Observationes circa viventia, quae in rebus non viventibus reperiuntur cum micrographia curiosa

this little work, which comes into the light under your auspices, while I, full of reverence, contemplate the fortunate horoscope of Rome in you.

I do not paint you with borrowed praises, but gather your own; I do not do this to flatter you, but to set you forth as a young model of youth. Stars have this quality: they shine by their own light, and do not appear as if decorated by the paint of others. When the ornaments of Nature and Virtue are clearly exhibited in you, it is surely an injury to the Deity—the Author by whom they came to you—to neglect them in silence.

Virtue and Nature clearly strive to either equal or surpass your good fortune, and indeed the effort and wishes of both have fulfilled the work. Nature wished for such a disposition of mind to be preferred by you, so that you might easily rule over the spirits of all with your noble talent. What shall I say of the modesty of your countenance, the serenity of your brow, the modesty of your eyes? These are lesser ornaments of Nature, which nonetheless