Hic jacet egregius doctor proesul Mimatensis, Nomine Duranti Guillelmus regula morum: Splendor honestatis et casti candor amoris Altum consiliis spatiosum mente serenum Hunc insignibat immotum turbine mentis. Mente pius, sermone gravis, gressuque modestus, Extitit infestus super hostes more leonis: Indomitos domuit populos, ferroque rebelles, Impulit, Ecclesiae victor servire coëgit. Comprobat officiis, paruit Romania sceptro Belligeri comitis Martini tempore quarti: Edidit in Jure librum, quo jus reperitur: Et Speculum Juris, et patrum Pontificale: Et Rationale Divinorum patefecit: Instruxit clerum scriptis, monuitque statutis: Gregorii deni, Nicolai scita perenni Glossa diffudit populis, sensusque profundos: Jure dedit mentes et corpus luce studentum: Quem memori laude genuit Provincia dignum: Et dedit a Podio Missone diaecesis ilium: Inde Biterrensis, praesignis curia Papae: Dum foret ecclesiae Mimatensis sede quietus, Hunc vocat octavus Bonifacius; altius ilium Promovet; hic renuit Ravennae praesul haberi. Fit comes invictus simul hinc et marchio tandem, Et Romam rediit: Domini sub mille trecentis (Quatuor amotis) annis: tumulante Minerva. Surripit hunc festiva dies, & prima Novembris. Guadia cum Sanctis tenet Omnibus inde sacerdos: Pro quo perpetuo datur haec celebrare capella. The _Rationale_ was the first work, from the pen of an uninspired writer, ever printed. The _editio princeps_ appeared at the press of Fust in 1459; being preceded only by the Psalters of 1457 and 1459. It is, of course, of the most extreme rarity: the beauty of the typography has seldom been exceeded. Chalmers mentions, besides this, thirteen editions in the fifteenth, and thirteen in the sixteenth century: all of them are very rare. {xi} The editions with which we are acquainted, are those of Rome 1473; Lyons 1503, 1512, 1534, 1584; Antwerp 1570; Venice 1599, 1609. The translation has been made from the editions of 1473 and 1599. The former is a magnificent specimen of typography: the words are excessively contracted; and there are double columns to each page. Our copy is partially illuminated; and the binding is ornamented with a border of the Evangelistic Symbols. The latter contains also the first edition of the work of Beleth, and is a reprint of Doard's Lyons edition of 1565. Doard dedicated it to his brother, Bishop of Marseilles; and prefixed a Preface, in which he bestows a well-merited eulogium on Durandus, and mentions the care taken in correcting and revising the work. He also added some notes, of little worth. The Venice reprint is so vicious a specimen of typography, that from it alone the sense could in many places hardly be explained. Our copy belonged to Bishop White Kennett, who appears to have studied it diligently.