To my lady, the lady Anne Bacon, widow of the deceased Sir Nicolas Bacon Knight, Lord Keeper of the great seal of England.To my lady, the lady Anne Bacon, widowe of the deceased Syr Nicolas Bacon Knight, Lord Keeper of the great seale of England.

To my lady, the lady Anne Bacon, widow of the deceased Sir Nicolas Bacon Knight, Lord Keeper of the great seal of England.

To my lady, the lady Anne Bacon, widowe of the deceased Syr Nicolas Bacon Knight, Lord Keeper of the great seale of England.

Madame, among other books of holy scripture, that of the Psalms well deserveth to be singularly recommended to us. It is now some time, since having bestowed some pain in translating and expounding the same, I gave my self also to take some more liberty of dealing with them by way of meditating upon that subject, choosing (as it were for an assay) the seven Psalms called some time Penitential, because they were appointed to such as after having satisfied open and canonical penance, were reunited to the body of the Church: wholly doing it for my particular ⟨image 5⟩instruction and consolation. After this, being required by a great & virtuous princess, to frame for her some form of prayers: I took them afresh into my hands, polishing them over, and that with hope of publishing them: which being letted by the sudden decease of that Lady, I reserved them among my papers as things of no great price: where they had lien still, had not been the coming of master Anthony Bacon your son, into these parts: whom when I saw to take pleasure in this little piece of work, and again knowing by the latin letters wherewith it hath liked you to honour me, the great and singular, yea extraordinary graces wherewith God hath endued you, and whereof I acknowledge a very pattern in your said son: I persuaded my self that it should not be displeasing ⟨image 5⟩to you, if this small volume carrying your name upon the brow, were offered to you, in testimony of the honour and reverence I bear to the virtue of you and yours: hoping withal that this estate of widowhood whereunto it hath pleased God to call you by decease of that right virtuous and of right renowned Lord, my Lord Nicolas Bacon your husband, & most worthy Keeper of the seal of England, you might perhaps therein find some consolation, after the reading of those great and holy doctors Greek and Latin so familiar to you, for your better confirming in the meditation of spiritual things, and in this constancy and Christian patience wherewith God hath so beautified you, that in you is verily acknowledged that Christianly high minded courage which I