacity rather than my negligence. For as I was dictating this, I could find no advisor other than myself. Therefore in this prefatory epistle I humbly offer Your Majesty a foretaste of my strivings, praying for this one thing that, if in this royal biography I have included anything wrong regarding either fact or chronology, your jovial kindness should not turn to wrath. And, at first, what could you better hope from me than that topic which I have always held in my heart and on my lips, and which this solitary place now thrusts before my eyes, the praise of King Henry VII, a thing which I have always ventured to write about, and especially at this time, lest idleness overwhelm my sluggish senses, although it is a subject entirely beyond my powers? But let me test my abilities with a kind of prelude as Statius did with his Achilleid, since I have never before undertaken such fine, grand task. My intention is therefore to present you with a more or less annual offering, as dictated either by the abundance or sterility of my wit, just as if I were one of the tenants of your land, so that these fruits of my little tract might display my good loyalty. And furthermore, such is my special duty to you as your servant that, just as others owe you the tithes and firstfruits of their harvests, so I owe you those of my leisure. As I frequently brooded over this thing, your most sacred name occurs to me, which is so bright and has conferred such great favor on me that, if I am undertake things either noble or dear to my heart, it cannot be ignored without great injustice. What am I first to undertake, so as to ensure that my leisure as well as work be free of idleness? If I am going to write something enduring, I must turn my pen especially to these things regarding which I can, so to speak, participate in their glory, and resist the oblivion which the darkness of time’s passage and posterity’s forgetfulness threaten. And, if I am to have regard for my middling talent and my far from middling desire for glory (if I have not yet subdued this by an exercise of reasoning), I too must heed this. And I see that this dictum has gained the approval of many learned men, and especially of our Cicero, who in his speech Pro Plancus testified that this opinion always struck him as magnificent and noble. THE RIGHT PUISSANT AND WISE KING OF ENGLAND AND FRANCEī ERNARDUS A NDREAS OF T OULOUSE DEDICATES THIS WORK TO YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESSĪTO the Elder wrote in the preface to his Origins, most indomitable of kings, that both fine and more feeble natures must have a concern for their leisure no less than for their working hours. THE HISTORY OF THE LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS Click a blue square to see a commentary note. Click a green square to see the Latin text.
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