The Boke Named The Governour Devised by Sir Thomas Elyot Knyght. [The Book of the Governor].

ELYOT, Sir Thomas.

Item Number: 127553

Londini: Thomæ Bertheleti, 1544.

Rare fourth edition of “this book is not only the earliest treatise on moral philosophy in English but the first of an imposing array which introduced into England the cultural and political ideals of the Renaissance” (Pforzheimer).  Small octavo, bound in full levant morocco by Henderson and Bissett with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised gilt bands, quadruple gilt ruling and central gilt motif to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, extra-illustrated with Holbein’s portraits of Sir Thomas and Lady Elyot bound in. ESTC S100426. Ownership inscription to the final leaf on the table of contents which reads, “From the horns of unicorns and the roaring of lions, good Lord, save thy poor handmaiden m. a.” The author of the inscription was quite possibly the author’s wife, Lady Elyot, whose maiden name was Margaret Aborough (initials M.A.). Margaret Elyot, née Aborough, was personally tutored by Sir Thomas More, in whose house she was brought up. The inscription itself, taken from Psalm 22, v.21, would also indicate that its author had knowledge of the Miles Coverdale Bible (1535), the first complete Bible in Modern English, significantly comparable with her husband’s “The Governour.” The author of the inscription has also added a portrait of a lady which echoes Holbein’s portrait of Margaret Elyot. In near fine condition with restoration to a few leaves, not affecting the text. It was reprinted several times before 1600, and it is rare to find good complete copies of any of these editions.

Sir Thomas Elyot's The boke named the Governour appeared in 1531, one year before Machiavelli's The Prince. This copy is the fourth edition, the last to be published during Sir Thomas's lifetime. It is widely considered the first book in Modern English and one of the earliest books exhibiting the spreading influence of the Renaissance and Humanism in England (PMM 41). Elyot's 19th century editor, Henry Croft, described it as "the earliest treatise on moral philosophy in the English language". It was intended to direct the education of those destined to fill high positions, and to inculcate those moral principles which alone could fit them for the performance of their duties.