No one could say enough about this wonderful child to please Henry, for all that was said in praise of him redounded to the glory of his father.
The following is a translation of the Latin poem beneath the picture: Child, of thy Father's virtues be thou heir, Since none on earth with him may well compare; Hardly to him might Heaven yield a son By whom his father's fame should be out-done.
So, if thou equal such a mighty sire, No higher can the hopes of man aspire; If thou surpass him, thou shalt honoured be O'er all that ruled before, or shall rule after thee.[3] [Footnote 3: Translated by Miss K.K.

Radford.] In justice be it said that the little Edward VI.

was of an extraordinary precocity.

When he was eight years old he wrote to Archbishop Cranmer in Latin.

When he was nine he knew four books of Cato by heart as well as much of the Bible.