Classicly

In response to numerous requests from almost every country in which English is spoken, we have much pleasure in presenting to the public this the first English-Esperanto Dictionary. The demands for such a work became so pressing that it was absolutely necessary to issue it as quickly as possible.

Were it not for this urgency we would have waited until the larger Dictionary was ready, but the knowledge that the progress of Esperanto would be materially checked or retarded decided us to issue this smaller one. The compiling of a Dictionary is always a difficult task, but the difficulty is increased in a very great degree when an initial and original work is undertaken. Such a work demands careful and thorough research, absolute precision, and much patient labour.