Polychronicon because it is "cleer and pleyn" and more succinct. The lord notably uses the translation of the Bible as precedent in his responses. The Bible, according to the lord, is itself a translation from Hebrew to Greek to Latin, and it must also be translated into English in order to be understood by common people. He further advocates for the use of English because it is utilized in sermons. Other precedents discussed by the lord includes the translations of Aristotle's works from Greek to Latin and of the works of Caedmon, the earliest known English poet. The clerk The clerk's initial refusal is due to his belief that Latin is a language used by many people, but only the English know English. He also notes that the lord himself knows Latin, to which the lord responds that there is some Latin in the Polychronicon that is beyond his ability. The clerk then argues that it is not necessary for all to know the "cronicles," to which the lord responds with the profitability of a translation. The clerk also voices concerns regarding criticisms of the translations, and the lord concedes that translation cannot be perfect. According to Watson, throughout the dialogue, the clerk provides "increasingly feeble and snobbish" refutations. Significance The Dialogue marks the first instance of the patron as a literary trope in Middle English. It also, by presenting arguments in favor of translations for vernacular audiences, is a precursor to the fifteenth-century practice of translation of secular literature for profit. William Caxton, who published an edition of Trevisa's translation of the Polychronicon in 1482, notes these two features in his prologue. Despite being a prolific translator, the Dialogue and the Epistle were Trevisa's only original works. David Lawton writes that the dialogue is the most famous writing in the "genre of fictionalized debate about Bible translation." Stephen Morrison and Aude Mairey note that the Dialogue demonstrates awareness of the social and political implications of vernacular translation. The Dialogue is published, along with the Epistle and translation of the Polychronicon, in the Middle English Pseudo-Turpin, preserved at the Huntington Library. Due to its inclusion in textbooks and anthologies, the Dialogue is Trevisa's most well-known work in American classrooms. The exchange is excerpted on the title page of Rev. John Sharpe's translation of William of Malmesbury's History of the Kings of England. In translation studies Lawton argues that translators' prologues