y'e sawe gladly the
Inhabitants of y'e same enformed in good. vertuous. prouffitable and
honeste maners. In whiche your noble persone wyth guydyng of your hows
haboundeth/ gyuyng light and ensample unto all other/ Therfore I haue
put me in deuour to translate a lityll book late comen in to myn handes
out of frensh in to englisshe/ In which I fynde thauctorites. dictees.
and stories of auncient Doctours philosophes poetes and of other wyse
men whiche been recounted & applied unto the moralite of the publique
wele as well of the nobles as of the comyn peple after the game and
playe of the chesse/ whiche booke right puyssant and redoubtid lord I
haue 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 strange
regions as with in the royame of england gloriously unto your honour and
lande/ which god multeplye and encrece But to thentent that other of
what estate or degre he or they stande in may see in this sayd lityll
book/ yf they gouerned themself as they ought to doo/ wherfor my right
dere redoubted lord I requyre & supplye your good grace not to desdaygne
to resseyue this lityll sayd book in gree and thanke/ as well of me your
humble 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 the
best wyse I can/ ought to be reputed for the fayte and dede/ And for
more clerely to procede in this sayd book I haue ordeyned that the
chapitres ben sette in the begynnynge to thende that y'e may see more
playnly the mater wherof the book treteth &c.

[PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.]

The holy appostle and doctour of the peple saynt Poule sayth in his
epystle. Alle that is wryten is wryten unto our doctryne and for our
lernyng. Wherfore many noble clerkes haue endeuoyred them to wryte and
compyle many notable werkys and historyes to the ende that it myght come
to the knowlege and vnderstondyng of suche as ben ygnoraunt. Of which
the nombre is infenyte/ And accordyng to the same saith Salamon. that
the nombre of foles. is infenyte/ And emong alle other good werkys. It
is a werke of ryght special recomendacion to enforme and to late
vnderstonde wysedom and vertue vnto them that be not lernyd ne can not
dyscerne wysedom fro folye. Th[=e]ne emonge whom there was an excellent
doctour of dyuynyte in the royame