The Game of Chess Moralized

...against nature, and for this the wicked man wicked man (felon): in Middle French, this implies a person who has broken all moral and social codes had them put in prison until he had decided what kind of death he would make them die. And meanwhile, one of the wise men considered the matter and said: "Lords, I advise that to save our lives, we craftily make him drink a small frog Original: "raine." The legend of Nero’s "pregnancy" with a frog was a popular medieval myth used to show his insanity., and that we make him keep such a diet as is appropriate to nourish it."

And then, when he summoned them, they spoke to him and made him believe the plan they had arranged. So it happened that he had this frog inside his stomach, and it remained there for four months and a half. And every time he was fasting, the frog moved about in his stomach and tormented him so much that he could not bear it; he begged the wise men to hasten his childbirth, for he could no longer endure such anguishes.

And then they made him fast for a long time, and they hung him head-downward over a pot full of sweet and warm electuary electuary (lattuaire): a medicinal paste or syrup made by mixing powders with honey or sugar, and they placed a gag gag (testillon): a small piece of wood or cloth used to keep the mouth open in his mouth. And when the frog felt the sweetness of this electuary, it moved so much that it came out through his mouth and fell into the pot; and Nero remained completely confounded.

And when they had taken him down Original: "jusmorson," referring to being released from the ropes or harness used to hang him upside down., he wanted to see what fruit he had produced, and they showed it to him and made him believe that it was a child who was not yet perfect because it had not been carried to its full term.

And this Nero committed many other wicked deeds and iniquities, which I omit for the sake of brevity and because they do not belong to the subject undertaken The "subject undertaken" is the history and moral purpose of the game of chess., and he did so many that it would have been better...