The Book of Chess

And for that reason, no one
Can so easily or well
Correct us for the evil we do;
And yet, one has a duty in this,
Though the corrector may suffer for it.
This lesson original: "bischafft"; in this context, an example or a moral instruction derived from history. is clearly shown
In the case of Emperor Nero,
Who, against his master Likely Seneca, the Roman philosopher and tutor to Nero, whom the Emperor eventually forced to commit suicide.,
Who corrected him early with justice,
Caused that master to lose his life.
As the book says of him,
One finds many such lessons.
Whoever now wishes to ask
And know how it happened to him,
I can only partially explain;
I found it as one might in the book.
It touches here on many kinds of guests original: "gasth"; here used metaphorically for the various themes or historical figures that "visit" the narrative.
Who were brought to shame;
It would be a great hardship
To bring each one to an end here.
Therefore, I will join it together appropriately
And will proceed as well as I can
To set down the contents of this book.
It is my great desire
To note the game of chess original: "schachzabel spil"; from the Latin scacci and tabula.,
And under which king it was found.
There was a king of noble birth—
He who caused these things to happen—
His name was Evil-Merodach The son of Nebuchadnezzar; in medieval legend, he was often portrayed as a tyrant whose court invented chess to teach him better governance.,
And he was Nebuchadnezzar’s child,
Of whom one also finds it written
How he came to such pride original: "hoffart"; a major theme in medieval literature, referring to the sinful arrogance of rulers.,
How he came to such pride

That God took his human senses from him
And gave him the senses of a beast A reference to the biblical account in the Book of Daniel, where King Nebuchadnezzar is driven mad and lives like a wild animal as punishment for his arrogance..
But as for how the origin lay—
If anyone wishes to know that,
They will find much written there.
It is recorded regarding Nebuchadnezzar
In the books that describe him so;
Therefore I will be silent about him here
And will speak instead of the one
Who was named Evil-Merodach.
For from him flows the possibility [of this story],
As I have read concerning him.
When his father lost his senses
Through pride, as I said before—
I mean Nebuchadnezzar—
Then it was stated by the master Josephus original: "lo sephrey"; referring to Flavius Josephus, the 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian whose works were standard sources for medieval scholars.
Concerning Evil-Merodach
That he committed much evil.
While his father had
Those unholy senses and was away from judgment
For seven months While the Bible says "seven times" (often interpreted as years), some medieval traditions or manuscript variants specify months., as one reads of him,
As it is written concerning him,
There he [the father] had, without mockery,
[Prayed to] Daniel's original: "Dinnel"; referring to the prophet Daniel. merciful God,
That He might restore him.
Observe me closely here:
How it happened then to that same man,
That he [the son] acted so treacherously
Against the father, and so
Evilly and grimly.