Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Prohemye

GRete thankynges lawde & honoure we merytoryous∣ly ben bounde to yelde and offre vnto wryters of hys∣toryes / whiche gretely haue prouffyted oure mortal lyf / that shewe vnto the reders and herers by the ensamples of thynges passyd / what thynge is to be desyred / And what is to be eschewed / For those thynges whiche oure pro¦genytours by the taste of bytternes and experyment of grete Ieo¦pardyes haue enseygned / admonested and enformed vs exclu∣ded fro suche peryllys / to knowe what is prouffytable to oure lyf / and acceptable / and what is vnprouffytable and to be refu∣sed / He is / and euer hath ben reputed the wysest / whiche by the experyence of aduerse fortune hath byholden and seen the noble Cytees / maners / and variaūt condycions of the people of many dyuerse Regyons / For in hym is presupposed the lore of wyse∣dome and polycye / by the experyment of Ieopardyes and pe∣ryllys whiche haue growen of folye in dyuerse partyes and con∣trayes / yet he is more fortunat / and may be reputed as wyse / yf he gyue attendaunce withoute tastynge of the stormes of aduersyte that may by the redyng of historyes conteynyng dyuerse custo∣mes Condycyons / lawes & / Actes of sondry nacions come vnto the knowleche of and vnderstandynge of the same wysedom and polycye / In whiche hystoryes so wreton in large and aour∣ned volumes / he syttynge in his chambre or studye / maye rede / knowe and vnderstande the polytyke and noble actes of alle the worlde as of one Cyte / And the conflyctes / errours. Troubles / & vexacions done in the sayd vnyuersal worlde / In suche wyse as he had ben and seen them. in the propre places where as they were done / For certayne it is a greete beneurte vnto a man that can be reformed by other and straunge mennes hurtes and sca∣thes / And by the same to knowe / what is requysyte and prouf∣fytable for his lyf / And eschewe suche errours and Inconueny¦tys / by whiche other men haue ben hurte and lost theyr felycyte / Therfore the coūseylles of Auncyent and whyte heeryd men / in whome olde age hath engendryd wysedome / ben gretely preysed of yonger men / And yet hystoryes soo moche more excelle them / As the dyuturnyte or length of tyme Includeth moo ensamples of thynges and laudable actes. than thage of one man may suf¦fyse to see / ¶Historyes ought not only to be Iuged moost pro∣ffytable to yonge men / whiche by the lecture / redyng & vnderstan¦dyng make them semblable & equale to men of greter age / and

to old men / to whome longe lyf hath mynystred experymentes of dyuerse thynges / but also thystoryes able & make ryght pry∣uate men digne & worthy to haue the gouernaūce of Em••yte•• •• noble Royammes / historyes moeue and withdrawe Emperours and kynges fro vycious tyrannye / Fro vecordyous slouthe / vnto tryumphe and vyctorye in puyssaunt bataylles / Historyes also haue moeued ryght noble knyghtes to deserue eternal laude whiche foloweth them for their vyctoryous merytes / And cause them more valyantly to entre in Ieopardyes of batayles for the defence and tuicion of their countrey / and publyke wele / hystorye also affrayeth cruel tyrauntys for drede of Infamye and shame Infynyte / by cause of the detestable actes of suche cruel personnes ben oftymes plantyd and regystred in Cronykes vnto theyr perpetuel obprobrye and dyuulgacion of theyr Infamye / As thactes of new and suche other / Truly many of hye and couragy∣ous men of grete empryse / desyryng theyr fame to be perpetuelly conseruyd by lyberal monumentis / whiche ben the permanente re∣cordes of euery vyrtuouse and noble Acte / haue buylded and e∣defyed ryall and noble Cytees / And for the conseruacion of the wele publycke haue mynystred and establysshed dyscrete and prouffytable lawes / And thus the pryncipal laude / and cause of delectable and amyable thynges / in whiche mannes felycyte stondeth and resteth ought and maye wel be attributed to hysto∣ryes / whiche worde historye may be descryued thus / Historye is a perpetuel conseruatryce of thoos thynges / that haue be doone before this presente tyme / and also a cotydyan wytnesse of bien∣fayttes of malefaytes / grete Actes / and tryumphal vyctoryes of all maner peple. And also yf the terryble feyned Fables of Poetes haue moche styred and moeued men to pyte / and con∣seruynge of Iustyce / How moche more is to be supposed / that Historye assertryce of veryte / and as moder of alle philosophye / moeuynge our maners to vertue / reformeth and reconcyleth ner hande alle thoos men / whiche thurgh the Infyrmyte of oure mortal nature hath ledde the mooste parte of theyr lyf in Ocyo∣syte and myspended theyr tyme passed ryght soone oute of Re∣membraunce / Of whiche lyf and deth is egal oblyuyon /

The fruytes of vertue ben Inmortall / Specyally wh••nne they ben wrapped in the benefyce of hystoryes /

Thenne it muste folowe / that it is mooste fayre to men Mortalle to suffre labours and payne / for glorye and fame Inmortalle /

Hercules whan he lyued suffryd greete laboures and peryllys wylfully puttyng hym self in many terryble and ferdful ieop••r¦dyes to obteyne of all peple the benefaytes of Inmortal laude & renommee / ¶ We rede of other noble men / somme lordes & somme other of lower astates reputed as goddes in dyuerse re∣gyons / the whos famous actes / and excellent vertues only hys∣torye hath preseruyd fro perysshyng in eternal memorye / Other monymentes distributed in dyuerse chaunges / enduren but for a short tyme or season / But the vertu of historye dyffused & spr••dd by the vnyuersal worlde hath tyme / whiche consumeth all oth••r thynges as conseruatryce and kepar of her werke /

Ferthermore eloquence is soo precious and noble / that al mooste noo thyng can be founden more precious than it / By Eloquence the grekes ben preferryd in contynu••l honour to fore the rude bar¦bares / Oratours and lerned clerkes in like wise excelle vnl••rn••d and brutyssh peple / Syth this eloquence is suche that causeth men emonge them self somme texcelle other / after the qualyte of t••e vertue and eloquence by seyn to be of val••w / For somme we Iu∣ge to be good men digne of laude / whiche shewe to vs the waye of vertue / and other haue taken another waye for tenflamm•• more the courages of men by fables of poesye / than to prouffy••e And by the lawes and Institutes more to punysshe than to teche Soo that of thyse thynges the vtylyte is myxt with harme / For somme sothly techyth to lye / But historye representynge the thynges lyke vnto the wordes / enbraceth al vtylyte & prouff•••••• It sheweth honeste / and maketh vyces detestable / It enhaunce••h noble men and depresseth wicked men and fooles / Also thynges that historye deseryueth by experyence / moche prouffyten vnto a ryghtful lif / Thenne syth historye is so precious & also prouffyta¦ble / I haue delybered to wryte twoo bookes notable / retenyng in them many noble historyes / as the lyues / myracles / passyons and deth of dyuerse hooly sayntes whiche shal be comprysed by thayde and suffraunce of almyghty god in one of them / whiche is named legenda aurea / that is the golden legende / And that other book is named polycronycon / in whiche book ben comprised briefly many wonderful historyees / Fyrst the descripcion of the vniuersal world / as w••l in lengthe as in brede with the diuisiōs of coūtrees royāmes & empyres / the noble cytees / hye moūtayns famous ryuers / merueylles & wondres / & also the historial ••c∣tes & wōderful dedes syth the fyrst makyng of heuen & erth vnto

the begynnyng of the regne of kyng edward the fourth / & vnto the yere of our lord M / CCCClx. As by thayde of almyghty god shal folowe al a longe / after the composynge & gaderynge of dan Ranulph monke of chestre fyrste auctour of this book / and afterward englisshed by one Treuisa vycarye of barkley / which atte request of one Sir thomas lord barkley translated this sa∣yd book / the byble & bartylmew de proprietatibus rerū out of la¦tyn in to englyssh / And now at this tyme symply emprynted & sette in forme by me William Caxton and a lytel embelysshed fro tholde makyng / and also haue added suche storyes as I coude fynde fro thende that the said Ranulph fynysshed his book which was the yere of our lord .M.CCClvij vnto the yere of the sa∣me MCCCClx / whiche ben an honderd & thre yere / whiche werke I haue finysshed vnder the noble protection of my most dr••d naturel and souerayne lord and moost cristen kynge / kyng Edward the fourth / humbly besechyng his moost noble grace to pardone me yf ony thynge be sayd therynne of Ignoraūce / or other wyse than it ought to be· And also requyryng al other to amen∣de wher as ther is defaute / Wherin he or they may deserue thank & meryte / And I shal praye for them that soo doo / For I knowle¦che myn Ignoraunce and also symplenes / And yf ther be thyng that may plese or prouffite ony man / I am glad that I haue a∣chieued it / And folowynge this my prohemye I shal set a table shortly towchyd of the moost parte of this book / And where the sayd Auctor hath alle his werke in seuen bookes / I haue sette that whiche I haue added to a••ter a parte. and haue marked it the laste booke / and haue made chapytres acordyng to the other werke / Of whiche accomplysshyng / I thanke Almyghty God To whome be gyuen Honour / laude / and glorye / in secula seculo∣rum Amen /

¶ Deo gracias