d nouelte of
the playe/ And desired to playe agaynst y'e philosopher/ The philosopher
answerd and sayd to hym that hit myght not be doon. But yf he first
lerned the playe/ The kynge said hit was reson and that he wold put him
to the payne to lerne hit Than the philosopher began to teche hym and to
shewe hym the maner of the table of the chesse borde and the chesse
meyne/ And also the maners and condicions of a kynge of the nobles and
of the comun peple and of theyr offices and how they shold be touchid
and drawen. And how he shold amende hymself & become vertuous And whan
this kynge herde that he repreuyd hym/ He demanded hym upon payne of
deth to tell hym wherfore he had founden and made this playe/ And he
answerd my ryght dere lord and kynge/ the grettest and most thinge that
I desire is that thou haue in thy self a gloryous and vertuous lyf And
that may I not see/ but yf thou be endoctrined and well manerd and that
had/ so mayst thou be belouyd of thy peple Thus than I desire y't thou
haue other gouernement than thou hast had/ And that thou haue upon thy
self first seygnorye and maistrye suche as thou hast upon other by force
and not by right Certaynly hit is not ryght that a man be mayster ouer
other and comandour/ whan he can not rewle ner may rewle himself and
that his vertues domyne aboue his vices/. For seygnourye by force and
wylle may not longe endure/ Than thus may thou see oon of the causes why
and wherfore I haue founden and maad thys playe/ whyche is for to
correcte and repent the of thy tyrannye and vicyous lyuynge/ .For alle
kynges specyally ought to here her corrygeours or correctours and her
corrections to hold and kepe in mynde/ In lyke wyse as Valerius
reherceth that the kynge Alixandre had a noble and renomed knyght that
sayd in repreuynge of Alixandre that he was to moche couetous and in
especyall of the honours of the world/ And sayd to hym yf the goddes had
maad thy body as greet as is thy herte Alle the world coude not holde
the/. For thou holdest in thy right hand alle the Oryent/ And in thy
lyfte hande the occident/ syn than hit is so/ or thou art a god or a man
or nought/ yf thou be god doo than well and good to the peple as god
doth/ And take not from them that they ought to haue and is theyres. yf
thou be a man/ thinke that thou shalt dye/ And than thou shalt doo noon
euyll/ yf thou be nought forgete thy self/ ther is no thynge so stronge
and ferme/ but that somtyme a feble thinge casteth dou