Game and Playe of the Chesse: A Verbatim Reprint of the First Edition, 1474Jacobus, de Cessolis, active 1288-1322
Philosophy
Game and Playe of the Chesse: A Verbatim Reprint of the First Edition, 1474
Jacobus, de Cessolis, active 1288-1322
Chess -- Early works to 1800
to do no thynge ayenst his wyll/ but to do alle thynge nobly, meurely.
fermely. and honestly And yf he haue enuye vpon ony. hit is folye For he
on whom he hath enuye is more honest and of more hauoir than he whiche
is so enuyous/ For a man may haue none enuye on an other/ but be cause
he is more fortunat and hath more grace than hym self/ For enuye is a
sorowe of corage y't cometh of dysordynance of the prouffit of another
man And knowe thou verily that he that is full of bounte shall neuer
haue enuye of an other/ But thenuyous man seeth and thynketh alleway
that euery man is more noble/ And more fortunat that hymself And sayth
alleway to hymself/ that man wynneth more than I/ and myn neyghebours
haue more plente of bestes/ and her thynges multiplye more than myn/ and
therfore thou oughtest knowe that enuye is the most grettest dedely
synne that is/ for she tormenteth hym that hath her wythin hym/ wyth
oute tormentynge or doyng ony harme to hym/ on whome he hath enuye. And
an enuyous man hath no vertue in hymself/ for he corrumpeth hymself for
as moche as he hateth allway the welthe and vertues of other/ and thus
ought they to kepe them that they take none euyll suspec[=o]n For a man
naturally whan his affection hath suspecion in ony man that he weneth
that he doth/ hit semeth to hym verily that it is doon. And hit is an
euyll thynge for a man to haue suspecion on hymfelf/ For we rede that
dionyse of zecyll a tyrant Was so suspecionous that he had so grete fere
and drede For as moche as he was hated of all men/ that he putte his
frendes oute of theyr offices that they had/ And put other strangers in
theyr places for to kepe his body/ and chese suche as were ryght Cruell
and felons/ And for fere and doubte of the barbours/ he made hys
doughters to lerne shaue and kembe/ And whan they were grete. He wold
not they shold vse ony yron to be occupied by them/ but to brenne and
senge his heeris/ and manaced them and durst not truste in them/ And in
lyke wyse they had none affiance in hym And also he dyde do enuyronne
the place where he laye wyth grete diches and brode lyke a castell/ And
he entryd by a drawbrygge whiche closyd after hym/ And hys knyghtes laye
wyth oute wyth his gardes whiche wacchid and kept straytly thys
forteresse/ And whan plato sawe thys Dionyse kynge of cezille thus
enuyronned and set aboute wyth gardes & wacche-men for the cause of his
suspecion sayd to hym openly to fore all men kinge why hast thou don so
moche euyll & harme/ that the behoueth to be kept wyth so moche peple/
And therfore I saye that hit apperteyneth not to ony man that wylle
truly behaue hym self in his werkis to be suspecyous/ And also they
ought to be stronge and seure in theyr werkes/ And specyally they that
ben maysters and maronners on the see/ for yf they be tumerous and
ferdfull they shold make a ferde them that ben in theyr shippis/ that
knowe not the paryls/ And so hit might happene that by that drede and
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