[The doctrinall of princis] — To Nicocles. English. 1533

[The doctrinall of princis] — To Nicocles. English. 1533

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well gouerned, if thou perceyue them that ben vnder thy gouernaunce to be by thy dylygence welthy and more temperate in lyuynge.

¶Sette more by leauynge to thy chyldren honest fame or renoume / than great possessyons or rychesse / for these be transytorie,Honest fame. the other immortalle. Also goodes may be gotten by fame, but good fame canne be bought with no money. Also goodes happen to men that be of euyll disposytion / but so doth not good estimation, but cometh onely to them that endeuour them selfe with vertue to gette it.

¶Be delicate in thyne apparayle and garmentes that serue for thy body, in all other partes of thy lyuynge be contynent as it besemeth all pryncis of honour / that they that beholde the / for thyne honorable presence may deme the worthy to be a gouernour / and thy famyly [...] and seruauntes for thy noble courage may haue of the a lyke good opynyon.

¶Consyder dylygently bothe thyne owne wordes and thy dedes, to the entent thou mayst fall in very fewe errours.

¶Of all thynges hit is beste to happen on the ryght poynte of all thynges that are to [Page] be doone, but for as moche as that is very harde to be knowen, better is to leue somewhat / than to excede. For moderacyon shall preuayle more, where somwhat doth lacke than where that any thynge is superfluous.

Courteisy & grauitie¶Endeuour the to be both courtaise and of a reuerende grauytie: for the one besemeth a prynce / the other is expedyent and more agreable to euery company: all be it to vse both, it is of al other thinges the most dyffycile, for thou shalt fynde for the more part them that vse a reuerent grauyte to be vnpleasaunt, them that be courtoyse, to be of base courage and symple. Therfore the one and the other is to be vsed, than exchne that thyng, whiche in any of them is yll or semeth not conuenyent.

Experyence and philosophy.¶If thou woldeste perfectly knowe that, whiche belongeth to kinges to perceyue / geue the to experience and studye of philosophy, for phylosophy shall declare vnto the the meanes or wayes howe to bring to passe thyn affayres: experience in semblable busynesse shall make the able to do or sustayne them.

¶Beholde dylygently / what as well princis as priuate persons do dayly, and what [Page] of theyr actis dothe succede or happen.

¶Surely if thou remembre well thynges that are passed, thou shalt the bettere consult of thynges comming.

¶Thinke where priuate persons haue died with good wyl, to the intent that after their dethe they mought be commended, that it were great shame to princis not to trauayle in suche study or busynesse, wherby in theyr lyues they may be worthyly praysed.

¶Desyre to leaue whan thou dyest / rather monumentes or Images of thy vertues than of thy personage.

¶Endeuor the specially to kepe alway thy selfe and thy contray in surety.

¶If necessite constrayne the to ieopard thy person, these rather to dye with honour, than to lyue in reproche.

¶In all thine actis remembre that thou arte a prynce: and therfore do no thynge vnworthy to so noble a state.

¶Do not despyse so thy nature, that thou suffre thy selfe all hooly to perisshe / but in as moche as thy bodye is mortalle, and thy soule immortal, assay to leue to thy soule an immortall remembraunce.

¶Vse the to speke of honest affaires and studies, that by suche custome thou mayst [Page] thinke on lyke thynges as thou speketh of.

¶Thynges that in cosultation seme to be best / those execute thou in thy proper actes.

¶Whose opynions thou enuyest, his dedes do thou folowe.

¶Lake what thou counsaylest thy children or seruauntes to do, thynke it conuenyent that thy selfe do the semblable.

¶Eyther vse that whiche I haue aduysed the to do, or enquyre for better than that is.

¶Suppose not them to be wise men, that sharpely can talke of smalle thynges and trifles, but those that can substancially speke in matters of waighty importance.

¶Nor thynke not them wyse, that promisse to other men welthe and good fortune, they them selfe beynge in great necessyte / but rather those that spekyng of them selfes moderately, can with other men and in theyr affayres vse them selfe well and discretely, and being not troubled with any channge of theyr lyuynge, knowe howe to beare honestly and temperately as well aduersite as also prosperite.

¶And meruaylle thou not, that I haue now rehersed many thinges that thou knewest before / nor that forgatte I not / but knewe well ynoughe, that beynge suche a [Page] multitude as well of princis as of priuate persones / some of them haue spoken the same that I dyd, & many haue harde it, & dyuers haue sene other men done it, and some there be that by them selfes haue experienced it. Notwithstandyng in matter concernynge instructyon, noueltie is not to be souhgt for, for therin ought not to be founden eyther synguler opinion, or thynge impossyble, or contrary to mens expectacyon, but suppose that to be in herynge mooste gracyouse or pleasaunte / whiche beynge sowen in the myndes of other, may assemble moste matter to the pourpose / and the same declare beste and mooste aptly. For this knowe I wel, that the counsayles and wyse sentences of poetes and other good authours, are thoughte of all menne to be very profytable: yet wyll not they gladly gyue eare vnto them, but be therwith in the same case, as they be with these that do giue them good counsayle: for they prayse them all, but they care not howe seldome they come in theyr company, desyrynge to be rather with offendours / than with them that of synne be the rebukers. Example we may take of the poemes or warkes of Hesiodus, Theognes, and Phocillides, for [Page] euery man affyrmeth them to be excellent counsayles coucerning mannes lyfe, but al though they say so, yet had they leuer vse that, wherto theyr owne madnesse induceth them, than folowe that, wherto the others preceptes doeth aduyse them. Moreouer if one shuld gader out of the said authors that which men cal sentences, wherin they perchance haue ben studiouse, in semblable wise towardes them shulde they be disposed, for they shuld with more plesure here a lyeng fable or fantasy, than the sayd preceptes made by moch connyng and diligence. But what nedeth it to tary longe vpon euery mater? Genyrally if we wyll consyder the natures of men, we shal perceiue, that many of them delyte neyther in meates that ben most holsome, nor in studies that ben most honest, nor in dedes that is most conuenyent: nor yet in doctryne that is mooste commodiouse, but imbracynge pleasaunte appetites, whiche be repugnaunt to profite, wolde seme to be painful and laboriouse. How may any man content any suche persons, eyther by preachinge or teachyng, or tellyng of any thing that is profitable: that for the wordes that be spoken, do ennie and haue indygnacion at them that speke truly, and do take them [Page] for playne men or symple, in whome lacketh wysedome: so moche they abhorre trouthe in all thynges, that they knowe not what is theyrs, or do belong to their office, but consultynge or raysonynge of that which doth partayne vnto them / they be sadde and vnpleasaunte, whan they talke of other mennes affayres they be merye and ioyouse. More ouer they hadde leuer suffre some griefe in their bodies / than in reuoluyng what shuld be moste necessary, trauayle any thyng in theyr mindes. And if a man take good hede, he shall fynde in theyr mutuall assembles and companies, that eyther they reproue other men, or els that they of other be in some thynge reproued. And whan they be by thē selfes / they be euer wisshinge and neuer consultinge. I haue not spoken this agayne all men but only againe them that be giltie in that which I haue rehersed. Finally this is apparraunte and certayne, who so euer wyl make or wryte any thynge pleasaunte and thankfull to the multytude, he may not seke for wordes or maters moste profitable / but for them that contayne most fables and leasynges. For in herynge such thynges they reioyce: but whan they perceyne to be labours and contentions in theyr affayres / [Page] than be they pensife. Wherfore Homere and they that founde fyrst Tragedyes, may be well maruayled at, who in theyr warkes vsed bothe the sayd fourmes in wrytynge, for Homere expressed in the contencions and batayles of them / whiche for theyr vertues were named halfe goddes, the other brought those fables in to actuall apparaunce, in so moche as we not onely may here them, but also may presently beholde them, by such example it is declared to them that be studiouse to please their herers, that they must abstayne frome exhortynge and counsayllynge them, and that they apply them to wryte and speke that onely / where in they perceyue the multitude to haue most delectation. This before wrytten haue I declared, thynkynge that it besemeth not the that are not one of the people, to be of lyke opynyon with the multytude, nor to iudge thynges to be honest, or men to be plesaunt, accordynge to thy sensuall appetite / but to trye and esteme them by theyr good and profytable actes. Moreouer for as moche as they that labour in the study of Philosophy, concernynge the exercyse of the myndes, be of sundry opynions, some sayenge that men become wiser by moche disputynge and raysonyng, [Page] other affyrme that it hapneth by exercyse in polytyke gouernaunce or cyuill causis, dyuers suppose it to come of other doctrynes: but finally they all do confesse, that he whiche is well brought vp, may by euery of the sayd studyes gather mater suffycient to geue good counsayle. Therfore he that wyll leaue the doubtfull opinions / and wyl apply to that which is certayne, he must examyne the raysons therof, and specyally they that be counsailors ought to haue consideration of the occasyon, tyme, and oportunyte, if they can not brynge that to passe, than to reiecte and put a way as well them which speke in al maters generally, as also those that knowe nothynge that is expedyent or necessary, for it is apparante and certayne, that he whiche can not be to him selfe profitable, he shall in other mens busynesse do nothyng wisely, make moch of them that be wyse, and do perceyue more than other men, and haue good regarde towarde them: remembrynge that a good counsaylour,A good counsaillour. is of all other treasure the most royal and profytable, and thynke veryly that they which can most ayde and profyte to thy wytte or reason, shall make thy kyngedome moste ample and honorable. wherfore for my part [Page] as moch as I can, I haue exhorted the, and honored the with such presentes as be in my power to geue the. And desyre thou not / that other men shuld bryng vnto the (as I sayde at the begynnynge) theyr accustomed presentes, which ye shulde bye moch derer of the giuers, thā of the sellers: but couaite thou suche presentes, which if thou do vse well and dylygently ommyttynge no tyme, thou not onely shalt not consume them, but thou shalte also encrease them, and make them of more estimation and value.

¶Finis.

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Imprinted at london in fletestrete / in the house of Thomas Berthelet, nere to the cundite at the signe of Lucrece.

CVM PRIVILEGIO.

Information about this book

Title statement

[The doctrinall of princis]To Nicocles. English. 1533

Isocrates.

Edition statement

1533

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2003-01 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A04137

ID [STC]

STC 14278

ID [STC]

ESTC S2142

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

23070342

ID [OCLC]

ocm 23070342

ID [VID]

26187

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Early English books online.

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(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A04137)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 26187)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1475-1640 ; 1796:20)

Source

— [The doctrinall of princis], To Nicocles. English. 1533, Isocrates., Elyot, Thomas, Sir, 1490?-1546..

Extent

[10+] p.

Imprinted at London in Fletestrete in the house of Thomas Berthelet, nere to the cundite at the signe of Lucrece,. [London] :: [1533?]. (T.p. lacking; title suggested by STC (2nd ed.).) (Running title: Isocrates to Nicocles.) (Translated out of the Greek by Sir Thomas Elyot--Cf. NUC pre-1956 imprints and STC (2nd ed.).) (Imprint from colophon.) (Date of imprint suggested by STC (2nd ed.).) (Imperfect: lacking all except signatures B₁-B₅.) (Reproduction of original in the Bodleian Library.)

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