CAXTON'S

GAME AND PLAYE OF THE CHESSE. 

1474. 

A VERBATIM REPRINT OF THE FIRST EDITION. 

WITH AN INTRODUCTION

BY

WILLIAM E. A. AXON, M. R. S. L. 

"And ther was founde by clerkes full prudent Of the chesse the play mostglorious. "

JOHN LYDGATE. 

LONDON: ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E. C. 1883. 

[Transcribers Note: This is a reprint of Caxton's 1474 original. "Englifh" long s's which look very similar to f's have been transposedto s's for readability; yogh (looks like a mutated 3) has been renderedas a 3; thorn, þ, has been left as such and macrons over letters aregiven as e. G. [=o]. Otherwise the text has been left as is. 

The original punctutation has been preseved. Virgula suspensiva, shownhere as / was in common use from the thirteenth to the seventeenthcentury. Often used for short pauses (such as the cæsura in the middleof a line of poetry), but sometimes was used as equivalent to thepunctus. "'9" represents a superscripted 9 and is an ancestor to themodern apostrophe. It usually indicates the omission of a terminal -us. 

A small amount of text in this edition is in Blackletter, which was usedin the Caxton original, and these sections have been marked up as such. 

The book contains many attractive illustrations copied from the Caxtonoriginal and an HTML version exists to give a better representationof this. ]

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION. 

Jonathon Oldbuck on the Game of Chess, 1474The First Edition: copies in libraries and at salesWhere was it printed?Caxton's account of the translationThe Second Edition: copies in libraries and at salesFerron and De Vignay's "Jeu d'Echecs"Jacques de Cessoles: "Liber de Moribus hominum"Sermons on ChessÆgidius Romanus, his life and his book: "De Regimine Principum"Occleve's imitationWilliam Caxton as a translatorBibliography of the Chess Book: Colonna Cessoles Ferron and De Vignay Conrad van Ammenhaufen Mennel Heinrich von Beringen Stephan Caxton Sloane The scope and language of the Chess-book Authors quoted and named Biblical names and allusions Xerxes the inventor of Chess! Sidrac John the monk Truphes of the Philosophers Helinand Classical allusions Mediæval allusions and stories John of Ganazath St. Bernard The dishonest trader The drunken hermit A violent remedy Murder of Nero Theodorus Cyrenaicus Democritus of Abdera Socrates disguised Didymus and raised letters for the blind Shaksperean etymology Caxton at Ghent The history of Chess The ethical aim of the writer of the Chess-book

THE GAME OF THE CHESSE. 

Dedication to the Duke of Clarence

Prologue to second edition

 BOOK I. 

 This booke conteyneth. Iiii. Traytees/ The first traytee is of the Invencion of this playe of the chesse/ and conteyneth. Iii. Chapitres. 

 The first chapitre is under what kynge this play was founden. 

 The . Ii. Chapitre/ who fonde this playe. 

 The . Iii. Chapitre/ treteth of. Iii. Causes why hit was made and founden. 

 BOOK II. 

 The seconde traytee treteth of the chesse men/ and conteyneth . V. Chapitres. 

 The first chapitre treteth of the forme of a kynge and of suche thinges as apperteyn to a kynge. 

 The . Ii. Chapitre treteth of y'e quene & her forme & maners. 

 The . Iii. Chapitre of the forme of the alphins and her offices and maners. 

 The . Iiii. Chapitre is of the knygth and of his offices. 

 The . V. Is of the rooks and of their maners and offices. 

 BOOK III. 

 The thirde traytee is of the offices of the comyn peple And hath . Viii. Chapitres. 

 The first chapitre is of the labourers & tilinge of the erthe. 

 The . Ii. Of smythis and other werkes in yron & metall. 

 The . Iii. Is of drapers and makers of cloth & notaries. 

 The . Iiii. Is of marchantes and chaungers. 

 The . V. Is of phisicyens and cirugiens and apotecaries. 

 The . Vi. Is of tauerners and hostelers. 

 The . Vii. Is of y'e gardes of the citees & tollers & customers. 

 The . Viii. Is of ribauldes disepleyars and currours. 

 BOOK IV. 

 The . Iiii. Traytee is of the meuyng and yssue of them And hath . Viii. Chapitres. 

 The first is of the eschequer. 

 The seconde of the yssue and progression of the kynge. 

 The thirde of the yssue of the quene. 

 The fourth is of the yssue of the alphyns. 

 The fifth is of the yssue of the knyghtes. 

 The sixty chapitre of the yssue of the rooks. 

 The seuenth is of the meuynge & yssue of the comyn peple. 

 And the eyght and laste chapitre is of the epilegacion and of the recapitulacion of all these forsaid chapitres. 

GLOSSARY

INDEX

INTRODUCTION

The readers of the "Antiquary" will remember the anecdote told with somuch effusion by Jonathan Oldbuck. '"Davy Wilson, " he said, "commonlycalled Snuffy Davy, from his inveterate addiction to black rappee, wasthe very prince of scouts for searching blind alleys, cellars, andstalls, for rare volumes. He had the scent of a slow-hound, sir, and thesnap of a bull-dog. He would detect you an old black-letter ballad amongthe leaves of a law-paper, and find an _editio princeps_ under the maskof a school Corderius. Snuffy Davy bought the 'Game of Chess, 1474, ' thefirst book ever printed in England, from a stall in Holland for abouttwo groschen, or two-pence of our money. He sold it to Osborne fortwenty pounds, and as many books as came to twenty pounds more. Osbornere-sold this inimitable windfall to Dr. Askew for sixty guineas. At Dr. Askew's sale, " continued the old gentleman, kindling as he spoke, "thisinestimable treasure blazed forth in its full value and was purchased byRoyalty itself for one hundred and seventy pounds! Could a copy nowoccur, Lord only knows, " he ejaculated with a deep sigh and lifted-uphands, "Lord only knows what would be its ransom; and yet it wasoriginally secured, by skill and research, for the easy equivalent oftwo-pence sterling. "'

Sir Walter Scott in a footnote adds:--"This bibliomaniacal anecdote isliterally true; and David Wilson, the author need not tell his brethrenof the Roxburghe and Bannatyne Clubs, was a real personage. " Mr. Blades, whose iconoclastic temper is not moved to mercy even by this good story, says that although it "looks like a true bibliographical anecdote, " itsappearance is deceptive, and that "not a single statement is foundedon fact. "[1]

Jonathan Oldbuck did not venture to estimate the sum that would ransom acopy of the "Game of Chesse, " and the world of the bibliomania has movedeven since his days, so that prices which seemed fabulous, and wererecounted with a sort of awe-struck wonder, have been surpassed in theselatter days, and the chances of any successor of "Snuffy Davy" buying aCaxton for two groschen have been greatly reduced. 

According to Mr. William Blades, our latest and best authority on thesubject, there are but ten copies known of the first edition of the"Chesse" book. [2] There is a perfect copy in the King's Library in theBritish Museum. This is what ought to be Snuffy Davy's copy. A previousowner--R. Boys--has noted that it cost him 3_s_. The copy in theGrenville Library has the table and last leaf supplied in facsimile. Thecopy in the Public Library at Cambridge is defective to the extent offive leaves. The Bodleian copy wants the last leaf. The Duke ofDevonshire's copy formerly belonged to Roger Wilbraham, and the firstand eighth leaves are supplied in facsimile. The exemplar belonging tothe Earl of Pembroke is perfect, "but on weak and stained paper. " EarlSpencer's copy is perfect, clean, and unusually large. Mr. H. Cunliffe'scopy came from the Alchorne and Inglis Libraries, and wants the firsttwo printed leaves, two near the end, and the last two. Mr. J. Holford'scopy is perfect and in its original binding. It was once in the libraryof Sir Henry Mainwaring of Peover Hall, as his bookplate shows. On afly-leaf is written, "Ex dono Thomæ Delves, Baronett 1682. " The copybelonging to the Rev. Edward Bankes is imperfect, and wants thededicatory leaf and is slightly wormed. 

The book, when complete, consists of eight quaternions or eight leavesfolded together and one quinternion or section of five sheets foldedtogether, making in all seventy-four leaves, of which the first and lastare blank. The only type used throughout is that styled No. 1 by Mr. Blades. The lines are not spaced out; the longest measure five inches; afull page has thirty-one lines. Without title-page, signatures, numerals, or catch-words. The volume, as already mentioned, begins witha blank leaf, and on the second recto is Caxton's prologue, space beingleft for a two-line initial, without director. The text begins with adedication:--"(T)o the right noble/ right excellent & vertuous princeGeorge duc of Clarence Erl of Warwyk and of Salisburye/ gretechamberlayn of Englond & leutenant of Ireland oldest broder of kyngeEdward by the grace of god kynge of England and of France/ your mosthumble servant william Caxton amonge other of your servantes sendes untoyow peas. Helthe. Joye and victorye upon your Enemyes/ Right highepuyssant and. " The text ends on the seventy-third recto, thus:--"Andsende yow thaccomplisshement of your hye noble. Joyous and vertuousdesirs Amen:/: Fynysshid the lastday of Marche the yer of our lord god. A. Thousand foure honderd and LXXIIII. *. *. *. *. " The seventy-fourthleaf is blank. 

It is unnecessary to say that this book seldom comes into the market. The recorded sales are very few. In 1682 R. Smith sold a perfect copyfor 13s. 2d. In 1773 J. West's copy was bought by George III. For. £320s. 6d. Alchorne's imperfect copy was bought by Inglis for £54 12s. , andat the sale of his books found a purchaser in Lord Audley for £31 10s. , and was again transferred, in 1855, to the possession of Mr. J. Cunliffefor £60 l0s. 0d. [3] Mr. J. Holford's copy was bought at the Mainwaringsale for £101. 

The last copy offered for sale was described in one of Mr. BernardQuaritch's catalogues issued in 1872, and the account given by thatveteran bibliopole is well worth reproduction. 

CAXTON'S GAME AND PLAY OF CHESS MORALIZED, (translated 1474) FIRSTEDITION, folio, 65 LEAVES (of the 72), bound in old ruffia gilt, £400. 

 [Blackletter: Fynyshid the last day of Marche the yer of our Lord God, a thousand foure hondred and lxxiiii. . . . ]

An extremely large, though somewhat imperfect copy of

THE FIRST BOOK PRINTED IN ENGLAND, from Caxton's press. 

Mr. Blades quotes 9 copies (4 perfect, 5 imperfect), the present is the10th known copy, and is TALLER than even the Grenville--hitherto thetallest known copy; my copy measures 11-1/8 inch in height by 8 inwidth, whilst the Grenville copy (also imperfect) is only 11inches high. 

COLLATION of _my copy_:

[Blackletter: This Booke conteyneth iiii traytees] 1 _leaf_. [Blackletter: This first chapiter of the first tractate] 1 _leaf_. [Blackletter: The trouthe for to do Justice right wysly, ] etc. To the end 62 _leaves_. _The last leaf with the date:_[Blackletter: In conquerynge his rightful inheritance, ] _ending:_ [Blackletter: fynyshed], _etc. _ 1474 1 _leaf_. ------------- 65 leaves. 

My copy wants therefore 7 leaves, the two blank ones being out ofquestion. The imperfections include the first leaf, and two leaves inthe second chapitre of the fourth tractate, the end is all right. Ishould be glad to hear of any IMPERFECT COPY of this work, which wouldsupply me with what I want. In the mean time this precious relic of theInfancy of Printing in England can be feen by BUYERS of Rare books. 

_See_ Dibdin's Bibl. Spenc. IV. P. 189. 

No copy of this edition has been sold for years; in 1813, Alchorne'scopy, wanting first two leaves, the last two leaves and two leaves inthe second chapter of the fourth tractate, fetched at Evans', £54. 12_s_. The value of this class of books has much risen since then, andmay now be considered, as ten times greater. 

In comparing the first edition of "Caxton's Game of Chess" with thesecond, one perceives many variations in the spelling. I confider the_first edition_ to be the more interesting, for a variety of reasons:

1. It is the first book printed in England. 2. It is the _Editio princeps_ of the English version. 3. It shows the Art of Printing in its crudest form. 4. It has a Post-script not in the second edition. 

Both editions run on together to the passage on the last page of thesecond edition:

[Blackletter:And a mon that lyvyth in thys world without vertues lyveth notas a man but as a beste. ]

The first edition ends thus:

[Blackletter: And therefore my right redoubted Lord I pray almighty godto save the Kyng our soverain lord to gyve him grace to yssue as a Kyngetabounde in all vertues/ to be assisted with all other his lordes insuch wyse yn his noble royame of England may prospere/ habounde invertues and yn synne may be eschewid justice kepte/ the royame defendedgood men rewarded malefactours punyshid the ydle peple to be put tolaboure that he wyth the nobles of the royame may regne gloriously. 

In conquerynge his rightfull inheritaunce / that verraypeas and charitiemay endure in both his royames and that marchandise may have his coursin suche wise that every man eschewe synne/ and encrese in vertuousoccupacions / Praynge your good grace to resseyve this lityll and symplebook made under the hope and shadow of your noble protection by hym thatis your most humble servant in gree and thanke. And I shall prayealmighty god for your long lyf & welfare / which he preserve And sendenow thaccomplishment of your hye noble joyous and vertuousdesirs Amen:|:

Fynysshid the last day of marche the yer of our lord god a. Thousandfour hondred and lxxiiii. *. :. :. *. ]

The second edition ends thus:

[Blackletter: Thenne late every man of what condycion he be that redythor herith this litel book redde. Take therby ensaumple to amend hym. Explicit per Caxton. ]

This copy came from the library of Mr. L. M. Petit. [4]

It will be noticed that Mr. Quaritch calls the _editio princeps_ ofCaxton's "Game and Play of the Chesse" the first book printed inEngland. This was the general opinion of bibliographers before theinvestigations of Mr. Blades. Dibdin, although he seems to have had somedoubt, pronounced in favour of that view. Yet it is clearly erroneous. The only materials for judgment are those afforded by the colophon andthe prologue to the second edition, with the silent but eloquenttestimony of typography. Caxton ends the first edition with thewords:--"Fynysshid the last day of Marche the yer of our lord god athousand four hondred and LXXIIII. " The word "fynysshid, " as Mr. Bladesobserves, "has doubtless the same signification here as in the epilogueto the second book of Caxton's translation of the Histories of Troy, 'Begonne in Brugis, contynued in Gaunt and finysshed in Coleyn, ' whichevidently refers to the translation only. The date, 1475-6, has beenaffixed, because in the Low Countries at that time the year commenced onEaster-day; this in 1474 fell on April 10th, thus giving, as the day ofthe conclusion of the translation, 31 March 1475, the same year beingthe earliest possible period of its appearance as a printed book. " Thenthere is Caxton's own racy account of the circumstances under which thebook first appeared:--

"And emong alle other good werkys It is a werke of ryght specialrecomendacion to enforme and to late vnderstonde wysedom and vertue vntothem that be not lernyd ne can not dyscerne wysedom fro folye Th[=e]neemonge whom there was an excellent doctour of dyuynyte in the royame offraunce of the ordre of thospytal of Saynt Johns of Jherusalem whichentended the same and hath made a book of the chesse moralysed whiche atsuche tyme as I was resident in brudgys in the counte of Flaundres caminto my handes/ whiche whan I had redde and ouerseen/ me semed fulnecessarye for to be had in englisshe/ And in eschewyng of ydlenes Andto thende that s[=o]me which haue not seen it/ ne [=v]nderstonde frensshne latyn J delybered in my self to translate it in to our maternaltonge/ And whan I so had achyeued the sayd translacion/ J dyde doo settein enprynte a certeyn nombre of theym/ Whiche anone were depesshed andsolde wherfore by cause thys sayd book is ful of holsom wysedom andrequysyte vnto euery astate and degree/ J haue purposed to enprynte it/shewyng therin the figures of suche persons as longen to the playe. "

It is clear from this that both the translation and printing belong tothe period of Caxton's residence in Bruges. From the use of theinstrumental form "dyde doo sette en enprynte" it might be thought thatCaxton employed the services of some printer, but although commonly soemployed, there are instances which will not bear this interpretation ofits intention. [5] He either employed a printer or made some partnerfhipwith one, and there are various indications that confirm Mr. Blades'theory that the book came from the press of Colard Mansion. 

The second edition is undoubtedly the work of our first English printer. "Explicit per Caxton" is the unambiguous statement of the colophon. Itis a much more advanced specimen of typography than the first edition. It has signatures, of which _a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, _ arequaternions, _k_ and _l_ are terternions, making in all eighty-fourleaves, of which the first is blank. There is no title-page, and thetype used is that which Mr. Blades reckons as No. 2*. The lines arespaced out to an even length. There are twenty-nine lines to a fullpage, and the full line measures 4-7/8 inches. The prologue begins on _aij_. , and the table of chapters begins on the next page. The text beginson the recto of _a iii_. The text ends on the recto of _l_ 6, the lastpage being blank. There are sixteen woodcuts in the volume, which areused twenty-four times. There has been some diversity of opinion as tothe year in which this "Game of the Chesse" came from the press ofCaxton. The book is not dated. Dibdin thought it one of the printer'searliest efforts. Figgins regarded it as the earliest issue of theWestminster press, and further believed that it was printed from cutmetal types. This is not the view of Mr. Blades, who says: "Anexamination of the work, however, with a typographical eye does notafford a single evidence of very early workmanship. All Caxton's earlybooks were uneven in the length of their lines--this is quite even. Notone of the early works had any signatures--this is signed throughout. These two features alone are quite sufficient to fix its date ofimpression at least as late as 1480, when Caxton first began the use ofsignatures; but when we find that every known copy of this edition ofthe 'Chess-Book' presents a thicker and more worn appearance than anyone copy of any other book, there is good reason for supposing that thismay have followed the 'Tulli' of 1481, and have been the last book forwhich Type No. 2* was used. "[6]

Mr. Blades describes nine known copies, so that even fewer exemplarsremain of the second edition than of its predecessor. The copy in theKing's Library in the British Museum is imperfect, wanting severalleaves, and is mended in many places. The copy in the PepysianCollection at Cambridge wants one-half of the last leaf. TrinityCollege, Cambridge, has a perfect copy, "but a bad impression. " TheBodleian copy is defective in not having the last leaf. St. John'sCollege, Oxford, has a copy, from which one-half of _d iii_. Has beentorn away. The Imperial Library at Vienna has an imperfect copy. TheDuke of Devonshire's copy is perfect, but it is "a poor impression, andslightly stained. " The Earl of Pembroke's copy is very imperfect. EarlSpencer's is only slightly imperfect. The prices fetched by the secondedition have a sufficiently wide range. In 1698, at Dr. Bernard's sale, a copy fold for 1s. 6d. Farmer's copy in 1798 fetched £4 4s. Ratcliffe'scopy was bought at his sale for £16 by Willett; and when his books cameto the hammer in 1813, it was purchased by the Duke of Devonshire for£173 5s. [7] It is interesting to know that the copy of the secondedition in the Bibliotheca Spenceriana formerly belonged to LaurenceSterne, who bought it for a few shillings at York![8]

In the present reprint, the text followed is that of the first edition, transcribed from the copy in the British Museum; but the variations, alterations, and additions made in the second issue are all recorded infootnotes. The reader has, therefore, before him the work in all itsfulness. The same reasons that have led to the adoption of this coursehave also decided the publisher to include facsimiles of the curiouswoodcuts which appeared in the second edition. These, althoughnecessarily reductions in size, reproduce the quaint vigour of theoriginals. 

Caxton, we have seen, translated the "Game of the Chesse" from theFrench. There were in effect two, if not three, from which he may havetaken his version. One of these is by Jean Faron, Perron, or Feron (asthe name is variously spelled), a monk of the order of St. Dominic, ofwhom the notices are exceedingly scanty. [9] La Croix du Maine styles him"de l'Ordre des Frères Prescheurs ou Jacobins du Paris. " La Monnaye saysthat the translation was made from the Latin of Cessoles, and was begunin the year 1347. It has not been printed. [10] The translation isconsidered a literal version of the Latin of Cessoles. 

The prologue of Perron's version is as follows:--"Chy ensuit le geu desEschas moralisé, ouquel a plusiers exemples bien à noter. A noblehomme, Bertrand de Tarascon, frere Jehan Perron, de l'ordre des Freresprecheurs de Paris, son petil et humble chappelain soy tout. Le SainteEscripture dit que Dieux a fait a chascun commandement de pourchassier àtous nos prochains leur sauvement. Or est-il ainsi que nos prochains nesont pas tout un, ains sont de diverses condicions, estas et manieres, sy comme il appert. Car les uns sont nobles; les aultres non: lesaultres sont de cler engin; les aultres, non: les aultres sont enclins adevocion; les aultres, non. Et pour ce, affin que le commandement deDieu soit mis à execution bien convenablement, il convient avoirplusiers voyes et baillier à chascun ce qui lui est plus convenable; etainsi pourroit il le commandement de Dieu accomplir; . . . . Pour tant je, vostre petit chappelain, à vostre requeste, que je tieng pourcommendement, vous ai volu translata de latin en français le Gieu desEschas moralisé, que fist l'un de nos freres, appelé frere Jaques deCossoles, maistre en divinité, si que vous l'entendés plus legierrement;et à exemple des nobles hystoires qui y sont notteés, veuillésmaintenir, quant à vous, honnestement, et quant aux autres justement. . . . Or prenés done ce petit present, comencié le 4'e jour de May, l'an1347. "[11]

That Caxton made use of Perron's version is clear. Thus Mr. Bladesmentions the description of Evilmerodach as "un homme joly sans justice"as peculiar to Ferron, whose version he regards as the basis of thefirst and third chapters of Caxton's work. 

Dr. Van der Linde mentions a number of MSS. ; in some the date is givenas 1357, and in one as 1317. This version remains unprinted, but thereare MSS. Of it in the Bibliotheque Nationale, at Aosta, Cambrai, atBrussels, in the British Museum, Chartres, at Bern, and at Stockholm. [12]

Dr. Van der Linde also describes a MS. On parchment of the fifteenthcentury, forming part of the national library at Paris, which containsthe Game of Chess in verse. 

 "Mès si d'esbat te prent tallant, Pren ton esbat déuement; Mès si à jouer vieulx attendre, Un noble jou te faulte attendre, C'est des echecs qui est licite Et à touz bien les gens incite. "

The author has concealed his name with an ingenuity that has so fardefied penetration. 

 "Nommez mon nom et mon surnom, Je ey escript tout environ, A vingt et dous lettres sans plus, Sera trouvé cy au dessus En enscript, et sans plus ne moins. "

On this it is only necesiary to quote the remarks of a Frenchcritic:--"Ou ne nous dit pas si c'est dans la suite même de la phrase, ou seulement en acrosticke, que se trouvent les vingt-deux lettres deces nom mystérieux. Nous ne saurions former aucun nom avec les initialesdes trente vers qui précèdent ceux que nous venons de citer; et lemerite de l'ouvrage ne nous encourage pas à faire des longues recherchespour découvrir un nom que l'auteur a pris plaisir à nous cacher. "[13]

The bulk of Caxton's work is undoubtedly from the French translation ofJehan de Vignay, whose dedication to Prince John of France has simplybeen transformed into a similar address to the Duke of Clarence. Hestyles De Vignay "an excellent doctor of the order of the Hospital ofSt. John's of Jerusalem. " This is the only authority we have forsupposing De Vignay to be connected with that order. He styles himself"hospitaller de l'ordre de haut pas, " which was situated in the FaubourgSt. Jacques of Paris. It is curious that two members of the sameorder--for Ferron was also a Jacobin--should independently have occupiedthemselves with the same work. The version by De Vignay was probably thelater of the two, and it was also the most popular, for whilst Ferron'sis still unprinted, that of De Vignay has been frequently re-issued fromthe press. The work is dedicated to Jean de France, Duc de Normandie, who became king in 1350. It will be seen from this that these two Frenchversions were practically contemporaneous. 

The prologue to the book is as follows:--"A Tres noble & excellentprince Jehan de france duc de normendie & auisne filz de philipe par legrace de dieu Roy de france. Frere Jehan de vignay vostre petitReligieux entre les autres de vostre seignorie/ paix sante Joie &victoire sur vos ennemis. Treschier & redoubte seign'r/ pour ce que Jayentendu et scay que vous veez & ouez volentiers choses proffitables &honestes et qui tendent alinformacion de bonne meur ay Je mis vn petitliuret de latin en francois le quel mest venuz a la main nouuellement/ou quel plussieurs auctoritez et dis de docteurs & de philosophes & depoetes & des anciens sages/ sont Racontez & sont appliquiez a lamoralite des nobles hommes et des gens de peuple selon le gieu deseschez le quel liure Tres puissant et tres redoubte seigneur jay fait ounom & soubz vmbre de vous pour laquelle chose treschr seign'r Je voussuppli & requier de bonne voulente de cuer que il vo daigne plaire areceuvoir ce liure en gre aussi bien que de vn greign'r maistre de moy/car la tres bonne voulente que Jay de mielx faire se je pouoie me doitestre reputee pour le fait/ Et po'r plus clerement proceder en cesteouure/ Jay ordene que les chappitres du liure soient escrips & mis aucommencement afin de veoir plus plainement la matiere de quoy le ditliure pole. "[14]

It will be seen that this is the foundation of Caxton's dedication ofthe Chess-book to the Earl of Warwick. The "Golden Legend, " printed byCaxton in 1484, was in effect a translation from "La Legende Dorée, "made before the year 1380 by Jehan de Vignay, who in his prologuementions that he had previously translated into French "Le miroir deshystoires du monde, " at the request of "Ma dame Jehanne de Borgoigne, royne de France. "[15] This preface Caxton, as usual, adopted with somechanges of name and other alterations, amongst which is a reference to"the book of the chesse" as one of his works. The "Legenda Aurea" ofJacobus de Voragine is, of course, the original source of De Vignay's"Legende Dorée, " and Caxton's "Golden Legend. "

Ferron and de Vignay were avowedly translators. Their original wasJacques de Cessoles. The name of this author has been tortured into somany fantastic forms that one may almost despair of recovering theoriginal. Cæsolis, Cassalis, Castulis, Casulis, Cesolis, Cessole, Cessulis, Cesulis, Cezoli, de Cezolis, de Cossoles, de Courcelles, Sesselis, Tessalis, Tessellis, de Thessolus, de Thessolonia, and deThessolonica are different manners of spelling his surname, and the twolast are certainly masterpieces of transformation. Prosper Marchand hasamused himself by collecting some vain speculations of previous writersas to the age, country, and personality of Jacques de Cessoles. Somecounted him a Lombard, some an Italian, whilst others again boldlyasserted that he was a Greek!

He lived towards the end of the thirteenth or beginning of thefourteenth century, and having joined the Dominican order, was a "Maîtreen Théologie" of that brotherhood at Reims. Various works are attributedto him, and his learning and piety had many eulogists. 

It is more than probable that his name would have been much less widelyknown but for the happy accident that turned his attention to the gameof chess. It was a popular diversion, and in the moralizing spirit ofthe age he saw in it an allegory of the various components of thecommonwealth. The men who were merely killing time were perhapsflattered at the thought that they were at the same time learning themodes of statecraft. Then, as now, the teachers of morality felt that asong might reach him who a sermon flies, and they did not scruple to usein the pulpit whatever aids came handy. The popular stories, wise saws, and modern instances, were common enough on the lips of the preachers, and such collections as the "Gesta Romanorum show what a pitch ofingenuity in unnatural interpretation they had reached. An appropriateinstance is furnished by it in the following quaint fashion ofmoralizing the chess play:--

 "Antonius was a wys emp_er_our regnyng in the cite of Rome, the which vsid moche to pley with houndis; and aftir þat pley, all þe day aftir he wolde vse þe chesse. So yn a day, as he pleide at þe chesse, & byheld the kyng fette yn the pley, som tyme hy and som tyme lowe, among aufyns and pownys, he thought þ_er_with þ_a_t hit wold be so with hi_m_, for he shuld dey, and be hid vndir erth. And þ_er_fore he devided his Reame in thre p_ar_ties; and he yaf oo part to þe kyng of Ier_usa_l_e_m; þe secunde p_ar_t vnto þe lordis of his Reame or his empire; and the thrid p_ar_tie vnto the pore people; & yede him self vnto the holy londe, and ther he endid his lyf in peas. 

 MORALITE. 

 Seth now, good sirs; this emp_er_our, þat lovith so wele play, may be called eche worldly man þat occupieth him in vanytes of the world; but he moste take kepe of the pley of the chesse, as did the emp_er_oure. The chekir or þe chesse hath viij. Poyntes in eche p_ar_tie. In eu_er_y pley beth viij. Kyndes of men, s_cil_. Man, woman, wedewer, wedowis, lewid men, clerk_es_, riche men, and pou_er_e men. At this pley pleieth vj. Men. The first man, þat goth afore, hath not but oo poynt, but whenne he goth aside, he takith anoþ_er_; so by a pou_er_e man; he hath not, but when he comyth to þe deth with pacience, þen shall he be a kyng in heuen, w_i_t_h_ þe kyng of pore men. But if he grucche ayenst his neighbour of his stat, and be a thef, and ravissh þat wher he may, þen he is ytake, and put in to the p_re_son of helle. The secund, f_cil_. Alphyn, renneth iij. Poyntes both vpward and douneward; [he] betokenyth wise men, the whiche by deceyuable eloquence & takyng of money deceyueth, & so he is made oonly. The iij. _scil. _ þe kny3t, hath iij. Poyntes, & goth þ_er_with; [he] betokenyth gentilmen þat rennyth aboute, & ravisshith, and ioyeth for her kynrede, & for habundaunce of richesse. The fourth, s_cil. _ þe rook, he holdith length & brede, and takith vp what so is in his way; he betokenyth okerers and false m_er_chaunt3, þat rennyth aboute ouer all, for wynnyng & lucre, & rechith not how thei geten, so that thei haue hit. The fifthe is þe quene, that goth fro blak to blak, or fro white to white, and is yset befide þe kyng, and is ytake fro the kyng. This quene bytokenyth virgyns and damesels, þat goth fro chastite to synne, and beth ytake by the devill, for glovis or such man_e_r yiftis. The vj. Is to whom all owe to obey and mynystre; and he goth forth, and bakward ayen, & in either side, & takith ouer all; so sone discendith in to þe world, and ascendith to god by praiers; But when he takith [no] kepe of god, and hath no meyne, þan is hit to þe man chekmate. And þ_er_fore let vs not charge of oure estatis, no more þan is w_i_t_h_ þe men, when þei be put vp in þe poket; then hit is no charge who be above or who be byneth; and so by the Spirit of loulynesse we may come to þe ioy of heven. And þat graunt vs, _qui viuit_ &c. "

It is not, therefore, surprising to learn that Jacques de Cessoles foundtexts for sundry sermons on the game that formed so favourite adiversion of clergy and laity. The favour with which these discourseswere received no doubt gratified the worthy Dominican father. At therequest of some of those who heard them he began to write down thesubstance of his sermons. The result was the "Liber de moribus Hominumet officiis Nobilium ac Popularium super ludo scachorum, " whichimmediately attained great popularity. This is shown by the bibliographyof Dr. A. Van der Linde in a striking manner, for he has described twohundred codices to be found in the various public libraries ofEurope. [16]

The difficulties in the way of forming any clear conception as to thelife and personality of Cessoles, Ferron, and De Vignay are well shownin an article by M. C. Leber. [17] Dr. Ernst Köpke, who has reexamined theevidences as to Cessoles, holds that he was a Lombard. [18]

The chief source from which Cessoles took his material was the treatise"De Regimine Principum" of Egidius Romanus. 

He was of the great Neapolitan family of the Colonna, and his Christianname appears to have been Guido, but his designations have undergonesome curious transformations. Born at Rome, 22nd Sept. , 1216, GuidoColonna went at an early age to Paris, where, from the name of hisbirthplace, he became known as Ægidius Romanus, with the French form ofGilles de Rome. He was an ardent and enthusiastic disciple of St. ThomasAquinas, and his familiarity with that great doctor of the Church ledhim to desire admission to the Dominican order, but a difficultyintervened from the circumstance that he had already contracted tieswhich bound him to the order of St. Augustine. To this untoward accidentmay probably be attributed no little of the extension of thephilosophical doctrine of Aquinas; for Colonna, unable or unwilling tobe relieved of the vows that bound him to the Augustinians, preachedeagerly amongst them the Thomist speculations of his friend and master. In the controversy with the Franciscans, those whom he had indoctrinatedwere valuable allies to the Thomists, for their aid, coming from anindependent organization, appeared to carry the weight of impartiality, and to be unassailable on the plea of partisan interest. In the year1287 there was a general convocation of the order of St. Augustine atFlorence, and at this assembly it was decreed that the doctors of theorder should teach in conformity with the decisions arrived at byColonna. To him is largely due the success of the Thomist scheme, ofwhich he was an able, persistent, and vigorous exponent. Many tracts byhim remain in print and MS. On these subjects. The fame he had thusacquired gained him the name of _doctor fundamentarius_ and _doctorfundatissimus_. His lectures at Paris attracted to him the attention ofPhilippe le Hardi, who thought him a fitting person to be entrusted withthe education of his son, who was afterwards known to hiftory asPhilippe le Bel. It was whilst occupied with this royal youth that thethought of composing or compiling--and the terms were in practiceinterchangeable in those days--occurred, and the result was the treatise"De regimine Principum libri iii. " Philippe le Hardi, if not an educatedman himself--and there are doubts as to whether he could write his ownname--was laudably anxious that his heir should have the bestinstruction that could be obtained. It cannot well be claimed that theable, handsome, and unscrupulous Philippe was any great credit to hispreceptor. The despotic and perfidious character of the king probablyowed more to the influence of Nogaret and other defenders of the "rightdivine of kings to govern wrong, " than to the soberer precepts ofColonna. That Philippe had some tincture of literary feeling may beinferred from his employment of Jehan de Meung to translate the militarytreatise of Vegetius Flavius Renatus, a compilation of the secondcentury of the present era, which was so popular in the middle ages thatit was translated by Caxton into English. Still better evidence is thetranslation made for the king by the same poet of Boethius, whosestoical philosophy must have had a special appropriateness for thosetimes of political storm and stress, when the fickleness of fortune musthave been a matter of only too common repute. Guido Colonna was electedby his admiring brethren the general of the order in 1292, and took uphis residence at Bourges, its metropolitan seat. 

In this honourable office he continued his literary labours, and to thisperiod are assigned the greater part of his numerous works. He died atAvignon in 1316. His body was translated to Paris, where his effigy inblack marble, with his epitaph, remained until the Frenchrevolution. [19] It would be superfluous to enumerate his philosophicalwritings, for they would have no interest in the present day. Hiscommentary on Aristotle "De Anima, " it may be observed, was dedicated toEdward I. His name is now chiefly remembered because his work on therule of princes formed the basis of the treatise in which Jacques deCessoles moralized the fashionable game of the chess. 

One interesting instance of the popularity of Colonna's work is thetranslation of it made into English verse by Thomas Occleve. [20] Hewrote it in 1411 or 1412, and its object was to obtain the payment of anannuity from the exchequer which had been granted to him, but thepayment of which was very irregular. The book was dedicated to thePrince of Wales. After mentioning his purpose to translate from the(apocryphal) letter of Aristotle to Alexander and "Gyles of Regement ofPrynces, " he proceeds:--

 "There is a booke, Jacob de Cessoles, Of the ordre of Prechours, made, a worthy man, That the Chesse moralisede clepede is, In whiche I purpose eke to labour ywis And here and there, as that my litelle witte Afforthe may, I thynke translate it. 

 And al be it that in that place square Of the lystes, I meane the eschekere, A man may learn to be wise and ware; I that have avanturede many a yere, My witte therein is but litelle the nere, Save that somewhat I know a Kynges draught, Of other draughts lernede have I naught. "--(p. 77. )

"In those days, " says Warton, "ecclesiastics and schoolmen presumed todictate to kings and to give rules for administering states, drawn fromthe narrow circle of speculation, and conceived amid the pedantries of acloister. It was probably recommended to Occleve's notice by having beentranslated into English by John Trevisa, a celebrated translator aboutthe year 1390. [21]

Having thus traced the stream back to its fountain, we return to Caxton. The story of his life has been told by Mr. Blades, and only the mostessential facts of his busy and useful career need be recapitulatedhere. He was born in the Weald of Kent, and it has been conjectured thatthe manor of Caustons, near Hadlow, was the original home of the family. He was apprenticed to Alderman Robert Large, a mercer, who wasafterwards Lord Mayor. The entry in the books of the Mercers' Companyleads to the inference that Caxton was born about 1422. Probably on thedeath of Large, in 1441, Caxton went abroad, for he tells us that in1471 he had been resident outside England for thirty years. About 1462or 1463 he was Governor of the English Nation or Merchant Adventurers atBruges. This was a position of great influence, and it is thought tohave enabled the loyal mercer to give good service to Edward IV. , whowas an exile in 1470. Caxton's marriage was not much later than 1469, and it is conjectured that this led him to enter the service of theDuchess of Burgundy. She had literary tastes, and at her request hetranslated the "Recuyell des Histoires de Troyes" of Raoul Le Fevre. Itwas the demand for copies of this that exhausted Caxton's calligraphicpatience, and led to his employment of a printer. The incident may havebeen casual, but it led to great results. It has been said that helearned the printers' art at Cologne, but Mr. Blades supposes that heentered its mystery at Bruges under Colard Mansion, with whom he appearsto have had some partnership. Probably towards the end of 1476 Caxtonreturned to England. He had the favour of Edward IV. And of his sister, Duchess of Burgundy, and the friendship of the King's brother-in-law, Earl Rivers. Ninety-nine distinct productions issued from Caxton'spress, he was printer, publisher, translator, and something of author aswell. He set in good earnest about the work that is still going on--ofmaking the best accessible literature widely and commonly known. Thisuseful career was only ended by his death. The exact date is not known, but it was probably late in 1491. He left a married daughter. Caxton wasa good business man. He was also a sincere lover of literature, and hewas at his favourite work of translation only a few hours before thefinal summons came. 

The quality of Caxton as a translator is not a matter of much doubt. Itmay be that the archaic forms give an additional flavour to his style, since they present few difficulties to the modern reader, and yet soundlike echoes from the earlier periods of the language. Generally he iscontent to follow his author with almost plodding fidelity, butoccasionally he makes additions which are eminently characteristic. Hisauthor having remarked:--"Il nest an Jour Duy nulle chose qui tantgrieue Rome ne ytalie com~e fait le college Des notaires publiques Carilz ne sont mie en accort ensemble"--Caxton improves the passage thus:--

 "For ther is no thynge at this day that so moche greueth rome and Italye as doth the college of notaries and aduocates publicque. For they ben not of oon a corde/ Alas and in Engeland what hurte doon the aduocats. Men of law. And attorneyes of court to the comyn peple of y'e royame as well in the spirituell lawe as in the temporall/ how torne they the lawe and statutes at their pleasir/ how ete they the peple/ how enpouere they the comynte/ I suppose that in alle Cristendom ar not so many pletars attorneys and men of the lawe as ben in englond onely/ for yf they were nombrid all that lange to the courtes of the channcery kinges benche. Comyn place. Cheker. Ressayt and helle And the bagge berars of the same/ hit shold amounte to a grete multitude And how alle thyse lyue & of whome. Yf hit shold be vttrid & told/ hit shold not be beleuyd. For they entende to theyr synguler wele and prouffyt and not to the comyn/"

Another addition is the brief passage in the first chapter of the fourthtract in which the "good old times" are lamented and contrasted with thedecadence of the then present--now the four centuries past. 

 "Alas what haboundance was some tymes in the royames. And what prosþite/ In whiche was Iustice/ And euery man in his office contente/ how stood the cytees that tyme in worship and renome/ how was renomed the noble royame of Englond Alle the world dredde hit And spack worship of hit/ how hit now standeth and in what haboundance I reporte me to them that knowe hit yf ther ben theeuis wyth in the royame or on the see/ they knowe that laboure in the royame And sayle on the see I wote well the same is grete therof I pray god saue that noble royame And sende good true and politicque counceyllours to the gouernours of the same &c. /"

The concluding paragraph of the book is also due to Caxton. 

 "And therfore my ryght redoubted lord I pray almighty god to saue the kyng our souerain lord & to gyue hym grace to yssue as a kynge & tabounde in all vertues/ & to be assisted with all other his lordes in such wyse y't his noble royame of Englond may prospere & habounde in vertues/ and y't synne may be eschewid iuftice kepte/ the royame defended good men rewarded malefactours punysshid & the ydle peple to be put to laboure that he wyth the nobles of the royame may regne gloriously In conquerynge his rightfull enheritaunce/ that verray peas and charite may endure in bothe his royames/ and that marchandise may haue his cours in suche wise that euery man eschewe synne/ and encrece in vertuous occupacions/ Praynge your good grace to resseyue this lityll and symple book made vnder the hope and shadowe of your noble protection by hym that is your most humble seruant/ in gree and thanke And I shall praye almighty god for your longe lyf & welfare/ whiche he preferue And sende yow thaccomplisshement of your hye noble. Ioyous and vertuous desirs Amen:/: Fynysshid the last day of marche the yer of our lord god. A. Thousand foure honderd and lxxiiii"

This was struck out in the second edition, and the following brieferfarewell substituted:--

 "Thenne late euery man of what condycion he be that redyth or herith this litel book redde take therby ensaumple to amend hym. 

 Explicit per Caxton. "

The alteration may perhaps be received as an evidence of our firstEnglish printer's fastidiousness as an author. 

The bibliography of the editions, translations, and imitations ofCessoles is long and intricate. Details of MSS. Have not been thoughtnecessary. They have been amply described by Dr. Van der Linde. Thetreatise on the rule of princes of Colonna has been taken as furnishingthe matter which Jacques de Cessoles afterwards re-arranged under theattractive form of a description of the game of chess. The editions ofthe Latin text are followed by particulars of the translations intoFrench, English, Spanish, Italian, and other languages. Each title hasappended the name of the bibliographer on whose authority it is given. 

These are as follows:--

_Hain. _--Repertorium Bibliographicum . . . Opera Ludovici Hain. Stuttgart, 1826. 

_Ebert. _--A General Bibliographical Dictionary, from the German ofFrederic Adolphus Ebert. Oxford, 1837. 4 vols. 

_Græsse. _--Trésor de Livres rares et précieux: par Jean George ThéodoreGræsse. Dresde, 1859-67. 6 vols. 

_Brunet. _--Manuel du Libraire par Jacques-Charles Brunei. Paris, 1860. 

_Linde. _--Geschichte und Literatur des Schachspiels von Antonius van derLinde. Berlin, 1874. 

Das erste Jartausend der Schachlitteratur (850-1880) zusammengestelltvon Dr. A. V. D. Linde. Berlin, 1881. 

Dr. Van der Linde's work is so complete that, for the most part, it hasbeen thought sufficient to give his name, even when older authoritieshave been consulted. 

COLONNA. 

(See _antè_, p. Xxviii. )

Ægidius Romanus de regimine principum L. III. S. L. 1473. Folio. 

This Ebert and Græsse conjecture to have been printed by G. Zainer. They describe it as the first edition of a work frequently reprinted, and say that the last edition appeared at Lugd. Batav. In 1643, and hadon the title-page the name of St. Thomas Aquinas as author. Hainmentions editions at Rome--Stephanum Plannck, 1482, folio;Venetiis, 1498. 

 * * * * *

(_French translation. _)

Miroir exemplaire, selon la compilation du Gilles de Rome du regime etgouvernement des rois etc. (by Henri de Gauchy or de Gauchay) et avecest compris le secret de Aristote appellé le secret des secrets, et lesnoms des rois de France com bien de temps ils out regné. Paris, 1517. Folio. 

(_Græsse. _)

This was printed by Guillaum Eustace: "On les v=et au palais au Tierspillier Et a la me neufue nostre dame a lenseigne de Lagnus dei"(_Brunef_). Ebert mentions a French translation as having been printedat Paris, in 1497; but Brunet, in the article on Aristotle, gives asomewhat minute account of the book, to show that it is not thatof Colonna. 

 * * * * *

(_Spanish translation. _)

Regimi[=e]to de los principes sechs y ordenado par Don fray Gil de Roma dela orden de s[=a]t Augustin. E fizolo trasladar de latín en rom[=a]ce doBernardo obispo de osma etc. Suilla--a espenses de Mæstre Conradoaleman. & Melchior gurrizo, mercadores de libros, fue impresso perMeynardo Ungut alememo: & Stanislas Polono compañeros. Acabaron se aveynte dias del mes de octubre Año del señor de Mill & quarto cientos &nouenta & quarto [1494] folio. 

(_Hain, Brunet, Græffe_. )

Ebert notes that there was an edition under the name of Th. Aquino atMadrid, 1625, 4to. 

(_Catalan translation_. )

Regiment des Princeps. Barcelona per Mestre Nicolau Spindaleremprentador. 1480. Folio. 

(_Græffe_. )

Regiment del Princeps. Barcelona per JohanLuchner. 1498. Fol. 

(_Brunei, Græffe_. )

(_Italian translation_. )

Ebert mentions an Italian version by Val. Averoni. Firenze, 1577, 8vo. 

(_Græffe_. )

(_English translation_. )

De regimine Principum, a poem by Thomas Occleve, written in the reign ofHenry IV. Edited for the first time by Thomas Wright, Esq. , M. A. , F. S. A. , &c. Printed for the Roxburghe Club. London, J. B. Nichols. 1860. 4to. 

(See _antè_, p. Xxxii. , for notice of another Early English version. )

CESSOLES. 

(See _antè_, p. Xxiv. )

Incipit solati[=u] ludi schacor. Scilicz regiminis ac morum nominu= etofficium viror' nobili[=u] quor' si quis formas menti impresserit bellumipsum et ludi virtutem cordi faciliter poterit optinere. (E)Go frateriacobus de thessolonia multor' fratru= &c. Ends: Explicit folaci[=u] ludischacor'. Folio. 40 leaves. 

There is neither date, place, nor printer's name given; but it isconsidered to have been the work of Nic. Ketelær and Ger. De Leempt, atUtrecht (Ultrajectus), about 1473. 

(_Linde, Græsse_. )

Incipit libellus de ludo Scaccorum, et de dictis factisque nobiliumvirorum, philosophorum et antiquorum. Explicit tabula super ludumScacchorum. Deo gratias. 4to. 29 leaves. Sign. A--H. 

This is in black letter, and has neither date nor place. 

(_Linde_. )

Incipit libelles de ludo Schaccorum. . . . Explicit doctrina vel moruminformatio, accepta de modo et ordine Ludi Schaccorum. 4to. 

(_Linde_. )

Incipit liber quem composuit frater. Jacobus' de cessolis ordinisfratr[=u] predicatorum qui intitulatur liber de moribus hominum etofficiis nobilium super ludo scacorum. Impressum Mediolani ad impensasPaulini de suardis Anno a natali christiano. MCCCCLXXviiij. Die xxiij. Mensis augusti. Folio. 24 leaves. 

(_Linde, Græsse_. )

Jacobi de Cessolis Ord. Præd. Informatio morum, excerpta ex modo etratione ludi Scacchorum; sive de moribus hominum officiisque nobilium etsuper eo commentarius. Mediolani. 1497. Folio. 

(_Linde, Græsse_. )

Tractatus de Scachis mistice interpretatus de moribus per singuloshomin[=u] status. 4to. Anno 1505. 

On leaf 31b:--

 "Ad lectorum Qum paucis rigidos possis compescere mons Accipe: quod offert hiberna ex arce Johannes Scacherii munus: sapiens Philometer et illud Tradidit. Ut regis babilonis crimina mergat Hunc tibi si soties capiet te lectio frequens Noveris et iuste que ius moderamina vite. "

No place or date, but supposed to be printed at Vienna, by Joh. Winterburg. 

(_Linde, Græsse_. )

Jacobus de Cessoles. Von Prof. Dr. Ernft Köpke, Mittheilungen, aus denHandschriften der Ritter. Akademie zu Brandenburg. Brandenburg a. D. Havel, 1879, 4to. 

(_Linde_, "Jartausend. ")

(_French translation_. )

Les jeu des Echez moralisé, nouvellement imprimé à Paris (ends). Cyfinist le livre des Echez et l'Ordre de Chevalerie, translaté de latinen françois, imprimé nouvellement à Paris; et fut achevé le vendredy, VI'e jour de septembre, l'an MVC et IIII, pour Anthoine Verart, librairejuré en l'université de Paris, demourant à Paris, à l'imaige SainctJehan l'evangeliste, devant la rue neufve Nostre Dame, &c. Folio, 102 leaves. 

(_Linde. _)

"On trouve an f. LX un autre traité de Morale et an f. Lxxxij celui de_Melibee et de Prudence_. Il y a à la bibl. Imp. Un exempl. De cette éd. Tiré sur vélin et orné de 4 Miniatures. "

(_Græsse. _)

Le Jeu de Echets moralisé . . . Cy finist le liure des eschecz et lordrede cheualerie, translattée de latin en françoys imprimé à Paris: et futacheué le xiiii iour de nouembre mil cinq cent et cinq. Par Michel lenoir libraire . . . Demourant deuant Saint Denys de la chartre à limaigenostre dame. 90 leaves. 

(_Linde. _)

On trouve à la fin du _Livre de l'ordre de chevalerie_ le même Dialogueentre Melibée et Prudence sous le titre: _Ung petit traictie alenseignement et au prouffit de tous princes barons & aultres que levouldront entendre & garder lequel fut fonde & extrait d'une fictiontrouvee en escript_. Ce qui a induit _Du Verdier_ (vol. I. P. 556) enerreur de croire que cette traduction, publiée en 1505, diffère decelle de 1504. 

(_Græsse. _)

{_Italian translation_. }

Libro di Giuocho di Scacchi intitulato de costumi degli huomin et degliofficii de nobili. 4to. 

"Ohne Angabe des Druckortes und des Jahres. Ausser demTitelblattbildchen bringt das Buch dreizehn Abbildungen, welche die vonCessoles auf dem Schachbrett statuirten Würden und Gewerke darstellen. "

(_Linde_)

Libro di givocho di scacchi intitulato de costumi degl huomini & deglioffitii de nobili. (Fol. 2a:) In comincia un tractato gentile & utiledella uirtu del giuocho degli scachi cioe intitulato de costumideglhuomini & degli ufitii denobili: composto pel Reu[=e]redo MæstroJacopo dacciesole dellordine de fratri predicatori. Fol. 67b: Impressoin Fir[=e]ze per Mæstro Antonio Miscomini Anno M. CCCCLXXXXIII. Adi primodi Marzo 8vo. 

(_Linde_. )

"Cette ed. Bien incorrecte quant an texte (comme les reimpressions: f. L. 1534, in 8vo. [56 ff. ] I 1. 206, Gallarini) est recherchée pour sesbelles gravures en bois, don't une partie a été copiée par Dibdin, AedesAlthorp, vol. Ii. P. 5-13. II y a une nouvelle édition: _Mil. Tipogr. DiGiulio Terrario_, 1829, gr. In 8°, avec des copies de ces mêmes figureset des corrections du texte d'après des de Florence. On a tiré de cettedernière édition 24 exempl. _in carte distinte_, 1 sur peau velind'Augsbourg et 1 _in capretti di Roma_. "

(_Græsse_. )

Opera nvova nella quale se insigna il vero regimento delli huomini &delle do[=n]e di qualunqu grado, stato, e condition esser si voglia:, Composta per lo Reuerendissimo Padre Frate Giacobo da Cesole del ordinedi predicatori sopra il giuoco delli Scacchi, Intitulata Costvme dellihvomini, & vfficii delli nobeli, nuouamente Stampata. M. D. XXXIIII. Stampata in Vineggia per Fransesco di Alessandro Bin doni & MapheoPasini compagni: Nelli anni del Signore, 1534. Del mese di Zenaro 8vo. 56 leaves. 

(_Linde_. )

Volgarizzamento del libro de' costumi e degli officii de' nobili soprail giuoco degli scacchi di frate Jacopo da Cessole tratto nuovamente daun codice Magliabechiano. Milano, 1829. Dalla tipografia del dottoreGiulio Ferrario Contrado del Bocchetto al No. 2465 8vo. Pp. Xx and 162, and 1 leaf. 

(_Linde_. )

_Catalan translation_. 

This does not appear to have been printed. There is a codex in theVatican and another at Barcelona. They are described by Linde. See ante, p. Xxviii. 

_Spanish translation_. 

Dechado de la vida humana. Moralmento Sacado del juego del Axedrez. Tradizado agora de nuevo per el licenciado Reyna Vezino della Villa deAranda de duero. En este año M. D. XLIX. 4to. 56 leaves. 

Printed at Valladolid by Francifque Fernandes de Cordoue. 

(_Linde_. )

_German translation_. 

Ich bruder Jacob von Caffalis prediger ordens, bin überwunder worden vonder bruder gebet . . . (Ends. ) Hie endet sich das buch menschlicher sittenvnd d'ampt der edeln. Folio. 40 leaves. 

Without place or year, but printed before the year 1480. 

(_Linde_. )

I (Ch) bruder Jacob von Cassalis prediger ordens bin vberwunden wordenvo(n) der brüder gebet wegen vn(d) der weltlichen studenten vn(d) andernedlen leut die mich haben horen predigen das spil das do heyssetschachzabel. Das ich davon gemacht hab ditz buch. Vn(d) hab das prachtzenutz menschlichs geschlechts. Vn(d) hab es geheissen das buchmenschlicher sitten vnnd der ampt der edlen . . . (Ends. ) Hie endet sichdas buch menschlicher sitten vnd der ampt der edeln I. 4. 7. 7. Folio. 40 leaves. 

This is believed to have been printed with the type of G. Zainer atAugftmrg. 

(_Linde_)

(I)ch bruder Jacob vo(n) Cassalis prediger ordens bin vberwunden wordenvon der brüder gebet . . . (Ends. ) Hie endet sich das Buch menschlichersitten vnd der ampt der edlen. Gedruckt zu Augsburg in derKayserliche(n)stat anno dni MCCCC LXXX IIJ. Am osterabe(n)t geent. Folio. 36 leaves. 

(_Linde_. )

Dis buchlein weiset die aufzlegung des schachzabel spils, Vndmenschlicher fitten, Auch von den ampten der edeln. (Leaf Aiia)

(I)ch bruder Jacob vo(n) Cassalis prediger orde(n)s . . . (Leaf 39b)Getruckt vnd volendet von henrico knoblochzern in der hochgelobten statStrassburg vff Sant Egidius tag In dem LXXX iij Jor. &c. Folio. 39 leaves. 

(_Linde_. )

Jacobus de Cessolis, de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium acpopularium; oder, Das Schachwerk des Cessolis, von den Sitten derMenschen und den Pflichten der Vornehmen und Niedern. Von Heydebrand v. D. Lafa. (Schachzeitung, 1870. )

(_Linde. _)

(_German rhyming version of Conrad von Ammenhausen_. )

Ueber das Schachzabelbuch Konrads von Ammenhausen und die ZofingerHandsschrift desselben, von Wilhelm Wackernagel (Beitrage zur Geschichteund Literatur vorzuglich aus den Archiven und Bibliotheken des KantonAargau. Herausgegeben von Dr. Heinrich Kurz . . . Und Placid Weissenbach. Erster Band. Aarau 1846. )

Dr. Van der Linde gives particulars of various MSS. Of this rhymingversion of Cessolis. 

(_German rhyming version of Dr. Jacob Mennel_. )

Schachzabel. (Ends. ) Getruckt vund vollendet in der loblichen stattCostentz vo Hanfen schäffeler. Vf zinftag vor sant Vits tag Anno M. Ccccvn vii iar. 4to 13 leaves. Sig. A ii--c ii. 

In the prologue Jacob Mennel, doctor, claims the paternity of thisrhyming treatise, but he is supposed to have taken much of hismaterial--ready made--from Ammenhausen. 

Schachtzabel Spiel. D Esz Ritterlich[=e] kunst lich[=e] Schachtzabel Spielsvnderweygung, erclärung, vn(d) verstant, wo here das kommen, were das amersten erfunden, vund ausz was vrsach es erdacht sey, Auch wie man daskünstlich lernen ziehen vn(d) spielen solle, sampt etlich[=e] kunstlich[=e]geteylten spielen &c. [Illustration: hand] Zu dem Schachtzieher. 

 "Dein Augen scherpff, nicht uberseh Dem wyderteyl, sleiszlich nach speh, Wie fich gebürt, im Feld und Heer, Dein volck das schich an zu der weer, Vnd orden das recht an dem streyt, Ders überlicht, gern vnden leyt. "

Getruckt zu Oppenheym. 4to. 

This second edition was issued by Jacob Köbel, who printed about 1520. 

(_Linde. _)

Des Altenn Ritterlichenn spils des Schachzabels, grüntlich bedeutungvund klarer bericht, dasselbig künstlich zuziehenn vund spilen. Mit einnewenn zusatz ettlicher besonderen Meisterstück, nach der Current, welfchen art, vn(d) von Hutten, deszgleichen ettlichener besondernRegeln des Schachziehens, vormals nie auszgangen. Franckfurt, 1536. 4to. 

(_Linde. _)

Vnderweifzung, erklärung, vund auszlegung desz Ritterlichenn, kunstlichenn spielfz des Schachzabels, durch den Hochgelartenn DoctorJacob Mennel. . . Auff dem heiligen Reichsztag zu Kostentz, Anno &c. 1507in Rheimen gedicht, vund desselbinn spiels Vrsprung vn(d) wesenn, Auchwie man das auff das aller kurtzest zu ziehenn vund spilen begreissenmag, offenbart. Frankfurt, 1536, 4to. 

This is given on the authority of Massmann by Dr. Van der Linde. 

Das Schachzabelspiel. Des alten ritterlichen Spiels des Schachzabels'gründlich Bedeutung. . . Frankf. 1536. [Reprint. ]

Dr. Van der Linde does not speak well of this reprint which appearedin:--Schaltjahr, welches ist der teutsch Kalendar, durch J. Scheible. Dritter Band. Stuttgart, 1847. 

(_German rhyming version of Heinrich von Beringen. _)

There is a third rhyming version of the Chessbook by Heinrich vonBeringer, of which a MS. , dated 1438, is in the Stuttgart library. (_Linde. _)

(_Low German rhyming translation by Stephan. _)

Van dogheden vnde van guden zeden fecht dyt boek wol dat valen ouer leftde wert ok des schackspeles klock. (Lubeck, about 1489. ) Small 4to. Orlarge 8vo. 

 "Hir gheyt vth ghemaket to dude Dat schackspil der eddelen lude Des bokes dichter het stephan. "

(_Linde. _)

(_Dutch Translation. _)

(D)It is die tafel van desen boeck datmen hiet dat scæcspel (Fol. 2'a)(H)Ier beghint ee suuerlyc boec vanden tytuerdryf edelre heren endevrouwen. Als vande scæc spul. Dær nochtant een ygherlyck mensche vanwat stæt dat hi si. Vele scoenre en(de) saliger leren wt neme(n) mach. Næ welcken hi syn leuen sal regieren tot profyt ende salicheyt synresielen (Fol. 67'b), ghebruyken Amen In iær ons heren dusent vierhondertende neghentseuentich. Opten anderden dach van october, soe is ditghenoechlycke boeck voleynt en(de) Ghemæct ter goude in hollant. By mygherært leeu. Lof heb god Folio. 

(_Linde. _)

Tractat van den Tydverdryf der Edele Heeren ende Vrouwen, genoemt datscækspel, verciert met veele schoone historien (Ends:) Int iær onsheren M. CCCC. LXXXIII. Opten veertienden dach van februario: so is datghenoecklike bock volmæckt te Delff in hollant. 4to. 

(_Linde. _)

Hier beghint een suyuerlijck boeck vande(n) tytuerdrijf edelre heere(n)ende vrouwen, als vanden scæck spel, dær nochtans een ieghelijckme(n)sche va wat stæt dz by sy, vele scoonre en(de) saligherleerighe(n) wt nemen mach, næ welcken hy sijn leuen sal regeren totprofijt ende salicheyt synre sielen. (Ends. ) Gheprint tot Louen in deBorchstrate in den Lupært by my Anthonis Maria Bergaigne ghesworenboecprinter. Int iær ons Heren. M. CCCCC. Ende LI. Den VI. Dach vanAugustus. 8vo. 120 leaves. 

(_Linde_. )

(_Scandinavian rhyming translation_. )

De ludo Scacchorum seu de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium acpopularium. Poema suecanum vetustum. E codice manuscripto biblioth. Reg. Universitatis Havn. Nunc primum editum. Quod consensu ampl. Ord. Phil. Lund. P. P. Ernestus Rietz et Augustus Ludovicus Sjöberg, scanus inAcademia Carolina die vi Decembris MDCCCXLVIII. Lundæ, TypisBerlingianis. MDCCCXLVIII. 8vo. 

Fourteen dissertations, of which there is a set in the Jena Library. 

There is a MS. Of this Scandinavian poetical version of Cessolis dated1492, and another dated 1492 in the Kopenhagen University Library. 

(_Linde_. )

(_English translation. _)

The Game and Playe of the Chesse. Folio. E. P. 

The Game and Playe of the Chesse. Explicit per Caxton. Folio. 

The Game at Chesse, a metaphorical Discourse shewing the present Estateof this Kingdome. London. 1643, 4to. 

This title is given by Lowndes, but examination only would show whetherit is in any way an imitation of Caxton. 

The Game of the Chesse by William Caxton. [Facsimile reprint of thesecond edition, with remarks by Vincent Figgins. ] London: J. R. Smith, 1855. Folio. 

The Game of the Chesse by William Caxton. Reproduced in facsimile from acopy in the British Museum. With a few remarks on Caxton's TypographicalProductions. By Vincent Figgins. London: John Russell Smith. 1860. 

The Game of the Chesse by William Caxton. A facsimile reproduction ofthe first work printed in England, from the copy in the British Museum. London: Trübner and Co. 1862. Fol. 

Caxton and the Spelling Reform. [Signed] Isaac Pitman, Bath, 10th March, 1877. 4to. Pp. 4. 

This contains an extract from the "Game of the Chess" in fourcolumns:--i. Caxton's spelling. 2. The supposed pronunciation of thesame represented by the Phonetic alphabet. 3. Modern spelling. 4. Phonetic spelling. 

The Game of the Chesse: a moral treatise on the duties of life. TheFirst Book Printed in England, by William Caxton in the year 1474. Reprinted in Phonetic spelling, with a preface and contents in Caxton'sorthography, and a fac-simile page of the original work. Second edition. London, F. Pitman. Bath, Isaac Pitman, James Davies. 1872 [1879]. 

The printing of this book began in 1872, when the title-page and earliersheets were worked, but it was not finished until May, 1879. This is thesecond time that Mr. Pitman has printed the Chess-book in his reformedorthography. The first issue was in 1855. Although the title-pagerepeats the old belief that "The Game of Chess" was the first bookprinted in England, and gives the date of 1474, it is really a reprintof the second edition of Caxton. 

(_Sloane's version_. )

The Buke of the Chesse. Auchinleck Press. 1818. 4to. 

This is printed from a MS. Which is believed to have been written aboutthe beginning of the sixteenth century. The work is in verse, and ends:"Heir endis y'e buke of y'e Chess, Script per manu Jhois Sloane. " Onlyforty copies were reprinted by Sir Alexander Boswell at theAuchinleck Press. 

(_Linde. Lowndes_. )

The "Game and Play of the Chess" is an interesting specimen of mediævalEnglish literature. It is so near our own time that the languageprefents few difficulties, in spite of its many Gallicisms, and yet itis so remote as to seem like the echo of an unknown world. Thedistinctly dogmatic portions of the book are but few, and their paucityis indeed a matter of some surprise, since it is in effect a detailedtreatise on practical ethics, and is, in part if not wholly, systematized from the discourses of one distinguished preacher, who hadborrowed much of his matter from another eminent ecclesiastic. Theauthor aims not at the enforcement of doctrine, but at the guidance oflife, though he no doubt assumes that his hearers are all faithful andorthodox sons of the Church. [22]

The ideal of the commonwealth of the middle ages finds an interestingexpression. The sharp lines of demarcation between class and class arestated with the frankness that comes of a belief that the then existingsocial fabric was the only one possible in the best of worlds. There isno doubt in the author's mind as to the rightful position of king andbaron, of bishp and merchant. The "rights of man" had not been invented, apparently, and the maxim that the king reigns but does not govern, would have perplexed the souls of Cessoles and his translators. They hadno more doubt as to the divine right of the monarch, than the Thibetanhas of the divine right of the grand lama. The Buddhist thinks he hassecured the continuous re-appearance of supernatural wisdom in humanform, and the regular transmission of political ability in the samefamily was the ideal for which the devotees of mediæval despotism had tohope. Nothing could be further from the aspirations of our author than arace of mere palace kings seeking enjoyment only in self-indulgence. Theking was to be the ruler and leader of his people. The relation andinterdependence of the several classes is emphatically proclaimed, andthe claims of duty are urged upon each. 

The book enables us to gauge the literary culture of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. Poor as it may now seem, itbelonged, in those days, to the "literature of power, " and had greatinfluence. The form is one which lent itself readily to poetic andhistoric illustration, and indeed demanded such treatment. The authorsand translators were chiefly learned and distinguifhed ecclesiastics. Caxton, the representative of the new time when literature was to be thecommon heritage, was filled to overflowing with the best literature thenaccessible. A writer of the present century, probably borrowing hissentiment, has defined originality to be undetected imitation. Suchrefinements were unknown to Cessoles and his contemporaries. A writertook whatever suited his purpose from any and every source that was opento him. A quotation was always as good as an original sentiment, andsometimes much better. Why should a man take the trouble of laboriouslyinventing fresh phrases about usury or uncleanness when there were thevery words of St. Augustine or St. Basil ready to hand? Why seek moderninstances when the great storehouse of anecdotes of Valerius Maximus wasready to be rifled? Very frequently the author is given, mostly it maybe imagined from a sense of the value of the authority of the names thuscited. Whatever the intention of the writer, the effect is to show uswhat were the authors known, studied, and quoted in the middle ages. 

The authors named are:--Saint Ambrose (2 references), Anastasius (1), Avicenna (2), Saint Augustine (9), Saint Basil (1), Saint Bernard (2), Boethius (3), Cassiodorus (1), Cato (5), Cicero (6), Claudian (2), "Crete" (1), Diomedes (1), Florus (1), Galen (1), Helinand (4), Hippocrates (4), Homer (1), Saint Jerome (3), John the Monk (1), Josephus (4), Livy (2), Lucan (1), Macrobius (1), Martial (1), Ovid (6), Paulus Diaconus (1), Petrus Alphonsus (2), Plato (4), Quintilian (3), Sallust (1), Seneca (15), Sidrac (1), Solinus (1), Symmachus (1), Theophrastus (1), "Truphes of the Philosophers" (2), Turgeius Pompeius(1), Valerius Maximus (23), Valerian (7), Varro (1), Virgil (2), "VitasPatrum" (2). 

It will be seen that the great classical writers are but poorlyrepresented, and the main dependence has been upon the later essayists, and chiefly upon Valerius Maximus, who has pointed many of the moralsenforced in this book. It may, perhaps, be doubted if the writer hadmore to work from than Valerius, Seneca, and St. Augustine, withoccasional quotations such as memory would supply from other sources. The verification of all these quotations would not repay the labour itwould involve; but in most cases where the experiment has been tried, the result has been fairly creditable to the old author. 

The biblical allusions may be taken as typical. There are references tothe "bible, " "holy scripture, " "Ecclesiastes, " and "Canticles. " Therealso occur the names of Adam, Eve, Abel, Cain, Noah, Ham, Lot, David, Abner, Joab, Abishai, Solomon, Isaiah, Evilmerodach, Belshazzar, Darius, Cyrus, Tobias, John the Baptist, and Paul. The citations are not allliterally exact. Solomon had not a very good opinion of his fellow-men;but the comprehensive estimate of the number of fools with which he iscredited on p. 3 is not to be found in the writings canonicallyattributed to him. The quotation from the Canticles on p. 25 may becompared with the translation in the Wicliffite verfion made by Nicholasde Hereford, A. D. 1380. This passage is rendered: "His left hond isvndur myn heed; and his ri3t hond shal biclippe me" ("Song of Solomon, "ii. 6). Clip is still current in Lancashire, in the sense of embrace. 

The extract from St. Paul, with which the prologue to the second editionopens, is no doubt intended for the following passage: "All Scripture isgiven by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, forreproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. Iii. 16). 

In the reference to the Athenians (p. 16), we seem to hear an echo ofthe words: "For all the Athenians and strangers that were there spenttheir time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing" (Acts xvii. 21). 

The most curious reference to a biblical personage is that relating toEvilmerodach (p. 10). Cessoles seems to have been the first to associatethe name of the son of Nebuchadnezzar with the invention of the game ofchess. The biblical references to Evilmerodach are few; they throw nolight on the reason of his selection by the mediæval scribe for a badpre-eminence of parricide. The epithet of _joli_ applied to the king hasan odd effect, followed as it is by the narrative of his most unfilialconduct. Dr. Van der Linde shows how widely the legend spread. Lydgateevidently hesitates between the divided authority of Guido--that is, Colonna, the author of the Troy book--and Cessoles, whom he quotesthrough Jacobus de Vitriaco. [23]

Amongst the authors not identified are "Crete" (p. 133), and Diomedes(p. 10). The account of the origin of chess attributed to the last isamplified a little further on. The legend that Palamedes invented a gameof this kind at the siege of Troy is emphatically rejected by ourauthor, who pins his fame on Xerxes, a Greek philosopher! This becamethe received opinion, as may be gathered from the unhesitating languageof Polydore Vergil in a passage which is thus rendered by JohnLangley:--"The chesse were invented the year of the world 3635, by acertain Wise man called Xerxes, to declare to a Tyrant, that Majesty orAuthority without strength, assistance & help of his subjects, wascasual feeble & subject to many calamities of fortune; his intent was tobreak the fierce cruelty of his heart, by fear of such dangers as mightcome to passe in the life of man. " [24]

The curious treatise which contains the supposed conversations of KingBocchus and the philosopher Sidrac (p. 171) was a favourite science bookof the middle ages. It is probably of oriental origin, but there areeditions in Latin, French, German, Flemish, Dutch, Italian, and English. By way of question and answer very decided statements are made on a widevariety of topics of which the author was profoundly ignorant. Theparticular part referred to by Cessoles is chap, cclxxxi: "Pourquoysacostent les hommes charnellement aux femmes grosses et les bestes nele font pas?"[25] John the Monk (p. 70) is the noted canonist GiovanniAndrea, who died at the plague of Bologna in 1347. His learning gainedhim such titles as _rabbi doctorum_ and _normaque morum_. Hiscommentaries on the decretals were frequently reprinted. He gave thename of "Novellæ" to this work after the name of his mother anddaughter. His code of morality contained no prohibition of literarytheft, for his additions to the "Speculum Juris" of Durand are said tohave been taken bodily from Oddrale. In the same magnificent manner heappropriated the treatise "De Sponsalibus et Matrimonio" of Anguissola. His daughter Novella was a learned woman, and became the wife ofGiovanni Calderino, a jurist of Bologna. Their son, Gaspard Calderino, wrote a commentary on the decretals. Father, daughter, son-in-law, andgrandson appear to have all been experts in the canon law. [26]

The reference to the "first book of the Truphes of the Philosophers byfigure" does not convey a very definite idea as to the particular workintended. It must have been somewhat miscellaneous in character, for oneextract describes the fountain of the syrens (p. 122), and the other isan anecdote, which though told here of Julius Cæsar (p. 71), is reallythe story of the soldier who had fought at Actium with Augustus Cæsar. It occurs also in the "Gesta Romanorum, " where the emperor isnamed Agyos. 

"Helmond" (p. 33, &c. ) is intended for Helinand, who died some timeafter 1229. After a brilliant period at the court of Philip Augustus, where he is represented as reciting his heroic verses before the kingand his surrounding, he became a monk of the Cistercian Abbey ofFroidmont. One of his surviving poems deals with the melancholy subjectof death. The "Flores Helinandi" are said to have been popular as wellas his "Chronique. " He is also the reputed author of some sermons, andof the life of St. Gereon, published by the Bollandists, and of otherworks still inedited. He is sometimes confounded with another Frenchmonk of the same name, who lived in the eleventh century, and was aninmate of the monastery at Persigne in Maine. This second Helinand wasthe author of commentaries or glosses on the Apocalypse and Exodus. [27]The first-named has been credited with the authorship of "GestaRomanorum. " The grounds for this are very slight. "On a longtemps ignoréle nom de l'auteur de cette compilation, mais un passage du 68^edialogue du livre intitulé 'Dialogus creaturarum' nous le révele par cesmots: _Elimandus in gestis romanorum_. "[28] But, as Sir F. Madden andMr. Herrtage have pointed out, the name of "Gesta Romanorum" was givento any book treating of Roman affairs. A French translation of Livy, byRobert Gaguin, has been catalogued as a version of the "Gesta. " Thereference cited by Brunet is to the Chroniques of Helinand. [29]

Many of the stories and anecdotes are the commonplaces of ancienthistory, such as the friendship of Damon and Pythias, the sword ofDamocles, the chastity of Scipio, the magnanimity of Alexander, thefable of the Dog and the Shadow, &c. Others current in the middle ageshad great popularity, and even in our own days occasionally renew theiryouth. The story of John of Ganazath (p. 48) is to be found in Occleve'stranslation of Colonna. Mr. Thomas Wright remarks: "This story, underdifferent forms, was a very common one in the middle ages. One versionwill be found in my 'Latin Stories, ' p. 28. It will hardly be necessaryto remark that the story of King Lear and his daughters is anotherversion. "[30]

The story appears also in some modern compilations. In one instance itis given as the will of Jehan Connaxa, of Antwerp, about 1530. [31] Theincident is given in the following form in the popular collection knownas the "Percy Anecdotes":[32]--

"An eminent trader at Lyons, who had acquired an easy fortune, had twohandsome daughters, between whom, on their marriage, he divided all hisproperty, on condition that he should pass the summer with one and thewinter with the other. Before the end of the first year, he foundsufficient grounds to conclude that he was not a very acceptable guestto either; of this, however, he took no notice, but hired a handsomelodging, in which he resided a few weeks; he then applied to a friend, and told him the truth of the matter, desiring the gift of two hundredlivres, and the loan of fifty thousand, in ready money, for a few hours. His friend very readily complied with his request; and the next day theold gentleman made a very splendid entertainment, to which his daughtersand their husbands were invited. Just as dinner was over, his friendcame in a great hurry; told him of an unexpected demand upon him, anddesired to know whether he could lend him fifty thousand livres. The oldman told him, without any emotion, that twice as much was at hisservice, if he wanted it; and going into the next room, brought him themoney. After this, he was not suffered to stay any longer in lodgings;his daughters were jealous if he stayed a day more in one house than theother; and after three or four years spent with them, he died; when, upon examining his cabinet, inftead of livres, there was found a notecontaining these words: 'He who has suffered by his virtues, has a rightto avail himself of the vices of those by whom he has been injured; anda father ought never to be so fond of his children as to forget what isdue to himself. '"

Amongst other versions of the story is a novelle by Giovanni Brevio, published as part of his "Rime" in 1545. Piron's comedy of "Les FilsIngrats, " also known as "L'Ecole des Pères, " appeared in 1728. "Thestory, " adds Dunlop, "is also told in the 'Pieuses Recreations d'AngelinGazée, ' and is told in the 'Colloquia Mensalia' of Luther, among otherexamples to deter fathers from dividing their property during life amongtheir children--a practice to which they are in general littleaddicted. "[33]

There is yet another verfion of the story in John of Bromyard's "SummaPredicantium. " After describing the discovery of the club it says, "inquo Anglice scriptum erat"--

 "Wyht fuyle a betel be he smetyn, That al the werld hyt mote wyten, That gyfht his sone al his thing, And goht hym self a beggyn. "

Mr. Wright gives another version, and adds that he is inclined to thinkthat the story and verses had some connection with "a superstition notyet forgotten, which is thus told by Aubrey in his 'Remains of Gentilism'"(Thorn's "Anecdotes and Traditions, " p. 84)--"The Holy Mawle, whichthey fancy was hung behind the church door, which when the father wasseaventie, the sonne might fetch to knock his father in the head, aseffete and of no more use. "[34]

Herodotus has attributed the same unfilial conduct to some Indiantribes. 

The incident of St. Bernard playing at dice for a soul (p. 151), is inthe "Gesta Romanorum. " The anecdote how a son induced his father tobecome a monk (p. 81) which is quoted from the "Vitas Patrum" is also inthe "Gesta Romanorum, " and has so much of the Buddhist flavour as togive rise to the suspicion that it comes from an Oriental source. [35]The story of two merchants quoted from Petrus Alphonsus is also in the"Gesta Romanorum. " It is the foundation of Lydgate's "Two Friends, " andis beyond doubt an Eastern importation. In a MS. Of the "SpeculumLaicorum, " described by Prof. Ingram, the writer has transformed one ofthe merchants into an Englishman. [36]

The story quoted from "Paul, the historiagraph of the Lombards" (p. 46), is also given in the "Gesta Romanorum. " Mr. Herrtage says it is"evidently founded on the classical legend of Tarpeia. " The narrative inthe chess-book is taken from Paulus Diaconus. [37]

The stratagem by which deposited money was recovered from a dishonesttrustee (p. 114) is told by Petrus Alphonsus, and is also in the "GestaRomanorum. "

The story of the danger of drunkenness (p. 129) was a favourite with ourforefathers. It is given by John of Bromyard, and is the subject of afabliau which is given by Meon. [38]

The somewhat violent remedy recorded as having been adopted byDemosthenes (p. 103) will remind some readers of a passage in the lifeof St. Francis of Assisi. "He had given up, " says Mrs. Oliphant, "without hesitation, as would appear, all the indefinite sweetness ofyouthful hopes. But, nevertheless, he was still young, still a man, withhuman instincts and wishes, the tenderest nature, and an imaginationfull of all the warmth and grace of his age and his country. It does notappear that he ever put into words the musings which caught himunawares--the relics of old dreams or soft recollections which now andthen would steal into his heart. But one night suddenly he rose from theearthen floor which was his bed, and rushed out into the night in anaccess of rage and passion and despair. A certain brother who waspraying in his cell, peering, wondering, through his little window, sawhim heap together seven masses of snow in the clear moonlight. 'Here isthy wife, ' he said to himself; 'these four are thy sons and daughters, the other two are thy servant and thy handmaid; and for all these thouart bound to provide. Make haste, then, and provide clothing for them, lest they perish with cold. But if the care of so many trouble thee, bethou careful to serve our Lord alone. ' Bonaventura, who tells the story, goes on, with the true spirit of a monkish historian, to state how, 'thetempter being vanquished, departed, and the holy man returned victoriousto his cell. ' The piteous human yearning that is underneath this wildtale, the sudden access of self-pity and anger, mixed with a strangeattempt, not less piteous than the longing, at self-consolation--all thestruggle and conflict of emotion which stilled themselves, at least fora moment, by that sudden plunge into the snow, and wild, violent, bodilyexertion, are either lost upon the teller of the tale, or perhaps hefears to do his master injustice by revealing any consciousness of thepossibility of such thoughts. But it is a very remarkable peculiarity ofFrancis's history, that whereas every saint in the Calendar, from Antonydownwards, is sometimes troubled with visions of voluptuous delight, only Francis, in his pure dreams, is tempted by the modest joys of wifeand children--the most legitimate and tenderest love. "[39]

The reader must not expect any historical exactitude or critical spiritfrom our author. For his purpose a narrative was just as useful whethertrue or false, but it probably never occurred to him to question theexact truth of any statement that he found written in a book. The murderof Seneca (p. 9) is certainly not the least of the many crimes whichstain the memory of Nero, but the circumstances of his death are notexactly described by the mediæval scribe. Whether the philosopher andformer tutor was implicated in the conspiracy of Piso may be doubted, but some ambiguous phrases he had used were reported to the Emþeror, whose messenger demanded an explanation of their meaning. The reply ofSeneca was either unsatisfactory or the tyrant had decided to be rid ofhis former guide. As in more recent times in Japan the condemned man wasexpected to be his own executioner, and Seneca opened his veins andallowed the life to ooze from them with a stoicism that was certainlyheroic if not untainted by theatrical display. The character of Senecawill ever remain one of the puzzles of history, for the grave moralistwas accessory to the murder of Agrippina, and not unsuspected oflicentiousness, and of the accumulation of an enormous fortune of threehundred million sestertii by injustice and fraud. The statements of DionCassius as to the misdeeds of the philosopher must be weighed againstthe absence of any condemnation of his proceedings in the pagesof Tacitus. 

The Theodore Cerem named on p. 12, is Theodorus Cyrenaicus, who wasprobably a native of Cyrene, and a disciple of Aristippus. He wasbanished from the (supposed) place of his birth, and was shielded atAthens by Demetrius Phalerus, whose exile he is assumed to have shared. Whilst in the service of Egypt he was sent as an ambassador toLysimachus, whom he offended by the directness and plainness of hisspeech. The offended monarch threatened him with crucifixion, and hereplied in a phrase which became famous, "Threaten thus your courtiers, for it matters not to me whether I rot on the ground or in the air. "[40]The king's threat was not executed, as Theodorus was afterwards atCorinth, and is believed to have died at Cyrene. That he was condemnedto drink hemlock is a statement cited from Amphicrates by DiogenesLærtius (_Aristippus_, xv. ). The anecdote of his colloquy withLysimachus would easily be perverted into a belief that he had been putto death for the freedom with which he exercised his biting wit. 

The Democreon mentioned at pp. 12 and 16 is Democritus of Abdera, ofwhom the anecdote is told. He was a man whose knowledge and wisdom woneven the respect of Timon, the universal scoffer. The tradition that hedeprived himself of sight with a view to philosophic abstraction ismentioned by Cicero, Aulus Gellius, and others, but it is hardlynecessary to account for a too uncommon calamity by a supposition soremarkable. 

The transformations of some of the names are peculiar. At p. 12 we readof Defortes. The philosopher disguised under this strange name appearsto be Socrates. The story is told in the Apology of Socrates attributedto Xenophon. The person to whom the saying was addressed was notXanthippe, but was a disciple named Apollodorus, whose understanding wasnot equal to his admiration. 

The statement that Didymus voluntarily blinded himself is made both byJerome (_Ep_. 68) and in the Ecclesiastical History of Socrates (iv. 29). Didymus was born 309 or 314, and became blind at the age of four, as the result of disease. He learned the alphabet by wooden letters, andby application and force of character became learned in all the learningof his time. Is this a real anticipation of the use of raised lettersfor the blind? What would be the use of a knowledge of the alphabet soacquired in obtaining that skill in geometry, rhetoric, arithmetic, andmusic for which he was famous? He owed to Athanasius his position ashead of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. 

The readers of "Cymbeline" will remember the passage in the concludingscene:--

 "The piece of tender air, thy virtuous daughter, Which we call _mollis ær_; and _mollis ær_ We term it _mulier_; which mulier, I divine, Is this most constant wife: who even now, Answering the letter of the oracle, Unknown to you unsought, were clipp'd about With this most tender air. "

This quaint piece of etymology will be found at p. 123 of the presentvolume. 

There is an interesting personal reference in the following passagewhich has not, it is believed, been pointed out:--

"And also hit is to be supposyd that suche as haue theyr goodes comune &not propre is most acceptable to god/ For ellys wold not thise religiousmen as monkes freris chanons obseruantes & all other auowe hem & kepethe wilfull pouerte that they ben professid too/ For in trouth I haue myself ben conuersant in a religious hous of white freris at gaunt Whichhaue all thynge in comyn amonge them/ and not one richer than an other/in so moche that yf a man gaf to a frere . Iii. D or iiii. D to praye forhym in his masse/ as sone as the masse is doon he deliuerith hit to hisouerest or procuratour in whyche hows ben many vertuous and deuoutefreris And yf that lyf were not the beste and the most holiest/ holychurch wold neuer suffre hit in religion. "

This description by the busy merchant of the "best life" might serve topoint anew the distinction between the real and the ideal, and perhapsnot to the advantage of the latter. 

Nothing has yet been said as to the place of this book in the history ofchess, and, indeed, it must be confessed that it has very littlepractical bearing on the game. The learned dreams by which the chess ofto-day was connected with the _latrunculi_ and with the amusement saidto have been invented by Palamedes, have been dissipated by the cool airof modern criticism. The student of the history of chess may now followits fortunes under the safe guidance of Dr. Van der Linde, who rejectsunhesitatingly the claim made for it, and admitted even by Forbes, of anantiquity of 5, 000 years. [41] The game of chess, which, whilst remainingan amusement, has acquired the dignity of a science, is one that Europeowes to India, where it was probably invented not earlier than fivecenturies before Christ; the triumphant progress of Islam aided in theextension of this oriental pastime. It was known at the courts ofNicephorus at Conftantinople and his contemporary Haroun-al-Rashid atBagdad. One would like to add that Charlemagne also was acquainted withit, but there is no good evidence for that legend. It was known in Spainin the tenth century, since the library of the learned caliph Hakam II. Of Cordova contained some Arabic MSS. On the game. By the middle of theeleventh century it was common in the western world. In 1061 aFlorentine bishop is said to have been ordered by Cardinal Damiani toexpiate the offence of playing chess in public by three recitations ofthe Psalter, by washing the feet of twelve poor persons, and by givingthem liberal alms. The gradual developments of the game in Europe areillustrated in detail by Dr. Van der Linde. Chess in its prefent form iscomparatively modern, and refults from the enlargement of the powers ofthe Queen (originally the Vizier or minister) and of the Bishop(formerly the Alfil or Elephant). The greater powers of these piecescame into play between 1450 and 1500, but the period of transition wasprolonged to a much later date in some cafes, and the Portuguese Damianomay be regarded as the founder of the modern school. The player ofto-day on consulting the elementary directions given in this book (p. 159, _et seq_. ), will see how greatly the present play exceeds incomplexity and scientific interest the moves that excited the enthusiasmof Jacobus de Cessoles, and led him to the composition of the book ofthe chess which has had such long and widespread popularity. 

Incidentally his book is a monument in the history of chess, but it wasnever intended to make its primary object that of teaching the game. Theauthor's aim was almost exclusively ethical. It was to win men to asober life and to the due performance of individual and social duties, that the preacher exhausted his stores of learning, and invoked alikethe reproofs of the fathers of the Church, the history and legend ofchroniclers, pagan and Christian, and the words of prophets and poets. As a memorial of the literature and learning of the middle ages, it mustalways possess a permanent value. From it we may learn, and always withinterest, what was the literary taste and social ideal of thethirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. There is, doubtless, ample room for dissatisfaction with that ideal, but it is not withoutsome bright aspects. Possibly there are modern realms that are not anyhappier now than they would be if governed in strict accordance with therules laid down by the earnest author of the game and play of the chess. 

 * * * * *

It only remains for the editor to thank the friends who have interestedthemselves in his work. Mr. J. E. Bailey, F. S. A. , has shown his usualscholarly courtesy and liberality in the communication of books andreferences. To Mr. R. C. Christie, the Chancellor of the Diocese ofManchester, a similar acknowledgment is due. Mr. C. W. Sutton, and Mr. W. R. Credland, of the Manchester Free Library, on this, as on many otheroccasions, have not only given the editor many facilities for his work, but some suggestions by which he trusts he has profited. The index ischiefly the work of the editor's eldest daughter. 

[DEDICATION. ]

[42] To the right noble/ right excellent & vertuous prince George duc ofClarence Erle of warwyck and of salifburye/ grete chamberlayn of Englond& leutenant of Irelond oldest broder of kynge Edward by the grace of godkynge of England and of france/ your most humble servant william Caxtonamonge other of your seruantes sendes unto yow peas. Helthe. Joye andvictorye upon your Enemyes/ Right highe puyssant and redoubted prynce/. For as moche as I haue understand and knowe/ that y'e are enclined untothe comyn wele of the kynge our sayd saueryn lord. His nobles lordes andcomyn peple of his noble royame of Englond/ and that y'e sawe gladly theInhabitants of y'e same enformed in good. Vertuous. Prouffitable andhoneste maners. In whiche your noble persone wyth guydyng of your howshaboundeth/ gyuyng light and ensample unto all other/ Therfore I haueput me in deuour to translate a lityll book late comen in to myn handesout of frensh in to englisshe/ In which I fynde thauctorites. Dictees. And stories of auncient Doctours philosophes poetes and of other wysemen whiche been recounted & applied unto the moralite of the publiquewele as well of the nobles as of the comyn peple after the game andplaye of the chesse/ whiche booke right puyssant and redoubtid lord Ihaue made in the name and under the shadewe of your noble protection/not presumyng to correcte or enpoigne ony thynge ayenst your noblesse/. For god be thankyd your excellent renome shyneth as well in strangeregions as with in the royame of england gloriously unto your honour andlande/ which god multeplye and encrece But to thentent that other ofwhat estate or degre he or they stande in may see in this sayd lityllbook/ yf they gouerned themself as they ought to doo/ wherfor my rightdere redoubted lord I requyre & supplye your good grace not to desdaygneto resseyue this lityll sayd book in gree and thanke/ as well of me yourhumble and unknowen seruant as of a better and gretter man than I am/. For the right good wylle that I haue had to make this lityll werk in thebest wyse I can/ ought to be reputed for the fayte and dede/ And formore clerely to procede in this sayd book I haue ordeyned that thechapitres ben sette in the begynnynge to thende that y'e may see moreplaynly the mater wherof the book treteth &c. 

[PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. ]

The holy appostle and doctour of the peple saynt Poule sayth in hisepystle. Alle that is wryten is wryten unto our doctryne and for ourlernyng. Wherfore many noble clerkes haue endeuoyred them to wryte andcompyle many notable werkys and historyes to the ende that it myght cometo the knowlege and vnderstondyng of suche as ben ygnoraunt. Of whichthe nombre is infenyte/ And accordyng to the same saith Salamon. Thatthe nombre of foles. Is infenyte/ And emong alle other good werkys. Itis a werke of ryght special recomendacion to enforme and to latevnderstonde wysedom and vertue vnto them that be not lernyd ne can notdyscerne wysedom fro folye. Th[=e]ne emonge whom there was an excellentdoctour of dyuynyte in the royame of fraunce of the ordre of thospytalof Saynt Johns of Jherusalem which entended the fame and hath made abook of the chesse moralysed. Which at suche tyme as J was resident inbrudgys in the counte of Flaundres cam in to my handes/ which whan J hadredde and ouerseen/ ne semed ful necessarye for to be had in englisshe/And in eschewyng of ydlenes And to thende that s[=o]me which haue not seenit/ ne understonde frenssh ne latyn I delybered in my self to translateit in to our maternal tongue/ And whan I so had achyeued the saydtranslacion/ I dyde doo sette in enprynte a certeyn nombre of theym/Whiche anone were depesshed and folde. Wherfore by cause thys sayd bookis ful of holsom wysedom and requysyte unto every astate and degree/ Jhaue purposed to enprynte it/ shewyng therin the figures of suchepersons as longen to the playe. Jn whom al astates and degrees bencomprysed/ besechyng al them that this litel werke shal see/ here/ orrede to have me for excused for the rude & symple makyng and reducyn into our englisshe/ And where as is defaute to correcte and amende/ and inso doyng they shal deserve meryte and thanke/ and I shal pray for them/that god of his grete mercy shal rewarde them in his everlastyng blissein heven/ to the whiche he brynge us/ that wyth his precious bloodredemed us Amen

[TABLE. ]

This booke conteyneth . Iiii. Traytees/

The first traytee is of the Invencion of this playe of the chesse, / andconteyneth . Iii. Chapitres

The first chapitre is under what kynge this play was founden

The . Ii. Chapitre/ who fonde this playe

The . Iii. Chapitre/ treteth of . Iii. Causes why hit was made and founden

The second traytee treteth of the chesse men/ and conteyneth . V. Chapitres

The first chapitre treteth of the form of a kynge and of suche thingesas apperteyn to a kynge

The . Ii. Chapitre treteth of y'e quene & her forme & maners

The . Iii. Chapitre of the forme of the alphins and her offices andmaners

The . Iiii. Chapitre is of the knyght and of his offices

The . V. Is of the rooks and of their maners and offices

The thirde traytee is of the offices of the comyn peple And hath . Viii. Chapitres

The first chapitre is of the labourers & tilinge of the erthe

The . Ii. Of fmythis and other werkes in yron & metall

[43] The . Iii. Is of drapers and makers of cloth & notaries

The . Iiii. Is of marchantes and chaungers

[44] The . V. Is of phisicyens and cirugiens and apotecaries

[45] The . Vi. Is of tauerners and hostelers

[46] The . Vii. Is of y'e gardes of the citees & tollers & cuftomers

[47] The . Viii. Is of ribauldes disepleyars and currours The . Iiii. Traytee is of the meuyng and yssue of them And hath . Viii. Chapitres

The first is of the eschequer

The seconde of the yssue and progression of the kynge

The thirde of the yssue of the quene

The fourth is of the yssue of the alphyns

The fifth is of the yssue of the knyghtes

The sixty chapitre of the yssue of the rooks

The seuenth is of the meuynge & yssue of the comyn peple

And the eyght and laste chapitre is of the epilegacion. 

And of the recapitulacion of all these forsaid chapitres. 

BOOK I. 

[Illustration]

_This first chapiter of the first tractate sheweth under what kynge theplay of the chesse was founden and maad. :. _

Amonge all the euyll condicions and signes that may be in a man thefirst and y'e grettest is whan he feereth not/ ne dredeth to displeseand make wroth god by synne/ and the peple by lyuyng disordynatly/ whanhe reccheth not/ ner taketh hede unto them that repreue hym and hisvices/ but fleeth them/ In suche wyse as dide the emperour Nero/ whichedide do slee his maister seneque For as moche as he might not suffre tobe repreuid and taught of hym In lyke wyse was somtyme a kynge inbabiloine that was named Evilmerodach a Jolye man with oute Justice andso cruell that he dyde do hewe his faders body in thre honderd pieces/And gaf hit to ete and deuour to thre honderd birdes that men callewultres And was of suche condicion as was Nero/ And right well resemblidand was lyke unto his fader Nabogodonosor/ whiche on a tyme wold do fleealle the sage and wyse men of babylonye/ For as moche as they coude nottelle hym his dreme that he had dremed on a nyght and had forgoten hitlyke as it is wreton in the bible in the book of danyell/ Under thiskynge than Evilmerodach was this game and playe of the chesse founden/Trewe it is that some men wene/ that this playe was founden in the tymeof the bataylles & siege of troye But that is not soo For this playe camto the playes of the caldees as dyomedes the greek sayth and rehercethThat amonge the philosophrs was the most renomed playe amonge all otherplayes/ And after that/ cam this playe in the tyme of Alixandre thegrete in to Egipte And so unto alle the parties toward the south/ Andthe cause wherfore thys playe was so renomed shall be sayd in thethirde chapitre. 

[Illustration]

_This second chapitre of the first tra3tate sheweth who fonde first theplaye of the chesse. _

Thys playe fonde a phylosopher of Thoryent whiche was named in CaldeeExerses or in greke philometor/ which is as moche to saye in english ashe that loveth Justice and mesure/ And this philosopher was renomedgretly amonge the grekes and them of Athenes whiche were good clerkysand philosophers also renomed of theyr connynge. This philosopher was soJuste and trewe that he had leuyr dye/ than to lyue longe and be a falsflaterer wyth the sayd kynge. For whan he behelde the foull and synfulllyf of the kynge/ And that no man durst blame hym. For by his gretecruelte he putte them alle to deth that displesid hym/ he put hym selfin paryll of deth/ And louyd and chees rather to dye than lenger tolyue: The euyll lyf and diffamed of a kynge is the lyf of a cruellbeste/ And ought not longe to be susteyned/ For he destroyeth hym thatdisplesith hym/ And therfore reherceth valerius/ that ther was a wiseman named theodore cerem whom his kynge dyde do hange on the crosse foras moche as he repreuyd hym of his euyll & fowll lyf And all way as hewas in the torment he said to y'e kynge/ upon thy counceyllours & themthat ben cladd in thy clothynge & robes were more reson that thistorment shold come/ For as moche as they dar not saye to the The trouthefor to do Justice right wysly/ of my self I make no force whether I dyeon the lande or on the water or otherwyse &c as who sayth he recched notto dye for Justice/ In lyke wyse as democreon the philosophre put outhis owen eyen be cause he wold not see that no good myght come to theeuyll and vicyous peple wyth out right And also defortes the philosophreas he went toward his deth/ his wyf that folowed after hym saide that hewas dampned to deth wrongfully/ than he answerd and sayd to her/ holdethy peas and be styll/ hit is better and more merytorye to dye by awronge and unrightfull Jugement/ than that I had deseruyd to dye. 

[Illustration. ]

_The thirde chapitre of the first tractate treteth wherfore the playewas founden and maad. _

The causes wherfore this playe was founden ben thre/ the first was forto correcte and repreue the kynge . For whan this kynge Evilmerodach sawethis playe And the barons knyghtes and gentillmen of his court playewyth the philosopher/ he meruaylled gretly of the beaulte and nouelte ofthe playe/ And desired to playe agaynst y'e philosopher/ The philosopheranswerd and sayd to hym that hit myght not be doon. But yf he firstlerned the playe/ The kynge said hit was reson and that he wold put himto the payne to lerne hit Than the philosopher began to teche hym and toshewe hym the maner of the table of the chesse borde and the chessemeyne/ And also the maners and condicions of a kynge of the nobles andof the comun peple and of theyr offices and how they shold be touchidand drawen. And how he shold amende hymself & become vertuous And whanthis kynge herde that he repreuyd hym/ He demanded hym upon payne ofdeth to tell hym wherfore he had founden and made this playe/ And heanswerd my ryght dere lord and kynge/ the grettest and most thinge thatI desire is that thou haue in thy self a gloryous and vertuous lyf Andthat may I not see/ but yf thou be endoctrined and well manerd and thathad/ so mayst thou be belouyd of thy peple Thus than I desire y't thouhaue other gouernement than thou hast had/ And that thou haue upon thyself first seygnorye and maistrye suche as thou hast upon other by forceand not by right Certaynly hit is not ryght that a man be mayster ouerother and comandour/ whan he can not rewle ner may rewle himself andthat his vertues domyne aboue his vices/. For seygnourye by force andwylle may not longe endure/ Than thus may thou see oon of the causes whyand wherfore I haue founden and maad thys playe/ whyche is for tocorrecte and repent the of thy tyrannye and vicyous lyuynge/ . For allekynges specyally ought to here her corrygeours or correctours and hercorrections to hold and kepe in mynde/ In lyke wyse as Valeriusreherceth that the kynge Alixandre had a noble and renomed knyght thatsayd in repreuynge of Alixandre that he was to moche couetous and inespecyall of the honours of the world/ And sayd to hym yf the goddes hadmaad thy body as greet as is thy herte Alle the world coude not holdethe/. For thou holdest in thy right hand alle the Oryent/ And in thylyfte hande the occident/ syn than hit is so/ or thou art a god or a manor nought/ yf thou be god doo than well and good to the peple as goddoth/ And take not from them that they ought to haue and is theyres. Yfthou be a man/ thinke that thou shalt dye/ And than thou shalt doo nooneuyll/ yf thou be nought forgete thy self/ ther is no thynge so strongeand ferme/ but that somtyme a feble thinge casteth doun and ouerthrowehit How well that the lyon be the strengest beste/ yet somtyme a lityllbirde eteth hym/ The seconde cause wherfore this playe was founden andmaad/ was for to kepe hym from ydlenesse/ whereof senecque saith untolucylle ydlenes wyth oute ony ocupacion is sepulture of a man lyuyng/and varro saith in his sentences that in lyke wise as men goo not for togoo/ the same wyse the lyf is not gyuen for to lyue but for to doo welland good/ And therfore secondly the philosopher fonde this playe for tokepe the peple from ydlenes/. For there is moche peple. Whan so is thatthey be fortunat in worldly goodes that they drawe them to ease andydlenes wherof cometh ofte tymes many euyllys and grete synnes And bythis ydlenes the herte is quenchid wherof cometh desperacion/ The thirdecause is that euery man naturelly desireth to knowe and to herenoueltees and tydynges. For this cause they of atthenes studyed as werede/ and for as the corporall or bodyly fight enpessheth and lettethotherwhyle the knowleche of subtyll thinges/ therfore we rede that [48]democrion the phylosopher put oute his owen eyen/ for as moche as hemyght haue the better entendement and understondynge/ Many haue ben madeblynde that were grete clerkis in lyke wyse as was dydymus bisshop ofAlixandrye/ that how well that he sawe not yet he was so grete a clerk/that gregore nazan & saynt Ierome that were clerkes and maystres toother/ came for to be his scolers & lerned of hym And saynt Anthonie Thegrete heremyte cam for to see hym on a tyme/ and amonge all otherthynges/ he demanded hym yf he were not gretly displesid that he wasblynde and sawe not. And he answerd that he was gretly abasshid for thathe supposid not that he was not displesid in that he had lost his sight/And saynt Anthonye answerd to hym I meruayle moche that hit displesiththe that thou hast lost that thynge whiche is comyn betwene the andbestes. And thou knowest well that thou hast not loste that thynge thatis comyn bitwene the and the angellis And for thise causes forsayd thephilosopher entended to put away alle pensisnes and thoughtes/ and tothinke only on this playe as shall be said & appere in this book after. 

BOOK II. 

[Illustration]

_The seconde tractate/ the first chapiter treteth of the forme of akynge of his maners and of his estate_. 

The kynge must be thus maad. For he must sitte in a chayer clothed inpurpure/ crowned on his heed in his ryght hand a ceptre and in the lyftehande an apple of gold/. For he is the most grettest and hyest indignyte aboue alle other and most worthy. And that is signefyed by thecorone/. For the glorye of the peple is the dignite of the kynge/ Andaboue all other the kynge ought to be replenysshid with vertues and ofgrace/ and thys signefieth the purpure. For in lyke wyse as the robes ofpurpure maketh fayr & enbelysshith the body/ the same wise vertuesmaketh the sowle/ he ought alleway thenke on the gouernement of theRoyame and who hath thadmynystracion of Justice/ And thys shuld be byhym self pryncipally. This signefieth the appell of gold that he holdethin his lyfte honde/ And for as moche as hit apperteyneth unto hym topunysshe the rebelles hath he y'e sceptre in his right hand And for asmoche as mysericorde and trouthe conserue and kepe the kynge in histrone/ Therfore ought a kynge to be mercyfull and debonayr For whan akynge or prynce desired or will be belouyd of his peple late hym begouerned by debonarite And valerius saith that debonairte percyth thehertes of straungers and amolisshith and maketh softe the hertes of hisenemyes/ wherof he reherceth that philostratus that was due of atheneshad a doughter/ whom a man louyd so ardantly/ that on a tyme as he saweher wyth her moder/ sodaynly he cam and kyssed her/ wherof the moder wasso angry and soroufull that she wente and requyred of her lord the duc/that his heed myght be smyten of/ The prynce answerd to her and sayde/yf we shold slee them that loue us/ what shall we doo to our enemyesthat hate us/ Certaynly this was thanswer of a noble & debonair prynceThat suffred that villonye don to his doughter and to hymself yet moreThis prince had also a frende that was named Arispe that sayd on a tymeas moche villonye unto the prynce as ony man miht saye And that mightnot suffise hym/ but he scracchid hym in the visage/ The prynce suffrydhym paciently in suche wyse as thowh he had doon to hym no vilonye butcurtoysye And whan his sones wold haue auengid this vilonye/ he comandedthem that they shold not be so hardy so to do The next day folowyngarispe remembrid of the right grete vilonye that he had don to hisfrende and lord wythoute cause. He fyll in dispayr and wold haue slaynhym self/ whan the duc knewe and understode that/ he cam to hym and saydne doubte the nothynge And swore to hym by his fayth/ that also well hewas and shold be his frende fro than forthon as euery he had ben to foreyf he wold And thus he respited hym of his deth by his debonairte. Andin lyke wyse rede we of the kynge pirre to whom was reported that theyof tarente had said grete vilonye of hym. For whiche cause he maad allethem to come to fore hym And demanded of them yf they had so sayd. Thanoon of them answerd and sayd/ yf the wyn and the candellys had notfayllyd/ thys langage had ben but a Iape/ In regarde of that we hadthought to haue doon/ Than the kynge began to lawhe/ for they hadconfessid that suche langage as was sayd and spoken was by dronkenship/And for this cause of debonairte the peple of tarante toke for a customethat the dronken men shold be puuysshyd/ And the sobre men preyfed. Thekynge than thus ought to loue humylyte and hate falsite after the holyscripture that speketh of euery man generally/ For the kynge in hisroyame representeth god/ And god is verite/ And therfore hym ought tosaye no thynge but yf hit were veritable and stable. Valerius reherceththat Alixandre wyth alle his ooste rood for to destroye a cyte whychewas named lapsare/ whan than a phylosophre whiche had to name Anaximeneswhich had ben to fore maistre & gouernour of Alixandre herd andunderstood of his comyng Cam agayn Alixandre for to desire and requyreof hym. And whan he sawe Alixandre he supposid to haue axid hisrequefte/ Alixandre brake his demande to fore and swore to hym to forehe axid ony thynge by his goddes. That suche thynge as he axid orrequyryd of hym/ he wold in no wyse doon/ Than the philosopher requyredhym to destroye the cyte/ whan Alixandre understood his desire/ and theoth that he had maad/ he suffrid the cyte to stande and not to bedestroyed For he had leuer doo his wyll than to be periured and forswornand doo agaynst his oth/ Quyntilian saith that no grete man ne lordshold not swere/ but where as is grete nede/ And that the symple paroleor worde of a prynce ought to be more stable than the oth of amarcha[=u]t/ Alas how kepe the prynces their promisses in thise dayes/not only her promises but their othes her fealis and wrytynges & signesof their propre handes/ alle faylleth god amende hit &c. A kynge alsoought to hate alle cruelte/ For we rede that neuer yet dyed ony pietouspersone of euyll deth ne cruell persone of good deth Therfore recountethvalerius that ther was a man named theryle a werke-man in metall/ thatmade a boole of coppre and a lityll wyket on the side/ wherby men myghtput in them that shuld be brent therin/ And hit was maad in suchemanere/ that they that shold be put and enclosid therin shold cryenothinge lyke to the wys of a man but of an oxe. And this made he because men shold haue the lasse pite of them. Whan he had made this holeof copper/ he presented hit unto a kynge which was callyd philarde thatwas so cruell a tyrant that he delited in no thinge but in cruelte Andhe told hym the condicion of the bole/ Whan philarde herde andunderstode this/ he alowed and preysed moche the werke/ And after saydeto hym/ thou that art more cruell than I am/ thou shalt assaye & provefirst thy þsente and yeft/ And so made hym to goo in to the boole anddye an euyll deth/ Therfore faith Ouide ther is no thinge moreraisonable than that a man dye of suche deth as he purchaseth unto otherAlso the kynge ought souerainly kepe Iustice/ who maketh or kepeth aroyame with oute Iustice/ of verray force ther muste be grete robberyeand thefte Therfor reherceth saint Augustyn in a book which is intituledthe cyte of god/ that there was a theef of the see named diomedes thatwas a grete rouar and dide so moche harme that the complaintes cam tofore Alixander whiche dide hym to be taken & brought to fore hym/ and hedemanded hym wherfore he was so noyous & cruell in the see And heanswerd to hym agayn/ for as moche as thou art oon a lande in the world/so am I another in y'e see/ but for as moche as the euyll y't I doo isin oon galeye or tweyne therfore I am callyd a theef/ but for as mocheas thou dost in many shippis and with grete puyssance and power/therfore art thou callyd an emperour/ but yf fortune were for me insuche wyse/ I wold be come a good man and better than I now am/ butthou/ the more richer and fortunat that thou art/ the more worse artthou/ Alixander sayd to hym I shall change thy fortune in suche wyse asthou ne saye/ that thou shalt doo hit by pouerte/ but for euyll andmauaiste/ And so he made hym ryche/ And thys was he that afterward was agood prynce and a good Iusticyer/ The kynge ought to be soueraynlychaste/ And this signefyeth a quene that is only on his ryght syde Forhit is to be beleuyd and credible that whan the kynge is a good manIuste. Trewe & of good maners and condicions/ that his children shallfolowe gladly the same/ for a good sone & a trewe ought not to forsake &goo fro y'e good condicions of his fader. For certes hit is agaynst godand nature in partie whan a man taketh other than his propre wyf/ Andthat see we by birdes/ of whom the male and female haue to gyder thecharge in kepynge and norisshinge of their yonge fowlis and birdis/. Forsome maner of fowlis kepen them to theyr femeles only/ As hit apperethby storkes dowues and turtils/ But tho fowles that norisshith not theirbirdes haue many wyues and femelles/ As the cock that no thyngenorisshith his chekens/ And therfore amonge alle the bestes that been/Man and woman putteth most theyr entente and haue moste cure & charge innorisshyng of their children/ And therfore doon they agaynst nature inpartye whan they leue theyr wyues for other women/ Of this chastetereherceth valerius an example and faith that ther was a man of romewhich was named scipio affrican. For as moche as he had conquerdaffricque how well that he was of rome born. Whan he was of . Xxxiiii. Yer of age he conquerd cartage And toke moche peple in Ostage/ Amongewhom he was presented wyth a right fair mayde for his solas and playsirwhiche was assurid and handfast unto a noble yong gentillman of cartagewhiche was named Indiuicible/ And anon as this gentill scipio knewe thatNotwythstandyng that he was a prynce noble & lusty Dyde do calle anonthe parents and kynnesmen of them And deliuerid to them their doughterwyth oute doyng of ony vilonye to her/ and y'e rænsom or gold that theyhad ordeyned for their doughter/ gaf hit euery dele In dowaire to herAnd the yong man that was her husbonde sawe the fraunchise and gentilnesof hym/ torned hymself and the hertes of the noble peple unto the loue &alliance of the romayns/ And this suffiseth as towchynge the kynge &c. 

[Illustration]

_The seconde chapitre of the seconde book treteth of theforme and maners of the Quene. _

Thus ought the Quene be maad/ she ought to be a fair lady sittynge in achayer and crowned wyth a corone on her heed and cladd wyth a cloth ofgold & a mantyll aboue furrid wyth ermynes And she shold sytte on thelyfte syde of the kinge for the amplections and enbrasynge of herhusbonde/ lyke as it is sayd in scripture in the canticles/ her lyftearme shall be under my heed And her ryght arme fhall[49] be clyppe andenbrace me/ In that she is sette on his lyfte syde is by grace gyuen tothe kynge by nature and of ryght. For better is to haue a kynge bysuccession than by election/ For oftentymes the electours and choserscan not ne wyll not accorde/ And so is the election left/ And otherwhylethey chese not the beste and most able and conuenyent/ but hym that theybest loue/ or is for them most proffytable/ But whan the kynge is bylignage and by trewe succession/ he is taught enseygned and nourrishidin his yongth in alle good & vertuous tacches and maners of hys fader/And also the prynces of the royame dar not so hardily mene warre agaynsta kynge hauynge a sone for to regne after hym And so a Quene ought to bechaste. Wyse. Of honest peple/ well manerd and not curyous innourisshynge of her children/ her wyfedom ought not only tappere in feetand werkes but also in spekynge that is to wete that she be secrete andtelle not suche thynges as ought to be holden secrete/ Wherfore it is acomyn prouerbe that women can kepe no counceyle And accordyng thertoMacrobe reherceth in the book of the dremes of Scipio. That ther was achild of rome that was named papirus that on a tyme went with his faderwhiche was a senatour into the chambre where as they helde theircounceyll And that tyme they spak of suche maters as was comanded andagreed shold be kept secrete upon payn of their heedes And so departedAnd whan he was comen home from the senatoire and fro the counceyll withhis fader/ his moder demanded of hym what was the counceyll and wherofthey spack and had taryed so longe there And the childe answerd to herand sayd he durst not telle ner saye hit for so moche as hit wasdefended upon payn of deth Than was the moder more desirous to knowethan she was to fore/ And began to flatere hym one tyme And afterward tomenace hym that he shold saye and telle to her what hit was And whan thechilde sawe that he might haue no reste of his moder in no wife He madeher first promise that she shold kepe hit secrete And to telle hit tonone of the world/ And that doon/ he fayned a lesing or a lye and saydto her/ that the senatours had in counceyll a grete question anddifference whiche was this/ whether hit were better and more for thecomyn wele of rome/ that a man shold have two wyuys/ or a wyf to hauetwo husbondes/ And whan she had understonde this/ he defended her thatshe shold telle hit to none other body And after this she wente to hergossyb and told to her this counceyll secretly/ And she told to another/ And thus euery wyf tolde hit to other in secrete And thus hithappend anone after that alle the wyues of rome cam to the senatoryewhere the senatours were assemblid/ And cryed wyth an hye voys/ thatthey had leuer/ and also hit were better for the comyn wele that a wyfshold haue two husbondes than a man two wyues/ The senatours heeryngethis. Were gretly abasshid and wist not what to saye/ ner how toanswere/ tyll at laste that the child papire reherced to them all thecaas and feet how hit was happend And whan the senatours herd &understood the mater they were gretly abasshid/ and comended gretly y'eIngenye & wytte of the child that so wisely contriued the lye ratherthan he wolde discouere their co[=u]ceyll/ And forthwith made hym asenatour/ and establisshid & ordeyned fro than forthon that no childe inony wise sholl entre in to y'e counceyll hous amonge them with theirfaders exept papirus/ whome they wold y't he shold alwey be among them/also a quene ought to be chaste/ for as she is aboue all other in astate& reuer[=e]ce so shold she be ensample to all other in her liuynghonestly/ wherof Ierome reherceth agaynst Ionynyan/ that ther was agentilman of rome named duele/ and this man was he y't first fond y'emaner to fight on y'e water/ and had first victorie/ this duele had tohis wif one of the best women & so chaste/ that euery woman might takeensample of her/ And at y't tyme the synne of the flesshe was thegrettest synne y't ony might doo agaynst nature/ And this sayd goodwoman was named ylye/ and so it happend that this duele becam so oldethat he stowped & quaqued for age And on a tyme one of his aduersariesrepreuyd & reprochid hym sayng that he had a stynkynge breth/ Andforthwyth he wente home to his wyf alle angry and abasshid and axid herwhy and wherfore she had not told his defaulte to hym that he myght hauefounden remedye to haue ben purgid therof/ And she answerd that as foras moche as she supposid that euery man had that same faute as well ashe. For she kyst neuer ony mannes mouth but her husbondes/ O moche wasthis woman to be preysed & haue a singuler lawde wenynge that thisdefaulte had not ben only in her husbonde/ wherfore she suffrid hitpaciently in suche wyse that her husbonde knewe his defaute sonner byother than by her/ Also we rede that ther was a wedowe named anna/whiche had a frende that counceyllid her to marye/ For she was yong fayrand riche/ to whom she answerd that she wold not so doo in no wise Foryf I shold haue an husbond as I haue had and that he were as good as hewas/ I shold euer ben a ferd to lose hym/ lyke as I lost that other/ Andthan shold I lyue all wey in fere & drede/ whiche I wyll not And yf hithappend me to haue awors/ what shold hyt prouffite me to haue an euyllhusbond after a good. And so she concluded that she wold kepe herchastete. Saynt Austyn reherceth in the book de Civitate dei that inrome was a noble lady gentill of maners & of hyghe kynrede namedlucrecia/ And had an husbonde named colatyne/ whiche desired on a tymethe Emþours sone named Torquyne thorguyllous or the proude and he wascallid sixte for to come dyne and sporte hym in his castell or manoirAnd whan he was entrid amonge many noble ladyes he sawe lucrecia/ Andwhan this Emþours sone had seen & aduertised her deportes. Hercontenance. Her manere. And her beaulte/ he was all rauysshid andesprised wyth her loue forthwyth And espyed a tyme whan her husbondecollatyn wente unto the ooste of themþour/ and camm to the place whereas lucresse was with her felawship/ whom she receyuyd honorably/ andwhan tyme came to goo to bedde and slepe she made redy a bedde ryallyfor hym as hit apperteyned to the emperours sone And this sixtus espyedwhere lucresia laye. And whan he supposyd & knewe that euery body was inhis first sleep/ he cam to the bedde of lucresse and that oon hand setteon her breste and in that other hand a naked swerd/ and sayd to her/lucresse holde thy pees and crye not/ For I am sixte tarquynus sone/ foryf y'u speke ony worde thou shalt be dede/ And for fere she held herpees/ Than he began to praye and promise many thinges And after hemenaced & thretenyd her that she shold enclyne to hym to do his wyll/And whan he sawe he coude ner might haue his entent he sayd to her yfthou do not my wyll/ I shall slee the and o[=o]n of thy seruantes andshall leye hym all ded by thy syde And than I shall saye that I haueslayn yow for your rybawdrye/ And lucresse that than doubted more theshame of the world than the deth consentid to hym/ And anone after asthe Emþours sone was departid/ the ladye sente l*res to her husbond herfader her brethern & to her frendes/ and to a man callid bruteconceyllour & neuewe to tarquyn/ And sayd to them/ that yesterday sixtethe emp*ours sone cam in to myn hous as an enemye in likenes of afrende/ & hath oppressid me And knowe y'u colatyn that he hathdishonorid thy bedde And how well y't he hath fowled & dishonored mybody/ yet myn herte is not/ wherfore I beseche the of pardon foryfnes &absolucion of the trespas but not of the payne/ and he y't hath doonthis synne to me hit shall ben to his meschance yf y'e doo your deuoir/And be cause no woman take ensample of lucresse and lyue after thetrespaas/ but that she in lyke wyse take ensample also of the payne Andforthwyth wyth a swerd that she helde under her gowen or robe/ she roofher self unto the herte And deyde forthwyth to fore them/ And than brutethe counseillr And her husbond collatyn and alle her other frendes sworeby the blood of lucresse that they wold neuer reste vnto the tyme thatthey had put out of rome tarquyn and and alle his lignee/ And that neuerafter none of them shold come to dignite/ And alle this was doon. Forthey bare the dede corps thurgh the cyte and meuyd the peple in suchewyse/ that tarquyn was put in exyle And fixte his sone was slayn/ AQuene ought to be well manerd & amonge alle she ought to be tumerous andshamefast/ For whan a woman hath loste shamefastnes/ she may ner can notwell be chaast/ Wherfore saith symachus that they that ben not shamefasthaue no conscience of luxurye/ And saynt Ambrose saith that oon of thebest parements and maketh a woman most fayr in her persone/ is to beshamefast/ Senecque reherceth that ther was oon named Archezille whichewas so shamefast That she put in a pelow of fethers a certain some ofmoney/ and put hit vnder y'e heed of a pour frende of heeris/ whichedissimyled his pouerte and wold not ner durst not be a knowen of hispouerte For for shame she durst not gyue hit openly/ but had leuer thathe shold fynde hit/ than that she had gyuen hit hym/ Wherfore otherwhilemen shold gyue & helpe her frendes so secretly That they knowe not whenshit come/ For whan we kepe hit secret and make no boost therof/ ourdeedes and werkes shall plese god and them also/ A Quene ought to bechosen whan she shall be wedded of the most honest kynrede and peple/For oftentymes the doughters folowen the tacches and maners of them thatthey ben discended from/ Wherof Valerius maximus sayth that ther was onethat wold marye/ whiche cam to a philosopher and axid counceyll what wifhe might best take He answerd that he shold take her that thou knowecertaynly that her moder and her grauntdame haue ben chaast and wellcondicioned/ For suche moder/ suche doughter comunely/ Alfo a queneought to teche her childern to ben contynent and kepe chastite entyerly/as hit is wreton in ecclesiastes/ yf thou haue sones enseigne and techethem/ And yf thou haue doughters kepe well them in chastite/ Forhelemonde reherceth that euery kynge & prynce ought to be a clerke forto comande to other to studye and rede the lawe of our lord god/ Andtherfore wrote themperour to the kynge of france that he shold doo lernehys children sones the seuen sciences lyberall/ And saide amonge otherthynges that a kynge not lettryd resembleth an asse coroned/ ThemperourOctauian maad his sones to be taught and lerne to swyme. To sprynge andlepe. To Iufte. To playe wyth the axe and swerde/ And alle maner thyngethat apperteyneth to a knyght/ And his doughters he made hem to lerne. To sewe. To spynne. To laboure as well in wolle as in lynnen cloth/ Andalle other werkis longynge to women And whan his frendes demandedwherfore he dyde so/ he answerd how well that he was lord & syre of allethe world/ yet wyste he not what shold befalle of his children andwhether they shold falle or come to pouerte or noo/ and therfore yf theyconne a good crafte they maye alleway lyue honestly/ The Quene ought tokepe her doughters in alle chastyte/ For we rede of many maydens thatfor theyr virginite haue ben made quenes/ For poule the historiagraph ofthe lombardes reherceth y't ther was a duchesse named remonde whiche had. Iii. Sones & two doughters And hit happend that the kynge of hongryecantanus assaylled a castell where she behelde her enemyes And amongeall other she sawe the kynge that he was a well faryng and goodly man/Anone she was esprised and taken wyth his loue/ And that so sore/ thatforthwith she sent to hym that she wold deliuere ouer the castell to hymyf he wold take her to his wyf and wedde her And he agreed therto/ andsware that he wold haue her to his wyf on that condicion/ whan than thekynge was in the castell/ his peple toke men and women and alle thatthey fonde/ her sones fledde from her/ of whom one was named Ermoaldusand was yongest/ and after was duc of boneuentan/ And syn kynge of thelumbardis. And the two susters toke chikens And put hem vnder her armesnext the flessh and bytwene her pappes/ that of the heete & chaffyng theflessh of the chikens stanke. And whan so was that they of hongrye woldhaue enforcid & defowled hem anone they felte the stenche and fleddeaway and so lefte hem sayng/ fy how these lombardes stynke/ and so theykept their virginite/ wherfore that one of them afterward was Quene offrance And that other Quene of Aleman/ And hit happend than that thekynge Catanus toke acordynge to his promyse the duchesse/ and laye withher one night for to saue his oth And on the morn he made her comuneunto alle the hongres/ And the thirde day after he dyde doo put a stafof tre fro the nether part of her/ thurgh her body vnto her throte ormouthe/ for be cause of the lust of her flessh she betrayed her cyte andsayd suche husbond/ suche wyf &c And this sufficeth of the Quene. 

_The thirde chapitre of the seconde tractate treteth of the alphyns heroffices and maners. _

The Alphyns ought to be made and formed in manere of Iuges syttynge in achayer wyth a book open to fore their eyen/ And that is be cause thatsome causes ben crymynell/ And some ben cyuyle as aboute possessyons andother temporell thynges and trespaces/ And therfore ought to be twoIuges in the royame/ one in the black for the first cause/ And thatother in whyte as for the seconde/ Theyr office is for to counceyll thekynge/ And to make by his comandements good lawes And to enforme allethe royame in good and vertuous maners/ And to Iuge and gyue sentencewell and truly after the caas is had/ And to counceyll well and Iustelyalle them that are counceyll of hem/ wyth oute hauynge of ony eye openeto ony persone/ And to estudye diligently in suche wyse and to ordeygnealle that/ that ought to be kept be obseruyd be faste and stable/ Sothat they be not founde corrupt for yeft for favour ne for lignage nefor enuye variable And as touchynge the first poynt Seneque sayth in thebook of benefetes that the poure Dyogenes was more stronge thanAlixandre/ For Alixandre coude not gyue fo moche as Diogeneswold reffuse. 

Marcus cursus a romayn of grete renome sayth thus. That whan he hadbesiegid & assayllyd them of amente And boneuentans whiche herde that hewas poure/ they toke a grete masse and wegghe of gold and ended hit tohym prayng hym that he wold resseyue hyt and leue his assault and siege/And whan they cam with the present to hym they fonde hym sittynge on theerthe and ete his mete oute of platers and disshes of tree and of wodeand dyde than her message/ to whom he answerd and sayde that they sholdgoo hoome and saye to them that sente hem that marcus cursus louethbetter to be lord and wynne richesses than richesses shold wynne hym/For by bataylle he shall not be ouercome and vaynquysshid Nor be gold nesiluer he shal not be corrupt ne corompid Often tymes that thynge takethan euyll ende that is vntrewe for gold and siluer/ And that a man issubgett vnto money may not be lord therof/ helimond reherceth that [50]demoncene demanded of aristodone how moche he had wonne for pletynge ofa cause for his clyent/ And he answerd a marck of gold. [51] Demoscenesanswerd to hym agayn that he had wonne as moche for to hold his pees andspeke not Thus the tonges of aduocates and men of lawe ben þyllous anddomegeable/yet they must be had yf thou wylt wynne thy cause for wythmoney and yeft thou shall wynne And oftetymes they selle as welle theyrscilence/ as theyr vtterance/ Valerius reherceth that the senatours ofrome toke counceyll to geder of two persones that one was poure/ Andthat other riche and couetous/ whiche of hem bothe were moft apte for tosende to gouerne and Iuge the contre of spayne/ and scipion of affricquesayd that none of them bothe were good ner prouffitable to be sentetheder/ For that one hath no thynge And to that other may nothyngesuffise And despised in his saynge alle pouerte and auerice in a Iuge/For a couetous man hath nede of an halfpeny For he is seruant & bondevnto money/ and not lord therof. But pouerte of herte & of wylle oughtto be gretly alowed in a Iuge Therfore we rede that as longe as theromayns louyd pouerte they were lordes of all the world For many therwere that exposed alle their goodes for the comyn wele and for that wasmost prouffitable for the comynaulte that they were so poure that whanthey were dede they were buryed & brought to erthe with the comyn good/And theyr doughters were maryed by the comandement of the senatours/ Butsyn that they despised pouerte/ And begonne to gadre rychesses/ And hauemaad grete bataylles/ they haue vsed many synnes And so the comyn weleperysshid/ For there is no synne but that it regneth there/ Ther is nonethat is so [52] synfull as he that hath alle the world in despyte/ Forhe is in pees that dredeth no man/ And he is ryche that coueyteth nothynge/ Valere reherceth that he is not ryche that moche hath/ But he isryche that hath lytyll and coueyteth no thynge/ Than thus late the Iugestake hede that they enclyne not for loue or for hate in ony Iugement/For theophrast saith that alle loue is blynde ther loue is/ ther can notryght Iugement by guyen/ For alle loue is blynde And therfore loue isnone euyn Iuge For ofte tymes loue Iugeth a fowll & lothly woman to befayr And so reherceth quynte curse in his first book that the greteGodaches sayth the same to Alixandre men may saye in this caas thatnature is euyll For euery man is lasse auysed and worse in is owne feetand cause than in an other mans/ And therfore the Iuges ought to kepehem well from yre in Iugement/ Tullius sayth that an angry & yrousþsone weneth that for to doo euyll/ is good counceyll/ and socratessaith y't . Ii. Thinges ben contraryous to co[=u]ceyll/ and they benhaftynes & wrath/ and Galeren sayth in Alexandrye/ yf yre or wrathouercome the whan thou sholdest gyue Iugement/ weye all thinge in y'ebalance so that thy Iugement be not enclyned by loue ne by yeste/ nefauour of persone torne not thy corage. Helemond reherceth that Cambyseskynge of perse whiche was a rightwys kynge had an vnrightwys Iuge/whiche for enuye and euyll will had dampned a man wrongfully and agaynstright/ wherfore he dide hym to be flain all quyk/ and made the chayer orfiege of Iugement to be couerid wyth his skyn/ And made his sone Iugeand to sitte in the chayer on the skyn of his fader/ to thende that thesone shold Iuge rightwysly/ And abhorre the Iugement & payne of hisfader/ Iuges ought to punysshe the defaultes egally And fullfille thelawe that they ordeyne/ Caton sayth accomplisshe and do the lawe insuche wyse as thou hast ordeyned and gyuen. Valerius reherceth thatcalengius a consull had a sone whiche was taken in adwultrye. Andtherfore after the lawe at that tyme he was dampned to lose bothe hiseyen The fader wold y't the lawe shold be acc[=o]plisshid in his sonewith out fauour/ but all the cyte was meuyd herewyth And wold not suffrehit/ but in the ende his fader was vaynquysshid by theyr prayers/ Andordeyned that his sone shold lese oon eye whiche was put oute And hehymself lost an other eye/ And thus was the lawe obserued and kept/ Andthe prayer of the peple was accomplisshid We rede y't ther was acounceyllour of rome that had gyen counceill to make a statute/ that whosome euer that entrid in to the senatoire/ & a swerd gyrt aboute hymshold be ded/ Than hit happend on a tyme that he cam from with out andentrid in to the senatoyre & his swerd gyrt aboute hym/ wherof he tookn[=o]n heede/ and [=o]n of the senatours told hym of hit/ and whan heknewe hit & remembrid the statute/ he drewe oute his swerd & slewehymself to fore them/ rather to dye than to breke the lawe/ for whosdeth all the senatours made grete sorowe/ but alas we fynde not many inthise dayes that soo doo/ but they doo lyke as anastasius saith that thelawes of some ben lyke vnto the nettis of spyncoppis that take no gretebestes & fowles but lete goo & flee thurgh. But they take flyes &gnattes & suche smale thynges/ In lyke wise the lawes now a dayes bennot executed but vpon the poure peple/ the grete and riche breke hit &goo thurgh with all And for this cause sourden bataylles & discordes/and make y'e grete & riche men to take by force and strengthelordshippis & seignouries vpon the smale & poure peple/ And this doonthey specially that ben gentill of lignage & poure of goodes And causeththem to robbe and reue And yet constrayned them by force to serue themAnd this is no meruayll/ for they that drede not to angre god/ ner tobreke the lawe and to false hit/ Falle often tymes by force in mochecursednes and wikkidnes/ but whan the grete peple doo acordinge to thelawe/ and punysh the tr[=a]nsgressours sharply The comyn peple abstayne andwithdrawe hem fro dooyng of euyll/ and chastiseth hem self by theyrexample/ And the Iuges ought to entende for to studie/ for y't yfsmythes the carp[=e]ntiers y'e vignours and other craftymen saye that it ismost necessarye to studye for the comyn prouffit And gloryfye them intheir connyng and saye that they ben prouffitable Than shold the Iugesstudie and contemplaire moche more than they in that/ that shold be forthe comyn wele/ wherfore sayth seneke beleue me that they seme that theydo no thynge they doo more than they that laboure For they doospirytuell and also corporall werkis/ and therfore amonge Artificersther is no plesant reste/ But that reson of the Iuges hath maad andordeyned hit/ And therfore angelius in libro actiui atticatorum desocrate sayth That socrates was on a tyme so pensyf that in an holenaturell daye/ He helde one estate that he ne meuyd mouth ne eye nefoote ne hand but was as he had ben ded rauyshyd. And whan one demandedhym wherfore he was fo pensyf/ he answerd in alle worldly thynges andlabours of the fame And helde hym bourgoys and cytezeyn of the world Andvalerius reherceth that carnardes a knyght was so age wye and laborousin pensifnes of the comyn wele/ that whan he was sette at table for toete/ he forgate to put his hande vnto the mete to fede hymself. Andtherfore his wys y't was named mellye whom he had taken more to haue hercompanye & felawship than for ony other thynge/ Fedde hym to thende thathe shold not dye for honger in his pensifnes/ Dydymus sayd toAlix-andrie we ben not deynseyns in the world but stra[=u]gers/ ner weben not born in the world for to dwell and abyde allway therein/ but forto goo and passe thurgh hit/ we haue doon noon euy dede/ but that it isworthy to be punysshid and we to suffre payne therfore And than we maygoon with opon face and good conscience And so may we goo lightly andappertly the way that we hope and purpose to goo This suffiseth as forthe Alphyns. 

[Illustration]

_The fourth chapitre of the seconde book treteth of the ordre ofcheualerye and knyghthode and of her offices and maners. _

The knyght ought to be made alle armed upon an hors in suche wyse thathe haue an helme on his heed and a spere in his ryght hande/ and couerydwyth his sheld/ a swerde and a mace on his lyft syde/ Cladd wyth anhawberk and plates to fore his breste/ legge harnoys on his legges/Spores on his heelis on his handes his gauntelettes/ his hors wellbroken and taught and apte to bataylle and couerid with his armes/ whanthe knyghtes ben maad they ben bayned or bathed/ that is the signe thatthey shold lede a newe lyf and newe maners/ also they wake alle thenyght in prayers and orysons vnto god that he wylle gyue hem grace thatthey may gete that thynge that they may not gete by nature/ The kynge orprynce gyrdeth a boute them a swerde in signe/ that they shold abyde andkepe hym of whom they take theyr dispenses and dignyte. Also a knyghtought to be wise, liberall, trewe, stronge and full of mercy and piteand kepar of the peple and of the lawe/ And ryght as cheualrye passethother in vertu in dignite in honour and in reu[=e]rece/ right so ought heto surmounte alle other in vertu/ For honour is no thing ellis but to doreuer[=e]ce to an other þsone for y'e good & vertuo'9 disposicion y't isin hym/ A noble knyght ought to be wyse and preuyd to fore he be madeknyght/ hit behoued hym that he had longe tyme vsid the warre and armes/that he may be expert and wyse for to gouerne the other For syn that aknyght is capitayn of a batayll The lyf of them that shall be vnder hymlyeth in his hand And therfore behoueth hym to be wyse and well aduysed/for some tyme arte craft and engyue is more worth than strengthe orhardynes of a man that is not proued in Armes/ For otherwhyle hithappeth that whan the prynce of the batayll affieth and trusteth in hishardynes and strength And wole not vse wysedom and engyne for to rennevpon his enemyes/ he is vaynquysshid and his peple slayn/ Therfore saiththe philosopher that no man shold chese yong peple to be captayns &gouernours For as moche as ther is no certainte in her wysedom. Alexandra of macedone vaynquysshid and conquerid Egypte Iude CaldeeAffricque/ and Affirye vnto the marches of bragmans more by thecounceyll of olde men than by the strength of the yong men/ we rede inthe historye of rome y't ther was a knyght whiche had to name malechetethat was so wyse and trewe that whan the Emþour Theodosius was dede/ hemade mortall warre ayenst his broder germain whiche was named Gildo orGuye For as moche as this said guye wold be lorde of affricque with outeleue and wyll of the senatours. And this sayd guye had slayn the twosones of his broder malechete/ And dide moche torment vnto the cristenpeple And afore that he shold come in to the felde ayenst his broderEmyon/ he wente in to an yle of capayre And ladde with hym alle thecristen men that had ben sente theder in Exyle And made hem alle topraye wyth hym by the space of thre dayes & thre nyghtis/ For he hadgrete truste in the prayers of good folk/ & specially that noman myghtcounceyll ne helpe but god/ and . Iii. Dayes to fore he shold fight sayntAmbrofe whiche was ded a lityl to fore apperid to hym/ and shewde hym byreuelacion the tyme & our that he shold haue victorie/ and for as mocheas he had ben . Iii. Dayes and . Iii nyghtes in his prayers & that he wasassewrid for to haue victorie/ He faught with . V. Thousand men ayensthis broder y't had in his companye . Xxiiii. Thousand men And by goddeshelpe he had victorie And whan the barbaryns y't were comen to helpeguion fawe y'e disconfiture they fledde away/ and guion fledd also in toaffricque by shiipp/ and whan he was ther arryued he was sone afterstranglid/ These . Ii. Knyghtes of whom I speke were two brederngermayns/ whiche were sent to affricque for to defende the comyn weele/In likewise Iudas machabe'9 Ionathas & symon his bredern put hem self inthe mercy and garde of our lord god And agayn the enemyes of the lawe ofgod with lityll peple in regard of the multitude that were agayn them/and had also victorye/ The knights ought to ben trewe to theyr princes/for he that is not trewe leseth y'e name of a knight Vnto a princetrouth is the grettest precious stone whan it is medlid with Iuftice/Paule the historiagraph of the lombardes reherceth that ther was aknight named enulphus and was of the cyte of papye that was so trewe tohis kynge named patharich/ that he put hym in parill of deth for hym/For hit happend that Grymald Due of [53] buuentayns of whom we hauetouched to fore in the chapitre of the Quene/ Dyde do flee Godebertwhiche was kynge of the lombardes by the hande of Goribert duc ofTauryn/ whiche was discended of the crowne of lombardis And this grimaldwas maad kynge of lombardis in his place/ and after this put &bannysshid out of the contrey this patharych whiche was broder vnto thekynge Godebert/ that for fere and drede fledd in to hongrye/ And thanthis knyght Enulphus dide so moche that he gate the peas agayn of hislord patharich agaynft the kynge grymalde/ and that he had licence tocome out of hongrye where he was all wey in paryll. And so he cam andcryed hym mercy And the kynge grymalde gaf hym leue to dwelle and tolyue honestly in his contree/ allway forseen that he toke not vpon hymand named hymself kynge/ how well he was kynge by right This doon alitill while after/ the kynge that beleuyd euyll tonges/ thought inhymself how he myght brynge this patharich vnto the deth And alle thisknewe well the knyght enulphus/ whiche cam the same nyght with hissquyer for to visite his lord And made his squyer to vnclothe hym & tolye in the bedde of his lord And made his lord to ryse and clothe hymwyth the clothis of his squyer/ And in this wyse brought hym oute/brawlynge and betynge hym as his seruant by them that were assigned tokepe the hows of patharik y't he shold not escape Whiche supposid thathit had ben his squyer that he entretid so outragiously/ & so he broughthym to his hous whiche Ioyned with the walles of the toun/ And atmydnyght whan alle men were asleepe/ he lete a doun his maistre by acorde/ whiche toke an hors oute of the pasture And fled vnto the cyte ofAast and ther cam to the kynge of fraunce/ And whan hit cam vnto themorn. Hit was founden that Arnolphus and his squyer had deceyvyd thekynge and the wacchemen/ whom the kyng comanded shold be brought to forehym And demanded of them the maner how he was escaped And they told hymthe trouthe/ Than the kynge demanded his counceyll of what deth they haddeseruyd to dye that had so doon and wrought agayn the wylle of hym/Some sayde that they shold ben honged/ and some sayd they shold benslayn And other sayd that they shold be beheedid. Than sayd the kynge bythat lord that made me/ they ben not worthy to dye/ but for to hauemoche worship and honour/ For they haue ben trewe to theyr lord/wherfore the kynge gaf hem a grete lawde and honour for their feet Andafter hit happend that the propre squyer and seruant of godeberd slewethe traytre Goribalde that by trayson had slayn his lord at a feste ofseynt Iohn in his Cyte of Tauryn wherof he was lord and duc/ Thus oughtthe knyghtes to love to gyder/ And eche to put his lyf in aventure forother/ For so ben they the strenger And the more doubted/ Lyke as werethe noble knyghtes Ioab and Abysay that fought agaynst the syryens andAmonytes/ And were so trewe that oon to that other that theyvaynquysshid theyr enemies And were so Ioyned to gyder that yf thesiryens were strenger than that one of them/ that other helpe hym/ werede that damon and phisias were so ryght parfyt frendes to gyder thatwhan Dionisius whiche was kynge of cecylle had Iuged one to deth for histrespaas in the cyte of syracusane whom he wold haue executed/ hedesired grace and leue to goo in to hys contre for to dispose andordonne his testament/ And his felawe pleggid hym and was sewrte for hymvpon his heed that he shold come agayn. Wherof they that sawe & herdthis/ helde hym for a fool and blamed hym/ And he said all way that herepentid hym nothynge at all/ For he knewe well the trouth of his felaweAnd whan the day cam and the oure that execusion shold be doon/ hisfelawe cam and presented hymself to fore the Iuge/ And dischargid hisfelawe that was plegge for hym/ wherof the kynge was gretly abasshid Andfor the grete trouthe that was founden in hym He pardonyd hym and praydhem bothe that they wold resseyue hym as their grete frende and felawe/Lo here the vertues of loue that a man ought nought to doubte the dethfor his frende/ Lo what it is to doo for a frende/ And to lede a lyfdebonayr And to be wyth out cruelte/ to loue and not to hate/ whichecauseth to doo good ayenst euyll And to torne payne into benefete and toquenche cruelte Anthonyus sayth that Julius Cesar/ lefte not lightlyfrenshippe and Amytye/ But whan he had hit he reteyned hit faste andmaynteyned hit alleway/ Scipion of Affricque sayth that ther is nothynge so stronge/ as for to mayntene loue vnto the deth The loue ofconcupiscence and of lecherye is sone dissoluyd and broken/ But theverray true loue of the comyn wele and prouffit now a dayes is seldefounden/ where shall thou fynde a man in thyse dayes that wyll exposehymself for the worshippe and honour of his frende/ or for the comynwele/ selde or neuer shall he be founden/ Also the knyghtes shold belarge & liberall For whan a knyght hath regarde vnto his singulerprouffit by his couetyse/ he dispoylleth his peple For whan thesouldyours see that they putte hem in paryll. And theyr mayster wyll notpaye hem theyr wages liberally/ but entendeth to his owne propre gaynand proussryt/ than whan the Enemyes come they torne sone her backes andflee oftentymes/ And thus hit happeth by hym that entendeth more to getemoney than victorye that his auaryce is ofte tymes cause of hisconfusion Than late euery knyght take heede to be liberall in suche wysethat he wene not ne suppose that his scarcete be to hym a grete wynnyngeor gayn/ And for thys cause he be the lasse louyd of his peple/ And thathis aduersarye wythdrawe to hym them by large gyuynge/ For oftetymebataylle is auaunced more for getynge of siluer. Than by the force andstrengthe of men/ For men see alle daye that suche thynges as may not beachieuyd by force of nature/ ben goten and achieuyd by force of money/And for so moche hit behoueth to see well to that whan the tyme of thebataylle cometh/ that he borowe not ne make no tayllage/ For noman maybe ryche that leuyth his owne/ hopyng to gete and take of other/ Thanall waye all her gayn and wynnynge ought to be comyn amonge them exepttheyr Armes. For in lyke wyse as the victorie is comune/ so shold thedispoyll and botye be comune vnto them And therfore Dauid that gentyllknyght in the fyrst book of kynges in the last chapitre made a lawe/that he that abode behynde by maladye or sekenes in the tentes sholdhaue as moche parte of the butyn as he that had be in the bataylle/ Andfor the loue of thys lawe he was made afterward kynge of Isræll/Alexander of Macedone cam on a tyme lyke a symple knyght vnto the courtof Porus kynge of Inde for to espye thestate of the kynge and of theknyghtes of the court/ And the kynge resseyuyd hym ryght worshipfully/And demanded of hym many thynges of Alexander and of his constance andstrengthe/ nothynge wenynge that he had ben Alexander But antygone oneof his knyghtis and after he had hym to dyner And whan they had feruydAlexander in vayssell of gold and siluer with dyuerce metes &c. Afterthat he had eten suche as plesid hym he voyded the mete and toke thevayssell and helde hit to hymself and put hit in his bosom or sleuys/wherof he was accusid vnto the kynge After dyner than the kynge callidhym and demanded hym wherfore he had taken his vayssell And he answerd/Syre kynge my lord I pray the to vnderstande and take heede thy self andalso thy knyghtes/ I haue herd moche of thy grete hyenes And y't thouart more myghty and puyssant in cheualrye & in dispensis than isAlexander/ and therfore I am come to the a pour knyght whiche am namedAntygone for to serue the/ Than hit is the custome in the Courte ofAlexandre/ that what thynge a knyght is seruyd wyth all is alle his/mete and vayssell and cuppe And therfore I had supposid that thiscustome had ben kept in thy court for thou art richer than he/ whan theknyghtes herd this/ an[=o]n they lefte porus/ and wente for to seruealixandre/ and thus he drewe to hym y'e hertes of them by yeftes/ whicheafterward slewe Porus that was kynge of Inde/ And they made Alexandrakynge therof Therfore remembre knyght alleway that wyth a closid andshette purse shalt thou neuer haue victorye. Ouyde sayth that he thattaketh yeftes/ he is glad therwyth/ For they wynne wyth yeftes thehertes of the goddes and of men For yf Iupiter were angrid/ wyth yesteshe wold be plesid/ The knyghtes ought to be stronge not only of body butalso in corage. Ther ben many stronge and grete of body/ that ben fayntand feble in the herte/ he is stronge that may not be vaynquysshid andouercomen/ how well that he suffryth moche otherwhile/ And so we beleuethat they that be not ouer grete ne ouer lityll ben most corageous &beste in batayll. We rede that cadrus duc of athenes shold haue abatayll agayn them of polipe/ And he was warned and had a reuelacion ofthe goddes/ that they shold haue the victorie of whom the prynce sholdbe slayn in the batayll/ And the prince whiche was of a grete corage andtrewe herte Toke other armes of a poure man/ And put hymself in thefronte of the batayll to thende that he might be slain And so he was/for the right trewe prince had leuer dye Than his peple shold beouercomen/ And so they had the victorye/ Certes hyt was a noble and fayrthynge to expose hym self to the deth for to deffende his contrey. Butno man wold doo so/ but yf he hopyd to haue a better thynge therfore/Therfore the lawe sayth that they lyue in her sowles gloriously that benslain in the warre for the comyn wele A knyght ought also to bemercifull and pyetous For ther is nothynge y't maketh a knyght sorenomed as is whan he sauyth the lyf of them that he may slee/ For toshede and spylle blood is the condicion of a wylde beste and not thecondicion of a good knyght Therfore we rede that scylla that was Duc ofthe Romayns wyth oute had many fayr victoyres agaynst the Romayns wythInne that were contrayre to hym/ In so moche that in the batayll ofpuylle he slewe . Xviii. Thousand men/ And in champanye . Lxx. Thousand. And after in the cyte he slewe thre thousand men vnarmed And whan one ofhis knyghtes that was named Quyntus catulus sawe this cruelte sayd tohym/ Sesse now and suffre them to lyue and be mercyfull to them wythwhom we haue ben victorious And wyth whom we ought to lyue/ For hit isthe most hyest and fayr vengeance that a man may doo/ as to spare them &gyue hem her lyf whome he may slee Therfore Joab ordeyned whan absalomwas slayn/ he sowned a trompette/ that his peple shold no more renne &slee theyr aduersaryes. For ther were slayn aboute . Xx. Thousand ofthem/ and in lyke wyse dide he whan he faught ayenst Abner And Abner wasvaynquysshid and fledde. For where that he wente in the chaas hecomanded to spare the peple The knyghtes ought to kepe the peple/ Forwhan the peple ben in theyr tentes or castellis/ the knyghtes ought tokepe the wacche/ For this cause the romayns callyd them legyons And theywere made of dyuerce prouynces and of dyuerce nacyons to thentente tokepe the peple/ And the peple shold entende to theyre werke/ For nocrafty man may bothe entende to his craft & to fighte/ how may a craftyman entende to hys werke sewrely in tyme of warre but yf he be kept Andright in suche wyse as the knyghtes shold kepe y'e peple in tyme of peasin lyke wise the peple ought to pourveye for theyr dispensis/ how sholda plowman be sewre in the felde/ but yf the knyghtes made dayly waccheto kepe hem/ For lyke as the glorye of a kynge is vpon his knyghtis/ sohit is necessarye to the knyghtes that the marchantis craftymen andcomyn peple be defended and kepte/ therfore late the knyghtes kepe thepeple in suche wyse that they maye enioye pees and gete and gadre thecostis and expensis of them bothe/ we rede that Athis sayd to dauidwhiche was a knyght/ I make the my kepar and defendar alleway. Thusshold the knightes haue grete zele that the lawe be kept/ For themageste ryall ought not only to be garnysshid wyth armes but also wythgood lawes/ And therfore shold they laboure that they shold be well keptTurgeus pompeyus reherceth of a noble knyght named Ligurgyus that hadmade auncyent lawes the whiche the peple wold not kepe ne obserue/ Forthey semed hard for them to kepe And wold constrayne hym to rapele &sette hem a part whan the noble knight sawe that He dyde the peple tovnderstande that he had not made them/ but a god that was named Apollodelphynus. Had made them/ And had comanded hym that he shold do thepeple kepe them/ Thise wordes auayled not/ they wold in no wyse kepethem/ And than he sayd to them that hit were good that er the said lawesshold be broken that he had gyuen to them that he shold goo and spekewyth the god Appollo/ For to gete of hym a dispensacion to breke hem/And that the peple shold kepe & obserue them tyll that he retornedagayn/ The peple acorded therto & swore that they shold kepe them to thetyme he retorned Than the knighte wente in to grece in exyle & dwellidther alle his lyf/ And whan he shold dye he comanded that his body sholdbe cast in the see/ For as moche as yf his body shold be born theder/the people shold wene to be quyt of theyr oth/ And shold kepe no lengerhis lawes that were so good & resonable/ & so the knight had leuer toforsake his owne centre & to dye so than to repele his lawes And hislawes were suche/ The first lawe was that y'e peple shold obeye & seruethe princes/ And the princes shold kepe the peple & do Iustice on themalefactours The second lawe that they shold be all sobre/ For he wistewell that the labour of cheualrye is most stronge whan they lyuesobrely/ The thirde was y't noman shold bye ony thynge for money butthey shold change ware for ware & one marchandyse for an other/ Thefourthe was that men shold sette no more by money ner kepe hit more thanthey wold donge or fylthe/ The fyfthe he ordeyned for the comyn welealle thynge by ordre/ that the prynces myght meue and make bataylle byher power, to the maistres counceillours he comysid the Iugementis. Andthe Annuell rentes/ to the senatours the kepynge of the lawe/ And to thecomyn peple he gaf power to chese suche Iuges as they wold haue/ Thesixte he ordeyned that all thinge shold be departid egally & all thingeshold be comyn And none richer than other in patry-monye/ The seuenththat euery man shold ete lyke well in comen openly/ that riches sholdnot be cause of luxurye whan they ete secretly/ The eygthe that theyonge peple shold not haue but o[=n] gowne or garment in the yere/ Thenynth that men shold sette poure children to laboure in the felde/ tothende that they shold not enploye theyr yongthe in playes and in folye/but in labour/ The tenthe that the maydens shold be maryed wythoutedowayre/ In suche wyfe that no man shold take a wyf for moneye/ The xi. That men shold rather take a wyf for her good maners and vertues thanfor her richesses/ The twelfthe that men shold worshippe the olde andauncyent men for theyr age and more for theyr wysedom than for herriches this knyght made none of thyse lawes/ but he first kepte hem. 

[Illustration]

_The fyfthe chapitre of the second book of the formeand maners of the rooks. _

The rooks whiche ben vicaires and legats of the kynge ought to be madelyke a knyght vpon an hors and a mantell and hood furryd with meneuyerholdynge a staf in his hande/ & for as moche as a kyng may not be inalle places of his royame/ Therfore the auctorite of hym is gyuen to therooks/ whiche represent the kynge/ And for as moche as a royame is greteand large/ and that rebellion or nouelletes might sourdre and aryse inoon partye or other/ therfore ther ben two rooks one on the right sideand that other on the lifte side They ought to haue in hem. Pyte. Iuftice. Humylite. Wilfull pouerte. And liberalite/ Fyrst Iustice forhit is most fayr of the vertues/ For it happeth oftetyme that theministris by theyr pryde and orgueyll subuerte Iuftice and do no ryght/Wherfore the kynges otherwhyle lose theyr royames with out theyr culpeor gylte/ For an vntrewe Iuge or officyer maketh hys lord to be namedvnIufte and euyll And contrarye wyse a trewe mynestre of the lawe andryghtwys/ causeth the kynge to be reputed Iuste and trewe/ The Romaynstherfore made good lawes/ And wolde that/ that they sholde be Iufte andtrewe/ And they that establisshid them for to gouerne the peple/ wold inno wyse breke them/ but kepe them for to dye for them/ For the auncyentand wyse men sayd comynly that it was not good to make and ordeygne thatlawe that is not Iuste Wherof Valerius reherceth that ther was a manthat was named Themistides whiche cam to the counceyllours of athenesand sayd that he knewe a counceyll whiche was ryght prouffytable forthem/ But he wolde telle hyt but to But to one of them whom that theywold/ And they asligned to hym a wyse man named Aristides/ And whan hehad vnderstand hym he cam agayn to the other of the counceyll And saydthat the counceyll of Themystides was well prouffitable/ but hit was notIuste/ how be hit y'e may reuolue hit in your mynde/ And the counceyllthat he sayd was this/ that ther were comen two grete shippis frolacedome and were arryued in theyr londe. And that hit were good to takethem/ And whan the counceyll herde hym that sayde/ that hit was notIuste ner right/ they lefte hem alle in pees And wold not haue adoo withalle/ The vicarye or Iuge of the kynge ought to be so Iuste/ that heshold employe alle his entente to saue the comyn wele And yf hit werenede to put his lyf and/ lose hit therfore/ we haue an ensample ofmarcus regulus wherof Tullius reherceth in the book of offices And sayntAugustyn also de ciuitate dei/ how he faught agayn them of cartage bysee in shippis and was vaynquysshid and taken/ Than hit happend thatthey of cartage sente hymm in her message to rome for to haue theyrprisoners there/ for them y'e were taken/ and so to cha[=u]ge one for another And made hym swere and promyse to come agayn/ And so he cam torome And made proposicion tofore the senate And demanded them of cartageof the senatours to be cha[=u]ged as afore is sayd And than the senatoursdemanded hym what counceyll he gaf Certayn sayd he I co[=u]ceyll yow thaty'e do hit not in no wise For as moche as the peple of rome that they ofcartage holde in prison of youris ben olde men and brusid in the warreas I am my self/ But they that y'e holde in prison of their peple is allethe flour of alle their folke/ whiche counceyll they toke/ And than hisfrendes wolde haue holde hym and counceyllyd hym to abide there and notretorne agayn prysoner in to cartage/ but he wold neuer doo so nerabide/ but wold goo agayn and kepe his oth How well that he knewe thathe went toward his deth For he had leuyr dye than to breke his othValeri9 reherceth in the sixth book of one Emelye duc of the romayns/that in the tyme whan he had assieged the phalistes/ The scole maystreof the children deceyuyd the children of the gentilmen that he drewe hyma lityll and a lytyll vnto the tentys of the romayns by fayr speche. Andsayd to the duc Emelie/ that by the moyan of the children that he hadbrought to hym/ he shold haue the cyte/ For theyr faders were lordes andgouernours. Whan Emelie had herde hym he sayd thus to hym Thou that arteuyll and cruell And thou that woldest gyue a gyfte of grete felonnyeand of mauuastye/ thou shalt ner hast not founden here Duc ne peple thatresembleth the/ we haue also well lawes to kepe in batayll & warre As inour contres & other places/ and we wole obserue and kepe them vnto eueryman as they ought to be kept And we ben armed agaynst our enemyes y'twole defende them And not ayenst them y't can not saue their lyf whantheir contre is taken/ as thise lityll children/ Thou hast vaynquysshidthem as moche as is in the by thy newe deceyuable falsenes and bysubtilnes and not by armes/ but I that am a romayn shall vainquysshethem by craft and strengthe of armes/ And anon he comanded to take thesaid scole maister/ And to bynde his handes behynde hym as a traytourand lede hem to the parentis of the children And whan the faders &parentis sawe the grete courtosie that he had don to them They opend theyates and yelded them vnto hym/ we rede that hanyball had taken a princeof rome whiche vpon his oth and promyse suffrid hym to gon home/ and tosende hym his raunson/ or he shold come agayn within a certain tyme Andwhan he was at home in his place/ he sayde that he had deceyuyd hym by afalse oth And whan the senatours knewe therof/ they constrayned hym toretorne agayn vnto hanyball/ Amos florus tellyth that the phisicien ofkynge pirrus cam on a nyght to fabrice his aduersarye And promyfid hymyf he wold gyue hym for his laboure that he wold enpoysone pirrus hismaister/ whan fabricius vnderstode this He dyde to take hym and byndehym hande & foote/ and sente hym to his maistre and dyde do saye to hymword for worde lyke as the physicien had sayd and promysid hym to doo/And whan pirrus vnderstode this he was gretly ameruaylled of the loyalteand trouth of fabrice his enemye/ and sayd certaynly that the sonnemyghte lighther and sonner be enpesshid of his cours/ than fabrice sholdbe letted to holde loyalte and trouthe/ yf they than that were notcristen were so Iuste and trewe and louyd their contrey and their goodrenomee/ what shold we now doon than that ben cristen and that cure laweis sette alle vpon loue and charyte/ But now a dayes ther is nothyngeellys in the world but barate Treson deceyte falsenes and trecherye Menkepe not theyr couenantes promyses. Othes. Writynges. Ne trouthe/ Thesubgettis rebelle agayn theyr lorde/ ther is now no lawe kepte. Norfidelite/ ne oth holden/ the peple murmure and ryse agayn theyr lord andwole not be subget/ they ought to be pietous in herte/ whiche isauaillable to all thinge ther is pite in effecte by compassion/ and inworde by remission and pardon/ by almesse/ for to enclyne hymself to thepoure For pite is nothynge ellis but a right grete will of a debonaireherte for to helpe alle men/ Valerius reherceth that ther was a Iugenamed sangis whiche dampned a woman that had deseruyd the deth for tohaue her heed smyten of or ellis that she shold dye in prison/ TheGeayler that had pite on the woman put not her anone to deth but put herin the pryson/ And this woman had a doughter whiche cam for to se andconforte her moder But allway er she entryd into the pryson the Iaylerserchid her that se shold bere no mete ne drynke to her moder/ but thatshe shold dye for honger/ Than hit happend after this that he meruaylledmoche why this woman deyd not/ And began to espye the cause why shelyuyd so longe/ And fonde at laste how her doughter gaf souke to hermoder/ And fedde her with her melke. Whan the Iayler aawe this meruaill/he wente & told the Iuge/ And whan the Iuge sawe this grete pite of thedoughter to the moder he pardoned her and made her to be delyuerid outeof her pryson what is that/ that pite ne amolisshith/ moche peple wenethat it is agaynst nature and wondre that the doughter shold gyue themoder to souke/ hit were agayn nature but the children shold be kynde tofader and moder/ Seneca sayth that the kynge of bees hath no prykke tostynge with as other bees haue. And that nature hath take hit away fromhym be cause he shold haue none armes to assaylle them And this is anexample vnto prynces that they shold be of the fame condicion/ Valeriusreherceth in his . V. Book of marchus martellus that whan he had takenthe cyte of siracusane. And was sette in the hyest place of the cyte/ hebehelde the grete destruction of the peple and of the cyte/ he wepte andsayde/ thou oughtest to be sorofull/ for so moche as thou woldest haueno pite of thy self/ But enioye the for thou art fallen in the hande ofa right debonaire prynce. Also he recounteth whan pompeye had conquerydthe kynge of Germanye that often tymes had foughten ayenst the romaynsAnd that he was brought to fore hym bounden/ he was so pietous that hewold not suffre hym to be longe on his knees to fore hym/ but hereceyuyd hym cortoysly And sette the crowne agayn on his heed and puthym in thestate that he was to fore/ For he had oppynyon that hit was asworshipfull and fittynge to a kynge to pardone/ as to punysshe. Also hereherceth of a co[=u]ceyllour that was named poule that dide do brynge tofore hym a man that was prisonner And as he knelid to fore hym he tokehym vp fro the ground & made hym to sytte beside hym for to gyue hymgood esperance and hoope And sayd to the other stondynge by/ in thiswyse. Yf hit be grete noblesse that we shewe our self contrarye to ourenemyes/ than this fete ought to be alowed that we shew our selfdebonair to our caytyfs & prisonners Cesar whan he herde the deth ofcathon whiche was his aduersarye sayde that he had grete enuye of hisglorye. And no thinge of his patrimonye/ and therfore he lefte to hischildren frely all his patrimonye Thus taught vyrgyle and enseygned thegloryus prynces to rewle and gouerne the peple of rome. And sayntAugustin de ciuitate dei saith thus Thou emperour gouerne the peplepietously And make peas ouerall/ deporte and forbere thy subgets/repreue & correcte the prowde/ for so enseyne And teche the the lawes/And hit was wreton vnto Alexander/ that euery prynce ought to be pyetousin punysshynge/ and redy for to rewarde/ Ther is no thynge that causetha prynce to be so belouyd of hys peple/ As whan he speketh to hemswetly/ and co[=u]ersith with hem symply/ And all this cometh of the rooteof pyte/ we rede of the Emperour Traian that his frendes repreuyd hym ofthat he was to moche pryue and familier wyth the comyn peple more thanan emperour ought to be/ And he answerd that he wold be suche anemperour as euery man desired to haue hym/ Also we rede of Alixanderthat on a tyme he ladde his oost forth hastely/ and in that haste hebeheld where satte an olde knight that was sore acolde Whom he dide doarise and sette hym in his owne sete or siege/ what wondre was hitthough y'e knightes desired to serue suche a lord that louyd bettertheyr helth than his dignite/ The rookes ought also to be humble & mekeAfter the holy scripture whiche saith/ the gretter or in the hier astatethat thou arte/ so moche more oughtest thou be meker & more humbleValerius reherceth in his . Vii. Book that ther was an emperour namedpublius cesar/ That dide do bete doun his hows whiche was in the middisof y'e market place for as moche as hit was heier than other houses/ foras moche as he was more glorious in astate than other/ Therfore wold hehaue a lasse hous than other And scipion of affrique that was so poureof vol[=u]tarie pouerte y't whan he was dede/ he was buried at y'edispencis of y'e comyn good/ They shold be so humble y't they shold leuetheyr offices/ and suffre other to take hem whan her tyme comyth/ & doohonour to other/ for he gouerneth wel y'e royame y't may gouerne hitwhan he will Valeri'9 saith In his thirde book that fabyan the grete hadben maistre counceyllour of his fader his grauntsire/ And of hisgrauntsirs fader & of alle his antecessours And yet dide he alle hispayne and labour/ that his sone shold neuer haue that office after hym/but for nothynge that he mystrusted his sone/ For he was noble and wiseand more attemprid than other/ but he wold that the office shold not allway reste in the familye and hows of the fabyans Also he reherceth inhis seuenth book that they wold make the sayd fabyan emþour/ but heexcused hym and sayd that he was blynde and myght not see for age/ butthat excusacion myght not helpe hym/ Than sayd he to hem/ seke y'e andgete yow another/ For yf y'e make me your emþour I may not suffre yourmaners/ nor y'e may not suffre myn/ Ther was a kynge of so subtyll engyneThat whan men brought hym the crowne/ to fore that he toke hit/ heremembrid hym a lityll and saide/ O thou crowne that art more noble thanhappy For yf a kynge knewe well and parfaytly how that thou art full ofparyls of thoughte and of charge/ yf thou were on the grounde/ he woldeneuer lyfte ner take the vp/ Remembre the that whan thou art mostgloryous/ than haue some men moste enuye on the/ and whan thou hastemoste seignourye and lordships than shalt thou haue moste care. Thoughtand anguysshes/ Vaspasian was so humble that whan Nero was slayn allethe peple cryed for to haue hym emþour/ and many of his frendes cam &prayde hym that he wold take hit vpon hym/ so at the last he wasconstrayned to take hit vpon hym. And sayd to his frendes Hit is betterand more to preyse and alowe for a man to take thempire agaynst his wil/than for to laboure to haue hit and to put hym self therin/ Thus oughtthey to be humble and meke for to resseyue worship/ Therfore sayth thebible that Ioab the sone of Saryre that was captayn of the warre of thekynge Dauid/ whan he cam to take and wynne a Cyte/ He sente to Dauid anddesired hym to come to the warre/ that the victorye shold be gyuen toDauid/ And not to hym self/ Also they ought to be ware that they chaungenot ofte tymes her officers/ Josephus reherceth that the frendes oftyberyus meruaylled moche why he helde hys offycyers so longe in theyroffices wyth oute changynge/ And they demanded of hym the cause/ to whomhe answerd/ I wold chaunge them gladly/ yf I wyste that hit shold begood for the peple/ But I sawe on a tyme a man that was roynyous & fullof soores/ And many flyes satte vpon the soores and souked his bloodthat hit was meruaylle to see/ wherfore I smote and chaced them away. And he than said to me why chacest and smytest away thyse flyes that benfull of my blood/ And now shallt thou late come other that ben hongryewhiche shall doon to me double payne more than the other dide/ for theprikke of the hongrye is more poyngnant the half/ than of y'e fulle Andtherfore sayde he I leue the officiers in their offices. For they benall riche/ and doo not so moch euyl & harme As the newe shold doo & werepoure yf I shold sette hem in her places/ They ought also to be pacyentin herynge of wordes & in suffrynge payne on her bodyes/ as to the firstOne said to alisander that he was not worthy to regne. Specially whan hesuffrid that lecherie and delyte to haue seignoire in hym/ he suffridhit paciently/ And answerd none otherwyse but that he wolde corrette hymself. And take better maners and more honeste Also hit is reherced thatIulius cezar was ballyd wherof he had desplaysir so grete that he kempthis heeris that laye on the after parte of his heed forward for to hydethe bare to fore. Than sayd a knyght to him Cezar hit is lighther Andsonner to be made that thou be not ballid/ than that I haue vsid onycowardyse in the warre of rome/ or hereafter shall doo ony cowardyse/ hesuffrid hit paciently and sayd not aword/ Another reproched hym by hislignage And callyd hym fornier/ he answerd that hit is better thatnoblesse begynne in me/ than hit shold faylle in me/ Another callid hymtyraunt/ he answerd yf I were one. Thou woldest not saie soo A knightcallid on a tyme scipion of affricque fowle & olde knyght in armes Andthat he knewe lityll good And he answerd I was born of my moder a lityllchild and feble and not a man of armes. And yet he was at alle tymes oneof the best and moste worthy in armes that liuyd. Another sayd tovaspasian/ And a wolf shold sonner change his skyn and heer/ than thousholdest cha[=u]ge thy lyf For the lenger thou lyvest the more thoucoueytest And he answerd of thyse wordes we ought to laughe. But weought to amende our selfe And punysshe the trespaces. Seneque reherceththat the kynge Antygonus herde certayn peple speke and saye euyll ofhym/ And therwas betwene hem nomore but a courtyne/ And than he saydemake an ende of your euyll langage leste the kynge here yow/ for thecourtyne heereth yow well[54] I nowhe. Than as towchynge to the paynesthat they ought to suffre paciently Valerius reherceth that a tyrantdide do tormente Anamaximenes & thretenyd hym for to cutte of his tonge. To whom he sayd hit is not in thy power to doo soo/ and forthwyth hebote of his owne tonge/ And shewed hit wyth his teth and casted hit inthe visage of the Tyrant Hit is a grete vertu in a man that he forgetenot to be pacyent in corrections of wronges/ Hit is better to leue agylty man vnpunysshyd/ than to punysshe hym in a wrath or yre Valeriusreherceth that archita of tarente that was mayster to plato sawe thathis feldes & lande was destroyed and lost by the necligence of hisseruant To whom he sayd yf I were not angry with the I wold takevengeance and turmente the/ Lo there y'e may see that he had leuer toleue to punysshe/ than to pugnysshe more by yre & wrath than by rightAnd therfore sayth seneque/ doo no thynge that thou oughtest to doo whany'u art angry/ For whan thou art angry thou woldest doo alle thyngesafter thy playsir/ And yf thou canst not vaynquysshe thyn yre/ thanmuste thyn yre ouercome the/ After thys ought they to haue wylfullpouerte/ lyke as hit was in the auncyent prynces/ For they coueyted moreto be riche in wytte and good maners than in moneye/ And that rehercethValerius in his . Viii. Booke that scipion of Affryque was accused vntothe Senate that he shold haue grete tresour/ And he answerd certes whanI submysed affryque in to your poeste/ I helde no thynge to myself thatI myght faye this is myn save only the surname of affryque/ Ner theaffryquans haue not founden in me ner in my broder ony auarice/ ner y'twe were so couetouse that we had ne had gretter enuye to be riche ofname than of rychesses/ And therfore sayth seneque that the kyngeAltagone vsid gladly in his hows vessels of erthe/ And some sayde hedyde hit for couetyse/ But he sayde that hit was better and more noblethynge to myne in good maners than in vayssell And whan some mendemanded hym why and for what cause he dyde so/ he answerd I am nowkynge of secylle/ and was sone of a potter/ and for as moche as I doubtefortune. For whan I yssued out of the hous of my fader and moder/ I wassodaynly made riche/ wherfore I beholde the natiuyte of me and of mylignage/ whiche is humble & meke/ And alle these thynges cometh ofwilfull pouerte/ for he entended more to the comyn prouffyt than to hisowen/ And of thys pouerte speketh saynt Augustyn in the booke of thecyte of god That they that entende to the comyn prouffyt. Sorowe morethat wilfull pouerte is lost in rome/ than the richesses of rome/ For bythe wilfull pouerte was the renomee of good maners kept entierly/ thusby this richesse pouerte is not only corrupt in thyse dayes ner the cytener the maners/ but also the thoughtes of the men ben corrupt by thyscouetyse and by felonnye that is worse. Than ony other enemye And of thecruelte of the peple of rome speketh the good man of noble memorye Iohnthe monke late cardynall of rome in the decretall the syxte in thechapitre gens sancta where he sayth/ that they ben felo[=u]s ayenst god. Contrarye to holy thynges. Traytres one to that other. Enuyous to herneyghbours. Proude vnto straungers. Rebelle and vntrewe vnto theyrsouerayns Not suffringe to them that ben of lower degree than they andnothinge shamfast to demande thinges discouenable and not to leue tyllthey haue that they demande/ and not plesid but disagreable whan theyhaue resseyuyd the yeft They haue their tonges redy for to make greteboost/ and doo lityll/ They ben large in promysynges/ And smale gyuers/they ben ryght fals deceyuours/ And ryght mordent and bityngedetractours/ For whiche thynge hit is a grete sorowe to see the humylitethe pacyence And the good wisedom that was woute to be in this cyte ofrome whiche is chief of alle the world is peruertid & torned in tomaleheurte and thise euylles/ And me thynketh that in other partyes ofcrestiante they haue taken ensample of them to doo euyll/ They may sayethat this is after the decretale of seygnourye and disobeysance/ thatsayth That suche thynges that the souerayns doo/ Is lightly and sonetaken in ensample of theyr subgets/ Also thise vicayres shold be largeand liberall/ In so moche that suche peple as serue them ben duly paydand guerdoned of her labour/ For euery man doth his labour the betterand lightlyer whan he seeth that he shall be well payd and rewarded/ Andwe rede that Titus the sone of vaspasian was so large and so liberall/That he gaf and promysyd somewhat to euery man/ And whan hys moste pryuyfrendes demanded of hym why he promysid more that he myght gyue/ heanswerd for as moche as hyt apperteyneth not to a prynce that ony manshold departe sorowfull or tryste fro hym/ Than hit happend on a daythat he gaf ner promysid no thynge to ony man And whan hit was euenauysed hymself/ he sayd to hys frendes/ O y'e my frendes thys day haue Ilost for this day haue I don no good, ' And also we rede of Iulius Cefarthat he neuer saide in alle his lyue to his knyghtes goo oon but all waybe sayde come come/ For I loue allway to be in youre companye/ And heknewe well that hit was lasse payne & trauayll to the knyghtes whan theprynce is in her companye that loueth hem & c[=o]forted hem And also werede of the same Iulius cesar in the booke of truphes of phylosophers/that ther was an Auncyent knyght of his that was in paryll of a caashangynge to fore the Iuges of rome so he callyd cefar on a tyme and saidto hym to fore all men that he shold be his aduocate And cesar deliuerydand assigned to hym a right good aduocate And the knyght sayd to hym Ocesar I put no vicaire in my place whan thou were in parill in y'ebatayll of assise/ But I faught for the. And than he shewed to hym theplaces of his woundes that he had receyuyd in the batayll And than camcesar in his propre persone for to be his aduocate & to plete his causefor hym/ he wold not haue the name of vnkyndenes/ but doubted that menshold saye that he were proude And that he wold not do for them that hadseruyd hym They that can not do so moche/ as for to be belouyd of herknyghtes/ can not loue the knyghtes And this sufficeth of the rooks. 

BOOK III. 

[Illustration]

_The thirde tractate of the offices of the comyn peple. The fyrstchapitre is of the office of the labourers and werkemen_. 

For as moche as the Noble persone canne not rewle ne gouerne with outey'e seruyce and werke of the peple/ than hit behoueth to deuyse theoeuurages and the offices of the werkemen/ Than I shall begynne fyrst atthe fyrst pawne/ that is in the playe of the chesse/ And signefieth aman of the comyn peple on fote For they be all named pietous that is asmoche to saye as footemen And than we wyll begynne at the pawne whichestandeth to fore the rooke on the right side of the kinge for as mocheas this pawne apperteyneth to serue the vicaire or lieutenant of thekynge and other officers vnder hym of necessaryes of vitayll/ And thismaner a peple is figured and ought to be maad in the forme & shappe of aman holdynge in his ryght hande a spade or shouell And a rodde in thelifte hand/ The spade or shouell is for to delue & labour therwith theerthe/ And the rodde is for to dryue & conduyte wyth all the bestes vntoher pasture also he ought to haue on his gyrdell/ a crokyd hachet for tocutte of the supfluytees of the vignes & trees/ And we rede in thebible that the first labourer that euer was/ was Caym the firste sone ofAdam that was so euyll that he slewe his broder Abel/ for as moche asthe smoke of his tythes went strayt vnto heuen'/ And the smoke & fumeeof the tythes of Caym wente downward vpon the erthe And how well thatthis cause was trewe/ yet was ther another cause of enuye that he hadvnto his broder/ For whan Adam their fader maried them for to multypliey'e erthe of hys lignye/ he wolde not marye ner Ioyne to gyder the twothat were born attones/ but gaf vnto caym her that was born wyth Abel/And to Abel her that was born with caym/ And thus began thenuye thatcaym had ayenst abel/ For his wyf was fayrer than cayms wyf And for thiscause he slough abel with the chekebone of a beste/ & at that tyme wasneuer no maner of yron blody of mannes blood/ And abel was y'e firstmartier in tholde testament/ And this caym dide many other euyl thingeswhiche I leue/ for hit apperteyneth not to my mater/ But hit behouethfor necessite y't some shold labour the erthe after y'e synne of adam/for to fore er adam synned/ the erthe brought forth fruyt with outlabour of handes/ but syn he synned/ hit muste nedes be labourid withy'e handes of men And for as moche as the erthe is moder of alle thyngesAnd that we were first formed and toke oure begynnyng of the erthe/ thesame wyse at the laste. She shall be the ende vnto alle vs and to allethynges/ And god that formed vs of the erthe hath ordeyned that by thelaboure of men she shold gyue nourysshyng vnto alle that lyueth/ andfirst the labourer of y'e erthe ought to knowe his god that formed andmade heuen & erthe of nought And ought to haue loyaulte and trouth inhymself/ and despise deth for to entende to his laboure And he ought togyue thankyngis to hym that made hym And of whom he receyueth all hisgoodes temporall/ wherof his lyf is susteyned/ And also he is bounden topaye the dismes and tythes of alle his thynges And not as Caym dyde. Butas Abell dyde of the beste that he chese allway for to gyue to god & toplese hym/ For they that grucche and be greuyd in that they rendre andgyue to god the tienthes of her goodes/ they ought to be aferd and hauedrede that they shall falle in necessite And y't they might bedispoyllyd or robbed by warre or by tempeste that myght falle or happenin the contrey And hit is meruayll though hit so happen For that manthat is disagreable vnto god And weneth y't the multiplynge of hisgoodes temporell cometh by the vertu of his owne co[=u]ceyll and hiswytte/ the whiche is made by the only ordenance of hym that made alle. And by the same ordenance is soone taken away fro hym that isdisagreable/ and hit is reson that whan a man haboundeth by fortune ingoodes/ And knoweth not god/ by whom hit cometh/ that to hym come someother fortune by the whiche he may requyre grace and pardon And to knowehis god/ And we rede of the kynge Dauid that was first symple & one ofthe comyn peple/ that whan fortune had enhaunsed and sette hym in greteastate/ he lefte and forgate his god/ And fyll to aduoultrye andhomicyde and other synnes/ Than anon his owne sone Absalom assaylled &began to persecute hym And than whan he sawe that fortune was contraryeto hym/ he began to take agayn his vertuous werkis and requyred pardounand so retorned to god agayn. We rede also of the children of ysrælthat were nyghe enfamyned in desert and sore hongry & thrusty that theyprayd & requyred of god for remedy/ Anon he changed his wyll & sente tohem manna/ & flessh &c. / And whan they were replenesshid & fatte of theflessh of bestes & of the manna/ they made a calf of gold and worshippidhit. Whiche was a grete synne & Inyquyte/ For whan they were hongry theyknewe god/ And whan theyre belyes were fylde & fatted/ they forgidydoles & were ydolatrers. After this euery labourer ought to befaythfull & trewe That whan his maystre delyuereth to hym his lande tobe laboured/ that he take no thinge to hymself but that hym ought tohaue & is his/ but laboure truly & take cure and charge in the name ofhis maistre/ and do more diligently his maisters labours than his owen/for the lyf of y'e most grete & noble men next god lieth in y'e handesof the labourers/ and thus all craftes & occupacions ben ordeyned notonly to suffise to them only/ but to the comyn/ And so hit happeth oftetyme that y'e labourer of the erthe vseth grete and boystous metes/ andbringeth to his maister more subtile & more deyntous metes/ And valeriusreherceth in his. Vi. Book that ther was a wife & noble maistre y't wasnamed Anthoni9 that was accused of a caas of aduoultrye/ & as the causehenge to fore the Iuges/ his accusers or denonciatours brought Ilabourer that closid his land for so moche as they sayde whan hismaistre wente to doo the aduoultrye/ this same seruant bare thelanterne. Wherof Anthonyus was sore abasshyd and doubted that he sholddepose agaynst hym But the labourer that was named papirion sayd to hismaister that he shold denye his cause hardyly vnto the Iuges For for tobe tormentid/ his cause shold neuer be enpeyrid by hym/ ner no thyngeshold yssue out of his mouth wherof he shold be noyed or greuyd And thanwas the labourer beten and tormentid and brent in many places of hisbody But he sayd neuer thynge wherof his mayster was hurte or noyed/ Butthe other that accused his maister were punysshid And papiryon wasdeliuerid of his paynes free and franc/ And also telleth valerius thatther was another labourer that was named penapion/ that seruyd a maisterwhos name was Themes which was of meruayllous faith to his maystre Forhit befell that certain knyghtes cam to his maisters hows for to sleehym And anone as papiryon knewe hit/ he wente in to his maisters chambreAnd wold not be knowen For he dide on his maisters gowne and his ryngeon his fynger/ And laye on his bedde And thus put hym self in parill ofdeth for to respite his maisters lyf/ But we see now a dayes many foolesthat daigne not to vse groos metes of labourers. And flee the coursclothynge And maners of a seruant Euery wise man a seruant that trulyserueth his maister is free and not bonde/ But a foole that is ouerproude is bonde/ For the debilite and feblenes of corage that is brokenin conscience by pryde Enuye. Or by couetyse is ryght seruytude/ yetthey ought not to doubte to laboure for feere and drede of deth/ no manought to loue to moche his lyf/ For hit is a fowll thynge for a man torenne to the deth for the enemye of his lyf/ And a wyse man and astronge man ought not to flee for his lyf/ but to yssue For ther is noman that lyueth/ but he must nedes dye. And of this speketh claudyan andsayth that alle thoo thynges that the Ayer goth aboute and enuyronned. And alle thynge that the erthe laboureth/ Alle thyngys that benconteyned wyth in the see Alle thynges that the floodes brynge forth/Alle thynges that ben nourysshid and alle the bestes that ben vnder theheuen shall departe alle from the world/ And alle shall goo at hiscomandement/ As well Kynges Prynces and alle that the world enuyronnedand gooth aboute/ Alle shall goo this waye/ Than he ought not to doubtefor fere of deth. For as well shail dye the ryche as the poure/ dethmaketh alle thynge lyke and putteth alle to an ende/ And therof made anoble versifier two versis whiche folowe Forma. Genus. Mores. Sapi[=e]cia. Res. Et honores/ Morte ruant subita sola manent merita/Wherof the english is Beaulte. Lignage. Maners. Wysedom. Thynges &honoures/ shal ben deffetid by sodeyn deth/ no thynge shal abide but themerites/ And herof fynde we in Vitas patrum. That ther was an erle ariche & noble man that had a sone onely/ and whan this sone was of ageto haue knowlech of the lawe/ he herde in a sermone that was prechidthat deth spareth none/ ne riche ne poure/ and as well dyeth y'e yongeas the olde/ and that the deth ought specially to be doubted for . Iii. Causes/ one was/ y't noman knoweth whan he cometh/ and the seconde/ nerin what state he taketh a man/ And the thirde he wote neuer whither heshall goo. Therfore eche man shold dispise and flee the world and lyuewell and hold hym toward god And when this yong man herde this thynge/he wente oute of his contrey and fledde vnto a wyldernesse vnto anhermytage/ and whan his fader had loste hym he made grete sorowe/ anddyde do enquere & seke hym so moche at last he was founden in thehermitage/ and than his fader cam theder to hym and sayde/ dere sonecome from thens/ thou shalt be after my deth erle and chyef of mylignage/ I shall be lost yf thou come not out from thens/ And he thanthat wyste non otherwise to eschewe the yre of his fader bethought hymand sayde/ dere fader ther is in your centre and lande a right euyllcustome yf hit plese yow to put that away I shall gladly come out ofthis place and goo with yow The fader was glad and had grete Ioy Anddema[=u]ded of hym what hit was And yf he wold telle hym he promysid himto take hit away and hit shold be left and sette aparte. Than he saydedere fader ther dyen as well the yong folk in your contrey as the olde/do that away I pray yow/ Whan his fader herde that he sayde Dere sonethat may not be ner noman may put that away but god only/ Than answerdthe sone to the fader/ than wylle I serue hym and dwelle here wyth hymthat may do that. And so abode the childe in the hermytgage & lyuydthere in good werkes After this hit apperteyneth to a labourer toentende to his laboure and flee ydlenes/ And thou oughtest to knowe thatDauid preyseth moche in the sawlter the treve labourers and sayth/ Thoushalt ete the labour of thyn handes and thou art blessid/ and he shalldo to the good And hit behoueth that the labourer entende to his labouron the werkedayes for to recuyell and gadre to gyder the fruyt of hislabour/ And also he ought to reste on the holy day/ bothe he and hisbestes. And a good labourer ought to norysshe and kepe his bestes/ Andthis is signefied by the rodde that he hath. Whiche is for to lede anddryue them to the pasture/ The fiste pastour that euer was/ was Abelwhiche was Iuste and trewe/ and offryd to god the bestes vnto hissacrefice/ And hym ought he to folowe in craft & maners But no man thatvseth the malice of Caym may ensue and folowe Abel/ And thus hitapperteyneth to the labourer to sette and graffe trees and vygnes/ andalso to plante and cutte them And so dyde noe whiche was the first thatplanted the vygne after y'e deluge and flood For as Iosephus rehercethin y'e book of naturell thinges Noe was he that fonde fyrst the vygne/And he fonde hym bitter and wylde/ And therfore he toke . Iiii. Maners ofblood/ that is to wete the blood of a lyon. The blood of a lamb, theblood of a swyne. And the blood of an ape and medlid them alto gederwith the erthe/ And than he cutte the vygne/ And put this aboute therootes therof. To thende that the bitternes shold be put away/ and thathyt shold be swete/ And whan he had dronken of the fruyt of this vygne/hit was so good and mighty that he becam so dronke/ that he dispoylledhym in suche wise y't his pryuy membres might be seen/ And his yongestsone cham mocqued and skorned hym And whan Noe was awakid & was sobre &fastinge/ he assemblid his sones and shewid to them the nature of thevygne and of the wyn/ And told to them the caufe why y't he had put theblood of the bestes aboute the roote of the vygne and that they sholdknowe well y't otherwhile by y'e strength of the wyn men be made ashardy as the lyon and yrous And otherwhile they be made symple &shamefast as a lambe And lecherous as a fwyn/ And curyous and full ofplaye as an Ape/ For the Ape is of suche nature that whan he seeth onedo a thynge he enforceth hym to doo the same/ and so doo many whan theyben dronke/ they will medle them wyth alle officers & matiers thatapperteyne no thynge to them/ And whan they ben fastynge & sobre theycan scarfely accomplisshe theyr owne thynges And therfore valerianreherceth that of auncyente and in olde tyme women dranke no wyn for asmoche as by dronkenship they myght falle in ony filthe or vilonye And asOuide sayth/ that the wyns otherwhyle apparaylle the corages in suchemanere that they ben couenable to alle synnes whiche take away thehertes to doo well/ They make the poure riche/ as longe as the wyn is inhis heed And shortly dronkenshyp is the begynnynge of alle euyllys/ Andcorrompith the body/ and destroyed the fowle and mynusshith the goodestemporels/ And this suffyseth for the labourer. 

[Illustration]

_The seconde chapitre of the thirde tractate treteth of the forme andmaner of the second pawne and of the maner of smyth_. 

The seconde pawne y't standeth to fore the knyght on the right side ofthe kynge hath the forme and figure of a man as a smyth and that isreson For hit apperteyneth to y'e knyghtes to haue bridellys sadellysspores and many other thynges made by the handes of smythes and ought toholde an hamer in his right hande. And in his lyfte hand a dolabre andhe ought to haue on his gyrdell a trowell For by this is signefied allmaner of werkemen/ as goldsmithes. Marchallis, smithes of all forges/forgers and makers of monoye & all maner of smythes ben signefyed by[55] the hamer/ The carpenters ben signefyed by the dolabre or squyer/And by the trowell we vnderstande all masons & keruars of stones/tylers/ and alle them that make howses castels & tours/ And to allethese crafty men hit apperteyneth that they be trewe. Wise and stronge/and hit is nede y't they haue in hemself faith and loyaulte/ For vntothe goldsmythes behoueth gold & siluer And alle other metallys. Yren &steel to other/ And vnto the carpenters and masons/ ben put to theyredifices the bodyes and goodes of the peple/ And also men put in thehandes of the maronners body and goodes of the peple/ And in the gardeand sewerte of them men put body & sowle in the paryls of the see/ andtherfore ought they to be trewe/ vnto whom men commytte suche gretecharge and so grete thynges vpon her fayth and truste. And therforesayth the philosopher/ he that leseth his fayth and beleue/ may lose nogretter ne more thynge. And fayth is a fouerayn good and cometh of thegood wyll of the herte and of his mynde And for no necessite wylldeceyue no man/ And is not corrupt for no mede. Valerius reherceth thatFabius had receyuyd of hanybal certayn prysoners that he helde of theromayns for a certayn some of money whiche he promysid to paye to thesayd hanyball/ And whan he cam vnto the senatours of rome and desired tohaue y'e money lente for hem They answerd that they wold not paye nerlene And than fabius sente his sone to rome & made hym to selle hisheritage & patrimonye/ and fente the money that he resseyuyd therof vntohanibal/ And had leuer & louyd better to be poure in his contrey ofherytage/ than of byleue and fayth/ But in thyfe dayes hit were gretefolye to haue fuche affiance in moche peple but yf they had ben preuydafore For oftentymes men truste in them by whom they ben deceyuyd attheyr nede/ And it is to wete that these crafty men and werkemen bensouerainly prouffitable vnto the world And wyth oute artificers andwerkmen the world myght not be gouerned/ And knowe thou verily that alletho thynges that ben engendrid on the erthe and on the see/ ben made andformed for to do prouffit vnto the lignage of man/ for man was formedfor to haue generacion/ that the men myght helpe and prouffit eche otherAnd here in ought we to folowe nature/ For she shewed to vs that weshold do comyn prouffit one to an other/ And y'e first fondement ofIustice is that no man shold noye or greue other But that they ought doothe comyn prouffit/ For men saye in reproche That I see of thyn/ I hopehit shall be myn But who is he in thyse dayes that entendeth more to thecomyn prouffit than to his owne/ Certaynly none/ But all way a man oughtto haue drede and feere of his owne hows/ whan he seeth his neyghbourshous a fyre And therfore ought men gladly helpe the comyn prouffit/ formen otherwhile sette not be a lityll fyre And might quenche hit in thebegynnyng/ that afterward makyth a grete blasyng fyre. And fortune hathof no thinge so grete playsir/ as for to torne & werke all way/ Andnature is so noble a thynge that were as she is she wyll susteyne andkepe/ but this rewle of nature hath fayllid longe tyme/ how well thatthe decree sayth that alle the thynges that ben ayenst the lawe ofnature/ ought to be taken away and put a part And he sayth to fore inthe . Viii. Distinction that the ryght lawe of nature differenceth oftetymes for custome & statutes establisshid/ for by lawe of nature allthinge ought to be comyn to euery man/ and this lawe was of old tyme Andmen wene yet specially y't the troians kept this lawe And we rede thatthe multitude of the Troians was one herte and one sowle/ And verayly wefynde that in tyme passid the philosophres dyde the same/ And also hitis to be supposyd that suche as haue theyr goodes comune & not propre ismost acceptable to god/ For ellys wold not thise religious men as monkesfreris chanons obseruantes & all other auowe hem & kepe the wilfullpouerte that they ben professid too/ For in trouth I haue my self benconuersant in a religio'9 hous of white freris at gaunt Which haue allthynge in comyn amonge them/ and not one richer than an other/ in somoche that yf a man gaf to a frere . Iii. D or . Iiii. D to praye for hymin his masse/ as sone as the masse is doon he deliuerith hit to hisouerest or procuratour in whyche hows ben many vertuous and deuoutefreris And yf that lyf were not the beste and the most holiest/ holychurch wold neuer suffre hit in religion And acordynge thereto we redein plato whiche sayth y't the cyte is well and Iustely gouernid andordeyned in the whiche no man maye saye by right, by cuftome. Ne byordenance/ this is myn/ but I say to the certaynly that syn this customecam forth to say this is myn/ And this is thyn/ no man thought topreferre the comyn prouffit so moche as his owen/ And alle werkemenought to be wise & well aduysyd so that they haue none enuye ne noneeuyll suspecion one to an other/ for god wylle that our humayne naturebe couetous of two thynges/ that is of Religion. And of wysedom/ but inthis caas ben some often tymes deceyued For they take ofte tymesreligion and leue wisedom And they take wysedom and reffuse religion Andnone may be vraye and trewe with oute other For hit apperteyneth not toa wyse man to do ony thynge that he may repente hym of hit/ And he oughtto do no thynge ayenst his wyll/ but to do alle thynge nobly, meurely. Fermely. And honestly And yf he haue enuye vpon ony. Hit is folye For heon whom he hath enuye is more honest and of more hauoir than he whicheis so enuyous/ For a man may haue none enuye on an other/ but be causehe is more fortunat and hath more grace than hym self/ For enuye is asorowe of corage y't cometh of dysordynance of the prouffit of anotherman And knowe thou verily that he that is full of bounte shall neuerhaue enuye of an other/ But thenuyous man seeth and thynketh allewaythat euery man is more noble/ And more fortunat that hymself And saythalleway to hymself/ that man wynneth more than I/ and myn neyghebourshaue more plente of bestes/ and her thynges multiplye more than myn/ andtherfore thou oughtest knowe that enuye is the most grettest dedelysynne that is/ for she tormenteth hym that hath her wythin hym/ wythoute tormentynge or doyng ony harme to hym/ on whome he hath enuye. Andan enuyous man hath no vertue in hymself/ for he corrumpeth hymself foras moche as he hateth allway the welthe and vertues of other/ and thusought they to kepe them that they take none euyll suspec[=o]n For a mannaturally whan his affection hath suspecion in ony man that he weneththat he doth/ hit semeth to hym verily that it is doon. And hit is aneuyll thynge for a man to haue suspecion on hymfelf/ For we rede thatdionyse of zecyll a tyrant Was so suspecionous that he had so grete fereand drede For as moche as he was hated of all men/ that he putte hisfrendes oute of theyr offices that they had/ And put other strangers intheyr places for to kepe his body/ and chese suche as were ryght Cruelland felons/ And for fere and doubte of the barbours/ he made hysdoughters to lerne shaue and kembe/ And whan they were grete. He woldnot they shold vse ony yron to be occupied by them/ but to brenne andsenge his heeris/ and manaced them and durst not truste in them/ And inlyke wyse they had none affiance in hym And also he dyde do enuyronnethe place where he laye wyth grete diches and brode lyke a castell/ Andhe entryd by a drawbrygge whiche closyd after hym/ And hys knyghtes layewyth oute wyth his gardes whiche wacchid and kept straytly thysforteresse/ And whan plato sawe thys Dionyse kynge of cezille thusenuyronned and set aboute wyth gardes & wacche-men for the cause of hissuspecion sayd to hym openly to fore all men kinge why hast thou don somoche euyll & harme/ that the behoueth to be kept wyth so moche peple/And therfore I saye that hit apperteyneth not to ony man that wylletruly behaue hym self in his werkis to be suspecyous/ And also theyought to be stronge and seure in theyr werkes/ And specyally they thatben maysters and maronners on the see/ for yf they be tumerous andferdfull they shold make a ferde them that ben in theyr shippis/ thatknowe not the paryls/ And so hit might happene that by that drede andfere alle men shold leue theyr labour/ And so they myght be perisshidand despeyred in theyr corages/ For a shippe is soone perisshid and lostby a lityll tempest/ whan the gouernour faylleth to gouerne his shippefor drede/ And can gyue no counceyll to other than it is no meruayll/thangh they be a ferd that ben in his gouernance/ And therfore ought bein them strengthe force and corage/ and ought to considere the perylsthat might falle/ And the gouernour specially ought not to doubte/ Andif hit happen that ony paryll falle/ he ought to promyse to the othergood hoope/ And hit apperteyneth well/ that a man of good and hardycorage be sette in that office/ In suche wyse that he haue ferme andseure mynde ayenst the paryls that oftetymes happen in the see/ and withthis ought the maroners haue good and ferme creance and beleue in god/and to be of good reconforte & of fayr langage vnto them that hegouerneth in suche paryls/ And this sufficeth to yow as touchynge thelabourers. 

[Illustration]

_The thirde chapitre of the thirde book treteth of the office ofnotaryes aduocats skryueners and drapers or clothmakers_. 

The thirde pawne whiche is sette to fore the Alphyn on the right sideought to be figured as a clerk And hit is reson that he shold so be/ Foras moche as amonge y'e comon peple of whom we speke in thys book theyplete the differencis contencions and causes otherwhile the whichebehoueth the Alphins to gyue sentence and Iuge as Iuges And hit is resonthat the Alphin or Iuge haue his notarye/ by whom y'e processe may bewreton/ And this pawne ought to be made and figured in this mamere/ hemuste be made like a man that holdeth in his right hand a pair of sheresor forcetis/ and in the lifte hand a grete knyf and on his gurdell apenuer and an ynkhorn/ and on his eere a penne to wryte wyth And thatben the Instrumentis & the offices that ben made and put in writyngeautentyque/ and ought to haue passed to fore the Iuges as libelleswrittes condempnacions and sentences/ And that is signefied by thescriptoire and the penne and on that other part hit appertayneth to themto cutte cloth. Shere. Dighte. And dye/ and that is signefied by theforcettis or sheres/ and the other ought to shaue berdes and kembe theheeris/ And the other ben coupers. Coryers. Tawiers. Skynners. Bouchersand cordwanners/ and these ben signefyed by the knyf that he holdeth inhis hand and some of thise forsayd crafty men ben named drapers orclothmakers for so moche as they werke wyth wolle. And the Notayres. Skynners. Coryours. And cardewaners werke by skynnes and hydes/ Asparchemyn velume. Peltrye and cordewan/ And the Tayllours. Cutters ofcloth, weuars. Fullars. Dyers/ And many other craftes ocupye and vsewulle/ And alle thyse crafty men & many other that I haue not named/ought to doo theyr craft and mestyer/ where as they ben duly ordeynedCuryously and truly/ Also ther ought to be amonge thyse crafty menamyable companye and trewe/ honest contenance/ And trouthe in theirwordes/ And hit is to wete that the notaries ben right prouffitable andought to be good & trewe for the comyn And they ought to kepe them froappropriynge to themself that thynge y't apperteyneth to the comyn Andyf they be good to them self/ they ben good to other. And yf they beeuyll for themself/ they ben euyll for other And the processes that benmade to fore the Iuges ought to ben wreton & passid by them/ and hit isto wete that by their writynge in the processis may come moche prouffitAnd also yf they wryte otherwyse than they ought to doo/ may ensewemoche harme and domage to the comyn Therfore ought they to take goodheede that they change not ne corrumpe in no wyse the content of thesentence. For than ben they first forsworn And ben bounden to makeamendes to them that by theyr tricherye they haue endomaged/ And alsoought they to rede visite and to knowe the statutes. Ordenances and thelawes of the cytees of the contre/ where they dwelle and enhabite/ Andthey ought to considere yf ther be ony thynge therein conteyned ayenstright and reson/ and yf they fynde ony thinge contraire/ they ought toadmoneste and warne them that gouerne/ that suche thynges may be chaugedinto better astate/ For custome establisshid ayenst good maners andagaynst the fayth/ ought not to be holden by right. For as hit is saydin the decree in the chapitre to fore/ alle ordenance made ayenst ryghtought to be holden for nought Alas who is now that aduocate or notairethat hath charge to wryte and kepe sentence that putteth his entente tokepe more the comyn prouffit or as moche as his owen/ But alle drede ofgod is put a back/ and they deceyue the symple men And drawen them tothe courtes disordinatly and constrayned them to swere and make othesnot couenable/ And in assemblyng the peple thus to gyder they make mootraysons in the cytees than they make good alyances And otherwhile theydeceyue their souerayns/ whan they may doo hit couertly For ther is nothynge at this day that so moche greueth rome and Italye as doth thecollege of notaries and aduocates publicque For they ben not of oon acorde/ Alas and in Engeland what hurte doon the aduocats. Men of lawe. And attorneyes of court to the comyn peple of y'e royame as well in thespirituell lawe as in the temporall/ how torne they the lawe andstatutes at their pleasir/ how ete they the peple/ how enpouere they thecomynte/ I suppose that in alle Cristendom ar not so many pletarsattorneys and men of the lawe as ben in englond onely/ for yf they werenombrid all that lange to the courtes of the channcery kinges benche. Comyn place. Cheker. Ressayt and helle And the bagge berars of the same/hit shold amounte to a grete multitude And how alle thyse lyue & ofwhome. Yf hit shold be vttrid & told/ hit shold not be beleuyd. For theyentende to theyr synguler wele and prouffyt and not to the comyn/ howwell they ought to be of good wyll to gyder/ and admoneste and warne thecytes eche in his right in suche wise that they myght haue pees and loueone with an other And tullius saith that frendshippe and good wyll thatone ought to haue ayenst an other for the wele of hym that he loueth/wyth the semblable wylle of hym/ ought to be put forth to fore alleother thynges/ And ther is no thynge so resemblynge and lyke to the beesthat maken honye ne so couenable in prosperite and in aduersite as isloue/ For by loue gladly the bees holden them to gyder/ And yf onytrespace to that other anone they renne vpon the malefactour for topunysshe hym/ And verray trewe loue faylleth neuer for wele ne foreuyll/ and the most swete and the most confortynge thynge is for to hauea frende to whom a man may saye his secrete/ as well as to hym self/ Butverayly amytye and frendship is somtyme founded vpon som thingedelectable And this amytye cometh of yongthe/ in the whiche dwelleth adisordinate heete. 

And otherwhile amytie is founded vpon honeste/ And this amytie isvertuouse/ Of the whiche tullius faith y't ther is an amytie vertuous bythe whiche a man ought to do to his frende alle that he requyreth byrayson For for to do to hym a thynge dishonneste it is ayenst the natureof verray frendshipe & amytie/ And thus for frendshipe ne for fauour aman ought not to doo ony thinge vnresonable ayenst the comyn prouffitner agaynst his fayth ne ayenst his oth/ for yf alle tho thynges thatthe frendes desire and requyre were accomplisshid & doon/ hit shold semethat they shold be dishoneste coniuracions/ And they myght otherwhilemore greue & hurte than prouffit and ayde/ And herof sayth seneque thatamytie is of suche wylle as the frende wylle/ And to reffuse that oughtto be reffusid by rayson/ And yet he sayth more, that a man ought toalowe and preyse his frende to fore the peple/ and to correcte and tochastyse hym pryuyly. For the lawe of amytie is suche For a man oughtnot to demande ner doo to be doon to his frende no vyllayns thynge thatought to be kept secrete And valerian sayth that it is a fowll thyngeand an euyll excufacion/ yf a man conffesse that he hath done ony euyllfor his frende ayenst right and rayson/ And sayth that ther was a goodman named Taffile whiche herde one his frende requyre of hym a thyngedishonnefte whiche he denyed and wold not doo And than his frende saythto hym in grete dispyte/ what nede haue I of thy frendship & amytie whanthou wylt not doo that thynge that I requyre of the And Taffile answerdto hym/ what nede haue I of the frendship and of the amytie of the/ yf Ishold doo for the thynge dishonefte And thus loue is founded otherwhilevpon good prouffitable/ and this loue endureth as longe as he seeth hisprouffit And herof men faye a comyn prouerbe in england/ that louelasteth as longe as the money endureth/ and whan the money faylleth thanthere is no loue/ and varro reherceth in his smmes/ that y' riche menben alle louyd by this loue/ for their frendes ben lyke as y'e husewhiche is aboute the grayn/ and no man may proue his frende so well asin aduersite/ or whan he is poure/ for the veray trewe frende fayllethat no nede/ And seneque saith y't some folowe the empour for riches/ andso doon y'e flies the hony for the swetenes/ and the wolf the karayn Andthise companye folowe the proye/ and not the man And tullius saith thatTarquyn y'e proude had a neuewe of his suster which was named brutus/ andthis neuewe had banysshid tarquyn out of rome and had sente hym inexyle/ And than sayd he first that he parceyuyd & knewe his frendeswhiche were trewe & untrewe/ and y't he neuer perceyuyd a fore tyme whanhe was puyssant for to doo their wyll/ and sayd well that the loue thatthey had to hym/ endured not but as longe as it was to themprouffitable/ and therfore ought till the ryche men of the world takehede/ be they Kynges Prynces or ducs to what peple they doo prouffit &how they may and ought be louyd of theyr peple/ For cathon sayth in hisbook/ see to whom thougyuyst/ and this loue whiche is founded vpon theyrprouffit/ whiche faylleth and endureth not/ may better be callyd andsaid marchandyse than loue/ For yf we repute this loue to our prouffitonly/ and nothynge to the prouffyt of hym that we loue/ It is moremarchandyse than loue/ For he byeth our loue for the prouffit that hedoth to vs/ and therfor saith the versifier thise two versis Temporefelici multi murmerantur amici Cum fortuna perit nullus amicus erit/whiche is to saye in English that as longe as a man is ewrous andfortunat he hath many frendes but whan fortune torneth and perisshith, ther abideth not to hym one frende/ And of this loue ben louyd themedowes, feldes, Trees and the bestes for the prouffit that men take ofthem/ But the loue of the men ought to be charyte, veray gracious andpure by good fayth/ And the veray trewe frendes ben knowen in pureaduersite/ and pers alphons saith in his book of moralite that ther wasa philosophre in arabye that had an onely sone/ of whom he demanded whatfrendes he had goten hym in his lyf. And he answerd that he had many Andhis fader sayd to hym/ I am an olde man/ And yet coude I neuer fynde butone frende in alle my lyf/ And I trowe verily that it is no lytyllthynge for to haue a frende/ and hit is well gretter and more a man tohaue many/ And hit appertayneth and behoueth a man to assaye and preuehis frende er he haue nede And than comanded the philosopher his sone/that he shold goo and slee a swyne/ and putte hit in a sack/ and faynethat hit were a man dede that he had slayn and bere hit to his frendesfor to burye hit secretly/ And whan the sone had don as his fadercomanded to hym and had requyred his frendes one after an other as afore is sayd/ They denyed hym/ And answerd to hym that he was a vylayneto requyre & desire of them thynge that was so peryllous And than he camagayn to his fader and sayd to hym how he had requyred alle his frendes/And that he had not founden one that wolde helpe hym in his nede Andthan his fader said to hym that he shold goo and requyre his frendewhiche had but one/ and requyre hym that he shold helpe hym in his nedeAnd whan he had requyred hym/ Anone he put oute alle his mayne oute ofhis hows/ And whan they were oute of the waye or a slepe he dide do makesecretly a pytte in the grounde/ And whan hyt was redy and wold haueburyed the body/ he fonde hit an hogge or a swyne and not a man/ Andthus thys sone preuyd thys man to be a veray trewe frende of his fader/And preuyd that his frendes were fals frendes of fortune/ And yetreherceth the sayd piers Alphons/ That ther were two marchantes one ofBandach and that other of Egipte whiche were so Joyned to gyder by sogrete frendshippe that he of Bandach cam on a tyme for to see hys frendein Egipte/ of whom he was receyuyd ryght honourably And thys marchant ofEgipte had in his hows a fayr yonge mayden whom he shold haue had inmaryage to hymslf/ Of the whiche mayde thys marchant of Bandach wasesrysd wyth her loue so ardantly that he was ryght seeke/ And that mensupposid hym to dye. And than the other dyde doo come the phisicyenswhiche sayd that in hym was none other sekenes sauf passyon of loue/Than he axid of the seeke man yf ther wer ony woman in hys hows that helouyd and made alle the women of his hows to come to fore hym/ And thanhe chees her that shold haue ben that others wyf and sayd that he wasseek for the loue of her/ Than hys frende sayd to hym Frende conforteyour self/ For trewly I gyue her to yow to wyf wyth alle the dowayrethat is gyuen to me wyth her/ And had leuer to suffre to be wyth outewyf than to lese the body of his frende And than he of Bandach weddedthe mayde. And wente wyth his wyf and wyth his richesse ayen in to hiscontrey And after this anone after hit happend that the marcha[=n]t ofEgipte be cam so poure by euyll fortune/ that he was constrayned tofeche and begge his brede by the contrey in so moche that he cam tobandach. And whan he entrid in to the toun hit was derke nyght that hecoude not fynde the hows of his frende/ but wente and laye this nyght inan olde temple/ And on the morn whan he shold yssue oute of the temple/the officers of the toun arestid hym and sayd that he was an homycideand had slayn a man whiche laye there dede And an[=o]n he confessid hitwyth a good wylle/ And had leuyr to ben hangid/ than to dye in thatmyserable and poure lyf that he suffrid And thus whan he was brought toIugement And sentence shold haue ben gyuen ayenst hym as an homicide/his frende of bandach cam and sawe hym and anone knewe y't this was hisgood frende of Egipte And forthwyth stept in and sayde that he hymselfwas culpable of the deth of this man/ and not that other/ and enforcedhym in alle maners for to delyuer and excuse that other/ And than whanthat he that had don the feet and had slayn the man sawe this thynge/ heconsiderid in hym sels that these two men were Innocente. Of this feet/And doubtynge the dyuyn Iugement he cam to fore the Iuge and confessidalle the feet by ordre/ And whan the Iuge sawe and herd alle this mater/and also the causes he considerid the ferme and trewe loue that wasbetwene the two frendes And vnderstode the cause why that one wold sauethat other/ and the trouth of the fayte of the homicide And than hepardoned alle the feet hoolly and entierly/ and after the marchant ofbandach brought hym of egipte wyth hym in to his hous/ and gaf to hymhis suster in mariage/ and departid to hym half his goodes/ And so botheof hem were riche/ And thus were they bothe veray faythfull and trewefrendes/ Furthermore Notaires. Men of lawe and crafty men shold andought to loue eche other And also ought to be contynent chaste &honeste/ For by theyr craftes they ought so to be by necessite/ For theyconuerse & accompanye them ofte tyme with women And therfor hitapperteyneth to them to be chaste and honeste And that they meue not thewomen ner entyse them to lawhe/ and Iape by ony disordinate ensignees ortokens/ Titus liuyus reherceth that the philosopher democreon dyde doput oute his eyen for as moche as he myght not beholde the women wythoute flesshely desire/ And how well hit is said before that he dide hitfor other certayn cause yet was this one of the pryncipall causes/ AndValerian telleth that ther was a yonge man of rome of ryght excellentbeaute/ And how well that he was ryght chaste/ For as moche as hisbeaute meuyd many women to desyre hym/ in so moche that he vnderstodethat the parents and frendes of them had suspecion in hym/ he dyde hisvisage to be cutte wyth a knyf and lancettis endlonge and ouerthwart forto deforme his visage/ And had leuer haue a fowle visage and disformed/than the beaute of hys visage shold meue other to synne/ And also werede that ther was a Nonne a virgyne dyde do put oute bothe her eyen Foras moche as the beaute of her eyen meuyd a kynge to loue her/ whycheeyen she sente to the kynge in a presente/ And also we rede that platothe ryght ryche and wyse phylosophre lefte hys owne lande and Contre. And cheese his mansion and dwellynge in achadomye a town/ whiche was notonly destroyed but also was full of pestelence/ so that by the cure andcharge and customance of sorowe that be there suffrid/ myght eschewe theheetes and occasions of lecherye/ And many of his disciples dyde in lykewyse/ Helemand reherceth that demostenes the philosopher lay ones by aright noble woman for his disporte/ and playnge with her he demanded ofher what he shold gyue to haue to doo wyth her/ And she answerd to hym/a thousand pens/ and he sayd agayn to her I shold repente me to bye hitso dere/ And whan he aduysed hym that he was so sore chauffid to speketo her for tacc[=o]plissh his flesshely defire/ he dispoyled hym allenaked and wente and putte hym in the middes of the snowe And ouidereherceth that this thynge is the leste that maye helpe and moste greuethe louers And therfore saynt Augustyn reherceth in his book de Ciuitatedei that ther was a ryght noble romayne named merculian that wan andtoke the noble cyte of siracuse And to fore er he dyde do assaylle hitor befyghte hit/ and er he had do be shedde ony blood/ he wepte andshedde many teeris to fore the cyte And that was for the cause that hedoubted that his peple shold defoyle and corrumpe to moche dishonestlythe chastyte of the toun And ordeyned vpon payne of deth that no manshold be so hardy to take and defoylle ony woman by force what that euershe were/ After this the craftymen ought to vnderstond for to be trewe/and to haue trouthe in her mouthes And that theyr dedes folowe theyrwordes For he that sayth one thynge and doth another/ he condempnethhymself by his word Also they ought to see well to that they be of oneAcorde in good, by entente, by word, and by dede/ so that they ben notdiscordant in no caas/ But euery man haue pure veryte and trouth in hymself/ For god hym self is pure verite/ And men say comynly that troutheseketh none hernes ne corners/ And trouthe is a vertu by the whyche alledrede and fraude is put away/ Men saye truly whan they saye that theyknowe/ And they that knowe not trouthe/ ought to knowe hit/ And allewayvse trouthe/ For Saynt Austyn sayth that they that wene to knowetrouthe/ And lyuyth euyll & viciously It is folye yf he knoweth hit not/And also he sayth in an other place that it is better to suffre peynefor trouthe. Than for to haue a benefete by falsenes or by flaterye. Andman that is callyd a beste resonable and doth not his werkes after resonand trouthe/ Is more bestyall than ony beste brute/ And knowe y'e thatfor to come to the trouthe/ Hit cometh of a raysonable forsight in hismynde/ And lyenge cometh of an outrageous and contrarye thought in hismynde/ For he that lyeth wetyngly/ Knoweth well that hit is agaynst thetrouthe that he thynketh/ And herof speketh Saynt Bernard and sayth/That the mouthe that lyeth destroyeth the sowle/ And yet sayth SayntAustyn in an other place For to saye ony thynge/ And to doo thecontrarye. Maketh doctryne suspecious/ And knowe y'e veryly that for tolye is a right perillous thynge to body and sowle For the lye that theauncyent enemye made Eue & adam to beleue hym/ made hem for to bedampned wyth alle theyr lignage to the deth pardurable And made hem tobe cast oute of Paradyse terrestre/ For he made them to beleue that godhad not forboden them the fruyt. But only be cause they shold not knowethat her maister knewe But how well that the deuyll said thise wordesyet had she double entente to hem bothe For they knewe ann as they hadtasted of the fruyt that they were dampned to the deth pardurable/ Andgod knewe it well to fore But they supposid well to haue knowen manyother thynges And to belyke vnto his knowleche and science And therforfayth saynt poule in a pistyll/ hit ne apperteyneth to saure or knowemore than behoueth to saure or knowe/ but to fauoure or knowe by mesureor fobrenes/ And valerian reherceth that ther was a good woman ofsiracusane that wold not lye vnto the kynge of *ecylle whiche was nameddyonyse And this kynge was so full of tyrannye & so cruell that alle theworld defired his deth and cursid hym/ Saauf this woman onely whiche wasso olde that she had seen thre or . Iiii. Kynges regnynge in the contre/And euery mornynge as sone as she was rysen she prayd to god that hewold gyue vnto the tyrant good lyf and longe And that she myght neuersee his deth/ And when the kynge dyonise knewe this he sent for her Andmeruayllid moche herof For he knewe well that he was fore behated/ Anddemaunded her/ what cause meuyd her to pray for hym. And she answerd andsaid to hym Syre whan I was a mayde we had a right euyll tyrant to ourkynge of whom we coueyted fore the deth And whan he was ded ther camafter hym a worse/ of whom we coueyted also the deth/ And whan we weredeliueryd of hym/ thou camst to be our lord whiche arte worste of alleother. And now I doubte yf we haue one after the he shall be worse thanthou art/ And therfore I shall pray for the And whan dionyse vnderstodthat she was so hardy in sayynge the truthe/ he durste not doo tormenteher for shame be cause she was so olde. 

[Illustration]

_The fourth chapitre of the thirde book treteth of the maner of thefourth pawn and of the marchants or changers. _

The fourth pawn is sette to for the kynge And is formed in the fourme ofa man holding in his ryght hand a balance/ And the weyght in the liftehand/ And to fore hym a table And at his gurdell a purse fulle of monoyeredy for to gyue to them that requyre hit And by this peple bensignefied the marchans of cloth lynnen and wollen & of all othermarchandises And by the table that is to for hym is signefied y'echangeurs/ And they that lene money/ And they that bye & selle by theweyght ben signefyed by the balances and weight And the customers. Tollers/ and resseyuours of rentes & of money ben signefied by the purseAnd knowe y'e that alle they that ben signefied by this peple ought toflee auaryce and couetyse/ And eschewe brekynge of the dayes ofpayement/ And ought to holde and kepe theyr promyssis/ And ought also torendre & restore y't/ that is gyuen to them to kepe/ And therfor hit isreson that this peple be sette to for y'e kynge/ for as moche as theysignefie the resseyuours of the tresours royall that ought all way to beredy to fore y'e kynge/ and to answere for hym to the knightes and otherpersones for their wages & souldyes And therfore haue I sayd that theyought to flee auarice. For auarice is as moche to say as an adourer oras worshipar of fals ymages/ & herof saith Tullius that auarice is acouetise to gete y't thing that is aboue necessite/ & it is a louedisordinate to haue ony thynge And it is one of the werst thyngis thatis And specially to prynces and to them that gouerne the thynges of thecomunete And this vice caufeth a man to do euyll/ And this doynge euyllis whan hit regneth in olde men And herof saith Seneque That alle wordlythynges ben mortifyed and appetissid in olde men reserued auaryce only/whiche alleway abideth wyth hym and dyeth wyth hym But I vnderstande notwell the cause wherof this cometh ne wherfore hit may be And hit is afowle thynge and contrarie to reson That whan a man is at ende of hisIourney for to lengthe his viage and to ordeyne more vitayll than hymbehoueth And this may well be lykened to the auarycious wolf For thewolf doth neuer good tyll he be dede And thus it is sayd in theprouerbis of the wisemen/ that thauaricious man doth no good tyll thathe be ded/ And he desireth no thynge but to lyue longe in this synne Forthe couetouse man certaynly is not good for ony thynge For he is euyllto hymself and to the riche and to the poure. And fynde cause to gaynsaye theyr desire/ and herof reherceth seneque and sayth that Antigonuswas a couetous prynce/ & whan Tinque whiche was his frende requyred ofhym a besa[=u]t/ he answerd to hym that he demanded more than hitapperteyned to hym And than tinque constrayned by grete necessite axidand requyred of hym a peny/ And he answerd to hym that hit was no yeftecouenable for a kynge and so he was allway redy to fynde a cause noughtto gyue For he myght haue gyuen to hym a besa[=u]t as a kynge to hisfrende/ And the peny as to a poure man And ther is no thynge so lytyll/but that the humanyte of a kynge may gyue hit Auarice full of couetyseis a maner of alle vices of luxurye And Josephus reherceth in the bookof auncyent histories/ that ther was in rome a ryght noble lady namedPaulyne/ And was of the most noble of rome/ right honeste for thenoblesse of chastete/ whiche was maryed in the tyme that the womengloryfied them in theyr chastete vnto a yonge man fayr. Noble. And richeaboue alle other/ and was lyke and semblable to his wyf in alle caasis/And this paulyne was belouyd of a knight named emmerancian And was soardautly esprysed in her loue that he sente to her many right richeyeftes/ And made to her many grete promissis/ but he might neuer tornethe herte of her whiche was on her side also colde and harde as marbillBut had leuer to reffuse his yeftes and his promisses. Than to entendeto couetise & to lose her chastete/ and we rede also in the historyes ofrome that ther was a noble lady of rome/ whiche lyuyd a solitarye lyfand was chaste & honeste/ And had gadrid to gyder a grete some of gold/And had hid hit in the erthe in a pytte wyth in her hous/ And whan shewas ded/ the bisshop dyde do burye her in the churche well and honestly/And anone after this gold was founden & born to the bisshop/ And thebisshop had to caste hit in to the pytte wher she was buryed. And . Iii. Dayes men herd her crye & make grete noyse/ and saye that she brennyd ingrete payne/ and they herd her ofte tymes thus tormentid in y'e chirche/the neighbours wente to the bisshop & told hym therof/ and y'e bisshopgaf hem leue to open the sepulcre/ and whan they had opend hit/ theyfonde all the gold molten with fyre full of sulphre/ And was poured andput in her mouth/ and they herd one saye/ thou desiredest this gold bycouetyse take hit and drynke hit/ And than they toke the body out of thetombe And hit was cast oute in a preuy place Seneque reherceth in thebook of the cryes of women that auarice is foundement of alle vices/ Andvalerian reherceth that auarice is a ferdfull garde or kepar ofrychessis for he that hath on hym or in his kepynge moche money or otherrychessis/ is allway a ferd to lose hit or to be robbid or to be slayntherfore/ And he is not ewrous ner happy that by couetyse geteth hit/And alle the euyllys of this vice of auarice had a man of rome namedseptemulle For he was a frende of one named tarchus And this septemullebrente so sore and so cruelly in this synne of couetyse/ that he had noshame to smyte of the hede of his frende by trayson/ For as moche as oneframosian had promysed to hym as moche weyght of pure gold as the heedweyed And he bare the sayd heed vpon a staf thurgh the cyte of rome/ andhe wyded the brayn out therof and fyld hit full of leed for to weye theheuyer This was a right horrible and cruell auarice Ptolome kynge of theEgipciens poursewed auarice in an other manere For whan anthonieemperour of rome sawe that he was right riche of gold and siluer/ he hadhym in grete hate and tormentid hym right cruelly And whan he sholdperishe be cause of his richessis/ he toke alle his hauoyr and put hitin a shippe And wente wyth alle in to the hye see to thende for todrowne and perishe there the shippe and his rychesses be cause Anthoniehis enemye shold not haue hit/ And whan he was there he durst notperisshe hit ner myght not fynde in his herte to departe from hit/ butcam and brought hit agayn in to his hows where he resseyuyd the rewardof deth therfore. And wyth oute doubte he was not lord of the richessebut the richesse was lady ouer hym/ And therfore hit is sayd in prouerbethat a man ought to seignorye ouer the riches/ and not for to serue hit/and yf thou canst dewly vse thy rychesse than she is thy chamberyer/ Andyf thou can not departe from hit and vse hit honestly at thy playsir/knowe verily y't she is thy lady For the richesse neuer satisfieth thecouetouse/ but the more he hath/ the more he desireth/ And saluste sayththat auarice distourblith fayth poeste honeste and alle these other goodvertues/ And taketh for these vertues pryde. Cruelte. And to forgetegod/ And saith that alle thynges be vendable And after this they oughtto be ware that they leue not to moche/ ner make so grete creances bywhich they may falle in pouerte/ For saynt Ambrose saith upon tobye. Pouerte hath no lawe/ for to owe hit is a shame/ & to owe and not payeis a more shame/ yf y'u be poure beware how thou borowest/ and thinkehow thou maist paye & rendre agayn yf y'u be ryche y'u hast none nede toborowe & axe/ & it is said in the prouerbes y't hit is fraude to take/that y'u wilt not ner maist rendre & paye agayn/ and also hit is said inreproche/ whan I leue I am thy frend/ & whan I axe I am thy enemye/ aswo saith/ god at the lenynge/ & the deuyll at rendrynge/ And senequesayth in his au[*c]torites/ that they y't gladly borowe/ ought gladly topaye/ and ought to surmonte in corage to loue hem the better be causethey leue hem & ayde hem in her nede/ For for benefetes & good tornesdoon to a man ought to gyue hym thankinges therfore/ And moche moreought a man to repaye that Is lente hym in his nede/ But now in thesedayes many men by lenynge of their money haue made of their frendesenemyes/ And herof speketh Domas the philosopher and sayth that myfrende borowed money of me/ And I haue lost my frende and my moneyattones/ Ther was a marchant of Gene & also a chaungeour/ whos name wasAlbert gauor/ And this albert was a man of grete trouth and loyaulte/for on a tyme ther was a man cam to hym and said & affermed that he haddelyueryd in to his banke . V. Honderd floryns of gold to kepe whiche wasnot trouth for he lyed/ whyche fyue honderd floryns the said Albertknewe not of/ ner coude fynde in all hys bookes ony suche money to hymdue And this lyar coude not brynge no wytnessis/ but began to braye. Crye and deffame the said albert And than this Albert callid to hym thismarcha[=u]t and sayd/ Dere frende take here v. Honderd florins whychethou affermest and sayst that thou hast deliuerid to me And forthwythtolde hem and toke hem to hym And lo this good man had leuer to lose hisgood than his good name and renome And this other marchant toke theseflorins that he had wrongfully receyuyd/ and enployed them in diuercemarchandise in so moche that he gate and encresid and wan with them . Xv. Thousand florins And whan he sawe that he approchid toward his deth/ andthat he had no children He establisshid albert his heyr in alle thingisAnd sayd that with the . V. Honderd florins that he had receyuyd ofalbert falsely/ he had goten all y't he had in the world And thus bydyuyne pourueance he that had be a theef fraudelent/ was made afterwarda trewe procurour and attorney of the sayd albert/ But now in this dayesther ben marcha[=u]s that do marchandise with other mens money whiche istaken to hem to kepe/ And whan they ben requyred to repaye hit they haueno shame to denye hit appertly/ wherof hit happend that ther was amarchant whyche had a good & grete name and renome of kepynge well suchethynges as was delyueryd to hym to kepe/ But whan he sawe place andtyme/ he reteynyd hyt lyke a theef/ So hyt befelle that a marchant ofwithoute forth herd the good reporte & fame of this man/ cam to hym anddeliuerid hym grete tresour to kepe/ And this tresour abode thre yer inhis kepynge. And after this thre yer thys marchant cam & requyred tohaue hys good deliueryd to hym agaym/ And thys man knewe well that hehad no recorde ne wytnes to preue on hym this duete/ Nor he had noobligacion ne wrytynge of hym therof/ In suche wyse that he denyed alleentyerly/ And sayd playnly he knewe hym not. And whan thys good manherde and vnderstode thys. He wente sorowfully and wepynge from hym soferre and longe that an old woman mette wyth hym/ And demanded of hymthe cause of hys wepynge/ And he sayd to her/ woman hit apperteyneth nothynge to the Go thy way/ And she prayd hym that he wold telle her thecause of hys sorowe/ For parauenture she myght gyue hym counceylle goodand prouffytable. And than this man told to her by ordre the caas of hisfortune/ And the old woman that was wyse & subtyll demanded of hym yf hehad in that cyte ony frende whiche wold be faythfull and trewe to hymAnd he sayd y'e that he had dyuerce frendes/ Than said she goo thou tothem and saye to them that they do ordeyne and bye dyuerce cofres &chestis/ And that they do fylle them with som olde thinges of no value/and that they fayne And saye that they be full of gold, siluer & otherIewels and of moche grete tresour/ And than that they brynge them tothis sayd marchant And to saye to hym that he wold kepe them/ For asmoche as they had grete trust and affiance in hym And also that theyhaue herd of his grete trouthe and good renome/ And also they wold gooin to a fer contre And shold be longe er they retorned agayn And whilisthey speke to hym of this mater/ thou shalt come vpon them and requyrehym that he do deliuere to the/ that thou tokest to hym/ And I trowe because of tho good men that than shall profre to hym the sayd tresour/And for the couetise to haue hit/ he shall deliuere to the thy goodagayn/ But beware late hym not knowe in no wyse that they ben thyfrendes ner of thy knowleche This was a grete and good co[=u]ceyll of awoman And verily hit cometh of nature oftentymes to women to gyuecounceyll shortly and vnauysedly to thynges that ben in doute orperillous and nedeth hasty remedye/ And as y'e haue herd/ this good mandyde And dyde after her counceyll And cam vpon them whan they spack ofthe mater to the marchant for to deliuere to hym the sayd cofres to kepewhyche his frendes had fayned and requyred of hym that he had taken tohym to kepe/ and than an[=o]n the sayd marchant sayd to hym I knowe thenow well. For I haue auysed me that thou art suche a man/ And camst tome suche a tyme/ And deliuerest to me suche a thynge whiche I haue wellkept/ And than callyd his clerck/ and bad hym goo fecche suche a thyngein suche a place/ and deliuere hit to that good man For he deliuerid hitto me/ And than the good man receyuyd his good. And wente his way rightIoyously and gladd/ And this marchant trycheur and deceyuour wasdefrauded from his euyll malice/ And he ne had neyther that one ne thatother ony thynge that was of value/ And therfore hit Is sayd in prouerbeto defraude the beguylar is no fraude/ And he that doth well folowethoure lord And seneke faith that charyte enseygneth and techeth that menshold paye well For good payement is sometyme good confession/ And thismarchant trycheour & deceyuour resembleth & Is lyke to an hound thatbereth a chese in his mouth whan he swymmeth ouer a watre For whan he ison the watre He seeth the shadowe of the chese in the watre/ And than heweneth hit be an other chese/ And for couetyse to haue that/ he openthhis mouth to cacche that/ And than the chese that he bare fallyth dounin to the watre/ And thus he loseth bothe two/ And in the same wise wasseruyd this marchant deceyuour/ For for to haue the coffres/ whiche hehad not seen/ He deliueryd agayn that he wold haue holden wrongfully &thus by his couetise and propre malice he was deceyuyd/ And therfore hitapperteyneth to euery good & wyse man to knowe & considere in hym selfhow moche he had resseyuyd of other men/ And vpon what condicion hit wasdeliuerid to hym And hit is to wete y't this thinge apperteyneth toresseyuours & to chaungeours And to alle true marchans and other whatsom euyr they bee/ and ought to kepe their bookes of resaytes & ofpayements of whom & to whom and what tyme & day. And yf y'e demande whatthynge makyth them to forgete suche thynges as ben taken to them to kepeI answere & saye that hyt Is grete couetyse for to haue tho thynges tothemself and neuer to departe from them/ And it is all her thought anddesire to assemble alle the good that they may gete For they beleue onnone other god/ but on her richessis theyr hertes ben so obstynat/ andthis sufficeth of the marchantes. 

[Illustration]

_This fifth chapitre of the thirde book treteh of phisiciens spicers andApotyquarys. _

The paw[=o]n that is sette to fore the quene signefyeth the phisicyen/spicer and Apotyquaire/ and is formed in the figure of a man/ And he issette in a chayer as a maystre and holdeth in his right hand a book/ Andan ample or a boxe wyth oynementis in his lyft hand/ And at his gurdellhis Instrumentis of yron and of siluer for to make Incysions and toserche woundes and hurtes/ and to cutte apostumes/ And by thyse thyngesben knowen the cyrurgyens/ By the book ben vnderstanden the phisicyens/and alle gramaryens. Logicyens/ maistres of lawe. Of Geometrye. Arismetryque. Musique and of astronomye/ And by the ampole/ bensignefyed the makers of pigmentaries spicers and apotiquayres/ and theythat make confections and confytes and medecynes made wyth precyousspyces And by the ferremens and Intrumentis that hangen on the gurdellben signefied the cyrurgyens & the maistres And knowe y'e for certainthat a maystre & phisicyen ought to knowe the proporcions of lettres ofgramayre/ the monemens the conclusions and the sophyms of logyque. Thegracio'9 speche and vtterance of rethorique/ the mesures of the houresand dayes/ and of the cours and astronomye/ the nombre of arsmetryk/ &the Ioyous songes of musyque And of all thyse tofore named/ the maistresof rethorique ben the chyef maistres in speculatyf/ And the two lastethat ben practisiens and werkers ben callyd phisicyens and cyrurgyens/how well they ben sage and curyous in thyse sciences/ And how well thatmannes lyf is otherwhile put in thordonance of the phisicyen orcyrurgyen/ yf he haue not sagesse and wysedom in hym self of dyuercewrytynges and is not expert/ And medlyth hym in the craft of phisique/He ought better be callyd a slear of peple than a phisicyen orcyrurgyen. For he may not be a maystre but yf he be seure and expert inthe craft of phisike that he sle not moo than he cureth and makethhoole/ And therfore sayth Auycenne in an Enphormye/ yf thou curest theseke man. And knowest not the cause/ wherof the maladye ought to becured/ Hit ought to be sayd that thou hast cured hym by fortune andhappe more than by ony comynge. And in alle thyse maner of peple/ Therought to be meurte of good maners/ Curtoysie of wordes/ Chastite of thebody promysse of helthe/ And as to them that ben seke contynuellvisitacion of them/ And they ought to enquere the cause of theyrsekenessis and the sygnes and tokens of theyr maladyes/ As is rehercidin the bookes of the au[ct]ours by ryght grete diligence/ And speciallyin the bookes of ypocras galyene and of Auycene And whan many maystersand phisicyens ben assemblid to fore the pacyent or seke man/ They oughtnot there to argue and dispute one agaynst an other/ But they ought tomake good and symple colacion to geder. In suche wyse as they be notseen in theyr desputynge one agaynst an other/ for to encroche and getemore glorye of the world to them self/ than to trete the salute andhelthe of the pacyent and seke man/ I meruayll why that whan they feeand knowe that whan the seke man hath grete nede of helthe wherfore thanthey make gretter obiection of contraryousnes for as moche as the lyfof man is demened and put amonge them but hit is be cause that he isreputed most sage and wise that argueth and bryngeth in moste subtyltes/And alle this maner is amonge doctours of lawe that treteth no thynge ofmannes lyf. But of temporelle thynges/ that he is holden most wyse andbest lerned/ that by his counceyll can beste acorde the contencions anddiscencions of men And therfore ought the phisicyens and cyrurgyens leuewhan they be to fore the seke men all discencions and contrariousnes ofwordes/ in suche wyse that hit appere that they studye more for to curethe seke men than for to despute And therfore is the phisicien dulysette to fore the quene/ So that it is figured that he ought to haue inhymself chastite and contynence of body For hit apperteyneth somtymevnto the phisicien to visite and cure Quenes duchesses and countessesand alle other ladyes and see and beholde some secrete sekenessis thatfalle and come otherwhile in the secretis of nature And therfore hitapperteyneth to them that they be chaste and followe honeste andchastite/ and that they be ensample to other of good contynence/ Forvalerian reherceth that ypocras was of meruayllous contynence of hisbody/ For whan he was in the scoles of Athenes/ he had by hym a ryghtfayr woman whyche was comyn And the yonge scolers and the Ioly felawsthat were students promisyd to the woman a besa[=u]t/ yf she myght orcoude torne the corage of ypocras for to haue to doon wyth her/ And shecam to hym by nyght and dyde so moche by her craft that she laye wythhym in his bedd/ but she coude neuer do so moche y't she myghte corrumpehis chaste liuynge ne defoule the crowne of his conscience/ and whan theyonge men knewe that she had ben with hym all the night And coude notchaunge his contynence/ they began to mocque her/ And to axe and demandeof her the besant that they had gyuen to her. And she answerd That hitwas holden & gaged vpon an ymage/ For as moche as she might not changehis contynence she callyd hym an ymage/ And in semblable wyse rehercethValerian of Scenocrates philosopher that ther laye with hym a woman allnight And tempted hym disordinatly/ but that ryght chafte man/ madeneuer femblant to her/ Ner he neuer remeuyd from his ferme purpoos/ Infuche wyfe as fhe departid from hym alle confufid and fhamed/ Corneliusfcipion that was fent by the romayns for to gouerne fpayne/ as fone ashe entryd in to the caftellis & in to the townes of that lande He beganto take away all the thynges that miht ftyre or meue his men to lecheryewherfore men fayd that he drof & chaced oute of the ofte moo than twothoufand bourdellys/ And he that was wyfe knewe well that delyte oflecherye corrupted and apayred the corages of tho men that benabandonned to that fame delyte/ And herof hit is fayd in the fables ofthe poetes in the first book of the Truphes of the Philofophers byfigure. That they that entryd in to the fontayne of the firenes ormermaydens/ were corrumpid and they toke them away with hem/ And alfo y'eought to knowe that they ought to entende diligently to the cures of theenfermytees in cyrugerye/ They ought to make theyr playfters acordyngeto the woundes or fores/ yf the wounde be rounde The enplaftre muft beround/ and yf hyt be longe/ hyt mufte be longe/ and otherwhile hit muftebe cured by his contrarye/ lyke as it apperteyneth to phifique/ For thehete is cured by cold/ and the colde by hete/ and Ioye by forowe/ andfbrowe by Ioye/ and hit happeth ofte tymes that moche peple be in greteparyll in takynge to moche Ioye and lefe her membris/ and become halfbenomen in the fodayn Ioye/ And Ioye is a replection of thynge that isdelectable fprad a brode in all the membris with right grete gladnes Andall men entende and desire to haue the sayd ryght grete Ioye naturelly/But they knowe not what may ensue and come therof And this Ioye comethotherwhile of vertue of conscience/ And the wyse man is not wyth outthis Ioye And this Ioye is neuer Interrupt ne in deffaulte at no tymeFor hit cometh of nature And fortune may not take a waye that naturegeueth. And merciall saith that Ioyes fugitiues abide not longe But fleeaway an[=o]n And valerian reherceth that he that hath force andstrengthe raysonable/ hath hit of verray matier of complection and thatcometh of loue And this Ioye hath as moche power to departe the sowlefro the body/ as hath the thondre/ wherof hit happend that ther was awoman named lyna whiche had her husbonde in the warre in the shippis ofthe romayns/ And she supposid verily that he was ded/ But hit happendthat he cam agayn home And as he entryd in to his yate/ his wif met wythhym sodeynly not warned of his comyng. Whiche was so glad and Ioyous/that in enbrasynge hym she fyll doun ded Also of an other woman to whomwas reportid by a fals messanger that her sone was ded/ whiche wentehome soroufully to her hows/ And afterward whan her sone cam to her/ Assone as she sawe hym/ she was so esmoued wyth Ioye y't she deyde to forehym/ But this is not so grete meruaylle of women as is of the men/ Forthe women ben likened vnto softe waxe or softe ayer and therfor she iscallid mulier whyche Is as moche to saye in latyn as mollys ær. And inenglish soyfte ayer/ And it happeth ofte tymes that the nature of themthat ben softe and mole/ taketh sonner Inpression than the nature of menthat is rude and stronge/ Valerye reherceth & sayth that a knyght ofrome named Instaulosus that had newly conquerid and subiuged the yle ofCorsika/ And as he sacrefyed his goddes/ he receyuyd lettres from thesenate of rome In whiche were conteyned dyuerse supplicacyons/ Thewhiche whan he vnderstood he was so glad and so enterprysed wyth Ioye/that he knewe not what to doo And than a great fumee or smoke yssued outof the fyre In whiche he dispayred and fyll in to the fyre/ where he wasanone ded/ And also it is sayd that Philomenus lawhed so sore anddistemperatly that he deyde alle lawhynge/ And we rede that ypocras thephisicien fonde remedye for thys Ioye/ For whan he had longe dwellydoute of his contreye for to lerne connynge and wysedom/ And sholdretorne vnto his parentis and frendes/ whan he approchid nyghe them/ Hesente a messanger to fore for to telle to them his comynge/ and comandedhym to saye that he cam/ for they had not longe to fore seen hym/ Andy't they shold attempre them in that Ioye er they shold see hym/ Andalso we rede that Titus the sone of vaspasian whan he had conquerdIherusalem and abode in y'e contrees by/ he herde y't his fadervaspasian was chosen by alle the senate for to gouerne the empire ofrome/ wherfore he had so right grete Ioye that sodaynly he loste thestrength of all his membres And be cam all Impotent And whan Iosephusthat made the historye of the romayns ayenst the Iewis/ whiche was aryght wyse phisicien sawe and knewe the cause of this sekenes of thesayd Titus/ he enquyred of his folk yf he had in hate ony man gretly somoche that he myght not here speke of hym ner well see hym And one ofthe seruantes of Titus sayd that he had one persone in hate so moche. That ther was no man in his court so hardy that durste name hym in hispresence/ and than Iosephus assigned a day whan this man shold come/ andordeyned a table to sette in y'e sight of Titus/ and dide hit to bereplenysshid plenteuously wyth alle dayntees/ and ordeyned men to bearmed to kepe hym in suche wyse that no man shold hurte hym by thecomandement of Titus/ and ordeyned boutellers. Coques/ and otherofficers for to serue hym worshipfully lyke an Emþour/ and whan all thiswas redy/ Iosephus brought in this man that tytus hated and sette hym atthe table to fore his eyen and was seruyd of yonge men wyth gretereuerence ryght cortoisly/ And whan titus behelde his enemye sette tofore hym wyth so grete honour/ He began to chauffe hym self by gretefelonnye And comanded his men that this man sholde be slayn/ And whan hesawe/ that none wold obeye hym But that they all way seruyd hymreuerently/ he waxe so ardante/ and enbrasid wyth so grete yre/ that hethat had lost alle the force and strengthe of his body and was alleImpotent in alle his membres/ Recoured the helthe agayn and strengthe ofhis membris/ by the hete that entryd in to the vaynes and sinewis AndIosephus dide so moche that he was recouerid and hole/ And that he heldethat man no more for his enemye/ but helde hym for a verray true frende/And afterward made hym his loyall felawe and compaignon And the espicersand Apotecayres ought to make truly suche thynges as Is comanded to themby the physicyens/ And they ought taccomplisshe theyr billis and chargecuryously wyth grete dilygence/ that for none other cause they shold beocupied but in makynge medicynes or confections truly. And that theyought vpon paryll of theyr sowle not to forgete/ by negligence nerechelesnes to gyue one medecyne for an other/ In suche wyse that theybe not slears of men/ And that they do putte no false thynges In herspyces for to empayre or encrecynge the weyght. For yf they so doo theymay better be callyd theuys than espiciers or apotecayris/ And they thatben acustomed to make oynements they ought to make hyt proprely of truestuf and of good odoure after the receptes of the auncyent doctours/ Andafter the forme that the phisicyens and cyrurgyens deuyse vnto them/Also they ought to beware that for none auayle ne gyfte that they myghthaue/ that they put in theyr medicynes no thynge venemous ner doyngehurte or scathe to ony persone of whom they haue none good ne verayknowlege/ to thende that they to whom the medicynes shold be gyuen/torne not to them hurte ne domage/ ne in destructions of theyrneyghbours/ and also that they that haue mynystrid tho thyngis to them/ben not taken for parteners of the blame and of the synne of them Thecyrurgyens ought also to be debonayr. Amyable. & to haue pytye of theirpacyents. And also they ought not be hasty to launse and cutte apostumesand soores/ ne open the heedes/ ner to arrache bones broken/ but yf thecause be apparant/ For they myght ellys lose theyr good renome And myghtbetter be callyd bouchers than helars or guarisshors of woundes andsoores And also hit behoueth that alle this maner of peple foresayd thathaue the charge for to make hole and guarisshe alle maner of maladyesand Infirmitees that they first haue the cure of themself/ and theyought to purge themself fro alle apostumes and alle vices/ In suche wysethat they be net and honeste and enformed in alle good maners/ And thatthey shewe hem hole and pure & redy for to hele other And herof saythBoecius de Consolacione In his first booke that the sterres that ben hidvnder the clowdes maye gyue no light. And therfore yf ony man wolebeholde clerly the verite. Late hym wythdrawe hym fro the obscurete andderkenes of the clowdes of ignorance/ for whan the engyne of a mansheweth in Ioye or in sorowe/ The pensee or thought is enuoluped inobscurete & vnder the clowdes. 

[Illustration]

_The sixthe chapitre of the thirde book treteth of the sixth pawn/whiche is lykened to tauerners hostelers and vitayllers. _

The sixthe pawn whiche standeth to fore the Alphyn on the lyfte syde ismade in thys forme. For hit is a man that hath the right hande stracchedoute as for to calle men/ And holdeth in his lyfte hande a loof of breedand a cuppe of wyn/ And on his gurdell hangynge a boudell of keyes/ Andthis resembleth the Tauerners. Hostelers. And sellars of vitaylle. Andthise ought proprely to be sette to fore the/ Alphyn as to fore a IugeFor ther sourdeth ofte tymes amonge hem contencion noyse and stryf/whiche behoueth to be determyned and trayted by the alphyn/ whiche isIuge of the kynge/ And hit apperteyneth to them for to seke and enquyrefor good wyns and good vitayll for to gyue and selle to the byers/ Andto them that they herberowe/ And hit apperteyneth to them well to kepetheir herberowes and Innes/ and alle tho thyngis that they brynge in totheir loggynge and for to putte hyt in seure and sauf warde and kepynge/And the firste of them Is signefyed by the lyfte hande in whiche hebereth brede and wyn/ and the seconde is signefied by the right handewhiche Is stracched oute to calle men/ And the thirde is representid bythe keyes hangynge on y'e gurdell And thyse maner of peple oughtteschewethe synne of glotonye/ For moche peple comen in to theyr howsesfor to drynke and to ete for whyche cause they ought resonably to rewlethem self and to refrayne them from to moche mete and drynke/ to thendethat they myght the more honestly delyuere thyngis nedefull vnto thepeple that come vnto them/ And no thynge by oultrage that myght noye thebody/ For hit happeth ofte tymes that ther cometh of glotonye tencyons. Stryfs. Ryottes. Wronges. And molestacyons/ by whiche men lese otherwhile their handes. Theyr eyen. And other of their membres/ And somtymeben slayn or hurt vnto the deth/ As it is wreton In vitas patrum As on atyme an heremyte wente for to visite his gossibs/ And the deuyll apperydto hym on the waye in lykenes of an other heremyte for to tempte hym/and saide thou hast lefte thyn heremitage And goost to visyte thygossibs/ The behoueth by force to doo one of y'e thre thynges that Ishall saye to the/ thou shalt chese whether thou wylt be dronke/ orellys haue to do flessly wyth thy gossib or ellys thou shalt sle herhusbond whiche is thy gossip also/ And the hermyte that thought for tochese the leste euyll chace for to be dronke/ and whan he cam vnto themhe dranke so moche that he was veray dronke And whan he was dronke andeschaussed wyth the wyn/ he wold haue a doo wyth hys gossib/ And herhusbonde withstode hym. And than the hermyte slewe hym/ And after thatlaye by his gossib and knewe her flessly/ And thus by this synne ofdronkenship he accomplisshid the two other synnes/ By whyche thynge y'emay vnderstande and knowe y't whan the deuyll wyll take one of thecastellis of Ihesu cryst/ that is to wete the body of a man or of awoman/ he doth as a prynce that setteth a siege to fore a castell thathe wold wynne/ whiche ent[=e]deth to wynne the gate/ For he knoweth wellwhan he hath wonne the gate/ he may sone doo hys wylle wyth the castell. And in lyke wyse doth the deuyll wyth euery man and woman For whan hehathe wonne the gate/ that is to wete the gate of y'e mouth by glotonyeor by other synne He may doo wyth the offices of the body alle his wylleas y'e haue herd to fore/ And therfore ought euery man ete and drynkesobrely in suche wyse as he may lyue. And not lyue to ete glotonsly &for to drynke dronke. Y'e see comunly that a grete bole is suffisid wythright a lityll pasture/ And that a wode suffiseth to many olefauntes Andhit behoueth a man to be fedde by the erthe or by the see/ neuerthelesit is no grete thynge to fede the bely/ no thynge so grete as is thedesire of many metes Wherof Quyntylian sayth/ That hit happeth oftetymes in grete festes & dyners/ that we be fylde wyth the sight of thenoble and lichorous metis and whan we wolde ete we ben saciat and fild/And therfore hit is sayd in prouerbe/ hit is better to fylle the belythan the eye/ And lucan sayth that glotonye is the moder of alle vices/and especiall of lecherye/ and also is destroyer of all goodes And maynot haue suffisance of lityll thynge/ A couetous honger what sekest thoumete and vitayllis on the lande & in the see/ And thy Ioye is nothyngeellis but to haue playnteuous disshes & well fylde at thy table lernehow men may demene his lyf with lityll thynge/ And Cathon sayth in nowyse obeye to glotonye whiche is frende to lecherye/ And the holydoctour saynt Augustyn sayth/ the wyn eschausseth the bely that fallethanone to lecherye/ The bely and the membrers engendreurs ben neygheboursto lecherye/ And thus the vice of glotonye prouoketh lecherye/ wherofcometh forgetenes of his mynde and destruction of alle quyk and sharpreson And is cause of distemþance of his wittes/ what synne is fowlerthan this synne and more stynkynge ne more domageous For this synne hathtaken away the vertue of the man/ his prowesse languisshed/ his vertueis torned to diffame/ the strengthe of body and of corage is torned bythe/ And therfore sayth Basille le grant/ late vs take hede how we seruethe bely & the throte by glotonye lyke as we were dombe bestes/ and westudye for to be lyke vnto belucs of the see/ to whom nature hath gyuento be alleway enclined toward the erthe & ther to loke for to seruetheyr belyes/ And herof saith Boecius de consolacione in his fourthbook/ that a man that lyuyth and doth not the condicions of a man/ mayneuer be in good condicion/ Than muste hit nedes be that he betransported in nature of a beste or of a belue of the see. How well thatryght grete men and women full of meruayllous sciences and noblecounceyll in thise dayes in the world ben kept and nourisshid in thisglotonye of wyns and metes/ and ofte tymes ben ouerseen/ how suppose y'e/is hit not right a perillous thinge that a lord or gouernour of thepeple and c[=o]mun wele/ how well that he be wyse/ yf he eschauffe hymsone so that y'e wyn or other drynke surpryse hym and ouercome hisbrayn. His wisedom is loste/ For as Cathon sayth/ Ire enpessheth thecorage in suche as he may not kepe verite and trouthe And anon as he ischauffed/ lecherye is meuyd in hym in suche wyse that the lecheryemaketh hym to medle in dyuerse villayns dedes/ For than his wyfedom is aslepe and goon/ And therfore fayth Ouide in his booke De remedio amoris/yf thou take many and dyuerce wyns/ they apparylle and enforce thecorages to lecherye And Thobie witnessith in his booke/ that luxuryedestroyeth the body/ and mynussheth richesses/ she loseth the sowle/ shefebleth y'e strengthe she blyndeth the syght/ and maketh the wys hoos &rawe/ Ha A ryght euyll and fowle synne of dronkenship/ by the perisshethvirginite/ whiche is suster of angellis possedynge alle goodnes andseurte of all Ioyes pardurable/ Noe was one tyme so chauffed with wyn/that he discouerd and shewid to his sones his preuy membres in suchewyse as one of his sones mocqued hym/ And that other couerd hem/ Andloth whiche was a man right chaste. Was so assoted by moche drynkynge ofwyn/ that on a montayne he knew his doughters carnelly/ And had to doowyth them as they had ben his propre wyues. And crete reherceth thatboece whiche was flour of the men/ tresor of rychesses/ singuler houseof sapience myrour of the world/ Odour of good renome/ and glorye of hissubgettis loste alle thyse thynges by his luxurye We haue seen thatdyuerce that were Ioyned by grete amyte to geder whiles they were sobre/that that one wolde put his body in paryll of deth for that other/ andwhan they were eschauffed with wyn & dronke/ they haue ronne eche vponother for to fle* hem/ And somme haue ben that haue slayn so his frende/Herodes Antipas had not doon saynt Iohn baptist to ben beheded/ ne hady'e dyner ben full of glotonye and dronkenship/ Balthazar kynge ofbabilone had not ben chaced out of his kyngdom ne be slayn yf he had bensobre amonge his peple whom tyrus and dares fonde dronken and slewe hymThe hostelers ought to be well bespoken and courtoys of wordes to themthat they receyue in to their loggynge For fayr speche & Ioyous chiere &debonayr/ cause men to gyue the hostelyer a good name/ And therfore itis said in a comyn prouerbe/ Courtoyse langage and well saynge is mocheworth and coste lityll/ And in an other place it is said that curtoysiepasseth beaulte/ Also for as moche as many paryls and aduentures mayhappen on the wayes and passages to hem that ben herberowed with intheir Innes/ therfore they ought to accompanye them whan they departeand enseigne them the wayes and telle to them the paryls/ to thende thatthey may surely goo theyr viage and Iourney/ And also they ought to kepetheir bodies, their goodes. And the good fame and renomee of theirInnes/ we rede that loth whan he had receyuyd the angels in to his housright debonairly whiche he had suppofid had ben mortall men andstra[=u]gers/ to thende that they shold eskape the disordinate andvnnaturell synne of lecherye of the sodamites/ by the vertu of goodfayth/ he sette a part the naturell loue of a fader/ and proferd to themhis doughters whiche were virgyns/ to thende that they shld kepe themand defende them fro that vyllayne and horrible synne/ And knowe y'e forcertayn that alle tho thynges that ben taken and delyueryd to kepe tothe hoste or hostesses they ought to be sauf and yelden agayn wyth out apayringe For the ooste ought to knowe/ who that entryth in to his housfor to be herberowhed taketh hit for his habitacion for the tyme/ hehymself and alle suche thynges as he bryngeth wyth hym ben comysed ofryght in the warde and kepynge of the hoost or hosteler And ought to beas sauf as they were put in his owen propre hous And also suche hoostisought to hold seruantes in their houses whiche shold be trewe and wythoute auarice In suche wise that they coueyte not to haue the goodes oftheir ghestes And that they take not away the prouender fro theyr horseswhan hyt is gyuen to them/ that by thoccasion therof theyr horsisperisshe not ne faylle theyr maister whan they haue nede/ and myghtfalle in the handes of theyr enemyes/ For than sholde the seruantesbecause of that euyll/ wherfore theyr maisters shold see to For wythoute doubte this thynge is worse than thefte Hit happend on a tyme inthe parties of lomberdye in the cyte of Iene y't a noble man was loggedin an hostelerye wyth moche compaignye/ And whan they had gyuenprouendour to their horses/ In the first oure of the nyght, the seruantof the hous cam secretly to fore y'e horses for to stele away theirprouender/ And whan he cam to the lordes hors/ The hors caught wyth histeth his Arme and helde hit faste that he myght not escape/ And whan thetheef sawe that he was so strongly holden/ he began to crye for thegrete payne that he suffryd and felte/ In suche wyse that the noblemannes meyne cam with the hooste/ But in no maner/ ner for ought theycoude doo They coude not take the theef out of the horses mouth vnto thetyme that the neyghbours whiche were noyed wyth the noyse cam and sawehit/ And than the theef was knowen and taken and brought to fore theIuge And confessid the feet and by sentence diffinytyf was hanged andlost his lyf/ And in the same wyse was an other that dyde so/ And thehors smote hym in the visage/ That the prynte of the horse shoo andnayles abode euer in his visage/ Another was right cruell and villaynousfylle at tholouse/ Hit happend a Ionge man and his fader wente apilgremage to saynt Iames in Galyce And were logged in an hostelrye ofan euyll hoost and full of right grete couetyse/ In so moche that hedefired and coueyted the goodes of the two pilgrimes And here vponauysed hym and put a cuppe of siluer secretly in the male that the yongeman bare/ And whan they departed oute of their loggynge/ he folowedafter hem and sayd to fore the peple of the court that they had stolenand born away his cuppe/ And the yonge man excused hym selfe and hisfader/ And sayde they were Innocent of that caas/ And than they serchidhem and the cuppe was founden in the male of the yonge man And forthwythhe was dampned to the deth and hanged as a theef/ and this feet doon allthe goodes that langed to the pilgrym were deliuerid to the ooft asc[=o]fisqued And than the fader wente for to do his pilgremage/ and whan hecam agayn he muste nedes come & passe by the place where his sone hengeon the gibet And as he cam he complaygned to god and to saynt Iames howthey might suffre this auenture to come vnto his sone, ' Anone his sonethat henge spack to his fader And sayde how that saynt Iames had keptehym with out harme And bad his fader goo to the Iuge and shewe to hymthe myracle/ And how he was Innocent of thot fayte/ And whan this thyngewas knowen the sone of the pilgryme was taken down fro the gibet/ andthe cause was brought to fore the Iuge And the hooste was accused of thetrayson/ and he confessid his trespaas/ and sayd he dide hit forcouetyse to haue his good And than the Iuge dampned hym for to be hangedon the same gibet where as the yonge pilgryme was hanged And that I hauesayd of the seruantes beynge men/ the same I saye of the women aschambriers and tapsters For semblable caas fille in spayne at sayntdonne of a chamberier/ that put a cup in lyke wyse in the scrippe of apilgryme/ be cause he wold not haue a doo wyth her in the synne oflecherye/ wherfore he was hanged And his fader & moder that were therewith hym wente and dyde her pilgremage/ And whan they cam agayn theyfonde her sone lyuynge/ And whan they wente and told the Iuge/ whicheIuge sayd that he wolde not byleue hit tyll a cok and an henne whichrosted on the fyre were a lyue & the cok crewe. And anon they began wexea lyue & the cok crewe and began to crowe and to pasture/ and whan theIuge sawe this miracle/ he wente and toke doun the sone/ and made thechamberyer to be taken and to be hanged/ wherfore I saye that thehoostes ought to hold no tapsters ne chamberyers/ but yf they were goodmeure and honeste/ For many harmes may be falle and come by thedisordenat rewle of seruantes. 

[Illustration]

_The seventh chapitre of the thirde Tractate treteth of kepars of townescustomers and tolle gaderers &c. _

The gardes and kepars of of cytees ben signefied by the . Vii. Pawnwhiche stondeth in the lyfte side to fore the knyght/ And is formed inthe semblance of a man holdynge in his right hande grete keyes And inhis lifte hande a potte & an elle for to mesure with And ought to haueon hys gurdell a purse open/ And by the keyes ben signefyed the keparsof the cytees and townes and comyn offices/ And by the potte and elleben signefyed them that haue the charge to weye and mete & mesure trulyAnd by the purse ben signefyed them that reseyue the costumes. Tolles. Scawage. Peages/ and duetes of the cytees & townes And thyse peple bensette by ryght to fore the knyght/ And hit behoueth that the gardes andoffycers of the townes be taught And enseygned by the knyghtes/ And thatthey knowe and enquyre how y'e cytees or townes ben gouerned/ whicheapperteyneth to be kept and defended by the knyghtes. And first hitapperteyneth that the kepars of the cyte be dilygente. Besy. Clereseeynge and louers of the comyn prouffit & wele/ as well in the tyme ofpees as in the tyme of warre/ They ought allewaye to goo in the cyte andenquyre of all thynges and ought rapporte to the gouernours of the cytesuche thynge as they fynde and knowe And suche thynge as apperteynethand to the seuerte of the same/ and to den[=o]nce and telle the defaultesand paryls that ther bee/ And yf hit be in tyme of warre they ought notto open the yates by nyght to no man/ And suche men as ben put in thisoffice/ ought to be of good renome. & fame, trewe. And of goodconscience/ In suche maner that they loue them of the Cyte or town/ Andthat they put to no man ony blame or vilanye with out cause by enuye. Couetyse ne by hate/ but they ought to be sory and heuy whan they seethat ony man shold be complayned on for ony cause. For hit happeth oftetymes that diuerce officers accuse the good peple fraudulently/ Tothende that they myght haue a thanke & be preysed and to abide stille intheyr offices And trewly hit is a grete and hye maner of malyse to be inwill to doo euyll and diffame other wyth oute cause to gete glorie tohymself Also the kepars and officers of cytees ought to be suche thatthey suffre no wronges ne vylonyes to fore the Iuges and gouernours ofcytees wyth out cause to be doon to them that ben Innocents/ but theyought to haue theyr eyen and regarde vnto hym/ that knoweth the hertesand thoughtes of alle men/ And they ought to drede & doubte hym wythoute whos grace theyr wacche and kepynge is nought And that promyseth tothem that doubte hym shall be ewrous & happy/ And by hym ben allethynges accomplisshid in good/ Hit is founden in the historyes of romethat Temperour Frederik the seconde dide do make a gate of marble ofmeruayllous werke and entayll in the cyte of capnane vpon the watre thatrenneth aboute the same/ and vpon this yate he made an ymage lykehymself sittynge in his mageste/ and two Iuges whiche were sette/ one onthe right side and that other on the lifte side. And vpon the sercleaboue the hede of the Iuge on y'e ryght side was wreton/ Alle they entreseurly that will liue purely/ And vpon the sercle of the Iuge on thelifte side was wreton/ The vntrewe man ought to doubte/ to doo thyngethat he be put to prison fore/ and on the sercle aboue thempour waswreton/ I make them live in misery/ that I see lyue dismesurably/ Andtherfore hit apperteyneth to a Iuge to shewe to the peple for to dredeand doubte to doo eyull/ And hit apperteyneth to the gardes and officersto doubte the Iuges and to do trewly their seruyces and offices And hitapperteyneth to a prynce to menace the traytours and the malefactours ofright greuous paynes. And herof we fynde in the auncyent historyes ofcecylle that the kynge denys had a broder whom he louyd sore well/ Butallway where he wente he made heuy and tryste semblant/ And thus as theywente bothe to gyder on a tyme in a chare/ ther cam agayn hem two pouremen wyth glad visage but in foule habite/ And y'e kynge anon as he sawethem/ sprange out of his chare and resseyuyd them worshipfully withgrete reuerence/ wherfore his barons were not only ameruaylled but alsoangry in their corages/ notwithstandynge fere and drede letted them todemande hym the cause/ But they made his broder to demande the cause andto knowe the certaynte/ And whan he had herde his broder saye to hym thedemande/ and that he was blessyd & also a kynge whiche was ryche andfull of delites & worshipis/ he demanded hym yf he wold assaye & knowethe grace and beneurte of a kynge And his broder answerd y'e/ And that hedesired and requyred hit of hym/ and than the kinge comanded vnto allehis fugettis that they shold obeye in alle thynges only vnto his broderAnd than whan the oure of dyner cam and alle thynge was redy/ the broderwas sette at the table of the kynge And whan he sawe that he was seruydwyth right noble botelliers and other officers. And he herde the sownesof musicque right melodious The kynge demanded hym than/ yf he supposidy't he were benerous and blessid. And he answerd I wene well that I amright well blessid and fortunat/ and that I haue well proued and feleand am expert therof And than the kynge secretly made to be hanged ouerhis heed a sharp cuttynge swerde hangynge by an hors heer or a silkenthrede so small that no man myght see hit where by hit henge/ and whanhe sawe his broder put no more his hand to the table/ ne had no moreregarde vnto his seruantes/ he sayd to hym why ete y'e not/ ar y'e notblessid/ saye yf y'e fele ony thynge otherwyse than blessid and well/ Andhe answerde for as moche as I see this sharp swerde hangynge so subtillyand parillously ouer my hede I fele well that I am not blessid for Idrede that hit shold falle on my hede/ and than discouerd the kynge vntohem alle wherfore he was allway so heuy cherid and triste For where hewas/ he thought alleway on the swerde of the secrete vengeance of god/whiche he behelde alleway in his herte/ wherfore he had all way inhymself grete drede And therfore he worshipid gladly the poure peplewyth glad visage and good conscience And by this sheweth the kynge well/that what man that is all way in drede is not all way mery or blessid. And herof fayth Quyntilian that this drede surmounteth alle othermaleurtees and euyllys/ For it is maleurte of drede nyght and day/ Andit is verite that to hym that Is doubtid of moche peple/ so muste hedoubte moche/ And that lord is lasse than hys seruantes that dredeth hysseruantes/ And truly hit Is a ryght sure thynge to drede no thinge butgod/ And sumtyme right hardy men ben constrayned to lyue in drede/ Dredecauseth a man to be curyous and besy to kepe the thynges that bencommysed to hym that they perisshe not/ But to be to moche hardy & tomoche ferdfull/ bothe two ben vices The comyn officers ought to be wise, discrete. And well aduysed in suche wyse that they take not of y'e peplene requyre no more than they ought to haue by reson/ ne that they takeof the sellars ne of the byars no more than the right custom and toll/for they bere the name of a c[=o]mun þsone/ and therfore ought theyto shewe them c[=o]mune to all men/ and for as moche as the byars andsellars haue somtyme moche langage/ they ought to haue with them thesevertues/ that is to wete pacience and good corage with honeste/ for theythat ben despiteus to the c[=o]mun/ ben otherwhile had in vilaynsdespite/ therfore beware y't thou haue no despite to the pouremendicants/ yf thou wilt come and atteyne to thingis fouerayn/ for theIniurye that is don wyth oute cause/ torneth to diffame hym that dothhit/ A Iogheler on a tyme beheld socrates and sayd to hym/ thou hast theeyen of corrumpour of children & art as a traytre. And whan hisdisciples herde hym/ they wold auengid their maister/ But he repreuydhem by suche sentence saynge/ Suffre my felaws for I am he and suche oneas he saith/ by the sight of my visage/ But I refrayne and kepe me wellfrom suche thynge/ This same socrates hymself was chidde and right fowllspoken to of his wyf/ and she Imposid to hym many grete Iniuries without nombre/ and she was in a place a boue ouer his heed And whan she hadbrawlid I nowh/ she made her watre and pourid hit on his heed And heanswerd to here no thynge agayn/ sauf whan he had dryed and wypid hisheed he said/ he knewe well that after suche wynde and thonder sholdecomen rayn and watre And the philosophres blamed hym that he coude notgouerne two women/ that was his wyf and his chambrere/ And shewde hymthat one cokke gouerned well . Xv. Hennes He answerd to them that he wasso vsed and accustomed wyth theyr chydynge that the chydynges of them neof estrangers dyde hym no greef ne harme/ gyue thou place to hym thatbrawleth or chydeth/ and in suffrynge hym thou shalt be hisvaynquysshour/ And Cathon fayth whan thou lyuyst ryghtfully recche thenot of the wordes of euyll peple/ And therfore it is sayd in a comynprouerbe/ he that well doth reccheth not who seeth hit/ & hit is not inour power to lette men to speke. And prosper sayth that to good menlacketh no goodnes/ ner to euyll men tencions stryfs and blames Andpacience is a ryght noble vertu/ as a noble versifier sayth Thatpacience is a ryght noble maner to vaynquysshe. For he that suffrethouercometh. And yf thou wylt vaynquysshe and ouercome/ lerne to suffre/The peagers ner they that kepe passages ought not to take other peage nepassage money but suche as the prynce or the lawe haue establisshid/ sothat they be not more robbeurs of moneye than reseyuours of peage andpassage And hit apperteyneth to them to goo out of the paryllo*9 weyesand doubteuous for to kepe their office and they ought to Requyre theyrpassage of them that owe to paye hit wyth oute noynge and contencion/And they ought not to loue the comyn prouffyt so moche/ That they fallein the hurtynge of theyr conscience/ For that shold be a manere ofrobberye And herof sayth ysaye Woo to the that robbest/ For thou thyself shalt be robbed/ The gardes or porters of the gates of cytees andof the comyn good ought to be good and honeste. And alle trouthe oughtto be in them and they ought not to take ne withdrawe the goodes of thecomyn that they haue in kepynge/ more than apperteyneth to them fortheyr pension or ffee/ So that they that ben made tresorers and keparsben not named theuys/ For who that taketh more than his/ He shall neuerthryue wyth alle/ ner shall not enioye hit longe/ For of euyll gootengood the thyrde heyr shall neuer reioyce/ And this suffisith &c. 

[Illustration]

_This chapitre of the thirder book treteth of Rybauldis players of dyseand messagers and corrours_

The rybaulders, players of dyse and of messagers and corrours ought tobe sette to fore the rook/ For hit apperteyneth to the rook whiche isvicayre & lieutenant of the kynge to haue men couenable for to rennehere and there for tenquyre & espie the place and cytees that myght becontrarye to the kynge/ And thys pawn that representeth thys peple oughtto be formed in this maner/ he must haue the forme of a man that hathlonge heeris and black and holdeth in his ryght hand a lityll monoye Andin his lyfte hande thre Dyse And aboute hym a corde in stede of agyrdell/ and ought to haue a boxe full o lettres And by the first/whiche is money is vnderstand they that be fole large & wastours oftheyr goodes/ And by the seconde whiche is the dyse Ben represented theplayers at dyse/ Rybauldes and butters/ And by the thyrde whiche is theboxe full of lettres ben representid the messagers. Corrours/ And berarsof lettres/ And y'e shall vnderstande that the roock whiche is vicaire ofthe kynge whan he seeth to fore hym suche peple as ben folelarge andwastours. He is bounden to constitute and ordeyne vpon them tutours andcuratours to see that they etc not ne waste in suche maner theyr goodesne theyr heritages/ that pouerte constrayne hem not to stele/ For hethat of custome hath had haboundance of moneye and goth and dispendithhit folily and wasteth hit away/ whan he cometh to pouerte and hathnought/ he must nedes begge and axe his breed, orellis he must be atheef/ For suche maner of peple/ yf they haue ben delicyous they wyllnot laboure/ for they haue not lerned hit And yf they be noble and comenof gentilmen/ they be ashamed to axe and begge/ And thus muste they byforce whan they haue wasted theyr propre goodes yf they wyll lyue theymuste stele and robbe the goodes of other And y'e shall vnderstande thatfolelarge is a right euyll vice/ for how well that she dooth good andprouffyt somtyme to other yet she doth harme and domage to hym that sowasteth. Caffiodore admonesteth the fole larges to kepe theyr thynges/that by no necessite they falle in pouerte/ And that they be notconstrayned to begge ne to stele of other men For he faith that hit isgretter subtilte to kepe well his owne goodes/ than to fynde strangethynge/ and that it is gretter vertue to kepe that is goten than to geteand wynne more/ and claudian saith in like wise in his book that hit isa gretter thynge & better to kepe that is goten Than to gete more Andtherfore hit is sayd y't the poure demandeth and beggeth er he felith/and also hit is sayd that he y't dispendith more than he hath/ with outestrook he is smyten to the deth/ Ther was a noble man named Iohn deganazath whiche was ryght ryche/ And this man had but two doughters whomhe maryed to two noble men/ And whan he had maryed them/ he loued sowell his sones in lawe their husbondes/ that in space & succession oftyme/ he departed to them alle his goodes temporell/ And as longe as hegaf to them they obeyed hym & were right diligent to plese and seruehym/ so hit befell that on a tyme that he had alle gyuen in so mochethat he had ryght nought/ Than hit happend that they to whom he hadgyuen his goodes/ whiche were wonte to be amyable & obeyssant to hym aslonge as he gaf. Whan tyme cam that he was poure and knewe that he hadnot they becam unkynde Disagreable and disobeyssant/ And whan the fadersawe that he was deceyuyd by his debonayrte and loue of his doughters/He desired and couetyed fore teschewe his pouerte/ At laste he wente toa marchant that he knewe of olde tyme. And requyred hym to lene to hym. X. Thousand pound for to paye and rendre agayn wyth in thre dayes/ Andhe lente hit hym/ and whan he had brought hit in to his hows/ Hithappend that hit was a day of a solempne feste/ on whiche daye he gaf tohis doughters and her hufbonde a right noble dyner/ and after dyner heentrid in to his chambre secretly wyth them/ And drewe out of a coffrethat he had do make all newe shettynge with iii. Lockis/ the menoye thatthe marchant had lente hym And poured out vpon a tapyte that hisdoughtres and theyr hufbondes myght see hit/ And whan he had shewid hitvnto them he put hit vp agayn and put hit in to the cheste saynynge thathit had ben all his And whan they were departed he bare the money hometo the marchant that he had borowed hit of/ And the next day after hisdoughters and theyre hufbondes Axid of hym how moche moneye was in thecheste that was shette wyth. Iii. Lockis/ And than he fayned and saidethat he had therein. Xxv. Thousand pound/ whiche he kepte for to makehis testament and for to leue to his doughters and hem/ yf they woldehere hem as well to hym ward as they dyde whan they were maried/ Andthan whan they herde that/ they were right Ioyous and glad And theythoughte and concluded to serue hym honorably as well in clothynge as inmete and drynke & of alle other thynges necessarye to hym vnto his endeAnd after this whan the ende of hym began tapproche/ he callyd hisdoughters and her husbondes and sayd to hem in thys mauere/ y'e shallvnderstande that the moneye that is in the chest shette vnder. Iii. Lockes I wylle leue to yow Sanynge I wyll that y'e gyue in my prefence erI dye whilis I lyue to the frere prechours. C. Pound and to the freremenours. C. Pound/ And to the heremytes of saynt Augustyn . I. Pound tothende that whan I am buryed and put in the erthe y'e may demande of themthe keyes of y'e cheste where my tresour is Inne/ whiche keyes theykepe/ and I haue put on eche keye a bille & writynge In witnessinge ofthe thynges abouesayd/ And also y'e shall vnderstande that he dyde do tobe gyuen whilis he laye in his deth bedde to eche churche and recluseand to poure peple a certayn quantyte of moneye by the handes of hisdoughters husbondes/ whiche they dyde gladly. In hope to haue shortlythe money that they supposid had ben in the cheste/ And whan hit cam tothe last day/ that he deyde/ He was born to churche and his exequye donand was buryed solempnly/ And the eyght daye the seruyse worshipfullyaccomplisshid/ They wente for to demande the keyes of the Religious menthat they had kept/ whiche were deliueryd to them/ And than they wenteand opend the coffre where they supposid the money had ben Inne/ Andthere they fonde no thyng but a grete clubbe/ And on the the handlyngewas wreton/ J Iohn of canazath make this testament/ that he be slaynwyth this clubbe/ that leuyth his own prouffit. And gyuyth hit to other/as who sayth hit is no wysedom for a man to gyue his good to hischildren and kepe none for hym self/ And y'e shall vnderstande that it isgrete folye to dispende and waste his good/ In hope for to recoure hitof other/ be hit of sone or doughter or ryght nyghe kyn/ For aman oughtto kepe in his hande in dispendynge his owen goodes/ to fore he see thathe dyspende other mennys/ And he ought not to be holden for a good man/That hath lityll renome and spendeth many thyngys/ And I trowe thatsuche persones wold gladly make noueltees as for to noye and greuefeignories and meue warres and tencions agaynst them that habounde inrychesses and goodes/ And also make extorcyons clamours & trybulacyonsayenst theyr lordes to thende to waste the goodes of the peple. Lyke asthey haue wasted theyris And suche a wastour of goodes may neuer be goodfor the comyn prouffit. And y'e shall vnderstande that after thesewastours of goodes we saye that the pleyars of dyse and they that vsebordellis ben worst of alle other For whan the hete of playnge at thedyse/ And the couetyse of theyr stynkynge lecherye hath brought hem topouerte/ hit foloweth by force that they muste ben theuys and robbeursAnd also dronkenship. Glotonye. And alle maner of euyllis folowe themand myschief/ And they folowe gladly the companyes of knyghtes and ofnoble men whan they goon vnto the warre or batayllis And they coueytenot so moche the victorye as they do the robberie And they do mocheharme as they goo And they brynge lityll gayn or wynnynge/ wherof hithappend on a tyme that fsaynt bernard rode on an hors aboute in thecontrey And mette wyth an hasardour or dyse-player/ whiche sayd to hym/thou goddes man wilte thou playe at dyse wyth me thyn hors ayenst mysowle/ to whom saynt Bernard answerd/ yf thou wilt oblige thy sowle tome ayenst my hors/ I wolle a lighte doun & playe wyth the/ and yf thouhaue mo poyntes than I on thre dyse I promyse the thou shalt haue mynhors/ And than he was glad/ and an[=o]n cafte. Iii. Dyse/ And on eche dysewas a fyfe/ whiche made. Xviii. Poynts And anone he toke the hors by thebrydell/ as he that was fewr that he had wonne/ and said that the horswas his And than saynt Bernard sayde abyde my sone For ther ben mopoyntes on the dyse than. Xviii. And than he caste the dyse/ In suchewyse that one of the. Iii. Dyse clefte a sonder in the myddes/ And onthat one parte was fyfe and on that other an Aas/ And eche of that otherwas a fyfe/ And than Saynt Bernard sayde That he had wonne hys sowle foras moche as he had caste on thre dyse. Xix. Points/ And than whan thysplayer sawe and apperceyuyd thys myracle/ He gaf hys sowle to sayntBernard and be cam a monke and finysshid his lyf in good werkes/ Thecorrours and berars of lettres ought hastely and spedily do her viagethat comanded hem/ with oute taryenge/ For their taryenge might noye andgreue them that sende hem forth/ or ellis them to whom they ben senttoo/ And torne hem to ryght grete domage or villonye/ for whiche causeeuery noble man ought well to take hede to whom he deliuere his lettresand his mandements/ and otherwhilis suche peple ben Ioghelers &dronkelewe/ And goon out of their waye for to see abbayes and noble menfor to haue auantage And hit happeth ofte tymes/ that whan suchemessagers or currours ben enpesshid by ony taryenge/ That other curroursbere lettres contrarye to his/ And come to fore hym/ of which thingesofte tymes cometh many thinges discouenable of losse of frendes ofcastellys & of lande & many other thinges as in the feet of marchandise&c. And otherwhile hit happeth that a prynce for the faulte of suchemessangers lefeth to haue victorye vpon hys enemyes/ And also ther bensome that whan they come in a cyte where they haue not ben to fore/ thatben more besy to visyte the Cyte and the noble men that dwelle theryn/Than they ben to doo theyr voyage/ whyche thynge they ought not to doo/But yf they had specyall charge of them that sente hem forth so to doo. And also whan they be sente forth of ony lordes or marchauntes theyought to be well ware/ that they charge hem not wyth ouer moche mete onmorenynges ne with to moche wyn on euenynges/ wherby her synewis andvaynes myght be greuy/ that they muste for faute of good rewle tarye Butthey ought to goo and come hastely for to reporte to their maistresanswers as hit apperteyneth And this suffisen of the thynges aboue sayd. 

BOOK IV. 

[Illustration]

_The fourth tractate & the last of the progression and draughtes of theforsayd playe of the chesse. 

The first chapitre of the fourth tractate of the chesse borde in generehow it is made. _

Ze haue deuised aboue the thinges that apperteyne vnto the formes of thechesse men and of theyr offices/ that is to wete as well of noble men asof the comyn peple/ than hit apperteyneth that we shold deuyse shortlyhow they yssue and goon oute of the places where they be sette/ Andfirst we ought to speke of the forme and of the facion of the chequerafter that hit representeth and was made after/ For hyt was made afterthe forme of the cyte of Babyloyne/ In the whiche this same playe wasfounden as hit is sayd afore/ And foure thinges The first is/ wher y'eshal vnderstande that y'e ought to consydere here in fore that. Lxiiii. Poyntes ben sette in the eschequer whiche ben alle square/ The secondeis wherfore the bordeur aboute his hyher than the squarenes of thepoyntes/ The thirde is wherfore the comyn peple ben sette to fore thenobles/ The fourthe wherfore the nobles and the peples ben sette intheir propre places Ther ben as many poyntes in y'e eschequer wyde asfull And y'e shall first vnderftande wherfore that ther ben. Lxiiii. Poyntes in the eschequer/ For as the blessid saint Iherome saith/ thecyte of babilone was right grete and was made alle square/ and in eueryquarter was. Xvi. Myle by nombre and mesure/ the whiche nombre fouretymes told was. Lxiiii. Myles/ After the maner of lombardye they becallid myles/ and in france leukes/ and in englong they be callid mylisalso/ And for to reprefente the mesure of thys cyte/ In whiche thysplaye or game was founden/ The philosopher that fonde hit first ordeyneda tablier conteynyng . Lxiiii. Poynts square/ the which ben comprisedwyth in the bordour of the tablier/ ther ben xxxii. On that on fide &. Xxxii. On that other whiche ben ordeyned for the beaulte of the playe/and for to mewe the maner & drawynge of the chesse as hit shall apperein the chapitres folowynge/ and as to the seconde wherfore y'e bordourof theschequyer is hyher than the table wyth in. Hit is to bevnderftande y't the bordour aboute representeth the walle of t'e cyte/whiche is right hyghe/ And therfor made y'e philosopher the bordour morehyghe than y'e tablier. And as y'e blessid saint Iherome saith vpon y'eprophesie of ysaye/ that is to wete vpon a montayne of obscurete. Whichewordes were said of babilone whiche standeth in chaldee and nothinge ofthat babilone that stondeth in egipte/ for it is so y't babilone whichestandeth in chaldee was sette in a right grete playne/ & had so hyghewalles that by the heyghte of them/ was contynuell derkenes environed &obscurete/ that none erthely man might beholde and see the ende of y'ehyghnes of the walle/ And therfore ysaye callid hit y'e montaigneobscure/ And saint Iherome sayth y't the mesure of the heyght of thiswalle was thre thousand paas/ whiche extendeth vnto y'e lengthe of thremyle lombardes/ hit is to wete that lombarde mylis and english myles benof one lengthe And in one of the corners of this cyte was made a touretreangle as a shelde wherof the heyght extended vnto the lengthe of. Vii. Thousand paas/ whiche is . Vii. Myle english And this tour wascallyd the tour of Babell/ The walles aboute the tour made a woman whosname was semiranus as sayth virgilius/ As to the thirde wherfore thecomyn peple ben sette to fore the nobles in the felde of the bataylle inone renge First for as moche as they ben necessarye to alle nobles Forthe rooke whiche standeth on the ryght syde and is vicaire of the kyngewhat may he doo yf the labourer were not sette to fore hym and labouridto mynystre to hym suche temporell thynges as be necessary for hym/ Andwhat may the knyght doo yf he ne had to fore hym the smyth for to forgehis armours. Sadellis. Axis and spores and suche thynges as apperteynethto hym/ And what is a knyght worth wyth oute hors and armes/ certaynlynothynge more than on of the peple or lasse pauenture And in what manershold the nobles lyue yf no man made cloth and bought and soldemarchandyse/ And what shulde kynges and quenes and the other lordes dooyf they had no phisicyens ne cyrurgiens/ than I saye that the peple benthe glorye of the Crowne And susteyne. The lyf of the nobles Andtherfore thou that art a lord or a noble man or knyght/ despise not thecomyn peple for as moche as they ben sette to fore the in y'e pleye Theseconde cause is why the peple ben sette to fore the nobles and haue thetable wyde to fore them/ is be cause they begyn the bataylle/ They oughtto take hede and entende to do theyr offices and theyr craftes/ In suchewyse that they suffre the noble men to gouerne the cytees and tocounceylle and make ordenances of the peple of the batayll how shold alabourer a plowman or a craftyman counceylle and make ordenance of suchethynges as he neuer lerned/ And wote ne knoweth the mater vpon whatthynge the counceylle ought to be taken/ Certes the comyn peple oughtnot to entende to none other thynge but for to do their seruyse and theoffice whiche is couenable vnto hem/ And hyt apperteyneth not to hem tobe of counceyllys ne at the aduocacions/ ne to menace ne to thretenoman/ for ofte tymes by menaces and by force good counceylle isdistroublid/ And where good counceyll faylleth/ there ofte tymes thecytees ben betrayed and destroyed/ And Plato sayth That the comynthynges and the cytees ben blessid whan they ben gouerned by wyse men/or whan the gouernours studye in wisedom/ And so hit apperteyneth to thecomyn to lerne to vttre the maters & the maner of procuracion to forethey be counceyllours/ For hit happeth oftetymes that he that maketh hymwyser that he vnderstandeth is made more foole than he is/ And thefourth cause wherfore y't ther ben in the tabler as many poynts wyde asben full. Hit is to wete for that they what euer they be that haue pepleto gouerne/ ought tenforce to haue cytees & caftellis & possessions forto sette his peple theryn/ And for to laboure & doo their ocupacion/ Forfor to haue the name of a kynge with out royame is a name voyde/ andhonour with oute prouffit/ And alle noblesse wyth oute good maners/ andwith out suche thinges as noblesse may be mayntenyd/ ought better becallid folye than noblesse. And shamefull pouerte is the more greuouswhan hit cometh by nature of an hyhe and noble burth or hous. For nomangladly wole repreue a poure man of the comyn peple/ But euery man hathin despite a noble man that is poure yf he haue not in hym good manersand vertuous/ by whiche his pouerte is forgoten/ and truly a royame withoute haboundance of goodes by whiche hit may be gouerned and prospere/may better be callyd a latrocynye or a nest of theeuys than a royame/Alas what haboundance was some tymes in the royames. And what prosþite/In whiche was Iustice/ And euery man in his office contente/ how stoodthe cytees that tyme in worship and renome/ how was renomed the nobleroyame of Englond Alle the world dredde hit And spack worship of hit/how hit now standeth and in what haboundance I reporte me to them thatknowe hit yf ther ben theeuis wyth in the royame or on the see/ theyknowe that laboure in the royame And sayle on the see I wote well thefame is grete therof I pray god saue that noble royame And sende goodtrue and politicque counceyllours to the gouernours of the same &c. / Andnoblesse of lignage wyth oute puyssance and might is but vanyte anddespite. And hit is so as we haue sayd to fore that theschequer whichethe philosopher ordeyned represented and figured the sayd cyte ofBabilone And in lyke wyse may hit figure a royame and signefye alle theworld And yf men regarde and take heed vnto the poyntes vnto the middesof euery quadrante and so to double euery quadrant to other the myles ofthis cyte all way doublinge vnto the nombre of . Lxiiii. The nombre ofthe same shulde surmounte alle the world/ And not only the world butmany worldes by the doublinge of mylis/ whiche doublinge so as a fore issayd shuld surmounte alle thynges/ And thus endeth the first chapitre ofthe fourth booke. 

[Illustration]

_The seconde chaitre of the fourth tractate tretheth of the draught ofthe kynge/ And how he meuyth hym in the chequer. _

We ought to knowe that in this world/ the kynges seygnourye and regneeche in his royame. And in this playe we ought to knowe by the nature ofhit how the kynge meueth hym and yssueth oute of his place/ For y'e shallvnderstande that he is sette in the fourth quadrante or poynt oftheschequer. And whan he is black/ he standeth in the white/ and theknyght on his ryght side in white/ And the Alphyn and the rooke inblack/ And on the lifte side the foure holden the places opposite/ Andthe rayson may be suche/ For be cause that the knyghtes ben the glorye &the crowne of the kynge, ' They ensiewe in semblable residence/ that theydoo whan they ben sette semblably on the ryght side of the kynge & onthe lyfte side of the quene/ And for as moche as the rook on the ryghtsyde is vicayre of the kynge he accompanyeth the quene in semblablesiege that the Alphyn doth whiche is Iuge of the kynge/ And in lyke wysethe lifte rook & the lyfte Alphyn accompanye the kynge in semblablesiege/ In suche wyse as they ben sette aboute the kynge in bothe sideswyth the Quene in manere of a crowne/ That they may seurely kepe theroyame that reluyseth and shyneth in the kynge and in the Quene/ Insuche wyse as they may conferme and diffende hym in theyr sieges and intheyr places. And the more hastily renne vpon his enemyes And for asmoche as the Iuge, the knyght/ and the vicaire. Kepe and garnysshe thekynge on that one syde/ They that ben sette on the other syde kepe theQuene/ And thus kepe they alle the strength and fermete of the royame/And semblably otherwhile for to ordeyne the thynges that apperteyne tothe counceyll/ and to the besoygne of the royame/ For yf eche man sholdentende to his owen proper thynges/ And y't they defended not ner tokehede vnto the thingis y't apperteynen to the kynge to the comyn and tothe royame/ the royalme shold an[=o]n be deuided in parties And thusmyght the Iuge regne/ And the name of the dignyte royall shold be lost/And truly for as moche as the kynge holdeth the dignyte aboue alle otherand the seygnourye royall/ therfore hit apperteyneth not that he absentehym longe/ ne wythdrawe hym ferre by space of tyme from the maistersiege of his royame/ For whan he wele meue hym/ he ought not to passe atthe first draught the nombre of . Iii. Poynts/ And whan he begynneth thusto meue from his whyt poynt/ he hath the nature of the rooks of theright syde and of the lifte syde for to goo black or whithe/ And also hemay goo vnto the white poynt where the gardes of the Cyte ben sette Andin this poynt he hath the nature of a knyght. And thyse two maners ofmeuynge apperteyneth otherwhile to the quene/ and for as moche as thekynge and the quene that ben conioyned to geder by mariage ben onethynge as one flessh and blood/ therfore may the kynge meue on the lifteside of his propre poynt also wele as he were sette in the place of thequene whiche is black/ and whan he goth right in maner of the rook only/And hit happen that the aduersarie be not couered in ony poynt in theseconde ligne/ The kynge may not passe from his black poynt vnto thethirde ligne/ And thus he sortisith the nature of the rook on the ryghtsyde and lyfte syde vnto the place of the knyghtes and for to goo ryghtto fore In to the whyte poynt to fore the marchant/ And the kynge alsosortyst the nature of the knyghtes whan he goth on the ryght syde in twomaners/ For he may put hym in the voyde space to fore the phisicyen/ Andin the black space to fore the tauerner/ And on the other side he gothin to other two places in lyk wise that is to fore the smyth/ and thenotarye/ And thus as in goynge out first in to . Iiii. Poynts he sorteththe nature of knyghtes/ and also the kynge sortiseth the nature of thealphins at his first yssu in to . Ii. Places And he may goo on bothesides vnto the white place voyde/ that one to fore y'e smith on that onside/ and that other to for the tauerner on that other side/ All theseyssues hath y'e kyng out of his propre place of his owen vertue whan hebegynneth to meue. But whan he is ones meuyd fro his propre place/ Hemay not meue but in to one space or poynt/ and so from one to an other/And than he sortiseth the nature of the comyn peple/ and thus by goodright he hath in hymfelf the nature of alle/ For alle the vertue that isin the membres cometh of the heed and all meuyng of the body/ Thebegynnynge & lyf comen from the herte/ And all the dignyte that thesubgettes haue by execucion/ and contynuell apparence of their meuynge &yssue/ The kynge deteyneth hit & is attribued to hym/ the victorye ofthe knightes/ the prudence of y'e Iuges/ the auctorite of the vicairesor legates The c[=o]tynence of the quene/ the c[=o]corde & vnyte of y'epeple Ben not all thise thinges ascribed vnto the honour and worship ofthe kynge Jn his yssue whan he meuyd first The thirde ligne to fore thepeple he neuer excedeth/ Fro in the . Iii. Nombre alle maner of statesbegynne to meue For the trynary nombre conteyneth . Iii. Parties/ whichemake a perfect nombre/ For a trynarye nombre hath. I. Ii. Iii. WhicheIoyned to geder maken . Vi. Whiche is the first parfyt nombre Andsignefieth in this place/ vi. Persones named that constitute theþfection of a royame That is to wete the kynge. The quene. Iuges, knyghtes. The vicaires or legats/ and the comyn peple And therfor thekynge ought to begynne in his first meuynge of . Iii. Poyntes/ that heshewe perfection of lyf as well in hym self as in other After that thekynge begynneth to meue he may lede wyth hym the quene/ after the manerof his yssue For why the quene foloweth vnto two angularye places/ afterthe maner of the alphyn/ and to a place indirect in the maner of a rookin to the black poynt to fore the phisicien/ herin is signefied that thewomen may not meue neyther make vowes of pylgremage ner of viagewythoute the wylle of theyr husbondes/ For yf a woman had a vowed onythynge/ her husbonde lyuynge/ and agaynsaynge/ she may not yelde neaccomplisshe her vowe/ yf the husbond wyll goo oughwer. He may well goowyth oute her And yf so be that the husbond wyll haue her wyth hym/ sheis bounden to folowe hym/ And by reson For a man is the heed of a woman/and not econuerso/ For as to suche thingis as longe to patrymony/ theyben lyke/ but the man hath power ouer her body/ And so hath not thewoman ouer his And therfore whan the kynge begynneth to meue. The Quenemay folowe/ And not alleway whan she meuyd it is no nede the kynge tomeue/ For why four the first lignes be with in the limytes and space ofthe royame/ And vnto the thirde poynt the kynge may meue at his firstmeuynge out of his propre place/ And whan he passith the fourth ligne hegoeth oute of his royame. And yf he passe oon poynt late hym beware/ Forthe persone of a kynge Is acounted more than a thousand of other/ Forwhan he exposeth hym vnto the paryllis of bataylle/ Hit is necessaryethat he goo temperatly and slyly/ For yf he be taken or ded/ or ellisInclusid and shette vp/ Alle the strengthes of alle other faylle andalle Is fynysshid and loste/ And therfore he hath nede to goo and meuewysely/ And also therfore he may not meue but one poynt after hys fyrstmeuynge but where that euer he goo foreward or bacward or on that onesyde or that other or ellis cornerwyse/ He may neuer approche hysaduersarye the kynge nerrer than in the thirde poynt/ And therfore thekynges in batayll ought neuer tapproche one nyghe that other/ And alsowhan the kynge hath goon so ferre that alle his men be lost/ than he issole/ And than he may not endure longe whan he is brought to y'textremyte/ And also he ought to take hede that he stande not soo that aknyght or an other saith chek rook/ than the kyng loseth y'e rook/ Thatkynge is not well fortunat that leseth hym to whom his Auctorytedelegate apperteyneth/ who may doo the nedes of the royame yf he bepriuyd taken or dede/ that was prouisour of alle the royame/ he shallbere a sack on his hede that Is shette in a cyte/ And alle they thatwere theryn ben taken in captiuite and shette vp &c. 

[Illustration]

_The seconde chapiter of the fourth book of the quene and how sheyssueth oute of her place. _ [Transcriber's note: The printer'serror in the original text, labeling the third chapter as "Theseconde chapiter" is preserved here. ]

Whan the Quene whiche is accompanyed vnto the kynge begynneth to meuefrom her propre place/ She goth in dowble manere/ that is to wete as anAlphyn whan she is black/ fhe may goo on the ryght syde & come in to thepoynt to fore the notarye And on the lifte syde in the black poynt andcome to fore the gardees of the cyte And hit is to wete that mesortiseth in her self the nature in . Iii. Maners first on the ryght sydeto fore the alphyn/ Secondly on the lifte syde where the knyght is/ Andthirdly indirectly vnto the black poynt to fore the phisicyen And therayson why. Is for as moche as she hath in her self by grace/ theauctrorite that the rooks haue by c[=o]myscion/ For she may gyue &graute many thynges to her subgetts graciously And thus also ought sheto haue parfyt wisedom/ as the alphyns haue whiche ben Iuges/ as hitsayd aboue in the chapitre of the Quene/ And she hath not the nature ofknyghtes/ And hit is not fittynge ne couenable thynge for a woman to gooto bataylle for the fragilite and feblenes of her/ And therfore holdethshe not the waye in her draught as the knyghtes doon/ And whan she ismeuyd ones oute of her place she may not goo but fro oon poynt to another and yet cornerly whether hit be foreward or backward takynge or tobe taken/ And here may be axid why the quene goth to the bataylle wyththe kynge/ certainly it is for the solace of hym/ and ostencion of loue/And also the peple desire to haue sucession of the kynge And therforethe tartaris haue their wyues in to the felde with hem/ yet hit is notgood that men haue theyr wyuys with hem/ but that they abyde in thecytees or within their owne termes/ For whan they ben oute of theyrcytees and limytes they ben not sure/ but holden suspecte/ they shold beshamfast and hold alle men suspect/ For dyna Iacob's doughter as longeas she was in the hows of her brethern/ she kept her virginite/ Butassone as she wente for to see the strange Regyons. Anone she wascorrupt and defowled of the sone of sichem/ Seneca sayth that the womenthat haue euyll visages ben gladly not chaste/ but theyr corage desirethgladly the companye of men/ And Solynus saith that no bestes femellysdesyre to be towched of theyr males whan they haue conceyuyd/ Exeptwoman whyche ought to be a best Raysonable/ And in thys caas she lefethher rayson/ And Sidrac wythnesseth the same And therfore in the oldelawe/ the faders hadd dyuerce wyues and Ancellys to thende whan one waswyth childe/ they myght take another/ They ought to haue the visageenclyned for teschewe the fight of the men/ that by the fight they benot meuyd with Incontynence and diffame of other/ And Ouyde sayth thatther ben some That how well that they eschewe the dede/ yet haue theygrete Joye whan they ben prayed/ And therfore ought the good women fleethe curyositees and places wher they myght falle in blame and noyseof the peple. 

[Illustration]

_The fourth chapitre of the fourth book Is of the yssuynge of theAlphyn. _

The manere and nature of the draught of the Alphyn is suche/ that hethat is black in his propre fiege is sette on the right side of thekynge/ And he that is whyt is sette on the lifte side/ And ben callydand named black and white/ But for no cause that they be so in subftanceof her propre colour/ But for the colour of the places in whiche theyben sette/ And alleway be they black or white/ whan they ben sette intheyr places/ the alphyn on the ryght syde/ goynge oute of his place tothe ryght sydeward comyth to fore the labourer/ And hit is reson thatthe Iuge ought to deffende and kepe the labourers and possessions whicheben in his Iurisdiction by alle right and lawe/ And also he may goo onthe lyste syde to the wyde place to fore the phisicien/ For lyke as thephisiciens haue the charge to hele the Infirmites of a man/ In lyke wysehaue the Iuges charge to appese alle stryues and contencions and reducevnto vnyte/ And to punyfshe and correcte causes crymynels/ The lystealphyn hath also two wayes fro his owen place oon toward y'e right sydevnto the black space voyde to fore the marchant/ For the marchants nedeofte tymes counceylle and ben in debate of questions whiche muste bedetermyned by the Iuges/ And that other yssue is vnto the place to forethe rybauldis/ And that ys be caufe that ofte tymes amonge them. Fallenoyses discencions thefte and manslaghter/ wherfore they ought to bepunysshid by the Iuges/ And y'e shall vnderstande that the alphyn gothalleway corner wyse fro the thirde poynt to the thirde poynt kepynge allway his owne fiege/ For yf he be black/ he goth all way black/ And yf hebe whyte he goth alleway whyte. The yssue or goynge cornerly orangularly signefieth cautele or fubtylyte/ whiche Iuges ought to haue/The . Iii. Poyntes betoken . Iii. Thynges that the Iuge ought to attende/A Iuge ought to furder rightfull & trewe causes. Secondly he ought togyue trewe counceyll/ and thirdly he ought to gyue and Iuge rightfullsentences after tha legeances/ And neuer to goo fro the ryghtwisnes ofthe lawe/ And it is to wete that the Alphyn goth in fix drawhtes allethe tablier round aboute/ and that he cometh agayn in to his owen place/And how be hit that alle rayson and good perfection shold be in a kynge/yet ought hit also specially be in them that ben conceyllours of thekynge and the Quene And the kynge ought not to doo ony thynge doubtouse/tyll he haue axid counceyll of his Iuges And of the sages of the royameAnd therfore ought the Iuge to be parfaytly wyse and sage as well inscience as in good maners/ And that is signefied whan they meue fromthre poynts in to thre/ For the fixt nombre by whiche they goo alletheschequer/ And brynge hem agayn in to her propre place in suche wysethat thende of her moeuynge is conioyned agayn to the begynnynge of theplace frowhens they departed/ And therfore hit is callid a parfaytmoeuynge. 

[Illustration]

_The fyfth chapitre of the fourth Tractate Is of the meuynge of theknyghtes. _

After the yssue of the Alphyns we shall deuyse to yow the yssue & themoeuynge of the knyghtes/ And we saye that the knyght on the right sydeis whyt/ And on the lifte syde black/ And the yssue and moeuynge of hembothe is in one maner whan so is that the knyght on the ryght syde Iswhyt/ The lyfte knyght is black/ The moeuynge of hem is suche/ That thewhyte may goo in to the space of the alphyn/ as hit apperyth of theknyght on the right side that is whyte. And hath thre yssues fro hisproper place/ one on his ryght syde in the place to fore the labourer/And hit is well reson that whan the labourer and husbonde man hathlaboured the feldes/ the knyghtes ought to kepe them/ to thentent thatthey haue vitailles for them self and their horses/ The second yssue isthat he may meue hym vnto the black space to fore the notarye or draper. For he is bounden to deffende and kepe them that make his vestementis &couertours necessarye vnto his body. The thirde yssue is that he may goon the lifte syde in to the place to fore y'e marchant whiche is sette tofore the kynge/ the whiche is black/ And the refon is for as moche as heought and is holden to deffende the kynge as well as his owen persone/whan he passith the first draught/ he may goo foure wayes/ And whan heis in the myddes of the tabler he may goo in to . Viii. Places fondry/ towhiche he may renne And in lyke wise may the lyste knyght goo whiche isblack and goth oute of his place in to white/ and in that maner goth theknyght fightynge by his myght/ and groweth and multiplieth in hyspoyntis/ And ofte tymes by them the felde Is wonne or lost/ A knyghtsvertue and myght is not knowen but by his fightynge/ and in hisfightynge he doth moche harme for as moche as his myght extendeth in tofo many poyntis/ they ben in many peryllis in theyr fightynge/ And whanthey escape they haue the honour of the game And thus is hit of eueryman the more vailliant/ the more honoured And he that meketh hym selfofte tymes shyneth clerest. 

[Illustration]

_The sixt chapitre of the fourth tractate treleth of the yssue of therooks and of her progression. _

The moeuynge and yssue of the rooks whiche ben vicairs of the kynge issuche/ that the ryght rook is black and the lifte rook is whyte/ Andwhan the chesse ben sette as well the nobles as the comyn peple first intheir propre places/ The rooks by their propre vertue haue no wey toyssue but yf hyt be made to them by the nobles or comyn peple/ For theyben enclosed in their propre sieges/ And the refon why is suche That foras moche as they ben vicaires lieutenants or comyssioners of the kynge/Theyr auctoryte is of none effecte to fore they yssue out/ And that theyhaue begonne tenhaunce theyr office/ For as longe as they be within thepalais of the kynge/ So longe may they not vse ne execute theyrcommyssion/ But anon as they yssue they may vse theyr auctorite/ And y'eshall vnderstande that their auctorite is grete/ for they represente theþsone of the kynge/ and therfore where the tablier is voyde they mayrenne alle the tablier/ In lyke wyse as they goon thurgh the royame/ andthey may goo as well white as black as well on the right side & lifte asforeward and backward/ And as fer may they renne as they fynde thetablier voyde whether hit be of his aduersaryes as of his owenfelowship/ And whan the rook is in the myddell of the tablier/ he maygoo whiche way he wyll in to foure right lignes on euery side/ and hitis to wete that he may in no wyse goo cornerwyse/ but allway ryght forthgoynge & comynge as afore is sayd/ wherfore all the subgettis of thekinge as well good as euyll ought to knowe by their moeuynge thatauctorite of y'e vicaires and comyssioners ought to be verray truerightwis & Iuste/ and y'e shall vnderstande that they ben stronge andvertuous in bataylle For the two rooks only may vaynquyfshe a kyngetheyr aduersarye and take hym/ and take from hym his lyf and his royame/And this was doon whan chirus kynge of perse And darius kynge of medesslewe baltazar and toke his royame from hym. Whiche was neuew toeuylmoradach vnder whom this game was founden. 

[Illustration]

_The seuenth chapitre of the fourth book treteth of the yssue of thecomyn peple &c. _

One yffue and one mouynge apperteyneth vnto alle the peple/ For they maygoo fro the poynt they stande in at the first meuynge vnto the thirdepoynt right forth to fore them/ & whan they haue so don they mayafterward meue no more but fro one poynt ryght forth in to an other/ Andthey may neuer retorne backward And thus goynge forth fro poynt to poyntThey may gete by vertue and strengthe/ that thynge that the other noblefynde by dignyte/ And yf the knyghtes and other nobles helpe hem thatthey come to the ferthest lygne to fore them where theyr aduersaryeswere sette. They acquyre the dignyte that the quene hath graunted to herby grace/ For yf ony of them may come to thys sayd ligne/ yf he be whiteas labourer draper phisicyen or kepar of the cyte ben/ they reteynesuche dignyte as the quene hath/ for they haue goten hit/ and thanretornynge agayn homeward/ they may goo lyke as it is sayd in thechapitre of the quene And yf ony of the pawns that is black/ as thesmyth the marchant the tauerner and the rybaulde may come wyth outedomage in to the same vtterist ligne/ he shall gete by his vertu thedignyte of the black quene And y'e shall vnderftande/ whan thyse comynpeple meue right forth in her ligne/ and fynde ony noble persone or ofthe peple of their aduersaries sette in the poynt at on ony side to forehym/ In that corner poynt he may take his aduersarye wherther hit be onthe right side or on the lifte/ And the cause is that the aduersariesben suspecyous that the comyn peple lye In a wayte to Robbe her goodesor to take her persones whan they goo vpward right forth. And therforehe may take in the right angle to fore hym one of his aduersaries/ As hehad espied his persone/ And in the lifte angle as robber of his goodes/and whether hit be goynge foreward or retornynge fro black to whyte orwhyte to black/ the pawn must allway goo in his right ligne/ and all waytake in the corner that he findeth in his waye/ but he may not goo onneyther side tyll he hath ben in the furdest ligne of theschequer/ Andthat he hath taken the nature of the draughtes of the quene/ And than heis a fiers/ And than he may goo on alle sides cornerwyse fro poynt topoynt only as the quene doth fightynge and takynge whom he findeth inhis waye/ And whan he is thus comen to the place where y'e nobles hisaduersaries were sette he shall be named white fiers or black fiers/after the poynt that he is in/ and there taketh he the dignyte of thequene &c. And all these thinges may appere to them that beholden y'eplay of the chesse/ and y'e shall vnderstande that no noble man ought tohaue despite of the comyn peple/ for hit hath ben ofte tymes seen/ thatby their vertu & witte/ Diuerce of them haue comen to right highe &grete astate as poopes bisshoppes Emþerours and kynges/ As we haue inthe historye of Dauid that was made kynge/ of a shepherd and one of thecomyn peple/ and of many other &c. And in lyke wyse we rede of thecontrary/ that many noble men haue ben brought to myserye by theirdefaulte As of gyges whiche was right riche of landes and of richessesAnd was so proude that he wente and demanded of the god appollo/ yf therwere ony in the world more riche or more happy than he was/ and than heherde a voys that yssued out of the fosse or pitte of the sacrefices/that a peple named agalaus sophide whiche were poure of goodes and richeof corage was more acceptable than he whiche was kynge And thus the godAppollo alowed more the sapience & the seurte of the poure man and ofhis lityll mayne/ than he dide the astate and the persone of giges ne ofhis ryche mayne/ And hit is more to alowe a lityll thynge seurlypoursiewed than moche good taken in fere and drede And for as moche as aman of lowe lignage is by his vertue enhaunsed so moche the more heought to be glorious and of good renomee/ virgile that was born inlombardye of y'e nacion of mantua and was of lowe and symple lignage/yet he was souerayn in wisedom and science and the moste noble of allethe poetes/ of whome the renome is and shall be durynge the world/ sohit happend that an other poete axid and demanded of hym wherfore hesetted not the versis of homere in his book/ And he answerd that heshold be of right grete strength and force that shold pluck the clubbeout of hercules handes/ And thys suffyceth the state and draughtis ofthe comyn peple &c. 

[Illustration]

_The eyght chapitre and the last of the fourth book of the epilogacionand recapitulation of this book. _

For as moche as we see and knowe that the memorye of the peple is notretentyf but right forgetefull whan some here longe talis & historyeswhiche they can not alle reteyne in her mynde or recorde Therfore I haueput in this present chapitre all y'e thynges abouesayd as shortly as Ihaue conne/ First this playe or game was founden in the tyme ofeuilmerodach kynge of Babilone/ And exerses the philosopher otherwysenamed philometer fonde hit/ And the cause why/ was for the corre3tion ofthe kynge lyke as hit apperith in thre the first chapitres/ for the saidkynge was so tyrannous and felon that he might suffre no correction/ Butslewe them and dide do put hem to deth/ that corre3tid hym/ and had thando put to deth many right wyse men Than the peple beynge sorowfull andryght euyll plesid of this euyll lyf of the kynge prayd and requyred thephilosopher/ that he wolde repryse and telle the kynge of his folye/ Andthan the philosopher answerd that he shold be dede yf he so dide/ andthe peple sayd to hym/ Certes thou oughtest sonner wille to dye tothende that thy renome myght come to the peple/ than the lyf of thekynge shold contynue in euyll for lacke of thy counceyll/ or by faulteof reprehension of the/ or that thou darst not doo and shewe/ that thoufaist/ And whan the philosopher herd this he promisid to the peple y'the wold put hym in deuoyr to correcte hym/ and than he began to thynkein what maner he myght escape the deth and kepe to the peple hispromesse/ And than thus he made in this maner and ordeyned the schequerof. Lxiiii. Poynts as Is afore sayd/ And dide doo make the forme ofchequers of gold and siluer In humayne fygure after the facyons andformes as we haue dyuysid and shiewid to yow to fore in theyr chapitres/And ordeyned the moeuynge and thestate after that it is said in thechapitres of theschesses And whan the philosopher had thus ordeyned theplaye or game/ and that hit plesid alle them that sawe hit/ on a tyme asthe philosopher playd on hit/ the kynge cam and sawe hit and desired toplaye at this game/ And than the phylosopher began tenseigne and techethe kynge the science of the playe & the draughtes. Saynge to hym fyrsthow the kynge ought to haue in hymself pytie. Debonairte and rightwisnesas hit is said to fore in the chapitre of the kynge And he enseygned tohym the estate of the queue and what maners she ought to haue And thanof the alphyns as connceyllours and luges of the royame And after thenature of the knyghtes/ how they ought to be wise. Trewe and curtoys andalle the ordre of knyghthode And than after/ the nature of the vicaires& rooks as hit apperyth in theyr chappitre And after this how the comynpeple ought to goo eche in his office/ And how they ought to serue thenobles. And whan the philosopher had thus taught and enseigned the kyngeand his nobles by the maner of the playe and had rephended hym of hiseuyll maners/ The kynge demanded hym vpon payne of deth to telle hym thecause why and wherfore he had made & founden thys playe and game Andwhat thynge meuyd hym therto/ And than the philosopher constrayned byfere and drede answerd/ that he had promysid to the peple whiche hadrequyred hym that he shold correcte and reprise the kynge of his euyllvices/ but for as moche as he doubtid the deth and had seen that thekynge dide do flee the fages & wyse men/ That were so hardy to blame hymof his vices/ he was in grete anguysshe & sorowe/ how he myght fynde amaner to correcte & reprehende the kynge/ And to saue his owen lyf/ andthus he thought longe & studyed that he fonde thys game or playe/ Whichehe hath do sette forth for to amende and corre3te the lyf of the kyngeand to change his maners/ and he adioustyd with all that he had foundenthis game for so moche as the lordes and nobles habondynge in delyces &richessis/ And enioynge temporell peas shold eschewe ydlenes by playngeof this game/ And for to gyue hem cause to leue her pensisnes andsorowes/ In auysynge & studyynge this game. And whan the kynge had herdalle thyse causes/ He thought that the philosopher had founde a goodmaner of correction/ And than he thanketh hym gretly/ and thus bythenseygnement and lernynge of the phylosopher he changid his lyf hismaners & alle his euyll condicions And by this maner hit happend thatthe kynge that to fore tyme had ben vicyous and disordynate in hisliuyng was made Iuste. And vertuous. Debonayre. Gracious and and full ofvertues vnto alle peple/ And a man that lyuyth in this world withoutvertues liueth not as a man but as a beste[56]/ And therfore my ryghtredoubted lord I pray almighty god to saue the kyng our souerain lord &to gyue hym grace to yssue as a kynge & tabounde in all vertues/ & to beassisted with all other his lordes in such wyse y't his noble royame ofEnglond may prospere & habounde in vertues/ and y't synne may beeschewid iustice kepte/ the royame defended good men rewardedmalefa3tours punysshid & the ydle peple to be put to laboure that hewyth the nobles of the royame may regne gloriously In conquerynge hisrightfull enheritaunce/ that verray peas and charite may endure in bothehis royames/ and that marchandise may haue his cours in suche wise thateuery man eschewe synne/ and encrece in vertuous occupacions/ Prayngeyour good grace to resseyue this lityll and symple book made vnder thehope and shadowe of your noble protection by hym that is your mosthumble seruant/ in gree and thanke And I shall praye almighty god foryour longe lyf & welfare/ whiche he preserue And sende yowthaccomplisshement of your hye noble. Ioyous and vertuous desirs Amen:/:Fynysshid the last day of marche the yer of our lord god. A. Thousandfoure honderd and lxxiiii

[Footnote 1: Blades' "Life of Caxton, " ii. , 12. ]

[Footnote 2: Mr. Blades enumerates only ten, but between the publicationof his work in 1863 and the appearance in 1880 of a more popular one, aneleventh copy turned up. It is described further on. As both editions ofMr. Blades' book are frequently cited, it may be stated here that wherethe reference is to the page only, the one volume edition of 1880is meant. ]

[Footnote 3: Blades, ii. , 12. ]

[Footnote 4: Van der Linde, "Geschichte und Literatur des Schachspiels, "Berlin, 1874, ii. , 125. ]

[Footnote 5: Blades, ii. , 48. ]

[Footnote 6: Blades, ii. , 97. ]

[Footnote 7: Blades, ii. , 95. ]

[Footnote 8: Dibdin's "Bibliotheca Spenceriana, " iv. , 195. ]

[Footnote 9: See Prosper Marchand, "Dict. Hist. , " t. I. , p. 181. ]

[Footnote 10: "Les Bibliothéques Françoises de La Croix du Maine et deDu Verdier. " n. E. Paris, 1782, t. I. , p. 493. ]

[Footnote 11: Dr. Van der Linde, "Geschichte, " 114. ]

[Footnote 12: Cf. Van der Linde, "Geschichte, " and his "Jartausend. "]

[Footnote 13: Jaubert, cited by Van der Linde, "Geschichte, " t. I. , p. 122. ]

[Footnote 14: Blades' "Caxton, " 173-175. ]

[Footnote 15: Blades, i. , 166. ]

[Footnote 16: "Geschichte, " i. , 29. There is a manuscript copy in theChetham Library, Manchester, which he does not name. It came from theFarmer Collection, and is in a volume containing a number of fifteenthcentury Latin tracts. See account of European MSS. In the ChethamLibrary, Manchester, by James Orchard Halliwell, F. R. S. , Manchester, 1842, p. 15. ]

[Footnote 17: "Bulletin du Bibliophile, " 1836-1837, 2ième serie, p. 527. ]

[Footnote 18: "Academy, " July 12, 1881. ]

[Footnote 19: Blades' "Life of Caxton, " vol. Ii. , p. 9. ]

[Footnote 20: "De regimine Principum, " a poem by Thomas Occleve, writtenin the reign of Henry IV. Edited, for the first time, by Thomas Wright, Esq. , M. A. , F. S. A. , &c. Printed for the Roxburghe Club. London: J. B. Nichols, 1860, 410. ]

[Footnote 21: Warton's "History of English Poetry, " 1871, iii. , 44. ]

[Footnote 22: The fires of purgatory are finely and amply illustrated inthe story at p. 110, whilst the power of the saints and the value ofpilgrimages would be impressed upon the hearers by the narrative of themiracles wrought by St. James of Compostella (p. 136)]

[Footnote 23: "Hist. Of Siege of Troye. "]

[Footnote 24: "Works of Polidore Virgil. " London, 1663, p. 95. ]

[Footnote 25: Græsse: Trésor, s. V. Sydrach. See also Warton's "Historyof English Poetry, " 1871, vol. Ii. , p. 144, Hazlitt's "Handbook of EarlyEnglish Literature, " p. 43. ]

[Footnote 26: Hoeffer: "Nouvelle Biographie Universelle. "]

[Footnote 27: Hoeffer, "Nouvelle Biographie Générale, " xxxiii. 818. ]

[Footnote 28: Brunei, "Manuel du Libraire, " s. V. Gesta. ]

[Footnote 29: "Gesta Romanorum, " edited by Herrtage. London, 1879, p. Vii. ]

[Footnote 30: Occleve, "De Regimine Principum, " p. 199. ]

[Footnote 31: "Curiosities of Search Room. " London, 1880, p. 32. ]

[Footnote 32: "Percy Anecdotes: Domestic Life, " iv. 446. ]

[Footnote 33: Dunlop, "History of Fiction, " 1876, p. 259. ]

[Footnote 34: "Latin Stories, " edited by Thomas Wright. Percy Society, 1842, p. 222. ]

[Footnote 35: See "Gesta Romanorum, " edit, by Herrtage, p. 364. ]

[Footnote 36: "On Two Collections of Mediæval Moralized Tales, " by JohnK. Ingram, LL. D. Dublin, 1882, p. 137. ]

[Footnote 37: Muratori: "Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, " t. I. P. 465. ]

[Footnote 38: Wright, "Latin Stories, " p. 235. ]

[Footnote 39: "Francis of Assisi, " Mrs. Oliphant. London, 1874, p. 87. ]

[Footnote 40: "Valerius Maximus, " vi. 2, 3. ]

[Footnote 41: It will be sufficient here to refer for further details tothe following works:--"Geschichte und Literatur des Schachspiels, " vonAntonius van der Linde, Berlin, 1874, 2 vols. ; "Quellenstudien zurGefchichte des Schachspiels, " von Dr. A. V. D. Linde, Berlin, 1881. ]

[Footnote 42: This dedication is omitted in the second edition. ]

[Footnote 43: Second edit. Reads "Thossyce of notaries/ aduocatesscriueners and drapers and clothmakers capitulo iii"]

[Footnote 44: Sec. Edit. Reads "The forme of phisiciens leches spycersand appotycaryes"]

[Footnote 45: Sec. Edit. "Of tauerners hostelers & vitaillers"]

[Footnote 46: Sec. Edit. "Of kepers of townes Receyuers of custum andtollenars"]

[Footnote 47: Sec. Edit. "Of messagers currours Rybauldes and players atthe dyse"]

[Footnote 48: "democrite" in the sec. Edit. ]

[Footnote 49: "beclyppe" in sec. Edit. ]

[Footnote 50: "demotene" in sec. Edit. ]

[Footnote 51: "demostenes" in sec. Edit. ]

[Footnote 52: "blisful" in the sec. Edit. --The reading of the firstedition is evidently a misprint. ]

[Footnote 53: Sec. Edit. "buneuentayns. "]

[Footnote 54: sec. Edit, "y nough. "]

[Footnote 55: sec. Edit. "by the martel or hamer. "]

[Footnore 55: "And therfore &c. " to the end, is wanting in the secondedition, and, instead thereof, the treatife concludes in thefollowing manner--

"Thenne late euery man of what condycion he be that redyth or heriththis litel book redde take therby enfaumple to amende hym. 

Explicit per Caxton. "]

GLOSSARY

Aas; ace. Aduocacions; Latin _advocationis_, assembly of advocates, the bar. Agaynesaynge; gain-saying. Alphyns. The alphin, or elephant, was the piece answering to the bishop in the modern game of chess. Ameruaylled; astonished. Ample, ampole; Latin _ampulla_, vessel for holding liquids. Ancellys; Latin _ancilla_, handmaids, concubines. Appertly; openly. Appetissid; satisfied, satiated. Ardautly [ardantly]; ardently. Arrache; French _arracher_, to pull, to pluck. 

Auenture; adventure. Axe; ask. 

Barate; trouble, suffering. Beaulte; beauty. Benerous; French _bénir_, blessed. Besaunt; besant, a Byzantine gold coin. Beneurte; French _bonheur_, good fortune. Bole; bull. Bourdellys; brothels, stews. Butters; freebooters. Butyn; French _butin_, plunder, spoils. 

Chamberyer; Chambrere; woman servant, concubine. Chequer; chefs-board. Chauffed; French _échauffer_, to warm. Compaignon; French _compagnon_, companion. Connynge; cunning, knowledge. Corrompith; French _corrompre_, to corrupt. Couenable; French _convenable_, proper, fit. Courrours; French _coureurs_, runners, messengers. Curatours; guardians, trustees. 

Dampned; condemned. Debonairly; debonairte, French de ban air, in a good manner, with good will. Depesshed; French depecher, defpatched. Deporte; deport. Devour; French devoir, duty. Dismes; Latin decimal, tenths, or tithes. Disobeyfance; disobedience. Difpendynge; spending. Distemprance; intemperance. Dolabre; Latin dolabra, axe, pick-axe. Doubted; redoubted, of doughty. Drawhtes; draughts, movements. Drof; drove. Dronkelewe; drunkenness. Dronkenshyp; drunkenness. Dyse; dice. 

Enbrasid; embraced. Enpessheth; French empécher, to forbid. Enpoigne; French empoigner, to take in hand. Enfeygned; French enfeigner, to teach. Eschauffed; French échauffer, to warm. Esmoued; French émouvoir, to move. Espicers; French epicier. Espryfed; French epris, taken. Ewrous, in; French heureuse, happy. 

Feet; French fait, act, feat. Ferremens. See Serremens. Flessly; fleshily. Folelarge; prodigal, extravagant. Fumee; French fumee, smoke, vapour. Garnyfche; garnish, adorn, set off. Genere; general. Goddes man; godsman, saint or religious person. Gossibs; gossyb; gossips, gossip. Gree; French gré, liking. Grucche; grudge. Guarisshors; French guèrir, to cure. 

Hauoyr; French avoir, possessions. Herberowe; harbour. Historiagraph; historian. Hoos; hoarse. 

Iape; jape, trick. 

Jolye, lvii; fine (French joli). 

Keruars; carvers. 

Langed; belonged. Latrocynye; Latin latrocinium. Lecherye; lechery. Letted; prevented. 

Male; mail, trunk. Maleheurte; French malheur, misfortune, sorrow. Maronners; mariners. Martel; hammer. Meure; French moeurs, manners. Mordent; biting. Mortifyed; mortified, deadened. Mufyque; mufic. 

Nonne; nun. Noye; annoyance. 

Oeuurages; French outrages, works. Oftencion; show. Olefauntes; elephants. Oughwer; over. Oultrage; outrage. 

Pardurable; everlasting. Parfyt; French parfait, perfeft. Pawon; pawn. Payringe; "without a pareing, " i. E. Undiminished. Peages; peagers; French péage, péager. A local tax on merchandise in paflage for the maintenance of roads and bridges. A gatherer of the péage. Pensee; French pensée, thought. Pourueance; providence. Rawe; rough. Renomee; renown. Roynyous; ruinous. Rybauldes; ribalds. 

Saciat; satiated. Sawlter; þsalter. Scawage; scavage, toll or tax. Semblant; French sembler, to appear, to seem. Serremens; cerements. Siege; feat. Slear; slayer. Spores; spurs. Spyncoppis; spiders. Stracched; stretched. Supplye; French supplier, to supplicate. Syfe; fix. 

Tacches; gifts, bequests. A. S. Tacan, having the double meaning of giving and taking. Tapyte; carpet. Tencyons; temptations. Trycheur; tricker. Tryste; sad. Tutours; tutors, guardians. 

Vignours; vine-dresser. 

Wetyngly; knowingly. 

Yates; gates. Yre; ire. 

INDEX

Abel, Abner, Absalom, Abstrastion, Abysay, Accusation, false, Adam, Adultery, Adversity, Advocates, Ægidius Romanus. See Colonna. Agyos, Albert gauor, Alchorne library, Alexander, Alisander, Alixanander, Alphyn, Altagone, Ambrose, St. , Amity, Ammenhaufen, Ammomtes, Amos florus, Amphicrates, Anastatius, Anaximenes, Andrea, Giovanni, Anger, Anguissola, Anna, Anthonie, Anthonius, Anthony, St. , Anthonyus, Antigonus, Antonius, Antygone, Ape, Apollo, Apollodorus, Apothecaries, Aquinas, St. Thomas, Archezille, Arismetryque, Arispe, Aristides, Aristippus, Aristotle, Armour, Astronomy, Athenes, Aubrey, John, Audley, Lord, Augustine, St. , Augustus, Cæsar, Aulus Gellius, Austyn, Saynt. See Augustine. Auycene, Auycenne, Avarice, Avicenna, Axedrez, Babylon and the Chess-board, Baldness of Cæsar, Baltazar, Bankes, Rev. Edw. , Barbers, women, Bafille le grant, Basil, St. , Bearers of letters, Beauty and chastity. Bees, Begging, Beringen, H. Von, Bernard, W. , Bernard, St. , Biblical allusions, Bibliography of the Chess-book, Birds, Blades, William, Blindness, philosophical, Blind, raised letters for, Boasting, Bocchus, Bodleian Library, Body of Man a castle of Jefus, Boece, Boecius, Boethius, Boneuentan, Borrowing, Boys, R. , Breath, stinking, Brevio, Giovanni, Bribery, Bromyard, John of, Brudgys. See Bruges. Bruges, Brunet, J. C. , Brutus, Burgundy, Duchess of, Bull of copper, Bulls, Cadrus, duc of athenes, Cæsolis. See Cessoles. Cain, Calderino, Giovanni, Calengius, Cambridge Public Library, Cambyfes, Cantanus, Capayre, Carpenters, Carthage, Carvers, Cassalis. See Cessoles. Cassiodorus, Castle of Jesus Christ, Castulis. See Cessoles. Casulis. See Cessoles. Cato, Cauftons, Caxton, William, prologue of Chess-book, epilogue, finished in 1474, his account of the translation, printed at Bruges, translated from the French, adapts De Vignay's dedications, translates Vegetius, chief dates of his life, opinion of lawyers, epilogue to Chefs-book, editions of it, representative of a new time for literature, at GhentCaym. Cesar. Cesolis. See Cessoles. Cessole. See Cessoles. Cessoles, Jacques de. Cessulis. See Cessoles. Cesulis. See Cessoles. Cezolis, de. See Cessoles. Cezoli. See Cessoles. Cham. Changers. Charlemagne. Chastity. Chequer. Chess-book, copies of first edition described; prices at which it has sold; where printed; second edition described; when printed; prices at which it has sold; translated from the French; Ferron's version; version in French verse; De Vignay's version. Chess, game of. -- how the board is made. -- manner of its invention. -- moralized. -- movements of pieces. Chetham Library. Child hostages. Children, ungrateful. Chivalry. Cicero. Cities, guarding. Clarence, George, Duke of. Claudian. Clip. Cloth cutters. -- merchants. -- workers. Colatyne. Colonna, Guido. Common life. Common people; not to be despised; not to be at councils; those who have become great. -- profit. -- weal. Commonwealth. Communities. Community of goods. Contemplation. Continence. Connaxa, Jehan. Cordwainers. Cossoles, de. See Cessoles. Council, women apt in. Courage. Courcelles, de. See Cessoles. Couriers. Covetousness. Crafts. Crete. Crime and punishment. Crown apostrophized. Cruelty. Cunliffe, H. -- J. Cures, accidental and scientific. Curse. Cursus. Curtius Marcus. Curtius Quintus. Customary and natural law. Customers. Cyrurgyens. Cyrus. 

Dacciesole. See Cessoles. Damiani, Cardinal, Damiano, Damocles, Damon, Dares (Darius), Daughters and their ancestresses, Daughter, dutiful, David, Death, from joy, Defence of the people, Defortes, Delves, Sir Thomas, Demetrius Phalerus, Democrion, Democritus, Democritus of Abdera, Demothenes, Denys, De Vignay. See Vignay. Devonshire, Duke of, Dialogus creaturarumDibdin, T. F. , Dice, play for a foul, Didymus, Diogenes, Diogenes Lærtius, Diomedes, Diomedes, a "theefe of the see, "Dion Cassius, Dionysius, Dionyse, Disobedient children, Divine right, Dog and the Shadow, Drapers, Draughts of the Chess, Drunkenness, danger of, Duele, Dunlop, J. , Durand, Du Verdier, Dydymus, Dyers, Dyna, Dyonyse, Ebert, Ecclesiastes, Edward I. , Edward IV. , Education of kings, Education of physician, Egidius Romanus. See Colonna. Election, or hereditary succession?Elephants, Elimandus, Emelie, Emmerancian, Emyon, England's good old times, Enulphus, Envy, Ermoaldus, Ethics, Eustace, Guillaum, Eve, Evilmerodach, Example, Fabian, Fabius, Fabricius, Faith, Faron. See Ferron. Fear, Fears of a tyrant, Feron. See Ferron. Ferron, Jean, Fevre, Raoul le, Fidelity, Figgins, V. , Florus, FollyFoolsForbes, D. ForgersFornierFortune misdoubtedFramosianFrancis of AssisiFrederick II. Friend in needFriends, many and few and enemiesFriendshipFrugalityFullers

Gaguin, RobertGalenGalerenGalyeneGame at ChesseGanazath, John ofGauntGauchay, H. DeGauchy, H. DeGazée, AngelinGenoaGeometryGereon, St. Gesta RomanorumGhent, White-friarsGibbetGiftsGildoGilles de Rome. See Colonna. GluttonyGodachesGodebertGolden LegendGoldsmithsGood old timesGoribertGoribaldGovernment of wise menGræsse, J. G. T. GrammariansGregory NazianzenGrenville LibraryGrymaldGuards of citiesGuests and hostsGuidoGuilt not to be punished in wrathGuyeGyles of Regement of PryncesGyges

Hain, LudoviciHakam II. Halliwell, J. O. HamHanniballHaroun-al-RashidHateHazlitt, W. C. HealthHelemand. See Helinand. Helemond. See Helinand. Helemonde, See Helinand. Helimond. See Helinand. HelinandHelmond. See Helinand. Heredity, influence ofHereford, N. DeHermitsHerodes AntipasHeredotusHerrtage, S. J. HippocratesHoefferHolford, J. Holy MawleHoly ScriptureHomerHonestyHorse and the thiefHospitallersHosts, duties ofHound and the cheeseHunger and piety

IdolsIene (Genoa)Inglis LibraryIngram, Prof. InnsInns, thievish servantsInstaulosusIntemperance

James of CompostellaJaubertJean II. Of FranceJehanne de BorgoigneJeromeJoabJohn BaptistJohn of GanazathJohn the Monke (Giovanni Andrea)JosephusJovinianJoy, its dangersJherome. See Jerome. Judas MachabeusJudges' duties skinJugglersJulius CæsarJustice

Keepers of townsKing, estate and duties of should take council unpleasantness of the officeKings, unletteredKnight, education estate and dutiesKnight's followersKöpke, Dr. E. 

Labourers' office and dutiesLa Croix du MaineLangley, JohnLarge, Alderman RobertLatrunculiLaws like cobwebsLaw courtsLawyersLear and his daughtersLeber, C. LecheryLegenda AureaLegende DoréeLendingLetter-carriersLiberalityLiber de Moribus Hominum. See Cessoles. Lineage, high and lowLinde, Dr. A. VanLigurgyusLiteratureLivyLogiciansLotLoveLove of the commonwealLove of natureLowndes, W. T. LoyaltyLucanLucretiaLutherLuxuryLycurgusLydgateLyingLynaLylimachus

MacrobiusMadden, Sir F. Mainwaring, Sir H. MagnanimityMalecheteMansion, Colard, teacher and partner of CaxtonMarchand, ProsperMarinersMarshalsMartialMasonsMeats and DrinksMedicinesMennel, Dr. J. MeonMerchandiseMerchant, anecdoteMerchant, dishonestMerchant who valued his good nameMerchantsMerchants of Bandach and EgipteMerciallMerculianMercyMessengersMetalworkersMeung, Jehan de_Mollis Aer_Money, its forceMoneyersMoney-lenders, _Mulier_, derivation ofMuratoriMusic

Natural lawsNature, rule ofNeroNicephorusNoahNobilityNoblemenNogaretNormandie, Duc deNotaries, office ofNovellaNun, anecdote of a

OathsOaths of princesOccleveOctauianOddraleOffice no inheritanceOfficesOfficialsOldbuck, JonathanOriginalityOsma, Bishop ofOvid

PalamedesPapirionPapirusParadise lostPardoning a mother for the daughter's sakePassage moneyPatharichPaul, St. Paul, the historiagraphPaulus, DiaconusPaulynePawnPembroke, Earl ofPenapionPercy AnecdotesPers Alphons. See Petrus AlphonsusPetit, L. M. Petrus Alphonsus, Philarde, Philip Augustus, Philippe le Bel, Philippe le Hardi, Philomenus, Philostratus, Philometor, Phisias. See Pythias. Physicians, Physiognomy, Pigmentaries, Pilgrimages, Piron, Pirre, Pitman, Isaac, Pity, Plaisters, Plato, Polygamy, Polygamy or polyandry?Pompeye, Porters of gates, Porus, Poverty, Princes' oaths and promises, Prisoners, Prodigality, Promises, Proverbs, Ptolome, Publius Ceser, Purgatory, Pyrrhus, Pythias, Quaritch, Bernard, Quarrels, Queen, estate and duties, Quintilian, Quintus Catullus, Reason, Regimine Principum. See Colonna. Religion, Religious communities, Renatus, Vegetius Flavius, Reyna Vezina, Ribalds, Riches, Rivers, Robbers, Robbery, Romanus, Egidius. See Colonna. Romans, character of, Rome, Gilles de. See Colonna. Rook, Rook, chess-piece, Rooks, form and manners, Sallust, Scenocrates, Schoolmaster who betrays the children, Scipio, Scott, Sir Walter, Scriveners, Scylla, Secrets, Semiramis, Seneca, Septemulle, Servants, Sesselis. See Cessoles. Shakespeare, Shamefastness, Scheible, J. , Ships and shipwrecks, Sidrac, Slander, Sloane, John, Smith, office and duty of, Smith, R. , Snuffy Davy, Sobriety, Socrates, Solinus, Solomon, Solynus, Speculum Laicorum, Spelling reform, Spencer, Earl, Spicers, Stars and clouds, Stephan, St. James of Compostella, Suicide, Surgeons, Syrens, Fountain of the, Symmachus, Syrians, Tacitus, Tailors, Tarascon, Bertrand de, Tarchus, Tarentum, Tarpeia, Tarquin, Tartar women go to the wars, Tassile, Taverners, Tessalis. See Ceffoles. Tessellis. See Ceffoles. Themes, Themistides, Theodorus Cyrenaicus, Theodosius, Theophrastus, Theryle, Thessolonia, J. De. See Cessoles. Thessolonica, J. De. See Cessoles. Thessolus, J. De. See Cessoles. Thieves, Thievish inn servants, Thobie, Thorn's Anecdotes and Traditions, Tiberius, Timon, Tinque, Titus, Toll-gatherers, Torture, Trajan, Treachery, 60, 61. Trevisa, John, Troy, and the invention of Chess, Troy-book, Truphes of the Philosophers, Trustee, dishonest, Truth, Tullius. See Cicero. Turgeius Pompeius, Tyranny, Tyrus. See Cyrus. 

Valere. See Valerius Maximus. Valerian, Valerius Maximus, Valerye. See Valerius Maximus. Varro, Vergil, Polydore, Vespasian, Vessels, earthen, Victory, Victuallers, Vignay, Jehan de, Vine legend, Virgil, Virginity, Visions, Vitas PatrumVow of a woman

Wages should be paid punctuallyWarWarton, T. Warwick, George, Earl ofWeaversWeft, J. White Friars at GhentWilbraham, RogerWilson, "Snuffy Davy"WineWine forbidden to womenWine, origin ofWisdomWoollen merchantsWorkmenWorkmen, office and dutyWoman advice education vow and lawyers dangers abroad forbidden to drink wine going to the warsWomen barbersWright, T. 

XanthippéXenocratesXenophonXerxes the philosopher

YlyeYouth and governmentYpocrasYsaye