came about, I have gone forward with what I had desired piously,
perhaps only to be laughed at by everyone, yet I shall transcend the
laughter of some, as long as I may occupy myself with the daily
growth of my creation, no matter what objections others may bark. If
anyone does laugh, let him not blame man who has done what he was
able to do, whose intentions were sound; may he not instantly
cauterize the fault in my writings, but if he utterly despises them,
let him lay aside the war of words, rewrite what was badly done, and
offer his own examples of correct writing. Furthermore, if anyone
accuses me of writing obscurely, let him fear inflicting on himself
the stigma of weak intellect, since I know for certain that no one
trained in letters can raise a question about whatever I may have
said in the following book.

In proceeding to offer a model to correct (or perhaps to corrupt) the
history, I have first attempted to consider the motives and needs
that brought about this expedition, as I have heard them, and then,
having shown how it came about, to relate the events themselves. I
learned the story, related with great veracity, from the previous
author whom I follow, and from those who were present on the
expedition. I have often compared the book's version of events with
what was said by those who saw what happened with their own eyes, and
beyond a doubt I have seen that neither testimony was discordant with
the other. Whatever I have added, I have learned from eye-witnesses,
or have found out for myself. If anything described is false, no
clever critic may rightly accuse me of lying, I say, since he cannot
argue, as God is my witness, that I have spoken out of a desire to
deceive. How can it be surprising if we make errors, when we are
describing things done in a foreign land, when we are clearly unable
not only to express in words our own thoughts and actions, but even