57 Her Majesty's Lieutenant of the County of Corn- 58 wall._ 59 60 Sir, Knowing how doubtfully all allegories may be doubtfully > ambiguously 61 construed, and this book of mine, which I have entitled _The 62 Faery Queen_, being a continued allegory, or dark conceit, I dark > concealed, veiled conceit > conception 63 have thought good, as well for avoiding jealous opinions and good > [it good] as well > both 64 misconstructions, as also for your better light in reading as also > [and] 65 thereof, (being so by you commanded), to discover to you discover to > tell, reveal to 66 the general intention and meaning, which in the whole 67 course thereof I have fashioned, without expressing any 68 particular purposes or by accidents therein occasioned. The by accidents > side issues 69 general end, therefore, of all the book is to fashion a fashion > represent; _also:_ mould, train 70 gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline: gentle > noble; courteous; graceful 71 which for that I conceived should be most plausible and for that > [to that end] plausible > popularly acceptable, agreeable 72 pleasing, being coloured with an historical fiction, which coloured > painted, depicted; disguised 73 the most part of men delight to read rather for variety of the most part of > [most] 74 matter than for profit of the example. I chose the history of 75 King Arthur, as most fit for the excellency of his person, excellency > excellence 76 being made famous by many men's former works, and also 77 furthest from the danger of envy and suspicion of present suspicion > [suspicion of political bias] 78 time. In which I have followed all the antique poets antique > ancient (esp. of ancient Greece and Rome) 79 historical, first Homer who, in the persons of Agamemnon 80 and Ulysses, has ensampled a good governor and a virtuous ensampled > exemplified 81 man: the one in his _Iliad_, the other in his _Odyssey_; then 82 Virgil, whose like intention was to do in the person of like > similar 83 Aeneas; after him, Ariosto comprised them both in his Aeneas > (Central character of Virgil's _Aeneid_) Ariosto > (Lodovico Ariosto, 1474-1533, Italian poet) 84 Orlando; and lately Tasso dissevered them again, and formed Orlando > (_Orlando Furioso_, 1516) Tasso > (Torquato Tasso, 1544-1595, Italian poet) dissevered > separated 85 both parts in two persons, namely that part which they in 86 Philosophy call Ethics, or virtues of a private man, coloured coloured > depicted 87 in his Rinaldo: the other, named Politics, in his Godfredo. Rinaldo > (_Rinaldo_, 1562) Godfredo > (Count Godfredo, central character of _Gerusalemme Liberata_, 1581)