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Gonzalo Ayora of Córdoba's Prologue to Book 5 of the philosopher Pietro Monte's The Appraisal of Men, dedicated to Isabella, most worthy queen of Spain

Up to this point I have greatly struggled against adverse winds and the weakness of my little skiff in this voyage of translation, but now, having almost completed it, I am further forced to navigate a sluggish sea, and to traverse slow-moving waters. If here I should sail less trim and smoothly, owing to the scope and novelty of the subject matter, it will be up to you, most illustrious Queen, to defend me, twenty-six years old and living far from my native country, more of an impoverished amateur than an author. With heavy spirit, my body worn and weary, contemplating my mean fortune and fearing the uncertain outcome, I am obliged to grind out these books rather than to truly translate them. For in translating these writings I have scarcely spent more time than I would consider necessary just for transcribing them – and pretty swiftly at that. It will be hardly be difficult for you or for learned men to judge whether the scope and difficulty of the subject require more time to be translated properly, let alone elegantly. Nor should you imagine that I am looking for this speed to bring me the kind of glory that has rewarded greater men for their eloquence, but so that I may be more readily indulged, please know that it has been in my mind.

The philosopher Pietro Monte's Preface to Book 5 of The Appraisal of Men, dedicated to the most illustrious Prince Juan of Spain, translated by Gonzalo Ayora of Córdoba

In the preceding books I have discussed reasonably worthy material, but in what comes next perhaps some people will fault me, since the remaining subjects seem to be of little spiritual benefit. Yet it is always my intention to provide such benefit, and so I am including some material about exercises through which the bodies that practice them may abstain from vices and avoid improprieties that often lead to sin. I do not claim that to practice throwing, wrestling, or jousting is inherently meritorious; but if we excel in such things, they can help us to avoid the sins that cloud the soul and consume the body, and to eschew the pleasures that engender sin.