TThe readers of the "Antiquary" will remember the anecdote told with so much effusion by Jonathan Oldbuck. '"Davy Wilson," he said, "commonly called Snuffy Davy, from his inveterate addiction to black rappee, was the very prince of scouts for searching blind alleys, cellars, and stalls, for rare volumes. He had the scent of a slow-hound, sir, and the snap of a bull-dog. He would detect you an old black-letter ballad among the leaves of a law-paper, and find an editio princeps under the mask of a school Corderius. Snuffy Davy bought the 'Game of Chess, 1474,' the first book ever printed in England, from a stall in Holland for about two groschen, or two-pence of our money. He sold it to Osborne for twenty pounds, and as many books as came to twenty pounds more. Osborne re-sold this inimitable windfall to Dr. Askew for sixty guineas. At Dr. Askew's sale," continued the old gentleman, kindling as he spoke, "this inestimable treasure blazed forth in its full value and was purchased by Royalty itself for one hundred and seventy pounds! Could a copy now occur, Lord only knows," he ejaculated with a deep sigh and lifted-up hands, "Lord only knows what would be its ransom; and yet it was originally secured, by skill and research, for the easy equivalent of two-pence sterling."'

Sir Walter Scott in a footnote adds:--"This bibliomaniacal anecdote is literally true; and David Wilson, the author need not tell his brethren of the Roxburghe and Bannatyne Clubs, was a real personage." Mr. Blades, whose iconoclastic temper is not moved to mercy even by this good story, says that although it "looks like a true bibliographical anecdote," its appearance is deceptive, and that "not a single statement is founded on fact."^[1]

Jonathan Oldbuck did not venture to estimate the sum that would ransom a copy of the "Game of Chesse," and the world of the bibliomania has moved even since his days, so that prices which seemed fabulous, and were recounted with a sort of awe-struck wonder, have been surpassed in these latter days, and the chances of any successor of "Snuffy Davy" buying a Caxton for two groschen have been greatly reduced.

According to Mr. William Blades, our latest and best authority on the subject, there are but ten copies known of the first edition of the "Chesse" book.^[2] There is a perfect copy in the King's Library in the British Museum. This is what ought to be Snuffy Davy's copy. A previous owner--R. Boys--has noted that it cost him 3s. The copy in the Grenville Library has the table and last leaf supplied in facsimile. The copy in the Public Library at Cambridge is defective to the extent of five leaves. The Bodleian copy wants the last leaf. The Duke of Devonshire's copy formerly belonged to Roger Wilbraham, and the first and eighth leaves are supplied in facsimile. The exemplar belonging to the Earl of Pembroke is perfect, "but on weak and stained paper." Earl Spencer's copy is perfect, clean, and unusually large. Mr. H. Cunliffe's copy came from the Alchorne and Inglis Libraries, and wants the first two printed leaves, two near the end, and the last two. Mr. J. Holford's copy is perfect and in its original binding. It was once in the library of Sir Henry Mainwaring of Peover Hall, as his bookplate shows. On a fly-leaf is written, "Ex dono ThomÆ Delves, Baronett 1682." The copy belonging to the Rev. Edward Bankes is imperfect, and wants the dedicatory leaf and is slightly wormed.

The book, when complete, consists of eight quaternions or eight leaves folded together and one quinternion or section of five sheets folded together, making in all seventy-four leaves, of which the first and last are blank. The only type used throughout is that styled No. 1 by Mr. Blades. The lines are not spaced out; the longest measure five inches; a full page has thirty-one lines. Without title-page, signatures, numerals, or catch-words. The volume, as already mentioned, begins with a blank leaf, and on the second recto is Caxton's prologue, space being left for a two-line initial, without director. The text begins with a dedication:--"(T)o the right noble/ right excellent & vertuous prince George duc of Clarence Erl of Warwyk and of Salisburye/ grete chamberlayn of Englond & leutenant of Ireland oldest broder of kynge Edward by the grace of god kynge of England and of France/ your most humble servant william Caxton amonge other of your servantes sendes unto yow peas. helthe. Joye and victorye upon your Enemyes/ Right highe puyssant and." The text ends on the seventy-third recto, thus:--"And sende yow thaccomplisshement of your hye noble. Joyous and vertuous desirs Amen:/: Fynysshid the lastday of Marche the yer of our lord god. a. thousand foure honderd and LXXIIII. *. *. *. *." The seventy-fourth leaf is blank.

It is unnecessary to say that this book seldom comes into the market. The recorded sales are very few. In 1682 R. Smith sold a perfect copy for 13s. 2d. In 1773 J. West's copy was bought by George III. for.£32 0s. 6d. Alchorne's imperfect copy was bought by Inglis for £54 12s., and at the sale of his books found a purchaser in Lord Audley for £31 10s., and was again transferred, in 1855, to the possession of Mr. J. Cunliffe for £60 l0s. 0d.^[3] Mr. J. Holford's copy was bought at the Mainwaring sale for £101.

The last copy offered for sale was described in one of Mr. Bernard Quaritch's catalogues issued in 1872, and the account given by that veteran bibliopole is well worth reproduction.

CAXTON'S GAME AND PLAY OF CHESS MORALIZED, (translated 1474) FIRST EDITION, folio, 65 LEAVES (of the 72), bound in old ruffia gilt, £400.

An extremely large, though somewhat imperfect copy of

THE FIRST BOOK PRINTED IN ENGLAND, from Caxton's press.

Mr. Blades quotes 9 copies (4 perfect, 5 imperfect), the present is the 10th known copy, and is TALLER than even the Grenville--hitherto the tallest known copy; my copy measures 11-1/8 inch in height by 8 in width, whilst the Grenville copy (also imperfect) is only 11 inches high.

COLLATION of my copy:

My copy wants therefore 7 leaves, the two blank ones being out of question. The imperfections include the first leaf, and two leaves in the second chapitre of the fourth tractate, the end is all right. I should be glad to hear of any IMPERFECT COPY of this work, which would supply me with what I want. In the mean time this precious relic of the Infancy of Printing in England can be feen by BUYERS of Rare books.

See Dibdin's Bibl. Spenc. IV. p. 189.

No copy of this edition has been sold for years; in 1813, Alchorne's copy, wanting first two leaves, the last two leaves and two leaves in the second chapter of the fourth tractate, fetched at Evans', £54. 12s. The value of this class of books has much risen since then, and may now be considered, as ten times greater.

In comparing the first edition of "Caxton's Game of Chess" with the second, one perceives many variations in the spelling. I confider the first edition to be the more interesting, for a variety of reasons:

1. It is the first book printed in England. 2. It is the Editio princeps of the English version. 3. It shows the Art of Printing in its crudest form. 4. It has a Post-script not in the second edition.

Both editions run on together to the passage on the last page of the second edition:

[Blackletter: And a mon that lyvyth in thys world without vertues lyveth not as a man but as a beste.]

The first edition ends thus:

[Blackletter: And therefore my right redoubted Lord I pray almighty god to save the Kyng our soverain lord to gyve him grace to yssue as a Kynge tabounde in all vertues/ to be assisted with all other his lordes in such wyse yn his noble royame of England may prospere/ habounde in vertues and yn synne may be eschewid justice kepte/ the royame defended good men rewarded malefactours punyshid the ydle peple to be put to laboure that he wyth the nobles of the royame may regne gloriously.

In conquerynge his rightfull inheritaunce / that verraypeas and charitie may endure in both his royames and that marchandise may have his cours in suche wise that every man eschewe synne/ and encrese in vertuous occupacions / Praynge your good grace to resseyve this lityll and symple book made under the hope and shadow of your noble protection by hym that is your most humble servant in gree and thanke. And I shall praye almighty god for your long lyf & welfare / which he preserve And sende now thaccomplishment of your hye noble joyous and vertuous desirs Amen:":

Fynysshid the last day of marche the yer of our lord god a. thousand four hondred and lxxiiii. *.:.:.*.]

The second edition ends thus:

[Blackletter: Thenne late every man of what condycion he be that redyth or herith this litel book redde. take therby ensaumple to amend hym. Explicit per Caxton.]

This copy came from the library of Mr. L.M. Petit.^[4]

It will be noticed that Mr. Quaritch calls the editio princeps of Caxton's "Game and Play of the Chesse" the first book printed in England. This was the general opinion of bibliographers before the investigations of Mr. Blades. Dibdin, although he seems to have had some doubt, pronounced in favour of that view. Yet it is clearly erroneous. The only materials for judgment are those afforded by the colophon and the prologue to the second edition, with the silent but eloquent testimony of typography. Caxton ends the first edition with the words:--"Fynysshid the last day of Marche the yer of our lord god a thousand four hondred and LXXIIII." The word "fynysshid," as Mr. Blades observes, "has doubtless the same signification here as in the epilogue to the second book of Caxton's translation of the Histories of Troy, 'Begonne in Brugis, contynued in Gaunt and finysshed in Coleyn,' which evidently refers to the translation only. The date, 1475-6, has been affixed, because in the Low Countries at that time the year commenced on Easter-day; this in 1474 fell on April 10th, thus giving, as the day of the conclusion of the translation, 31 March 1475, the same year being the earliest possible period of its appearance as a printed book." Then there is Caxton's own racy account of the circumstances under which the book first appeared:--

"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 Th[=e]ne emonge whom there was an excellent doctour of dyuynyte in the royame of fraunce of the ordre of thospytal of Saynt Johns of Jherusalem which entended the same and hath made a book of the chesse moralysed whiche at suche tyme as I was resident in brudgys in the counte of Flaundres cam into 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 s[=o]me which haue not seen it/ ne [=v]nderstonde frenssh ne latyn J delybered in my self 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 as longen to the playe."

It is clear from this that both the translation and printing belong to the period of Caxton's residence in Bruges. From the use of the instrumental form "dyde doo sette en enprynte" it might be thought that Caxton employed the services of some printer, but although commonly so employed, there are instances which will not bear this interpretation of its intention.^[5] He either employed a printer or made some partnerfhip with one, and there are various indications that confirm Mr. Blades' theory that the book came from the press of Colard Mansion.

The second edition is undoubtedly the work of our first English printer. "Explicit per Caxton" is the unambiguous statement of the colophon. It is a much more advanced specimen of typography than the first edition. It has signatures, of which a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, are quaternions, k and l are terternions, making in all eighty-four leaves, of which the first is blank. There is no title-page, and the type used is that which Mr. Blades reckons as No. 2*. The lines are spaced out to an even length. There are twenty-nine lines to a full page, and the full line measures 4-7/8 inches. The prologue begins on a ij., and the table of chapters begins on the next page. The text begins on the recto of a iii. The text ends on the recto of l 6, the last page being blank. There are sixteen woodcuts in the volume, which are used twenty-four times. There has been some diversity of opinion as to the year in which this "Game of the Chesse" came from the press of Caxton. The book is not dated. Dibdin thought it one of the printer's earliest efforts. Figgins regarded it as the earliest issue of the Westminster press, and further believed that it was printed from cut metal types. This is not the view of Mr. Blades, who says: "An examination of the work, however, with a typographical eye does not afford a single evidence of very early workmanship. All Caxton's early books were uneven in the length of their lines--this is quite even. Not one of the early works had any signatures--this is signed throughout. These two features alone are quite sufficient to fix its date of impression at least as late as 1480, when Caxton first began the use of signatures; but when we find that every known copy of this edition of the 'Chess-Book' presents a thicker and more worn appearance than any one copy of any other book, there is good reason for supposing that this may have followed the 'Tulli' of 1481, and have been the last book for which Type No. 2* was used."^[6]

Mr. Blades describes nine known copies, so that even fewer exemplars remain of the second edition than of its predecessor. The copy in the King's Library in the British Museum is imperfect, wanting several leaves, and is mended in many places. The copy in the Pepysian Collection at Cambridge wants one-half of the last leaf. Trinity College, Cambridge, has a perfect copy, "but a bad impression." The Bodleian copy is defective in not having the last leaf. St. John's College, Oxford, has a copy, from which one-half of d iii. has been torn away. The Imperial Library at Vienna has an imperfect copy. The Duke of Devonshire's copy is perfect, but it is "a poor impression, and slightly stained." The Earl of Pembroke's copy is very imperfect. Earl Spencer's is only slightly imperfect. The prices fetched by the second edition have a sufficiently wide range. In 1698, at Dr. Bernard's sale, a copy fold for 1s. 6d. Farmer's copy in 1798 fetched £4 4s. Ratcliffe's copy was bought at his sale for £16 by Willett; and when his books came to the hammer in 1813, it was purchased by the Duke of Devonshire for £173 5s.^[7] It is interesting to know that the copy of the second edition in the Bibliotheca Spenceriana formerly belonged to Laurence Sterne, who bought it for a few shillings at York!^[8]

In the present reprint, the text followed is that of the first edition, transcribed from the copy in the British Museum; but the variations, alterations, and additions made in the second issue are all recorded in footnotes. The reader has, therefore, before him the work in all its fulness. The same reasons that have led to the adoption of this course have also decided the publisher to include facsimiles of the curious woodcuts which appeared in the second edition. These, although necessarily reductions in size, reproduce the quaint vigour of the originals.

Caxton, we have seen, translated the "Game of the Chesse" from the French. There were in effect two, if not three, from which he may have taken his version. One of these is by Jean Faron, Perron, or Feron (as the name is variously spelled), a monk of the order of St. Dominic, of whom the notices are exceedingly scanty.^[9] La Croix du Maine styles him "de l'Ordre des FrÈres Prescheurs ou Jacobins du Paris." La Monnaye says that the translation was made from the Latin of Cessoles, and was begun in the year 1347. It has not been printed.^[10] The translation is considered a literal version of the Latin of Cessoles.

The prologue of Perron's version is as follows:--"Chy ensuit le geu des Eschas moralisÉ, ouquel a plusiers exemples bien À noter. A noblehomme, Bertrand de Tarascon, frere Jehan Perron, de l'ordre des Freres precheurs de Paris, son petil et humble chappelain soy tout. Le Sainte Escripture dit que Dieux a fait a chascun commandement de pourchassier À tous nos prochains leur sauvement. Or est-il ainsi que nos prochains ne sont pas tout un, ains sont de diverses condicions, estas et manieres, sy comme il appert. Car les uns sont nobles; les aultres non: les aultres sont de cler engin; les aultres, non: les aultres sont enclins a devocion; les aultres, non. Et pour ce, affin que le commandement de Dieu soit mis À execution bien convenablement, il convient avoir plusiers voyes et baillier À chascun ce qui lui est plus convenable; et ainsi pourroit il le commandement de Dieu accomplir; .... Pour tant je, vostre petit chappelain, À vostre requeste, que je tieng pour commendement, vous ai volu translata de latin en franÇais le Gieu des Eschas moralisÉ, que fist l'un de nos freres, appelÉ frere Jaques de Cossoles, maistre en divinitÉ, si que vous l'entendÉs plus legierrement; et À exemple des nobles hystoires qui y sont notteÉs, veuillÉs maintenir, quant À vous, honnestement, et quant aux autres justement.... Or prenÉs done ce petit present, comenciÉ le 4'e jour de May, l'an 1347."^[11]

That Caxton made use of Perron's version is clear. Thus Mr. Blades mentions the description of Evilmerodach as "un homme joly sans justice" as peculiar to Ferron, whose version he regards as the basis of the first and third chapters of Caxton's work.

Dr. Van der Linde mentions a number of MSS.; in some the date is given as 1357, and in one as 1317. This version remains unprinted, but there are MSS. of it in the Bibliotheque Nationale, at Aosta, Cambrai, at Brussels, in the British Museum, Chartres, at Bern, and at Stockholm.^[12]

Dr. Van der Linde also describes a MS. on parchment of the fifteenth century, forming part of the national library at Paris, which contains the Game of Chess in verse.
"MÈs si d'esbat te prent tallant,
Pren ton esbat dÉuement;
MÈs si À jouer vieulx attendre,
Un noble jou te faulte attendre,
C'est des echecs qui est licite
Et À touz bien les gens incite."

The author has concealed his name with an ingenuity that has so far defied penetration.
"Nommez mon nom et mon surnom,
Je ey escript tout environ,
A vingt et dous lettres sans plus,
Sera trouvÉ cy au dessus
En enscript, et sans plus ne moins."

On this it is only necesiary to quote the remarks of a French critic:--"Ou ne nous dit pas si c'est dans la suite mÊme de la phrase, ou seulement en acrosticke, que se trouvent les vingt-deux lettres de ces nom mystÉrieux. Nous ne saurions former aucun nom avec les initiales des trente vers qui prÉcÈdent ceux que nous venons de citer; et le merite de l'ouvrage ne nous encourage pas À faire des longues recherches pour dÉcouvrir un nom que l'auteur a pris plaisir À nous cacher."^[13]

The bulk of Caxton's work is undoubtedly from the French translation of Jehan de Vignay, whose dedication to Prince John of France has simply been transformed into a similar address to the Duke of Clarence. He styles De Vignay "an excellent doctor of the order of the Hospital of St. John's of Jerusalem." This is the only authority we have for supposing De Vignay to be connected with that order. He styles himself "hospitaller de l'ordre de haut pas," which was situated in the Faubourg St. Jacques of Paris. It is curious that two members of the same order--for Ferron was also a Jacobin--should independently have occupied themselves with the same work. The version by De Vignay was probably the later of the two, and it was also the most popular, for whilst Ferron's is still unprinted, that of De Vignay has been frequently re-issued from the press. The work is dedicated to Jean de France, Duc de Normandie, who became king in 1350. It will be seen from this that these two French versions were practically contemporaneous.

The prologue to the book is as follows:--"A Tres noble & excellent prince Jehan de france duc de normendie & auisne filz de philipe par le grace de dieu Roy de france. Frere Jehan de vignay vostre petit Religieux entre les autres de vostre seignorie/ paix sante Joie & victoire sur vos ennemis. Treschier & redoubte seign'r/ pour ce que Jay entendu et scay que vous veez & ouez volentiers choses proffitables & honestes et qui tendent alinformacion de bonne meur ay Je mis vn petit liuret de latin en francois le quel mest venuz a la main nouuellement/ ou quel plussieurs auctoritez et dis de docteurs & de philosophes & de poetes & des anciens sages/ sont Racontez & sont appliquiez a la moralite des nobles hommes et des gens de peuple selon le gieu des eschez le quel liure Tres puissant et tres redoubte seigneur jay fait ou nom & soubz vmbre de vous pour laquelle chose treschr seign'r Je vous suppli & requier de bonne voulente de cuer que il vo daigne plaire a receuvoir ce liure en gre aussi bien que de vn greign'r maistre de moy/ car la tres bonne voulente que Jay de mielx faire se je pouoie me doit estre reputee pour le fait/ Et po'r plus clerement proceder en ceste ouure/ Jay ordene que les chappitres du liure soient escrips & mis au commencement afin de veoir plus plainement la matiere de quoy le dit liure pole."^[14]

It will be seen that this is the foundation of Caxton's dedication of the Chess-book to the Earl of Warwick. The "Golden Legend," printed by Caxton in 1484, was in effect a translation from "La Legende DorÉe," made before the year 1380 by Jehan de Vignay, who in his prologue mentions that he had previously translated into French "Le miroir des hystoires du monde," at the request of "Ma dame Jehanne de Borgoigne, royne de France."^[15] This preface Caxton, as usual, adopted with some changes of name and other alterations, amongst which is a reference to "the book of the chesse" as one of his works. The "Legenda Aurea" of Jacobus de Voragine is, of course, the original source of De Vignay's "Legende DorÉe," and Caxton's "Golden Legend."

Ferron and de Vignay were avowedly translators. Their original was Jacques de Cessoles. The name of this author has been tortured into so many fantastic forms that one may almost despair of recovering the original. CÆsolis, Cassalis, Castulis, Casulis, Cesolis, Cessole, Cessulis, Cesulis, Cezoli, de Cezolis, de Cossoles, de Courcelles, Sesselis, Tessalis, Tessellis, de Thessolus, de Thessolonia, and de Thessolonica are different manners of spelling his surname, and the two last are certainly masterpieces of transformation. Prosper Marchand has amused himself by collecting some vain speculations of previous writers as to the age, country, and personality of Jacques de Cessoles. Some counted him a Lombard, some an Italian, whilst others again boldly asserted that he was a Greek!

He lived towards the end of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century, and having joined the Dominican order, was a "MaÎtre en ThÉologie" of that brotherhood at Reims. Various works are attributed to him, and his learning and piety had many eulogists.

It is more than probable that his name would have been much less widely known but for the happy accident that turned his attention to the game of chess. It was a popular diversion, and in the moralizing spirit of the age he saw in it an allegory of the various components of the commonwealth. The men who were merely killing time were perhaps flattered at the thought that they were at the same time learning the modes of statecraft. Then, as now, the teachers of morality felt that a song might reach him who a sermon flies, and they did not scruple to use in the pulpit whatever aids came handy. The popular stories, wise saws, and modern instances, were common enough on the lips of the preachers, and such collections as the "Gesta Romanorum show what a pitch of ingenuity in unnatural interpretation they had reached. An appropriate instance is furnished by it in the following quaint fashion of moralizing the chess play:--

"Antonius was a wys emperour regnyng in the cite of Rome, the which vsid moche to pley with houndis; and aftir Þat pley, all Þe day aftir he wolde vse Þe chesse. So yn a day, as he pleide at Þe chesse, & byheld the kyng fette yn the pley, som tyme hy and som tyme lowe, among aufyns and pownys, he thought Þerwith Þat hit wold be so with him, for he shuld dey, and be hid vndir erth. And Þerfore he devided his Reame in thre parties; and he yaf oo part to Þe kyng of Ierusalem; Þe secunde part vnto Þe lordis of his Reame or his empire; and the thrid partie vnto the pore people; & yede him self vnto the holy londe, and ther he endid his lyf in peas.

MORALITE.

Seth now, good sirs; this emperour, Þat lovith so wele play, may be called eche worldly man Þat occupieth him in vanytes of the world; but he moste take kepe of the pley of the chesse, as did the emperoure. the chekir or Þe chesse hath viij. poyntes in eche partie. In euery pley beth viij. kyndes of men, scil. man, woman, wedewer, wedowis, lewid men, clerkes, riche men, and pouere men. at this pley pleieth vj. men. the first man, Þat goth afore, hath not but oo poynt, but whenne he goth aside, he takith anoÞer; so by a pouere man; he hath not, but when he comyth to Þe deth with pacience, Þen shall he be a kyng in heuen, with Þe kyng of pore men. But if he grucche ayenst his neighbour of his stat, and be a thef, and ravissh Þat wher he may, Þen he is ytake, and put in to the preson of helle. The secund, fcil. alphyn, renneth iij. poyntes both vpward and douneward; [he] betokenyth wise men, the whiche by deceyuable eloquence & takyng of money deceyueth, & so he is made oonly. The iij. scil. Þe kny3t, hath iij. poyntes, & goth Þerwith; [he] betokenyth gentilmen Þat rennyth aboute, & ravisshith, and ioyeth for her kynrede, & for habundaunce of richesse. The fourth, scil. Þe rook, he holdith length & brede, and takith vp what so is in his way; he betokenyth okerers and false merchaunt3, Þat rennyth aboute ouer all, for wynnyng & lucre, & rechith not how thei geten, so that thei haue hit. The fifthe is Þe quene, that goth fro blak to blak, or fro white to white, and is yset befide Þe kyng, and is ytake fro the kyng. This quene bytokenyth virgyns and damesels, Þat goth fro chastite to synne, and beth ytake by the devill, for glovis or such maner yiftis. The vj. is to whom all owe to obey and mynystre; and he goth forth, and bakward ayen, & in either side, & takith ouer all; so sone discendith in to Þe world, and ascendith to god by praiers; But when he takith [no] kepe of god, and hath no meyne, Þan is hit to Þe man chekmate. And Þerfore let vs not charge of oure estatis, no more Þan is with Þe men, when Þei be put vp in Þe poket; then hit is no charge who be above or who be byneth; and so by the Spirit of loulynesse we may come to Þe ioy of heven. And Þat graunt vs, qui viuit &c."

It is not, therefore, surprising to learn that Jacques de Cessoles found texts for sundry sermons on the game that formed so favourite a diversion of clergy and laity. The favour with which these discourses were received no doubt gratified the worthy Dominican father. At the request of some of those who heard them he began to write down the substance of his sermons. The result was the "Liber de moribus Hominum et officiis Nobilium ac Popularium super ludo scachorum," which immediately attained great popularity. This is shown by the bibliography of Dr. A. Van der Linde in a striking manner, for he has described two hundred codices to be found in the various public libraries of Europe.^[16]

The difficulties in the way of forming any clear conception as to the life and personality of Cessoles, Ferron, and De Vignay are well shown in an article by M.C. Leber.^[17] Dr. Ernst KÖpke, who has reexamined the evidences as to Cessoles, holds that he was a Lombard.^[18]

The chief source from which Cessoles took his material was the treatise "De Regimine Principum" of Egidius Romanus.

He was of the great Neapolitan family of the Colonna, and his Christian name appears to have been Guido, but his designations have undergone some curious transformations. Born at Rome, 22nd Sept., 1216, Guido Colonna went at an early age to Paris, where, from the name of his birthplace, he became known as Ægidius Romanus, with the French form of Gilles de Rome. He was an ardent and enthusiastic disciple of St. Thomas Aquinas, and his familiarity with that great doctor of the Church led him to desire admission to the Dominican order, but a difficulty intervened from the circumstance that he had already contracted ties which bound him to the order of St. Augustine. To this untoward accident may probably be attributed no little of the extension of the philosophical doctrine of Aquinas; for Colonna, unable or unwilling to be relieved of the vows that bound him to the Augustinians, preached eagerly amongst them the Thomist speculations of his friend and master. In the controversy with the Franciscans, those whom he had indoctrinated were valuable allies to the Thomists, for their aid, coming from an independent organization, appeared to carry the weight of impartiality, and to be unassailable on the plea of partisan interest. In the year 1287 there was a general convocation of the order of St. Augustine at Florence, and at this assembly it was decreed that the doctors of the order should teach in conformity with the decisions arrived at by Colonna. To him is largely due the success of the Thomist scheme, of which he was an able, persistent, and vigorous exponent. Many tracts by him remain in print and MS. on these subjects. The fame he had thus acquired gained him the name of doctor fundamentarius and doctor fundatissimus. His lectures at Paris attracted to him the attention of Philippe le Hardi, who thought him a fitting person to be entrusted with the education of his son, who was afterwards known to hiftory as Philippe le Bel. It was whilst occupied with this royal youth that the thought of composing or compiling--and the terms were in practice interchangeable in those days--occurred, and the result was the treatise "De regimine Principum libri iii." Philippe le Hardi, if not an educated man himself--and there are doubts as to whether he could write his own name--was laudably anxious that his heir should have the best instruction that could be obtained. It cannot well be claimed that the able, handsome, and unscrupulous Philippe was any great credit to his preceptor. The despotic and perfidious character of the king probably owed more to the influence of Nogaret and other defenders of the "right divine of kings to govern wrong," than to the soberer precepts of Colonna. That Philippe had some tincture of literary feeling may be inferred from his employment of Jehan de Meung to translate the military treatise of Vegetius Flavius Renatus, a compilation of the second century of the present era, which was so popular in the middle ages that it was translated by Caxton into English. Still better evidence is the translation made for the king by the same poet of Boethius, whose stoical philosophy must have had a special appropriateness for those times of political storm and stress, when the fickleness of fortune must have been a matter of only too common repute. Guido Colonna was elected by his admiring brethren the general of the order in 1292, and took up his residence at Bourges, its metropolitan seat.

In this honourable office he continued his literary labours, and to this period are assigned the greater part of his numerous works. He died at Avignon in 1316. His body was translated to Paris, where his effigy in black marble, with his epitaph, remained until the French revolution.^[19] It would be superfluous to enumerate his philosophical writings, for they would have no interest in the present day. His commentary on Aristotle "De Anima," it may be observed, was dedicated to Edward I. His name is now chiefly remembered because his work on the rule of princes formed the basis of the treatise in which Jacques de Cessoles moralized the fashionable game of the chess.

One interesting instance of the popularity of Colonna's work is the translation of it made into English verse by Thomas Occleve.^[20] He wrote it in 1411 or 1412, and its object was to obtain the payment of an annuity from the exchequer which had been granted to him, but the payment of which was very irregular. The book was dedicated to the Prince of Wales. After mentioning his purpose to translate from the (apocryphal) letter of Aristotle to Alexander and "Gyles of Regement of Prynces," he proceeds:--
"There is a booke, Jacob de Cessoles,
Of the ordre of Prechours, made, a worthy man,

That the Chesse moralisede clepede is,
In whiche I purpose eke to labour ywis
And here and there, as that my litelle witte
Afforthe may, I thynke translate it.

And al be it that in that place square
Of the lystes, I meane the eschekere,
A man may learn to be wise and ware;
I that have avanturede many a yere,
My witte therein is but litelle the nere,
Save that somewhat I know a Kynges draught,
Of other draughts lernede have I naught."--(p. 77.)

"In those days," says Warton, "ecclesiastics and schoolmen presumed to dictate to kings and to give rules for administering states, drawn from the narrow circle of speculation, and conceived amid the pedantries of a cloister. It was probably recommended to Occleve's notice by having been translated into English by John Trevisa, a celebrated translator about the year 1390.^[21]

Having thus traced the stream back to its fountain, we return to Caxton. The story of his life has been told by Mr. Blades, and only the most essential facts of his busy and useful career need be recapitulated here. He was born in the Weald of Kent, and it has been conjectured that the manor of Caustons, near Hadlow, was the original home of the family. He was apprenticed to Alderman Robert Large, a mercer, who was afterwards Lord Mayor. The entry in the books of the Mercers' Company leads to the inference that Caxton was born about 1422. Probably on the death of Large, in 1441, Caxton went abroad, for he tells us that in 1471 he had been resident outside England for thirty years. About 1462 or 1463 he was Governor of the English Nation or Merchant Adventurers at Bruges. This was a position of great influence, and it is thought to have enabled the loyal mercer to give good service to Edward IV., who was an exile in 1470. Caxton's marriage was not much later than 1469, and it is conjectured that this led him to enter the service of the Duchess of Burgundy. She had literary tastes, and at her request he translated the "Recuyell des Histoires de Troyes" of Raoul Le Fevre. It was the demand for copies of this that exhausted Caxton's calligraphic patience, and led to his employment of a printer. The incident may have been casual, but it led to great results. It has been said that he learned the printers' art at Cologne, but Mr. Blades supposes that he entered its mystery at Bruges under Colard Mansion, with whom he appears to have had some partnership. Probably towards the end of 1476 Caxton returned to England. He had the favour of Edward IV. and of his sister, Duchess of Burgundy, and the friendship of the King's brother-in-law, Earl Rivers. Ninety-nine distinct productions issued from Caxton's press, he was printer, publisher, translator, and something of author as well. He set in good earnest about the work that is still going on--of making the best accessible literature widely and commonly known. This useful career was only ended by his death. The exact date is not known, but it was probably late in 1491. He left a married daughter. Caxton was a good business man. He was also a sincere lover of literature, and he was at his favourite work of translation only a few hours before the final summons came.

The quality of Caxton as a translator is not a matter of much doubt. It may be that the archaic forms give an additional flavour to his style, since they present few difficulties to the modern reader, and yet sound like echoes from the earlier periods of the language. Generally he is content to follow his author with almost plodding fidelity, but occasionally he makes additions which are eminently characteristic. His author having remarked:--"Il nest an Jour Duy nulle chose qui tant grieue Rome ne ytalie com~e fait le college Des notaires publiques Car ilz ne sont mie en accort ensemble"--Caxton improves the passage thus:--

"For ther is no thynge at this day that so moche greueth rome and Italye as doth the college of notaries and aduocates publicque. For they ben not of oon a corde/ Alas and in Engeland what hurte doon the aduocats. men of law. And attorneyes of court to the comyn peple of y'e royame as well in the spirituell lawe as in the temporall/ how torne they the lawe and statutes at their pleasir/ how ete they the peple/ how enpouere they the comynte/ I suppose that in alle Cristendom ar not so many pletars attorneys and men of the lawe as ben in englond onely/ for yf they were nombrid all that lange to the courtes of the channcery kinges benche. comyn place. cheker. ressayt and helle And the bagge berars of the same/ hit shold amounte to a grete multitude And how alle thyse lyue & of whome. yf hit shold be vttrid & told/ hit shold not be beleuyd. For they entende to theyr synguler wele and prouffyt and not to the comyn/"

Another addition is the brief passage in the first chapter of the fourth tract in which the "good old times" are lamented and contrasted with the decadence of the then present--now the four centuries past.

"Alas what haboundance was some tymes in the royames. And what prosÞite/ In whiche was Iustice/ And euery man in his office contente/ how stood the cytees that tyme in worship and renome/ how was renomed the noble royame of Englond Alle the world dredde hit And spack worship of hit/ how hit now standeth and in what haboundance I reporte me to them that knowe hit yf ther ben theeuis wyth in the royame or on the see/ they knowe that laboure in the royame And sayle on the see I wote well the same is grete therof I pray god saue that noble royame And sende good true and politicque counceyllours to the gouernours of the same &c/"

The concluding paragraph of the book is also due to Caxton.

"And therfore my ryght redoubted lord I pray almighty god to saue the kyng our souerain lord & to gyue hym grace to yssue as a kynge & tabounde in all vertues/ & to be assisted with all other his lordes in such wyse y't his noble royame of Englond may prospere & habounde in vertues/ and y't synne may be eschewid iuftice kepte/ the royame defended good men rewarded malefactours punysshid & the ydle peple to be put to laboure that he wyth the nobles of the royame may regne gloriously In conquerynge his rightfull enheritaunce/ that verray peas and charite may endure in bothe his royames/ and that marchandise may haue his cours in suche wise that euery man eschewe synne/ and encrece in vertuous occupacions/ Praynge your good grace to resseyue this lityll and symple book made vnder the hope and shadowe of your noble protection by hym that is your most humble seruant/ in gree and thanke And I shall praye almighty god for your longe lyf & welfare/ whiche he preferue And sende yow thaccomplisshement of your hye noble. Ioyous and vertuous desirs Amen:/: Fynysshid the last day of marche the yer of our lord god. a. thousand foure honderd and lxxiiii"

This was struck out in the second edition, and the following briefer farewell substituted:--

"Thenne late euery man of what condycion he be that redyth or herith this litel book redde take therby ensaumple to amend hym.

Explicit per Caxton."

The alteration may perhaps be received as an evidence of our first English printer's fastidiousness as an author.

The bibliography of the editions, translations, and imitations of Cessoles is long and intricate. Details of MSS. have not been thought necessary. They have been amply described by Dr. Van der Linde. The treatise on the rule of princes of Colonna has been taken as furnishing the matter which Jacques de Cessoles afterwards re-arranged under the attractive form of a description of the game of chess. The editions of the Latin text are followed by particulars of the translations into French, English, Spanish, Italian, and other languages. Each title has appended the name of the bibliographer on whose authority it is given.

These are as follows:--

Hain.--Repertorium Bibliographicum ... opera Ludovici Hain. Stuttgart, 1826.

Ebert.--A General Bibliographical Dictionary, from the German of Frederic Adolphus Ebert. Oxford, 1837. 4 vols.

GrÆsse.--TrÉsor de Livres rares et prÉcieux: par Jean George ThÉodore GrÆsse. Dresde, 1859-67. 6 vols.

Brunet.--Manuel du Libraire par Jacques-Charles Brunei. Paris, 1860.

Linde.--Geschichte und Literatur des Schachspiels von Antonius van der Linde. Berlin, 1874.

Das erste Jartausend der Schachlitteratur (850-1880) zusammengestellt von Dr. A.v.d. Linde. Berlin, 1881.

Dr. van der Linde's work is so complete that, for the most part, it has been thought sufficient to give his name, even when older authorities have been consulted.