PREFACe quotes
Go, little book; God send thee good passage, and specially let this be thy prayer, unto them all that thee will read or hear, where thou art wrong, after their help to call, thee to correct in any part, or all.
A preface, being the entrance of a book, should invite by its beauty. An elegant porch announces the splendor of the interior.
A good preface is as essential to put the reader into good humor, as a good prologue is to a play, or a fine symphony to an opera, containing something analogous to the work itself; so that we may feel its want as a desire not elsewhere to be gratified. The Italians call the preface "the sauce of the book;" and, if well-seasoned, it creates an appetite in the reader to devour the book itself.
There's no want of meat, sir; portly and curious viands are prepared to please all kinds of appetites.
Reader, now I send thee, like a bee, to gather honey out of flowers and weeds; every garden is furnished with either, and so is ours. Read and meditate.
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