World History: Book 2Lesson 4Handout 8 (page 1)

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Sir Thomas More and Utopia; Machiavelli and The PrinceHow Can Justice and the Good Life Be Achieved in Human Society?

Thomas More (1478-1535) was not the first to ponder the abovequestion. Centuries before. Plato had wrestled with that quandary inThe Republic. and many of the ideas and some ofthe philosophy of TIleRepublic can be seen in More's work.

Utopia was actually twobooks. Book one was a vigorous critique ofearly Tudor society in Great Britain: book two was an account of amythical island. utopia. which means "no such place.-

In this "what if' book. More seemed to be suggesting that if agovernment wereperfect. and its citizenry were perfect. this is what theywould be like. SirThomas Moremay have indeed asked himself: If therewas a place where human reason alone ordered affairs for the generalgood. what would it be like? His answer was Utopia. The word over thecenturies has come to suggest the perfect. the unattainable.

Utopia asks a crucial question: What are the basic principles uponwhich a good society is organized? It presents a vision of a nation atpeace with itself and its neighbors. Within this land. allworked freely forthe welfare of everyone. and each had access to the wealth they allcreated. There was no slavery. no oppression of the weak by the strong.There was no ruthless power based on an intolerable concentration ofwealth in a few hands.

While this may. in modem times. suggest communism. the actualdrivingforcebehind More'screation oflhe island paradise was his beliefin true Christian ideals and practices. Morelooked at his British societyand saw material well-being. desire for personal property. social classesand inequity. He saw the very rich growing constantly richer. payingonly lip service to Christian ideals of love and spiritual well-being. Hesaw the very poor in etemal bondage because of their economicdeprivation.

Morewrote Utopia because he wanted government and the Churchto reestablish those lost principles of Christian faith .

.,..A devoted family man anti devout Catholic. More was the first

layman to be named LordChancellor ofEngland. Ironically. he grew upin Londonwithin viewofthe famous Tower. It is not likelyhe could haveimagined the sequence ofevents which would one day take him to thatdark place where he would mount the steps to the scaffold. andmartyrdom.

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WorldHistory:Book2LesSon 4Handout 8 (page2)

Lambeth where he continued his Jormaltraining. From there he wenltoOxford to study law. While still a young lawyer. he married and begana term as a burgess in ParliamenLthe last Parliament in the reign ofHenry VlI.

Henry VIIdied in April. 1509 and his son. Henry VIll. was crownedon June 24. He was the first son to foUowa father on the throne ofEngland in si."1.yyears. Morewrote congratulatory verses in Latin to thenew monarch. for he regarded the young king as the herald of a new eraofpeace and learning. In the years that followed.Morebecame respectedand well known in his law career and gained fame as a writer as well.When the king (hoping to have a separation of Church and state byappointing a nonclergyman to the position) asked him to become LordChancellor. More at first refused. and then accepted the position.

This decision cost him his life. Eventually. the confrontation withHenry VIII on divorce and remarriage. which violated Church laws.could not be resolved. On Church law and fidelity to its principles. Morewould not be moved. After a trial on July 1. 1535. he was charged withtreason and sentenced to death. On July 6. after being admonished bya messenger that the king hoped More would not be Wtoowordy· beforethe execution. the aging statesman was beheaded.

Niccol6Machiavelli (1469-1527). by contrast. was a Florentine whowas active in politics in that Italian city-state. where bloodshed anddestruction were often. part of the political process. Author of severalplays and histories. he achieved universal fame for his manual ofpolitics. TIlePrince.

For more than. a decade. he served as the secretary to the ChanceryofFlorence. where he helped to shape the policies of the government andtraveled as a diplomat to other parts of the world. When the governmenthe served was overthrown. Machiavelli was exiled by the new rulers.

ResenUul. biller. and disillusioned. Machiavelli lived a hermitlikeexistence in the country. where he wrote a dissertation of politicalprocedure that came to be tiUed The Prince.

The small book glorified the qualities of force and slyness. andindeed. sanctioned any activity deemed necessary by a prince tomaintain firm and complete au thority and rule. Remembering the chaosand confusion ofcity-state politics in Italy. Machiavelli believed the onlymeans· of-preventing suchdistSrder was the establishment of a strongand all-powerful government. To keep order and protect the state. thehead ofgovernment should use any available means. and. if necessary.ignore moral values. Treaties could be broken. lies told. opponentsexecuted. and wars fought to keep and expand the ruler's power a~dcontrol.

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