''Advice to a Son'' is a 1656 anti-matrimony book by the English essayist

Francis Osborne Francis Osborne (26 September 1593 – 4 February 1659) was an English essayist, known for his '' Advice to a Son'', which became a very popular book soon after the English Restoration. Life He was born, according to his epitaph, on 26 Sept. 1 ...

. This was his primary effort, published in two halves in 1656 and 1658 respectively. The first half had five topical sections: "Studies", "Love and Marriage", "Travel", "Government", and "Religion". Despite being published anonymously at first, the book received major traction in the era following the

English Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

. The warnings against women with which he plied his son give the book a

misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

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 Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, whom Heydon castigated in a 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 deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

in its vague references to religion, and denounced its evil influence. On 27 July 1658 the vice-chancellor,

John Conant Rev. John Conant D.D. (18 October 1608 – 12 March 1694) was an English clergyman, theologian, and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Life Conant was born at Yettington, Bicton, in the southeast of Devon, England, the eldest son of Rober ...

, accordingly summoned the Oxford booksellers before him, and told them sell no more copies of Osborne's book; but this direction caused the ''Advice'', according to

Anthony à Wood Anthony Wood (17 December 1632 – 28 November 1695), who styled himself Anthony à Wood in his later writings, was an English antiquary. He was responsible for a celebrated ''Hist. and Antiq. of the Universitie of Oxon''. Early life Anthony W ...

, to sell far more copies.\ At a later date

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

studied it, and

Sir William Petty Sir William Petty FRS (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to su ...

told him that the three most popular books of his time were Osborne's ''Advice'',

Thomas Browne Sir Thomas Browne (; 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 deep curi ...

's ''

Religio Medici ''Religio Medici'' (''The Religion of a Doctor'') by Sir Thomas Browne is a spiritual testament and early psychological self-portrait. Published in 1643 after an unauthorized version was distributed the previous year, it became a European best- ...

'', 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, immediately b ...

''.

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...

wrote of Osborne in ''

The Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'' 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 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...

found the ''Advice'' shrewd, quaint, and lively; but

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, 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." The book is considered an example of "Courtesy literature", a descendant of such books as

The Book of the Courtier ''The Book of the Courtier'' ( it, Il Cortegiano ) by Baldassare Castiglione is a lengthy philosophical dialogue on the topic of what constitutes an ideal courtier or (in the third chapter) court lady, worthy to befriend and advise a Prince or pol ...

.https://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclopedia/6130/ PD

References

{{reflist 1656 books