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UTOPIA: 
 
 CONTAINING AN 
 
 IMPARTIAL HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MANNERS, CUSTOMS, POLITY, GOVERN- 
 MENT, &c. OF THAT ISLAND. 
 
 WRITTEN IN LATIN 
 
 By Sir THOMAS MORE> 
 
 CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND; 
 
 And interfperfed with many important Articles of Secret 
 Hillory, relating to the State of the Britifh Nation. 
 
 ^ TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH 
 
 By GILBERT BURNET, late BiHiop of Sarunii 
 
 TO THIS EDITION IS ADDED> 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF 
 
 SIR THOMAS MO RE'S LIFE. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 Pill^'T-ED FOR D. I, EATONj AT THE COCK AND SWINB^ 
 NO, 74, NEWGATE-STREET. 
 
 M»cej:ev, 
 
Digitized by the Internet Arciiive 
 in 2010 witii funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 http://www.arcliive.org/details/utopiacontaining1795more 
 
(16 it 
 
 ^SotX 
 
 •THE 
 
 AUTHOR'S EPISTUE 
 
 TO 
 
 P^r£iJ GILES, 
 
 J AM almoft afhamcd, my deareft Peter Giles, to fend 
 you this Book of the Utopian Common- Wealth, after 
 almoft a year's delay ; when you no doubt looked for it 
 in fix weeks : for as you are fenfible that I had no occa- 
 fion to make ufe of my invention, or to take pains to put 
 things into a method, becaufe I had nothing to do, but to 
 repeat exadly what I heard Raphael relate in your pre- 
 fence ; fo a ftudied elegance of expreflion would have been 
 here unneceflary. Since as he delivered things to us of 
 the fudden, and in a carelefs ftyle ; he being, you know, 
 a greater mafter of the Greek, thanof the Latin ; the plain- 
 er my words arc, they will the better refemble his lim- 
 plicity, and will confequently be nearer to the truth. 
 This is all that I think lies on me, and the only thing in 
 which I thought myfelf concerned : I confefs that I had 
 here very little left for me to do ; for the invention and or- 
 dering of fuch a fcheme would have cofl si man, whofe ca- 
 
 A 2, pacity 
 
IV THE author's epistle 
 
 pacity and learning was of the ordinary flan dard, feme 
 pains and time. But if it had been neceffary, that this 
 relation fhould have been not only confiftent with truth, 
 but exprefled with elegance, it could never have been per- 
 formed by me, even after all the pains and time that I 
 could have beftowed upon it. My part in it was fo very 
 fmall, that it could not give me much trouble, all that 
 belonged to me being only to give a true and full account 
 of the things that I had heard ; but though this required fo 
 very little of my time, yet even that little was long denied 
 me by my other afTairs, which prefs much upon me : for 
 while in pleading, and hearing, in judging or compofing 
 of caufes, in waiting on feme men upon bufinefs, and on 
 others, out of refpe6^, the greatcft part of the day is fpent 
 on other men's affairs, the remainder of it muft be given 
 to my family at hom.e : fo that I can referve no part of it 
 to myfelf, that is, to my ftudy : Imuft talk with my wife, 
 and chat with my children, and I have fomewhat to 
 fay to my fervants : all.thefe things I reckon as a part of 
 bufinefs, except a man will refolve to be a ftrangcr at home ; 
 for with, whom foe ver either nature, chance, or choice has 
 engaged a man, in any commerce, he nauft endeavour to 
 make himfelf as acceptable to thofe about him, as he pof^ 
 fibly can ;, ufing frill fuch a temper, that he may not fpoil 
 them hy an exceffive gentlcnefs, fo that his fervants may 
 not become his mafters. In fuch things as thefe, days, 
 months, and years (lip away ; what is then left for writing ? 
 And yet I have faid nothing of that lime that muft go for 
 fleep, or for meat : in which many wafte aim oft as much 
 of their time, as in fleep, vhich confumes very near 
 
 the 
 
TO PETER GILES. V 
 
 the half of our life ; and indeed all the time which 
 I can gain to myfelf, is that which I fteal from 
 my deep and my meals ; and becaufe that is not much, 
 I have made but a flow progrefs ; yet as it is fomewhat, 
 I have at laft got to an end of my Utopia, which I now 
 fend to you, and expe6l that after you have read it, you 
 will let me know if you can put me in mind of any thing 
 that has efcaped me'; for though I would think myfelf 
 very happy, if I had but as much invention and learning 
 as I know I have memory, which makes me generally 
 depend much upon it, yet I do not rely fo entirely on it, 
 as to think I can forget nothing. 
 
 My fervant, John Clement, has ftarted fome thing$ 
 that {hake me : you know he was prefent with us, as I think 
 he ought to be, at every converfation that may be of ufe to 
 him ; for I promife myfelf great matters from the progrefs 
 he has fo early made in the Greek and Roman learning. 
 As far as my memor}^ ferves me, the bridge over Anider 
 at Amaurot, was, according to Raphael's account, five 
 hundred paces broad ; but John affures me, he fpoke only 
 of three hundred paces ; therefore, pray recolledt what 
 you can remember of this, for if you agree with him, I 
 will believe that I have been miftaken ; but if you remem- 
 ber nothing of it, I will not alter what I have written, be- 
 caufe it is according to the beft of my remembrance : for 
 as I will take care that there may be nothing falfely fct down, 
 fo if there is any thing doubtful, though 1 may perhaps 
 tell a He, yet I am fure I will not make one ; for I would 
 rather pafs for a good man tlian for a wife gne : but it will ' 
 
 he 
 
Vl THE author's epistle 
 
 be eafy to correal this miftake, if you can either meet witli 
 Raphael himfclf, or know how to write to him. 
 
 I have another diiticulty that prefTes me more, and 
 makes your writii"ig to him the more neceflary : I know 
 not whom I ought to blame for it, whether Raphael, you, 
 or myfelf ; for as we did not think of afking it, fo nei- 
 ther did he of telling us, in what part of the new world 
 Utopia is iituated ; this was fuch an omiiTion, that I 
 would gladly redeem it at any rate : I am afliamed, that 
 after I have told fo many things concerning this ifland, I 
 cannot let my readers know in what fea it lies. There 
 are fome among us that have a mighty defire to go thither, 
 and in particular, one pious divine is very earneft upon it, 
 not fo much out of a vain curiofity of feeing unknowr> 
 countries, as that he may advance our religion, which i$ 
 fo happily begun to be planted there ; and that he may 
 do this regularly, he intends to procure a miflion from 
 the pope, and to be fent thither as their bifhop. In fuch 
 a cafe as this, he makes no fcruple of afpiring to that 
 charad^er, but thinks fuch ambition meritorious, while 
 actuated fokly by a pious zeal ; he defires it only as the 
 means of advancing the Chriftian religion, and not for 
 any honour or advantage that may accrue to himfelf. 
 Therefore I earneftly beg, that if you can poflibly meet 
 with Raphael, or if you know how to write to him, 
 you will be pleafed to inform yourfelf of thefe things, that 
 there may be no falihood ieft in my book, nor any im- 
 portant trutji wanting. And perhaps it will not be unfit 
 to let him fee the book itfcif : for as no man can corredl 
 any errors .that may be in it, lb well as he, fo by reading 
 
 it 
 
TO PETER GILES. tJJ 
 
 It he will be able to give a more perfe£l judgment of it, 
 than he can do upon any difcourfe concerning it : and you 
 will be likewlfe able to difcover whether this undertaking 
 of mine is acceptable to him or not ; for if he intends 
 to write a relation of his travels, perhaps he will not be 
 pleafed that I fhould prevent him, in that part that be- 
 longs to the Utopian Commonwealth ; fince, if I (hould 
 do fo, his book will not furprize the world with the plea- 
 furc which this new difcovery will give the age. And 
 I am fo little fond of appearing in print upon this occaiion, 
 that if he diflikes it, I will lay itafide; and even though 
 he fhould approve of it, I am not pofitively determined 
 as to the publifhing it. Men's taftes differ much ; fome 
 are of fo morofe a temper, fo four a difpofition, and make 
 fuch abfurd judgments of things, that men of cheerful 
 and lively tempers, who indulge their genius, fecm much 
 more happy than thofe who wafte their time and ftrength 
 in order to publilhing a book, which, though of itfclf it 
 might be ufeful or pleafant, yet, indead of being well re- 
 ceived, will be fure to be either laughed at, or cenfured. 
 Many know nothing of learning, and others defpife it : 
 a man that is accuftomed to a coarfe and liarfh flyle, 
 thinks every thing is rough that is not barbarous. Our 
 trifling pretenders to learning, think all is flight that is 
 not drcfled up in words that are worn out of ufe ; fomc 
 love only old things, and many like nothing but what is 
 their own. Some are fo four that they can all6w no jeffs, 
 and others fo dull that they can endure nothing tha" is 
 Iharp j while others are as much afraid of any thins gay 
 and lively, as a man bit with a mad do^ is of water ; 
 
 others 
 
^m -THE author's epistle, &c, 
 
 others are fo light and unfettled, that their thoughts 
 change as quick as they do their poftures: fome again, 
 when they meet in taverns, take upon them among their 
 cups to pafs cenfures very Freely on all writers \ and, with 
 a fupercilious liberty, to condemn every thing they do 
 not like : in which they have an advantage, like that of 
 a bald man, who can catch hold of another by the hair, 
 while the other cannot return the like upon him. They 
 are fafe as it were from gun- (hot, fince there is nothing 
 in them folid enough to be taken hold of. Others arc 
 io unthankful, that even when they are well pleafed with 
 a book, yet they think they owe nothing to the author ; 
 and are like thofe rude guefts, who, after they have been 
 well entertained at a good dinner, when they have glutted 
 their appetites, go away without fo much as thanking 
 him that treated them. But who would put himfelf to 
 the charge of making a feaft for men of fuch nice palates, 
 and fo dllTerent tades ; who are fo forgetful of the civi- 
 lities that arc paid them ? But do you once clear thofe 
 points with Raphael, and then it will be time enough to 
 confidcr whether it be fit to publi(h it or not ; for fince I 
 have been at the pains to write it, if he confents to its 
 being publiflied, I will follow my friends advice, and 
 chiefly your's. Farewell, my dear Peter, commend me 
 kindly to your good wife, and love mc ftill as you ufed to 
 <io, for I ailure you I love you daily more and more. 
 
 '^ LIFE 
 
LIFE 
 
 O F 
 
 SIR THOMAS MORE. 
 
 
 IN O true patriot, no lover of humanity, can be totally- 
 indifferent to the hiftory of that amiable and virtuous hero 
 of political honefty, that bold oppofer of prerogative in 
 the Britifli Senate, who, while yet denominated a beard- 
 Icfs boy, ftemmed alone the mighty torrent of royal omni- 
 potence, though he might eafily have commanded the 
 favour of a Court ; and who, after having prJkd his life 
 in advocating the rights of mac, fell a cheeriul vi6Um to 
 his probity, his patriotifm, and his virtue j or rather tp -* 
 the lawlefs ambition of a favage defpot. 
 
 Sir Thomas More, only fon of Sir John More, Knight, 
 one of the Judges of the King's-Bench, was born in 
 Milk-ftreet, London, in the year 1480. He firft went to 
 a fchool at St. Antliony's in Threadnecdle-ftrett, and was 
 
 Vol. III. a afterwards 
 
C ii 3 
 
 afterwards introduced, on account of his promifing talents, 
 into the family of Cardinal John IVIoreton, who in 1497 
 fent him to Canterbury College, Oxford. He there was 
 under the tuition of Lynacre, and attended Grocinus*s 
 le61ures on the Greek language^ in which it is faid he foon 
 very much excelled. 
 
 Having made a confiderable proficiency, during tw^ 
 years refidence, in various branchesof academical learning, 
 he came to New Inn, London, at nineteen years of age, 
 to ftudy the law. And having fome time after removed 
 to Lincoln's- Inn, of which his father was a member, he 
 was at length called to the bar» 
 
 But neither a liberal education, as fcholaftic learning is 
 falkly called, nor brilliant talents ; neither virtue nor 
 good fenfe, were in that age of ecclefiaftic flavery and 
 defpotic opprcfTion, fufficientto free his unfufpeding youth 
 from the trammels of bigotry and fupernition, with which 
 the hypocrify of the priefthood had learned, under the 
 mafk of religion, to fubdue mankind. He even fubmit- 
 tcd to the fcverity of monkirti difciplinc, wore a hair (liirt 
 next his fivin, frequently faded, and often flept on a bare 
 plank'. 
 
 At the age of twenty-one Pvlr. More became a Member 
 of the Houfe of Cummons ; and about two years after he 
 had taken his feat, in 1503, very much diitinguiflitd him- 
 fclf, by oppofmg a dem.and of a fubfidy and iliree-fifteenths, 
 for the marriage of Henry VI I. 's elded daughter Margaret, 
 to tlx King of Scotland. I'hough many of the members 
 were fo v;cak and fo corrupt, as to be deterred from their 
 duty bv the apprcb.epJion of the King's difplcafurc, Mr. 
 
 More- 
 
[ iii 3 
 
 More oppofed the motioa with (o much foree and eloquence, 
 that It was at length rcjed^ed. 
 
 As foon as this vote was thrown out, Mr. Tyler one 
 of the King's Privy Council, informed his Majerty that 
 a beardlefs boy had defeated his purpofe. The King was 
 highly incenfed at the difappointrnent of his wifhes, but as 
 young More had nothing to lofe, he revenged himfelf by 
 fending his father to the Tower for a pretended offence, 
 and keeping him in clofe confinement till he confented to 
 pay ;^ioo for his liberty. 
 
 Mr. More having foon after received information, from 
 his friend Mr. Whiteford, Chaplain to Bifhop Fox, 
 that the Court were laying fnares for him, probably 
 by the means of /pies and InformerSy determined to 
 decline the pra6\icc of the law, and vifit the Continent. 
 He therefore applied to the ftudy of French, and made 
 himfelf mafter of moft of the liberal fciences ; paying 
 particular attention to perfedt his knowledge of hiftory. 
 In his leifure hours he feerns to have relaxed his mind by 
 mufic, being a very good performer on the violin. But 
 meeting with no further dillurbance, he abandoned his in- 
 tention of leaving his native country. 
 
 As foon as Mx. More had put on the gown, he read 
 public ledlures in St. Lawrence's Church, on St. 
 Auguftine's trcatife de Civitate Dei, with great apphuie. 
 He was then appointed law-reader in Furnival's-Inn, and 
 held that place about three years. After which he took 
 lodgings near the Charter-Houfe, and joined in all the 
 religious exercifes of that fociety, but without engaging 
 in anv vow. He even formed a deilgn of b'jr}ip.g bis 
 
 a 2 talents 
 
r iv 1 
 
 talents and virtues-, by becoming a Francifcan friar, and 
 embracing the order of priel^hood. But he was fortunately 
 dilTuaded from that defign ; and after four years fpent in 
 thefe futile aufterities, married, by the advice of Dr. 
 Colet, Dean of St. Paul's and founder of the fchool, 
 Jane, the eldeft daughter of John Colt Efq. of Newhall 
 in EiTex. And having fettled his family in Bucklcrfbury, 
 he attended his profefllon at his chambers in Lincoln's- Inn, 
 till he was called to the bench. 
 
 Mr. ]M ore's delicacy towaids the feelings of others, and 
 the difintcreflednefs of his character, extended even to his 
 choice of a companion for life. For though he felt a pre- 
 \ dile61ion for the fccond daughter, he was induced to offer 
 his hand to the cldcil, by the pain he apprehended he 
 might othcrwife give her. 
 
 In 1508, about a year brfcre Henry VIII. came to 
 the throne, Mr. Mere was appointed Judge of the She- 
 riff's Court, in the city of London, and was made a 
 Jufticc of the Peace. He became fo eminent at the bar, 
 as to be retained in ahnoft every important caufe, and 
 though he only undertook fuch as his confcicnce approv- 
 ed, and never took fees of widows, orphans, or perfons 
 in poor circumltances, he acquired an eftate of ^({^400 per 
 annum, which at that rim.e was verv confid^rable. 
 
 The laborious duties of his profeflion did not, how^ever, 
 prevent his literary talenis from enUghteniig mankind. 
 For d jring this adive part of his life, in the year 1516, 
 lie publiiiRu his immortal *Eutopia, of which the 
 
 merit 
 
 * Etymology not bei-ig atccnJeJ to in the time of Sir Thomas More, lb 
 much iii it oci'tivcj, he ujiiiited the letter E in the name of his republic. Or 
 
 rather 
 
C V ] 
 
 merit was fo manifeft, that it was very foon tranflated into 
 French, Dutch and Italian. And many learned men 
 were To pleafed with the defcriptions it contains, of the 
 climate inftitutions and manners of Eutopia,. and fo little 
 fufpe6ted that it was only a philofophical li6lion, that they 
 were defirous of having fomc priefts fent thither, in order 
 to preach Chriftianity, and even projcded making the 
 voyage themfelves : forgetting, that to adopt the fyftcm of 
 religion, to which Conilantine firft gave that name, would 
 have dcftroyed thofe very advantages,whiGh Eutopia boafted 
 above other countries. 
 
 Before Mr. More entered into the King's immediate 
 fervice, he had been twice employed, with his Majefty's 
 confent, as agent for the Englidi merchants, in fome con- 
 fiderable difputes between them and the merchants of the 
 Steelyard. And the fame year that the Eutopia was pub- 
 lidied, (1516J he went to Flanders in the fuite of Biiliop 
 Tondal and Dr. Knight, who were fent by Henry VIII. 
 to renew his alliance with the Archduke of Auftria, after- 
 wards Charles V. 
 
 On his return, Cardinal Wolfey would have engaged 
 Mr. More in the fervice of the Crown, and ofrered him a 
 penfton. But this he honeftly refufed. And appearing in 
 the Star-Chamber, a few years after, as an advocate 
 againil the Crown, he recovered for the Pope, a fhip, 
 which liaving put into Southampton, was in defiance of 
 good faith, claimed as a forfeiture by the King. This 
 
 a 3 nev/ 
 
 rather perhaps, he omitted that letter, the better to conceal the fiaion, a! a 
 peiiod vv'hcu truth was dangerous. In either cafe the etymology may be now 
 rcftorci, and we fhuU accordingly corred it, wherever accurucv permits. 
 
new difplay of abilities was a further inducement for the 
 Court to wifli for his fervices ; and though More had done 
 what every honeft man ever will, refufed a gratuitous pay, 
 he accepted the place of Mafter of the Requells, which 
 for want of a better vacancy, was now oiTcr.d him. For, 
 as one of his biographers informs us, no entreaty could 
 prevail on the King to difpcnfe with his fervices. A 
 month after this, he was made Knight and Privy Coun- 
 fellor ; and on the death of Mr. Wef>on, the following 
 year, (1520) Treafurer of the Exchequer. To this 
 office, as well as his preceding honours, he was raifed 
 without any folicitatlon on his own part. He now built 
 a houfe on the banks of the Thames, at Chclfea, and 
 married a fecond wife, whofe name was Middleton ; an 
 old, ill-tempered and covetous widow. Yet Erafmus 
 informs us, he was as fond of her as if fhe were a young 
 maid. 
 
 And here it is requifite to juilify this virtuous charadler 
 from the imputation of a pricft. Burnet obferves (in his 
 preface to the Eutopia and Life of More, Oxford, 1751, 
 i2mo, p. X.) that *' the earncftnefs with which he rccom- 
 ** mends the precaution ufcd in marriages among the 
 ** Eutopians, makes one think that he had a misfortune in 
 ** his own choice ; for the ftridnefs of his own life covers 
 ** him from fevere cenfures." But the teftimony of his 
 cotemporary and mofc intimate friend Erafmus, is fuf- 
 ficient to prove that in his domeftic oondud^, he was not 
 liable even to the Highteft blame, and to convict the Bifnop, 
 who wrote above a century and a half after him, of error. 
 The true objcdt of the pafTage alluded to, was as Sir 
 
 Thomas 
 
L vii ] 
 
 Thomas hlmfelf explains it (part 2. chap, on^ bondmen, 
 &c.) that a law fliould be made, " whereby all deceits 
 " mightbeefchewed and avoided beforehand," in lieu of 
 being remedied afterwards: becaufe, «* the eafy hopes of 
 ** a new marriage break love between man and wife." 
 
 But nothing can fo ftrongly prove the Bifliop's miftake, 
 or the worth of Sir Thom.as More in his private as well 
 as public character, as the pidure of his manners drawn 
 by Erafmus. ** More," fays he, ** has built near London, 
 ** and on the Thames, fuch a comimodious houfe as is 
 ** neither mean nor fubjeft to envy, yet fufficiently mag- 
 " nificent. There he converfes affably with his wife, his 
 *' fon and daughter-in-law, his three daughters and their 
 ** hufbands, with eleven grand-children. No man living 
 « is fo afFc6lionate to his children as he. He loves his 
 ** old wife as well as if flie were young ; and fuch is the 
 ** excellence of his temper, that whatever happens which 
 ** could not be helped, he bears as well as if nothing 
 " more fortunate could have happened. Were you in 
 
 that place, you would fay you beheld Plato's academy. 
 
 But I do the houfe an injury to compare it to Plato's 
 
 academy, where there were only difputations on num* 
 ** bers and geometrical figures, and fometimes on the 
 ** moral virtues. I fhould rather call his houfe a fchool 
 ** of Chriftian religion ; for there is no one in it but reads 
 *^ or fludies the liberal fciences. Their fpecial care is 
 " piety and virtue. There is no quarrelling or intempc- 
 *^ rate words heard, no one is fecn idle. Which houfehold 
 ** difciplinc that worthy gentleman doth govern, not by 
 *^ proud and lofty words, but with kind and courteous 
 
 a 4 *' benevolence. 
 
 t< 
 
 << 
 
f viii ] 
 
 *' benevolence. All perform their duty, yet there is always 
 ** alacrity \ and fober mirrh is not wanting." 
 
 Mr. More's talents w^re now fo well known, that his 
 correfpondence was defircd by mofl: of the learned men of 
 that age. Erafmus in particular fecms to have enjoyed the 
 greateft fnare in his fricndiliip, althougli at the beginning 
 of their correfpondence they were not pcrfonally acquaint- 
 ed. Indeed their tirft interview was fiich as to furnifli a 
 pleafant anecdote. 
 
 Erafmus coming to Englnnd, partly to pay a vifit to 
 More, it was contrived that before they were introduced 
 to each other, thev fliould meet at the Lord Mayor's 
 table; which in thofe days was conftantly open to men of 
 learning and eminence. At dinner they fell into an argu- 
 ment, during which Erafmus, feeling the keennefs of his 
 antagonlft's wit, exclaimed with warmth, in Latin : 
 ** Thou art More or nobody:" to which the latte? re- 
 plied in the fame language, ** Thou art Erafm.us or the 
 *' devil." 
 
 With all the talentt requifitc for public bufinefs. Sir 
 Thomas was remarkably formed for the fwcets of domeftic 
 retirement. Thence it was that he became the particular 
 and intimate friend of Henry ; and thence he grew tired of 
 the Court, and flighted the friendlhip of his Majefty. For 
 the King having once experienced this engaging part of his 
 chara<5ler, became remarkably fond of his company; and 
 when he had performed his devotions on holidays, he ufed 
 to fend for Sir Thomas into his elofc.t. He there converfed 
 -svith him on aftronomv o;cometrv divinity and other 
 learned topics, as well as on public bufinefs ; and he fre- 
 quently 
 
[ 
 
 IX 
 
 quently took him in the night to the leads, on the top of 
 his houie, to obfcrve the motions of the planets. Sir 
 Thomas was indeed (o cheerful in his difpolition, and 
 poffeflfed fo copious a fund of humour and pleafantry, that 
 the King and Qiieen often ordered him to be fent for after 
 fupper, to entertain and aaiufe them. But this at length 
 becam.e fo difagreeably troublcfotTie to Sir Thomas, and 
 fo much interfered M'ith the attention he wilhed to pay his 
 o'vvn family, by making him fpend almofi: his whole time 
 in the palace, rhat he began by degrees to lay afidc his 
 facetioufncfs, and to affume an afl'eded air of gravity, as 
 the only means of liberating himfelf from the fhackles of 
 royal favour. 
 
 In 1523, Sir Thomas being made Speaker of the Ploufe 
 of Commons, (liowed an intrepidity then almofl: unpre- 
 cedented, in oppofing an impudent minifter in his uncon- 
 flitutional attempt at railing fupplies. 'The Cardinal* 
 apprehending fome ill humour on the occafion, refolved to 
 be prefent when the motion was made, and gave notice of 
 his intention to the Houfe. Upon this a warm debate arcfe, 
 whether they fhould receive him with a few or his Lords, 
 or with his whole train. The former ( f thefe opinions 
 feeming to be moft generally adopted, the SpL-aker thus ad. 
 dreffed the Houfe. *' Gentlen^en," faid he, " iince my Lord 
 
 * Cardinal hath not long ago laid to our charge, the litrht- 
 ' nefs of our tongues for tilings fpoken out of this Houfe, 
 
 * it will not in my judgment be amifs, to receive him 
 
 * with all his people. For if he fjiouid bianie us here- 
 ^ after for the like fault, lie may lay it on thofe whom 
 ' his Grace fliall bring with him/' For Woifey had 
 
 been much offended by fome of the rvlem.bers divuleins 
 
 the 
 
C ^ ] 
 
 the tranfa6kions of the Houfe out of doors ; though the 
 Members themfelves thought the People had an undoubted 
 right to know, what their fervants in the Houfe were 
 doing. 
 
 The Houfe being plcafed with the humour of the 
 Speaker's propofal, the Cardinal-Minifter was received 
 accordingly : but having explained, in a folemn fpeech, 
 the neceflity of granting the obje6l of his demand, and 
 finding none, of the Members return anv anfwer, or fliow 
 the leaft inclination to comply with his requcft, he fell into 
 a paflion, and with great indignation, faid ** Gentlemen, 
 ** unlefs it be the manner of the Houfe to exprcfs your 
 ** fentiments in fuch cafes by your Speaker, your filencc 
 ** is certainly furprifing and obftinate." He then required 
 the Speaker to give an anfwer, to the requeft which he had 
 made in the name of the King. On which Sir Thomas 
 More, falling on his knees with great reverence to the 
 Cardinal-Minifter, apologized for the filenceof the Houfe, 
 as being abaflied at the prefence of fo exalted a perfonage. 
 He then proceeded to fhow, that it was not confident with 
 the ancient liberties of the Houfe, to give an anfwer to his 
 Majefty's mefiage, but by their Speaker ; and concluded 
 by telling his Eminence, that thoiJgh he was the voice of 
 ^he Commons, yet unlefs every one qf them could yut hh 
 judgment into his head, he alone, in a matter of fo great 
 importance and moment, could not pretend to give a fuit- 
 able anfwer. This reply highly offended Wolfey, who 
 expected nothing elfc of the Commons, than an implicit 
 acqiiiefcence in every pecuniary demand, his fagacity in_ 
 yented, or his impudence fuggeflcd. The Commons, 
 
 however. 
 
[ xi ] 
 
 however, having virtue enough to refufe the rcglflratlon 
 of the King's decree, for fuch only could the propofition 
 be called, the Minifter fuddcnly quitted the Iloufe. 
 
 At that period the funding fyftem not being known, the 
 Miniiler had a weaker hold, on thofe who vv^ere defirous of 
 living without labour ; nor could he bribe the Members, 
 by making them partakers of a ufurious contradl. 
 
 His difpleafure was perhaps the greater, as he knew that 
 Sir Thomas had feconded the motion, w^hcn firft propofed- 
 For though that fpiritcd patriot thought fupplies abfoiutely 
 ncceffary for carrying on the war, he m.ade a diftindion 
 between the reafonable demands of thd King, and the 
 violation of parliamentary privileges, by an infolent Mi- 
 nirter. It appears therefore that to Wolfey, there was 
 fomething perfonal as well as unexpedled, in this check. 
 
 Sir 7 homas being fome time afterwards in the Cardi- 
 nal's gallery at Whitehall, his Eminence complained of 
 his behaviour on the above-mentioned occafion \ faying 
 *' Would to God you had been at Rome when I made 
 ** you Speaker." To which Sir Thomas replied, *' Your 
 ** Grace not offended, I wifii I had, I fhould then have 
 ** enjoyed the pleafure of feeing a place I have long defired 
 ** to vifit." He then began to praife his gallery, and faid 
 he liked it better than the other at Hampton Court. But 
 though this appeafed Wolfey in appearance, it did not cool 
 his refentment. For when the Parliament broke up, he 
 Perfuaded the King to fend Sir Thomas on an emibaffy to 
 Spain, from which iiowever that gentleman endeavoured 
 to excufe himfelf, by pleading ill health. His Majefty 
 allowed the juftnefs of his argument, and told him, that 
 
 as 
 
[ ^" ] 
 
 as he meant not to hurt him but render him fervice, he 
 would think of fome other manner of employing his ta- 
 lents : And not long after, on the death of Sir R. Wing- 
 field, Sir Thomas was appointed Chaneellor of the 
 Duchy of Lancafter, though that was the Khig's perfonal 
 patrimony. At the fame time he Mas admitted into fo 
 high a degree of favour with the King, that his Majefly 
 fometimes went to his houfe at Chelfea, without previous 
 notice, in order to enjoy the plcafure of his converfation 
 on cum m on affairs. 
 
 On one of thefe occafions, when the King had paid 
 him an unexpedcd vifit to dinner, he walked with him 
 afterwards near an hour in the garden, with his arm round 
 Sir Thomas's neck. When his Majclly was gone, Mr. 
 Roper, a fon-in-Iaw of Sir Thomas, obferved how happy 
 he was, to enjoy the favour of his Sovereign in fo diflin- 
 guiihed a manner. To which Sir Thomas replied, ** I 
 ** thank our Lord, fon Roper, I find his Grace to be my 
 cc ycry good mafter indeed, and I believe that he favours 
 *' me as much as any fubjedl within this kingdom. But yet 
 " I muft tell thee, fon, that I 1 ave no caufe to be proud 
 ** of it : for if my head would win him a caftle in France 
 ** (with the King'of which country he was then at war) he 
 " would HOC fail to have it itiuck ofr my llioulders." A 
 reply, from which it appears, that Sir Thomas well knew 
 bis Grace to be a villain. 
 
 Of all Henry's fervants and favourites, none was treated 
 with m<ore kindncfs and refpedt by t'ne King than Sir 
 I'homas More : yet none fo well preferved his independ- 
 fnce, or was kfs folicitous to enjoy the fmiles of his So- 
 vereign. 
 
[ xiii ] 
 
 verelgn. _ Of this the freedom with which he dehVercd 
 h,s op,mon, „„ the unlawfulnefs of his marriace, is a 
 ftr.bng .nftance. His anfwer on that occafion does the 
 h.gheft honour to his n^emor,-. Clark and Tonftal. 
 Bifliops of Bath and Durham, and others of the Privy 
 Counc, being ordered to confult with the Kin. on 
 thatfubjea. Sir Thon.as faid, ■< To be plain with'^^our 
 ^^ Grace, neither my Lord of Durham nor my Lord of 
 ^^ -ma nor myfclf nor any of your Privy Coundl, bein<T 
 aU_ your fervants and greatly indebted to yonr .ood! 
 nels, are m my judgment, proper counfellors forVur 
 Grace on this point. But if you are dcHrous of undcr- 
 ftandmg the truth, you may have eounfeliors, who net- 
 ^< ther out of regard to worldly intereft, nor through fear 
 ot your prmecly authority, will deceive vou •" And 
 then naming Jerome, Au-tin, and feveral more of the 
 nnc.ent lathers, he produced a ftatement of the opinions, 
 he had coiiecled from thofe authorities. 
 
 This freedom did not exclude Sir Thomas from the 
 frienddiip even of the fcvere and obfiinate Henry. In 
 I5i6hewas fent with Cardinal Wolfey and others, on 
 a jomt emhaffy to France, and in 1529 with Tonftall, 
 i^.ihop of Durham, to negociate at Cambray, a peace 
 between the Emperor, the King of France, and Hcnrv, in 
 
 which he proved his diplomatic abilities.bv procuring greater 
 advantages for Englan<l than were expected. For this and 
 other eminent ferviccs, the King on the difgrace of Wolfey in 
 the following year, made him Chancellor ;* a favour which 
 
 appears 
 
 • On ihc :5ai o.' Oaoler 153c. 
 
[ xiv ] 
 
 appears the more extraordinarv, as he had repeatedly de- 
 clared his difappi-obation of the King's divorce, and was 
 not a man llkcW to change fides for a place. 
 
 In this new employment, Sir Thomas ftlU farther con- 
 firmed the opinion generally entertained of his abilities in- 
 tegrity and impartiality. This was rendered the more ftrik- 
 ing by the conduct of his predeceiTor Wolf-y having been 
 haughty and prou<) ; contemptuous to people of ordinary 
 rank, and inacccffiblc to any, without a bribe to his fervants. 
 But the fcene was now entirely reverfed ; for the new 
 Chancellor was afrable to all. The poorer and humbler 
 his fuitors, the more attentive and ready was Sir Thomas,' 
 to hear their caufes and "ive them redrefs. 
 
 It is faid that one of his fons-in-law Mr. Daunc-y, 
 found fault with him between jeft and earnefl, for his 
 great condefcenfion, faying ** You are fo ready to 
 *' hear every one, poor as well as rich, that there is no 
 *' getting any thing under you. Whereas were you other- 
 ** wife, fome for friendlliip, fome for kindred, and fome 
 ** for profit, would gladly have my intereil: to introduce 
 ** them. But now I fhould do them VvTong if I took any 
 ** thing." To which the Chancellor replied, there were 
 many ways in which he could do him good, and give 
 pleafure to his friends. ** And be alTured of this," added 
 he, ** upon my faith, if the parties will call for jufficc 
 <* at my hands, then, though my father whom 1 love fo 
 <* dearly, flood on one fide, and the devil whom I deted, 
 <* on the other, were the caufe good, the devil (Tiould 
 *< have it." And he actually made a decree againft Mv. 
 Heron, another fon-in-law^ who prefuming on his fii- 
 
 thcr's 
 
C =^v ] 
 
 therms favour and intereft, had rcjeded a propofal of 
 arbitration. A circumftance which marks the delicacy of 
 the Chancellor, in not prejudging a caufe, even where his 
 neareft conneclions were concerned. 
 
 His integrity became flill more confpicuous after his fall, 
 even by the malice of his enemies. For at their infliga- 
 tion, one Parnel accufed him of receiving a bribe, for 
 making a decree againft him, and in favour of his anta- 
 gonifl: Vaughan, who gave him a gold cup. Sir Thomas 
 confefTed, that as the cup was brought him for a new-year*s 
 gift, long after the decree was made, he had not refufed 
 it. On this Sir Thomas Boleyn, then Lord Wiltfliire, 
 who was the profecutor, and who hated him for oppofing 
 the King's marriage with his daughter, cried out with tri- 
 umphant exultation, " Lo! my Lords, did I not tell you 
 ** that you fhould find the matter true." But Sir Thomas 
 requeued, that as they had heard with indulgence the 
 firi^ part of the tale, they would with equal impartiality 
 attend to the remainder : and declared, " that f hough after 
 ** much folicitation, he had indeed received the cup, and 
 ^' it was long after the decree was made, yet, after drink- 
 *' ing the health of Mrs. Vaughan (who herfelf prefented 
 ** it to him), he had obliged her, however reludiantly, to 
 ** convey it back to her huiband." This was proved by 
 witneffes, to the great confufion of Lord Wiltfhire and his 
 other enemies. 
 
 On another occafion, when one Graham fent him as 
 a new-year's gift, 3 beautiful gilt cup, the fnfl-iion of 
 which very much pleafed him, he ordered one of his own, 
 of more value though inferior in elegance, to be delivered 
 
 to 
 
C xvi ] 
 
 to the mcfiengcr for his mafter. Nor would he receive 
 the prefcnt on an}' other condition. 
 
 Vv iih the fame integrity, when a Mrs. Goaker pre- 
 fentcd him with a pair of gloves, containing j/^40 in angels, 
 he faiJ, '* Aiiilrefs, fmce it would be contrary to good 
 ^' manners not to receive your new-year's gift, I acc-^pt 
 ** your glo\es, but as for the lining, I utterly refufe it.'* 
 
 Having executed the office of Chancellor with great 
 wifdom and integrity towards the fpacc of three years, he 
 religncd the fcals on the 15th of May 1533, probably to 
 avoid the danger of rcfafing to confirm the King's di- 
 vorce ; a fanc^ion to which tranfa6\ion, it is thought by 
 fome hiftorians, notwithftanding the hopclcfsncfs of the 
 projc6>, was the true object of his appointment to that 
 office : and Uicrcfoie the pcrm.iflTion to refjgn was granted 
 wiih great rcluClancc. 
 
 In that r)'riCO no man ever a61ed more to tlic fatisfadlion 
 of the people. His cxpedi{ion in determining caufcs was 
 no Icfs rcmarkP.Mc tlian l;is intcgritv. For one day when 
 he called for the next caufe, he \\2S anfwered that there 
 were no more to be lieard. .'^ueli an event was as rare r.s 
 the fliutting of Janus's temple ; Sir Thomas ordered it to 
 be entered on the record. 
 
 About the time of his refignation, Sir Thomas loll his 
 father \ to whom he had alv\ays behaved, and particularly 
 in his laft illnefs, with evcrv m.ark of affection and filial 
 piety. He was even anxious' on all occasions to give him 
 precedence, notw itliftanding his own high rank, which his 
 father as conftantly refukd. 
 
 When 
 
When Sir Thomas refigned the gre.it feal, he wrote an 
 apology ; in which he declared, that all the revenues and 
 eftates he had by his father, with his wife^ or by purchafe, 
 did not amount to ^50 per annum : which, notwithftand* 
 ing the difference of value in money, and that the difficulty 
 of living has augmented in proportion to the ftupendous 
 increafe of inequality in property, muft ftrike the reader as 
 a mere bagatelle, when compared with the emoluments of 
 a modern chancellor, or the gratuities for a week's plead- 
 ing and confpiring,' againft the life of an honefl man. 
 
 But fo liberal was this excellent man's charity, and fo 
 great his chriftian contempt of riches, that though he had 
 held many important and lucrative offices during a fpace 
 of more than twenty years, he made no provifion either 
 for himfclf or his family. 
 
 Finding therefore that after his refignation, the limited 
 flate of his finances would not permit him to live in that 
 fplendor, which his rank had hitherto required, he retired 
 to his houfe at Chelfea, difmiffed many of his fervants, 
 taking care firfl to provide them with places to prevent 
 their being reduced to difirefs on his account, fent his 
 children with their refpeaive families, whom he had hi- 
 therto maintained in patriarchal ftile, to their own houfcs, 
 and fpcnt his time after their removal, in ftudy and devo- 
 tion, on an income which at moO, little exceeded /.ico oev 
 Ann. He refolved never more to engage in public bufinefs, 
 but to enjoy in tranquility the fweets of domefho happi- 
 nefs, if the cruel and fickle tyrant, at whofe will he held 
 the tenure of his life and all its conveniences, would gra- 
 Cioufiy permit, hini, whofe friendlhip he had once cuhi- 
 
 Vol, HI. h vated, 
 
f xvUi j 
 
 vatedy to enjoy the uncertain good, in folitary and fcantj 
 cbfcurity. For he felt fome prefages of the conning ttorm, 
 and knowing the defpot to be a villain, he expeded to be 
 treated with rigor, and prepared himfelf with pious refig- 
 nation, to meet the fate he had often foretold would de- 
 ft roy him. 
 
 The C(5ronation of Ann Boleyn was fixed for the 31ft 
 of May 1533, a fortnight after the refignation of the 
 charKellor, to whom a fuccefTor was appointed on the 
 twentieth da v. Sir Thomas More was invited to be pre- 
 fcnt at the ccremcnv : but this he declined, as he had not 
 altered his opinion refpe«5ting the illegality of queen Ca- 
 therine's divorce. His fandlion was even deemed of great 
 importance, though reduced to a private Nation. Yet 
 although various means were ufed to procure it, they all 
 proved equally ineffc61ual. In the following parliament 
 tlKrcforc, a hilt v/ is brought into th$ houfe of lords, at- 
 taintii-ig him together with Bilhop Filher and fome others, 
 of mifprifion of treafon, for encouraging Elizabeth Bar- 
 ton the nun or holy maid of Kent, a pretended prophetefp, 
 in her treafonablc practices. This woman having her 
 reafon at times difordered by hyflerics, and then uttering 
 Arange fpeeches, was fuppofcd to be infpired ; and incon- 
 fequencc of tl.at reputation, was m.ade an inftrument by 
 a deilgning vicar, of declaiming again'.'t tlic king's di- 
 vorce, and th:catcp.ing liis counfellors. But Sir Thomas's 
 innocence was fo apparent, that tlicy were obliged toftrike 
 out his name from tlic bill. 
 
 Several other accufations equally groundlefs, were fa- 
 bricated with no better fucccfs. At length the acSt which 
 
 indire<5^1y 
 
i'mlire^lly gave the fupremacy to the kingj and which pafTcd 
 in March 1534, was made the inftrument of innprifoning 
 Sir Thomas, as fome a6ls of the next feflions were of fa- 
 crificing his life. The oath required by that ftatute, was 
 tendered to Sir Thomas about a month after the bill 
 pafled, and was rcfufcd. Upon which, he was firft put 
 in cuftody of the Abbot of Weflminfter, and four days 
 after, on a fccond refufal, committed to the Tower. 
 
 Sir Thomas was the moft unlikely man in the world to 
 take this oath. He was bigotted to the religion of his fa- 
 thers, but his attachment did not arifc from mere hereditary- 
 credulity. For he was a virtuous good man, and by fuch 
 men religious prejudices are the laft to be abandoned. As 
 a catholic he muft have believed, that the very effence of a 
 religion which demands a head, admits of no other than 
 the lawful head the pope. Had he profcfled that fimple 
 and rational religion which Jcfus taught, he would per*- 
 haps have equally refufed the oath, and alTerted that no 
 true chriftian could properly take itj or that the firft prin- 
 ciples of that religion m.arked fuch a claim with impofture. 
 That a king fliould be the head of a certain incorporated 
 body of men, in black and white drefles, calling them- 
 (elves the church, and performing mafonic rites and futi- 
 lities in the face of the moft high God, he might allow. 
 But to take an oath of this, might ftill appear to him, a 
 fandlion tending to perpetuate a fydem, whofe objed was 
 to deceive and enfiave the people ; and no religious man, 
 whether proteftant, catholic, or true chriflian, who 
 viewed the fubje6l in this light, could voluntarily fubmit 
 thus to violate his confciencci To leave Henry in quiet 
 
 t> 2 poiTeflion 
 
poflefTion of thefe rights, if rights they were, might be 
 prudent, in one who delighted not to contend, with fupe- 
 rior force, but every reafonable nrian, might atleaft expert 
 to TKiNK fur liimfelf. His conducf^ therefore is beft ac- 
 counted for, by his confidering the a<5^ of parliament oJl 
 which he was convi6led, like many other bills which 
 thofc tyrants procured, who have made as it were a chafm 
 in the hiilory of a free and happy people, as an A6\ of 
 Parliament to deflroy the liberty of thought. 
 
 Nc thing can fo \^tll illuflrate the ideas, likely to be en- 
 tertained by fo great a luminary of the law, as a recol- 
 lediion of the manner, in which Htriry firft acquired the 
 difputcd title. 
 
 Wolfey had been accufed by the attorney-general, of 
 tvaving violated the ftatute of provifors and premunire, by 
 a6iir;g as legate under the authority of the Pope, and dif- 
 pofing of fevcral benefices in that capacity. In confe- 
 quence of this condud, all thofe who had acknowledged 
 his authority and appeared in his courts, were equally 
 guilty. 1 hus the whole body of the clergy, by obeying 
 him as legate, had become liable to that fpecies of out- 
 lawry which thi^ fratute cna6ls. The kingr therefore cun- 
 ningly obtained the fandiion of the convocation to his di- 
 vorce, before he availed himfelf of that a6t to opprefs and 
 degrade them. His grand but concealed obje^ was to 
 make them acknowledge his fuprcinacy. For however 
 prompt that body has ever been to follow the fpirit of a 
 court, they have ever flicwn a greater partiality for that 
 of Rome than any other : a partiality which Henry 
 wiflicd to transfer to his own. The inditlmcntwas brought 
 
 ia 
 
f xxi 3 
 
 in the court of king's- b^nch ; and though it was pleaded 
 that rhe king had himfelf connived at the cardinal's pro- 
 ceedings, rhe jultice of their arguments, did not prevent 
 judiiminr being given in favor of the tyrant. They were 
 pur our of rhe prote6Hon of the liw, and fubje'Med to all 
 the pains and penalries of praemunire. The clergy, con- 
 fcious tlvat the people could not then be excited ^o re-^ 
 venae the r caufe, and having no hopes of nfli'tance from 
 the pope who defpaired of recovering his influence in 
 Eni*;land, determined to take the oppofite part, and he re- 
 conciled with t .eir oppreifor. The c nvocation therefore 
 of Canterbury came to a rcfolution, to offer the king 
 ^1 00,000 for a pardon; and appointed a committee to 
 draw up an ad of convocation, called letters- patent, for 
 that purptjfe. That paper ftated the motive of the prefent, 
 to be ift, the great merit of the king; 2d. gratitude for 
 his fervices to the Catholic church, both by his pen and his 
 fword; 3,d. his zeal againft the Lutherans, vi'ho were la- 
 bourijig to dePtroy the church of England, of which the 
 clergy acknowledged the king Jole protestor and Jupreme head : 
 and iaiily their hopes of obtaining his pardon. 
 
 1 lie claufe relative to the fupremacy, was furrepti- 
 tloufly inferred by the contrivance of Henry. And when 
 it wasohjceled to as an inadvertent piece of flattery lead- 
 ing to confequences unforefeen by the committee, his 
 creatures had the effrontery to affert, that it could not be 
 expunged by a formnl rcfolution, without difpleafing the 
 king : an affertion confirmed the next day from the court 
 icieit by Mr. Secretary Cromwell and others of the privy 
 council, who attended the convocation for that purpofe, 
 
 b 3 andi 
 
r "^^'^'^ 1 
 
 and informed the houfe that the king would confider thole 
 who oppofed it, as difafFeiSled feditious perfons. 
 
 The York convocation gave a (imilar prefent of 
 j/^i 8,000. But having omitted the title conveyed in the 
 other, they were given to underftand their prefent would 
 not he accepted without it : on which a fimilar claufe was 
 inferted. The fame creatures of the court alfo contrived, 
 that the firft mentioned a(Sl fliould contain a promife, not 
 to make any conjiitution without the king's licence ; and 
 this alfo was inferted in that of the York convocation. 
 
 The Pope having promifed to refer Hi-nry's affair to be 
 decided at Cambray, by perfons to whom the king (hould 
 have no reafon to object, the Bilhop of Paris vsho ad^ec^ 
 as mediator, fixed the day for the return of the courier, 
 in order to put the bufinefs more compleatly in train. 
 But the Emperor's agents were fodefirous of creating dif- 
 ferences bet ween the Pope and Henry, and intrigued fo effec- 
 tually with the former, by threats as well as promifes, that 
 although he had at firft replied that his word was paffed, 
 Jie was induced to agree that if the courier did not return 
 on the day appointed, he (liould confider himfelf liberated 
 .from his promife. By the fame intrigues he was prevailed 
 on, to refufe the delay of fix days rrqueRcd by the Bifliop 
 of Paris ; and to tranfad): in one fingle feffion, what ufually 
 required three confiftories. He ordered the king again to 
 receive his wife, and denounced againft him ecclefiaftical 
 cenfures in cafe of difobedience. 
 
 This fentence whether conformable or advcyfe to the 
 king's inclination, facilitated the acft of Parliament he 
 wifhed to obtain. The ftatute which ultimately aboliflied 
 
 th€ 
 
[ x-xiii ] 
 
 die papal authority and indirectly conferred the fupre- 
 macy, confifted of feveral articles.* ift. It abolifhed the 
 annates, a tax conlifting of the firft year's revenue of every 
 benefice, the whole of which after each prefentation or 
 tranflation, was fent out of the country and paid to the 
 Pope. 2d. That Bifhops fliould not be prefentcd by the 
 Pope, but ele6led by conge d'clire from the crawn ; and 
 that if the election fhould not be made within twelve days 
 after the licence, the choice fhould belong to the kinf; ; 
 by which means he was enabled abfoluteiy to dictate 
 what choice Hiould be made ; as it was improbable that 
 the chapter ihould be unanimous, in oppofing the will of 
 their fupreme head.t 3d. Peter-pence, bulls, difpenfa- 
 tions, and all delegated authorities from Rome, were abo- 
 lifhed ; and fhe Archhtjhop of Canterbury authorized to 
 grant difpenjattons ^ provided part of the money was paid to 
 the king: 4th > The king's marriage with Catherine was 
 annulled, notwithflanding any difpenfation to the con- 
 trary : and far from fubje6^ing the adt of the people's de- 
 legates to the fan6lion of their Sovereign the nationy it en- 
 acted that all the king's fuhjeSfs vv'ithout diftindion, fhould" 
 fwear to obferve and maintain the contents of this act. 
 After which followed a lift of the marriages to be held 
 as forbidden by the law of God, including that of a bro- 
 ther's widow. 
 
 The whole parliament immediately took the oath, and 
 
 * It pafled in March 1534, on the 30th of which month the feflion con- 
 cluded. 
 
 -{- This has fince been improved by his Majefty's recoir.menJing a Bifiiop, 
 ^'hen he give^ the conge d'eliie. 
 
 b 4 the 
 
C xxiv 3 
 
 the king fent commlfTioners throughout the kingdom, t© 
 exad it of all his fubjccxs. 
 
 The oath for the clergy was to this effedV. To be faith- 
 ful to the king, the queen, their heirs, and fucceffors ; 
 to acknowledge the king as fupreme head of the church 
 of England i that the Bifhop of Rome has no more 
 jurifdiciion thnn any other 1 idiop whatever ; fincerely to 
 preach doiSirines conformable to the fcriptures ; and pray 
 firft for the king as fupreme head of the church of Eng- 
 land, next for the queen and her ifi'ue, and then for thp 
 Archbifliop of Ca! terbury. 
 
 When the oath was tendered to Sir Thomas, he re- 
 plied, ** That he would blam.e neither tliofe who had 
 made the adl, nor thofe who had taken the oath ; but for 
 his own part, though he was willing to fwear to the fuc- 
 cefTion in a form of his own drawing, yet the oath which 
 was offered was fo worded, that his confcience revolt- 
 ed againft it, and he could not take it with fafety to 
 his {bill." He offered however to fwear to the fuccefiTion 
 in the iffue of the prefent marriage, becaufe he thought 
 that, within the power of Parliament. Upon which Mr. 
 Secretary Cromwell, who had a ftrong friendfhip for Sir 
 Thomas, and forefaw the confcquences of his refufing the 
 oath in the form required, proteffed, *' that he had rather 
 his only fon fliould have loft his head, than that Sir 
 Thomas More (hould refufe to fwear to the fucceflion." 
 
 Cranmer alfo in a letter toMr. Secretary Cromwell, ear- 
 ncflly prefled him to accept the oath of More and Fifher, 
 in the form they propofed. For if they once fwcre to 
 the fuccefhon, it would quiet the nation j as all other 
 
 perfons 
 
[ XXV ] 
 
 perfons would fnbmit to the judgment of thofe great and 
 refpedable chara(fters. i^ut this excellent advice was not 
 complied w'th. 
 
 In confequence of this refufal, Sir Thomas was com- 
 mitted to the cuftudy of the Abbot ot Weftininfter for 
 four days ; during which the king and his council deli- 
 berated, what coarfe it was beft to purfue. Several me- 
 thods were propofed, but Henry would liflen to none of 
 them ; and at la ft Sir Thomas was fent to the Tower, and 
 indicted on the Itatutes. 
 
 Early in the next feflion of Parliament, which began 
 on the 23d of November in the fame year 1534, Henry- 
 knowing that the people was on his fide in throwing off the 
 Roman yoke, had feveral acts [>afTed to compleat the work. 
 The firtl: of thele confirmed the title of fupremc head of 
 the church of England, which he held as yet only by the 
 furreptitious and tyrannical infcrtion of it by his creatures 
 in the act of convocation. He purfued indeed nearly the 
 fame conduct now ; for to make a fliow of not having 
 procured the act himfclf, he fuggeRed fevcal fcruples to 
 his council and to fume of the Bifhops; but prefently fuf- 
 fcred himfelf to be.convinced, and afterwards, to ufe the 
 expreffion of Rapin, made good ufe of his new tiile and 
 prerogatives. 
 
 Another act made it trcafon to fpeak, write, or imagine, 
 any thing againft the king or queen. A third annulled 
 fanduaries in cafes of rreafon. A fourth prcf^ribed a 
 form for the oath of fuccelhon. A fifth gave the annates or 
 firji years revmue of benefices, and one tenth of all jucceeding 
 yearsy to the king, A fixth eftablilhed twenty-live fuffragan 
 
 bilhops. 
 
f xxvi ] 
 
 Bifbops, or Chorepifcopi, according to the primitive ufe 
 and phrafeology of the church, one to each diocefan 
 bidiop. And laftly the fatal a6^, condemning Fifher 
 Bifhop of Rochefter* and Sir Thomas More to perpetual 
 imprifonment, and confifcating all their eflates, forrefufing 
 the oath prefcribed by an acl of the former feflion. The 
 king indeed feems to have had a particular hatred to thofe 
 \i'orthy characters ; for though he granted a general pardon, 
 he excepted thefe two, becaufe they were honeji tnen, and 
 their very exiftence was incompatible with his tyrannical 
 views. 
 
 The perfecution of the tyrant was fo malignant, that he 
 not only employed the agency of crown-lawyers, -but it 
 even appears that he had given inftructions, concerning 
 the manner in which Sir Thomas was to be treated, during 
 his confinement. For the lieutenant of the Tower, having 
 formerly received fome obligations from More, apol(^gized, 
 that he could not accommodate him as he wifhed, without 
 incurring the king's difpleafure. To which the latter re- 
 plied, ** Mafler lieutenant, whenever I find fault with 
 ** the entertainmentyou provide for me, do you turn me out 
 " of doors." And it alfo appears that he was denied the ufe 
 of pen ink and paper. For he wrote with a coal, a very 
 few lines to his favourite daughter Mrs. Roper, and men- 
 tioned at the end of it his want of pnper to write more. 
 This andfevcral famples of Sir Thomas's talent for poetry, 
 
 * The lord Chancellor, the Duke of iSTcrfolk, and io-x.e Ouher lords, fat 
 with the jvidges by a conimi]lion of oyer and terminer, on the trial of Fifl;cr, 
 whofe death was fuppofed to be haHened by the Pope's fending him a Cardi- 
 aal's hat, and diftinguiiliing him by the title of Cardinal of Cardinal i. 
 
 Bnay 
 
( xxvii "] 
 
 may be feen in JobnA^n's Hiflory of tbe Englifli Language, 
 prefixed to the folio edition of his Dictionary. 
 
 While in continemcnt, the fohcirof^eneral, Rich, was 
 fent to confer, or rather ro tamper vi ith him. But though 
 he was very cautious in his replies, he was inveigled to 
 fay fomething, which as frequency happens in crown in- 
 didments, was wre'ted inU) an nifertion, that any queftioa 
 with regard to law, which eftabliflicd that prerogative, was 
 like a two e^ijzed fwora : if a man anfwered in one man- 
 ner it would confound his foul, it in anoti^er ir would de- 
 ftroy his bodv. 'I hi- cvprcfTDn w?** fufficient tor a 
 folicitor-gere. al to fi-uno an iccufarion, and S'r Thomas 
 after fifteen month>s imprifonn ; nt, was arraigned and 
 tried at the bar ot rlic ki'-»g's- bench, for high rrealon. 
 
 The charges conr-nncil m tiie mdidmcnt w re thefe : 
 ifl-. ThAt the prifoncr i.ad ^uhbornb' 0{>pored the king's 
 fecond marriage. d. hat he n-ahcioun^ rc^uf d to de- 
 clare his opinion of the a'^t ot fuprenv^cv. 30. That he 
 endeavoured to cva.jt t e f rce rt thnt Itarute, and advifed 
 Bifliop Filher bv hi-^ I rters. ni^r t<t fibniir fo ir : And 4th. 
 that on his examination in the Tower, it bei g demanded 
 whether he approve, thr a^^^ o Aipv n^acv , he anfwered 
 as above. And thefe wcie laid as t vert a:^^ of the trea- 
 fon of his heart.* 
 
 When the atrornev g<-ntral bad g' >ne hrou; h the cbarge, 
 which hedjd in die mo'^^ viri'enr m:^nncr, thv l.-'rd Clian- 
 cellorfaid, ** Y<iu fee now Iv w j:»^ii voiifiv i >'; iiave ofi«:nd- 
 ** edhismajeHy: nev.rrli lef- he i> ;*'., p ciCiiul, that if you 
 ?* will but leave your oh: inacy and change y('Ur opinion, 
 
 * See SaLr^-i's Cdticil Re view of ihc S'...t;-'Tii-us'. 
 
 << we 
 
( xxviii ) 
 
 <* we hope you may yet obtain pardon of hishighnefs for 
 *' what is pad." And in this fentinnent he was fecondtd by 
 the duke of Norfolk, who was More's pirtjcular friend. But 
 Sir Thomas replied with much firmnefs, *' That he had 
 much caufe to thank thefe noble lords for this courtefy, 
 but he befought Ahnighty God, that t rough his grace he 
 might continue in the mind in which he then was, unto 
 death." After this he proceeded to his defence. 
 
 Sir Thomas did not deny the two firfl charges of this 
 indidment. He allowed that he had advifed the king 
 againft his fecund marriage, and that he had declined 
 giving his opinion on the a6l of fupremacy. f he third 
 was relied on his letters to Bifliop Fifher ; but rhefe let- 
 ters were not produced. And rhe fourth had no other 
 fupport, than tie evidence of the folicitor gent ral ; a tef- 
 timony, of which Sir Thomas entirely difcredited the va» 
 lidity. 
 
 That worthy and innocent man continued his defence, 
 faying that he had no malice or treafon in his heart, when 
 he advifed the king againft his fecond marriage , but gave 
 his opinion when commanded by his niajefly, acc(^rding to 
 his confcience, and his duty ; and therefore had he refused 
 to comply with his requeft, his majefly might then have 
 juflly refented it. As to the fecond charge, he thought 
 filence was no fignof the malice of his heart ; for accord- 
 ing to the civilians, he who held his peace feemed to con- 
 fent. And he declared at the fame time, he had never 
 caft any refledlicn on the ftatute, in the prefence of any 
 man. With regard to the third charge, that of mali- 
 cioufiy advifing Fiflier not to comply with the a<fl, he de- 
 
 fired 
 
( xxix ) 
 fired that his letters which werefaid to prove.it, might be 
 produced: for he was confident they would acquit him, 
 of having given fuch advice. And as to the fourth arti^ 
 cle, the words were no reflexion on the ad, even had he 
 fpoken them ; whereas he had faid nothing of that tend- 
 ency. He objcded to the evidence of the folicitor, on 
 whofe teftimony he was charged with them, and appealed 
 to the memory of the lords who were prefent at the con- 
 ference, and who all immediately declared, M^//%^r^r^ 
 no fuch words. 
 
 The principal evidence for the crown, was Mr. Rich, 
 the folicitor general ; who dcpofed that when he went to 
 the Tower, for Sir Thomas's books and papers, he had 
 a converfation with him, in which having himfelf con- 
 felled, that no parliament could make a law, that God 
 Ihould not be God, Sir Thomas replied, <* No more 
 ** cati the parliament make the king fupreme head of the 
 «' church." To this charge Sir Thomas anfwered, ** If I 
 " were a man my lords that did not regard an oath, I need- 
 " ed not at this time and in this place, as it is well known 
 " to you all, to ftand as an accufed perfon. And ifthisoath^ 
 «* Mr. Rich, which you have taken, be true, then I prav 
 ** that I may never fee God in the face ; v/hich I would 
 <* not fay were it otherwile, to gain the whole world.'* 
 Upon which the folicitor being unable to prove his tcfti- 
 mony by other witnelTcs, though he attempted it, that 
 allegation was dropped. 
 
 In thofe days of ignorance, trial by jury was in crown 
 indictments, a mere formality ; requifite only to exonerate 
 a bloody tyrant, from the odium of murdering his friend. 
 
 *' For 
 
( XKX ) 
 
 <* For the jury" fays Salmon, ** was fo managed, thsi 
 ** within a quarter of an hour after they wtrc gone out, 
 *' they returned with a vcrdiet, //y// the prjoncr was 
 ** GUILTY of h:gh treajcn,'' 
 
 Thev had no fooner brcught in this verdict, than the 
 Lord Chanc< llor Audlty began \o pronounce the f ntence. 
 But Sir 7 homas ftoppcd him, and faid ** My lord, when i 
 ** was towards the law, the manner in fuch cafes was toafk 
 ** the prifoner before fentencc, whether he could give any 
 '* reafon why judgment fliould not proee^ againft him." 
 Upon this the chancellor a{kcd, what he was able to al- 
 ledge. It appears that he objected in his anfwer to the 
 validity of tlie indictment. For whether his reafons were 
 unanfwerable, or the chancellor only feared, by taking the 
 condemnation on himfelf, to excire the popular indigna* 
 tion, he turned to the lord cldefjuftice, and alked liim aloud 
 his opinion on its validiry. The chief juftie, whofe name 
 was Fitz James, anfwered, *' Mv lords* all, by St. Gillian 
 ** I muft needs confefs, that if the ad of parliament be not 
 •* unlawful, then in my confcience rlic indidment is not in- 
 ** fufficient." For it is faid, that Sir Thomas had alfo ob- 
 jedcd in arrel^ of judgment, that aii ad of parliament could 
 not give the kitig thcfupremacy of a church, of which Eng- 
 land was only a part : a fupremacy which he laid none but 
 heaven could confer. Immediately on the Lord Chief 
 Jui^ice having delivered l:is opinion, the Lord Chancellor 
 faid, ** Lo, my Lords, do you liear what my Lord Chief 
 "•-Juftice faiths" and without waiting for any reply, pro- 
 ceeded to pafs fentencc, in terms too horrid to be prefented 
 to the civilized rtadcr, and which on account of the high 
 
 office- 
 
( xxxi ) 
 office he had borne, were afterwards changed into fimplc 
 decollation, except the expofition of his head on London 
 Bridge. 
 
 The courtas foon as fentence was pronounced, informing 
 Sir Thomas, that if he had any thing further to fay, they 
 were ready to hear him, he addrefled them in thefe 
 words. ** I have nothing further to fay my lords, but 
 ** that like as the blefled apoftle Paul, was prefent and 
 <* confented to the death of Stephen, and kept their clothes 
 *« who ftoned him to death, and yet be they now both twain 
 <* holy faints in heaven, and fhall continue there friends for 
 << ever, fo I verily truft, and (hall therefore right heartily 
 *< pray, that though your lordfliips have now been judges 
 *' on earth to my condemnation, we may yet hereafter all 
 «' meet together in heaven, tooureverlaftingfalvation. And 
 ** fol pray God preferve you all, and efpecially my fove- 
 ** reign lord the king, and fend him faithful counfellors.'* 
 
 Having thus nobly taken leave of the court, he was 
 conduced from the bar to the Tower by water, with the 
 axe carried before him, as was ufual after condemnation. 
 But when he came to the Tower wharf, his favorite daugh- 
 ter Mrs. Margaret Roper, thinking this would be the laft 
 opportunity, was waiting to fee him. As foon as he ap- 
 peared, fhe burft through the crowd and guard which fur- 
 rounded him, and having received his blefling on her 
 knees, Ihe embraced him eagerly with a flood of tears, 
 and a thoufand kiffcs of tendcrnefs and affection : and her 
 heart being almoft ready to break, (lie could only fob out, 
 ** My father, oh my father !" But even this affecting fcene 
 did not overpower his fortitude. He took her in his arms, 
 
 and 
 
( XXXll ) 
 
 ^nd told her '*■ That whatever he fliould fufFcr, though he 
 was innocent, yet it ivas rot without the will of God, 
 to whofc bleffcd pleafure fhe (hould conform her own : 
 That (lie knew well enough all the fecrets of his ' 
 lieart; and that fhe muft be patient for her lofs." But 
 fcarcciy had flie left him, before her pafiion of grief and 
 love, again irrcfinibly impelled her to prefs through the 
 crowd, and eagerly to throw her arms once more around 
 his neck, and hang upon him with her embraces, ready 
 to die with forrow. Tliis was too much ; and though he 
 did not fpeak a word, yet the tears flowed down his 
 manly cheeks, till (lie t- ok a laft embrace and left him. 
 
 After a few days, one of the king's creatures made him 
 a vifit, in order to p evail on him yet to comply with his 
 maker's defire and change his mind. Sir Thomas at 
 length got rid of his repeated importunities by one of thofe 
 pleafantries, wi\ich marked his character to the laft, ** I 
 have changed it" faid he. Thefe words the courtier car- 
 ried with great exultation to the king, who would fcarcciy 
 believe what he heard. In this it afterwards appeared 
 that Henry was right. For Sir Thomas on being urged 
 to repeat his recantation, anfwered with a fmile that he 
 had no othcrwife chan2;ed his mind, than ** whereas he 
 had intended to he fhave J, in oidcr to appear to the people 
 as he was wont to do before his imprifonmcnt, lie was 
 now fully rtftjlvcd, his beard fliould (hare the fame fate * 
 vith his head." 
 
 With the fame eafy facetioufncfs, when he was informed 
 of the king's mercy and pardon as it was infolently called, 
 in commuting his fcntence, he faid ** God forbid the 
 
 ** king 
 
( xKxiii ) 
 
 ^* king fhould ufe any more fuch mercy to any of tny 
 ** friends, and God preferve my pofterky from fuch par- 
 ** dons." 
 
 On the 5th of July 1535, about a month after the trial, 
 Mr. Pope (afterwards Sir Thomas) who was More's par- 
 ticular friend, was fent by the king very early in the 
 morning, to acquaint him that he fhould be executed that 
 day at nine o'clock 5 and therefore that he mull im- 
 mediately prepare for death. If the king thought to 
 intimidate him into compliance by fo (hort a notice, he loft 
 his object; for Sir Thomas More faid, <' I moft heartily 
 *' thank you for your good tidings. I have been much 
 ** bound to the king's highnefs for the benefit of his honors, 
 ** that he has moft bountifully beftowed on me ; yet I am 
 *' more bound to his grace, I do affure you, for putting 
 *' me here, where I have had convenient time and fpace, 
 ** to have remembrance of my end. And, fo help me Godj^ 
 *' riioft of all I am bound unto him, that it hath pleafed 
 ** his majcfty fo ftiortly to rid me out of the miferies of 
 V this wretched world." His friend then informed him 
 that his rtlajefty's pleafure further was, that he (hould 
 not ufe many words at his execution. To which Sir 
 Thomas replied, <* You do well Mr. Pope to give me 
 ** warning of the king's pleafure herein, for otherwife I 
 *' had propofed at that time to have fpoken fomewhat, • 
 ** but nothing wherewith his grace or any others fhould 
 ** have caufe to be offended. Howbeit whatfoevcr I in* 
 ** tended, I am ready to conform myfelf obediently to his 
 ** highnefs's command. And I bcfeech you good Mr. 
 <* Pope, to be a means to his majcfty that my daughter 
 
 Vol. III. c Mar- 
 
[^ xxxiv 2 
 
 ♦* Margaret may be at my burial." Mr. Pope now took 
 leave of his friend, with many tears and much commife- 
 ration : but Sir Thomas defired him to be comforted with 
 the profpect of eternal blifs, in which they (hould live and 
 love together. And to (liew the eafe and quietnefs of his owri 
 mind, he took his urinal, and cafting his water as it is 
 called, (did ** I fee no danger but that this man might 
 " live longer, if it had pleafed the king." 
 
 As foon as Mr. Pope had left him, he dreffed himfelf 
 in the beft cloaths he had, that his appearance might ex- 
 prefs the cafe and complacency which he felt within. But 
 the lieutenant of the Tower objecting to this generofity, 
 as the executioner was to have his cloaths, Sir Thomas 
 alTured him that << were it cloth of gold, he fliould think 
 it well beftowed, on him who- was to do him fo fingu- 
 lar a benefit." The lieutenant however preffed him 
 very m.uch to change his drefs, and as he was a friend, and 
 Sir Thomas unwilling to refufe fo trifling a gratification, 
 he put on a gown of frize, and of the little money he had 
 left, fent an angel to the executioner, as a token of good \^ ill. 
 
 And now the fatal hour was come, and Sir Thomas 
 was about nine o'clock brought out from the Tower for 
 execution-. His beard which he had always been ac- 
 cuftomcd to fliave was then long, his countenance pale, 
 atid, f^ill a bigot to a fuperllitious religion, he carried io 
 feis hands a red crofs, cafting his eyes every now and then 
 towards heaven. 
 
 On liis way to the place of execution, on Tower-hill, 
 i wonun fuppofed to be fuborned by his adverfaries to 
 {Jlfgracc him, followed, -and called out that he had done 
 
 her 
 
[ XXXV ] 
 
 her a great injury when Lord Chancellor, by palTmg an 
 unjuft decree againft her. But he anfvrered that he re- 
 membered her caufc very well, and that were he aeain 
 to give fentence, he would confirm v.'hat he bad done. 
 
 Another woman met him with a cup of wine ; but he 
 refufed it, faying, ** that Chrift at his paflion, did not 
 ** drink wine, but gaul and vinegar." 
 
 When brought to the fcafFold, it appeared fo weak as 
 fiot to be capable of fuftaining his weight. When, in his 
 ufual facetious way, which he retained to the laft, he faid 
 to the lieutenant of the Tower who attended him, <* Pray 
 ** Sir alTifl: me to get up : as for my coming dov.'n, let me 
 " fhift for myfelf." Then he kneeled down, and re- 
 peated the mijerere pfalm, with great fervor and devotion ; 
 and rifing up with undaunted firmnefs, he kifled the exe- 
 cutioner who had begged his forgivenefs, and faid *' this 
 ** day you will do me a greater fervice than ever any 
 " man did. Pull up your fpirits, and be not afraid to do 
 ** your duty. Take heed therefore not to mifs your flrokc, 
 *' left you lofe your credit." For his neck was very fliort. 
 When the executioner offered to cover his eyes, he faid 
 ** I will cover them myfelf;" which he immediately did, 
 with a cloth he had brought for that purpofe. Then lay- 
 ing his head on the block, he bid the executioner ftay till 
 he had put afide his beard ; ** for that" faid he, '* never 
 ** was guilty of treafon." 
 
 Thus perifhed foon after the meridian of a virtuou? 
 life, the favorite companion and confidential advifer of a 
 king. Thus fatally poifonous was the illufiye favor of a 
 tyrant. 
 
 c % <« It 
 
t XXXVl ] 
 
 " It is not cafy," fays Salmon in his remarks on (Ire 
 trial, " to conceive what there was in the charge, even 
 " had it been all proved, that could amount to high trea- 
 " fon, or even to a mifdemeanor ; unlefs it be criminal, 
 « not to think always as the king thinks. Very preca- 
 «< rious was the life of a fubjedl in this reign. Whatever 
 *< the court was pleafed to denominate treafon, was ad- 
 *' judged treafon ; and whoever the miniftry thought fit 
 " to accufe was found guilty. No jury or court of juf- 
 <' tice dared refufe to convi6l, any man the king inti- 
 ** mated he would have condemned to death ; and par- 
 ** liament only met to execute the king's decrees. We 
 ** may therefore look upon this reign of Henry VIII. as 
 <* the moft tyrannical) arbitrary, and cruel, that is to be 
 " met with in our annals. From this perfecution of Sir 
 <* Thomas More it appears, that neither virtue, parts, 
 " learning, or even innocence, were any proted^ion. This 
 *< great man's fteady and perfevering virtue, was a re- 
 " proach to the tyrant, who feemed determined to fufFer 
 <* no man to live, that would not fall down and worfliip 
 " him, and change his Creed as often as himfelf fhould 
 <« alter his mind." 
 
 The body of Sir Thomas More was interred, firft in the 
 chapel of St. Peter ad vincula in the Tovrer, and after- 
 wards by his daughter Margaret's intervention in Chelfea 
 church; w^here a monument with an infcription written 
 by himfelf, had been eredled fome time before, and is 
 frill extant. She alfo procured his head after fourteen days 
 cxpofition, although it was to have been thrown into the 
 
 Thames, 
 
[ xxxviL ] 
 
 Thames, to make room for other vitflims to the cruelty 
 of her father's murderer. For this fhe was fummoned be- 
 fore the privy council, where (he behaved with the great- 
 eft firmnefs, and juftified her condudl on principles of hu- 
 manity and filial piety. Notwithftanding this, (he was 
 abfurdly and wickedly committed to prifon, though only 
 for a (hort time. At the death of this lady, the head of 
 Sir Thomas, which {he had preferved with religious ve- 
 neration in a box of lead, was committed with her own 
 body to the grave, at St. DunOan's in Canterbury ; and 
 was feen ftanding on her coffin fo late as the year 1715., 
 when the vault of the Roper family into which llie had 
 married, was opened. 
 
 Sir Thomas was of a middle ftature, and extremely 
 well proportioned. His complexion was fair, with a light 
 tindure of red, and the colour of his hair was a dark 
 (;hefnut. He had grey eyes, and a thin beard. His coun- 
 tenance was the true index of his mind, always cheerful 
 and pleafant, compofed by habit into an agreeable fmile, 
 feemingly calculated for innocent mirth and feftivity, rather 
 than gravity or dignity. In walking, his right fhoulder 
 appeared higher than the other, but this proceeded from 
 habit and not from defe6l. 
 
 In his drefs he was generally very plain ; but when the 
 dignity of his office required it, he conformed to cuftom. 
 His conftitution was generally healthy \ but towards the 
 latter part of his life he v/as incommoded with a pain in 
 his breaft, and experienced fome decay of ftrcngth. And 
 this was the pretext, ^n which he refigned the office of 
 sChancellor. 
 
 c 3 It 
 
{ xxxviii ] 
 
 It is unlverfally allowed, that Sir Thomas was admir- 
 ably {killed in every branch of polite literature ; and as 
 Bilhop Burnet fays, he was efteemed one of the greateft 
 prodigies of wit and learning, that England had ever pro- 
 duced : while forjuftice, contempt of money, humility, 
 and true gencrofity of mind, he was an example to the age 
 in which he lived. 
 
 There is however one blemifh and only one, in the cha- 
 ra6tcr of More, which every lover of humanity muft la- 
 ment. I mean his adopting the fupciftitious and tyranni- 
 cal idea of forcing men into his own way of thinking, and his 
 pcrfecuting even to cruelty thofe who appeared guilty of op- 
 pofing what he conceived to be the true religion. For when 
 we compare the chara(fier of that age (certainly more re- 
 gious than ours) with the prefent enlightened period, 
 and fee the equal right of thinking violated by a man of 
 ctherwife unblemiflied virtue, we muft furely perceive, 
 how much we mifcake the charad^cr of that idol we 
 adore and honor under the name of religion. For if there 
 ever exifted a religious man, More was certainly one. He 
 built a fummcr-houfe, library, and chapel, at fome diftance 
 from his manfion, w^hithcr befides a kind of morning and 
 evening fervice performed with his family in the houfe, he 
 iifed frequently to retire even from them ; and on Fri- 
 day fpent the whole day there. He alfo wrote fcveral 
 books in a very virulent ftile, in defence oftheRomifli faith, 
 and in oppofition to the new church fyfiem. And thcfe 
 •works were fo grateful to the Englifh clergy, that judging 
 by their own feelings that money was the only obje(ft with 
 Sir Thcmas, they unanimoufly voted him in full convo- 
 cations 
 
[ xxxix "1 
 
 cation, aprefent of four or five thoufand pounds,* raifed 
 by .^ general contribution ; with which three Bifhops were 
 deputed to wait upon him. But he replied, " It is no 
 *< fmall comfort to me, that fuch- wife and learned men 
 ^< fo well accepted of my works, but I never will receive 
 << any reward for them but at the hand of God." Upon 
 this the Eifhops afked leave to prefent the money to his 
 family: but he anfwered, ** Not fo indeed my lords. I had 
 *« rather fee it caft into the Thames, than that I, or any 
 ** of mine (hould have any of it. For though your lor^l- 
 ** {hips' offer is very friendly and honorable to me, yet I 
 '* fet fo much by my pleafure, and fo little by my profit, 
 " that in good faith I would not for a much larger fum, 
 " have loft the reft of fo many nights as were fpent on 
 *' thefe writings. And yet I wifh, upon condition that all 
 -** herefies were fuppreffcd, that all my books were burnt 
 ** and my labor entirely loft." This anfwer furprifed the 
 Biftiops. They withdrew however with apparent re- 
 lu6lance, and reftored the money to the fubfcribers. 
 
 The praife of fuch a body declines however in value 
 in proportion to the improvement of reafon. " Sir 
 *^ Thomas as Burnet very truly remarks was a very prieft 
 ** in matters of religion." For if we rely on that writer's 
 authority, like a prieft he wrote, and like a prieft he perfe- 
 cuted. ** Few inquifitors fays Hume, have been guilty of 
 greater violence in their profecution of hercfy. Though 
 adorned with the gentleft manners as well as the pureft in- 
 tegrity, he carried to the utmoft height his averfion to he* 
 
 * Equal to 30,oocl. at this day. ^ 
 
 c 4 terodoxy* 
 
terodoxy. And James Bainham in particular, a gentle^ 
 man of the Temple, experienced from him the greateft fe* 
 verity. Bainham, accufed of favoring the new opinions, 
 was carried to More's houfe, and having rcfufed to difcover 
 his accomplices, the chancellor, " by an a6t of authority" 
 ordered him to be whipped in his prefence, and after- 
 wards fent him to the Tower, where he himfelf faw him 
 put to the torture. The unhappy gentleman overcome by 
 all thefe feverities, abjured his opinions : but feeling after- 
 wards the deepeft compund^ion for his apoftacy, openly re- 
 turned to his former tenets, and even courted the crown of 
 martyrdom. He was therefore condemned as an obftinate 
 and relapfed heretic, and was burned in Smithfield." 
 
 The fpirit of the times was fuch, as Mr. Hume pro- 
 ceeds to inform us, that ** many were brought into the 
 *< Bifliops courts for offences which appear trivial, but 
 *' which were regarded as fymbols of the party : fome for 
 *^ teaching their children the Lord's prayer in Englifh, 
 ** others for reading the New Teftament in that language 
 *' or for fpeaking againft pilgrimages. To harbour the 
 <« perfecuted preachers, to negled the fafts of the church, 
 << to declaim againft the vices of the clergy, w^ere capital 
 << offences." 
 
 The. account given by Rapin of Sir Thomas*s conduct 
 in this refpect is in Juh fiance as follows ; 
 
 After Wolfey's difgrace, Sir Thomas More being made 
 chancellor, perfuaded the king that what moft injured 
 him at the court of Rome, was a report of his favouring 
 the fupporters of the new opinions ; and that the only 
 vay to remove this prejudice, w^as to demonftrate his xeal 
 
 for 
 
for the church. Henry therefore agreed to order the laws 
 againft heretics and their books to be rigoroufly executed. 
 And feveral copies of Tindal's tranflation of the Bible^ 
 the importation of which and of all other heretical books 
 was very ftri6^1y prohibited, having been difcovered by the 
 Bifhop of London, he had them publicly burnt by the 
 hangman : from which, it appears, many people in- 
 ferred, that the fcriptures were pontrary to the religion ge- 
 ijerally prof.lfed.* 
 
 <* While More was chancellor" fays Rapin, " he fpared 
 no pains utterly to deftroy thofe who embraced the Refor- 
 mation. But at length the king finding it hisintereft to keep 
 fair with the German Proteftants, put a ftop to More's 
 perfecution." An exprelTion which confirms the other- 
 yvi(e fufpicious account of Burnet. 
 
 Sir Thomas indeed had condemned this condu6l before 
 he was himfelf in power. For he fays in his Eutopia, 
 */ that this people allows liberty of confcience, and does 
 not force their religion on any one ; that they do not pre- 
 vent a fober inquiry into truth, nor ufe any violence on 
 account of a difference of belief." 
 
 Thus has religion always had for its principal obje^V to 
 retard the progrefs of reafon ; for it has always been em- 
 
 * It Is pleaiant to obferve, how much the Bilhop contributed In various 
 ways to ftrengthen the very caufe he oppofed, by ordering all the re- 
 iHainlng copies of that work from Antwerp, and having them burnt in Cheap- 
 lide. This was the occafion of a new edition being printed the next year, 
 when the publifher'c- friend and fupporter Conftantlne, on being afkcd by the 
 Chancellor what was the caufe of fo rapid a fale, anfv/ercd that the Biiliop of 
 London occailoned it, by having bought up the lail half of the former im- 
 
 ployed 
 
( xlii ) 
 
 ployed to fupprefs tifw opinions and fupport the old, A 
 mode of action of which reafon, progreflive rcafon, is di- 
 itdily the reverfe. 
 
 The expreflions Indeed of the hiftorians of thofe tlmes<- 
 are exceedingly remarkable. They fecm to write as if 
 they were fpeaking of the prefent period ; but their lan- 
 guage is equally applicable to any other point in the hiflory 
 of the world, from the days of Anaxagoras or Socrates, 
 down to the once new morality of Jefus Chrift : from the 
 days of Copernicus, the perfecuted reviver of Plato's opi- 
 nion concerning the rotundity of the earth and the exiftencc 
 of Antipodes, to the new but Chriftian, the Gallic but 
 once Briti{h do61rine, of equal rights. 
 
 Were any one to write a hiftory of the progrefs of phi- 
 iofophy or of the advancement of the rational faculty, 
 he would do little more than relate a long feries of fimilar 
 contefts, between the new and the old opinions y between the 
 light of realbn and philanthrc^y and the darknefs of fu- 
 perHition and flavery. 
 
 The fads we have jufl recorded are fuch as it is un- 
 
 l pleafant to relate, particularly of a man whom every one 
 
 \ takes a plcafure to love ; a man whofe life v.'e can fcarcely 
 
 I perufe, without contradiing as it were a perfonal friendlhip 
 
 j und acquaintance, with that amiable patriot and friend of 
 
 \ mankind. But as fuch chara6lers as that ot Sir Tho- 
 
 I mas More are rare, fo thefe blcmiflies can produce no 
 
 y other feelings in the philanthropic bread, than an abfo- 
 
 I lute conviciion accompanied with deep regret, that reli- 
 
 I gion when fupportcd by the l^ate, does really lead to 
 
 \.CGnfequenccs, clearly and decidedly immoral ^ — perhaps it 
 
 does 
 
jdoes fo in the direct proportion of the genefal innocence* - 
 and virtuous tenor of the character. It corrupts the .' 
 heart and eftranges man from his brother. y^% 
 
 Were this fadl difputed, we might in a certainpoint 
 of view affert, that we have an inftance on record, of an 
 almoft perfedt charadter contaminated and rendered im- 
 moral, nay even criminal, by that principle of fuperftition, 
 which we are too apt to honor with the name of religion. 
 And Sir Thomas More though he might be faid 
 
 ** Nil confcire ftbi, nulla paUefcere culpa y*^* 
 would by no means appear 
 
 " Integer vita^fcelerisque purusA^^ 
 
 But peace to his manes ; for he fell a vidtim to that very 
 fpirit, which conftituted the only fault, that even his ene- 
 mies can attribute to his excellent heart. 
 
 Another perhaps equally ill founded accufatlon againft 
 him, is that he afFeded fingularity : but this feems to be 
 only the envious cavilling, of thofe who did not equal 
 him in the fingularity of his virtue, or who had not the 
 fame tafte for domeftic retirement, and the fame attach- 
 t ment to the remote branches of their family. 
 
 The facetious turn of his mind was cenfured by Lord 
 Herbert, and even by Erafmus ; who calls him another 
 Democritus. Mr. Addifon however wrote his apology, 
 and very juftly alTerted, that More's facetioufnefs conti- 
 nuing to the lafl: moment of his life, was a proof of his 
 perfect innocence. *' He faw nothing in death," fays 
 that writer, *' to put him out of his ordinary humor." 
 
 Tiiis may be rendered, 
 
 * To know no inward pang of confcious blame. 
 f Of fpotlefs life, and pure ujifuiued lame, 
 
 '^'^y/ ry^/Jf^n^ i^Z^.^^^^^ o^^i^ <f -^ /^K*^ ^ Thefc 
 
( xlir ) 
 
 Thefc obje^lions to an innocent turn of nnind, bring to 
 iny recollection the reply of a lady with whom I had the 
 bappinefs to be acquainted, and who retained her ufual 
 ojuaniniity and pleafantnefs, even when her hulband's 
 misfortunes had deprived her of every fupport, but that 
 qf good fpirits. This refpc^^able but unfortunate lady, 
 in anfvver to the cavils of thofe, who difapprovid her not 
 ^iTuining an artificial weak dejection of countenance, faid 
 it was very hard, when flie had loH: all without any fault 
 (»f her own, that they fhould wifli alfo to deprive her of 
 that internal confolation» 
 
 Indeed Sir Thomas bcft made his own apology, by 
 turning the charge into good-natured ridicule, when he 
 fays in his letter to Peter Giles, ** Some are fo four, they 
 ** can allow no jefls, and are as much afraid of any 
 <'•' thing gay and lively, as a man bit with a mad dog is 
 '< of water." 
 
 An anfvver perhaps fiill more in point, may be taken 
 from the laft chapter of the Eutopia, (page 1 24) where 
 the author fpeaks of death. ** They believe certainly 
 
 * and furcly," fays he, ** that man's blifs fhall be fo 
 
 * great, that they do mourn every man's ficknefs, but 
 
 * no man's death ; unlcfs it be one whom they fee de- 
 
 * part from his life, carefully and agiinft his will. For 
 
 * this they take for a very evil token, as if the foul being in 
 ' defpair, and vexed in confcience through fome privy and 
 
 * fecret forefeeling of the punifnmcnt now at hand, were 
 ^ afraid to depart. — They therefore that fee this kind of 
 
 * dtZiXhy do abhor it, and them that fo die, they bury with for- 
 
 * row and filcnce. — Contrariwife all they that depart mer- 
 rily 
 
 <( 
 
[ Klv ] 
 
 " rily and full of good hope, for them no man mourneth, 
 ^* but folio weth the hearfe with joyful finging. — When they 
 ** be come home, they rehearfe his virtuous manners and his 
 ** good deeds ; but no part of his life is fo oft or fo gladlf 
 ** talked of, as his merry death." 
 
 Sir Thomas it feems was alfoa patron of the polite arts. 
 For Hans Holbein being recommended to him by a let- 
 ter from Erafmus, during his chancellorfnip, Sir Thomas 
 received him at his houfe, and entertained him till he had 
 painted all his family ; and then taking occafion to (hew 
 his pieces to the king, Henry was fo ftruck with their exe- 
 cution, that he afl<;ed Sir Thomas if fuch an artift was 
 alive, and could be procured for money. Upon which 
 Holbein was introduced to his Majefty, and immediately 
 taken into the king's fervice, till he died of the plague in 
 
 '554. 
 
 The talents and virtues of Sir Thomas More, pro- 
 cured him not only the treacherous attentions and perfidi- 
 ous favour of a king, but what is of infinitely more real 
 and permanent value, the heartfelt efieem and frlcndlhip, 
 of the greateft luminaries of learning among his cotempo* 
 raries ; and particularly that of the immortal Erafmus. 
 
 Sir Thomas had by his firft wife three daughters and 
 one fon, who all furvived him. The three daughters com- 
 ing firft, and his wife being very defirous of a boy, (lie 
 had one at laft, who was almofi an idiot. Upon which 
 Sir Thomas faid, " (he had prayed fo'long for a boy, 
 ** that file had now one who would continue a boy as long 
 ** as he lived." He gave him hov/ever all the advan* 
 tages of a liberal education, by which hts natural abilities 
 
 wcr^ 
 
t *^^' 3 
 
 were greatly improved. After the death of his father, 
 He alfo was committed to the Tower, and condemned, 
 for refufing the fame oath of fupremacy. But though he 
 was afterwards pardoned and rertored to liberty, he did 
 not long furvive the period of iiis imprifonment. 
 
 The amiable charadicr of his eldeft daughter Mar- 
 garet, is happily drawn both by Addifon and Wal- 
 pole ; and fome account of her life has been given 
 by Ballard in his Memoirs of Learned Ladies. At 
 the age of twenty fhe married William Roper Efq. of 
 Well-hall in Kent, whofe life of Sir Thomas More was 
 publifhed by Mr. Hearne at Oxford in 171 6. This mar- 
 jiage gave infinite fatisfa61ion to Sir Thomas, of whofe 
 parental affed^ion Mrs. Roper feems to have been the 
 dearcft objedl : a preference which is evinced by the* 
 whole tenor of their hiflory, and was more particularly 
 ^narked in his letters to his daughter. In an age when the 
 graces of the mind were regarded as an eflential object in 
 female education, (he was moft eminently diftinguifhed 
 by her learning, and particularly by her knowledge of 
 Latin and Greek : but the beauty and force of her filial 
 piety, reficdis even a fuperior luRre on this accompliflicd 
 woman. There is more than one paflage in her life fays 
 Mr. Hayley, in the notes on his epillle to a paintei^, which 
 would furnifli an admirable fubjedl for the pencil ; and- 
 her interview with her father on his return to the Tower, 
 is mentioned as fuch by Mr. Walpole in his Anecdotes of 
 painting : ^vherc he mentions the remains of the family 
 of More, as then refidino; at Barnboroush in Yorkfhire. 
 
 ' DO 
 
 But the mufe of Hayly has chofcn a different fcene ; and 
 
 with^ 
 
C xlvii ) 
 
 tvith tke licence which as Horace fays is allowed to both 
 the fifter arts, has introduced into the prefence of the coun- 
 cil, that head v/hofc didlates it had once fo much refpeded. 
 Shall Roman charity for ever fhare^ 
 Thro' every various fehool each painter's carc^ 
 And Britain ilill her bright examples hide^ 
 Of female glory and of filial pride ? 
 Inftruft our eyes, my Romney, to adore, 
 Th* heroic daughter of the virtuous More : 
 Refolved to favc, or in the attempt expire, 
 The precious relicks of her martyr'd fire. 
 Before the cruel council let her ftand, 
 Prefs the dear ghaflly head with pitying handy 
 And plead, while bigotry itfelf grows mild, 
 The facred duties of a grateful child. 
 
 The life of Sir Thomas More and his reverfe of fortune^ 
 have alfo been chofen as a fubjcct for a tragedy, by tha 
 elegant pen of Mr- James Hurdis, ProfeiTorof Poetry at Ox-- 
 ford ; where although more events are concentrated with^ 
 in the fpace of a day, than probabiHty will readily admit, 
 this lioence of the poet has enabled him confiderably to 
 heighten the cataflrophe of his play. 
 
 Sir Thomas was the author of various works, of which 
 the firft volume of the Athenae Oxonienfes contains a ca- 
 talogue. But his Eutopia (de optimo reipublicx ftatii de, 
 qua nova Infula Utopia &c.) is the only work which has 
 furvived in the efteem cftheworM; the reft bting chief. 
 ly of a polemic nature. His anfwer to Luther has only 
 gained him the credit, of having the heft knack of any 
 man in Europe, of giving men bad names in good Latin, 
 His Engliili works were colkacd and publiihed by order 
 
 of 
 
( xlviil ) 
 
 of Queen Mary, in 1557, his Latin at Eafil in 1562 and 
 at Louvain in 1566.* 
 
 l^ote on the office of Chancellor^ referring to page xvi. 
 
 It is a fa6l not fufficiently attended to by hiftorians, 
 that throughout that fyftem of political fuperftition which 
 preceded the reformation, and which like every other con- 
 ne(^ion between church and ftate, is too often confounded 
 T/v'ith true chriftianity, the office of chancellor was in a 
 great meafure monopolized by the church, and ufually 
 given to a cardinal or bifliop. Fortunately it was 
 among the lefTer changes of that revolution, that the 
 church w^is no lonc^er to hold an undivided fway, and 
 dictate in a branch of our jurifprudcnce, which doubtlefs 
 through fuperftitious motives, was moftfree from the re- 
 llraint of precedent, or the troublefome precifion of the 
 common law courts. 
 
 This change however is to be attributed to the fame 
 felfifh motives, as all the others that produced what is 
 called the reformation. For Sir Thomas More was pro- 
 moted to this high office, not becaufe he was a layman or 
 an honeft man, but becaufe the king e'xpectcd his affift- 
 ance in his own anti-ecclefiaftical matrimonial views. 
 Whether the union of church and law like that of church 
 and ftate, gave rife to the glorious uncertainty, or the 
 lucrative delay of that tedious court, may be difpated : 
 
 * j^utJx:ines ;— -Ropef s life of Mere in the Eiit. Mufeum, Hailelan MSS. 
 N©. 70, 30. Hoddefdon's life of More. Dr. Warner's ditto, Biog. Britan. Jortin'i? 
 jife of Etafmus. Burners hift. of the Reformation. Burnet's life of More. Sal- 
 mon's review of ftate trials. Rapin, Hunie> Herbert. Johnfjn's hift. of th: 
 Engliih l3jigu;i-e, prefixed to hi: di^^ionory. Ballard's nnem. of learned ladics- 
 
 but 
 
f xlix ] 
 
 but the right and title of the chancellor to be keeper of 
 the king's confcience, as he ftill continues in virtue of 
 his office, clearly takes its fource in that union, and would 
 confirm the credibility of thefe fadis, even without further 
 hiftorical inveftigation. 
 
 But on fo interefting a fubjedl, we ought not to fatisfy 
 ourfelves, without confulting the moft indifputable autho- 
 irities. 
 
 Sir William Blackftone obferves, from Sir Edward 
 Coke's Inftitutes,* that the Lord Chancellor is fo 
 named a canceUendsy from cancelling the king's letters pa- 
 tent when granted contrary to law, which is the higheft 
 point of his jurifdi61ion. But diftrufting it fhould feem, 
 the etymon he had juft adduced, he proceeds to in- 
 form us, that both " the office and name of Chancel- 
 lor, however derived, was certainly known to t^; courts 
 of the Roman Emperors ; where it feems originally to 
 have fignified a chief fcribe or fecretary, who was after- 
 wards inverted with feveral judicial powers, and a general 
 fuperintendence over the other officers of the prince. 
 From the Roman Empire it paffed to the Roman Church, 
 ever emulous of imperial ^tlIq, Thus every Bifhop 
 has to this day his chancellor, the principal judge of his 
 <:onri{lory ; and among the modern kingdoms of Europe 
 eftablilhed on the ruins of that empire, almoft every ftate 
 has preferved its chancellor, with different jurifdiaions 
 and dignities according to their various conftitutions."t 
 
 The comprehenfive and almoft abfolute authority and 
 jurifdiaion of the Chancellor, appear from the fame wri- 
 • Inft. vol. IV. p. 88. f Comment, vol. III. c. 4. 
 
 Vol. III. 4 te,.5 
 
[ I ] 
 
 ter's defcription of his office; where it is obfervable, that 
 *' he has the fupervifion of all charters and public inftru- 
 mcnts of the crown. He becomes alfo, without writ or 
 patent," (i. e. by the mere delivery of the feals) ** an 
 officer of the greateft weight and power of any now fub- 
 fifting in the kingdom, and fuperior in point of precedency 
 to every temporal lord.* He is a privy coimfellor by his 
 office, and according to Lord Chancellor Ellefmere, pro- 
 locutor of the Houfe of Lords by prefcription. To him 
 belongs the appointment of all juftices of the peace," 
 (another branch of the ancient fyftem of arbitrary power) 
 " throughout the kingdom. Being formerly an ecclefiaf- 
 tic, (for none elfe, fays the learned judge, were then ca- 
 pable of an office fo converfant in writings) and prelid- 
 ing over the royal chapel,t he became keeper of the king's 
 confcience, vifitor under the crown of all hofpitals and 
 colleges of royal foundation, and patron of all the crown 
 livings under the value of 2ol. per ann. in the king's 
 books :" a power by w hich he influences the public opi* 
 nion through tlie medium of the abovementioned political 
 fuperftition, as by appointing the juftices of peace, he gives 
 a tone to the more minute reftjeaints of law on our conduct. 
 ** He is alfo the general guardian of all infants, ideots, 
 and lunatics, and has the general fuperintendence of all 
 the charitable ufes in the kingdom. And all this over 
 and above thevaJlandextenftvejuriJdlBiony which he ex- 
 ercifes in his judicial capacity in the court of chancery." 
 A vaft and exten^ve jurifdidion indeed ! and whether it 
 
 * Stat. 31 lien. VIII. c. 10. f Madox Hift.Exch. 42. 
 
 be 
 
be not too much for an individual to poflefs, will be better 
 underftood when the Rights of Man, of v.'hich Black- 
 ftone* has already treated, have received that full difcuflion, 
 which muft ultimately eftablifh truth and equity, and over- 
 throw error, fuperftition, and defpotifm. 
 
 The enormous influence and power always annexed 
 to the high dignity of this office, may be inftanced in fe- 
 veral a6ls of ftate previous to the cOnqued of our ifland 
 by William, and traced even to the venerable records of 
 the Saxon age. At that time the impofing autharify of 
 ecclefiaflic fuperfiition, itfelf a monfter in the ftate, was 
 added to the legal functions of an office, which, with 
 only half its original power, (till retains fo vaji and extent 
 five a jur'ijdlcl'ion ; and which fince that fuperftidon has 
 been rendered fubordinate to the crown, is the only judi- 
 cial office, from which the king can arbitrarily difplace. 
 Thus king Ethelred gave the chancellorfliip to be annexed 
 in perpetual fucceCIion to the church of Ely \ althoucrh Sir 
 Edward Coket conliders fuch grants as void in law. Alfo, 
 on the advice of chancellor Reinbald, Edward the Con- 
 feflbr granted lands to the Abbot of Weftminftcr, and 
 with his own hands affixed the fign of the crofs to the 
 charter.^ 
 
 Thus it appears that Polydore Virgil was in an error, 
 when he aflcrted that the court of chancery originated 
 with the ufurpation of the Norman conqueror. William 
 
 * Se« the. whole of book I. on Rights of Perfons : or rather fee the whole 
 I 4 Inft. 78 X IblJ. 
 
 4 2 hovy- 
 
t lii ] 
 
 however, in conformity to the pra6licc of his predeccf- 
 fors, gave the office of chancellor to Arfaftus Bilhop of 
 Northelmham in Norfolk, who transferred his fee to 
 Thetford. 
 
 The importance of the office which was thus monopo- 
 lized by the church is the more apparent, as it is laid down 
 by Fitz-Stephens, who wrote in the reign of Henry II.* 
 that *' the chancellor holds the fecond dignity to that of 
 the fovereign." And as precedency was regulated by efta- 
 bli{hed cuftom till the Stat. 31 Hen. VIII. c. 10. fo the 
 fame fuper-eminence of rank continued to be enjoyed by 
 Sir Thomas More, although a layman, even after Henry 
 VIII. had thrown off the Roman yoke. For we find in a 
 copy of the articles drawn up under a fpecial commifTion, 
 by the chancellor, the duke of Norfolk, and feveral other 
 lords, judges, and members of the privy-council, which 
 is preferved in the Inftitutes of Sir Edward Coke,t 
 that the chancellor's fignature is the firft in order, and 
 though a commoner, precedes that of the duke of Nor- 
 folk. J 
 
 The extreme ignorance and bigotry of thofc early pe- 
 riods concurred to fupprefs almoft every right of the free- 
 born foul, ana to accumulate every power of the human 
 mind in ecckliaOic hands. Even Fleta, who wrote § in 
 
 • Stow'» Survey verfus rinem. f 4 Inft. 95. 
 
 + It is obfervable that the manner of figning, was to add the ir.itiul of the 
 prsrncmen, cr Chrii>ian name as i: is vulfecily coiled. T, More, T. Norfolk, 
 Char. Suftolk, uc. * 
 
 § ElacUs:. Coinin. iv. c- 33- p. 427^ 
 
 the 
 
the reign of Edward I. when fpeaking of this great office, 
 confiders its being veftcd in fome prudent and difcreet 
 bifliop or clerk as an eftg'ilifhcd maxim. He even 
 extends that clerical influence ftill further, by alfociating 
 with him honeft and upright ecclefiaftics, fworn to the 
 king, and well Ikilled in the laws ; whofe office it was to 
 examine the cafes which (liould arife in that court, and to 
 aflift in the adminiftration of that remedial part of juftice 
 which was committed to its cognizance.* 
 
 After this period, although we find on the rolls the 
 names of feveral chancellors who were not ecclefiaftics, 
 yet this high dignity, this vaji and extenjlve juriJdlSllon^ 
 was on the whole fo generally appropriated to the church, 
 that in the Parliament anno 45 Edwardi III. *' a grievous 
 complaint was made by the Lords and Commons, that the 
 realm had been of long time governed by men of the 
 church, In dijherifon of the crown : and they defired that 
 laymen only might be principal officers," t &c. Thus it 
 appears that the church encroached as much on the privi- 
 leges of the crown, as on the liberties of the people. The 
 fame complaint in the fubfcquent reign of Richard II. 
 feems to carry on the like imputation, and to fhev/ that too 
 large a meafure of dignity and power, given either to an 
 individual or to a body like the church, is not only incom* 
 patible with human rights, but with human policy and 
 perfonal virtue. 
 
 The enormities exercifed in confequence of this accu- 
 mulation of influence, riches, and authority, had then 
 
 * Flcta 1. 2. c. 12, Glanv. 1. 8, 12. g. i, 5. f Coke's Inft. iv. 79. 
 
 grown 
 
[ H» 1 
 
 grown to fuch a height, as to provoke the whole body of 
 the realm ! And h petition fimilar to that in the reign of 
 Edward III. was now prefented, on account not only of 
 the corruption, but of the ignorance in the management of 
 tiiis high office. It requefts " that the moft wife and abk 
 men only might be fele6lcd for it, who would more readily 
 ledrefs the grievances complained of." 
 
 It would be tedious to purfue the long windings of a 
 dry and unfruitful fubjedl, on which fo many volumes 
 have been already written: but it is worthy of remark, 
 that though by the oath of office the chancellor is bound to 
 ferve and counfel the king, and prevent the decreafe of any 
 of HIS rights, and to ** do and purchafe the King's pro- 
 fit in all that he may ;'* yet that oath contains not the 
 moft diftant allufion to any obligation, as grand judiciary 
 of the realm, to do $r purchafe any good or rights for 
 tiie People ! ! 
 
THE 
 
 DISCOURSES 
 
 OF 
 
 RAPHAEL HYTHLODAY, 
 
 OF THE BEST STATE OF A 
 
 COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 WRITTEN B \ 
 
 SIR THOMAS MORE, 
 
 CITIZEN AND SHERIFF OF LONDON^ 
 
 JtjLENRY the Eighth, the unconquered king of Eng- 
 land, a prince adorned with all the virtues that become 
 a great monarch, having fome differences of no fmall con- 
 fequence with Charles the moft ferene prince of Caftile, 
 fent me into Flanders, as his ambaffador, for treating and 
 compofing matters between them. I was colleague and 
 companion to that incomparable man Cuthbert Tonftal, 
 whom the king with fuch univerfal applaufe lately made 
 Maimer of the Rolls, but of whom I will fay nothing* 
 not becaufe I fear that the tedimony of a friend will be 
 fufpe6^ed, but rather becaufe his learning and virtues are 
 too great for me to do them juftice, and fo well knoWn, 
 Vol. III. B that 
 
2 SIR THOMAS MORE'S 
 
 that they need not my commendations, unlefs I would, 
 according to the proverb, Jhew the fun with a lantern, 
 
 Thofe that were appointed by the prince to treat with 
 us, met us at Bruges, according to agreement : they were 
 all worthy men. The Margrave of Bruges was their 
 head, and the chief man among them ; but he that was 
 efteemed the wifeft, and that fpoke for the reft, was 
 George Temfe, the Provoft of CalTelfee : both art and 
 nature had concurred to make him eloquent. He was 
 very learned in the law : and, as he had a great capacity, 
 fo, by a long practice in affairs, he was very dexterous at 
 unravelling them. 
 
 After we had feveral times met, without coming to an 
 agreement, they went to Bruflcls for fome days, to know 
 the prince's pleafure : and, fince our bufinefs would admit 
 it, I went to Antwerp. While I was there, among 
 many that vifited me, there was one that was more accept- 
 able to me than any other ; Peter Giles, born at Antwerp, 
 who is a man of great honor, and of a good rank in his 
 town, though lefs than he defcrves ; for I do not know 
 if there be any where to be found a more learned and a 
 better bred young man : for as he is both a very worthy 
 and a very knowing perfon, fo he is fo civil to all men, 
 fo particularly kind to his friends, and fo full of candor 
 and affeclion, that there is not perhaf)s above one or 
 two anywhere to be found, that is in all refpeds fo per- 
 fect a friend. He is extraordinarily miodeft ; there is no 
 artifice in him ; and yet no man has more of a prudent 
 fimplicity. His converfation was fo pleafant and fo in- 
 nocently cheerful, that his company in a great meafure 
 
 Icffened 
 
UTOPIA. ^ 
 
 iefTened any longings to go back to my country, and to 
 my wife and children, which an abfence of four months 
 had quickened very much. One day as I was returning 
 home from mafs at St. Mary's, which is the chief churcH, 
 and the mofl frequented of any in Antwerp, I faw him 
 by accident talking with a ftranger, who feemed paft the 
 flower of his age ; his face was tanned, he had a long 
 beard, and his cloak was hanging carelefsly about him ; 
 fo that by his looks and habit I concluded he was a fea- 
 man. As foon as Peter faw me, he came and fainted me ; 
 and, as I was returning his civility, he took me afide, and 
 pointing to him with whom he had been difcourfing, he 
 faid, Do you fee that man ? I was juft thinking to bring 
 him to you. — I anfwered, he fliould have been very wel- 
 come on your account. — And on his own too, replied he, 
 if you knew the man ; for there is none alive that can give 
 fo copious an account of unknown nations and countries 
 as he can do ; which I know you verv much defire. — 
 Then, faid I, I did not guefs amifs ; for at firO: fight I 
 took him for a feaman. — But you are much miftaken, 
 faid he ; for he has not failed as a feaman, but as a tra- 
 veller, or rather a philofopher. This Raphael, who from 
 his family carries the name of Hythloday, is not ignorant 
 of the Latin tongue, but is eminently learned in tlie 
 Greek, having applied himfelf more particularly to that 
 than to the former, bccaufe he had given himfelf much 
 to philofophy, in which he knew that the Romans have 
 left us nothing that is valuable, except what . is to be 
 found in Seneca and Cicero. He is a Portuguefe by birrh, 
 and was fo defirous of feeing the world, that he divided 
 
 B 2 his 
 
4 SIR THOMAS MO re's 
 
 his eflate among his brothers, run the I'ame hazard as 
 Americus Vefputius, and bore a (liare in three of his four 
 voyages, that are now publirtied ; only he did not return 
 \rith him in his laft, but obtained leave of him, almoft by 
 force, that he might be one of thofe twenty- four who 
 w^crc left at the fartheft place at which they touched, in 
 their laft voyage to New Caftile. The leaving him thus, 
 did not a little gratify one that was more fond of travel- 
 ling than of returning home, to be buried in his own 
 country ; for he ufed often to fay, that the way to heaven 
 was the fame from all places ; and he that had no grave 
 had the heavens ftill over him. Yet this difpofition of 
 mind had coft him dear, if God had not been very gra- 
 cious to him; for after he, with five Caftilians, had 
 travelled over many countries, at laft, by ftrange good 
 fortune, he got to Ceylon, and from thence to Calicut, 
 where he very happily found fomc Portuguefe (hips ; and, 
 beyond all men's expc61ations, returned to his native 
 country. 
 
 When Peter had faid this to me, I thanked him for 
 his kindnefs, in intending to give me the acquaintance of 
 a man, whofc converfation he knew would be fo accept- 
 able ; and upon that Raphael and I embraced each other. 
 After thofc civilities were paft, which are ufual with 
 ftrangcrs upon their firft meeting, we all went to mf 
 houfe ; and, entering into the garden, fat down on a green 
 bank, and entertained one another in difcourfe. He told 
 us, that when Vefputius had failed away, he and his 
 companions that ftaid behind in New Caftile, by degrees 
 infinuatcd themfelves into the affe^Stions of the people of 
 
 the 
 
UTOPIA. 5 
 
 icountry, meeting often with them, and treating them 
 gently ; and at laft they not only lived among them with- 
 out danger, but converfed familiarly with them ; and got 
 fo far into the heart of a prince, whofe name and country 
 I have forgot, that he both furnidied them plentifully 
 with all things neceffary, and alfo with the conveniencies 
 of travelling, both boats when they went by water, and 
 waggons when they travelled over land. He fent with 
 them a very faithful guide, who was to introduce and re- 
 commend them to fuch other princes as they had a mind 
 to fee. And after many days journey, they came to 
 towns, and cities, and to comm.onwealths, that were both 
 happily governed and well peopled. Under the Equator, 
 and as far on both lides of it as the fun moves, there lay 
 vaft defarts that were parched with the perpetual heat of 
 the fun ; the foil was withered, all things looked difmally, 
 and all places were either quite uninhabited, or abounded 
 with wild hearts and ferpents, and fome few men, that 
 were neither lefs wild, nor lefs cruel, than the beafts 
 themfelves. But as they went farther, a new fcenc 
 opened ; all things grew milder, the air lefs burning, the 
 foil more verdant, and even the beafts were lefs wild ; 
 and at laft there were nations, towns, and cities, that had 
 not only mutual commerce among themfelves, and with 
 their neighbours, but traded, both by fea and land, to very 
 remote countries. There they found the conveniencies of 
 feeing many countries on all hands ; for no fliip went 
 any voyage into which he and his companions were not 
 very welcome. The firft veflels that they faw were flat* 
 bottomed, their fails were made of reeds and wicker 
 
 B 3 woven 
 
6 sin THOMAS moire's 
 
 woven clofe to^c-her, only fonne were of leather ; but af- 
 terwards they found fhips made with round keels, and 
 canvas fails, and in all refr^^(!^^s like our fliips ; and the 
 feamen underftnt)d both agronomy and navigation. He 
 gor vondrriuilv into their favour, by (hewing them the 
 UK of the needle, of which till then they were utterly 
 ign'jrant. Thcv failed before with great caution, and 
 only in fummer time, but now they count all feafons alike, 
 tru<lin^ wholly to the loadftonre, in which they are perhaps 
 more {ccure than fafe ; fo that there is reafon to fear, 
 that ihis ('i<"covcry ^hich was thought would prove fo 
 much to their advantage, may by their imprudence be- 
 conse an occafion of much mifchief to them. But it were 
 ton lonsr to dwell on all that he told us he had obferved in 
 every ph^cc ; it would be too great a digreflion from our 
 prefen^ purpofc. Vv'hatever is neceffary to be told, con- 
 cerning tlicf^^ wife and prudent inftitutions which he ob- 
 ferved among civ iiized nations, m.ay perhaps be related 
 by us on a more proper occafion. We afked him many 
 qucftions concerning all thefe things, to which he anfwered 
 verv willinijly ; onlv we made no enquiries after monQers, 
 than which nothing is more common ; for every where one 
 may hear of ravenous dogs and wolves, and cruel men- 
 eaters ; but it is not fo eafy to find flates that are well and 
 wifely governed. 
 
 As he told us of many things that were amifs in thofe 
 new difcovered countries, fo he reckoned up not a few 
 things, from which patterns might be taken for correcting 
 the errors of thefe nations among whom we live ; of which 
 an account may be given, as I have already promifed, at 
 
 fome 
 
UTOPIA. y 
 
 fome other time ; for at prefent I intend only to relate 
 thofe particulars that he told us of the manners and laws 
 of the Utopians : but I will begin with the occafion that 
 led us to fpeak of that commonwealth. After Raphael 
 had difcourfed with great judgment on the many errors 
 that were both among us and thefe nations ; had treated 
 of the wife inftitutions both here and there, and had fpo- 
 ken as difiind^ly of the cuftoms and government of every 
 nation through which he had paft, as if he had fpent his 
 whole life in it ; Peter being ftruck with admiration, faid 
 I wonder Raphael, how it comes that you enter into no 
 king's fervice, for I am fure there are none to whom 
 you would not be very acceptable : for your learning and 
 knowledge, both of men and things is fuch, that you 
 would not only entertain them very pleafantly, but be of 
 great ufe to them, by the examples you could fet before 
 them, and the advices you could give them ; and by this 
 means you would both ferve your own intereft, and be of 
 great ufe to all your friends. As for my friends, anfwer- 
 ed he, I need not be much concerned, having already 
 done for them all that was incumbent on me ; for when 
 I was not only in good health, but frcfh and young, I 
 diftributed that among my kindred and friends, which 
 other people do not part with till they are old and fick ; 
 w^hen they then unwillingly give that which they can en- 
 joy no longer themfelves. I think my friends ought to 
 reft contented with this, and not to expe6l that for their 
 fakes I fliould enflave myfelf to any king whatfoever. 
 Soft and fair, faid Peter, I do not mean that you (hould 
 be a flave to any king, but only that you Ihould aflift 
 
 B 4 them, 
 
^ Sir THOMAS M ore's 
 
 them, and be ufeful to them. The change of the word, 
 faid he, aoes nor alter the matter. But term it as you 
 ■will, replied Peter, I do not fee any other way in which 
 you can be fo ufeful, both in private to vour friends, and 
 to the public, and by which you can make your own con- 
 dition happier. Happier ! anfwered Raphael, is that to 
 be compafled in a way fo abhorrent to my genius ? Now 
 I live as I will, to which I believe few courtiers can pre- 
 tend : and there are fo many that court the favour of great 
 men, that there will be no great lofs, if they arc not 
 troubled either with me or with others of my temper. 
 Upon this, faid I, I perceive, Raphael, that you neither 
 dcnre wealth nor greatncfs; and indeed I value and ad- 
 mire fuch a man m.uch more than I do any of the great men 
 in the world. Yet I think you would do what would well 
 become fo generous and philofophical a foul as yours is, 
 if you would apply your time and thoughts to public af- 
 fairs, eve. J though you may happen to find it a little uneafy 
 to yourfelf ; and this you can never do with fo much ad- 
 vantage, as by being taken into the council of fome great 
 prince, and putting him on noble and worthy a(51ions, 
 which I know you would do if you were in fuch a poft ; 
 for the fprings both of good and evil flow from the prince, 
 over a whole nation, as from a lading fountain. So much 
 learning as you have, even without practice in affairs ; or 
 fo great a pra61ice as you have had, without any other 
 learning, would render you a very fit counfellor to any king 
 whatfocvcn You are doubly miftaken, faid he, Mr. 
 More, both in your opinion of me, and in the judgment 
 you make of things ; for as I have not that Rapacity that 
 
 you 
 
UTOPIA. 9 
 
 you fancy T have, fo, if I had it, the public would not be 
 one jot the better, when I had facrificed nny quiet to it. 
 For moft princes apply themfelves more to affairs of war 
 than to the ufeful arts of peace ; and in thefe I neither 
 have any knowledge, nor do I much defire it: they are 
 generally more fet on acquiring new kingdoms, right or 
 wrong, than on governing well thofe they poffefs. And 
 am,ong the minifters of princes, there are none that are not 
 fo wife as to need no aiTiftance, or at Icaft that do not think 
 themfelvps fo wife, that they imagine they need none ; and 
 if they court any, it is only thofe for whom the prince has 
 much perfonal favour, whom by their fawnings and flat- 
 teries they endeavour to fix to their own interefts : and in- 
 deed Nature has fo made us, that we all love to be flat- 
 tered, and to pleafe ourfelves with our own notions. The 
 old crow loves his young, and the ape her cubs. Now if 
 in fuch a court, made up of perfons who envy all others, 
 and only admire themfelves, a perfon fliould but propofe 
 any thing that he had either read in hiflory, or obferved in 
 his travels, the red: would think that the reputation of 
 their wifdom would fink, and that their interefls would be 
 much depreffed, if they could not run it down : and if all 
 other things failed, then they wo dd fly to this. That fuch 
 or fuch things pleafed our anceftors, and it were well for 
 us if we could but match them. They would fet up their 
 reft on fuch an anfwer, as a fufficicnt confutation of all 
 that could be faid ; as if it were a great misfortune, that 
 anv fhould be found wifer than his anceftors : but though 
 they willingly let go all the good things that were among 
 thofe of former ages ^ yet, if better things are propofed, 
 
 they 
 
iO SIR THOMAS MORELS 
 
 they cover themfelves obftinately with this excufc, of re- 
 verence to paft times. 1 have met with thefe proud, mo- 
 rofe, and abfurd judgments of things in many places, 
 particularly once in England. Was you ever there, faid 
 I r — Yes, I was, anfwered he, and ftaid fome months 
 there, not long after the rebellion in the Weft was fup- 
 prelTcd, with a great flaugliter of the poor people that 
 •were engaged in it. 
 
 I was then much obliged to that reverend prelate John 
 Morton, Archbifliop of Canterbury, Cardinal, and Chan- 
 cellor of England ; a man, faid he, Peter (for Mr. More 
 knows well what he was), that was not lefs venerable for 
 his wifdom and virtues, than for the high charader he 
 bore. He was of a middle Mature, not broken with age ; 
 his looks begot reverence rather than fear ; his converfa- 
 tion was eafy, but ferious and grave ; he fometimes took 
 pleafure to try the force of thofe that came as fuitors to 
 him upon bufinefs, by fpeaking fharply, though decently 
 to them, and by that he difcovered their fpirit and pre- 
 fence of mind, with which he was much delighted, when 
 It did not grow up to impudence, as bearing a great refem- 
 blance to his own temper ; and he looked on fuch per- 
 fons as the fitteft men for affairs. He fpoke both grace- 
 fully and weightily ; he was eminently fkilled in the law, 
 had a vaft underftanding, and a prodigious memory ; and 
 thofe excellent talents with which Nature had furniflied 
 him, were improved by ftudy and experience. When 1 
 was in England, the king depended much on his counfels, 
 and the government feemed to be chiefly fupported by 
 him ; for from his youth he had been all along pradtifed 
 
 in 
 
UTOPIA. II 
 
 in affairs ; and having paffed through many traverfes of 
 fortune, he had with great coft acquired a valt f^ock of 
 wifdoin, which is not foon loft, when it is purchafed fo 
 dear. 
 
 One day, when I was dining with him, there happened 
 to be at table one of the Englifh lawyers, who took occa- 
 lion to run out in a high commendation of the fevere 
 execution of juOioe upon tlueves, who, as he faid, were 
 then hanged fo faft, that there were fumietimes twenty on 
 one gibbet ; and upon that he fiid, he could not wonder 
 enough how it came to pafs, that fince fo few efcaped, 
 there were yet fo many thieves left, who were ftill robbing 
 in all places. Upon this, I, who took the boldnefs to 
 fpeak freely before the cardinal, faid, there was no reafon 
 to wonder at the matter, fince this way of punifhing 
 thieves was neither juft in itlcif nor good for the public ; 
 for as the feverity was too great, fo the remedy was not 
 effe(51ual ; fimple theft not being fo gn at a crime, that it 
 ought to coft a man his life ; no puniftiment, how fevere 
 foever, being able to reftrain thofe from robbing, who can 
 find out no other way of livelihood. In this, faid I, not 
 only you in England, but a great part of the world, imi- 
 tate fome ill mawcrs, that are readier to chaftife their 
 fcholars than to teach them. There are dreadful punifti- 
 mcnts enadted againft thieves ; but it were much better 
 to make fuch good provifions, by which cv-.ry man might 
 be put in a method how to live, and fo be preferved from 
 the fatal neceflicy of ftealing, and of dying for it. — There, 
 has been care enough taken fur that, faid he , there are 
 many handicrafts, and there is hufbandry, by which they 
 
 may 
 
12 SIR THOMAS MORE'S 
 
 may make a (hift to live, unlefs they have a greater mind 
 S to follow ill courfes. — That will not ferve your turn, faid 
 I, for many lofe their limbs in civil or foreign wars, as 
 lately in the Cornifh rebellion, and fome time ago in 
 your wars with France, who, being thus mutilated in the 
 fervice of their king and country, can no more follow 
 their old trades, and are too old to learn new ones. But 
 lince wars are only accidental things, and have intervals, 
 let us coniider thofe things that fall out every day. There 
 is a great number of noblemen among you, that are thcm- 
 felves as idle as drones, that fubfifl: on other men's labour 
 —on the labour of their tenants, whom, to raife their 
 revenues, they pare to the quick. This, indeed, is the 
 only inftance of their frugality ; for in all other things 
 they are prodigal, even to the beggaring of themfelves. 
 But, befides this, they carry about with them a great 
 number of idle fellows, who never learned any art by 
 which they may gain their living ; and thefe, as foon as 
 either their lord dies or they themfelves fall lick, arc 
 turned out of doors ; for your lords are readier to feed 
 idle people than to take care of the fick ; and often the 
 heir is not able to keep together fo great a family as his 
 predeccllor did. Now, when the ftomachs of thofe that 
 are thus turned out of doors grow keen, they rob no lefs 
 keenly. And, what elfe can they do r For when, by wan- 
 dering about, they have worn out both their health and 
 their clothes, and are tattered, and look ghaftly, men of 
 quality will not entertain them, and poor men dare not 
 ijo it i knowing that one who has been bred up in idle- 
 pefs and pleafure, and who was ufcd to walk about with 
 
 his 
 
UTOPIA* 13 
 
 his fword and buckkr, defpifing all the neighbourhood 
 with an infolent fcorn, as far below him, is not fit for the 
 fpade and mattock ; nor will he ferve a poor man for fo 
 fmall a hire, and on fo low a diet as he can afford to give 
 him. To this he anfwered, This fort of men ought to 
 be particularly cherilhed, for in them confifts the force 
 of the armies for which we have occafion ; fince their 
 birth infplres them with a nobler fenfe of honour than is 
 to be found among tradesmen or ploughmen.— You may 
 as well fay, replied I, that you muft cherifli thieves on 
 the account of wars, for you will never want the one 
 as long as you have the other ; and as robbers prove fome- 
 times gallant foldiers, fo foldiers often prove brave rob- 
 bers ; fo near an alliance there is between thofe two forts 
 of life. 13 ut this bad cuflom, fo common among you, of 
 keeping many fervants, is not peculiar to this nation. In 
 France there is yet a more peftiferous fort of people, for 
 the whole country is full of foldiers, ilill kept up in time 
 of peace, if fuch a ftate of a nation can be called a 
 peace : and the{e are kept in pay upon the fame account 
 that you plead for thofe idle retainers about noblemen ; 
 this being a maxim of thofe pretended ftatefmen, that it 
 is neceffary for the public fafety to have a good body of 
 veteran foldiers ever in readincfs. They think raw men 
 are not to be depended on ; and they fometimes feek oc- 
 caiions for making war, that they may train up their fol- 
 diers in the art of cutting throats ; or, as Sallull obferved, 
 for keeping their hands in ufe, that they may not grow 
 dull by too long an intermifllon. But France has learned 
 to its coil:, how dangerous it is to feed fuch beafls. The 
 
 fate 
 
14 SIR THOMAS MGRe's 
 
 fate of the Romans, Carthaginians, and Syrians, and 
 many other nations and cities, which were both overturned 
 and quite ruined by thofe flnnding arnaies, fhould make 
 others wdfer. And the folly of this maxim of the French 
 appears plainly, even from this, that their trained foldiers 
 often find your raw men prove too hard for them ; of 
 which I will not fay much, left you may think I flatter 
 the Englifh. Every day's experience fliews, that the 
 mechanics in the tov.-ns, or the clowns in the country, are 
 not afraid of fighting with thofe idle gentlemen, if they 
 are not difabled by fome misfortune in their body, or dif- 
 pirited by extreme want ; fo that you need not fear, that 
 thofe well-fliaped and ftrong men (for it is only fuch that 
 nobkmen love to keep about them, till they fpoil them), 
 who now grow feeble with cafe, and are foftened with 
 their effeminate manner of life, would be lefs fit for ac- 
 tion if they were well bred and well employed. And it 
 feems very unrcafonable, that, for the profpe(^ of a war, 
 which you need never have but when you plcafe, you 
 Hiould maintain fo manv idle men, as will always difturb 
 you in time of peace, which is ever to be more conlidered 
 than war. 
 
 But I do not think that this neceffity of ftealing^, arifes 
 
 , only from hence ^ there is another caufe of it more pecu- 
 
 j liar to England. — What is that r faid the Cardinal. — The 
 
 I increafe of pafture, faid I, by which your flieep, which 
 
 I are naturally mild, and eafily kept in order, may be faid 
 
 / now to devour men, and unpeople, not only villages, but 
 
 towns : for wherever it is found, that the Ihecp of any 
 
 foil yield a lofter and richer wool than ordinary, there the 
 
 nobility 
 
UTOPIA. 15 
 
 nobility and gentry, and even thofe holy men the abbots, 
 not contented with the old rents which their farms yield- 
 ed, nor thinking it enough that they living at their eafe, 
 do no good to the public, refolve to do it hurt inftead of 
 good. They ftop the courfe of agriculture, deftroying 
 houfes and towns, referving only the churches, and in- 
 clofe grounds that they may lodge their flieep in them, 
 as if forefts and parks had fwallowed up too little of the 
 land, thofe worthy country men turn the beft inhabited 
 places into folitudes ; for when an unfatiable wretch, who 
 is a plague to his country, refolves to inclofe many thou- 
 fand acres of ground, the owners, as well as tenants, 
 are turned out of their poflefhons, by tricks or by main 
 force, or being wearied out with ill ufage, they are forced 
 to fell them. By which means thofe miferable people, 
 both men and women, married and unmarried, old and 
 young, with their poor, but numerous families, (fincc 
 country bufinefs requires many hands) are all forced to 
 change their feats, not knowing whither to go ; and they 
 muft fell almoft for nothing, their hou(hold ftufp, which 
 could not bring them much money, even though they 
 might Hay for a buyer : when that little money is at an 
 end, for it will be foon fpent ; what is left for them to do, 
 but either to fteal and fo to be hanged, (God knows how 
 juflly) or to go about and beg ? And if they do this, they 
 are put in prifon as idle vagabonds ; while they would 
 willingly work, but can find none that will hire them ; 
 for there is no more occafion for country labour, to which 
 they have been bred, when there is no arable ground left. 
 One Ihepherd can look after a flock, which will flock an 
 
 extent 
 
l6 SIR THOMAS M OR E*5 
 
 extent of ground that would require many hands, if it were 
 to be ploughed and reaped. This likewife in many places 
 raifes the price of corn. The price of wool is alfo fo rifen, 
 that the poor people who were wont to make cloth, are 
 no more able to buy it ; and this Kkewife makes many of 
 them idle. For fmce the increafe of pafture, God has 
 punifhed the avarice of the owners, by a rot among 
 the (lieep, which has deflroyed vaft numbers of them ; to 
 us it might have fecmcd more juft had it fell on the own- 
 ers themfelves. But fuppofe the fheep fliould increafe 
 ever fo much, their price is not like to fall ; fmce though 
 they cannot be called a monopoly, becaufe they are not 
 engrolTcd by one perfon, yet they are in fo few hands, and 
 thefe are fo rich, that as they are not prefTed to fell them 
 fooner than they have a miiid to it, fo they never do it 
 till they have raifed the price as high as poflible. And 
 on the fame account it is, that the other kinds of cattle 
 are fo dear, becaufe many villages being pulled down, 
 and all country labour being much ncgle6led, there are 
 none who make it their bufinefs to breed them. The rich 
 do not breed cattle as they do (hecp, but buy them lean, 
 and at low prices ; and after they have fattened them on 
 t^eir grounds, fell them again at righ rates. And I do 
 not think that all the inconveniencies this will produce, 
 are yet obferved ; for as they fell the cattle dear, fo, if 
 they are confumed fafter than the breeding countries from 
 which they are brought can afford them, then the ftock 
 muft decreafe, and this muft needs end in great fcarcity ; 
 and by thefe means, this your ifland, which feemed, as to 
 this particular, the happieft in the world, will fuffer much 
 
 by 
 
UTOPIA. 17 
 
 by the curfed avarice of a few perfons ; befides this, the 
 riling of corn makes all people leflen their families as 
 much as they can ; and what can thofe who are difmifled 
 by them do, but either beg or rob ? And to this laft, a 
 man of a great mind is much fooner drawn than to the 
 former. Luxury likewife breaks in apace upon you, to 
 fet forward your poverty and mifery ; there is an exceflivc 
 vanity in apparel, and great coft in diet, and that not only 
 in noblemen's families, but even among tradefmen, 
 among the farmers themfelves, and among all ranks of 
 perfons. You have alfo many infamous houfes, and, be- 
 lides thofe that are known, the taverns and ale-houfes are 
 no better; add to thefe, dice, cards, tables, foot-ball, 
 tennis, and coits, in which money runs faft away ; and 
 thofe that are initiated into them, muft, in the conclufion, 
 betake themfelves to robbing for a fupply. Baniih thefe 
 plagues, and give orders that thofe who have difpeopleql 
 fo much foil, may either rebuild the villages they have 
 pulled down, or let out their grounds to fuch as will do 
 it. Reftrain thofe engrofilngs of the rich^ that are as bad 
 almoft as vionopolies ; leave fewer occaiions to idlenefs ; 
 let agriculture be (et up again, and the manufa6\ure of 
 tlie wool be regulated, that fo there may be work found 
 for thofe companies of idle people, whom v^^ant forces to 
 be thieves, or who now being idle vagabonds, or ufelefs 
 fervants, will certainly grow thieves at laft. If you do 
 not find a remedy to thefe evils, it is a vain thino; to boaft 
 of your feverity in punifning theft; which, though it 
 may have the appearance of julVice, yet in itfelf is neither 
 jufl nor convenient : for, if you fuiTer your people to be 
 Vol. III. C ill 
 
l8 SIR THOMAS MORE*"S 
 
 ill educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their 
 infancy, and then punifli them for thofe crimes to which 
 their firft education difpofed them, what elfe is to be con- 
 cUided from this, but that you firfl make thieves and then 
 punifli them ? 
 
 While I was talking thus, the counfellor who was pre - 
 fent had prepared an anfwer, and had refolved to refume 
 all I had faid, according to the formality of a debate, in 
 which things are generally repeated more faithfully than 
 they are anfwered ; as if the chief trial to be made were 
 of men's memories. You have talked prettily for a 
 Granger, faid he, having heard of many things among us, 
 which you have not beervable to confider well ; but I will 
 make the whole matter plain to you,^ and will firft repeat 
 in order all that you have faid, then I will fhew how 
 much your ignorance of our affairs has mifled you, and 
 will, in the lafl: place, anfwer all your arguments. And 
 that I may begin where I promifed, there were four things 
 
 Hold your peace, faid the cardinal ; this will take up 
 
 too much time; therefore we will at prefent eafc you of 
 the trouble of anfwering, and referve it to our next meet- 
 ing, which Ihall be to-morrow, if Raphael's afRiirs and. 
 your's can admit of it. But, Raphael, faid he to me, I 
 w^ould gladly know upon what reafon it is that you think 
 theft ought not to be puniihed by death. Would you 
 give way to it ? Or, do you propofe any other punifli- 
 ment that will be more ufeful to the public ? For, fince 
 death does not reftrain theft, if men thought their lives 
 would be fafe, what fear or force could reftrain ill men ? 
 On the contrary, they would look on the mitigation of 
 
 the 
 
UTOPIA. 19 
 
 the punlfliment as an invitation to commit more crimes. 
 — I anfvvered, It feems to me a very unjuft thing to take 
 away a man's life for a little money , for nothing in the 
 world can be of equal value with a man's life. And if 
 ' it is faid, that it is not for the money that one fufFers, but 
 j for his breaking the law, I muft fay, extreme juftice is 
 an extreme injury ; for we ought not to approve of thefe 
 terrible laws that make the fmalleft offence capital, nor of 
 that opinion of the Stoics, that makes all crimes equal, as 
 if there were no difference to be made between the kill- 
 ing a man and the taking his purfe, between which, if 
 we examine things impartially, there is ho likenefs nor 
 , proportion, God has commanded us not to kill ; and 
 / fhall we kill fo eafily for a little money ? But, if one 
 fhall fay, that by that law we are only forbid to kill any, 
 except when the laws of the land allow of it ; upon the 
 fame grounds, laws may be made in fome cafes to allow 
 of adultery and perjury ; for God having taken from 
 us the right of difpofing, either of our own, or of other 
 people's lives, if it is pretended, that the mutual confent 
 of men in making laws, can authorize manflaughter in 
 cafes in which God has given us no example, that it frees 
 people from the obligation of the Divine law, and fo 
 makes murder a lawful a6lion ; what is this, but to give 
 a preference to human laws before the Divine ? And if 
 this is once admitted, by the fame rule, men may, in all 
 other things, put what reftrldions they pleafe upon the 
 laws of God. If by the Mofaical law, though it was 
 rough and fevere, as being a yoke laid on an obftinate and 
 fervilc nation, men were only fined, and not put tg death, 
 
 C 2 f«r 
 
20 SIR THOMAS MORe's 
 
 for theft, we cannot imagine that in this new law of mercy, 
 in which God treats us with the tendernefs of a father, 
 he has given us a greater licenfe to cruelty than he d'd 
 ta the Jews. Upon thefe reafons it is, that I think 
 putting thieves to death is not lawful ; and it is plain and 
 obvious that it is abfurd and of ill confequence to the 
 commonwealth, that a thief and a murderer fhould be 
 equally puniflied ; for if a robber fees that his danger is 
 the fame, if he is convi61ed of theft, as if he were guilty 
 of murder, this will naturally incite him to kill the pcr- 
 fon whom otherwife he would only have robbed, fince, 
 if the punifhment is the fame, there is more fecurity, and 
 lefs danger of difcoverv, when he that can beft make it is 
 put out of the way ; fo that terrifying thieves too much, 
 provokes them to cruelty. 
 
 But as to the queftion. What more convenient way of 
 puniflimcnt can be found ? I think it is much ea- 
 fier to find out that, than to invent any thing that is worfe. 
 Why fhould we doubt bft the way that was fo long in 
 ufe among the old Romans, who underflood fo well the 
 arts of government, was very proper for their punifli- 
 ment ? They condemned fuch as they found guilty of 
 great crimes, to work their whole lives in quarries, or to 
 dig in mines with chains about them. But the method 
 that I liked beft, was that which I obierved in my travels 
 in.Ferfia, among the Polylerits, who are a confiderable 
 and well governed people. They pay a yearly tribute 
 to the King of Perfia ; but in all other refpeds they are 
 a free nation, and governed by their own lav^s. They 
 lie far from the fea, and are environed with hills ; and 
 
 being 
 
UTOPIA. SI 
 
 being contented with the pradu6lions of their own country, 
 which is very fruitful, they have little connmerce with any 
 other nation ; and as they, according to the genius of 
 their country, have no inclination to enlarge their bor- 
 ders; fo their mountains, and the penfion they pay to the 
 Perfian, fccure them from all invafions. Thus they have 
 no wars among them ; they live rather conveniently than 
 with fplendor, and may be rather called a happy nation, 
 than either eminent or famous ; for I do not think that 
 they are known fo much as by name to any but their next 
 neighbours. Thofe that are found guilty of theft among 
 them, are bound to make reftitution to the owner, and 
 not, as it is in other places, to the prince, for they reckon 
 that the prince has no more right to the flolen goods than 
 the thief ; but if that which was ftolen is no more in 
 being, then the goods of the thieves are eftimated, and 
 reftitution being made out of them, the remainder is 
 given to their wives and children, and they themfclves are 
 condemned to ferve in the public works, but are neither 
 imprifoned nor chained, unlefs there happens to be fome 
 extraordinary circumftances in their crimes. They go 
 about loofe and free, working for the public. If they 
 are idle or backward to work, they are whipped ; but if 
 they work hard, they are well ufed, and treated v/ithout 
 any mark of reproach, only the lifts of them are called 
 always at night, and then they are fliut up. They fufter 
 no other uneafinefs but this of conftant labour ; for as 
 they work for the public, fo they are well entertained 
 out of the public ftock, which is done differently in dif- 
 ferent places. In fome places, whatever is beftowed on 
 
 C 3 them. 
 
82 SIR THOMAS MORE's 
 
 them, is raifed by a charitable contribution; and though 
 this way may feem uncertain, yet fo merciful are the in- 
 cllnntinns of that people, that they are plentifully fupplicd 
 py it ; but in other places, public revenues are fet alide 
 for them; or there is a conflant tax of. a poll- money 
 raifed for their maintenance. In fame places they are 
 fet to no public work, but every private man that has 
 occafion to hire workmen, goes to the market-places and 
 hires thrm of the public, a little lower than he would do 
 a freeman : if they go lazily about their tafl<, he may 
 quicken them with the whip. By this means there is 
 always fome piece of work or other to be done by them ; 
 and befide their livelihood, they earn fomewhat ftill to the 
 public. They all vvcar a peculiar habit, of one certain 
 colour, and their hair is cropt a little above their ears, 
 and a piece of one of their ears is cut off. Their friends 
 are allowed to give them either meat, drink, or clothes, 
 fo they are of their proper colour ; but it is death, both 
 to the giver and taker, if they give them money ; nor is 
 It lefs penal for any freeman to t^ke money from them, 
 Upon any account whatfoever : and it is alfo death for any 
 of thefe flaves (fo they are called) to handle arms. Thofe 
 of every divifion of the country, are diftinguifhed by a 
 peculiar mark ; which it is capital for them to lay afide, 
 to go out of their bounds, or to talk with a (lave of ano- 
 ther jurifdidion ; and the very attempt of an efcape, is 
 no lefs penal than an efcape itfelf; it is death for any 
 other flave to be accelTarv to it ; and if a freeman engages 
 in it he is condemned to fiavery : thofe that difcover it 
 are rewarded ; if freemen, in money ; and if fiaves, with 
 
 liberty. 
 
UTOPIA, S3 
 
 liberty, together with a pardon for being acceflary to it ; 
 that fo they might find their account, rather in repenting 
 of their engaging in fuch a defign, than in perlifting in it. 
 
 Tlicfe are their laws and rules in relation to robbery ; 
 and it is obvious that they are as advantageous as they are 
 Riild and gentle ; (ince vice is not only deftroyed, and 
 men preferved, but they treated in fuch a manner as to 
 make them fee the necelTity of being honeft, and of em- 
 ploying the reft of their lives, in repairing the injuries 
 they have formerly done to fociety. Nor is there any 
 hazard of their falling back to their old cuftoms : and fo 
 little do travellers apprehend mifchief from them, that 
 they generally make ufe of them for guides, from one 
 jurifdi6tion to another; for there is nothing left them by 
 which they can rob, or be the better for it, fince as they 
 are difarmed, fo the very having of money is a fufficient 
 convi6^ion : and as they are certainly puniflied if difco- 
 vered, fo they cannot hope to efcape ; for their habit be- 
 ing in all the parts of it different from what is commonly 
 worn, they cannot fly away, unlefs they would go naked, 
 and even then their cropp'd ear would betray them. The 
 only danger to be feared from them, is their confpiring 
 ngainft the government : but thofe of one divifion and 
 neighbourhood can do nothing to any purpofe, unlefs a 
 general confpiracy were laid amongft all the flaves of the 
 feveral jurifdidl:ions, which cannot be done, fince they 
 cannot meet or talk together ; nor will any venture on a 
 defign where the concealment would be fo dangerous, and 
 the difcovery fo profitable. None are quite hopelefs of 
 recovering their freedom, fince by their obedience and 
 
 C 4 patience, 
 
24 SIR THOMAS MOre's 
 
 patience, and by giving good grounds to believe that they 
 will change their manner of life for the future, they may 
 expert at laft to obtain their liberty : and fome are every 
 year reftored to it, upon the good chara(?ler that is given 
 of tliem. When I had related all this, I added, that I 
 did not fee why fuch a method might not be followed 
 with rrore advantage, than could ever be expe6^ed from 
 that fevere juftice which the counfellor magnified fo much. 
 To this he anfwered, That it could never take place in 
 England, without endangering the whole nation. As he 
 faid this, he fhook his head, made fome grimaces, and 
 held his peace, wiiile all the company feemed of his opi- 
 nion, except the cardinal, who faid that it was not eafy 
 to form a judgment of its fuccefs, lince it was a method 
 that never yet had been tried .- but if, faid he, when the 
 fentence of death was pafled upon a thief, the prince would 
 reprieve him for a while, and make the experiment upon 
 him, denying him the privilege of a fan6tuary ; and then 
 if it had a good efFe6^ upon him, it might take place ; and 
 if it did not fuccced, the worft would be, to execute the 
 fentence on the condemned perfons at laft. And I do not 
 fee, added he, why it w^ould be either unjufl, inconve- 
 nient, or at all dangerous, to admit of fuch a delay: in 
 my opinion, the vagabonds ought to be treated in the 
 fame manner; againfl: whom, though we have made 
 many laws, yet we have not been able to gain our end. 
 When the cardinal had done, they all commended the 
 motion, though they had defpifed it when it came from 
 me ; but more particularly commended what related to 
 the vagabonds, becaufc it was his own obfervation. 
 
 I do 
 
UTOPIA. 25 
 
 I do not know whether it be worth while to tell what 
 followed, for it was very ridiculous ; but I {hall venture 
 at it, for as it is not foreign to this matter, (o fome good 
 ufe rrlay be made of it. There was a jefter (landing by, 
 that counterfeited the fool fo naturally, that he feemed to 
 be really one. The jefts which he offered were fo cold 
 and dull, that we laughed more at him than at them ; 
 yet fometimes he faid, as it were by chance, things that 
 were not unpleafant ; fo as to juflify the old proverb, 
 ** That he who throws the dice often, will fometimes 
 *' have a lucky hit." When one cf the company had faid, 
 that I had taken care of the thieves, and the cardinal had 
 taken care of the vagabonds, fo that there remained no- 
 thing but that fome public proviiion might be made for 
 the poor, whom lickncrs or old age had difabled from 
 labour : leave that to me, faid the fool, and I (hall take 
 care of them ; for there is no fort of people whofe fight I 
 abhor more, having been fo often vexed with them, and 
 with their fad complaints ; but as dolefully foever as they 
 have told their tale, they could never prevail fo far as to 
 draw one penny from me : for either I had no mind to 
 give them any thing, or when I had a mind to do it, I 
 had nothing to give them : and they now know me fo 
 well, that they will not lofe their labour, but let me pafe 
 without giving me any trouble, becaufe they hope for 
 mothing, no more in faith than if I were a pricft : but I 
 would have a law made, for fending all thefe beggars to 
 monafleries, the men to the Benedi(S\ines to be made lay- 
 brothers, and the women to be nuns. The cardinal 
 i'miled, and approved of it in jcft ; but the reft liked it 
 
 in 
 
Sl6 SIR THOMAS MORE'S 
 
 in earneft; there was a divine prefent, who though he 
 was a grave morofe man, yet he was fo pleafed with this 
 refledtion that was made on the priefts and the monks, 
 that he began to play with the fool, and faid to him. 
 This will not deliver you from all beggars, except you 
 take care of us friars. That is done already, anfwcred 
 the fool, for the cardinal has provided for you, by what 
 he propofed for reftraining vagabonds, and fetting them 
 to work, for I know no vagabonds like you. This was 
 well entertained by the whole company, who looking at 
 the cardinal, perceived that he was not ill pleafed at it ^ 
 only the friar himfelf was vexed, as may be eafily ima- 
 gined, and fell into fuch a paflion, that he could not 
 forbear railing at the fool, and calling him knave, flan- 
 derer, backbiter, and fon of perdition, and then cited 
 fome dreadful threatenings out of the fcriptures againft 
 him. Now the jefter thought he was in his element, and 
 laid about him freely : good friar, faid he, be not angry, 
 for it is written, " In patience poflefs your foul." The 
 friar anfwered, (for I fliall give you his own words) I am 
 not angry, you hangman ; at leal\ I do not fm in it, for 
 the pfalmift fays, *' Be ye angry, and fin not." Upon 
 this the cardinal admonidied him gently, and widicd him 
 to govern his pafiions. No, my lord, faid he, I fpcak 
 not but from a good zeal, which I ought to have ; for 
 holy men have had a good zeal, as it is faid, " The zeal 
 ** of thy houfe hath eaten me up;" and we fing in our 
 _church, that thofe^who mocked Eliflia as he went up to 
 the houfe of God, felt the effeds of his zeal ; which that 
 niockcr, that rogue, that fcoundrel, will perhaps feci. 
 
 Yoj 
 
UTOPIA. 27 
 
 You do this, perhaps, with a good intention, faid the 
 cardinal ; but, in my opinion, it were wifer in you, and 
 perhaps better for you, not to engage in fo ridiculous a 
 conteft with a fool. — No, my lord, anfwered he, that 
 were not wifely done ; for Solomon, the wifeft of men, 
 faid, ** Anfvver a fool according to his folly ;" which I 
 now do, and ihew him the ditch into which he will fall, 
 if he is not aware of it ; for if the many mockers of Eli- 
 (ha, who was but one bald man, felt the efFe61: of his zeal, 
 what will become of one mocker of fo many friars, 
 ^mong whom there are fo many bald men ? We have 
 like wife a bull, by w'hich all that jeer us are excommu- 
 nicated. When the cardinal faw that there was no end 
 of this matter, he made a fign to the fool to with- 
 draw, turned the difcourfe another way ; and foon af- 
 ter rofe from the table, and, difmiffing us, went to hear 
 caufes. 
 
 Thus, Mr. More, I have run ont into a tedious ftory, 
 of the length of which I had been afliamcd, if, as you 
 earneftly begged it of me, I had not obferved you to 
 hearken to it as if you had no mind to lofe any part of 
 it. I might have contrad^ed it, but I refolvcd to give it 
 you at large, that you might obferve how thofe that de- 
 fpifcd v/hat I had propofed, no fooner perceived that the 
 cardinal did not diflike it, but prefently approved of itj 
 fawned fo on him, and flattered him to fuch a degree, 
 that they in good earned applauded thofe things that 
 he only liked in jeft. And from hence you may ga- 
 ther, how little courtiers would value either me or my 
 coynfels. 
 
 To 
 
ft8 SIR THOMAS MORe'S 
 
 To this I anfwered, You have done me a great kind- 
 nefs in this relation ; for as every thing has been related 
 by you both wifely and pleafantly, fo you have made mc 
 imagine, that I was in my own country, and grown young 
 again, by recalling that good cardinal to my thoughts, in 
 •whofe family I was bred from my childhood. And 
 though you are upon other accounts very dear to me, yet 
 you are the dearer, becaufe you honour his memory fo 
 much. But, after all this, I cannot change my opinion ^ 
 for I ftill think that if you could overcome that averfion 
 which you have to the courts of princes, you might, by 
 the advice which it is in your power to give, do a great 
 deal of good to mankind ; and this is the chief defign 
 that every good man ought to propofe to himfelf in liv- 
 ing ; for your friend Plato thinks that nations will be 
 happy, when either philofophers become kings, or kings_ 
 become philofophers ; it is no wonder if w^e are fo far 
 from that happinefs, while plnlofophers will not think it 
 their duty to affill: kings with their counfels. — They are 
 not fo bafe-minded, faid he, but that they would willingly 
 do it. Many of them have already done it by their 
 books, if thofe that are in power would but hearken to 
 their good advice. But Plato judged right, that except 
 kings themfelves became philofophers, they who from 
 their childhood are corrupted with falfe notions, would 
 never fall in entirely with the counfels of philofophers ; 
 and this he himfelf found to be true in the perfon of Dio- 
 nvfius. 
 
 Do not you think, that if I were about any king, pro- 
 pofuig good laws to him, and endeavouring to root ou' all 
 
 the 
 
UTOPIA. 29 
 
 the curfed feeds of evil that I found in him, I (liould 
 either be turned out of his court, or at leaft be laughed 
 at for my pains ? For inftance, what could I fignify 
 if I were about the king of France, and were called int-o 
 his cabinet-council, where feveral w^ife men, in his hear- 
 ing, were propofing many expedients ; as by what arts 
 and practices Milan may be kept, and Naples, that has 
 fo often flipped out of their hands, recovered ; how tlie 
 Venetians, and after them the reft of Italy, may be fub- 
 dued ; and then how Flanders, Brabant, and all Bur- 
 gundy, and fome other kingdoms which he has fwallow- 
 ed already in his defigns, may be added to his empire. 
 One propofes a league with the Venetians, to be kept 
 as l©ng as he finds his account in it, and that he ou(>ht 
 to communicate councils with them, and give them fomc 
 fhare of the fpoil, till his fuccefs makes him need or fear 
 them lefs, and then It will be eafily taken out of their 
 hands. Another propofes the hiring the Germans, and 
 the fecuring the Svvitzers by penfions. Another propofes 
 the gaining the emperor by money, which is omnipotent 
 with him. Another propofes a peace with the king of 
 Arragon ; and, in order to cem.ent it, the yielding up the 
 king of Navarre's pretenfions. Another thinks the 
 prince of Cadile is to be wrought on, by the hope of an 
 alliance ; and that fome of his courtiers are to be gained 
 to the French faction by penfions. The hardeil: point of 
 all is wh^t to do with England. A treaty of peace is to 
 be fet on foot \ and if their alliance is not to be depended 
 on, yet it is to be made as firm as coffible : and thev are 
 to be called friends, but fufpedcd as enemies : therefore 
 
 the 
 
30 SIR THOMAS M O R e' S 
 
 the Scots are to be kept in readincfs» to be let loofe upon 
 England on every occafion ; and fome banifhcd nobleman 
 is to be fupported underhand (for by the league it cannot be 
 done avowedly), who has a pretcnfion to the crown, by 
 which means that fufpedted prince may be kept in awe. 
 Now, when things are in fo great a fermentation, and 
 fo many gallant men are joining counfcls, how to carry 
 on the war, if fo mean a man as I fliould ftand up, and 
 wi(h them to change all their counfcls, to let Italy alone, 
 and (lay at home, fince the kingdom of France was in- 
 deed greater than could be well governed by one man ; 
 that therefore he ought not to think of adding others to 
 jt. And if, after this, I (liould propofe to them the refo- 
 lutions of the Achorians, a people that lie on the fouth- 
 eaft of Utopia, who long ago engaged in war, in order to 
 add to the dominions of their prince another kingdom, 
 to which he had fome pretenfions by an ancient alliance. 
 This they conquered ; but found that the trouble of keep- 
 ing it, was equal to that by which it was gained ; that the 
 conquered people were always either in rebellion or ex- 
 pofed to foreign invafions, while they were obliged to be 
 inceffantly at war, either for or againft them, and confe- 
 quently could never difband their army ; that in the mean 
 time they were opprefled with taxes, their money went 
 out of the kingdom, their blood was fpilt for the glory of 
 their king, without procuring the leatt advantage to the 
 people, who received nut the fmallcft benefit from it 
 even in time of peace ^ and that their manners being cor- 
 rupted by a long war, robbery and murders every where 
 abounded, and their laws fell into contempt j while their 
 
 king* 
 
UTOPIA. - 31 
 
 king, diftradled with the care of two kingdoms, was the 
 ^efs able to apply his mind to the intereft of either. 
 When they faw this, and that there would be no end ta 
 thefe e\'ils, they by joint councils made an humble addrefs 
 to their king, defiring him. to choofe which of the two 
 kingdoms he had the greatefl: mind to keep, fince he could 
 not hold both ; for they were too great a people to be go- 
 verned bv a divided king, fince no man would willingly 
 have a groom that fhould be in common between him and 
 another. Upon which tlie good prince was forced to quit 
 his new kingdom to one of his friends (who was not long 
 after dethronedj, and to be contented with his old one. 
 To this I would add, that after all thofe warlike attempts, 
 the vaft confufions, and the confumption both of treafure 
 and of people that miifl: follow them, perhaps, upon fome 
 misfortune, they might be forced to throw up all at laft ; 
 therefore it feemed much more elJLdble that the king: 
 lliould improve his ancient kingdom all he could, and 
 make it flourifli as much as pofl'ible \ that he fliould love 
 his people, and be beloved of them ; that he fhould live 
 among them, govern them gently, and let other kingdoms 
 alone, fince that which had fallen to his (hare was big 
 enough, if not too big, for him. Pray, how do you think 
 would fuch a fpeeeh as this be heard ? — I confefs, faid I, 
 I think not very well. 
 
 But what, faid he, if I fhould fort wath another kind 
 of minifters, whofe chief contrivances and confultations 
 were, by what art the prince's treafures might be en- 
 creafed. Where one propofes raifing the value of fpecie 
 when the king's debfi are large^ and lowering it when his 
 
 revenues 
 
32 SIR THOMAS MORELS 
 
 revenues were to come In, that fo he might both pa)' 
 much with a little, and in a little receive a great deal. 
 Another propofes a pretence of a war, that money might be 
 raifed-in order to carry it on, and that a peace be con- 
 cluded as foon as that was done ; and this with fuch ap- 
 pearances of religion as might work on the people, and 
 make them impute it to the piety of their prince, and to 
 his tendernefs for the lives of his fubjcds. A third offers 
 fome old mully laws, that have been antiquated by a long 
 difufc ; and which, as they had been forgotten by all the 
 fubje6ls, To they had been alfo broken by them ; and pro- 
 pofes the levying the penalties of thefe laws, that as it 
 would bring in a vaft treafure, fo there might be a very 
 good pretence for it, fince it would look like the executing 
 a law, and the doing of juflice. A fourth propofes the 
 prohibiting of many things under fevere penalties, efpe- 
 cially fuch as were againft the interefl: of the people, and 
 then the dlfpenfing with thefe prohibitions, upon great 
 compofitions, to thofe who might find their advantage in 
 breaking them. This would ferve two ends, both of 
 tliem acceptable to many ; for as thofe whofe avarice led 
 them to tranfgrefs, would be feverely fined, fo rhe felling 
 licences dear, would look as if a prince were tender ot 
 his people, and would not eafily, or at low rates, difpenfc 
 with any thing that might be againl^ the public good. 
 Another propofes, that the judges mufl be made fure, 
 that they may declare always in favour of the prerogative, 
 that they muit be often fent for to court, that the king 
 may hear them argue thofe points in which he is con- 
 cerned j fince how unjuft focver any of his prctenfions 
 
 may 
 
tJTOPlAo 05 
 
 may be, yet ftill fome one or other of them, either out of 
 contradiaion to others, or the pride of fingularity, or to 
 make their court, would find out fome pretence or other 
 to give the king a fair colour to carry the point : for if the 
 judges but differ in opinion, the cleareft thing in the world 
 is made by that m.eans difputable, and truth being once 
 brought in queftion, the king may then take advantage to 
 expound the law for his own profit, while the judges that 
 ftand out will be brought over, either out of fear or mo- 
 defty ; and they being thus gained, all of them may be 
 lent to the bench to give fentence boldly, as the king would 
 have it ; for fair pretences will never be wanting when 
 fentence is to be given in the prince's favour: it will 
 either be faid, that equity lies of his fide, or fome words 
 in the law will be found founding that way, or fome 
 forced fenfe will be put on them ; and when all other 
 things fail, the king's undoubted prerogative will be pre- 
 tended, as that which is above all law, and to which a 
 religious judge ought to have a fpeclal regard. Thus all 
 confent to that maxim of Crafifus, that a prince cannot 
 have treafure enough, fince he muft maintain his armies 
 out of it ; that a king, even though he would, can do 
 nothing unjuftly ; that all property is in him, not except- 
 ing the very perfons of his fubjeas ; and that no man has 
 any other property, but that which the king, out of his 
 goodnefs, thinks fit to leave him ; and they think it is the 
 prince's intereft, that there be as little of this left as may 
 be, as if it were his advantage that his people fliould have 
 neither riches nor liberty, fince thefe things make them 
 Icfs eafy and lefs willing to fubmit to a cruel and unjuft 
 ^^^- ^^I- D govern- 
 
t-. ', 
 
 34 SIR THOMAS MORE S 
 
 government ; whereas ncccflity and poverty blunts them, 
 makes them patient, beats them down, and breaks that 
 height of f[)irit, that might othcrwife difpofe them to re- 
 bel. 
 
 Now, what if, after all thefe propofitions were madc^ 
 I ihould rife up and affert, that fuch counfcls were both 
 unbecoming a king, and mifchievous to him ; and that 
 not only his honor but his fafety confided more in his 
 people's wealth, than irl his own ; if I fliould fliew that 
 they choofe ^ king for their own fake, and not for his ; 
 that by his care and endeavors they may be both eafy and 
 fafe ; and that therefore a prince ought to take more care 
 of his people's happinefs than of his own, as a fhepherd 
 is to take more care of his flock than of himfelf. It is 
 alfo certain, that they are mucli miftaken that think the 
 poverty of a nation is a means of the public fafety. Who 
 quarrel more than beggars? Who does more earneftly 
 long for a change, than he that is uneafy in his prefent 
 circumflanccs ? And who run to create confufions with 
 fo defperate a boldncfs as thofe who, having nothing to 
 lofe, hope to gain by them ? If a king fhoiild fall under 
 fuch contempt or envy, that he could not keep his fub- 
 jec^s in their duty but by opprefTion and ill ufage, and by 
 rendering them poor and mifcrable, it were certainly bet- 
 ter for him to quit his kingdom, than to retain it by 
 fuch methods, as makes him, while he keeps the name of 
 authority, lofe the majefty due to it. Nor is it fo be- 
 coming the dignity of a king to reign over beggars, as 
 over rich and happy fubje6ls. And therefore Fab;-icius, 
 a man of a noble and exalted temper, faid, he would 
 
 rather 
 
UTOPIA. 35 
 
 W.ther govei-n rich men, than be rich himfelf ; fince for 
 one man to abound In wealth and pleafure, when all about 
 him are mourning and groaning, is to be a gaoler and not 
 a king : He is an unfkilful phyfician, that cannot cure on^ 
 difeafe without carting his patient into another: So he that 
 can find no other way for corre(5\ing the errors of his peo- 
 ple, but by taking from them the conveniencies of life, 
 fliews that he knows not what it is to govern a free nation. 
 He himfelf ought rather to fhake off his floth, or to lay 
 down his pride ; for the contempt or hatred that his people 
 have for him, takes its rife from the vices in himfelf. Let 
 him live upon what belongs to him, without wronging 
 others, and accommodate his expence to his revenue. Let 
 him punifli crimes, and by his v*ife condudt let him en- 
 deavour to prevent them, rather than be fevere when he 
 has fuffered them to be too common : Let him not rafhly 
 revive laws that are abrogated by difufe, efpecially if they 
 have been long forgotten, and never wanted. And let him 
 never take any penalty for the breach of them, to which a 
 judge -Vvould not give way in a private man, but would 
 look on him as a crafty and unjuft penbn for pretending 
 to it. To thefe things I would add, that law among the 
 Macarians, a people that lie not far from Utopia, by which 
 their king, on the day on which he begins to reign, is 
 tied by an oath confirmed by folemn facrifices, never to 
 have at once above a thoufand pounds of gold in his trea- 
 fures, or fo much filver as is equal to that in value. This 
 law, they tell us, was made by an excellent king, who 
 had more regard to the riches of his country, than to his 
 own wealth : and therefore provided againft the heaping 
 
 Do, u|> 
 
36 SIR THOMAS MO re's 
 
 Up of fo much treafure, as might impoverifh the people r 
 He thought that moderate fum might be fufficient for any 
 accident ; if either the king had occafion for it againft 
 rebels, or the kingdom againft the invafion of an enemy ; 
 but that it was not enough to encourage a prince to invade 
 other mens rights, a circumftance that was the chief caufe 
 of his making that law. He alfo thought, that it was a 
 good provifion for that free circulation of money, fo ne- 
 celTary for the courfe of commerce and exchange: And 
 when a king muft diflribute allthofe extraordinary accef- 
 fions that increafe treafure beyond the due pitch, it makes 
 him lefs difpofcd to opprefs his fubjedls. Such a king as 
 this, will be the terror of ill men, and will be beloved 
 by all the good. 
 
 If, I fay, I {liould talk of thefe or fuch like things, to 
 men that had taken their bias another way, how deaf 
 would they be to all I could fay ? No doubt, very deaf^ 
 anfwered I ; and no wonder, for one is never to offer at 
 propofitions or advice that we are certain will not be en- 
 tertained. Difcourfes fo much out of the road could not 
 avail any thing, nor have any effedl on men, whofe minds 
 were prepoirelicd with different fentimcnts. This philofo- 
 phical way of fpeculation, is not unpleafant among friends 
 in a free converfation ; but there is no room for it in the 
 courts of princes, where great affairs are carried on by au- 
 thority. That is what I was faying, replied he, that there 
 is no room for philofophy in the courts of princes. Yes, 
 there is, faid I, but not for this fpeculative philofophy, 
 that makes every thing to be alike fitting at all times: But 
 there is another philofophy that is more pliable, that knows 
 
 its 
 
UTOPIA. gj 
 
 its proper fcene, accommodates itfelf to it, -and teaches a 
 man with propriety and decency to aft that part which 
 has fallen to his fliare. If when one of Plautus's come- 
 dies is upon the flage, and a company of fervants are add- 
 ing their parts, you Hiould come out in the garb of a phi- 
 lofopher, and repeat out of Odavia, a difcourfe of Seneca's 
 to Nero, would it not be better for you to fay nothing, 
 than by mixing things of fu<:h different natures, to make 
 an impertinent tragi- comedy r For you fpoil and corrupt 
 the play that is in hand, when you mix with it things of 
 an oppofite nature, even though they are much better. 
 Therefore go through with the play that is adding the beft 
 you can ; and do not confound it, becaufe another that is 
 pleafanter comes into your thoughts. It is even fo in a 
 common-wealth, and in the councils of princes ; if ill 
 opinions cannot be quite rooted out, and you cannot cure 
 fome received vice according to your wifhes, you muft 
 not therefore abandon the common-wealth, for the fame 
 reafons as you (hould not forfake the (hip in a ftorm, be* 
 caufe you cannot command the winds. You are not 
 obliged to aflault people with difcourfes that are out of their 
 road, when you fee that their received notions muft pre- 
 vent your making an impreflion upon them. You ought 
 rather to caft about, and to Bianage tilings with all the 
 dexterity in your power, fo that if you are not able to 
 make them go well, they may be as little ill as pofTible : 
 For except all men were good, every thing cannot be 
 light ; and that is a blelTing that I do not at prefent hope 
 to fee. According to your arguments, anfwered he, all 
 that I could be able to do would be to prefervc myfelf from 
 
 D 3 being 
 
f^8 SIR THOMAS MORE*S 
 
 being mad while I endeavoured to cure the madnefs of 
 others : For if I fpeak truth, I mufl: repeat what I have 
 faid to you ; and as for lying, whether a philofopher can 
 do it or not, I cannot tell ; I am fure I cannot do it. But 
 though thefe difcourfes may be uneafy and ungrateful to 
 them, I do not fee why they fliould feem foolifh or extra- 
 vagant : Indeed if I fliould cither propofe fuch thin^^s as 
 Plato has contrived in his common- wealth, or as the UtO' 
 plans pracf^ife in theirs, though they might feem better, as 
 certainly they are, yet they are fo different from our efta- 
 blifhment, which is founded on property, there being no 
 fuch thing among them, that I could not expert that it 
 would have any effe6t on them : But fuch difcourfes as 
 mine, which only call part evils to mind, and give warning 
 of what may follow, have nothing in them that is fo ab- 
 furd, that they may not be ufed at any time ; for they can 
 only be unpleafant to thofe who are refolved to run head- 
 long the contrary way : And if we muft let alone every 
 thing as abfurd or extravagant, which by reafon of the 
 wicked lives of many, may feem uncouth, we muft, even 
 among Chriftians, give over prefllng the greateft part cf 
 thofe things that Chrift hath taught us : Though he has 
 commanded us not to conceal them, but to proclaim on 
 the houfe-tops that which he taught in fecret. The great- 
 eft part of his precepts are more oppofite to the lives of 
 the men of this age, than any part of my difcourfe has 
 been : But the preachers feem to have learned that craft 
 to which you advife me ; for they obferving that the world 
 would not willingly fuit their lives to the rules that Chrift 
 has given, have fitted his dodlrine, as if it had been a 
 
 leaden 
 
UTOPIA. g9 
 
 leaden rule, to their lives ; that fofome way or other they 
 might agree with one another. But I fee no other efFe6l 
 of this compliance, except it be that men become more 
 (ecure in their wickednefs by it. And this is all the fuc- 
 cefs that I can have in a court ; for I muft always differ 
 from the reft, and then I ihall fignify nothing ; or if I 
 agree with them I fliall then only help forward their mad- 
 nefs. I do not comprehend what you mean by your cart- 
 ing about, or by the bending and handling things fo dex- 
 teroufly, that if they go not well, they may go as little ill 
 as may be : For in courts they will not bear with a man's 
 holding his peace, or conniving at what others do ; A man 
 muft bare-facedly approve of the worft counfels, and con- 
 fent to the blackeft defigns : So that he could pafs for a 
 fpy, or poflibly for a traitor, that did but coldly approve 
 of fuch wicked pra6lices ? And therefore when a man is 
 engaged in fuch a fociety, he will be fo far from being able 
 to mend matters by his cafting about, as you call it, that 
 he will find no occafions of doing any good : The ill com- 
 pany will fooner corrupt him, than be the better for him : 
 Or if notwithftanding all their ill company, he ftill re- 
 mains fteady and innocent, yet their follies and knavery 
 will be imputed to him ; and by mixing counfels with 
 <hem, he muft bear his fhare of all the blame that belongs 
 wholly to others. 
 
 It was no ill fimilie, by which Plato fet forth the un- 
 reafonablenefs of a philofopher's meddling with govern- 
 jnent. If a man, fays he, was to fee a great company 
 fun out every day into the rain, and take delight in being 
 5vet ; if he knew that il would be to no purpofe for him 
 
 D 4 to 
 
40 SIR THOMAS MORE*S 
 
 to go and perfuade them to return to their houfes, irt order 
 to avoid the ftorm, and that all that could be expeded by 
 his going to fpeak to them, would be that he himfelf 
 fhould be as wet as they, it would be beft for him to keep 
 within doors ; and fince he had not influence enough to 
 corredl other people's folly, to take care to preferve him- 
 felf. 
 
 Though to fpcak plainly my real fentiments, I muft 
 freely own, that as long as there is any property, and while 
 money is the ftandard of all other things, I cannot think 
 that a nation can be governed either juftly or happily : Not 
 juftly, becaufe the beft things will fall to the {hare of the 
 worft men : Nor happily, becaufe all things will be di- 
 vided among a few, (and even thefe are not in all refpedls 
 happy) the reft being left to be abfolutely miferable. There- 
 fore when I reflecfl on the wife and good conliitution of the 
 Utopians, among whom all things arefo well governed, and 
 with fo few laws ; where virtue hath its due reward, and 
 yet there is fuch an equality, that every man lives in 
 plenty. When I compare with them fo many other na- 
 tions that are ftill making new laws, and yet can never 
 bring their conftitution to a right regulation, where not- 
 withftanding every one has his property ; yet all the laws 
 that they can invent have net the power either to obtain or 
 preferve it, or even to enable men certainly to diftinguifli 
 what is their own from Vvhat is another's ; of which the 
 many law-fuits that every day break out, and are eternally 
 depending, give too plain a demonftration : When, I fay, 
 I balance all thcfe things in my thoughts, I grow more 
 favourable to Plato, and do not wonder that he refolved, 
 
 not 
 
UTOPIA, 41 
 
 not to make any laws for fuch as would not fubmit to a 
 community of all things : For fo wife a man, could not 
 but forefee that the fetting all upon a level, was the only 
 way to make a nation happy ; which cannot be obtained 
 fo long as there is property : For when every man draws 
 to himfelf all that he can compafs, by one title or another, 
 it muft needs folio v/, that how plentiful foever a nation 
 may be, yet a few dividing the wealth of it among 
 themfelves, the reft muft fall into indigence. So that 
 there will be two forts of people among them, who de- 
 ferve that their fortunes fhould be interchanged ; the former 
 ufelcfs, but wicked and ravenous ; and the latter, wdio by 
 theirconftant induftryferve the public more than them.felves, 
 finccre and modcft men. From whence I am perfuaded, 
 that till property is taken aw^ay, there can be no equitable or 
 juft diftribution of things, ^nor can the w^orld be happily go- 
 verned : for as long as that is maintained, thegreateftand the 
 far beft part of mankind, will be ftill opprelTed w ith a 
 load of cares and anxieties. I confefs without taking it 
 quite away, thofe prefTures that lie on a great part of man- 
 |cind, may be made lighter ; but they can never be quite 
 removed. For if laws were made to determine at how- 
 great an extent in foil, and at how much money every man 
 muft flop, to limit the prince that he might not grow too 
 great, and to reftrain the people that they might not be- 
 come too infolent, and that none might fa6\ioully afpire to 
 public employments ; which ought neither to be fuld, nor 
 made burthenfome by a great expence ; lince otherwife 
 thofe that ferve in them, would be tempted to reimburfe 
 ihemfelves by cheats and violence, and it would become 
 
 necelTary 
 
48 SIR THOMAS MORK*S 
 
 neceflary to find out fich men for undergoing thofc em- 
 ployments which ought rather to be truftcd to the wife. 
 Tliefc laws, I fiiy, might have fuch efre6is, as good diet 
 and care might have on a fick man, whofe recovery is dcf- 
 perate ; they might allay and mitigate the difcafe, but it 
 could never be quite healed, nor tlie body policic be 
 brought again to a good habit, as lons^; as property re- 
 mains ; and it will fall out as in a complication of difearcs, 
 that by appl) ing a remedy to one fore, you will provoke 
 another ; and that which removes the one ill fymptom 
 produces others, while the ftrengthening one part of the 
 body weakens the r^fl. On the contrary, anfwered I, it 
 feems to me that men cannot live convenicntlv, where all 
 things are common : How can there be any plenty, where 
 every man will excufe himfelf from labour ? For as the 
 hope of gain doth not excite him, fo the confidence that 
 he has in other men's induftry, may make him flothful : 
 If people come to be pinched Vv'ith want, and yet cannot 
 cjifpofc of any thing as their own ; w^hat can follow upon 
 this, but perpetual fcditioi>and bloodflicd, efpcclally when 
 the reverence and authority due to magiftrates falls to the 
 ground r For I cannot imagine how that can be kept up 
 among thofc that are in all things equal to one another. J 
 do not wonder, faid he, that it appeit-rs fo to you, fmcc 
 you have no notion, or at leaft no right one, of fuch a 
 conftitution : But if you had been in Utopia with me, and 
 had feen their law^s and rules, as I did, for the fpace of 
 live years, in which I lived among them ; and during 
 which time I was fo delighted with them, that indeed I 
 fliould never have left them, if it had not been 
 
 tgt 
 
UTOPIA. 43 
 
 to make the difcovery of that new world to the Euro- 
 peans ; you would then confefs that you had never feen 
 a people (o well conftituted as they. You will not eafily 
 perfuade me, faid Peter, that any nation in that new 
 %vorld is better governed than thofe among us. For as 
 our underftandings are not worfe than theirs, fo our Gq- 
 vernment, if I miilake not, being more ancient, a long 
 pra6lice has helped us to find out many conveniencies of 
 life; and fome happy chances have difcovercd other things 
 to us, which no man's underftanding could ever have in- 
 vented. As for the antiquity, either of their government, 
 or of ours, faid he, you cannot pafs a true judgment qf 
 it, unlefs you had read their hiftories ; for if they are to 
 be believed, they had towns among them, before thefe 
 parts were fo much as inhabited : and as for thofe dif- 
 coveries, that have been either hit on by chance, or made 
 by ingenious men, thefe might have happened there as 
 well as here. I do not deny but we are more ingenious 
 than they are, but -hey exceed us much in induftry and 
 application. They knew little concerning us, before our 
 arrival among them ; they call us all by a general name 
 of the nations that lie beyond the equinotilial line ; for 
 their chronicle mentions a fliipwreck that was made on 
 their coaft I200 years ago; and that fome Romans and 
 Egyptians that were in the (liip, getting fife afhore, fpent 
 the red: of their days amongft them ; and iuch was their 
 ingenuity, that from this fingle opportunity, they drew the 
 advantage of learning from thofe unlookcd for guefts, and 
 acquired ail the ufeful arts that were then among the Ro • 
 mans, and which were known to thefe fiilpwrecked men : 
 ^nd by the hints that they gave them, they themfclves foun^ 
 
 ouC 
 
44 SIR THOMAS MO he's UTOPIA, 
 
 out even fome of thofe arts which they could not fully ex- 
 plain ; fo happily did they improve that accident, of 
 having fome of our people cafl: upon their fliore. But if 
 fuch an accident has at anytime brought any from thence 
 into Europe, we have been fo far from improving it, that 
 we do not fo much as remember it ; as in after times per- 
 haps it will be forgot by our people that I was ever there. 
 For though they from one fuch accident, m.ade themfelves 
 mafters of all the good inventions that were among us ; 
 yet I believe it would be long before we fliould learn or 
 put in pra6^ice any of the good inftitutions that are among 
 them : and this is the true caufe of their being better go- 
 verned, and living happier than we, though we come not 
 lliort of them in point of underftanding, or outward ad- 
 vantages. Upon this I faid to him, I earneflly beg you 
 would defcribe that ifland very particularly to us. Be not 
 too ftiort, but fet out in order all things relating to their 
 foil, their rivers, their towns, their people, their man- 
 ners, conlVitution, laws, and in a word, all that you ima- 
 gine we defire to know: and you may well imagine that 
 we defire to know every thing concerning them, of which 
 we are hitherto ignorant. I will do it very willingly, faid 
 he, for I have digefted the whole matter carefully ; but 
 it will take up fome time. Let us go then, faid I, firft 
 and dine, and then we fliall have leifure enough. He 
 confcnted. We went in and dined, and after dinner came 
 back, and fat down in the fame place. I ordered my 
 fervants to take care that none might come and interrupt 
 us : and both Peter and 1 defired Raphael to be as good 
 as his word : when he fawthat we were very intent upon it, he 
 paufed a httle to recoiled himfelf, andbeganin this manner. 
 
 DIS- 
 
[ 45 J 
 DISCOURSES, &c. 
 
 THE SECOND BOOK. 
 
 'T'^HE ifland of Utopia is in the middle two hun- 
 dred miles broad, and holds almoft at the fame 
 breadth over a great part of it ; but it grows narrower to- 
 wards both ends. Its figure is not unlike a crefcent : 
 between its horns, the fea comes in eleven miles broad, 
 and fpreads itfelf into a great bay, which is environed 
 v^/ith land to the compafs of about five hundred m.iles, and 
 is well fecured from winds ; in this bay there is no i^reat 
 current, the whole coaft is, as it were, one continued har- 
 bour, which gives all that live in the ifland great conve- 
 nience for mutual commerce : but the entry into the bay, 
 occafioned by rocks on the one hand, and fhailows on the 
 other, is very dangerous. In the middle of it there is one 
 fmgle rock which appears above water, and may therefore 
 eafily be avoided, and on the top of it there is a tow^r in 
 which a garrifon is kept, the other rocks lie under water, 
 and are very dangerous. The channel is known only to 
 the natives, fo that if any Granger fhould enter into the 
 bay, without one of their pilots, he w^ould run great dan- 
 ger of fhipwreck ; for even they themfelves could not pafs 
 itfafe, if fome marks that are on the coaft did not direcl 
 their way ; and if thefe fhould be but a little (hifted, any- 
 fleet that might come againft them, how great foever it 
 were, would be certainly loft. On the other fide of the 
 ifland, there are Ukewife many harbours ; and the coaft is 
 
 fo 
 
46 SIR THOMAS MO re's 
 
 fo fortified, both by nature and art, that a fmall number 
 of men can hinder the defcent of a great army. But they 
 report (and there remains good marks of it to make it cre- 
 dible) that this was no ifland at firfl:, but a part of the 
 continent. Utopus, that conquered it (whofe name it ftill 
 carries, for Abraxa was its firft name) brought the rude 
 and uncivihzed inhabitants into fuch a good govern-^ 
 ment, and to that meafurc of pohtenefs, that they now 
 far excel all the reft of mankind ; having foon fubdued 
 them, he defigned to feparate them from the continent," 
 and to bring the fea quite round them. To accomplifli 
 this, he ordered a deep channel to be dug fifteen miles 
 long ; and that the natives might not think he treated 
 them like (laves, he not only forced the inhabitants, but 
 alfo his own foldicrs, to labour in carrying it on. As he 
 fet a v?.i\ number of men to work, he beyond all mens 
 expedations brought it to a fpcedy conclufion. And his 
 neighbours who at firft laughed at the folly of the under- 
 taking, no fooier faw it brought to perfection, than they 
 were flruck v/nh admiration and terror. 
 
 There are fifty -four citie.^ in the ifland, all large and 
 well built: the manners, cuiloms, and laws of which 
 are the fame, and they are all contrived as near in the 
 fame manner as the ground on which they fland will al- 
 low : the ncarcit lie at leaf! twenty-four miilcs difiance 
 from one another, and the moft remote are not fo far 
 difiant, but that a man can go on foot in one day from it, 
 to that which lies next it. Every city fends three of their 
 wifefi fenators once a year to Amaurot, to confult about 
 their common concerns j for that is the chief town of the 
 
 ifland> 
 
UTOPIA. 47 
 
 idand, being fituated near the center of it, fo that it is 
 the moft convenient place for their alTemblies. The jurif- 
 di61ion of every city extends at leaft twenty miles; and 
 where the towns lie wider, they have much more ground : 
 no town defires to enlarge its bounds, for the people con- 
 lider themfeives rather as tenants than landlords. They 
 have built over all the country, farm houfes for huiband- 
 men, which are well contrived, and are furniHied^ with 
 all things neceflary for country labour. Inhabitants are 
 fent by turns from the cities to dwell in them ; no 
 country family has fcv/cr than forty men and women in it, 
 belides two flaves. There is a mafler and a miftrefs fet 
 over every family ; and over thirty £imilies there is a ma^ 
 giflratc. Every year twenty of this family come back to 
 the town, after they have flayed two years in the country : 
 and in their room there are other twenty fent from the 
 town, that they may learn country work, from thofe that 
 have been already one year in the country, as they muft 
 teach thofe that come to them the next from the town. 
 By this means fuch as dwell in thofe country farms, are 
 never ignorant of agriculture, and fo commit no errors, 
 which might otherwife be fatal, and bring them under a 
 fcarcityof corn. But though there is every year fuch a fliift- 
 ing of the hufbandmen, to prevent any man being forced a- 
 gainfl his will to follow that hard courfe of life too long ; 
 yet many among them take fuch pleafure in it, that they de- 
 lire leave to continue in it many years. Thefe hufbandmen 
 till the ground, breed cattle, hew wood, and convey it 
 to the towns, either by land or water, as is moft conve- 
 nient. They breed an infinite multitude of chickens in a 
 
 very 
 
48 SIR THOMAS M ore's 
 
 very curious manner : for the hens do not fit and hatcfe 
 them; but vaft numbers of eggs are laid in a gentle and 
 equal heat, in order to be hatched ; and they are no fooner 
 out cf the fhcll, and able to flir about, but they feem to 
 confider thofe that feed them as their mothers, and fol- 
 low them as other chickens do the hen that hatched them. 
 They breed very few horfes, but thofe they have are full 
 of mettle, and are kept only for exercifing their youth 
 in the art of fitting and riding them ; for they do not put 
 them to any work, either of plowing or carriage, in 
 which they employ oxen ; for though their horfes are 
 Wronger, )ct they find oxen can hold out longer ; and as 
 they arc not fubjedl to fo many difeafes, fo they are kept 
 upon a lefs charge, and with Icfs trouble : and even when 
 they are fo worn out, that they are no more fit for labour, 
 they are good meat at lafi. They fow no corn, but that 
 which is to be their bread ; for they drink either wine, 
 cyder or perry, and often water, fometimes boiled with 
 honey or liquorice, with which they abound ; and though 
 they know exactly how much corn will ferve every town, 
 and all that tract of country which belongs to it, yet they 
 fow much more, and breed more cattle than are necefl^ary 
 for their confumption : and they give that overplus of 
 which they make no ufj to their neighbours. When they 
 want any thing in the country which it does not produce, 
 they fetch that from the town, without carrying any thing 
 in exchange for it : and the magi^rates of the town take 
 care to fee it given them : for they meet generally in 
 the town once a month, upon a feftival day. When the 
 time of harveft comes, the magiO:ratcs in the country fend 
 
 to 
 
UTOPIA, 4^ 
 
 io thofe In the towns, and let them know how many 
 hands they will need for reaping the harveft ; and the 
 number they call for being fent to them, they commonly 
 difpatch it all in one day. 
 
 OF THEIR TOWNS, 
 
 TARTICULARLY Op 
 
 A M A U RO T. 
 
 Me that knows one of their towns, knows them all^ 
 they are fo like one another, except where the fituation 
 makes fome difference. I {l,all therefore defcribe one of 
 them ; and none is fo proper as Amaurot : for as none 
 is more eminent, all the reft yielding in precedence to this, 
 becaufe it is the feat of their fupreme council ; fo there 
 was none of them better known to me, I having lived 
 five years altogether in it. 
 
 It lies upon the fide of a hill, or rather a rifing ground : 
 its figure is almoft fquare, for from the one fide of it, 
 which flioots up almoft to the top of the hill, it runs down 
 in a defcent for two miles to the river Anider ; but it is 
 a little broader the other way that runs along by the bank 
 of that river. The Anider rifes about eighty miles above 
 Amaurot, in a fmall fpring at firft ; but other brooks 
 falling into it, of which two are more confiderable than 
 the reft, as it runs by Amaurot, it is grown half a mile 
 broad, but it ftill grows larger and larger, till after fixty 
 
 -^ miles 
 
5© SIR TROMAS MORE'^S 
 
 miles coLirfe below it, it is loft in the ocean, betweeir 
 the town and the fea, and for fome miles above the 
 town, it ebbs and flows every fix hours, with a ftrong 
 current. The tide comes up for about thirty mfles fo full> 
 that there is nothing but falt-\vn:ter in tl^.e river, the frefli 
 water being driven back with its force ; and above that, 
 fo.' fome miles, the water is brackifh, but a little higher, 
 as it runs by the town, it Is quite frefli ; and when the 
 tide ebbs, it continues frelli all along to the fea. There 
 is a bridge caft over the river, not of timber, but of 
 fair <tone, confifting of many lately arches ; it lies at 
 th?t part of the town which is farthcft from the fea, fo 
 that Oiips vinthout any hindrance lie all along the fide of 
 thr ...v;ii There is likewife another river that runs by= 
 it, which though it is not great, yet it runs pleafantly, for 
 it fifes oui of the fame hill on which the town ftands, and 
 fo runs d'own through it, and falls into the Anidcr. The 
 inhabitants have fortified the fountain-head of this river, 
 which fprings a little without the town ; that fo if they 
 fhould happen m be befieged, the enemy might not be 
 able to flop or divert the eourfe of the water, nor poifon it ;, 
 from thence it is carried in earthen pipes to the lower 
 Greets : and forthofe pbcesof the town to which the water 
 of that fmall rivep cannot be conveyed, they have great 
 cifterns forreceiving the rain-water, whlchfupplies the want 
 of the other. The town is compaflfed with a high and 
 thick wall, in which there are many towers and forts ;. 
 there is alfo a broad and deep dry ditch, fet thick with 
 thorns, cafi: round three fides of the town, and the river 
 is infiead of a ditch on the fourth fide. The ftreets are 
 
 very 
 
UTOPIA. 5^^ 
 
 very convenient for all carriage, and are well fheltered from 
 the winds. Their buildings are good, and are fo uni- 
 form, that a whole fide of a ftreet looks like one houfe. 
 The ilreets are twenty feet broad; there lie gardens be- 
 hind all their houfes ; thefe are large but enclofed with 
 buildings, that on all hands face the ftreets ; fo that every 
 houfe has both a door to the ftreet, and a back door to the 
 garden: their doors have all two leaves, which as they are 
 eafily opened, fo they fliut of their own accord ; and there 
 being no property among them, every man may freely enter 
 into any houfe whatfoever. At every ten years end they 
 fhift their houfes by lots. They cultivate their gardens 
 with great care, fo that they have both vines, fruits, 
 herbs and flowers in them ; and all is fo well ordered, 
 and fo finely kept, that I never faw gardens any where 
 that were both fo fruitful and fo beautiful as theirs. And 
 this humour of ordering their gardens fo well, is not only 
 kept up by the pleafure they find in it, but alfo by aa 
 emulation between the inhabitants of the feveral ftreets, 
 who vie with each other ; and there is indeed nothing 
 belonging to the whole town, that is both more ufeful, 
 and more pleafant. So that he who founded the town, 
 feems to have taken care of nothing more than of their 
 gardens ; for they fay, the w hole fcheme of the town 
 was defigned at firft by Utopus, but he left all that be- 
 longed to the ornament and improvement of it, to be ad- 
 ded by thofe that fiiould come after him, that being too 
 much for one man to bring to perfe61ion. Their records, 
 that contain the hiftory of their town and fi:ate, are pre- 
 fervcd with an esa6t care, and run backwards X760 years. 
 
 E a From 
 
5^ SIR THOMAS morel's 
 
 From thefe it appears, that their houfes were at firft Tow- 
 and mean, like cottages, made of any fort of timber, and 
 were built with mud walls, and thatched with ilraw : but 
 now their houfes are three ftories high, the fronts of them 
 are faced either with ftone, plaiHering, or brick; and be- 
 tween the facings of their walls, they throw in their rubbilh ;. 
 their roofs are flat, and on them they lay a fort of plaifter 
 which colls very little, and yet is fo tempered, that it is not 
 apt to take fire, and yet refifts the weather more than lead. 
 7 hey have great quantities of glafs among them, with 
 which they glaze their windows : they ufe alfo in their win- 
 dows, a thin linen cloth, that is fo oiled or gummed, that 
 it both keeps out tlie wind, and gives free admiflion t« 
 the light. 
 
 O F T li E I K 
 
 MAGISTRATES. 
 
 JL HIRTY families choofe every year a magiftratCp. 
 who was anciently called the Syphogrant, but is now cal- 
 led the Philarch : and over every ten Sypbogrants with 
 the families fubje<St to them, there is another magiftrate,. 
 who v/as anciently called the Tranibore, but of late the 
 Archphilarch. All the Svphogrants, who are in number 
 200, choofe the ^^ - ace out of a liO of four, who are named 
 by the people of the four divifions of the city, but they take 
 an oath before thev proceed to an eledlion, that they will 
 choofe him whom, they think moft fit for the office : they 
 give their voices fecr^tly, fo that it is not known for whom 
 every one gives his fu^trage. The prince is for life, unlefs 
 he is removed upon fufpicion ot fome defign to enflave the 
 
 people. 
 
V TOP I A.. 53 
 
 people. The Tranibors are new chofen every year, but 
 yet they are for the moft part continued : all their other 
 magiftrates are only annual. The Tranibors meet 
 •every third day, and oftener if neceifary, and confult 
 'v;ith the prince, either concerning the affairs of the 
 flate in general, or fuch private differences as may 
 arife fometimes among the people ; though that falls out 
 but fcldom. There are always two Syphogrants called in- 
 to the council- chamber, and thefe are changed every day, 
 Jt is a fundamental rule of their government, that no con- 
 clufion can be made in any thing that relates to the public, 
 till it has been tirft debated three feveral days in their 
 council. It is death for any to meet and confult con- 
 cerning the ftate, xinlefs it be either in their ordinary 
 council, or in the affembiy of the whole body of the 
 people. 
 
 Thefe things have been fo provided among them., that 
 the Prince and the Tranibors may not confpire together to 
 change the government, and enflave the people ; and there- 
 fore when any thing of great importance is fet on foot, it 
 is fent to the Syphogrants ; M'ho after they have com- 
 -jnunicated it to the families that belong to their divhions, 
 and have confidered it among themfclves, make report to 
 the fenate,; and upon great occalions, the matter is referred 
 to the council of the whole iiland. One rule obferved in 
 their council, is, never to debate a thing on the fame day 
 in vv'hich it is firir propofed ; for that is always referred to 
 the next meeting, that fo men may not ralhly, and in tlie 
 hf at of difcourfe, engage themfclves too foon, which might 
 bias them fo much, that in (lead of con ful ting the good of 
 ^he public, they might rather ftudy to fupport their firft 
 
 opinions ; 
 
54 SIR THOMAS more' S 
 
 opinions ; and by a perverfe and prepofterous fort of iTiam^, 
 hazard their country, rather than endanger their own 
 reputation, or venture the being fufpe^^ed to have wanted 
 forefight in the expedients that they at firft propofed. 
 And therefore to prevent this, they take care that they 
 may rather be deliberate, than fudden in their motions. 
 
 OF THEIR TRADES, 
 
 AND 
 
 MANNER OF LIFE. 
 
 Agriculture is that which is fo unlverfally un. 
 derftood among them, that no perfon either man or wo- 
 man, is ignorant of it ; they are inftructed in it from their 
 childhood, partly by what they learn at fchool, and partly 
 by pra6^ice ; they being led out often into the fields, about 
 the town, where they not only fee others at work, but are 
 likewife exercifed in it thcmfelves. . Bcfides agriculture, 
 "which is fo common to them all, every man has fome pecu- 
 liar tradeto which he applies hi mfcltjfuch as the manufacture 
 of wool or flax, mafonry, fmith's work, or carpenter's 
 work ; for there is no fort of trade that is in great efteem a- 
 mong them. Throughout the ifland they wear the fame 
 fort of clothes without any other diftinc^ion, except what is 
 neceflfary to diilinguiili the two fexes, and the married and 
 unmarried. The falhion never alters ; and as it is nei- 
 ther difagreeable nor uncafy, fo it is fuited to the climate, 
 and calculated both for their fummers and winters. Every 
 family makes their own clothes ; but all among them, 
 ^ ' women 
 
UTOPIA. 55 
 
 women as well as men, learn one or other of the trades for- 
 merly mentioned. Women, for the moll part, deal in wool 
 and flax, which fuit heft with their weaknefs, leaving the 
 ruder trades io the men. The fame tracie gyencrallv pafles 
 down frorri father to fon, inclinations often follow ig de- 
 feent : but if any man's genius lies another way, ho i<5 by 
 adoption tranflated into a familv tha^ deals in the trade to 
 which he is inclined: pnd when that is to be done, care 
 is taken not only by his father, hut by the ma^^il^iate, 
 that he may be put to a difcreet and good man. And if 
 after a pcrfon has learned one trade, he defircs to acquire 
 another, that is alfo allowed, and is managed in the fame 
 manner as the former. When he has learned both, he 
 follows that which he likes belt, unlefs the public has 
 more occafion for the other. 
 
 The chief, and almoft the only bufinefs of the Sypho- 
 grants, is to take care that no man may Uve idle, but 
 that every man may follow his trade diligently : yet they do 
 not wear themfelves out with perpetual toil, from morn- 
 ing to night, as if they were beafts of burden, which as 
 it is indeed a heavy (lavery, foit is every where the com- 
 mon courfe of life amongft all mechanics except the Uto- 
 pians : but they dividing the day and night into twentv-four 
 hours, appoint fix of thefe for work ; three of which are be- 
 fore dinner, and three after : they then fup, and at eight 
 o'clock, counting from noon, go to bed and fleep eight 
 hours. The refl of their time, befidcs that taken up in 
 work, eating and flecping is left to every man's difcretion ; 
 yet they are not to abufe that interval to luxury and idle- 
 r.efs, but rnufl: employ it in forne proper exercife accord- 
 ing 
 
§6 SIR THOMAS MORE's 
 
 inf^ to their various inclinations, which is for the moft 
 part reading. It is ordinary to have pubhc led^ures every 
 morning before day-break ; at which none are obliged to 
 appear, but thofe who are marked out for Hterature ; yet 
 a great many, both men and women of all ranks, go to 
 hearledlures of one fort or other, according to their incli- 
 nations. But if others, that are not made for contem- 
 plation, choofe rather to employ themfelvcs at that time 
 in their trades, as many of them do, they are not hinder- 
 ed, but are rather commended, as men that take care to 
 ferve their country. After fupper, they fpend an hour ir^ 
 fome diverfion, in fummer in their gardens, and in 
 winter in the halls where they eat ; where they entertain 
 each other, cither with mufic or difcourfe. They do not 
 fo much as know dice, or any fuch foolidi and mif- 
 chievous games : they have, however, two forts of games 
 not unlike our chefs ; the one is between feveral num- 
 bers, in which one number, as it were confumes another : 
 the other refembles a battle between the virtues and the 
 vices, in which the enmity in the vicQs among themfelves, 
 and their agreement againfi: virtue is not unpleafantly 
 reprefented , together with the fpecial oppofitions between 
 the particular virtues and vices ; as alfo the methods by 
 which vice either openly aflaults, or fecrctly undermines 
 virtue ; and virtue on the other hand refifts it. But the 
 time appointed for labour, is to be narrowly examined, 
 otherwife you may imagine, that (ince there are only fix 
 hours appointed for work, they may fall under a fcarc- 
 ity of necelTciry provilions. But jt is fo far from bcin.'^ 
 true, that this time is not fufficlent for fupi>lying them 
 
 with 
 
UTOPIA. 57 
 
 with plenty of all things, either nccefTary or convenient, 
 ihat it is rather too much ; and this you will eafiiy ap- 
 prehend, if you coniider how great a part of all. other 
 nations is quite idle. FirO:, women generally do little, 
 ¥.ho are the half of mankind ; and iffome few women 
 are diligent, their hufbands are idle : then coniider the 
 great company of idle priefts, and of thofe that arc 
 called religious men ; add to thefe all rich men, chiefly 
 thofe tliat have eftates in Jand^ who are called noble- 
 men and gentlemen, together with their families, made 
 up of idle perfons, that are kept mure for {how 
 than ufc. Add to thefe, all thofe firong andlufty beggars, 
 that go about pretending fome difeafe, in excufe for their 
 begging ; and upon the whole account you will find, 
 that the number of thofe by whofc labours mankind is 
 fupplied, is much lefs than you perhaps imagined : then 
 confider how hw of thofe that work, are em.ployed in 
 labours that are of real fervice : for we who mcafure 
 all things by money, give rife to many trades that are both 
 vain and fuperfluous, and ferve only to fupport riot and 
 luxury. For if thofe who work, were employed only in 
 fuch things as the conveniencics of life require, there 
 would be fuch an abundance of them, that the prices 
 of them would fo fink, that tradefmen could not be 
 maintained by their gains ; if all thofe who labour about 
 ufelefs things, were fet to more proBtabie employm.ents ; 
 and if all they that ianguifli out their lives in Hoth 
 and idlenefs, every one of wliom confumes as much as 
 any two of the men that arc at work, were forced to 
 labour, you may cafily imagiric that a finall proportion 
 
5^ SIR THOMAS MORE*S 
 
 of time would ferve for doing ail that is either nc* 
 cciTary, profitable, or pleafant to mankind, efpccially 
 while pleafure is kept within its due bounds: this ap- 
 pears very plainly in Utopia, for there, in a great city, 
 jind in ail the territory that lies round it, you can 
 fcarce find five hundred, either men or women, by 
 their age and firength capable of bbour, that are not en- 
 gaged in it ; even the Syphogrants, though excufed by 
 the law, yet do not excufe thcmfelvcs, but work, that 
 by their examples they may excite the induftry of the 
 reft of the people ; the like exemption is allowed to 
 thofe, who being recommended to the people by the 
 priefts, are by the fecrct fuflfrages of the Syphogrants, 
 privileged from labour, that tliey may apply themftlves 
 wholly to ftudy ^ and if any of thefe fall (liort of thofe 
 hopes tliat they fccmed at firll to give, they are oblig- 
 ed to return to work. And fomctimes a mechanic, 
 that fo employs his leifure hours, as to make a confi- 
 derable advancement in learning, is eafed from being 
 a tradcTman, and ranked among their learned men. 
 Out of thcfe they choofc their ambafiTadors, their priefts, 
 their '• ranibors, and the prince himfelf ; anciently cal- 
 led their Barzenes, but he is called of late their Adcmus. 
 And thus from the great numbers among them, that are 
 neither fuffered to be idle, nor to be employed in any fi uit- 
 lefs labour, you may eafily make the eftimatc, how much 
 may be done in thofe few hours in w hich they are obliged 
 to labour. But befidcs all that has been alreadvfaid, it is 
 to be confidered, that the needful arts among thcm^ are 
 
 rnanagcj 
 
UTOPIA. 5^ 
 
 inanaged with lefs labour than any where elfe. The 
 building, or the repairing of houfes among us, employ 
 many hands, becaufe often a thriftlefs heir fuffers a houfc 
 that his father built, to fall into decay, fo that his fuccef- 
 •for muft, at a great co(i, repair that which he might have 
 kept up with a fmall charge. It frequently happens, that 
 the fame houfc which one perfon built at a vaft expencc, is 
 neglcd^ed by another, who thinks he has a more delicate 
 fenfe of the beauties of archit^edlure ; and he fuffering it 
 to fall to ruin, builds another at no lefs charge. But a- 
 mong the Utopians, all things are fo regulated, that men 
 very feldom build upon a new piece of ground ; and arc 
 not onlv verv quick in repairing their houfes, but (how 
 their foreiight in preventing their decay: fo that their 
 buildings are preferved very long, with but little labour ; 
 and thus the builders to whom that care belongs, are often 
 without employment, except the hewing of timber, and 
 the fquaringof ftones, that the materials may be in readi- 
 nefs for raifing a building very fuddenlv, when there is any 
 occafion for it. As to their clothes, obferve how little 
 work is fpent in them. While they are at labour, they 
 are cloathed v/ith leather and fkins, call carelefly about 
 them, which will lafl: feven years ; and vvlien they ap- 
 pear in public, they put on an upper garment, v/hich 
 hides the other ; and thefc arc all of one colour, and that 
 is the natural colour of the wool. As they need lefs 
 woollen cloth than is ufed any where elfe, fo that which 
 they make ufe of is m.uch lefs ccifllv. They ufe linen 
 cloth more ; but that is prepared with lefs labour, and 
 they value cloth only by the whlrcnefs of the linen, or 
 the cleannefs of the wool, without much regard to the 
 
 finenefs 
 
6o SIR THOMAS M ore's 
 
 finenefs of the thread : while in other places, four or five 
 upper garments of woollen cloth, of difrerent colours, 
 and as many veils of filk will fcarce ferve one man ; and 
 while thofe that are nicer think ten too few ; every man 
 there is content with one, which very often frveshim 
 two years. Nor is there any thing that can tempt a man 
 to dcfirc more ; for if he had them, he would neither be 
 the warmer, nor would he make one jot the better ap- 
 pearance for it. And thus, fince they are all employed 
 in fome ufeful labour ; and fince tliey content themfelves 
 with fewer things, it fills out that there is a great abun- 
 dance of all things among them ; fo that it frequently 
 happens, that for want of other work, vail: numbers arc 
 fent out to mend the highways. But when no public un- 
 dertaking is to be performed, the hours of working are 
 lelTcned. The magiftrates never engage the people in un- 
 necelTary labour, llnce the chief end of the conftitution 
 is to regulate labour by the ncceffities of the public, and 
 to allow all the people as much time as is neceffary for 
 the improvement of their minds, in which they think the 
 happinefs of life confifts. 
 
 -wgim-iffni 
 
 OF THEIR 
 
 TRAFFIC. 
 
 U T it is now time to explain to you the mutual inr 
 tcrcourfe of tiiis people, their eommcrce, and the rule^^ 
 by which all things arc dirtributed among theni. • 
 
 As 
 
UTOPIA. 6t 
 
 As their cities are compofed of families, fo their fami- 
 lies are made up of thofe that are nearly related to one 
 another. Their women^ when they grow up, are mar- 
 ried out ; but all the males, both children and grand- 
 children, live ftill in the fame houfe, in great obedience 
 to their common parent, unlefs age has weakened his un- 
 derftanding ; and in that cafe he that is next to him in age, 
 comes in his room. Bat left any city ihouid become either 
 too great, or by any accident be difpeopled, provifion is 
 made that none of their cities may contain above fix 
 thoufand families, befides thofe of the country round it. 
 No family may hav^e lefs than ten, nor more than fixteen 
 perfons in it ; but there can be no determined number for 
 the children under age. This rule iseafily obferved, by re- 
 moving feme of the children of a more fruitful couple, 
 to any other family that does not abound fo much in them. 
 By the fame rule, tliey fupply cities that do not increafe fo 
 fafl", from others that breed falter. And if there is anv 
 increafe over the whole ifland, then they draw out a num- 
 ber of their citizens out of the feveral towns, and fend 
 them over to the neighbouring continent \ where, if they 
 find that the inhabitants have more foil than they can well 
 cultivate, they fix a colony, taking the inhabitants into 
 their fociety, if they are willing to live with them; and 
 where they do that of their own accord, they quickly enter 
 into their method of life, and conform to their rule§, and 
 this proves a happinefs to both nations ; for accorGinor to 
 their conftitution, fuch care is taken of the foil, that it 
 becomes fruitful enough for both, though it might be other- 
 wife too narrow and barren for any one of them. But if 
 the natives refufe to conform themfelves to tlicir laws, 
 
 they 
 
^2 SIR THOMAS MORe's 
 
 they drive them out of thofe bounds which they mark out 
 for themfelves, and ufe force if they refift. For they ac- 
 count it a very juft caufe of war, for a nation to hinder 
 others from poiTcfTing a part of that foil, of which they 
 make no ufe, but which is fuffered to lie idle and unculti- 
 vated ; fince every man has by the law of nature a right 
 to fuch a wafie portion of the earth, as is neceffary for 
 his fubfiftence. If an accident has fo IcfTened the num- 
 ber of the inhabitants of any of their towns, that it can- 
 not be made up from the other towns of the ifland, 
 without diminifhing them too much, which is faid to have 
 fallen out but twice, fince they were firft a people, when 
 great numbers were carried off by the plague ; the lofs 
 is then fupplied by recalling as many as are wanted fron> 
 their colonies ; for they will abandon thefe, ratlier than 
 fufFer the towns in the ifland to fink too low. 
 
 But to return to their manner of living in (bciety : the 
 oldeft man of every family, as has been already faid, is 
 its governor. Wives fervc their hufbands, and children 
 their parents, and always the younger ferves the elder. 
 Every city is divided into four equal parts, and in the mid- 
 dle of each there is a market-place : what is brought 
 thither, and manufadlured by the feveral families, is car- 
 ried from thence to houfes appointed for that purpofe, 
 in which all things of a fort are laid by themfelves \ and 
 thither every father goes and takes whatfoever he or 
 his family ftand in need of, without either paying for 
 it, or leaving any thing in exchange There is no rea- 
 fon tor giving a denial to any perfon, fince there is fuch 
 plenty of every thing among them ; and there is no dan- 
 ger 
 
UTOPIA. 63 
 
 gef of a man's afking for more than he needs ; they 
 have no inducements to do this, fince they are fu re that 
 they fhail always be fupplied : it is the fear of want that 
 makes any of the whole race of animals, either greedy 
 or ravenous ; but befides fear, there is in man a pride 
 that makes him fancy it a particular glory to excel 
 others in pomp and excefs. But by the laws of the 
 Utopians, re is no room for this. Near thefc mar- 
 kets there are others for all forts of provifions, where 
 there are not only herbs, fruits, and bread, but alfo 
 Hfh, fowl, and cattle. There are alfo without their towns, 
 places appointed near fome running water, for killing 
 their beafts, and for walhing aw^ay their filth ; which is 
 done by their flaves : for they fuffer none of their citizens 
 to kill their cattle, bccaufethey think, that pity and good 
 nature, which are among the belt of thofe affe6\ions that 
 are born with us, are much impaired by the butchering 
 of animals : nor do they fuffer any thing that is foul or 
 unclean to be brought within their towns, left the air 
 fhould be infe6led by ill fmells which m.ight prejudice 
 their health. In every ftreet there are great halls that 
 He at an equal diftance from each other, didinguiihed 
 by particular names. The Syphogrants dwell in thofe, 
 that are kt over thirty families, fifteen lying on one 
 fide of it, and as many on the other. In thefe halls 
 they all meet and have their repafts. The Rewards of 
 every one of them come to the market-place at an appoint- 
 ed hour ; and according to the number of thofe that be- 
 long to the hall, they carry home provifions. But they 
 take more care of their fick, than of any others : thefe are 
 
 lodged 
 
(?4 SIR THOMAS MORF/s 
 
 lodged and provided for in public hofpitals : they hav^ 
 belonging to every town four hofpitals, that arc built 
 without their vi^alls, and are fo large, that they may 
 pafs for little towns : by this means, if they had ever 
 fuch a number of fick pcrfons, they could lodge them 
 conveniently, and at fuch a diftance, that fuch of them 
 as are fick of infectious difeafes, may be kept fo far* 
 from the reft, that there can be no danger of contagion. 
 The hofpitals are furnifned and ftorcd with all things 
 that are convenient for the eafe and recovery of the fick ; 
 and thofe that are put in them, are looked after with 
 fuch tender and watchful care, and arc fo conftantly attend- 
 ed by their fl-cilful phyficians; tliat as none are fent to 
 them againft their will, fo there is fcarcc one in a whold 
 town, that if he fhould fall ill, would not choofe rather 
 to go thither, than lie fick at home. 
 
 After the fieward of the hofpitals has taken for the 
 fick whatfoever the phyfician prefcribes, then the beft 
 things that are left in the market arc diflributed equally 
 among the halls, in proportion to tlicir numbers, only^ 
 in the firft place, they fervc the prince, the chief pricfi-, 
 the Tranibors, the ambaffadors, and firangers, if there 
 are any, which indeed falls out but feldom, and for 
 whom there are houfes well furniflied, particularly ap- 
 pointed for their reception when they come among them. 
 At the hours of dinner and fupper, the whole fypho- 
 granty being called together by found of trumpet, they 
 meet and eat together, except only fuch as are in the: 
 hofpitals, or lie fick at home. Yet after the halls arc 
 feyvedj no man is hindered to carry provifions home 
 
 frora 
 
I) TO PI A, 65 
 
 from the market-place ; for they know that none does that 
 but for fome good teafon ; for though any that will may 
 eat at home, yet none does it willingly, fince it is both 
 ridiculous and foolifh for any to give themfelves the trou- 
 ble to make ready an ill dinner at home, when there is a 
 much more plentiful one made ready for him fo near 
 hand. All the uneafy and fordid fervices about thefe halls, 
 are performed by their flaves ; but the drefling and cook- 
 ing their meat, and the ordering their tables, belong only 
 to the v/omen, all thofe of every family taking it by turns. 
 They fit at three or more tables, according to their number ; 
 the men fit towards the wall, and the women fit on the 
 other fide, that if any of them fhould be taken fuddenly 
 ill, which is no uncommon cafe amongft women with 
 child, (lie may, without difiuibing the reft, rife and go to 
 the nurfe's room, who are there with the fucking children ; 
 where there is always clean water at hand, and cradles in 
 which they may lay the young children, if there is oc- 
 cafion for it, and a fire that they may (liift and drefs them 
 before it. Every child is nurfed by its own mother, if 
 death or ficknefs does not intervene ; and in that cafe the 
 Syphogrants wives find out a nurfe quickly, which is no 
 hard matter ; for any one that can do it, offers herfelf 
 cheerfully : for as they are much inclined to that piece of 
 mercy, fo the child whom they nurfe, confiders the nurfe 
 as its mcther. All the children under five years old, fit 
 among the nurfes, the reft of the younger fort of both 
 fcxes, till they are fit for marriage, either ferve thofe that 
 fit at table ; or if they are not ftrong enough for that, ftand 
 by them in great filence, and eat what is given them ; 
 
 F nor 
 
66 Sir Thomas more's 
 
 nor have they any other formality of dining. In the mid- 
 dle of the firft table, which ftands acrofs the upper end 
 cf the hall, lit the Syphogrant and his wife ; for that is 
 the chief and moft confpicuous place. Next to him (it 
 two of the mo{\ ancient, for there go always four to a mefs. 
 If there is a temple within that Syphogranty, the prieft 
 and his wife fit with the Syphogrant above all the reft^ 
 Next them there is a mixture of old and young, who are fo 
 placed, that as the young are fet near others, fo they are 
 mixed with the more ancient ; which they fay was ap- 
 pointed on this account, that the gravity of the old people, 
 and the reverence that is due to them, might reftrain the 
 younger from all indecent words and geftures. Di(hes 
 are not ferved up to the whole table at firfl, but the beft 
 are firft fet before the old, whofe feats are diftinguifhed 
 from the young, and after them all the reft are ferved alike, 
 l^he old men diftribute to the younger any curious meata 
 that happen to be fet before them, if there h not fuch ar^ 
 abundance of them that the whok company may be ferved 
 alike. 
 
 Thus old men are honored with a particular refped ; 
 vet all the reft fare as well as they. Both dinner and fupper 
 arc b^gun wi*h fome k6\ure of morality that is read to 
 them ; but it is h Ihort, that it is not tedious nor uneafy 
 to them to hear it. From hence the old men take oc- 
 caikn to entertain thofe about them, with fome ufcfui 
 and r'^afant enlargenncnts ; but they do not engrofs the 
 whole uifccurfe fo to themfelves, during their meals, that 
 the younger may not put in for a (hare ; on the contrary, 
 they engage them to talk, that fo they may in that free. 
 
 way 
 
UTOPIA4 ^7 
 
 tvay of converfation, find out the force of every one's fpi- 
 rit, and obferve his temper. They difpatch their dinners 
 quickly, but fit long at fupper ; becaufe they go to work 
 after the one, and are to fleep after the other, during which 
 they think the fiomach carries on the concod^ion more 
 vigoroufly. They never fup without mufic; and there is 
 always fruit ferved up after meat ; while they are at table, 
 fome burn perfumes, and fprinkle about fragrant oint- 
 ments, and fweet waters ; in (hort they want nothing that 
 may cheer up their fpiritt. They give themfelves a large 
 allowance that way, and indulge themfelves in all fuch 
 pleafures as are attended with no inconvenience. Thus do 
 thofe that are in the towns live together ; but in the coun- 
 try, where they live at great diftance, every one eats at 
 home, and no family wants any neccfifary fort of provifion, 
 for it is from them that provifions are fent unto thofe that 
 live in the towns. 
 
 OF THE TRAVELLING 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UTO PI A NS. 
 
 JL F any man has a mind to vifit his friends that live in 
 fome other town, or defires to travel and fee the reft of 
 the country, he obtains leave very eafily from the Sypho- 
 grant and Tranibors, when there is no particular occafion 
 for him at home. Such as travel, carry with them a pafs- 
 
 F 2 poit 
 
63 SIR THOMAS MORe's 
 
 port from the prince, which both certifies the licence that 
 is granted for travelling, and limits the time of their re- 
 turn. They arc furnifhed with a waggon and a fiave, 
 w^ho drives the oxen, and looks after them ; but unlefs 
 there are women in the company, the waggon is fent back 
 at the end of the journey as a needlefs Incumbrance. 
 While they are on the road, they carry no provifions with 
 them ; yet they want nothing, but are every where treated 
 as if they were at home. If they ftay in any place longer 
 than a night, every one follows his proper occupation, and 
 is very well ufed by thofe of his own trade. But if any 
 man goes out of the city to which he belongs, without 
 leave, and is found rambling without a paflport, he is 
 feverely treated, he is punifhed as a fugitive, and fent 
 home difgracefully ; and if he falls again into the like 
 fault, is condemned to flavery. If any man has a mind to 
 travel only over the precindl of his own city, he may freely 
 do it with his father's permiflion, and his wife's confent; 
 but when he comes into any of the country houfes, if he 
 expe£^s to be entertained by them, he muf\ labour with 
 them and conform to their rules : and if he does this, he 
 may freely go over the whole precimfl ; being thus as ufe- 
 ful to the city to which he belongs, as if he were ftill with- 
 in it. Thus you fee that there are no idle perfons among 
 them, nor pretences of excufing any from labour. There 
 are no taverns, no ale houfes nor flews among them ; nor 
 any other occafions of corrupting each other, of getting 
 into corners, or forming themfelves into parties. All 
 men live in full view, fo that all are obliged, both to 
 perform their ordinary tafk, and to employ themfelves well 
 
 in 
 
UTOPIA. 69 
 
 In their fpare hours. And it is certain, that a people thus 
 ordered, muft live in great abundance of all things ; and 
 thefe being equally diftributed among them, no man can 
 want, or be obliged to beg. 
 
 In their great council at Amaurot, to which there are 
 three fent from every town once a year, they examine what 
 towns abound in proviii<3ns, and what are under any 
 fearcity, that fo the one may be furmfhed from the other ; 
 and thi!=. is done freely, without any fort of exchange ; 
 for according to their plenty or fcarcity, they fupply, or 
 are fupplied from one another ; fo that indeed the whole 
 ifland is, as it were, one family. When they have thus 
 taken care of their whole country, and laid up ftores for 
 tjA^o years, which they do to prevent the ill confequences 
 of an unfavourabi j f^afon, they order an exportation of 
 the overplus, both cf corn, honey, wool, flax, wood, wax, 
 tallow, leather and cattle ; which they fend out commonly 
 in great quantities to other nations. They order a feventh 
 part of all thefe r;oods to be freely given to the poor of the 
 countries to which tliey fend them, and fell the reft at mor 
 derate rates. And by tins exchange^ they not only bring 
 back thofe few things that they need at home (for indeed 
 they fcarce need any thing but iron) but likewife a great 
 deal, of gold and filver ; and by their driving this trade fo 
 long, it is not to be imagined how vaft a treafure they have 
 got among them ; fo that now they do not much care whether 
 they fell off their merchandize for money in hand, or upon 
 truft. A great part of their treafure is now in bonds ; 
 'but in all their contracts no private man ftands bound, but 
 the writing runs in the name of the town j ai)d .the towns 
 tfeat owe them money, raife it from thofe private hands 
 
 F 3 that 
 
70 SIR THOMAS MORE'S 
 
 that owe it to them, lay it up in their public chamber, oi* 
 enjoy the profit of it till the Utopians call for it ; and 
 they choofe rather to let the greateft part of it lie in their 
 hands, who make advantage by it, than to call for it 
 themfelves : But if they fee that any of their other neigh- 
 bours ftand more in need of it, then they call it in and 
 lend it to them : whenever they are engaged in war, which 
 is the only occalion in which their treafury can be ufe- 
 fully employed, they make ufe of it themfelves. In great 
 extremities or fudden accidents they employ it in hir- 
 ing foreign troops, whom they more willingly expofe to 
 danger than their own people : they give them great pay, 
 knowing well that this will work even on their enemies, 
 that it will engage them either to betray their own fide, 
 or at leall: to defert it, and that it is the beft means of 
 raifing mutual jealoufies among them : for this end they 
 have an incredible treafure \ but they do not keep it as 
 a treafure, but in fuch a manner as I am almoft afraid 
 to tell, left you think it fo extravagant, as to be hardly 
 credible. This I have the more reafon to apprehend, be- 
 caufe if I had not fcen it myfelf, I could not have been 
 eafily perfuaded to have believed it upon any man's re- 
 port. 
 /" It is certain that all things appear incredible to us, in 
 proportion as they differ from our own cuftoms. But one 
 who can judge aright, will not wonder to find, that 
 fince their conOitution differs fo much from ours, their 
 value of gold and filver fliould be meafured by a very 
 different ftandard ; for fince they have no ufe for money 
 among themfelves, but keep it as a provifion againft 
 
 events 
 
UTOPIA. Ji 
 
 €vents which feldom happen, and between which there 
 are generally long intervening intervals ; they value it 
 no farther than it deferves, that is, in proportion to its 
 ufe. So that it is plain, they muft prefer iron either 
 to gold or filver : for men can no more live without 
 iron, than without fire or water ; but nature has marked - 
 out no ufe for the other metals, lb effential as not ea- 
 fily to be difpenfed with. The folly of men has en,- 
 hanced the value of gold and filver, becaufe ot their 
 fcarcity. Whereas on the contrary, it is their opinion, 
 that nature, as an indulgent parent, has freely given us 
 all the beft things in great abundance, fuch as water 
 and earth, but has laid up and hid from us the things 
 that are vain and ufelefs. 
 
 If thefe metals were laid up in any tower in the 
 kiiigdom, it would raife a jealoufy of the piince and 
 fenate, and give birth to that foolifli miftruft into which 
 the people are apt to fall, a jealoufy of their intending 
 to facrifice the intereft of the public to their own pri- 
 vate advantage. If they {hould work it into vefTels, or 
 any fort of plate, they fear that the people might grow 
 too fond of it, and fo be unwilling to let the plate be 
 run down, if a war made it necefiTary to employ it in 
 paying their foldiers. To prevent all thefe inconveni- 
 encies, they have fallen upon an expedient, which as 
 it agrees with their other policy, fo Is it very different 
 from ours, and will fcarce gain belief among us, who 
 value gold fo much, and lay it up fo carefully. They 
 £at and drink out of vefiTels of earth, or glafs, which 
 |>iake an agreeable appearance, though formyed of brittle 
 
 F 4 materials ; 
 
72 SIR THOMAS MORE*S 
 
 materials : while they make their chamber-pots and 
 clofe-ftools of gold and filver ; and that not only in 
 their public halls, but in their private houfes : of the 
 i fame metals they likewife make chains and fetters for 
 j their flaves ; to fome of which, as a badge of infamy, 
 ■ they hang an ear-ring of gold, and make others wear 
 a chain or a coronet of the fame metal ; and thus 
 they take care by all polTible means, to render gold 
 and filver of no eftcem : and from hence it is, that 
 while other nations part with their gold and filver, as 
 unwillingly as if one tore out their bowels, thofe of 
 Utopia would look on their giving in all they pofifefs 
 ' of thofe metals, (when there were any ufe for them) 
 but as the parting with a trifle, or as we would eftcem 
 the lofs of a penny. They find pearls on their coaft ; 
 and diamonds, and carbuncles on their rocks : they do 
 not look after them ; but if they find them by chance, 
 they polifli them, and with them they adorn their 
 children, who are delighted with them, and glory in 
 them during their childhood ; but when they grow to 
 years, and fee that none but children ufe fuch bau- 
 bles, they of their own accord, without being bid by 
 their parents, lay them afide ; and would be as much 
 alhamed to ufe them, afterwards, as children among us, 
 when they come to years, are of their puppets, and 
 other toys. 
 
 I never faw a clearer inftance of the oppofite im- 
 preflTions that different cuftoms make on people, than 
 J obferved in the ambafifadors of the Anemolians, who 
 came to Amaurot when I was there : as they came 
 
 to 
 
UTOPIA. 73 
 
 to treat of affairs of great confequence, the deputies 
 from feveral towns met together to wait for their com- 
 ing. The ambafladors of the nations that lie near 
 Utopia, knowing their ciiftoms, and that fine clothes are 
 in no efteem among them, that filk is defpifed, and 
 gold is a badge of infamy, ufed to come very modeftly 
 clothed ; but the Anemolians lying more remote, and 
 having had little commerce with them, underAanding 
 that they were coarfely clothed, and all in the fame man- 
 ner, took it for granted that they had none of thofe fine 
 things among them of which they made no ufe ; and they 
 being a vain -glorious, rather than a wife people, re- 
 folved to fet themfelves out with fo much pomp, that 
 they fhould look like gods, and (Irike the eyes of the 
 poor Utopians with their fplendour. Thus three am- 
 baflfadors made their entry with an hundred attendants, 
 all clad in garments of different colours, and the great- 
 er part in filk ; the ambalfadors themfelves, who were 
 of the nobility of their country, were in cloth of gold, 
 and adorned with maffy chains, ear-rings and rings of 
 gold : their caps were covered with bracelets fet full 
 of pearls and other gems : in a word, they were fet 
 out with all thofe things, that, among the Utopians, 
 were either the badges of flavery, the marks of in- 
 famy, or the play- things of children. It was not un- 
 pleafant to fee, on the one fide, how they looked big, 
 when they compared their rich habits with the plain 
 clothes of the Utopians, who were come out in great 
 numbers to fee them make their entry : and on the 
 Other, to obferve how much they were mifiaken in the 
 
 impreflion. 
 
74 SIR THOMAS MORt*S 
 
 imprcfiion, which they hoped this pomp would have 
 made on them. It appeared fo ridiculous a fliew to 
 all that had never ftirred out of their country, and 
 had not feen the cufloms of other nations; that though 
 they paid fome reverence to thofe that were the moft 
 meanly clad, as if they had been the ambaffadors, yet 
 w^hen they faw the ambaffadors themfelves, fo full of 
 gold and chains, they looked upon them as flaves, 
 and forbore to treat them with reverence. You might 
 have feen the children, who were grown big enough to 
 defpife their play-things, and who had thrown away 
 their jewels, call to their mothers, pu(h them gently, 
 and cry out, *' See that great fool that wears pearls 
 " and gems, as if he were yet a child/' While their 
 / mothers very innoc<jntly replied, ** Hold your peace, 
 * <* this I believe is one of tl-ie ambailador's fools/' Others 
 cenfurcd the falhion of their chains, and obferved that 
 they were of no ufc ; for they were too flight to bind 
 their flaves, who could cafily break them ; and befide^ 
 hung fo loofe about them, that they thought it eafy 
 to throw them away, and fo get from them. But 
 after the ambaffadors had flaid a day among them, and 
 faw^ fo vaft a quantity of gold in their houfes, which was 
 as much dcfcikd by them, as it was efteemed in other 
 nations, and beheld more gold and filver in the chains 
 and fetters of one flave, than all their ornaments a- 
 mountcd to, their plumes fell, and they were afliamed 
 of all that glory for which they had formerly valued 
 <hemfelvcs, and accordingly laid it afide : a refolution 
 that they immediately took, when on their engaging in 
 
 fome 
 
UTOPIA. 75 
 
 ^me free dlfcourfe with the Utopians, they difcovered their 
 fenfe of fuch things, and their other cuftoms. The Uto- 
 pians wonder how any man (hould be fo much taken with 
 the glaring doubtful luftre of a jewel or a ftone, that ; 
 can look up to a ftar, or to the fun himfelf ; or how . 
 any fliould value himfelf, bccaufe his cloth is made of 
 a finer thread : for how fine foever that thread may be, ; 
 it was once no better than the fleece of a (heep, and, 
 that {beep was a (hecp ftill for all its wearing it. They : 
 wonder much to hear, that gold which in itfelf is fo 
 ufelefs a thing, fliould be every where fo much efteem- 
 ed, that even men for whom it was made, and by whom 
 it has its value, Ihould yet be thought of lefs value than 
 this metal : that a man of lead, who has no more fenfe 
 than a log of wood, and is as bad as he is fooli(h, 
 ihould have many wife and good men to ferve him, on- 
 ly becaufe he has a great heap of that metal ; and 
 that if it fhould happen, that by fome accident, or trick 
 of law, (which fometimes produces as great changes as 
 chance itfelf) all this wealth fliould pafs from the mafter 
 to the meaneft varlet of his whole family, he himfelf 
 would very foon become one of his fervants, as if he 
 were a thing that belonged to his wealth, and fo were 
 bound to follow its fortune. But they much more ad- 
 mire and deteft the folly of thofe who when they fee 
 a rich man, though they neither owe him any thing, 
 nor are in any fort dependant on his bounty, yet merely 
 becaufe he is rich, give him little lefs than divine ho- 
 nours ; even though they know him to be fo covetous 
 gnd bafe minded, that notwithftanding all his wealth, 
 " ' ' he 
 
76 SIR THOMAS MORE*S 
 
 he wfll not part with one farthing of it to them, as long 
 as he lives. 
 
 Thefe and fuch like notions has that people imbibed, 
 partly from their education, being bred in a country, 
 whofe euftoms and laws are oppofite to all fuch foolifh 
 maxims : and partly from their learning and ftudies : for 
 though there are but few in any town that are fo whol- 
 ly excufed trom labour, as to give thenifelves entirely 
 up to their iiudies, thefe being only fuch perfons as 
 tiifcover from their childhood an extraordinary capacity 
 and difpofition lor kiters ; yet their children, and a great 
 part of the nation, both mm and women, are taught 
 to fpend thofe hours in which they are not obliged to 
 work, in reading : and this they do through the whole 
 progrefs of life. They have all their learning in their own 
 tongue ; \\hicli is both a copious and pleafant language, 
 and iii which a man can fully exprei^ his mind : It runs 
 over a great trad: 01 many countries, but it is not equally 
 pure in all places : they had never fo rriuch as heard 
 of the names of any of thofe philofophers that arc fo 
 famous in thefe parts of the world, before we went a- 
 mong them. : and yet they had made the fame difcoveries 
 as the Greeks, both in mulic, logic, arithmeiic, an4 
 geometry. But as they are almoft in every thing equal 
 to the ancient philotbphers, fo they far exceed our 
 modern logicians ; for tlVey have never yet fallen up- 
 on the barbarous niceties that our youth are forced to 
 learn in thofe triwing logical fchools tint are among us ; 
 thev arc fo far from mindinnr chimeras, and fantaftical 
 images made in the mind, that none of them could 
 
 comprc* 
 
tJTOPlA- 77 
 
 comprehend what we meant, when we talked to them of 
 31 man in the abflradt, as common to all men in par- 
 ticular, (fo that though we fpoke of him as a thing 
 that we could point at wiih our fingers, yet none of 
 them could perceive him) and yet diftind^ from every one, 
 as if he were fome monflrous cololius, or giant. Yet 
 for all this ignorance of thefe empty notions, they knew 
 agronomy, and were perfedlly acquainted with the motions 
 of the heavenly bodies ; and have many inftruments, well 
 contrived and divided, by which they very accurately com- 
 pute the courfe and pofitions of the fun, moon and ftars. 
 But for the cheat, of divining by the ftars, by their oppo- 
 fitions or conjun^fl^ions, it has not fo much as entered into 
 their thoughts. They have a particular fagacity, founded 
 upon much obfervation, in judging of the weather, by 
 which they know when they may look for rain, wind, or 
 other alterations in the air : but as to the philofophv o^ 
 thefe things ; the caufes of the faltncfs of the fea, of its 
 ebbing and flowing, and of the original and nature both 
 of the heavens and the earth ; they diipute of them* 
 partly as our ancient philofophers have done, and partly 
 upon fome new hypothefis, in which, as they differ from 
 them, fo they do not in all things agree among thcm- 
 fclves 
 
 As to moral philofophy, they have the fame difputea 
 among them as we have here. They examine what arc pro- 
 perly good, both for the body and the mind ; and whether 
 any outward thing can be called truly good, or if that term 
 belong only to the endowments of the foul. .,They enquire 
 Hkewilc into the nature of virtue and pleafure ^ but their 
 
 chief 
 
y8 SIR THOMAS MORe'S 
 
 chief difpute is, concerning the happlnefs of a man, and 
 wherein it confifts ; — whether in fome one thing, or in a 
 great many. They fcem indeed more inclinable to that 
 opinion that places, if not the whole, yet the chief part 
 of a man's hnppinefs in p leafure ; and, what may feem 
 more ftran2;e, they make ufe of arguments even from re- 
 ligion, notwithftanding its fe verity and roughnefs, for the 
 fupport of that opinion, fo indu'gent to pleafure : for they 
 never diipute concerning happinefs without fetching fome 
 arguments from the principles of religion, as well as from 
 natural reafon ; fmce without the former they reckon that 
 all our enquiries after happinefs muft be but conjectural 
 and defedive. 
 
 Thcfe are their religious principles ; that the foul of 
 man is immortal, and that God of his goodncfs has de- 
 figned that it fhould be happy ; and that he has therefore 
 appointed rewards for good and virtuous ad^Ions, and pu- 
 nilhments for vice, to be diftrlbuted after this life. 
 Though thefc principles of religion are conveyed down 
 amonf' them by tradition, they think, that even reafon it- 
 felf determines a man to believe and acknowledge them: 
 and freely confefs, that if thefe were taken away, no man 
 would be fo infcnfible, as not to fcek after pleafure by all 
 poiTible means, lawful or unlawful ; ufing only this cau- 
 tion, that a Icifcr pleafure might not ftand in the way of a 
 greater, and that no pleafure ought to be purfucd, thift 
 Ihould draw a great deal of pain after it : for they think it 
 the maddeft thing in the world to purfue virtue, that is a 
 four and difficult thing ; and not only to renounce the 
 pleafurcs of life, but willingly to undergo much pain and 
 
 trouble, 
 
UTOPIA. 79 
 
 trouble, if a man has no profpea of a reward. And 
 what reward can there be, for one that has pafTed his 
 whole life, not only without pleafure, but in pain, if there 
 is nothing to be expeded after death r Yet they do not 
 place happinefs in all forts of plcafures, but only in thofe 
 that in themfelves are good and honeft. 
 
 There is a party among them who place happinefs in 
 bare virtue ; others think that our natures are conduaed 
 by virtue to happinefs, as that which is the chief good of 
 man. They define virtue thus, that it is a living accord- 
 ing to nature ; and think that we are made by God for 
 that end ; they believe that a man then follows the dic- 
 tates of nature, when he purfues or avoids thincs accord- 
 ing to the direction of reafon : they fay, that the firrt dic- 
 tate of reafon is, the kindling in us a love and reverence 
 for the Divine Majc%, to whom we ow^e both all that 
 we have, and all that we can ever hope for. In the next 
 place, reafon direds us to keep our minds as free from 
 paffion, and as cheerful, as we can ; and that we fliould 
 confider ourfclves as bound by the ties of good -nature and 
 humanity, to ufc cur utmoft endeavors to help forward 
 the happinefs of all other perfons ; for there never was 
 any man fuch a m.orofe and fevere purfucr of virtue, fuch 
 an enemy to pleafure, that, though he fet hard rules for 
 men to undergo, much pain, many wavchings, and other 
 rigors, yet did not at the fame time advife them to do all 
 they could in order to relieve and cafe the miferable, and 
 who did not reprefent gentlenefs and good -nature as amia- 
 ble difpoiitions. And from thence tliey infer, that if a 
 man ought to advance the welfare and comfort of the reft 
 
 of 
 
SIR THOMAS MORE's 
 
 of mankind, there being no virtue more propcr'and p'ecu« 
 liar to our nature, than to eafe the miferies of others, ta 
 free from trouble and anxiety, in furnifhing them with the 
 comforts of life, in which pleafure confifts, nature much- 
 more vigoroufly leads him to do all this for himfelf. A 
 life of pleafure is either a real evil (and in that cafe we 
 ought not to aflift others in their purfuit of h, but, on the 
 contrary, to keep them from it all we can, as from that 
 which is moft hurtful and deadly), or if it is a good thing, 
 fo that we not only may, but ought, to help others to ity 
 why then ought not a man to begin with himfelf; fmce 
 no man can be more bound to look after the good of ano- 
 ther than after his own ; for nature Cannot dire<5l us to be 
 good and kind to others, and yet at the fiime time to be 
 unmerciful and cruel to ourfelves ? Thus, as they define 
 virtue to be living according to nature, fo they imagine 
 that nature prompts all people on to feek after pleafure, as 
 the end of all they do. They alfo obferve, that in order 
 to our fupporting the plcafurcs of life, nature inclines us 
 to en^er into focicty ; for there is no man fo much raifed 
 above the ic\\ of mankind as to be the only favorite of 
 nature, who, on the contrary, feems to have placed on a 
 level all thofc that belong to the fame fpecies. Upon this 
 they infer, tliat no man ought to feck his own convenien- 
 cies fo eagerly as to prejudice others ; and therefore they 
 think, that not only all agreements between private per- 
 fons ought to be obferved, but likevvife, that all thofe laws 
 ought to be kept, which cither a good prince lias publifh- 
 ed in due form, or to which a people, that is neither op- 
 ]^rcl]ed with tyranny, nor circumvented b)- fraud, has 
 
 con- 
 
ttOPlA. 81 
 
 confcnted, for dlftrlbuting thofe convenlencies of life 
 which afford us all our pleafurcs. 
 
 They think it is an evidence of true wifdom, for a 
 man to purfue his own advantages, as far as the laws 
 allow it. They account it piety, to prefer the public 
 good to one's private concerns ; but they think it unjuH:, 
 for a man to feek for pleafure, by fnatching another 
 man's pleafures from him. And on the contrary, they 
 think it a fign of a gentle and good foul, for a man to 
 difpenfe with his own advantage for the good of others \ 
 and that by this means, a good man finds as much 
 pleafure one way, as he parts with another ; for as he 
 may expedl the like from others when he may come 
 to need it, fo if that fhould fail him, yet the fenfe of 
 a good adion, and the reflections that he makes on the 
 love and gratitude of thofc whom he has fo obliged, gives 
 the mind more pleafure, than the body could have found 
 in that from which it had reftrained itfelf : they are 
 alfo perfuaded that God will make up the lofs of thofe 
 fmall pleafures, with a vaft and endlefs joy, of which 
 religion eafily- convinces a good foul. 
 
 Thus upon an enquiry into the whole matter, they 
 reckon that all our a6lions, and even all our virtues ter- 
 minate in pleafure, as in our chief end and greateft 
 happinefs ; and they call every motion or ftate, either of 
 body or mind, in which nature teaches us to delight, 
 a pleafure. Thus they cautiouily Hmit pleafure, only 
 to thofe appetites to which nature leads us ; for they fay 
 that nature leads us only to thofe delights to which 
 
 G reafoa 
 
82 SIR THOMAS MORe'^S 
 
 reafon as well as fenfe carries us, and by which we nei- 
 ther injure any other perfon, nor lofe the poflefTion of 
 greater pleafures, and of fuch as draw no troubles after 
 them ; but they look upon thofe dtlights which men 
 by a foolifh, though common, miftake, call pleafure, 
 as if they could change as eafily the nature of things, as 
 the ufe of words, as things that greatly obftrud their 
 real happinefs, inftead of advancing it, becaufe they fo 
 entirely polTcfs the minds of thofe that are once captiva- 
 ted by them, with a falfe notion of pleafure, that there is 
 no room left for pleafures of a tru.r or purer kind. 
 
 There are many things that in themfelves have no-- 
 thing that is truly delightful r on the contrary, they 
 have a good deal of bittcrnefs in them : and yet from 
 our pcrverfe appetites after forbidden objedls, are not 
 only ranked among the pleafures, but are made even the 
 greateft dcfigns of Hfc. Among tho^-c who purfue thefc 
 fophilticatcd pleafures, they reckon fuch as I mentioned 
 before, who think themfelves really the better for hav- 
 ing fine clothes ; in which they think they are doubly 
 miflaken, both in the opinion that they have of their 
 clothes, and in that they have of themfelves ; for if 
 you confider the ufe of clothes, why fliould a fine 
 thread be thought better than a coarfe one ? And yet 
 thefe men, as if they had fome real advantages beyond 
 others, and did not owe them wholly to their miflakes,, 
 look big, feem to fancy themfelves to be more valu- 
 able, and imagine that a refped^ is due to them for 
 the fake of a rich garment, to which- they would not 
 
 have 
 
UTOPIA. ^3 
 
 have pretended, If they had been more meanly clothed ; 
 and even refent it as an affront, if that refpecfl is not 
 paid them. It is alfo a great folly to be taken with 
 outward marks of refpe(Sl, which fignify nothing : for 
 what true or real pkafurc can one man find in another's 
 (landing bare, or making legs to him ? Will the bend- 
 ing another man's knees give eafe to yours ? And will 
 the head's being bare cure the madnefs of yours ? And ' 
 yet it is wonderful to fee how this falie notion of pleafure 
 bewitches many, w ho delight themfelves with the fancy of 
 their nobility, and are pleafcd with this conceit, that they 
 are defcended from anccftors, who have been held for fome 
 fucceflions rich, and who have had great poiTefTions ; for 
 this is all that makes nobility at prefent : yet they do not 
 think themfelves a whit the lefs noble, though their imme- 
 diate parents have left none of this wealth to them ; or 
 though they themfelves have fquandered it away. The 
 Utopians have no better opinion of thofe, who are much ta- 
 ken with gems and precious ftones, and who account it a 
 degree of happinefs, next to a divine one, if they can pur- 
 chafe one that is very extraordinary ; efpecially if it be of 
 that fort of flones, that is then in greateft requefl; for the 
 fame fort is not at all times univerfally of the fame 
 value ; nor will men buy it, unlefs it be difmounted 
 and taken out of the gold ; the jeweller is then made 
 to give good fecurity, and required folcmnly to fwear 
 that the flone is true, that by fuch an exadi caution, a 
 falfe one might not be bought inftead of a true : though 
 if you were to examine it, your eye could find no dif- 
 
 G 2 ference 
 
2^ SIR Thomas mor.e'^s 
 
 ference between the counterfeit, and that which is true ; fcr 
 that they are all one to you as much as if you were blkid. 
 Or can it be thought that they who heap up an ufelefs 
 mafs of wealth, not for any ufe that it is to bring 
 them, but merely to pleafe themfelves with the contem- 
 plation of it, enjoy any true pleafurc in it ? The delight 
 they find, is only a falfe (liadovv of joy : thofe are no 
 better, whofe error is fomewhat different from the for* 
 mer, and who hide it, out of their fear of lofing it ; for 
 what other name can fit the hiding it in the earth, or 
 rather the r^f^oring it to it again, it being thus cut 
 off from being ufeful, either to its owner, or to the 
 reft of mankind r And yet the owner having hid it care- 
 fully, is glad, bccaufc he thinks he is nowfureofit. 
 If it (liould be flolcy the owner, though he miglu live 
 perhaps ten years after the theft, of which he knew no- 
 thing, would find no difference between his having, or 
 lofing it ; for both ways it was equally ufelefs to him. 
 Among thofe foolilh purfuers of pleafure, they reckon 
 all that delight in hunting, in fowling, or gaming : of 
 whofe madnefs they have only heard, for they have na 
 fuch things among them : but they have afked us, what 
 fort of pleafure is it that men can find in throwing the 
 dice ? For if there were any pleafure in it, they think. 
 the doing it fo often fhould give one a furfeir of it : and 
 what pleafure can one find in4iearing the barking and howl- 
 ing of dogs, which fecm rather odious than pleafant founds ? 
 i Kor can they comprehend the pleafure of feeing dogs run 
 after a hare, more than of feeing, one dog run alter an- 
 other ; for if tlie feeing tliem run is that v.hich gives 
 
tJTOPIA. gr 
 
 thepleafure, you have the fame entertainment to the eye 
 on both thefe occafions ; fince that is the fame in both 
 cafes : but if the plcafure lies in feeing the hare killed 
 and torn by the dogs, this ought rather to ftir pity, that 
 a weak, harmlefs and fearful bars, (hould he devoured 
 by ftrong, fierce, and cruel dogs. Therefore all this 
 bufinefs of hunting, is, among the Utopians, turned 
 over to their butchers ; and thofe, as has been already 
 faid, are all (laves : and they look on hunting, as one 
 of the bafeft parts of a butcher's work : for they account 
 it both more profitable, and more decent to kill thofe 
 beafts that are more neceffary and ufeful to mankind ; 
 whereas the killing and tearing of fo fmall and mifera- 
 ble an animal, can only aftrad the huntfman with a 
 -falfe (how of pieafure, from which he can reap but fmall 
 advantage. They look on the defire of the bloodflied, 
 even of beafts, as a mark of a mind that is already 
 corrupted with cruelty, or that at leaft by the frequent 
 returns offo brutal a pieafure, muft degenerate into it. 
 Thus, though the rabble of mankind look upon thefe, 
 and on innumerable other things of the fame nature, 
 as pleafures ; the Utopians on the contrary obferving, 
 that there is nothing in them tr.uJy pleafant, conclude, 
 that they are not to be reckoned among pleafures : for 
 though thefe things may create fome tickling in the fenfes, 
 (which feems to be a true notion of pieafure) yet they 
 imagine that this does not arife from the thing itfelf, 
 but from a depraved cui^om, which may fo vitiate a 
 fnan's tafte, that bitter things may pafs for fwect ; as 
 women with child think pitch or tallow tafle fweeter 
 
 ^ 3 than 
 
S6 SIR THOMAS MORe's 
 
 than honey ; but as a man's fenfe when corrupted, cither 
 by a difeafe, or fome ill habit, does not change the 
 Mature of other things, fo neither can it change the 
 nature of pleafure. 
 
 They reckon up feveral forts of pleafures, which they 
 call true ones : fome belong to the body, and others to 
 the mind. The pleafures of the mind lie in know- 
 ledge, and in that delight which the contemplation of 
 truth carries with it ; to which they add the joyful re- 
 flexions on a well-fpent life, and the affured hopes of 
 a future happinefs. They divide the pleafures of the 
 body into two forts ; the one is that which gives our 
 fenfes fome real delight, and is performed, either by re- 
 cruiting nature, and fapplying thofe parts which feed 
 the internal heat of life by eating * and drinking : or 
 when nature is eafed of any furcharge that opprefles it ; 
 when we are relieved from fudden pain, or that which 
 arifes from fatisfying the appetite which' nature has 
 wifely given to lead us to the propagation of the fpecies. 
 There is another kind of pleafure that arifes neither 
 from our receiving what the body requires, nor its be- 
 ing relieved when overcharged, and yet by a fecret, un- 
 feen virtue affecfls the fenfes, raifes the paflions, and ftrikes 
 the mind with generous impreflions ; this is the plea- 
 fure that arifes from mufic. Another kind of bodily 
 pleafure is that, which refults from an undiftiirbed and 
 vigorous conftitution of body, when life and a(£\ive fpi- 
 rits feem to ad^uate every part. This lively health, 
 when entirely free from all mixture of pain, of itfelf 
 
 give5 
 
UTOPIA. Sj 
 
 gives an inward pleafure, independent of all external 
 ^objecfls of delight; and though this pleafure does not fo 
 powerfully affed us, nor a6l fo ftrongly on the fenfes 
 as fome of the others, yet it may be efteemed as the 
 greatcft of all pleafures, and almoft all the Utopians 
 reckon it the foundation and bafis of all the lother joys 
 of life ; fince this alone makes the ftate of life eafy and 
 defirable ; and when this is wanting, a man is really ca- 
 pable of no other pleafure. They look upon freedom 
 from pain, if it does not rife from perfedl health, to 
 he a ftate of ftupidity, rather than of pleafure. This 
 fubjed has been very narrowly canvafled among them ; 
 and it has been debated whether a firm and entire health 
 could be called a pleafure, or not ? Some have thought 
 that there was no pleafure, but what was -excited by 
 fome fenfible motion in the body. But this opinion 
 has been long ago excluded from among them, fo that 
 now they almoft univerfally agree, That health is the 
 greateft of all bodily pleafures ^ and that as there is a 
 pain in ficknefs, which is as oppofite in its nature to plea- 
 fure, as ficknefs itfelf is to health ; fo they hold, that 
 health is accompanied with pleafure.: and if any fhould 
 fay, that ficknefs is not really paip, but that it only 
 carries pain along with it, they look upon that as a 
 fetch of fubtiity, that does not much alter the matter. 
 It is all one in their opinion, whether it be faid, that 
 health is in itfelf a pleafure, or that it begets a plea- 
 fure, as fire gives heat ; fo it be granted, that all thofe 
 whofe health is entire, have a true pleafure in the .en. 
 joyment of it : and they reafon thus. What is the plea- 
 
 ^J 4 lure 
 
S3 SIR THOMAS MORE*S 
 
 furc of eating, but that a man*s health which had been 
 weakened, does, with the afliftance of food, drive away 
 hunger, and fo recruiting itfclf, recovers its former vigour ? 
 And being thus refrefhed, it finds a pleafure in that 
 conflidl : and if the confli6l is pleafure, the vidory 
 muft yet breed a greater pleafure, except we fancy that 
 it becomes ftupid as foon as it has obtained that which 
 it purfued, and fo neither knows nor rejoices in its 
 own welfare. If it is faid, that health cannot be felt, 
 they abfolutcly deny it ; for what man is in health, 
 that does not perceive it when he is awake ? Is there 
 any man that is fo dull and ftupid, as not to acknow- 
 ledge that he feels a delight in health r And what is de- 
 light, but another name for pleafure r 
 
 But of all pleafures, they efteem thofe to be moft va- 
 luable that lie in the mind ; the chit^f of which arife 
 out of true virtue, and the witnefs of a good confcience. 
 They account health the chief pleafure that belongs to the 
 body ; for they think that the pleafure of eating and drink- 
 ing, and all the other delights of fenfe, are only fo far 
 defirable, as they give or maintain health : but they are 
 not pleafant in themfelves, otherwife than as they re- 
 fift thofe impreffions that our natural infirmities are fiill 
 making upon us : for as a wife man defires rather 
 to avoid difeafes, than to take phyfic ; and to be 
 free frojn pain, rather than to find eafe by remedies ;. 
 fo it is more defirable, not to need this fort of plea- 
 fure, than to be obliged to indulge it. If any man ima- 
 gines that there is a real happinefs in thefe enjoyments, 
 he muft then confefs that he would be the happieft of all 
 
 men. 
 
VTOPIA. 89 
 
 men, if he were to lead his life in perpetual hunger, 
 thirft, and itching, and by confequence in perpetual 
 eating, drinking, and fcratching hinifclf ; which any one 
 may eafily fee would be not only a bafe but a miferable 
 ftate of a life. Thefe are indeed the loweft of plea- 
 fures, and the leaft pure : for we can never relirti them, 
 but when they are mixed with the contrary pains. The 
 pain of hunger muft give us the pleafure of eating ;^nd 
 here the pain out-balances the pleafure : and as the 
 pain is more vehement, fo it laOs much longer ; for as 
 it begins before the pleafure, fo it does not ceafe, but 
 with the pleafure that extinguilhes it, and both expire 
 together : they think, therefore, none of thofe pleafures 
 are to be valued, any further than as they are neceffary ; 
 yet they rejoice in them, and with due gratitude acknow- 
 ledge the tendernefs of the great Author of nature, wlio 
 has planted in us appetites, by which thofe things that 
 are neceffary for our prefervation, are likewife made 
 pleafant to us. For how miferable a thing would life 
 be, if thofe daily dlfeafes of hunger and thirft, were to 
 be carried off by fuch bitter drugs, as we muft ufe for 
 thofe dlfeafes that return feldomer upon us ? And thus 
 thefe pleafant as well as proper gifts of nature, maintain 
 the ftrength and the fprightlinefs of our bodies. 
 
 They alfo entertain thcmfclves with the other delights 
 let in at their eyes, their ears, and their noftrils, as the 
 pleafant relifties and feafoninps of life, which nature feems 
 to have marked out peculiarly for man : (Ince no other 
 fort of animals contemplates the figure and beauty of the 
 univerfc ; nor is delighted with fmells, any farther than 
 
 as 
 
90 SIR THOMAS MORE's 
 
 as they diftinguifh meats by them ; nor do they appre- 
 hend the concords or difcords of found ; yet in all 
 pleafures whatfoever, they take care that a lefler joy does 
 not hmder a greater, and that pleafure may never 
 hreed pain, which they think always follows difho- 
 neil pleafures. But they think it madnefs for a man 
 to wear out the beauty of his face, or the force of 
 his natural ftrength ; to corrupt the fprightlinefs of his 
 body by (loth and lazinefs, or to wafte it by fa^*ing ; 
 that it is madnefs to weaken the ftrength of his confti- 
 tution, and reject the other delights of life i unlefs by 
 renouncing his own fatisfaction, he can either fcrve the 
 public, or promote the happinefs of others, for which 
 he expe(£^s a greater recompcnce from God. So that they 
 look on fuch a courfe of life, as the mark of a mind 
 that is both cruel to itfelf, and ungrateful to the Author 
 of nature, as if m e would not be beholden to him for 
 his favours, and therefore rcjedl all his bleffings ; as one 
 who (liould affliiSt himfelf for the empty fliadow of virtue ; 
 or for no better end, than to render himfelf capable of bear- 
 ing thc{c misfortunes which pofhbly will never happen. 
 This is their notion of virtue and of pleafure ; they 
 think that no man's rcafon can carry him to a truer idea 
 of them, unlefs fome difcovery from heaven fliould in- 
 fpire him with fublimer notions. I have not now the 
 leifure to examine, whether they think right or wrong in 
 this matter : nor do I judge it neceliary, for I have only 
 undertaken to give you an account of their conftitution^^ 
 but not to defend all their principles. I am fure, that 
 whatfoever may be faid of their notions, th.ere is not in 
 
 the 
 
UTOPIA, 91 
 
 the whole world, either a better people or a happier go- 
 vernment : their bodies are vigorous and lively ; and 
 though they are but of a middle ftature, and have neither 
 the fruitfulleft foil, nor the pureft air in the world; yet 
 they fortify themfelves fo well by their temperate courfe 
 of life, againft the unhealthinefs of their air, and by 
 their induftry they fo cultivate their foil, that there is no 
 where to be feen a greater increafe, both of corn and 
 cattle, nor are there any where healthier men, and freer 
 from difeafes : for one may there fee reduced to pracflice, 
 not only all the art that the hufbandman employs in 
 manuring and improving an ill foil, but whole woods- 
 plucked up by the roots, and in other places new ones 
 planted, where there were none before. Their principal 
 motive for this, is the convenience of carriage, that their 
 timber may be either near their towns, or growing on 
 the banks of the fea, or of fome rivers, fo as to be float- 
 ed tothem ; for it is a harder wo rk to carry wood at any 
 diftance over land, than corn. The people are induftri- 
 ous, apt to learn, as well as cheerful and pleafant ; and 
 none can endure more labour, when it is neceflary ; but 
 except in that cafe they love their eafe. They are un- 
 wearied purfucrs of knowledge ; for when we had given 
 them fome hints of the learning and difcipline of the 
 Greeks, concerning whom we only intruded them, (for 
 we know that there was nothing among the Romans, 
 except their hillorians and their poets, that they would 
 value much) it was Orange to fee how eagerly they were 
 fet on learning that language : we began to read a lit- 
 tle of it to them, rather in compliance with their iin- 
 ' portunity, 
 
^2 SIR THOMAS more' S 
 
 portunity, than out of any hopes of their reaping from 
 it any great advantage : but after a very (hort trial, wc 
 foumd they made fuch progrefs, that we faw our labour 
 was like to be more fuccefsful than we could have ex- 
 peeled. They learned to write their characters, and to 
 pronounce their language fo exactly, had fo quick an 
 apprehenfion, they remembered it fo faithfully, and be- 
 came fo ready and correct in the ufe of it, that it would 
 have looked like a miracle, if the greater part of thofe 
 whom we taught had noi been men both of extraor- 
 dinary capacity, and of a fit age for inftrudion : they 
 were for the greateft part chofcn from among their learn- 
 ed men, by their chief counfel, though fome ftudied it 
 of their own accord. In three years time they became 
 makers of the whole language, fo that they read the 
 beft of the Greek authors very exadlly. I am indeed 
 apt to think, that they learned that language the more 
 eafily, from its having fome relation to their own : I be- 
 lieve that they were a colony of the Greeks ; for though 
 their language comes nearer the Perfian, yet they retain 
 many names, both for their towns and magiftrates, 
 that are of Greek derivation. I happened to carry a 
 great many books with me, inflead of mcrchandife, when 
 I failed my fourth voyage ; for I was fo far from think- 
 ing of foon coming back, that I rather thought never to 
 have returned at all, and I gave them all my books, 
 among which were many of Plato's and fome of Arifto- 
 tle*s works. I had alfo Theophraftuson plants, which to 
 my great regret, was impcrfe6l : for having laid it care- 
 lefsly by while we were at fea, a monkey had feized 
 
 upon 
 
UTOPIA. 93 
 
 upon it and in many places torn out the leaves. They 
 have no books of grammar, but Lafcares, for I did not 
 carry Theodorus with me ; nor have they any didlionaries 
 but Hefichius and Diofcorides. They efteern Plutarch 
 highly, and were much taken with Lucian's wit, and 
 with his pleafant way of writing. As for the poets, 
 they have Ariftophanes, Homer, Euripides, and Sophocles 
 of Aldus's edition ; and for hiRorians, Thucidides, He- 
 rodotus and Herodian. One of my companions, Thri- 
 i^ius Apinatus, Piappened to carry with him fome of 
 Hippocrates's works, and Galen's Microtechne, which 
 they hold in great eftimation ; for though there is no 
 nation in the world that needs phyfic fo little as they 
 do, yet there is not any that honours it fo much : they 
 ¥Cckon the knowledge of it one of the pleafanteft and 
 moft profitable parts of philofophy, by which, as they 
 fearch into the fccrets of nature, lb they not only find 
 this Oudy higl.ly sgrteable, but think that fuch enqui- 
 ries ar2 very acceptable to the Author of nature ; and ima- 
 gine, that as he, like the inventors of curious engines 
 amongil: nianki'-ui, has expofed this great machine of 
 the univcrfe, to the view of the only creatures capable of 
 contemplating it, fo an cxa6i and curioas obferver, who 
 admires his vvorkmanflnp, is m.uch more acceptable to 
 him tiian one of chc herd, who like a beall Incapable of 
 rcafon, looks on this gloricius fccnc witli the eyes of a 
 dull and unconcerned fpedator. 
 
 The minds of the Utopians, when fenced w ith a love 
 for learning, arc very ingenious in dlfcovering all fuch 
 arts as are neccliary to carry it to perfection. Two things 
 
 thev 
 < 
 
9-1 SIR THOMAS MORE*S 
 
 they owe to us, the manufadure of papef, and the art 
 of printing : yet they are not fo entirely indebted to us 
 for thefe difcoveries, but that a greater part of the inven- 
 tion was their own. We fhewed them fomc books print- 
 ed by Aldus, we explained to them the way of making 
 paper, and the myftery of printing ; but as we had ne- 
 ver pradlifed thefe arts, we defcribed them in a crude 
 and fuperficial manner. 1 hey feized the hints we gave 
 them, and though at firft they could not arrive at per- 
 fe^^ion, yet by making many effays, they at laft found 
 cut, and corrected all their errors, and conquered every 
 difficulty. Before this they only wrote on parchment, 
 on reeds, or on the harks of trees ; but now they have 
 eftablifhed the manufadures of paper, and fet up prints 
 ing-preflcs, fo that if they had but a good number of 
 Greek authors, they would be quickly fupplicd with ma- 
 ny copies of them : at prefent, though they have no more 
 than thofe I have mentioned, yet by fcveral imprelTions, 
 they have multiplied them into many thoufands. If any 
 man was to go among them, that had fome extraordinary 
 talent, or that by much travelling had obferved the cuf- 
 toms of many nations, (which made us to be fo well 
 received) he would receive a hearty welcome ; for they 
 are very defirous to know the flate of the whole world. 
 Very few go among them on the account of traffic, for 
 what can a man carry to them but iron, or gold, or 
 filver, which merchants defire rather to export, than im- 
 port to a ftrange country : and as for their exportation, 
 they think it better to manage that themfclvcs, than to 
 leave it to foreigners, for by this means, as tl:cy under- 
 hand 
 
UTOPIA. g^ 
 
 iland the ftate of the neighbouring countries better, fo 
 they keep up the art of navigation, which cannot be 
 maintained but by much praaice. 
 
 OF THEIR SLAVES, 
 
 ANn OF THEIR 
 
 MARRIAGES. 
 
 
 1 HEY do not makeilaves of prifoners of war, except 
 thofc that are taken in battle ; nor of the fons of 
 their flavcs, nor of thofe of other nations: the (laves 
 among them, are only fuel, as are condemned to that 
 «ate of l,fe for the commiffion of fome crime, or 
 which >s more common, fueh as their merchants find con- 
 demned to die in thofe parts to which thev trade, whom 
 they lometimcs redeem at low rates ; and in other places 
 have them for nothing. They are kept at perpetual la- 
 bour, and are always chained, but with this difference, 
 that their own natives are treated much worfe than others ,' 
 they are confidered as more profligate than the rert, and 
 fince they could not be reftrain-^d by the advantages of fo 
 excellent an education, arc judged wortf.. of harder ufage. 
 Another fort of (laves, are the poor of tl^.c neighbouring 
 countries, who off.r of their own accord to come and 
 ferve theui ; they treat thefe better, and ufe them in ail 
 other refpefls, as well as their own eo.mrrymcn, except 
 
 their 
 
gS SIR THOMA^ MORe's 
 
 their impofing more labour upon them, which is no hard 
 tafk to thofe that have been accuftomed to it ; and if 
 any of thefe have a mind to go back to their own coun- 
 try, which indeed falls out but feldom, as they do not 
 force them to ftay, fo they do not fend them away empty 
 handed. 
 
 I have already told you with w^hat care they look 
 after their fick, fo that nothing is left undone that can 
 contribute either to their eafe or health : and for thofe 
 who are taken with fixed and incurable difeafes, they ufe 
 all poffible ways to cherifh them, and to make their 
 lives as comfortable as poffible : they vifit them often, 
 and take great pains to make their time pafs off eafily : 
 but when any is taken with a torturing and lingering 
 pain, fo that there is na hope, either of recovery or 
 eafe, the prieils and magi (Urates come and exhort them, 
 that lince they are now unable to go en with the bu(i- 
 nefs of life, arc become a burden to themfelves, and 
 to all about them, and they have really outlived them* 
 felves, they fliould no longer nouridi fuch a rooted dif- 
 tempcr, but c'noofc rather to die, fince they cannot live, 
 but in much mifcry ; being allured, that if they thus 
 deliver themfelves from torture, or are willing that 
 others fhould do it, they fnall be happy after death. Since 
 by their a(51ing thui^, they lofe none of the plcafures, but 
 only the troubles of life \ they think they behave not on- 
 ly reafonably, but in a manner conlillent with religion 
 and piety ; bccaufc tlicy follow the advice given them by 
 their pricfts, vAiO arc the cxj oanders of the will of God. 
 Such as are wrouglit on by thcfc pcrfuafions, eirher flarve 
 
 thcinfelvc* 
 
UTOPIA. 97 
 
 themfelves of their own accord, or take opium, and by 
 that means die without pain. But no man is forced on 
 this way of ending his life ; and if they cannot be per- 
 fuaded to it, this does not induce them to fail in their 
 Attendance and care of them : but as they believe that 
 a voluntary death, when it is chofen upon fuch an au- 
 thority, is very honourable ; fo if any man takes away 
 his own life, without the approbation of the priefls and 
 the fenate, they give him none of the honours of a de- 
 cent funeral, but throw his body into a ditch. 
 
 Their women arc not married before eighteen, nor 
 their men before two and twenty ; and if any of them 
 run into forbidden embraces before marriage, they are 
 feverely punifhed, and the privilege of marriage is denied 
 them, unlefs they can obtain a fpecial warrant from the 
 prince. Such diforders caft a great reproach upon the 
 mafter and miftrefs of the family in which they happen ; 
 for it is fuppofed, that they have failed in their duty. 
 The reafon of punilhing this fo feverely, is, becaufe they 
 think that if they were not flridly reftrained from all 
 vagrant appetites, very few would engage in a flate in 
 which they venture the quiet of their whole lives, by being 
 confined to one perfon, and are obliged to endure all 
 the inconveniences with which it is accompanied. In 
 choofing their wives, they ufe a method that v.ould ap- 
 pear to us very abfurd and ridiculous, but it is con- 
 ftantly obferved among them, and is accounted perfectly 
 confiitent viith wifdom. Before marriage, fome grave 
 matron prefents the bride naked, whether ihe is a virgin 
 •r a widow, to the bridegroom ; and after that, fome 
 
 H grave 
 
gS SIR THOMAS raoRE*s 
 
 grave man prefents the bridegroom naked to the bride. 
 We indeed both laughed at this, and condemned it as 
 very indecent. But they, on the other hand, wondered 
 at the folly of the men of all other nations ; who if 
 tiiey are but to buy a horfe of a fmall value, are fo 
 cautious, that they wjll fee every part of him, and take 
 off both his faddle, and all his other tackle, that there 
 may be no fecrct ulcer hid under any of them ; and 
 that yet in the choice of a wife, on which depends the hap- 
 pmefs or unhappinefs of the refl of his life, a man (hould 
 venture upon truft, and only fee about an hands-breadth 
 of the face, all the reft of the body being covered ; 
 under which there may lie hid what may be contagious, 
 as well as loathfome. All men are not fo wife, as to 
 choofe a woman only for her good qualities ; and even 
 wife men confidcr the body, as that which adds not 
 a little to the mind : and it is certain, there may be 
 fome fuch deformity covered with the clothes, as may 
 totally alienate a man from his wile, when it is too 
 late to part with her : if fuch a thing is difcovered af- 
 ter marriage, a man has no remedy but patience : they 
 therefore think it is reafonable, that there fliould be 
 good provifion made againft fuch mifchievous frauds. 
 
 There was fo much the more reafon for them to 
 make a regulation in this matter, becaufe they are the 
 only people of thofe parts that neither allow of polygamy, 
 t^or of divorces, except in the cafe of adultery, or infuf- 
 tcnible perverfenefs : for in thefe cafes the fenate diffolves 
 the marriaj^e, and grants the injured perfon leave to 
 inarry again ; but the guilty are made infamous, and are 
 
 never 
 
UTOPIA, 99 
 
 never allowed the privilege of a fecond niarrlage. None are 
 fuffered to put away their wives again ft their wills, from 
 any great calamity that may have fallen on their perfons, 
 for ihey look on it as the height of cruelty and treachery 
 to abandon either of the married perfons, when they 
 need moft the tender care of their confort ; and that 
 chiefly in the cafe of old age, which as it carries many 
 difeafes along with it, fo it is a difeafe of itfelf. But 
 it frequently falls out, that when a married couple do 
 not well agree, they by mutual confent feparate, and find 
 out other perfons with whom they hope they may live 
 more happily : yet this is not done, without obtaining 
 leave of the fenate ; which never adm.its of a divorce, 
 but upon a ftri6t enquiry made, both by the fenators 
 and their wives, into the grounds upon which it is de- 
 ilred ; and even when they are fatisfied concerning the 
 reafons of it, they go on but flowly, for they imagine that 
 too great eafinefs, in granting leave for new marriages, 
 would very much (liake the kindnefs of married people. 
 They punifli feverely thofe that defile the marriage- bed : 
 If both parties are married, they are divorced, and the 
 injured perfons may marry one another, or whom they 
 pleafe ; but the adulterer and the adulterefs are con- 
 demned to flavery. Yet if either of the injured per- 
 fons cannot (hake off the love of the married perfon, 
 they may live with them ftill in that ftate ; but they 
 muft follow them to that labour to which the flaves are 
 condemned ; and fometimes the repentance of the con- 
 demned, to^rether with the un(haken kindnefs of the in- 
 nocent and injured perfon, has prevailed fo far with the 
 
 H 2 prince, 
 
iCO SIR THOMAS MORE'S 
 
 prince, that he has taken off the fentence v but thofe tTiat 
 relapfe, after they are once pardoned, are puniHied with 
 death. 
 
 llieir law does not determine the punifliment for 
 other crhncs ; but that is left to the fenate, to temper 
 it accordin2;to the circumftances of the fa6t. Hufbands 
 have power to corred their wives, and parents to chaf- 
 tife their children, unlefs the fault is fo great, that a 
 public punifhment is thought neceffary for ftriking ter- 
 ror into others. For the mod part, flavery is the pu- 
 nifliment even of the greatcft crimes ; for as that is no 
 lefs terrible -to the criminals themfetves than death, fo 
 they think the preferving them in a Oate of fervi- 
 tude, is more for the interetl: of the common-wealth, 
 than killing tlicm : fince as their labour is a greater 
 benefit to the public, than their death could be ; fo the 
 fight of their mlfery is a more lal'iing terror to other 
 men, than that which would be given by their death. 
 If their flaves rebel, and w^ill not bear their yoke, and 
 fubmit to the labour that i^ enjoined them, they are 
 treated as wild hearts that cannot be kept in order, nei- 
 ther by a prifon, nor by their chains ; and are at laft 
 put to death. But thofe who bear their punifhment pa- 
 tiently, and are fo much wrought on "by that prefTure, that 
 lies fo hard on them, that it appears they are really more 
 troubled for the crimes they have committed, than for the 
 mifcrlcs they fuffcr, are not out of hope, but that at laft ei- 
 ther the prince will, by his prerogative, or the people, by 
 their intcrccffion, rcflore them again to their liberty, or 
 
 at 
 
UTOPIA* 101 
 
 at leaft very much mitigate their flavery. He that 
 tempts a married woman to adultery, is no lefs fevere- 
 ly punillied, than he that commits it ; for theyl^elieve 
 that a dehberate defign to commit a crime, is equal 
 to the fa6l itfelf ; fince its not taking efFed does not 
 make the perfon that mifcarried in his attempt at all 
 the lefs guilty. 
 
 They take great pleafure in fools, and as it is thought 
 a bafe and unbecoming thing to ufe them ill, fo they do 
 not think it amifs for people to divert themfelves with 
 ■their folly : and, in their opinion, this is a great advan- 
 tage to the fools themfelves : for if men were fo fuUen and 
 fevere, as not at all to pleafe themfelves with their ridi- 
 culous behaviour, and foolilh fayings, which is all that 
 they can do to recommend themfelves to others, it could 
 not be expe61ed that they would be fo well provided for, 
 nor fo tenderly ufed as they muil: otherwife be. If any 
 man (hould reproach another for his being mifhaped or 
 imperfed in any part of his body, it would not at all 
 be thought a refledion on the perfon fo treated, but it 
 would be accounted fcandalcus in him that had upbraided 
 another with that he could not help. It is thought a 
 fign of a fluggiih and fordid mind, not to preferve care- 
 fully one's natural beauty ; but it is likewife infamous 
 among them to ufe paint. They all fee that no beauty 
 recommends a Vv'ife fo much to her hufband, as the pro- 
 bity of her life, and lier obedience : for as fome few 
 are catchcd and held only by beauty, fo all are attra6led 
 by the other excellencies which charm all the world. 
 
 H 3 As 
 
102 SIR THOMAS MORE'S 
 
 As they fright men from committing crimes by pu- 
 nifliments, fo they invite them to the love of virtue, by 
 pubhc honours : therefore they ere6l flatues to the me- 
 mories of fuch worthy men as have deferved well of their 
 country, and fct thefe in tlieir market-places, both to 
 perpetuate the remiembrance of their a<5\ions, and to be 
 an incitement to their pofterity to follow their example. 
 
 If any man afpires to any office, he is fure never to 
 compafs it : they all live eafily together, for none of the 
 magiflrates are either infolent or cruel to the people : 
 they afPed rather to be called fathers, and by being really 
 fo, they well defer ve the name ; and the people pay them 
 all the marks of honour the more freel)V beaufe none 
 are exacf^ed from them. The prince himfelf has no dif- 
 tincllon, either of garments, or of a crown ; but is only 
 diftinguifhed by a fheaf of corn carried before him ; as the 
 high prieft is alfo known by his being preceded by a per- 
 fon carrying a wax light. 
 
 They have but few laws, and fuch is their confti- 
 tution, that they need not many. They very much con- 
 demn other nations, w'hofe laws, together with the com- 
 mentaries on them, fwell up to fo many volumes ; for 
 they think it an unreafonable thing to oblige men to obey 
 a body of laws, that are both of fuch a bulk, and fo 
 dark as not to be read and underfiood by every one of 
 the fubje6\s. 
 
 They have no lawyers among them, for they confider 
 them as a fort of people, whofe profelTion it is to dif- 
 guife matters and to wreft the laws ; and therefore they 
 think it is much better that every man (liould plead bis 
 
 own 
 
UTOPIA. 103 
 
 own caufe, and truft it to the judge, as- in other places 
 the Ghent trufts it to a counfellor. By this means they 
 both cut off many delays, and find out truth more certainly : 
 for after the parties have laid open the merits of the caufe, 
 without thofe artifices which lawyers are apt to fuggefl,. 
 the judge examines the whole matter, and fupports 
 the limplicity of fuch well-meaning pcrfons, whom other- 
 wife crafty men would be fure to run down : and thus 
 they avoid thofe evils, which appear very remarkably 
 among all thofe nations that labour under a vaft load of 
 laws. Every one of them is fkilled in their law, for as 
 it is a very fliort ftudy, fo the plainefl meaning of which 
 words are capable, is always the fenfeof their laws. And 
 they argue thus ; all laws are promulgated for this end, 
 that every man may know his duty ; and therefore the j 
 plaineft and moft obvious fenfe of the words, is that j 
 which ought to be put upon them ; fince a more refined j 
 expofition cannot be eafily comprehended, and would ; 
 only ferve to make the laws become ufelefs to the great- ' 
 er part of mankind; and efpecially to thofe who need 
 moft the diredion of them : for it is all one, not to 
 make a law at all, or to couch it in fuch terms, that 
 without a quick apprehenfion, and much (^udy, a man 
 cannot find out the true meaning of it; lince the (reneral- 
 ity of manl^ind are both fo dull, and fo much employed 
 in their feveral trades, that they have neither the Icifure 
 nor the capacity requifite for fuch an enquiry. 
 
 Some of their neighbours, who are mafters of their 
 own liberties, having long ago, by the affiilance of the 
 Utopians, Ihaken oft the yoke of tyranny ; and bein^ much 
 
 ^^ 4 taken 
 
104 S^R THOMAS more's 
 
 taken with thofe virtues which they obferve among therrtj 
 have come to defire that they would fend magiftrates to 
 govern them ; fome changing them every year, and others 
 every five years. At the end of their government, they 
 bring them back to Utopia, with great expreffions of ho- 
 hour and efteem, and carry away others to govern in 
 their ftead. In this they fecm to have fallen upon a 
 very good expedient for their own happincfs and fafcty ; 
 for fince the good or ill condition of a nation depends fo 
 much upon their magiftrates, they could not have made 
 a better choice, than by pitching on men whom no ad- 
 vantages can bias ; for wealth is of no ufe to them, fince 
 they muft fo foon go back to their own country ; and they 
 being flrangers among them, are not engaged in any of 
 their heats or animofities : and it is certain, that when 
 public judicatories are fwaycd, eitlier by avarice or par- 
 tial affecftions, there muft follow a diffolution of juftice, 
 the chief finew of focietv. 
 
 The Utopians call thofe nations that come and afk 
 magillrates from them, neighbours ^ but thofe to whom 
 they have been of more particular fervice, friends. 
 And as all other nations are perpetually either making 
 leagues or breaking them, they never enter into an alli- 
 ance with any ftate. They think leagues are ufelcfs 
 things, and believe, that if the common ties of huma- 
 nity do not knit men together, the faith of promifes will 
 have no great effect : and they are the more confirmed 
 in this, by what they fee among the nations round about 
 them, who are no firi^t obfervers of leagues and treaties. 
 We know how religioufly they are obfervcd in Europe j 
 
 more 
 
UTOPIA. 105 
 
 ' lYiore particularly where the Chriftlan do6trine is re- 
 , ceived, among whom they are facred and inviolable. 
 I Which is partly owing to the juftice and goodnefs of the 
 princes themfelves, and partly to the reverence they pay to 
 I the popes : who as they are moft religious obfervers of their 
 I own promifcs, fo they exhort all other princes to per- 
 ] form theirs ; and when fainter methods do not prevail, 
 they compel them to it by the fever ity of the paftoral 
 ; cenfure ; and think that it v/ould be the mofi: indecent 
 thing pofTible, if men who are particularly diftingulllied by 
 the title of the faithful, fhould not rellgioufly keep the faith 
 of their treaties. But in that new-found world, which 
 is not more diftant from us in fituation, than the peo- 
 ple are in their manners and courfc of life, there is no 
 trufting to leagues, even though they were made with 
 all the pomp of the moft facred ceremonies : on the con- 
 trary, they are on this account tlic fooner broken, fomc 
 fnght pretence being found in the words of the treaties, 
 which are purpofeiy couched in fuch ambiguous terms, 
 that they can never be fo ftrid^ly bound, but they will 
 always find fome loop-hole to cfcape at ; and thus they 
 break both their leagues and their faith. And this 
 is done with fuch impudence, that thofe very men who 
 value themfelves on having fuggefted thefe expedients to 
 their princes, would with a haughty fcorn, declaim againft 
 fuch craft, or to fpeak plainer, fuch fraud and deceit, if 
 they found private men make ufe of it in their bargains i 
 and would readily fay, that they deferved to be hanged. 
 By this" means it is, that all fort of juftice, paffes in 
 the world, for a low-fpirited and vulgar virtue, far be- 
 low 
 
106 SIR THOMAS MORF/s 
 
 low the dignity of royal greatncfs. Or at Icaft, there arc 
 fet up two forts of jufticc : the one is mean, and creeps 
 on the ground, and therefore becomes none but the lower 
 part o( mankind, and, fo mufl be kept in fcvcrely by 
 many rcftraints, that it may not break out beyond the 
 bounds that are fct to ir. The other is the peculiar 
 virtue of princes, which as it is more majeftic than 
 that which becomes the rabble, fo takes a freer compafs ; 
 and thus lawful and unlawful, are only mcafured by 
 pleafure and intereft. Thefe practices of the princes that 
 lie about Utopia, who make fo little account of their 
 faith, feem to be the reafons that determine them to 
 engage hi no confederacies : perhaps they would change 
 their mind if they lived among us : but yet though trea- 
 ties were more religioully obferved, they would flill dif- 
 like the cuftom of making them ; fince the world has 
 taken up a falfe maxim upon it, as if there were no tie 
 of nature uniting one nation to another, only feparatcd 
 perhaps by a mountain, or a river, and that all were- 
 born in a ftate of hoftilit)', and fo might. lawfully do 
 all that milchiefto their nei:iiibours, a":ainft which there 
 is no provilion made by treaties : and that when treaties 
 are made, they do not cut off the enmity, or retrain 
 (he licenfe of preying upon each other, if by the unfl-iil- 
 fulnefs of wording them, there are notefFe61ual provifo's 
 made againft them. They, on the other hand, judge, 
 that no man is to be elletmed our cncmv that has never 
 injured us ; and that the partnerdiip of the human na. 
 ture, is inftead of a league. And that kindnefs and 
 j^ood nature unite men more efftdtually, and with greater 
 
 Jirength 
 
UTOPIA. 107 
 
 ftrength than any agreements whatfoever ; lince thereby 
 the engaG;cments of men's hearts become ftronger, than 
 the bond and obh'gation of words. 
 
 OF THEIR 
 
 MILITARY DISCIPLINE. 
 
 
 JL HEY deteft war as a very brutal thing ; and which, 
 to the reproach of human nature, is more pra6lifed by- 
 men, than by any fort of beafts : they, in oppofition 
 to the fentiments of almoft all other nations, think that 
 there is nothing more inglorious than that glory that is 
 gained by war : and therefore though they accuftom them- 
 felves daily to military exercifes, and the difcipline of 
 war, in which not only their men, but their women 
 iikewife, are trained up, that in cafes of neceffity, they 
 may not be quite ufelcfs : yet they do not rafhly engage in 
 v^ar, unlefs it be either to defend themfelves, or their 
 friends, from any unjuft aggreffors ; or out of good na- 
 ture, or in compaflion affift an oppreffed nation, in fhak- 
 ing off the yoke of tyranny. They indeed help their 
 friends, not only in defenfive, but alfo in offeniive wars : 
 but they never do that, unlefs they had been confulted 
 before the breach was made, and being fatisfied with 
 t\ic grounds on which they went, they had found that 
 all demands of reparation were rejeded, fo that a war was 
 
 unavoid- 
 
108 SIR THOMAS MORe's 
 
 unavoidable. This they think to be not only juft, when 
 one neighbour makes an inroad on another, by public or- 
 der, and carry away the fpoils ; but wh^n the merchants 
 of one country are opprelTcd in another, either under pre- 
 tence of fome unjud lavvs, or by the perverfe wrefting of 
 good ones. Tills they count a jufter caufe of war than 
 the other, becaufe thofe injuries are done under lome co- 
 lour of laws. This was the dnlv irround of that v/ar in 
 which they engaged with the Nephclogetes againft the 
 Aleopolitanes, a little before our time : for the merchants 
 of the former having, as they thought, met with great 
 injuftice among the latter, w^hich whether it was in itfelf 
 rigiit or wrong, drew on a terrible war, in which many 
 of their neighbours were engaged ; and tiicir kcennefs in 
 carrying it on, being fupported by their ftrength in main- 
 taining it ; it not only fliook fome very flourifliing ftates, 
 and very much afilickd others, but after a feries of 
 much mifchlef, ended in the intirc conqueft and flavery of 
 the Aleopolitanes, who though before the war, they were 
 ,jn all refpc(S^s much fuperior to the Nephelogetes, were 
 yet fubdued : but though the Utopians had aflined them 
 in the war, yet they pretended to no (liare of the fpoil. 
 
 But though |hcy fo vigoroufly affift their friends in ob- 
 taining reparation for the injuries they have received in af- 
 fairs of this nature, yet if any fuch frauds were com mi t- 
 .ted againft themfelves, provided no violence was done to 
 their perfons, they v/ould only, on their being refufed fa- 
 ^isfadion, forbear trading v.ith fuch a people. This is 
 not bccaiife tliey confider tiicir neighbours more than their 
 ovr'n citizens j but fince their neighbours trade everyone 
 
 upon 
 
UTOPIA. 109 
 
 upon his own {lock, fraud is a more fenfible injury to 
 them than it is to the Utopians, aiYiong whom the public 
 in fuch a cafe only fuffers. As they cxpe6l nothing in 
 return for t4ie merchandizes they export, but that in 
 which they fo much abound, and is of little ufc to them, 
 the lofs does not much afFe6t them ; thev think therefore 
 it would be too fevere to revenge a lofs attended v>dth f<3 
 little inconvenience either to their lives, or tlicir fubfr^- 
 ence, with the death of many perfons ; but if any of their 
 people is either killed or wounded wrongfully, whether it 
 be done by public authority, or only by private men, as 
 foon as they hear of it, tliey fend ambaffadors, -and de^ 
 mand, that the guilty perfons may be delivered up to 
 them; and if that is denied, they declare war; but if 
 it be complied wiih, the offenders are condemned either 
 to death or flavery. 
 
 They would be both troubled and afhamed of a bloody 
 vidiory over their enemies ; and think it would be as 
 foolilh a purchafe, as to buy the mofl valuable goods at 
 t( o high a rate. And in no vi6^ory do they glory fo 
 much, as in that which is gained bv dexterity and good 
 condii^l, without bloodfhed. In fuch cafes tiiey appoint 
 public triumphs, and ere6l trophies to the honour of 
 tliofe who have fuccceded ; for then do they reckon that 
 a man a61s fuitably to his nature, when he conquers his 
 enemy in fuch a way, as that no other creature but a 
 man could be capable of, and that is, by the ftrength of 
 his underftanding. Bears, lions, boars, wolves, and dogs, 
 and all other animals employ their bodily force one againft 
 another, in which as manyof them are fuperior to men, 
 
 both 
 
no SIR THOMAS MORE S 
 
 both in ftrength and fiercenefs, fo they are all fubdued hy 
 his reafon and underftanding. 
 
 T['he only delign of the Utopians in war, Is to obtain 
 that by force, which if it had been granted them in 
 time, would have prevented the war ; or if that cannot 
 be done, to take fo fe/ere a revenge on thofe that 
 have injured them, that thev may be terrified from doing 
 the like for the time to come. By thefe ends they mea- 
 fure all their defigns, and manage them fo, that it is 
 vifible that the appetite of fame or vain-glory, does not 
 work fo much on them, as a jull: care of their own 
 fccurity. 
 
 As foon as tlicy declare war, tliey take care to 
 have a great many fchedulcs, that arc fcaled witli 
 their common feal, affixed in the moft confpicuous places 
 of their enemies country. This is carried fecretly, and 
 done in many places all at once. In thefe they promife 
 great rewards to fuch as fliall kill the prince, and lef- 
 fer in proportion to fuch as fliall kill any other perfons,. 
 who are thofe on whom, next to the prince himfelf, tliey 
 caft the chief balance of the war. And they double the fum 
 to him, that inftead of killing the perfon fo marked out,, 
 ihall take him alive, and put him in their hands. They 
 offer not only indemnity, but rewards, to fuch of the 
 perfons themfelves that arc fo marked, if they will a6i 
 againft their countrymen : by this means thofe that arc 
 named in their fchedules, becoir.e not only diflruftfur 
 of their fellow citizens, but are jealous of one another: 
 and are much diftracled by fear and danger : for it has 
 often fallen out, that many of them,, and even the prince 
 
 himfelf,. 
 
UTOPIA. Ill 
 
 himfelf, have been betrayed by thofe in whom they have 
 trufted moil: : for the rewards that the Utopians offer, 
 are (o unmeafurably great, that there is no fort of 
 crime to which men cannot be drawn by them. 'J hey 
 €onfider the rifciue that thofe run, who undertake fuch 
 fervices, and offer a rccompence proportionate to the dan- 
 ger ; not only a va<l deal of gold, but great revenues 
 in lands, that lie among other nations that are their 
 friends, where they may go and enjoy them very fecurely ; 
 and they obferve the promifes they make of this kind 
 mofl rcligioiiflv. They very much approve of this way 
 of corrupting their enemies, though it appears to others 
 to be bafe and cruel ; but they look on it as a v ife 
 eourfc, to make an end of what would be otherwife 
 a long war, without fo much as hazarding one battle to 
 decide it. They think it likewifc an ad of mercy and 
 love to mankind, to prevent the great flaughter of thofe 
 that murt otherwife be killed in the progrefs of the v\ar, 
 both on their own fide, and on that of their enemies, by 
 the death of a iew that are moft guilty ; and that in fo 
 doing, they are kind even to their enemies, and pity them 
 no lefs than their own people, as knowing that the greater 
 part of them do not engage in the war of their own ac- 
 cord, but arc driven into it by the paffions of their prince. 
 If this method does not fuccced with them, then they 
 fow feeds of contention among their enemies, and ani- 
 mate the prince's brother, or fome of the nobility, to 
 afpirc to the crown. If they cannot difunite them by 
 domefric broils, then they engage their neighbours againft 
 them, and make them fct on foot fome old pretenfions, 
 
 which 
 
112 S I R T li O I\I A S M O R hS 
 
 which are never wanting to princes, when they have oc- 
 cafion for them. Thefc they plentifully fupply with 
 money, though but very fparingly with any auxiliary 
 troops: for they are fo tender of their own people, that 
 they would not willingly exchange one of them, even 
 with the prince of their enemies country. 
 
 But as they keep their gold and filver only for fuch an 
 occafion, fo vvhcn that offers itfelf, they eafily part with 
 it, fince it would be no inconvenience to them, though 
 they fliould referve nothing of it to themfelves. For be- 
 fides the wealth that they have among them at home, 
 they have a vaft treafure abroad ; many nations round 
 about them, being deep in their debt: fo that they hire 
 foldiers from all places for carrying on their wars ; but 
 chiefly from the Zapolcis, who live five hundred miles 
 eaft of Utopia. They are a rude, wild, and fierce na- 
 tion, who delight in the woods and rocks, among which 
 they were born and bred up. They are hardened both 
 againft heat, cold, and labour, and know nothing of the 
 delicacies of life. They do not apply themfelves to agri- 
 culture, nor do they care either for their houfes or their 
 clothes. Cattle is all that thev look after ; and for the 
 greateft part, they live eith. r by hunting, or upon rapine ; 
 and are made, as it were, only for war. They watch 
 all opportunicies of engaging in it, and very readily em- 
 brace fuch as are otfjrcd them. Great numbers ol them 
 will frequently go out, and offer themfelves for a very 
 low pay, to ferve any that will employ them : they know 
 none of the arts of life, but thofe that lead to the taking 
 it away j they ferve thofe that hire them> both with 
 
 much 
 
tJTOPIA, 113 
 
 hnuch courage and great fidelity ; but will not engage to 
 ferve for any determined tinne, and agree upon fuch terms, 
 that the next day they may go over to the enemies of thole 
 whom they fcrve, if they offer them a greater encourage- 
 ment : and will perhaps return to them the day after that, 
 upon a higher advance of their pay. There are few wars 
 in which they make not a confiderable part of the armies 
 of both fides i fo it often falls out, that they who are re- 
 lated, and were hired in the fame country, and fo have 
 lived long and familiarly together, forgetting both their 
 relations and former friendfiiiip, kill one another upon no 
 other confidcration, than that of being hired to it for a 
 little money, by princes of different interefis: and fuch a 
 regard have they for money, that they are eafily wrought 
 on by the difference of one penny a day, to change fides. 
 So entirely docs their avarice influence them ; and yet 
 this money which they value fo highly, is of little ufe to 
 them ; for what they purchafe thus with their blood, they 
 quickly wafie on luxury, which among them is but of a 
 poor and miferable form. 
 
 This nation ferves the Utopians againft all people what- 
 foever, for they pay higher than any other. The Uto- 
 pians hold this for a maxim, that as they feek out the bell: 
 fort of men for their own ufe at home, fo they make ufe 
 of this worfi fort of men for the confiimption of war, and 
 therefore they hire them with the offers of vaft rewards, 
 to expofe themfelves to all forts of hazards> out of which 
 the greater part never returns to claim their promifes. 
 Yet thev make them good moft religiouflv to fuch as ef- 
 capc. This animates them to adventure again, whenever 
 
 I there 
 
114 SIR THOMAS MORe'S 
 
 there is occafion for it ; for the Utopians are not all trou- 
 bled how many of thefe happen to be killed ^ and reckon 
 it a fervice done to mankind, if they could be a means to 
 deliver the world from fuch a lewd and vicious fort of 
 people, that feem to have run together, as to the drain of 
 human nature. Next to thefe they are ferved in their 
 wars, with thofe upon whofe account they undertake them, 
 and with the auxiliary troops of their other friends, to 
 whom, they join a few of their own people, and fend fome 
 man of eminent and approved virtue to command in chief. 
 There are two fent with him, who during his command, 
 are but private men, but the firft is to fucceed him if he 
 (hould happen to be either killed or taken ; and in cafe 
 of the like misfortune to him, the third comes in his 
 place ; and thus they provide againft ill events, that fuch 
 accidents as may befal their Generals, may not endanger 
 their armies. 
 
 When they draw out troops of their own people, they 
 take fuch out of every city as freely offer themfelves, for 
 none are forced to go againft their wills, fince they think 
 that if any man is prcfTed that wants courage, he M-ill not 
 onlv acl faintly, but by his cowardice difliearten others. 
 Eut if an invafion is made on their country, they make 
 ufe of fuch men, if they have good bodies, though they 
 are not brave ; and either put them aboard their fliips, or 
 place them on the walls of their towns, that being fo 
 ported, they may find no opportunity of flying away ; and 
 thus either (liame, the heat of ad^ion, or the impoJTibility 
 of flaying, bears down their cowardice ; they often make a 
 virtue of necefnty, and behave themfelves well, becaufe 
 
 nothing 
 
UTOPIA* 115 
 
 nothing elfe is left them. But as they force no mm to go 
 into any foreign war againft his v.dll, fo they do not hin- 
 der thofe women who are willing to go along with their 
 huibands : on the contrary, they encourage and praife 
 them ; and they ftand often next their hufoands in the 
 front of the army. They alfo place together thofe who 
 are related, parents and cl'iildrcn, kindred, and thofe that 
 are mutually allied, near one another ; that thofe whom 
 nature has infpired with the grcatefl zeal for aflifting one 
 another, may be the neareft and readleft to do it ; and It 
 is matter of great reproach, if hufband or wife furvive 
 one another, or if a child furvives his parent, and there- 
 fore when they come to be engaged in aclion, they conti- 
 nue to fight to the laft man, if their enemies ftand before 
 them : and as they ufe all prudent methods to avoid the 
 endangering their own men, and if it is poflible, leX all 
 the a6iion and danger fall upon the troops that they hire, 
 fo if it becomes necelTary for thcmfelves to engage, 
 they then charge with as much courage, as they avoided it 
 before with prudence. Nor is it a fierce charge at firft, 
 but it cncreafes by degrees ; and as they continue in a61i- 
 on, they grow more obfiinate, and prefs harder upon the 
 enemy, infomuch that they will much fooner die than 
 give ground ; for the certainty that their children will be 
 well looked after, Vv'hen they are dead, frees them ivora 
 all that anxiety concerning them, which often maflers men 
 of great courage ; and thus they are animated by a noble 
 and invincible refolution. Their fl^ill in military afFairs 
 encrtafes their courage ; and the wife fcntiments which 
 according to the laws of their country, are inftilled into 
 
 X 2 them 
 
Il6 SIR THOMAS MORe'S 
 
 them in their education, give additional vigour to theif 
 minds : for as they do not under- value Hfe fo as prodigally 
 to throw it away, they are not fo indecently fond of it, as 
 to preferve it, by bafe and unbecoming methods. In the 
 greatefl heat of a6tion the braVeft of their youth, who have 
 devoted themfelves to that fervice, fingle out the General 
 of their enemies, fet on him cither openly or by ambuf- 
 cade ; purfuc him every where, and when fpentand wea- 
 ried out, are relieved by others, who never give over the 
 purfuit, either attacking him with clofe weapons wheo- 
 thcv can get near him, or with thofe which wound at a 
 dil^ance, when others get in between them : fo that unlcfs 
 he fccures himfelf by flight, they feldom fail at laft to 
 kill or to take him prifoncr. When they have obtained a 
 iri(^ory, they kill as few as pofhble, and are much more 
 bent on taking many prifoners, than on killing thofe that 
 fly before them : Nor do they ever let their men fo loofe 
 in the purfuit of their enemies, as not to retain an entire 
 body i^ill in order ; fo that if they have been forced to en- 
 trr\ge the laft of their battalions, before they could gain 
 the day, they will rather let their enemies all efcape than 
 purfue them, when their own army is in diforder ; remem- 
 bering well what has often fallen out to themfelves ; that 
 when the main body of their army has been quite de- 
 feated and broken, when their enemies imagining the vic- 
 torv obtained, have let themfelves loofe into an irregular 
 purfuit, a few oi them that lay for a referve, waiting a 
 fit opportunity, have fallen on them in their chafe, and 
 when llraggling in diforder, and apprchenfive of no dan- 
 ger, bat counting the day their own, have turned the 
 
 whole 
 
UTOPIA. 117 
 
 whole a6lion, and wrefting out of their hands a vidtoiy 
 that feemed certain and undoubted, while the vanquifhed 
 have fuddcnly become vidlorious. 
 
 It is hard to tell whether they are more dexterous in 
 laying or avoiding ambufhes : they fometimcs feem to 
 fly when it is far from their thoughts ; and when they 
 intend to give ground, they do it fo. that it is very hard 
 to find out their defign. If they fee they are ill pofted, 
 or are like to be overpowered by numbers, they then 
 either march off in the night with great filence, or by 
 fome ftratagem delude their enemies ; if they retire in the 
 day-time, they do it in fuch order, that it is no lefs dan- 
 gerous to fall upon them in a retreat, than in a march. 
 They fortify their camps with a deep and large trench ; and 
 throw up the earth that is dug out of it for a wall ; nor 
 do they < mploy only their flaves in this, but the whole 
 army works at it, except thofe that are then upon the 
 guard; fo that when fo many hands are at work» a great 
 line and a ftrong fortification is finifhed in fo (hort a time, 
 that it is fcarce credible. Their armour is very ftrong 
 for defence, and yet is not fo heavy as to make them un- 
 eafy in their marches ; they can even fwim with it. All 
 that are trained up to war, pradife fvvimming : both horfe 
 and foot make great ufe of arrows, and are very expert : 
 they have no fwords, but fight with a pole-axe that is both 
 fiiarp and heavy, by which they thruit or firike down an 
 enemy ; they are very good at finding out warlike ma- 
 chines, and difguife them fo well, that the enemy does 
 not perceive them, till he feels the ufe of them ; fo that 
 he cannot prepare fuch a defence as would render them 
 
 I 3 ufclefs; 
 
Il8 SIR THOMAS MORE'S 
 
 ufclefs ; the chief confideration had in the making them, 
 is, that they may be eafily carried and managed. 
 
 If they agree to a truce, they oWcrve it (o religioufly, 
 that no provocations will make them break it. Thev ne- 
 ver lay their enemies country wafte, nor burn their corn, 
 and even in their marches they take all poffible care, that 
 neither horfe nor foot may tread it down, for they do not 
 know but that they may have ufe for it themfelves. They 
 hurt no man whom they find difarmcd, unlefs he is a fpy. 
 When a tov.'n is furrcndered to them, they take it into 
 their prote(fiion : and when they carry a place bv ftorm, 
 they never plunder it, but put thofe only to the fword that 
 oppofed the rendering of it up, and make the refi of the 
 garrifon flavcs, but for the other inhabitants, tile}' do 
 them no hurt ; and if anv of them had advifed a furren- 
 der, they give them good rewards out of the eftatcs of 
 thofe that they condemn, and c.iilribute the reft among 
 their auxiliary troops, but they themfelves take no (liare 
 of the fpoil. 
 
 V/hcn a war is ended, they do not oblige their friends 
 to reimburfe their expences, but they obtain them of the 
 conquered, cither in money, which they keep for the next 
 occafion, or in lands, out of \\hich a conilant revenue 
 IS to be paid them \ by many increafes, the revenue which 
 they draw out from fcveral countries on fuch occafions, is 
 now rifen to above 700,000 ducats a year. They fend 
 fome of their own people to receive thcfc revenues,' who 
 have orders to li\e magnificently, and like princes, by 
 which means they confume much of it upon the place ; 
 and either bring over the refi to Utopia, or lend it to that 
 
 nation 
 
UTOPIA. lig 
 
 nation in which it lies. This they moft commonly do, 
 unlefs fome great occafion, which falls out but very feldom, 
 fhould oblige them to call for it all. It is out of thefc 
 lands that they affign rewards to fuch as they encourage 
 to adventure on defperate attempts. If any prince that 
 engages in war with them, is making preparations for in- 
 vading their country, they prevent him, and make his 
 country the feat of the war ; for they do not willingly 
 fuffer any war to break in upon their ifland ; and if that 
 fhould happen, they would only defend themfelves by 
 their own people ; but would not call for auxiliary troops 
 to their afTiftance. 
 
 OF THE 
 
 RELIGIONS OF THE UTOPIANS. 
 
 JL HERE are feveral forts of religions, not only in dif- 
 ferent parts of the ifland, but even in every town ; fome 
 worfhipping the fun, others the moon, or one of the 
 planets : fome worlhip fuch men as have been eminent in 
 former times for virtue, or glory, not only as ordinary 
 deities, but as the Supreme God : Yet the greater and 
 wifer fort of them worfnip none of thefe, but adore one 
 eternal, invifible, infinite, and incomprehenfible Deity ; 
 as a Bjing that is far above all our apprehenfions, that is 
 fpread over the whole univerfe, not by his bulk, but by 
 his power and virtue : him they call the Father of all, 
 
 I 4 and 
 
120 ISIR THOMAS M ore's 
 
 and acknowledge that the beginnings, the encreafe, the 
 progrefs, the vicifTitudes, and the end of all things come 
 only from him ; nor do they offer divine honours to any 
 but to him alone. And indeed, though they differ con- 
 cerning other things, yet all agree in this ; that they think 
 there is one Supreme Being that made and governs the 
 world, whom they call in the language of their country, 
 Mithras. They diflcr in this, that one thinks the God 
 whom he worfhips is this Supreme Being, and another 
 thinks that his idol is that God ; but they all agree i'n one 
 principle, that whoever is this Supreme Being, he is alfo 
 that great effence, to whofe glory and majefty all honours 
 are afcribed by the confent of all nations. 
 
 By degrees, they fall off from the various fuperftitions 
 that are amon^^ them, and grow up to that one religion 
 that is the beft and moft in requeft ; and there is no doubt 
 to be made, but that all the others had vanlflicd long 
 ago, if fome of thofe who advifed them to lay afide their 
 fuperftitions, had not met with fome unhappy accidents, 
 which being confidered as infilled by heaven, made them 
 afraid that the god whofe worfhip had like to have been 
 abandoned, had interpofcd, and revenged themfelves on 
 ihofe who defpifed their authority. 
 
 After they had heard from us, an account of the doc- 
 trine, the courfe of life, and the miracles of Chrifr, and 
 of the wonderful conftancy of fo many martyrs, whofe 
 blood, fo willingly offered up by them, was the chief oc- 
 cafion of fpreading their religion over a vaft number of 
 nations, it is not to be imagined how inclined they were 
 to receive it. I {hall not determine whether this pro- 
 ceeded 
 
UTOPIA.^ 121 
 
 ceeded from any fecret infpiration of God, or whether it 
 was becaufe it feemed fo favourable to that community 
 of goods, which is an opinion fo particular, as well as 
 fo dear to them ; fince they perceived that Chrift and his 
 followers lived by that rule : and that it was ftill kept up 
 in fome communities among the fincercft fort of Chriftians. 
 From which foever of thefe motives it might be, true it is 
 that many of them came over to our religion, and were 
 initiated into it by baptifm. But as two of our number 
 were dead, fo none of the four that furvived, were in 
 priefts orders ; we therefore could only baptize them ; fo 
 that to our great regret, they could not partake of the 
 other facraments, that can only be adminiftered by priefts : 
 But they are inftru£^ed concerning them, and long moft 
 vehemently for them. They have had great difputes 
 among themfelves, whether one chofen by them to be a 
 priefr, would not be thereby qualified to do all the things 
 that belong to that chara6\er, even though he had no au- 
 thority derived from the pope ; and they feemed to be 
 refolved to choofe fome for that employment, but they 
 had not done it when I left them. 
 
 Thofe among them that have not received our religion, 
 do not fright any from it, and ufe none ill that goes over 
 to it ; fo that all the while I was there, one man was only 
 punifhed on this occafion. He being newly baptized, did, 
 notwithftanding all that we could fay to the contrary, dif- 
 pute publickly concerning the Chriftian religion, with more 
 zeal than difcrction ; and with fo much heat, that he not 
 only preferred our worfhip to theirs, but condemned all 
 their rights as profane ; and cried out againft all that ad- 
 hered 
 
12t SIR THOMAS MORE*S 
 
 hered to them, as impious and facrilegious perfons, that 
 were to be damned to everlafting burnings. Upon his 
 having frequently preached in this manner, he was feized, 
 and after trial, he was condemned to banifhment, not for 
 having difparaged their religion, but for his inflaming the 
 people to fedition : for this is one of their moft ancient 
 laws, that no man ought to be punifhed for his religion. 
 At the firft conftitiition of their government, Utopus hav- 
 ing underflood, that before his coming among them, the 
 old inhabitants had been engaged in great quarrels con- 
 cerning religion, by which they were fo divided among 
 themfelves, that he found it an eafy thing to conquer 
 them, fince indead of uniting their forces againft him, 
 every different party in religion fought by themfelves : 
 after he had fubdued them, he made a law that every 
 man might be of what religion he pleafed, and might 
 endeavour to draw others to it by the force of argument, 
 and by amicable and modeft ways, but without bitternefs 
 againft thofe of other opinions ; but that he ought to ufe 
 no other force but that of perfuafion ; and was neither to 
 mix with it reproaches nor violence ; and fuch as 
 did otherwife were to be condemned to banifliment or 
 f! a very. 
 
 This law M-as made by Utopus, not only for preferving 
 the public peace, which he faw fuflered much by daily 
 contentions and irreconcilable heats, but becaufe he 
 thought the intereft of religion itfelf required it. He 
 judged it not fit to determine any thing ralhly ; and 
 icemed to doubt whether thofe different forms of religion 
 Bright not all come from God, who might infpire men 
 
 in 
 
UTOPIA, 123 
 
 in a different manner, and be pleafed with this variety ; 
 he therefore thought it indecent and foohfh for any man 
 to threaten and terrify another to make him believe what 
 did not appeal to him to be true. And fuppofing that 
 only one religion was really true, and the reft falfe, he 
 imagined that the native force of truth would at laa break 
 forth and fnine bright, if fupportcd only by the ftrength 
 of argument, and attended to with a gentle and unpre- 
 judiced mind ; while, on the other hand, if fuch debates 
 were carried on with violence and tumults, as the moft 
 wicked are always the nxofl: obftinate, fo the beft and moft 
 holy religion, might be choaked with fuperftition, as 
 corn is with briars and thorns ; he therefore left men 
 wholly to their liberty, that they might be free to believe 
 as they fi^ould fee caufc ; only he m.ade a folcmn and 
 fevere law againft fuch as fhould fo far degenerate from 
 the dignity of human nature, as to think that our fouls 
 died with our bodies, or that the world was governed by 
 chance, without a wife over- ruling Providence ; for they 
 all formerly believed that there was a ftate of rewards 
 and punidiments to the good and bad after this life ; and 
 they now look on thofe that think otherwife, as fcarce fit 
 to be counted men, fince they degrade fo noble a being as 
 the foul, and reckon it no better than a beaft's : thus 
 they are far from looking on fuch men as fit for human 
 fociety, or to be citizens of a well-ordered common- 
 wealth ; fince a man of fuch principles muft needs, as 
 oft as he dares do it, defpife ail their laws and cuftoms ; 
 for there is no doubt to be made, that a man who is 
 afraid of nothing but the law, and apprehends nothing 
 
 after 
 
124 S^^ THOMAS MORE's 
 
 after death, will not fcruple to break through all the laws 
 of his country, either by fraud or force, when by this 
 means he may fatisfy his appetites. They never raife any 
 that hold thefe maxims, either to honours or offices, nor 
 employ them in 'any public trufl, but defpife them, as 
 men of bafe and fordid minds : yet they do not puniih 
 them, becaufe they lay this down as a maxim, that a man 
 cannot make himfelf believe any thing he pleafes ; nor 
 do they drive any to dilTemble their thoughts by threaten- 
 ings, fo that men are not tempted to lie or difguife their 
 opinions ; which being a fort of fraud, is abhorred by the 
 Utopians : they take care indeed to prevent their difputing 
 jn defence of thefe opinions, efpecially before the com- 
 mon people : but they fufF«-r, and even encourage them 
 to difpute concerning them in private with their priefts, 
 and other grave men, beincj confident that they will be 
 cured of thofe ma^ opinions, by having reafon laid before 
 them. There are many among them that run far to the 
 other extreme, though it is neither thought an ill nor 
 unreafonable opinion, and therefore is not at all dif- 
 couraged. They think that the fouls of beafts are im- 
 mortal, though far inferior to the dignity of the human 
 foul, and not capable of fo great a happinefs. 
 
 They are almoft all of them very firmly perfuaded, that 
 good men will be infinitely happy in another ftate ; fo that 
 though they are compalTionatc to all that are fick, yet they 
 lament no man's death, except they fee him loth to part 
 with life ; for they look on this as a very ill prefage, as 
 if the foul, confcious to itfclf of guilt, and quite hopc- 
 Jcfs, was afraid to leave the body, from fome fecret hints 
 
 of 
 
UTOPIA. 125 
 
 of approaching mifery. They think that fuch a man's 
 appearance before God, cannot be acceptable to him, who 
 being called on, does not go out cheerfully, but is back- 
 ward and unwilling, and is, as it were, dragged to it. 
 They are ftruck with horror, when they fee any die in 
 this manner, and carry them out in filence, and witb 
 forrow, and praying God that he would be merciful to 
 the errors of the departed foul, they lay the body in the 
 ground : but when any die cheerfully, and full of hope, 
 they do not mourn for them, but fing hymns when 
 they carry out their bodies, and commending their fouls 
 very earncftly to God : their whole behaviour is then 
 rather grave than fad, they burn the body, and fet up a 
 pillar where the pile was made, with an infcription to the 
 honour of the deceafed. When they come from the fu- 
 neral, they difcourfe of his good life, and w^orthy a6^ions, 
 but fpcak of nothing oftcner and with more pleafure, than 
 of his fcrenity at the hour of death. They think fuch 
 refped paid to the memory of good men, is both the 
 greateft incitement to engage others to follow their ex- 
 ample, and the moft acceptable worfhip tliat can be offered 
 them ; for they believe that tho'jgh by the imperfedion 
 of human fight, they are invifible to us, yet they are 
 prcfent among us, and hear thofe difcourfes that pafs con- 
 cerning themfclves. They believe it inconliflent with 
 the happinefs ot departed fouls, not to be at liberty to 
 be where they w-ill : and do nt)t imagine them capable of 
 the ingratitude of not dcfiring to fee thofe friends, widx 
 whom they livc<l on earth in the irricleft bonds of love and 
 kindncfs: befides thty are pcrfuaded tliat good men after 
 
 death 
 
126 SIR THOMAS MORe's 
 
 death have thefe affed^ions, and all other good difpofitions 
 cncreaicd rather than diminifhed, and therefore conclude 
 that tliey are flili among the living, and obferve all thev 
 fay or do. From hence they engage in all their affairs 
 with the greater confidence of fuccefs, as trufting to their 
 prote6iion ; while this opinion of the prefencc of their 
 anccftors is a reftraint that prevents their engaging in ill 
 dcfigns. 
 
 They defpifc and laugh at auguries, and the other vain 
 ;ind fuperftitious ways of divination, fomuch obferved among 
 other nations ; but have great reverence for fuch miracles 
 as cannot i1ow from any of the powers of nature, and look 
 on them as efFeds and indications of the prefence of the 
 Supreme Being, of which they fay many inftances have 
 occurred among them ; and tliat fometimes their public 
 prayers, which upon great and dangerous occafions they 
 have folemnly put up to God, with allured confidence of 
 beinc: heard, have been anfwered in a miraculous man- 
 ner. 
 
 They think the contemplating God in his works, and 
 the adoring him for them, is a very acceptable piece of 
 worfliip to him. 
 
 There are many among them, that upon a motive of 
 religion, nrgle61 learning, and apply themfelves to no 
 fort of (ludy ; nor do they allow themfelves any leifure 
 time, but are perpetuallv employed, believing that by the 
 good tilings that a niv.n does he fccures to himfelf that, 
 happincfs that comes afrer death. Some of thefe vifit the 
 fick ; others niend highways, cleanfe ditches, rcpnir 
 bridges, or dig turf, gravel, or iloncs. Others fell and 
 
 cleave 
 
UTOPIA. 1«7 
 
 cleave timber, and bring wood, corn and other neceffarics, 
 on carts into their tov/ns. Nor dothefe only ferve the pub- 
 lic, but they lerve even private men, more than the (laves 
 themfelves do : for if there is any where a rough, hard, 
 and fordid piece of work to be done, from which many 
 are frightened by the labour and lothfomenefs cf it, it not 
 the defpair of accomplidiing it, they cheerfully, and of 
 their own accord, take that to their (hare ; and by that 
 means, as they eafe others very much, fo they afflict 
 themfelves, and fpend their whole life in hard labour : 
 and yet they do not value themfelves upon this, nor leffen 
 other people's credit, to raife their own ; but by their 
 ftooping to fuch fervile employments, they are fo far from 
 being defpifed, that they are fo much the more cftecmed 
 by the whole nation. 
 
 Of thefc there are two forts : fome live unm.arried and 
 chafte, and abftain from eating any fort of ficfli ; and thus 
 weaning themfelves from all the pleafures of theprefent life, 
 which they account hurtful, they purfue, even by the 
 hardeft and painfuUeft methods poffible, that bleffednefs 
 which they hope for hereafter ; and the nearer they ap- 
 proach to it, they are the more cheerful and earneft in 
 their endeavours after it. Another fort of them is lefs 
 willing to put themfelves to much toil, and therefore pre- 
 fer a married ftate to a fmgle one ; and as they do not de- 
 ny themfelves the pleafure of it, fo they think the beget- 
 tinff of children is a debt which they owe to human nature, 
 and to their country : nor do they avoid any pleafure that 
 docs not hinder labour ; and therefore cat flefli fo much 
 the more willingly, as they find that l)y this means they 
 
 ar( 
 
128 SIR THOMAS MORELS 
 
 are the more able to work : the Utopians look upon thefe 
 as the w ifer iec>, but they efteem the others as the moft 
 holy. They would indeed laugh at any man, who from 
 the principles of reafon, would prefer an unmarried ftate 
 to a married, or a life of labour to an eafy life : but 
 they reverence and admire fuch as do it from the motives 
 of religion. There is nothing in which they are more 
 cautious, than in giving their opinion pofitivcly concern- 
 ing any fort of religion. The men that lead thofe fevcre 
 lives, are called in the language of their country Bruthefkas, 
 which anfwcrs to thofe we call religious orders. 
 
 Their priefis are men of eminent piety, and therefore 
 they are but few, for there are only thirteen in every town, 
 one for every temple ; but when they go to war, feven of 
 thefe go out with ihcir forces, and (evtn others are chofen 
 to fupply their room in their abfcncc ; but thefe enter 
 a2:ain upon their employment when they return ; and thofe 
 v»ho ferved in their abfencc, attend upon the high-priefl, 
 till vacancies fall by death ; for there is one fet over all 
 the reft. They are chofen by the people as the otlier ma- 
 giftrates are, by fuffrages given in fecret, for preventing 
 offadlions: and when they arc chofen, they are confe- 
 crated by the college of priefts. The care of all facred 
 things, the worlhip of God, and an infpedion into the 
 manners of the people, are comm.itted to them. It is a 
 reproach to a man to be fent for by any of them, or for 
 the m to fpeak to him in fecret, for that always gives fome 
 fufpicion : all that is incumbent on them, is only to exher^ 
 and admonilh the people ; tor the power of corred^ing 
 and punifliing ill men, belongs wholly to the prince, and to 
 
 the 
 
UTOPIA* 129 
 
 the other magiftrates : the fevereft thing that the pricft 
 does, is the excluding thofe that are defpcrately wicked 
 from joining in their worlliip : There is not any fort ot 
 punillimcnt more dreaded by them than this, for as it 
 loads them with infamy, fo it fills them with fecrct 
 horrors, fuch is their reverence to their religion ; nor will 
 their bodies be long exempted from their (hare of trouble ; 
 for if they do not very quickly fatisfy the prlefts of the 
 truth of their repentance, they are fcized on by the fenate^ 
 and punifhed for their impiety. The education of youth 
 belongs to the priefis, vet they do not take fo much care 
 of inflrudUng them in letters, as in forming their minds 
 and manners aright : they ufe all poffible methods to in- 
 fufe very early into the tender and flexible minds of 
 children, fuch opinions as are both good in themfelves> 
 and will be ufeful to their country : for when deep im- 
 preflions of thefe things are made at that age, they fol- 
 low men through the whole courfe of their lives, and 
 conduce much to preferve the peace of the government, 
 which fufFers by nothing more than by vices that rife out 
 of ill opinions. The wives of their priefls are the moft 
 extraordinary v. omen of the whole country; fometlmes 
 the women themfelves are made priefts, though that falls 
 out but fekiom, nor are any but antient widows chofea 
 into that order. 
 
 Non^i of the magiftrates have greater honour paid them, 
 than is paid the priefts ; ?.nd if they {houid happen to com- 
 mit any crime, they would not be queftioned for it : their 
 panifnment is left to God, an.i to their own confciences : 
 for they do not think it lawful to lay hands on any man, 
 
 K how 
 
130 SIR THOMAS MORE*S 
 
 how wicked foever he his, that has been in a peculiar 
 manner dedicated to God ; nor do they find any great in- 
 convenience in this, both becaufe they have fo few priefts, 
 and becaufe thefe are chofen with much caution, fo that it 
 inuft be a very unufual thing to find one who merely out 
 of regard to his virtue, and for his being efteemed a An- 
 gularly good man, was raifed up to fo great a dignity, de- 
 generate into corruption and vice : and if fuch a thing 
 fliould fall out, for man is a changeable creature ; yet there 
 being few pricfis, and thefe having no authority, but what 
 rifes out of the refpcc)^ that is paid them, nothing of 
 great confcquence to the public can proceed from the in- 
 demnity that the priefts enjoy. 
 
 They have indeed very few of them, lefl greater num- 
 bers {liarinix in the fame honour, might make the dignity 
 of that order which they cileem fo highly, to fink in its 
 reputation : they alfo think it difficult to find out .many of 
 fuch an exalted pitch ofgoodncfs, as to be ecjual to that 
 dignity which demands the exercife of more than ordinary 
 virtues. Nor are the pricds in greater veneration among 
 them, than they are among their neighbouring nations, as 
 you may imagine by that which I think gives, occafion for 
 
 When the Utopians engage in battle, the priefls who 
 accompany them to the war, apparelled in their iacred 
 vefiments, kneel down during the adiion, in a place not 
 far from the field ; and lifting trj) their hands to Heaven, 
 pray, fir<> for peace, and then for vi6lory to their own 
 fide, and particularly thnt it may be gained wichout the 
 effuiion of much blood on cither fide, and when the victory 
 
 turns 
 
UTOPIA. 131 
 
 turns to their fide, they run in among their own men to 
 rcRrain their fury ; and if any of their enemies fee them, 
 or call to them, they are preferved by that means : and 
 fuch as can come fo near them as to touch their garments, 
 have not only their lives, but their fortunes fecured to 
 them : it is upon this account that all the nations round 
 about confider them fo much, and treat them with fuch 
 reverence, that they have been often no lefs able to pre- 
 ferve their own people from the fury of their enemies, than 
 to fave their enemies from their rage : for it has fometimcs 
 fallen out, that when their armies have been in diforder, 
 and forced to fly, fo that their enemies were running upon 
 the daughter and fpoil, the priefts by interpofing, have 
 feparated them from one another, and n:opped the efFufion 
 of more blood ; fo that by their mediation, a peace has 
 been concluded on very reafonable terms ; nor is there any 
 nation about tlicm fo fierce, cruel, or barbarous, as not 
 to look upon their perfonsas facred and inviolable. 
 
 The firft and the laft day of the month, aiid of the year, 
 is a feftival : theymeafure their months by the courfe of the 
 moon ; and their years by the courfe of the fun : the firft 
 days are called in their language the Cynemernes, and the 
 laft the Trapemernes ; which anfwers' in our languac;e to 
 the feP;ival that begins, or ends the feafon. 
 
 They have magniticcnt temples, that arc not only nobly 
 built, but extremely fpacious ; vv'hich is the more necelTary, 
 as they h we fo few of them : they are a little dark within, 
 which proceeds not from any error in the architedure, 
 but is done with dcfign \ for their pricfls think that too 
 much light diiTipatcs the thoughts, and that a more mo- 
 
 K 2 derate 
 
132 SIR THOMAS MO re's 
 
 derate degree of it, both recolled^s the mind, and raifes 
 devotion. Though there are many different forms of re- 
 ligion among them, yet all thefe, how various foever, 
 agree in the main point, whicli is the worfhipping the 
 Divine Effence ; and therefore there is nothing to be feen or 
 heard in their (temples, in which the feveral perfuaiions 
 among them may not agree ; for every feft performs thofe 
 rites that are peculiar to it, in their private houfes, nor is 
 there any thing in the public worfhip, that contradicts the 
 particular ways of thofe different (t<^s. There are no 
 images for God in their temples, fo that every one may 
 reprefent him to his thoughts, according to the way of 
 his religion ; nor do they call this one God by any other 
 name, but that of Mithras, which is the common name 
 by which they all exprefs the Divine ElTence, whatfoever 
 otherwife they think it to be ; nor are there any prayers 
 among them, but fuch as every one of them may ufe with- 
 out prejudice to his own opinion. 
 
 They meet in their temples on the evening of the fefti- 
 val that concludes a fcafon : and not having yet broke 
 their fad, they thank God for their good fuccefs during 
 that year or month, which is then at an end : and the 
 next day, being that which begins the new feafon, they 
 meet cn;ly in their temples, to pray for the happy progrefs 
 of all their affairs during that period, upon which they 
 then enter. In the feftival which concludes the period, 
 btfore they go to the fmple, both wives and children fall 
 on their knees before their huibands or parents, and con- 
 fefs every thing in which they have either erred or failed 
 in their duty, and beg pardon fork; thus all little dif- 
 
 ccntents 
 
UTOPIA, 133 
 
 contents in families are removed, that they may offer up 
 their devotions with a pure and ferene mind ; for they 
 hold it a great impiety to enter upon them with difturbed 
 thotights ; or M'ith a confcioufncfs of their bearing hatred 
 or anger in their hearts to any perfon wkatfoever ; and 
 think that they (hould become liable to fevere punifiiments, 
 if they prefumed to offer facrifices without cleanfing their 
 hearts, and reconciling all their differences. In the tem- 
 ples, the two fexes are fcparated, the men go to the right 
 hand, and the women to the left: and the males and fe- 
 males all place themfelves before the 'cad, and mafler or 
 miftrcfs of that family to which they belong ; fo that 
 thofe who have the government of them at home, may 
 fee their deportment in public : and they intermingle them 
 fo, that the younger and the older may be fet by one ano- 
 ther ; for if the younger fort were all fet tcgctlier, they 
 would perhaps trifle away that time too much, in which 
 they ought to beget in themfelves that religious dread of 
 the Supreme Being, which is the greateft, and almoft tlie 
 only incitement to virtue. 
 
 They offer up no living creature in fiicrifice, nor do 
 they think it fuitable to the Divine Being, from whofe 
 bounty it is that thcfc creatures have derived their lives» 
 to take plcafure in their deaths, or the offering up their 
 blood. They burn incenfe, and other fweet odours, and 
 have a great number of wax lights during their worihip ; 
 not out of any imagination that fuch oblations can add 
 any thing to the Divine Nature, which even prayers can- 
 not do : but as it is a harmlefs and pure wav of worftiip- 
 ping God \ fu they think thofe fweet favours and lights, to- 
 
 K 3 gcther 
 
134 SIR THOMAS MORe's 
 
 gether with fome other ceremonies, by a fecret and unac- 
 countable virtue, elevate men's fouls, and infiame tliem 
 with greater energy and chcerfulnefs during tlie divine 
 worrtiip. 
 
 All the people appear in the temples in white garments ; 
 but the prieft's veftments are parti-coloured ; and both the 
 work and colours are vrondcrful : they are made of no 
 rich materials, for they are neither embroidered, nor fct 
 with precious ftones, but are compofcd of the plumes of 
 feveral birds, laid together with fo much art, and fo neatly, 
 that the true value of them is far beyond the cofiiieft m.ate* 
 rials. They fay, that in the ordering and placing thofe 
 plumes, fome dark myfterics are reprefented, which pafs 
 down among their priefts in a fecrct tradition concerning 
 them ; and that they are as hieroglyphic?, putting them 
 in mind of the bleffings that they have received from God, 
 and of their duties, both to him and to their neighbours. 
 As foon as the priLft appears in thofe ornaments, they all 
 fall proftrate on the ground, with fo niuch reverence and 
 fo deep a filence, that fuch as look on, cannot but be 
 flruck with it, as if it were the effed of the appearance of 
 a deity. After they have been for fome time in thi§ pof- 
 ture, they ail i^.und up, upon a .fign given by the prief^, 
 and fing hymns to the honour of God, fome mufical in- 
 V.^'^ruments playing all the while. Thefe are quite of ano- 
 ther form than thofe ufed among us : but, as many of 
 them are much fweeter than ours, fo others arc made ufe 
 of h) us. Yet in one thing they very much .exceed us ; 
 rJl their muHc, both vocal and inflrumental, is adapted jo 
 imitate and cxprcfs tlic paiTions ; and '^^^oh^piJUfyitfiltQ 
 
 everv 
 
UTOPIA, 135 
 
 every occafion, that whether the fubjea of the hymn be 
 gheerful, or trrnied to footh or trouble the mind, or to 
 exprefs grief or remorfe ; the mufic takes the impreffion 
 of whatever is reprefented, affias and kindles the pafllons, 
 and works the fentiments deep into the hearts-of the hear- 
 ers. Wiien this is done, both priefts and people offer up 
 very folemn prayers to God in a fet form of words ; and 
 th' fo are fo compofed, that whatfoever is pronounced by 
 the whole affembly, may he likewlfe applied by every 
 man in particular t© his own condition ; in thcfe they ac- 
 knon-ledgf God to be the author and governor of the world, 
 and the fountain of all the good they receive ; and there- 
 fore offer up to liim their thankfgiving ; and in particu- 
 lar, blefs him for his goodnefs in ordering it fo, that they 
 are born under the happieft government in the world, and 
 are of a religion which they hope is the trueft of all others : 
 bur if they are miftaken, and if there is either a better go- 
 vernment, or a religion more acceptable to God, they 
 implore his goodnefs to let them know it, vowing that 
 they refolve to fo'low him whitherfocver he leads them : 
 but if Uieir government is the beft, and their religion the 
 trueft, then they pray thrit he may fortify them in it, and 
 bring all the world, both to the fame rules of life, and to 
 t e lame opinions concerning hiinfelf; unlefs, according 
 to the unfearchablenefs of his mind, he is pleafed with a ^ 
 variety of religions. Then they pray that God may give 
 them meafypalfage at laft to himfelf; not prcfuming to 
 fet limits to him, now early or late it fhould be ; but if it 
 maybe wiHieJ for, v. ithout derogating fro.:: his u • me 
 authority, they defire to be quickly delivered, and to be 
 
 K 4 taken 
 
13^ SIR THOMAS MORE's 
 
 taken to himfelf, though by the mod terrible kind of 
 death, rather than to be detained long from fee in <: him, 
 by the moft profperoiis courfe of hfe. When this prayer 
 is ended, they all fall dov*^n again upon the ground, and 
 after a little while they rife up ; go home to dinner, and 
 fpend the red of the day in diverfion or military exer- 
 cifes. 
 
 Thus have I defcribcd to you, as particularly as I 
 could, the conflitution of that commonwealth, which I 
 do not only think the bed in the world, but indeed the 
 only commonwealth that truly dcferves that name. In 
 all other places, it is vifible, that while people talk of a 
 common wealth, every man only feeks his own wealth: 
 but there, where no man has any property, all men zea- 
 loufly purfue the good of the public. And indeed it is 
 no v.7onder to fee men a6l fo ditTcrently ; for in other 
 commonwealths, every man knows, that unlefs he pro- 
 vides for himfelf, how flouriihing foever the common- 
 wealth may be, he mull die of hunger ; fo that he fees 
 the necefiity of preferring his own concerns to the public. 
 But In Utopia, where every man has a right to every 
 thing, they all knov/, that if care is taken to keep the 
 public (lores full, no private man can want anything; 
 for among them there is no unequal diliribution, fo that 
 no man is poor, none in neccffity ; and though no man 
 has any thing, yet rliey are all rich ; for what can make a 
 man fo rich, as to lead a ferene and cheerful life, free 
 from anxieties ; neither apprehending want himfelf, nor 
 vexed with the encllcfs complaints of his wife? He is 
 not afraid of the mifery of his children, nor is he con- 
 
 irivmg 
 
UTOPIA. 137 
 
 triving how to raife a portion for his daughters, but is 
 fecure in this, that both he and his wife, his children and 
 grand' children, to as many generations as he can fancy, 
 will all live, both plentifully and happily ; fince among 
 them there is no lefs care taken of thofe who were once 
 engaged in labour, but grow afterwards unable to follow 
 it, than there is elfe where of thefe that continue ftill em- 
 ployed. I would gladly hear any man compare the juf- 
 tice that is among them with that of all other nations ; 
 among whom, may I periHi, if I fee any thing that looks 
 either like juO'ice or equity. For what juftlce is there 
 in this, that a noblernan, a goldfmith, a banker, or any 
 other man, that either does nothing at all, or at beft is 
 employed in things that are of no ufe to the public, fhould 
 live in great luxury and fplendor upon what is fo ill ac- 
 quired, and a mean man — a carter, afmith, or a plough- 
 man, that works harder even than the beafts themfelves, 
 and is employed in labours fo neceffary, that no common- 
 wealth could hold out a year without them, can only earn 
 fo poor a livelihood, and mufl: lead fo miferable a life, 
 that the condition of the beaHs is much better than 
 their's ? For as the beafts do not work fo conftantly, fo 
 they feed almoft as well, and with more plcafure, and 
 have no anxiety about what is to come ; whilft thefe men . 
 are deprefTed by a barren and fruit lefs employment, and 5 
 
 tormented with the apprehenfions of want in their old ' 
 
 - I 
 age ; fince that which they get by their daily labour does / 
 
 but maintain them at prefenf, and is confumed as faft as / 
 
 it comes in ; there is no overplus left to lay up for old 1 
 
 age. 
 ^ Is 
 
138 SIR THOMAS MORF.'S 
 
 Is not that government both unjufl: and ungrateful, that 
 is fo prodigal of its favors to thofe that are calkd g. ntle- 
 mcn, or goldfmiths, or fuch others who are idle, or live 
 either by flattery or by contriving the arts of vain plea- 
 fure ; and, on the other hand, takes no care of thofe of a 
 meaner fort, fuch as ploughmen, colliers, and fmiths, 
 without whom it could not fubfift ? But after the pub- 
 lic has reaped all the advantage of their fervicc, and they 
 come to be opprcfled with age, ficknefs, and want, all 
 their labours, and the gDod they have done, is forgotten ; 
 and all the recompence given them is, that they are left 
 to die in great mifery. The richer fort are often endea- 
 voring to bring the hire of labourers lower, not only 
 by their fraudulent practices, but by the laws which they 
 procure to be made to that effedl : fo that though it is a 
 thing moft unjuft in itfelf, to give fuch fmall rewards 
 to thofe who deferve fo weU of the public, yet they 
 have given thofe hardfliips the name and colour of 
 juflice, by procuring laws to be made for regulating 
 them. 
 
 Therefore I muft fay, that, as I hope for mercy, I can 
 have no other notion of all the other governments that I 
 fee or know, than that they are a confpiracy of the rich, 
 who, on pretence of managing the public, only purfue 
 their private, ends, and devife all the ways and arts they 
 can find out ; firll-, tiiat they may, without danger, pre- 
 ferve all that they have fo ill acquired, and then, that they 
 may engage the poor to toil and labour for them at as low 
 rates as poiTible, and opprcfs tliem as much ?.s tliey pleafe. 
 And if they can but prevail to get thefe contrivances efta- 
 
 blimed. 
 
UTOPIA. IQQ 
 
 blidied, by the fliow of public authority, which is confi- 
 dered as the reprefentative of the whole people, then they 
 are accounted laws. Yet tliefe wicked men, after they 
 have, by a mod infatiable covetoufnefs, divided that 
 among themfclves with which all the reft might have been 
 well fupplied, are far from that happinefs that is enjoyed 
 among the Utopians : for the ufe as well as the defire of 
 money being extinguiflied, much anxiety, and great oc- 
 cafions of mifchief, is cut off with it. And who does 
 not fee, that the frauds, thefts, robberies, quarrels, tu- 
 mults, contentions, feditions, murders, treacheries, and 
 witchcrafts, which are indeed rather punifhed than re- 
 trained by the feverities of law, would all fall off, if 
 money were not any more valued by the world? Men's 
 fears, folicitudes, cares, labours, and watchings, would all 
 periHi in the fame moment with the value of money. 
 Even poverty itfelf, for the relief of which money feems 
 moft neceffary, would fall. But, in order to the appre- 
 hending this aright, take one inftance : 
 
 Confider any year that has been fo unfruitful that many 
 thoufands have died of hunger ; and yet, if at the end of 
 that year a furvey was made of the granaries of all the 
 rich men that have hoarded up the corn, it would be 
 found that there was enough among them to have pre- 
 vented all that confumption of men that periflied in mi- 
 fery ; and that if it had been diftributed among them, 
 none would have felt the terrible effect of that fcarclty \ 
 f) eafy a thing would it be to fupply all the neceffities of 
 life, if .tbatblclTcd thing called money, which is pretended 
 
 to 
 
I40 SIR THOMAS MORELS 
 
 to be invented for procuring them was not really the only- 
 thing that obftrudted their being procured ! 
 
 I do not doubt but rich men are fenfible of this, and 
 that they well know how much a greater happinefs it is 
 to want nothing neceflary, than to abound in many fuper- 
 fluities ; and to be refcued out of fo much mifery, than 
 to abound with fo much wealth. And I cannot think 
 but the fenfe of every man's intereft, added to the authori- 
 ty ofChrifl's commands, who as he was infinitely wife, 
 knew what was beft, and was not lefs good in difcovering 
 it to us, would have drawn all the world over to the laws 
 of the Utopians, if pride, that plague of human nature, 
 that fource of fo much mifery, did not hinder it: for this 
 vice does not meafure happinefs fo much by its own con- 
 veniencies, as by the miferics of others ; and would not 
 be fatisfied with being thought a goddcfs, if none were 
 left that were miferablc, over whom {he might infult. 
 Pride thinks it's own happinefs fliines the brighter, by 
 comparing it with the misfortunes of other perfons ; that 
 by difplaying it's own wealth, they may feel their poverty 
 the more fenfibly. This is that infernal ferpent that creeps 
 into the breafls of mortals, and poflclles them too much 
 to be eafily drawn out; and therefore I am glad that the 
 Utopians have fallen upon this form of government, in 
 which I wifh that all the world could be fo wife as to 
 imitate them : lor they have indeed laid down fuch a 
 fcheme and foundation of policy, that as men live happily 
 under it, fo it is like to be of great continuance ; for they 
 having rooted out of the minds of their people, all the 
 feeds, both of ambition and fadion, there is no danger of 
 
 anv 
 
UTOPIA, 141 
 
 any commotions at home ; which alone has been the ruin 
 of many ftates, that leemed othervvife to be well fecurcd ; 
 but as long as they live in peace at home, and are govern- 
 ed by fuch good laws, the envy of all their neighbouring 
 princes, who have often though in vain attempted their 
 ruin, will never be able to put their ftate into any commo- 
 tion or diforder. 
 
 When Raphael had thus made an end of fpeaking, 
 though many things occurred to me, both concerning the 
 manners and laws of that people, that feemed very abfurd, 
 as well in their way of making war, as in their notions of 
 religion, and divine matters ; together with feveral other 
 particulars, but chiefly what feemed the foundation of all 
 the reft, their living in- cbmmon, without the ufe of mo- 
 ney, by which all nobility, magnificence, fplcndour, and 
 majeRy, which, according to the common opinion, are 
 the true ornaments of a nation, would be quite taken 
 away ; yet fmce I perceived that Raphael was weary, 
 and was not fure whether he could eafily bear contradic- 
 tion, remembering thut he had taken notice of fome, who 
 feemed to think they were bound in honour to fupport the 
 credit of their own wifdom, bv finding out fomething to 
 cenfure in all other men's inventions, befides their own ; 
 I only commended their conftitution. and the account he 
 had given of it in general ; and fo taking him by the hand, 
 carried him to fupper, and told him I would find out fome 
 othertlme for examining this fubje(il more paiticujjvlv, and 
 for difcourfing more copiouflyuponit ; and indeed I Ihall be 
 glad to embrace an opportunity of doing it. In the mean 
 
 while, 
 
i^e SIR THOMAS MORe's UTOPIA. 
 
 ■while, though it muft he confcffed that he is both a very 
 learned man, and a perfon who has obtained a great know- 
 ledge of the world, I cannot perfe6\]y agree to every thing 
 he has related ; however, there are many things in the 
 commonwealth of Utopia, that I rather wi(h, than hope, 
 to fee iollowed in our governments. 
 
 F I N i *. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 P. 4, I. 6, from the bottom, for an eftate of 400I. per annum, read^ by his 
 pr?.ftice a yearly revenue of 400!. 
 
 P. 17, 1. 4, addy after purchafe, 'except the manors given him by the king, 
 
 1. 14, afLer no, cdd^ fultable. 
 
 P. 38, 1. 15, for rcgious, read^ religious. 
 
 f^Where a quotation is not in tlie iirft perfon, deli the marginal inverted 
 commas 
 

 / '? 
 
 «:■ ■ :i$M^ 
 
 " 111- y'