DALLINGTON, Sir Robert

by Sir Robert Dallington

£2,750 · Offered by Sokol Books

A fine copy of the first edition of this important and influential book of Aphorisms adapted from Guicciardini. The author had been introduced to Prince Henry in 1605, serving him for four years without reward; in 1609 Dallington presented Henry with a manuscript translation Aphorismes civill and militarie , selected from the Italian historian Francesco Guicciardini. As a result of this gift Dallington was fee d as a gentleman-in-ordinary of the prince s chamber, joining the distinguished group of scholars who attended James I s high-minded heir. After the prince s death in 1612 Dallington reworked his Aphorismes for publication, published here with a new dedication to Prince Charles. Improbably the ruse worked a second time, and Dallington became one of the few members of Prince Henry s household to be retained by the new heir. It has even been suggested that Charles may have derived his unfortunate persuasion that duplicity was a princely virtue from reading Dallington s Guicciardini. (see ODNB). In 1613 Robert Dallington dedicates his Aphorismes Civill and Militarie to Prince Charles. The overt purpose of his work is to offer this future ruler lessons in political prudence. Dallington condenses educational episodes from the first five books of Guicciardini s Storia d Italia, introducing each with a moral of his own and sententiae from various sources. On the surface, the Aphorismes is a typical approach to methodising the art of prudence. Dallington is only one of many ear

• Binding: Hardcover

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