THe holy appostle and doctour of the peple saynt
Poule sayth in his epystle . Alle that is wryten
is wryten vnto our doctryne and for our lernyng
. Wherfore many noble clerkes haue endeuoyred
them to Wryte and compyle many notable werkes and
historyes to the ende that it myght come to the knowlege
and vnderstondyng of suche as ben ygnoraunt . Of which
the nombre is infenyte / And accordyng to the same saith
Salamon . that the nombre of foles . is infenyte / And
emong alle other good werkys . It is a werke of ryght
special recomendacion to enforme · and to late vnderstonde
wysedom and vertue vnto them that be not lernyd ne can
not dyscerne wysedom fro folye . Thēne emonge whom
there was an excellent doctour of dyuynyte in the royame
of fraunce of the ordre of thospytal of Saynt Johns of
Jerusalem whiche entended the same and hath made a
look of the chesse moralysed . whiche at suche tyme as I
was resident in brudgys in the counte of Flaundres cam
in to my handes / whiche whan I had redde and ouerseen /
me semed ful necessarye for to be had in englisshe / And
in eschewyng of ydlenes And to thende that sōme which
haue not seen it / ne vnderstonde frenssh ne latyn . J delybered
in myself to translate it in to our maternal tonge,
And whan I so had achyeued the sayd translacion / J
dyde doo sette in enprynte a certeyn nombre of theym /
Whiche anone were depesshed and solde . wherfore by cause
thys sayd book is ful of holsom wysedom and requysyte
vnto euery astate and degree / J haue purposed to
enprynte it / shewyng therin the figures of suche persons
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