To the AUTHOR of the TRIFLER.
MADAM,
MY brother, who is a great scholar, and writes A. M. after his name, desires me to acquaint you, that having with much labour and pains translated the enclosed dialogue from the Greek, he is willing to communicate it to the world in your paper, that the trifling part of your readers, which he supposes to be by far the greater number, may learn that there were trifling, that is idle people, in the time of Socrates, and may be corrected by the wise admonitions of that great divine. My brother is determined to keep himself concealed, that he may silently, and without envy, enjoy the reputation of this performance; and therefore recommends it to you to be particularly careful that no mistakes are made in the spelling and pointing.
I am your humble servant, UNKNOWN.
P. S. My brother says Socrates was not a divine, but a philosopher.