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 doun and ouerthrowe
hit How well that the lyon be the strengest beste/
yet somtyme a lityll birde eteth hym/ The seconde
cause wherfore this playe was founden and maad/ was
for to kepe hym from ydlenesse/ whereof senecque saith
unto lucylle 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 to goo/ the same
wyse the lyf is not gyuen for to lyue but for to doo
well and good/ And therfore secondly the philosopher
fonde this playe for to kepe the peple from ydlenes/.
For there is moche peple. Whan so is that they
be fortunat in worldly goodes that they drawe them
to ease and ydlenes wherof cometh ofte tymes many
euyllys and grete synnes And by this ydlenes the herte
is quenchid wherof cometh desperacion/ The thirde
cause is that euery man naturelly desireth to knowe
and to here noueltees and tydynges. For this
cause they of atthenes studyed as we rede/ and for
as the corporall or bodyly fight enpessheth and letteth
otherwhyle the knowleche of subtyll thinges/ therfore
we rede that [48] democrion the phylosopher put oute
his owen eyen/ for as moche as he myght haue the better
entendement and understondynge/ Many haue ben made
blynde that were grete clerkis in lyke wyse as was
dydymus bisshop of Alixandrye/ that how well that
he sawe not yet he was so grete a clerk/ that gregore
nazan & saynt Ierome that were clerkes and maystres
to other/ came for to be his scolers & lerned of hym
And saynt Anthonie The grete heremyte cam for to see
hym on a tyme/ and amonge all other thynges/ he demanded
hym yf he were not gretly displesid that he was blynde
and sawe not. And he answerd that he was gretly