Since those things,which are known to have been done through a laudable devotion,are not unworthily extolled with due praises;and since the mind,when relaxed,loses its energy,and the torpor of sloth enervates the understanding,as iron acquires rust for want of use,and stagnant waters become foul;lest my pen should be injured by the rust of idleness,I have thought good to commit to writing the devout visitation which Baldwin,archbishop of Canterbury,made throughout Wales;and to hand down,as it were in a mirror,through you,O illustrious Stephen,to posterity,the difficult places through which we passed,the names of springs and torrents,the witty sayings,the toils and incidents of the journey,the memorable events of ancient and modern times,and the natural history and deion of the country;lest my study should perish through idleness,or the praise of these things be lost by silence.