"To the mighty and christiane Prince Edward, Duke of Summerset, Erle of Herford, Lorde Beauchampe, and Uncle unto the Kynges maiesty, Wyllyam Turner his servant wysheth increase in the knowledge of Goddes holy worde and grace to lyue thereafter. Although (most myghty and Christian Prince) there be many noble and excellent actes and sciences, which no man douteth but that almyghty God, the author of all goodness, hath gyuen unto us by the hands of the Hethen, as necessary unto the use of Mankynd: yet is there none among them all, whych is so openly cōmended by the verdit of any holy writer in the Bible, as is ye knowledge of plantes, herbes, and trees and of Phisick. I do not remembre that I have red anye expressed commendations of Grammer, Logick, Philosophie, naturall or morall, Astronomie, Arithmetyke, Geometry, Cosmographie, Musycke, Perspectiue or any other such lyke science. But I rede amonge the commendatyons and prayses of Kyng Salomon, that he was sene in herbes shrubbes and trees and so perfectly that he disputed wysely of them from the hyghest to the lowest, that is from the Cedre tre in Mount Liban unto the Hysop that groweth furth of the wall. If the Knowledge of Herbes, shrubbes and trees which is not the lest necessary thynge unto the knowledge of Phisicke were not greatly commendable it shulde never have bene set among Salomon's commendacyons and amongst the singular giftes of God. Therefor whereas Salomon was commended for the Knowledge of Herbes the same Knowledge was expressedly ynough com̄ended there also." Continuing, he speaks of learned Englishmen "Doctor Clement, Doctor Wendy and Doctor Owen, Doctor Wolton and Maister Falconer"[68] which "have as much knowledge in herbes yea and more than diuerse Italianes and Germanes whyche have set forth in prynte Herballes and bokes of simples. Yet hath none of al these set furth any thyng other to the generall profit of hole Christendome in latin and to the honor of thys realme, nether in Englysh to the proper profit of their naturall countre." After slyly observing that perhaps they do not care to jeopardise their estimation, he compares himself, for having ventured to write this book, with the soldier "who is more frendly unto the commonwealth, which adventurously runneth among the myddes of hys enemyes, both gyuyng and takyng blowes, then he that, whilse other men feight, standeth in the top of a tre iudging how other men do, he beynge without the danger of gonne shot himself."