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