n the best
towne and Citie in this Realme, for such persons doe abuse good speaches
by strange accents or illshapen soundes, and false ortographie. But he
shall follow generally the better brought vp sort, such as the Greekes
call [_charientes_] men ciuill and graciously behauoured and bred. Our
maker therefore at these dayes shall not follow _Piers plowman_ nor
_Gower_ nor _Lydgate_ nor yet _Chaucer_, for their language is now out of
vfe with vs: neither shall he take the termes of Northern-men, such as
they vse in dayly talke, whether they be noble men or gentlemen, or of
their best clarkes all is a matter: nor in effect any speach vsed beyond
the riuer of Trent, though no man can deny but that theirs is the purer
English Saxon at this day, yet it is not so Courtly nor so currant as our
Southerne English is, no more is the far Westerne mans speach: ye shall
therfore take the vsuall speach of the Court, and that of London and the
shires lying about London within lx. myles, and not much aboue. I say not
this but that in euery shyre of England there be gentlemen and others that
speake but specially write as good Southerne as we of Middlesex or Surrey
do, but not the common people of euery shire, to whom the gentlemen, and
also their learned clarkes do for the most part condescend, but herein we
are already ruled by th'English Dictionaries and other bookes written by
learned men, and therefore it needeth none other direction in that
behalfe. Albeit peradventure some small admonition be not impertinent, for
we finde in our English writers many wordes and speaches amendable & ye
shall see in some many inkhorne termes so ill affected brought in by men
of learning as preachers and schoolmasters and many straunge termes of
other languages by Secretaries and Marchaunts and trauailours, and many
darke wordes and not vsuall nor well sounding, though they be dayly spoken
in Court. Wherefore great heed must be taken by our maker in this point
that his choise be good. And peraduenture the writer hereof be in that
behalfe no lesse faultie then any other, vsing many straunge and
vnaccustomed wordes and borrowed from other languages: and in that
respect him selfe no meete Magistrate to refome the same errours in any
other person, but since he is not vnwilling to acknowledge his owne fault,
and can the better tell how to amend it, he may seeme a more excusable
correctour of other mens: he intendeth therefore for an indifferent way
and vni