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24 Yeronica Franco

and poor in invention and language, to dedicate to you this volume of letters written in my youth, which, with the help of your amazing courtesy and my deepest respect, ought to have that place in the blessedly fortunate shelter of your superhuman kindness, among the wealth of large and brilliant lights burning in the tempie, that a well-trimmed and filled oil lamp used to have in heaven. Perhaps at a morę propitious time, in better fortunę and a morę practiced style, with the help of your divine kindness, I will dare to try a greater undertaking, expressing morę fully my soul and my gratitude than laying this little book at the feet of your high valor, through which you, holding out the arms of your courtesy from the lofty throne of your immense grace to accept and receive this little display, derived from my most fervent desire to acknowledge the duty I owe you, will win esteem for your kindness, all the greater the farther I am from deserving anything from your illustrious Lordship. Your kindness will lay upon me that command which, eagerly sought, is never with-out effect in the mind of someone who wants to work in pleasing and skillful ways.

May our Lord hless your most illustrious person.

From Venice, the second of August, 1580.

Your most illustrious and most reverend Lordship s

humblest and most devoted servant,

Yeronica Franca¹

To the Most \Jnvanquished and Christian King,

Henri III of France and Poland

To the immensely high favor that Your Majesty deigned to show me, coming to my humble house, by taking my portrait away with you in exchange for the living image of your heroic virtues and divine valor that you left deep in my heart—an exchange all too fortunate and happy on my side—I am unable to reciprocate, even in thought or desire; for what can be bom from me worthy of the supreme height of your heavenly soul and your fate? Nor can I com-pensate even partly with any form of thanks for the infinite merit of the kindly and gracious offers you madę to me on the subject of this book, which I am about to dedicate to you, offers morę fitting to your greatness and most serene kingly splendor than to any talent of minę. And even so, as the whole world can be drawn in the smali space of the narrowest page, I have, in these few verses which I send

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Writinga womanssurnamewith afeminineending wascommon practicein Francostime.