The narrator, Nicholas Ferrar, relates the considerations which led to the founding of the Little Academy at the behest of the Maiden Sisters on the Feast of the Purification, 2 February 1630/1, and comments on its early struggles. The first dialogue recorded took place on Ash Wednesday of that year, but the extended discussion on Charles V did not begin until the end of May. The Chief proposes the topic—that ‘our well chosen resolutions’ should be confirmed by immediate action—and tells a story of Pyrrhus who, deaf to advice to seek peace and happiness, died by accident after years of warfare and suffering. She applies the moral to Christians who postpone the fulfilment of promises made to God and to themselves—those who, while intending to lead austere and godly lives, devote themselves to ‘foolish employments of minds and times in gauds and trifles’. The Patient tells a story of Trajan, and the Cheerfull one of a bishop's wealthy mother. The Affectionate concludes this section by a short story illustrating how the foolish defence of errors can multiply guilt.

note: These stories as well as the introductory remarks are also included in B.M. Add. MS. 34657 and were printed by Miss Sharland in The Story Books of Little Gidding, pp. 2–10.