Francis Osborne
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Francis Osborne (26 September 1593 – 4 February 1659) was an English
essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...
ist, known for his '' Advice to a Son'', which became a very popular book soon after the
English Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...
.


Life

According to his epitaph, Osbourne was born on 26 September 1593. He was the fifth and youngest son of Sir John Osborne of Chicksands Priory,
Shefford, Bedfordshire Shefford is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. At the 2021 census it had a population of 7,311. It lies south-east of Bedford. Toponymy The name Shefford means "s ...
, by his wife Dorothy, daughter and coheiress of Richard Barlee of Effingham Hall, Essex. Sir John Osborne was the son of Peter Osborne. :s:Osborne, Francis (1593-1659) (DNB0) Francis was educated privately at Chicksands. Coming to London as a youth, he hung about the court and attracted the notice of
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (8 April 158010 April 1630) , of Wilton House in Wiltshire, was an English nobleman, politician and courtier. He served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford and together with King James I founded ...
, who made him his master of the horse. Subsequently, he was employed for a time in the office of the lord treasurer's remembrancer, which was presided over successively by his father and his eldest brother Peter. In politics and religion he sympathised with the popular party in parliament, but, although a close observer of public life, took no active part in it. After residing for a time at North Fambridge,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, he moved in about 1650 to Oxford to supervise the education of his son, John, and there printed a series of historical, political, and ethical tracts. He married Anna, sister of William Draper, a colonel in the parliamentary army and a parliamentary visitor of the university. They had three daughters, as well as one son
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
, to whom his ''Advice to a Son'' was written. Through Draper's influence, Osborne obtained a small official employment under the Commonwealth. After the publication of his ''Advice to a Son'' in 1656, he gained a wide reputation, and paid many visits to London and reckoned the philosopher
Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan (Hobbes book), Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered t ...
among his friends. He died at Draper's house at Nether Worton, near Deddington, Oxfordshire, on 11 February 1659, and was buried in the church there. His son
John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and entrepreneur, who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-war theatre. Born in London, he briefly worked as a jo ...
moved to Ireland, where he became Prime Serjeant, and died there in 1692.


''Advice to a Son''

Osborne's chief publication was his ''Advice to a Son'', in two parts, of which the first was published in 1656, 'printed for H. Hath, printer to the university for Thomas Robinson,' and the second in 1658. The first part, which was divided into five sections, headed Studies, Love and Marriage, Travel, Government, and Religion, appeared without an author's name; it became popular at once, and after it had passed through five editions within two years Osborne declared himself the author. In 1658 the second part appeared, and he dedicated it under his own name to Draper, at the same time issuing a new edition of the first part, with his name on the title page. The warnings against women with which he plied his son give the book a misogynist character, and it was ridiculed by John Heydon in his ''Advice to a Daughter, in opposition to Advice to a Son'', 1658. A defence of Osborne appeared in ''Advice to Balaam's Ass'', by Thomas Pecke, whom Heydon castigated in the second edition of his ''Advice to a Daughter'', 1659. In Osborne's day his ''Advice to a Son'' found admirers among the young scholars at Oxford, but the clergy detected
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
in its vague references to religion, and denounced its evil influence. On 27 July 1658 the vice-chancellor, John Conant, accordingly summoned the Oxford booksellers before him, and told them to sell no more copies of Osborne's book; but this direction caused the ''Advice'', according to Anthony à Wood, to sell far more copies. At a later date
Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...
studied it, and Sir William Petty told him that the three most popular books of his time were Osborne's ''Advice'',
Thomas Browne Sir Thomas Browne ( "brown"; 19 October 160519 October 1682) was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. His writings display a d ...
's ''
Religio Medici ''Religio Medici'' (''The Religion of a Doctor'') by Sir Thomas Browne is a spiritual testament and early psychological self-portrait. Browne mulls over the relation between his medical profession and his Christian faith. Published in 1643 afte ...
'', and Samuel Butler's ''
Hudibras ''Hudibras'' () is a vigorous satirical poem, written in a mock-heroic style by Samuel Butler (1613–1680), and published in three parts in 1663, 1664 and 1678. The action is set in the last years of the Interregnum, around 1658–60, immediate ...
''.
Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...
wrote of Osborne in '' The Tatler'' as one who affected the phrases in fashion at court in his day, and soon became either unintelligible or ridiculous.
James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson, '' Life of Samuel ...
found the ''Advice'' shrewd, quaint, and lively; but
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
told Boswell that Osborne was conceited: "Were a man to write so now, the boys would throw stones at him."


Other works

His ''Traditional Memoirs of the Reigns of Q. Elizabeth and King James I'', 1658, supplies court gossip. This tract was reprinted by
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
in his ''Secret History of James I'' (Edinburgh, 1811). Other works by Osborne were: 1. ''A Seasonable Expostulation with the Netherlands, declaring their Ingratitude to and the Necessity of their Agreement with the Commonwealth of England'', Oxford, 1652. 2. ''Persuasive to mutual Compliance under the present Government, and Plea for a Free State compared with Monarchy'', 1652. 3. ''Political Reflections upon the Government of the Turks'', with 'discourses' on Machiavelli, Luther, Nero's death, and other topics, 1656. 4. ''Miscellany of sundry Essays, Paradoxes, Problematical Discourses, Letters, and Characters, together with political Deductions from the History of the Earl of Essex'',' London, 1659. All these works were subsequently bound together, and entitled Osborne's ''Works''. The collective edition of 1673 was brought to the notice of the House of Lords on 13 March 1676, on the ground that its incidental vindication of a republican form of government in England rendered it a seditious and treasonable publication. Reissues followed in 1682 (8th edit.), 1689 (9th edit.), 1701 (10th edit.), and 1722, in 2 vols. (11th edit.) To the last are prefixed a memoir of Osborne and many previously unprinted letters addressed by him to Colonel Draper between 1653 and 1658. Osborne has also been credited, apparently wrongly, with ''Private Christian's non ultra, or a Plea for the Layman's interpreting the Scriptures'', Oxford, 1650, (anon.); with ''A Dialogue of Polygamy'' (London, 1657), translated from the Italian of Bernardino Ochino by 'a person of quality', and dedicated to the author of the ''Advice''; and William Sprigge's ''A modest Plea for an equal Commonwealth against Monarchy''.


Works

* ''Advice to a Son'' (1656–1658) * ''Political Reflections of the Government of the Turks'' * ''Historical Memoires on the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James'' (1658)


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Francis 1593 births 1659 deaths English essayists 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers