Fewe thinges doo escape be it neuer so certain.

 

A Most True Discourse,

Declaring the Life and Death of one Stubbe Peeter,

Being a Most Wicked Sorcerer. 

Those whom the Lord leaves to follow the imagination of their own hearts, despising his proffered Grace, in the end, through the hardness of heart and contempt of his fatherly mercy, enter the right path to perdition and destruction of body and soul forever. 

In this present history, therefore, this may perfectly be seen; the strangeness whereof, together with the cruelties committed and the long time they continued, may drive many to doubt whether it be truth or no, but rather like those sundry false and fabulous matters which have passed in print and wrought incredulity in the hearts of men generally. Nowadays, few things escape, be they never so certain, but that they are made base by some lie or false report. 

So, in the reading of this story, I ask you keep an open mind, and peruse it with patience. It is published to set an example, and as a warning in the light of reason and wisdom about Satan's subtle work for the soul's destruction, and the grave consequences of the accursed practice of sorcery, whose fruits are death and eternal destruction. And yet the reprobate and wicked in all ages still work this way or that, as the Devil directs. 

But of all who has ever lived, none was comparable to this hellhound, whose tyranny and cruelty showed plain his father was the Devil; a murderer from the very start, whose life and death, whose most bloody works this discourse justly reports. 

Notes.

Think of Early Modern English as a collection of dialects more or less easy to follow as a speaker of Modern English. Sometimes, the difficulty posed is analogous to the difference between the standard spoken English of the Home Counties with any of the Scots dialects, such as Doric.

Sometimes, linguistic variance, unfamiliar print conventions and an unusual subject matter can make for a text even the experienced struggle to understand on first reading.

For example, here is the opening of our text in its original form.

Those whome the Lord dooth leaue to followe the Imagination of their own hartes, dispising his proffered grace, in the end through the hardnes of hart and contempt of his fatherly mercy, they enter the right path to perdicion and destruction of body and soule for euer: as in this present historie in perfect sorte may be seene, the strangenes whereof, together with the cruelties committed, and the long time therin continued, may driue many in doubt whether the same be truth or no, and the ratherfore that sundry falce & fabulous matters haue héertofore passed in print, which hath wrought much incredulitie in ye harts of all men generally, insomuch that now a daies fewe thinges doo escape be it neuer so certain, but that it is embased by the tearm of a lye or falce reporte. In the reading of this story, therfore I doo first request reformation of opinion, next patience to peruse it, because it is published for examples sake, and lastly to censure thereof as reason and wisdome dooth think conueniēt, considering the subtilty that Sathan vseth to work the soules destruction, and the great matters which the accursed practise of Sorcery dooth effect, the fruites whereof is death and destruction for euer, and yet in all ages practised by the reprobate and wicked of the earth, some in one sort, and some in another euen as the Deuill giueth promise to perfourme. But of all other that euer liued, none was comparable vnto this helhound, whose tiranny and cruelty did well declare he was of his Father the deuill, who was a murderer from the beginning, whose life and death and most bloody practises the discourse following dooth make iust reporte.

Even if we transcribe this according to the conventions of Modern English spelling and punctuation, this demands some effort to understand.

My approach, therefore, is to translate the Early Modern English into Modern English. This means I can relate the story accurately in a form more readers will enjoy, but also provide a key to the original for the non-specialist.

Which, in a sense, is what all translation does. It conveys the mood and sense, and helps the reader climb into the original text, if they desire. As Wittgenstein says of philosophy, it is a ladder you discard once you've climbed it - unless you enjoyed the climbing, and want to repeat it for the pleasure of the thing.