misses, the curious readers may peruse
these 4 volumes of Indian matters written long ago in Italian, and of late
compendiously made Latine, by Petrus Maffeius my old acquainted friend,
entituling the same, De rubus Iaponicis. One whole letter out of the fift
booke thereof, specially intreating of that countrey, I haue done into
English word for word in such wise as followeth.

Aloisius Froes to his companions in Iesus Christ that remaine in China and
India.

The last yeere, deare brethren, I wrote vnto you from Firando, how Cosmus
Turrianus had appointed me to trauile to Meaco to helpe Gaspar Vilela, for
that there the haruest was great, the labourers few, and that I should haue
for my companion in that iourney Aloisius Almeida. It seemeth now my part,
hauing by the helpe of God ended so long a voiage, to signifie vnto you by
letter such things specially as I might thinke you would most delight to
know. And because at the beginning Almeida and I so parted the whole labour
of writing letters betwixt vs, that he should speake of our voyage, and
such things as happened therein, I should make relation of the Meachians
estate, and write what I could well learne of the Iapans manners and
conditions: setting aside all discourses of our voyage, that which standeth
me vpon I will discharge in this Epistle, that you considering how
artificially, how cunningly, vnder the pretext of religion, that craftie
aduersary of mankind leadeth and draweth vnto perdition the Iapanish
mindes, blinded with many superstitions and ceremonies, may the more pitie
this Nation.

The inhabiters of Iapan, as men that had neuer had greatly to doe with
other Nations, in their Geography diuided the whole world into three parts,
Iapan, Sian, and China. And albeit the Iapans receiued out of Sian and
China their superstitions and ceremonies, yet doe they neuertheless
contemne all other Nations in comparison of themselues, and standing in
their owne conceite doe far preferre themselues before all other sorts of
people in wisedome and policie.

Touching the situation of the countrey and nature of the soyle, vnto the
things eftsoones erst written, this one thing I will adde: in these Ilands,
the sommer to be most hot, the winter extreme cold. In the kingdom of
Canga, as we call it, falleth so much snow, that the houses being buried in
it, the inhabitants keepe within doores certaine moneths of the yeere,
hauing no way to come foorth except they break vp