ifte/ And the cause is that the aduersaries
ben suspecyous that the comyn peple lye In a wayte to Robbe her goodes
or to take her persones whan they goo vpward right forth. And therfore
he may take in the right angle to fore hym one of his aduersaries/ As he
had 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 or
whyte to black/ the pawn must allway goo in his right ligne/ and all way
take in the corner that he findeth in his waye/ but he may not goo on
neyther side tyll he hath ben in the furdest ligne of theschequer/ And
that he hath taken the nature of the draughtes of the quene/ And than he
is a fiers/ And than he may goo on alle sides cornerwyse fro poynt to
poynt only as the quene doth fightynge and takynge whom he findeth in
his waye/ And whan he is thus comen to the place where y'e nobles his
aduersaries 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 the
quene &c. And all these thinges may appere to them that beholden y'e
play of the chesse/ and y'e shall vnderstande that no noble man ought to
haue despite of the comyn peple/ for hit hath ben ofte tymes seen/ that
by their vertu & witte/ Diuerce of them haue comen to right highe &
grete astate as poopes bisshoppes Emerours and kynges/ As we haue in
the historye of Dauid that was made kynge/ of a shepherd and one of the
comyn peple/ and of many other &c. And in lyke wyse we rede of the
contrary/ that many noble men haue ben brought to myserye by their
defaulte As of gyges whiche was right riche of landes and of richesses
And was so proude that he wente and demanded of the god appollo/ yf ther
were ony in the world more riche or more happy than he was/ and than he
herde 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 riche
of corage was more acceptable than he whiche was kynge And thus the god
Appollo alowed more the sapience & the seurte of the poure man and of
his lityll mayne/ than he dide the astate and the persone of giges ne of
his ryche mayne/ And hit is more to alowe a lityll thynge seurly
poursiewed than moche good taken in fere and drede And for as moche as a
man of lowe lignage is by his vertue enhaunsed so moche the more he
ought to be glorious and of good renomee/ virgile that was born in
lombardye of y'e nacion