About 160. yeers after , in the raign of Henry the second the Dominical prayer was thus , as it was sent by Adrian the fourth ( who was an Englishman born , whose name was Breckspeare as I take it ) and it ran in Rime because the Common people might retain it the better .

About two hundred yeers after , in the Reign of Richard the Second , it came to be thus , according to the Translation of Wickliffe ; Our fader that art in Heaven , hallowed be thy name , thy kingdom com to , be thy will done so in Heaven as in earth , gif to us this day our bread over other substance , and forgive us our dettes as we forgeven our detters , and leed us not into temptation , but deliver us from evill , Amen . In this Translation we find that ther are some French words crepd in , as dettis , detters , temptation , deliver .

Touching the refinings , interpolation and enrichments which the English Toung hath receavd from time to time , it is to be considered that Languages as well as other notions of the mind use to proceed to a perfection by certain degrees ; The Latin Toung remaind in a kind of barbarisme nere upon 500. yeers till Caesar , Cicero , Salust and others did refine her , and brought her to that purity we now read her in ; So did her daughters the Italian , French and Spanish till the first was refined by Dante , petrarca with Boccace ( his scholler , ) and Ariosto ; The French began to be polishd in the reign of Philip de Valois , Marot did something under Francis the First , but Ronsard under Henry the Second did more then both . Now the English came to that perfection , and fullnes that she is now arrivd unto , by adopting to herself the choicest , best sounding , and significanst words of other languages , which in tract of time were enfranchizd , and made free denizons as it were of England by a kind of Naturalization , But she hath more of the French then of any other because of the Norman Conquest , Insomuch that for the speaking of eloquent English 't is a great advantage to understand French , whence she hath her gentilest words , which was the ground of the old proverb Iack wold be a gentleman could he speak French ; Therefore though the Root of the English language be Dutch , yet she may be sayed to have bin inoculated afterwards upon a French stock , and she thrive so well that she did reingraffe upon divers words , as chiefly upon chief , faulty upon fault , precisenes upon precise , ( which are not found in French ) with a great nomber more ; but som Critiques observe that she takes the liberty to altar sometimes the sense of the words which she borrows ; as she useth crank for being lively and well , whereas 't is sick in Dutch , she useth bid to require or command , whereas in Dutch t is to pray or entreat , she useth Rogue for a rascall &c. whereas in French t is used for a bragger or highminded man ; she useth nice for unwilling or averse , whereas t is Idle in French with divers besides ; Moreover they tax her that she wants single words for sundry things which she expresseth by way of paraphrase , as an old man , a woman with child , a looking glasse , a peece of bread and butter , &c for which there are single words in other toungs , yet for som things she hath differing proper words which others want , as the Italian and Spaniards have no toes but fingars on their feet , nor can all France , Italy , or Spain find a word for a smock though they all three love it well enough . Nor doth the English language enfranchize French words only , but divers choice expressive words from the Italian , and Spaniard with others , Insomuch that she may be sayed to be Dutch embrodered with French and other toungs , or she may be sayed to be like one that garhers sweet flowers out of divers banks , and beds to make a nosegay ; But t is a thing that gravells all Antiquaries how so many Greek words shold be found in the English toung , being the same both for sense and signification , as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , rain , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I call , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 grasse , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a door , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 foul , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whole , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 new , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to kisse with a great many more : The probablest reason that may be given for this , is that the Greek being a great mercantile toung , and the most spacious for trading in times passd of any on earth , som of that Nation for traffique sake migh come here or to Saxony , And not many ages since there was a Colony of Grecians in Marseilles in France and another in Calabria in Italy . By these applications and borrowings of choice exotic words the English may be sayed to be one of the most copious languages on earth , nor in point of native eloquence as for Allegories , Tropes , Agnominations , Metaphors and rhe constant poursuit of them doth she yield to any , as also for soundnes and strength of poeticall fancyes , so strong , that the soft melting phrases of other toungs are too weak to gird them about .

Concerning the Originall of the French-toung t is taken pro confesso by all , that she is sprung of the Latin while Rome kept three and twenty legions of Roman soldiers many Ages within her bowels , who with the Countrey may be sayed to have conquerd the language also which was calld the old Celtique , and is thought to be the same that the remnant of the old Britains now speak in Wales ; Touching the Changes which the French Toung hath receivd , ther be divers Instances producd in my Epistle to the Reder before Cotgraves Dictionary ; she hath divers Dialects as the Gascon , Picard , Provensall , that of Iersey , Guernsey , and low Normandy , that of Liege , and the Walloon who calls it Romand , as the Spaniard calls his Romance ; and considering the ayrie and volatil humor of that Nation it is to be wondred that their language did receive no more changes , ther having bin so many externall causes that concurrd thereunto , as the continuance and coalition of the English so long among them , the voyages that six of their Kings made to the Holy Land , the warrs , and weddings , with their Neighbours and the great company of Strangers that kept still in the Queens Court ; But at this time the French is arrivd to a great pitch of perfection , purity and sweetnes ; Ther was a contest not long agoe which spoke the best French , the Kings Court , the University , or the Lawyers , and the Courtier carried it , the other two savouring the one of Pedantery , the other of Chicanery or Sophistry .

Touching the Italian toung she may be calld the topbranch or eldest daughter of the Latin , and she resembleth her mother more then the other two , which made King Iames say that the Italian was nothing els but the Dative and Ablative Cases of the Latin ; she is held the smoothest , the civillst , and charmingst vulgar Toung of Europe ; For the first , she hath not one word that ends with a consonant throughout the whole body of the language , unlesse it be som small monosyllable praepositions and conjunctions , which makes Her the more fluent , and smooth , this made the German , for retorting of a geere which was cast upon the roughnes of his Toung , by being that wherein Adam was thrust out of Paradis , to say , that the Devill had tempted Eva before in Italian , and he went further that he thought all the playsterers at the building of the Tower of Babel were Italians : The Italian may be also calld the Courtliest language of Christendom , or the Imperiall Caesarean language , for by the Golden Bull he is not capable to be Emperour unlesse he hath knowledg of the Italian toung .

Touching the changes and Dialects of the Italian Toung ther 's no Language hath more , and this may be imputed to the severall sorts of governments , and soverain princes which are up and down the Countrey , as the Greek dialects were ascribed to the diversity of so many Ilands ; In Italy ther is the Roman or Court-dialect , the Toscan or Florentine , the Venetian , the Milanese , the Piemontese , that of Bologna , the Parmazan , the Luquese , the Napolitan , the Genovese , the Calabrian , &c. whereof the two last are the most harsh , and degenerat . In Calabria they will say queddo cauaddo for quello cavallo , fog , mog for fuoco , moglie , the languages of Sardinia , Sicily , and Corsica may be sayed likewise to be Italian Dialects , but the prime and purest Italian is Lingua Toscana in bocca Romana .

Concerning the Spanish , Romance , or the Castillian language it may be sayed to be nothing els but Latin inlayed with Morisco ( and som few old Gothic words ) For the Moors kept there nere upon 700. yeers , a fair time to corrupt a language ; Ther is no Speech wherein the toung and the text do more agree , none that is freest from Apostrophes which may be calld the thrumbs of a language ; she is also an open , and masculin high lofty language , so high that she may be sayed to go upon stilts , she is also a wary , and pawsing long-●●ngd language , delighting in leasurly prolation , and long words , she bestows five syllables upon a ●att calling him muncielago , a 〈◊〉 hath six despavilad●ra , a gransire is tartarabu●l● ; Now , whereas the Italian and French endeavour dayly to go further off from the Latin , the Spaniard makes it his ambition to make a neerer approch unto Her , and if the Morisco words were garbled out she wold be nothing but Latin , which may be calld mundus & mundanus sermo for her large extent , and neatnes ; And there may be Instances made both in prose and verse that will be pure congruous latin ( which cannot be don in Italian and Spanish , much lesse in French ) as I have shewd in my Instructions for forren Travell .

Touching the changes and variety of Dialects in the Spanish Toung , the Las●ternian or Portuguez is the chiefest , ther is then the Gallego , the Andaluz , the Biscainer and the Battueco , a new Pagan Nation discoverd of late yeers in the very center of Spain among the Mountains nere Toledo , which two last have another very ancient language of their own that hath no more affinity with the Spanish then the British hath with the English , and 't is thought to be the Originall language of Cantabria or Spain ; But the prime Castilian Dialect is that of Toledo ( as that of Siena is in Italy , and the Aurelian or that of Orleans in France ) And if ther be any debate or doubt about the tru sense of any Spanish word a Toledano is to be the expounder , and Judg thereof ; Touching the Kingdoms of Valencia and Catalonia , their toungs may be sayed to be more properly Dialects of the Gascon .

Now , concerning this large , and long-spund Peece of Industry , the main division of it is into three parts , whereof every one hath bulk , and matter enough to make a considerable distinct Volume of it self ; The first is a fower-toungd Dictionary , where the English doth head the French , Italian and Spanish the three noblest languages of Europe , and they all fower come without any interruption of Etymologies , or Proverbs ( which are also here in Tomes by themselfs ) immediately one after the other , and this will prove a great advantage to Memory in regard of the affinity and consonance they have one with another in thousands of words , as to dispute ( in English ) disputare ( in Italian ) disputer ( in French ) disputar ( in Spanish ) to contend , contendére , contendre , contender ; to establish , stabilire , establir , establecer ; a school , scuola , escole , escuela , with multitudes more , which coming so immediately one after the other will be a great help to the retention of memory , and to carry away all the fower with more ease .

Nor will the Reder here be sent twice upon one arrand as other Dictionaries use to send him , putting him to a double labour , If you look for a badger , he wil not turn you to seek a brock , nor from a brock to a gray , nor vice versa , when you wold desire what s Spanish , Italian , or French for thorn back he will not make you go a fishing for s●ate or ray ; If you wold know what s French , &c. for a blister , he will not turn you to a wheale , push or pimple , but every word though it hath many Synonymas will satisfie you by it self , and not make you tumble the leafs so often for one thing which will put one to an Impatience .

The second Volume is a large Nomenclature of the peculiar and proper termes in all the fower languages belonging to severall Arts , to the most generous sort of Recreations , to all professions both liberall , and manuall from the Engineer to the Moustrapmaker , from the Marchant Adventurer to the cryer of matches ; Here you have in all the fower toungs , the termes of Heraldry , of Horsmanship , of Hunting , of Hawking , of Warr , the termes of Chymistry , of Architecture , of Navigation , not a Cable , or rope in a ship but you haue it here , you shall find here all the Knighthoods and Religious Orders of Christendome , with 50. severall distinct sections , a work most usefull for all that pretend to knowledg , curiosity and true eloquence , specially for Orators and Divines which use to illustrat things by familiar comparisons , and similes , for the prime part of eloquence is to give all things their proper termes .

The third Volume is of the choicest proverbs in all the sayed Toungs , consisting of divers compleat Tomes , and the English translated into the other three , with divers familiar Letters in every one consisting all of proverbiall speeches after a new mode . Ther is also a particular Tome of the British , or old Cambrian Proverbs which the Author thought fit to annex for their great Antiquity and weight ; And among these proverbs ther are many hundred in each toung that never knew Presse before ; Lastly ther are five hundred new sayings , which with the revolution of time may serve for Proverbs to after ages : Let the Judicious Reder observe besides , that in this new Lexicon and Nomenclature ther be very many recent words in all the fower languages which were never inserted in Dictionary before , It is now above forty yeers since Florio , Cotgrave , and Minshew compild theirs , but ther be divers words got into those languages since ; Touching the English , what a nomber of new words have got into her of late yeers which will be found here ; as stumming of wine , clover grasse , regalos , treatment , mobby , punch , perino , ( Carribby Ilands drink ) picaro , peccadillio , pantaloon , vogue , Quakers , Seekers , Levellers , Trepanners , piqueering , plundring , storming , Excise , &c. and others which got in during the reign of the Long Parlement .

All these things being well considered , and weighed in the balance of an unbiassd Judgment , I may promise to my self that this treble Volume will be judgd a work that will conduce much to the publick Good , ( which is the white I aymd at all the while ) as also to the honor of the Nation , and of the English toung for three respects . First , because she is put into the front of the civillst languages of Christendom , and as it were incorporated with them ; Secondly , because it will be an occasion hereby to accreditat her the more , and make her expand , and spread further abroad by mixing with these spacious languages ; Thirdly , because it will take off those aspersions whcih useth to be cast upon Her , that wheras the Genius , and wit of a Nation is much discernd in their proverbiall speeches , the English toung is dry and defective in this particular , and those Proverbs she hath are but flat and empty . The contemplation of these particulars did much heighten the spirits of the Author , and lighten the burden of so tedious and tough a task all the way .