LINGUAE VASCONUM PRIMITIAE - Euskaltzaindia

To the righteous and noble King's counsel,
who is most virtuous and kind,
whom his Lord and Master Bernard Lehete,
Bernard of Etxepare, his humble servant,
cordially bids his respects, peace, and good health.
As the Basques are skilled, hard-working and genteel, with great men of
letters having been and who are among them, 1 am amazed my Lord, how
none, for the good of his own language, has attempted to undertake or write
sorne work in Basque so that the whole world might know that it is as good as
any tongue in which to write and this is the reason wherefore it is relegated,
without any renown and why all the rest of the nations believe that nothing can
be written in that tongue, even as all of the rest write in their own.
And as you, noble Lord of this land that you are, esteem, praise, and do
honour to Basque, it is to you, my Lord and Master, to whom 1 am sending
these verses wrought in my own ignorance; so that, my Lord, having seen and
corrected them at your will, you might have them printed and that all of us
might have, in this way, from your own hand, a precious jewel, the Basque
language in print, something which has not existed hitherto; so that it might
grow, endure, and spread throughout in the future from your auspicious beginning;
and that the Basques might have in their language, in the same manner
as the rest, sorne doctrine and written matter whereby they might amuse themselves,
converse, sing and spend their time, and in which upcoming generations
might be motivated to perfect it; and that we might see it fit to pray unto God
that He might grant you a prosperous life in this world and heaven in the next.
Amen.
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