uocate vnto the blessyd Trynyte / that we maye amende oure synful lyfe in this transytorye world / that whan we shalle departe / we may come to euerlastyng blysse in heuen / AMEN/

[EPILOGUE]

Folio CCCCxliiij. col. 2. recto Thus endeth the legende named in latyn legenda aurea / that is to saye in englysshe the golden legende / For lyke as golde passeth in valewe alle other metalles / so thys legende excedeth alle other bookes / wherin ben contey

ned alle the hygh and grete festys c
our lord / the festys of our blessyd 1
dy / the lyues passyons and myracles
of many other sayntes / and other hys-
toryes and actes / as al allonge here
afore is made mencyon / Whiche werke
I haue accomplisshed at the commaun-
demente and requeste of the noble and
puyssaunte erle / and my special good
lord Wyllyam erle of arondel / haue
fynysshed it at westmestre the twenty
day of nouembre / the yere of our lord
M/CCCC/lxxxiij / J the fyrst yere
of the reygne of kyng Rychard the
thyrd

BY ME WYLLYAM CAXΤΟΝ

Sig. ij. recto.

XVIII
Caton
[1483]
[PROLOGUE]

Here begynneth the prologue or prohemye of the book callid Caton / whiche booke hath ben translated in to Englysshe by Mayster Benet Burgh / late Archedeken of Colchestre and hye chanon of saint stephens at westmestre / which ful craftly hath made it in balade ryal for the erudicion of my lord Bousher / Sone heyr at that tyme to my lord the erle of Estsex And by cause of late cam to my hand a book of the said Caton in Frensshe / whiche reherceth many a fayr lernynge and nota

- ensamples / I haue translated it oute of frensshe in to En sshe / as al along here after shalle appiere / whiche I presente to the Cyte of london /

illuminated

Nto the noble auncyent / and renommed Cyte / the Cyte Simple of london in Englond / J william Caxton Cytezeyn capital.

J coniurye of the same / J of the fraternyte J felauship the mercerye owe of ryght my seruyse ។ good wyll / and of y dute am bounden naturelly to assiste ayde J counceille as Forth as I can to my power / as to my moder / of whom I hareceyued my noureture ។ lyuynge / And shal praye for the d prosperite polecye of the same duryng my lyf / For as semeth it is of grete nede / by cause I haue knowen it in my gage moche more welthy prosperous ៗ rycher than it is his day / And the cause is that ther is almost none / that en leth to the comyn wele but only euery man for his singuler uffyte / O whan I remembre the noble Romayns / that for comyn wele of the Cyte of Rome / they spente not only yr moeuable goodes / but they put theyr bodyes ។ lyues in pardy to the deth / as by many a noble ensample we may in thactes of Romayns / as of the two noble scipions Affri JAsyan / Actilius J many other / And amonge al other noble Catho auctor and maker of this book / whiche he hath e for to remayne euer to all the peple for to lerne in hit and knowe how e[u]ery1 man ought to rewle and gouerne hym this lyf / as wel for the lyf temporall / as for the lyf spyrytu And as in my Jugement it is the beste book for to be tat to yonge children in scole / J also to peple of euery age sful conuenient yf it be wel vnderstanden / And by cause ee that the children that ben borne within the sayd cyte || reace / and prouffyte not lyke theyr faders and olders / but Sig. ij. the moost parte after that they ben comen to theyr parfight es of discrecion / and rypenes of age / how wel that theyre rs haue lefte to them grete quantite of goodes / yet scarcemonge ten two thryue / J haue sene and knowen in other Les in dyuerse cytees / that of one name and lygnage sucyuely haue endured prosperously many heyres / ye a v or honderd yere / and somme a thousand / And in this nocyte of london / it can vnnethe contynue vnto the thyrd heyr 1 text: enery

Sig. iij. recto.

Simple iliustrated capital I.

or scarcely to the second / O blessyd lord whanne J remembre
this Jam al abasshyd / J can not Juge the cause / but fayrer
ne wyser ne bet bespoken children in theyre yongthe ben now-
her than ther ben in london / but at their ful rypyng ther is no
carnel ne good corn founden but chaff for the moost parte / J
wote wel there be many noble and wyse / and proue wel
ben better and rycher than euer were theyr faders / And to
thende that many myght come to honoure and worshyppe / J
entende to translate this sayd book of cathon / in whiche J do-
ubte not / and yf they wylle rede it and vnderstande they shal
moche the better conne rewle them self ther by / For among all
other bookes this is a synguler book / and may well be callyd
the Regyment or gouernaunce of the body and sowle /
There was a noble clerke named pogius of Florence / And
was secretary to pope Eugenye / J also to pope Nycholas whi-
che had in the cyte of Florence a noble ។ well stuffed lybra-
rye / whiche alle noble straungyers comynge to Florence desy-
red to see / And therin they fonde many noble and rare bookes
And whanne they had axyd of hym whiche was the best bo-
ke of them alle / and that he reputed for best / He sayd / that he
helde Cathon glosed for the best book of his lyberarye / Thenne
syth that he that was so noble a Clerke helde this book for the
best / doubtles / hit must folowe that this is a noble booke / and
a vertuous / and suche one that a man may eschewe alle vyces
and ensiewe vertue / Thenne to thende that this sayd book may
prouffyte vnto the herars of it / J byseche Almyghty god that
J may acheue and accomplysshe it vnto his laude and glorye
And to therudicion and lernynge of them that ben ygnoraunt
that they maye there by prouffyte and be the better / And J ||
requyre and byseche alle suche that fynde faute or errour / that
of theyr charyte they correcte and amende hit / And J shalle
hertely praye for them to Almyghty god / that he rewarde
them

N this smal lytyl booke is conteyned a short and prouffitable doctryne for all maner of peple / the whi

che is taken and composed upon the said book of Cathon with some addicions ៗ auctoritees of holy doctours ] prophetes/ And also many Historyes J ensamples autentyke of holy faders Jauncyent Cronycles trewe ៗ approuued / Jtem this

tell booke shalle be deuyded in two partyes pryncipal / The rst partye pryncipal is the proheme whiche begynneth Cum imaduerterem / And endureth vnto Jtaque deo supplica / The cond partye pryncipal / is the trayttye and alle the maner of is present book / whiche begynneth Jtaque deo supplica / lan[d] dureth vnto the ende of the sayd lytel booke / Jtem this send partye pryncipal is deuyded in two partyes / the fyrst is prose / And the second in verse / the fyrst partye whiche is in Dse begynneth Jtaque deo supplica / And endureth vnto Si us est animus / the whiche conteyneth lvi commaundements em the second partye whiche is in verse / is subdyuyded in to ar partyes / The fyrst begynneth at Si deus est animus /ៗ lureth vnto Telluris si forte / the whiche conteyneth fourty mmaundements / The second partye begynneth at Telluris Forte / endureth vnto / Hoc quicunquibus velis / whiche conteyth xxxv commaundements / The third partye begynneth at c quicunquibus / Jendureth to Securam quicunque / whiche contey h xxvj commaundements / the fourth partye begynneth at curam / and endureth vnto thende of the book / And contey-hlvi commaundements / And soo this present lytel booke teyneth in somme two honderd xiij comma[u]ndments2/as I in prose as in verse / But to thende that thystoryes and mples that ber conteyned in this lytel book may be lygh- founden / And also for to knowe vpon what commaundemtes they ben adiousted and alledged / they shalle be sette 1 entytled by maner of Rubrysshe in commaundement on whiche eche shalle be conteyned and alledged /

Lophon

|| Sign. ij.

Here fynyssheth this present book whiche is sayd or called Sig. 1. hon translated oute of Frensshe in to Englysshe by Will- Caxton in thabbay of westmynstre the yere of oure lord CCCC 1 xxxiij / And the fyrst yere of the regne of kynge chard the thyrd the xxiij day of decembre

Illuminated capital A.

la loenge et gloire de la pourueance diuine dieu quy est sire et roy souuerain par dessus toutes choses celestes et

terrestes nous commencons ce liure de lordre de cheuallerie pour demonstrer qu' a la signifiance de dieu le prince tout puissant quy seignourist sur les .vij. planettes quy sont cours celestiaulx et ont pouoir et seignourie en gouuer ner et ordonner les corps terrestres Pa reillement doiuent les roix et princes auoir puissance et seignourie sur les cheualliers Et les cheualliers par simi litude doiuent auoir domination et pouoir sur le menu pemple/ et contient ce liure.viij. chapitres/