With þe myȝt, wisdom, & grace of þe holy trynite, I write
to ȝou a tretice in englisch breuely drawe out of þe
book of quintis e{ss}encijs in latyn, þ{a}t hermys þe p{ro}phete and
kyng of Egipt, aft{er} the flood of Noe, fadir of philosophris, 4
hadde by reuelaciou{n} of an aungil of god to him sende, þ{a}t
þe wijsdom and þe science of þis book schulde not p{er}ische,
but be kept and p{re}serued vnto þe eende of þe world, of alle
holy men from al wickid peple and tyrauntis, for greet p{er}ilis 8
þat myȝte falle þerof. For wiþi{n}ne þis breue tretis, wiþ þe
g{ra}ce of god, I wole more determine of practif[*] þan of theorik.

[[* practise, MS. Harl.]]

[God’s greatest secret for man’s need is how to restore old
feeble men to the strength of their youth, except in case of
thunder-blast, and too much fasting, and the term set for all
men.]

ȝitt ben boþe nedeful / The firste and souereyneste p{ri}uyte þat
god, maker of kynde, ordeyned for mannys nede, how þat olde 12
euangelik men, and feble in kynde, myȝte be restorid, and haue
aȝen her firste strenkþis of ȝongþe in þe same degree þat is in
al kynde, & be m{a}d hool p{ar}fiȝtly, except þe strok of þe
þundir blast, & violent brusuris, and oppressynge of to myche 16
betynge / Also p{er}ilous fallyngis of hiȝ placis, to myche abstynence,
& oþ{er}e yuel gou{er}naunce aȝens kynde, And also þe
teerme þ{a}t is sett of god, þ{a}t noman may a-schape, as Iob seiþ in
latyn / “Breues dies ho{min}is s{un}t &c.” Forsoþe philosophoris 20

[‘N{ot}a.’]