The History of the Seven Wise Masters of Rome

A prince's life hangs by a thread. Falsely condemned by his jealous stepmother, young Dioclesian faces execution until seven wise masters intervene, each telling a story to delay his death. But these aren't ordinary tales. Each narrative the masters unfold contains a lesson so pointed, so perfectly aimed at the Emperor's conscience, that he must pause, reconsider, and ultimately see the truth. The stories cascade inward, nested like wooden boxes, each tale commenting on the one before it, building toward a devastating revelation of the stepmother's treachery. This is the medieval phenomenon that enchanted Europe: wisdom from the East dressed in Roman clothing, its roots stretching back to ancient India and Persia. For centuries, these stories traveled along trade routes and translation circuits until they became one of the most popular frame-tale collections of the Middle Ages. The structure influenced everyone from Chaucer to the Arabian Nights. Here, in its original late-Victorian English translation, is the complete text that taught medieval readers how stories could save lives.