born in lombardye 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 alle the poetes/ of whome the renome is and shall be durynge the world/ so hit happend that an other poete axid and demanded of hym wherfore he setted not the versis of homere in his book/ And he answerd that he shold be of right grete strength and force that shold pluck the clubbe out of hercules handes/ And thys suffyceth the state and draughtis of the comyn peple &c.

[Illustration]

The eyght chapitre and the last of the fourth book of the epilogacion and recapitulation of this book.

For as moche as we see and knowe that the memorye of the peple is not retentyf but right forgetefull whan some here longe talis & historyes whiche they can not alle reteyne in her mynde or recorde Therfore I haue put in this present chapitre all y’e thynges abouesayd as shortly as I haue conne/ First this playe or game was founden in the tyme of euilmerodach kynge of Babilone/ And exerses the philosopher otherwyse named philometer fonde hit/ And the cause why/ was for the corre3tion of the kynge lyke as hit apperith in thre the first chapitres/ for the said kynge was so tyrannous and felon that he might suffre no correction/ But slewe them and dide do put hem to deth/ that corre3tid hym/ and had than do put to deth many right wyse men Than the peple beynge sorowfull and ryght euyll plesid of this euyll lyf of the kynge prayd and requyred the philosopher/ that he wolde repryse and telle the kynge of his folye/ And than the philosopher answerd that he shold be dede yf he so dide/ and the peple sayd to hym/ Certes thou oughtest sonner wille to dye to thende that thy renome myght come to the peple/ than the lyf of the kynge shold contynue in euyll for lacke of thy counceyll/ or by faulte of reprehension of the/ or that thou darst not doo and shewe/ that thou faist/ And whan the philosopher herd this he promisid to the peple y’t he wold put hym in deuoyr to correcte hym/ and than he began to thynke in what maner he myght escape the deth and kepe to the peple his promesse/ And than thus he made in this maner and ordeyned the schequer of. lxiiii. poynts as Is afore sayd/ And dide doo make the forme of chequers of gold and siluer In humayne fygure after the facyons and formes 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 the chapitres of theschesses And whan the philosopher had thus ordeyned the playe or game/ and that hit plesid alle them that sawe hit/ on a tyme as the philosopher playd on hit/ the kynge cam and sawe hit and desired to playe at this game/ And than the phylosopher began tenseigne and teche the kynge the science of the playe & the draughtes.  Saynge to hym fyrst how the kynge ought to haue in hymself pytie. debonairte and rightwisnes as hit is said to fore in the chapitre of the kynge And he enseygned to hym the estate of the queue and