The famous English writer, author of Utopia, Thomas More (More, 1480-1536), born in London around 1480, was the son of a lawyer and himself chose jurisprudence as his profession. But from early youth he fell in love with humanism and devoted himself to it with passion, having met Erasmus of Rotterdam. More was still a young man at that time, and probably the influence of Erasmus contributed to the development of his natural inclination towards a satirical tone. They remained friends for life. While occupying high positions, Thomas More retained modest habits and did not like to put on airs. The author of "Utopia" was a cheerful, friendly person; His personal needs were very limited, but he was very hospitable and generous. He loved music very much; his conversation was humorous; in all troubles he maintained a bright calm of soul and retained it even after being sentenced to death. He laughed at the “darkness” of the monks, but remained faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, observed its rituals, fasted, castigated himself, lived for four years in the London Carthusian monastery and for quite a long time thought about entering the Carthusian Order.
Like many others in that era of struggle between opposing ideological and religious systems, More did not develop a consistent way of thinking for himself and sought support in principles that did not correspond to his character. Under King Henry VIII, who loved to talk to smart people, patronized science and earned the flattering praise of English and foreign humanists, Thomas More quickly rose to a very high position in the state. The king sent him as an ambassador to other sovereigns; he became State Treasurer, Speaker (President) of the House of Commons and finally Lord Chancellor. In addition to Utopia, More also wrote theological treatises, attacked Luther, and defended Catholicism against Protestantism. He considered the adherents of the Reformation that began before his eyes to be enemies of the law and royal power, and therefore persecuted them. The case about Henry's divorceVIII with his first wife ruined Thomas More: he refused to take an oath to recognize the king as the head of the church and was sentenced to death by Henry. Calmly, with a cheerful joke, he laid his head on the block on July 6, 1536.
Thomas More wrote epigrams, poems on holidays, polemical works, wrote history RichardIII in English and translated it into Latin himself. But his most famous work is the short story “On the Best Social Order and the New Island of Utopia,” a political novel written partly under the influence of Plato’s “Republic.” The word “Utopia” (from the Greek u-topos) means “land that is nowhere,” a fantastic country. But in those days of the voyages of Columbus and Magellan and other amazing geographical discoveries, many believed that Utopia represented a description of actual life on some newly discovered island. The description of this ideal life was very much liked by the “enlightened” people of that time, inclined towards humanism, who were aware of the shortcomings of reality. Thomas More's Utopia was published in 1516. Let us briefly recap its contents.
The navigator Hythloday discovered the island of Utopia in a distant part of the ocean, about which Europeans knew nothing. There people live completely differently than in Europe, where states are organized in the interests of the rich class, where thieves are hanged but maintain a state of society that inevitably creates thieves, where many parasites surround powerful people, where troops are kept and huge amounts of land are in owned by a few. On the island of Utopia there is a completely different structure, fair and happy. It has a democratic basis; All rulers are elected by the people, some for a year, others, such as the sovereign, for life. There is no private property on Mora's Utopia. Labor and pleasure are evenly distributed. The main occupation of the residents is agriculture, in addition, everyone learns some kind of craft. The Government ensures that everyone works: there are no parasites there; work time and rest time are determined by law. Only those who devote themselves to science and successfully engage in it are exempt from physical work; Of these, spiritual dignitaries, supreme rulers and the sovereign are elected on Utopia.
Map of the imaginary island of Utopia, artist A. Ortelius, c. 1595
All products of labor constitute public property. Those useless things that are highly valued in Europe are neglected there. Residents of Utopia take up arms only for their own defense or for the liberation of enslaved peoples. Their laws are simple and have a very small scope. For serious crimes, the perpetrator is punished by slavery.
The basis of morality is the conformity of life with nature and reason. In religious matters, complete tolerance reigns. According to More, the inhabitants of Utopia consider only three basic dogmas necessary: faith in God and Providence, in the immortality of the soul, in retribution for good and bad in the afterlife. The clergy is obliged to abstain in public worship from anything that may restrict freedom of conscience. Recognizing God, who is called Mithras, the inhabitants of Utopia do not make any images of him, and public prayers speak of him in such broad terms that everyone can understand them according to his conviction. No coercion is allowed in the matter of religion. The number of holidays is very small. Each holiday is preceded by reconciliation between relatives. Many of the inhabitants of Utopia worship the sun, moon, stars; many pay religious honors to the memory of heroes (great people who provided great services to humanity); Christianity is also very widespread. When one day a certain fanatic began to say that all non-Christians were condemned to eternal torment in hell, he was expelled as the instigator of enmity between people.
Priests on Utopia adhere to different religions, each performing rituals according to their own faith. The number of priests is very small. They are chosen from people of the purest morality; they teach children, help adults with their advice, excommunicate the wicked from religious society; People are very afraid of this punishment, because the clergy is highly respected. The priests serve as an example to the people of good family life, because they are all married, they marry girls of the best morals. They do not have any legal power; they act on the people only by persuasion. They lead a working life, share all their work with the people, and participate in war.
Name: Thomas More
Age: 57 years old
Activity: lawyer, philosopher, humanist writer
Family status: was married
Thomas More: biography
Thomas More is a famous humanist writer, philosopher and lawyer from England, who also served as Lord Chancellor of the country. Thomas More is best known for his work called Utopia. In this book, using a fictional island as an example, he outlined his vision of an ideal socio-political system.
The philosopher was also an active public figure: the era of the Reformation was alien to him, and he created obstacles to the spread of the Protestant faith to English lands. Refusing to recognize Henry VIII's status as head of the English Church, he was executed under the Act of Treason. In the 20th century, Thomas More was canonized as a Catholic saint.
Childhood and youth
The biography of Thomas More begins in the family of the London judge of the High Court of Justice, Sir John More. Thomas was born on February 7, 1478. His father was known for integrity, honesty and high moral principles, which largely determined his son's worldview. The son of the famous judge received his first education at St. Anthony's Grammar School.
At the age of thirteen, More the Younger received the position of page under Cardinal John Morton, who for some time served as Lord Chancellor of England. Morton liked the cheerful, witty and inquisitive young man. The cardinal said that Thomas would certainly “become a marvelous man.”
At sixteen, More entered Oxford University. His teachers were the greatest British lawyers of the late 15th century: William Grosin and Thomas Linacre. Studying was relatively easy for the young man, although already at that time he began to be attracted not so much by the dry formulations of laws as by the works of the humanists of that time. So, for example, Thomas independently translated into English the biography and work “The Twelve Swords” by the Italian humanist Pico della Mirandola.
Two years after entering Oxford, More Jr., at the direction of his father, returned to London in order to improve his knowledge of English law. Thomas was a capable student and, with the help of experienced lawyers of the time, learned all the pitfalls of English law and became a brilliant lawyer. At the same time, he was interested in philosophy, studied the works of ancient classics (especially Lucian and), improved Latin and Greek and continued to write his own works, some of which were begun while studying at Oxford.
Thomas More’s “guide” to the world of humanists was Erasmus of Rotterdam, whom the lawyer met at a gala reception with the Lord Mayor. Thanks to his friendship with Rotterdamsky, the aspiring philosopher entered the circle of humanists of his time, as well as the circle of Erasmus. While visiting the house of Thomas More, Rotterdamsky created the satire “In Praise of Folly.”
Presumably, the young lawyer spent the period from 1500 to 1504 in the London Carthusian monastery. However, he did not want to completely devote his life to serving God and remained in the world. However, from then on, Thomas More did not abandon the habits acquired during his life in the monastery: he got up early, prayed a lot, did not forget a single fast, practiced self-flagellation and wore a hair shirt. This was combined with a desire to serve and help the country.
Policy
In the early 1500s, Thomas More taught law while practicing law, and in 1504 he became a Member of Parliament for the merchants of London. While working in Parliament, he more than once allowed himself to openly speak out against the tax arbitrariness that King Henry VII inflicted on the people of England. Because of this, the lawyer fell out of favor in the highest echelons of power and was forced to abandon his political career for some time, returning exclusively to legal work.
Simultaneously with the conduct of judicial affairs, at this time Thomas increasingly confidently tried his hand at literature. When in 1510 the new ruler of England, Henry VIII, convened a new Parliament, the writer and lawyer again found a place in the country's highest legislative body. At the same time, More received the position of assistant sheriff of London, and five years later (in 1515) he became a member of the English embassy delegation sent to Flanders for negotiations.
Then Thomas began working on his “Utopia”:
- The author wrote the first book of this work in Flanders and completed it soon after returning home.
- The second book, the main content of which is a story about a fictitious island in the ocean, which was allegedly recently discovered by researchers, More mainly wrote earlier, and upon completion of the first part of the work he only slightly corrected and systematized the material.
- The third book was published in 1518 and included, in addition to previously written material, the author’s “Epigrams” - an extensive collection of his poetic works, written in the genre of poems, verses and epigrams themselves.
“Utopia” was intended for enlightened monarchs and humanistic scientists. She had a great influence on the development of the utopian ideology and mentioned the abolition of private property, equality of consumption, socialized production, etc. At the same time as writing this work, Thomas More was working on another book, “The History of Richard III.”
The country of Utopia, described by Thomas More King Henry VIII highly appreciated the gifted lawyer's Utopia and in 1517 decided to appoint him as his personal adviser. So the famous utopian joined the Royal Council, received the status of royal secretary and the opportunity to work on diplomatic assignments. In 1521, he began to sit in the highest English judicial institution - the Star Chamber.
At the same time he received a knighthood, land grants and became assistant treasurer. Despite his successful political career, he remained a modest and honest man, whose desire for justice was known throughout England. In 1529, King Henry VIII granted the loyal adviser the highest government post - the position of Lord Chancellor. Thomas More became the first person from the bourgeoisie who managed to occupy this post.
Works
The greatest value among the works of Thomas More is the work “Utopia”, which includes two books.
The first part of the work is a literary and political pamphlet (a work of an artistic and journalistic nature). In it, the author expresses his views on how imperfect the social and political system is. More criticizes the death penalty, ironically ridicules the debauchery and parasitism of the clergy, firmly opposes the fencing of communal people, and expresses disagreement with the “bloody” laws on workers. In the same part, Thomas also proposes a program of reforms designed to correct the situation.
The second part presents More's humanistic teachings. The main ideas of this doctrine boil down to the following: the head of state should be a “wise monarch”, private property and exploitation should be replaced by socialized production, labor is obligatory for everyone and should not be exhausting, money can only be used for trade with other countries (monopoly on which belongs to the state leadership), the distribution of products should be carried out according to needs. More's philosophy assumed complete democracy and equality, despite the presence of a king.
“Utopia” became the basis for the subsequent development of utopian teachings. In particular, she played a significant role in the development of the humanistic position of such a famous philosopher as Tommaso Campanella. Another significant work of Thomas More was “The History of Richard III,” the credibility of which is still debated: some researchers consider the book to be a historical work, while others consider it more of a work of fiction. The utopian also wrote many translations and poetic works.
Personal life
Even before the Renaissance was enriched with the famous work of Thomas More and before he began to occupy high positions in the state, the humanist married seventeen-year-old Jane Colt from Essex. This happened in 1505. She was a quiet and kind girl and soon bore her husband four children: a son, John, and daughters, Cecile, Elizabeth and Margaret.
In 1511, Jane died due to fever. Thomas More, not wanting to leave his children without a mother, soon married a wealthy widow, Alice Middleton, with whom he lived happily until his death. She also had a child from her first marriage.
Death
For Thomas More, quotes from his works were not just artistic fiction - he deeply believed in all the provisions of his teaching and remained a religious person. Therefore, when Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife, More insisted that only the Pope could do this. The role of the latter at that time was played by Clement VII, and he was against the divorce process.
As a result, Henry VIII severed ties with Rome and set out to create the Anglican Church in his native country. Soon the king's new wife was crowned. All this caused such indignation in Thomas More that he not only resigned as Lord Chancellor, but also helped the nun Elizabeth Barton publicly condemn the king's behavior.
Soon Parliament passed the "Act of Succession": all English knights had to take an oath recognizing the children of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn as legitimate and refusing to recognize any authority over England except that of the representatives of the Tudor dynasty. Thomas More refused to take the oath and was imprisoned in the Tower. In 1535 he was executed for high treason.
In 1935 he was canonized as a Catholic saint.
The word "Utopia" means "Nowhere" - a place that does not exist. After More's book, this word became a household word, denoting something unrealizable, a society whose existence in reality is impossible.
Thomas More (1478-1535), the son of a famous London judge, was educated at Oxford; his enormous abilities allowed him to deeply master all ancient and contemporary humanistic thought, as well as the Holy Scriptures. Contemporaries noted that in addition to his brilliant mind, wit and education, More was distinguished by rare mercy and goodwill. More wanted to become a monk, but the desire to serve the country overpowered him, and already in 1504 he was elected to parliament. However, his speech regarding the reduction of taxes to the royal treasury caused a negative reaction from King Henry VII, and More had to leave politics - he returned to political activity in 1509 under Henry VIII, and quickly made a career. In 1518 he was a member of the Privy Council, in 1521 he was knighted (prefix “sir”), then Speaker of the House of Commons, and finally in 1529 - Lord Chancellor (resigns in 32).
However, life is wrong. King Henry VIII planned to divorce his wife (Catherine of Aragon) and marry Anne Boleyn. Dad was against this. And then Henry decided to break with Rome and create a new faith - the Anglican. More was always faithful to Catholicism and therefore objected. He refused to take the oath to the king and the new heir Elizabeth (this oath included a formula for renouncing papal authority), for which he was imprisoned in the Tower and then executed by beheading. They say that his last words were addressed to the executioner: “My neck is short, aim well so as not to disgrace yourself.” And already placing his head on the block, he added: “Wait a little, let me remove the beard, because she never committed treason.”
In the first part, More talks with Raphael Hythloday, an educated sailor who judges modern life. It is Hydloday (and not More from the book) who expresses the cherished thoughts of More the Thinker. Thus, speaking sharply against the enclosure, Gidloday recounts his conversation with the cardinal about the reason for the widespread theft:
"Which one is it?" - asked the cardinal.
“Your sheep,” I answer, “usually so meek, content with very little, now, they say, have become so voracious and indomitable that they even eat people, ruin and devastate fields, houses and cities.”
This means that the process of fencing land for pastures led to the pauperization of peasants and the formation of a huge number of beggars. Hence the theft.
The conversation gradually turns to the problem of property.
“However, friend More, if I tell you my opinion honestly, in my opinion, wherever there is private property, where everything is measured by money, a correct and successful course of state affairs is hardly ever possible; otherwise we will have to consider it right that all the best goes to the worst, or fortunate that everything is shared by very few, and even they do not receive enough, while the rest are decidedly poor.” So says Gidloday. And then he continues:
“...I am firmly convinced that the distribution of funds in an even and just manner and well-being in the course of human affairs are possible only with the complete abolition of private property. But as long as everyone has personal property, there is absolutely no hope for recovery and return of the body to good condition.
“But it seems to me on the contrary,” I object, “you can never live richly where everything is common.” How can there be an abundance of products if everyone avoids work, since he is not forced to do it by calculation of personal profit, and, on the other hand, firm hope in the work of others makes it possible to be lazy? And when people are incited by a lack of food and no law can protect what everyone has acquired as personal property, will not people then necessarily suffer from constant bloodshed and disorder?
Hythloday answers:
“Now, if you had stayed with me in Utopia and looked at their morals and laws yourself, as I did, who lived there for five years and would never have left there if I had not been guided by the desire to tell about this new world, you would I fully admitted that nowhere else have you seen a people with a more regular structure than there.
Friend Raphael, I say, I earnestly ask you to describe this island to us; do not try to be brief, but tell us in order about its lands, rivers, cities, inhabitants, their customs, institutions, laws and, finally, about everything with which you consider it desirable to acquaint us with, and you must admit that we want to know everything , what we don’t yet know.”
And More moves on to the second part of his book - a description of life in Utopia.
The State of Utopia is a confederation of 54 cities. Political structure in one city (using the example of the capital - Amaurot):
The ruler of the city is the Prince (elected for life by the assembly of syphogrants).
Senate: 20 tranibors (elected by the siphogrants).
A meeting of 200 siphogrants (each siphogrant is a representative of 30 families). The Tranibors and the prince are chosen from among the scholars.
Families - 6,000, and each family is actually a kind of household or team, in which there are from 10 to 16 adults (of different generations), not counting children.
Thus, complete equality of everyone and the election of all officials is assumed. Unfortunately, Mora still remains unclear how the country’s central government is formed.
In Utopia there is public property, there is no money or trade, everyone gets everything from warehouses set up in the houses of the Syphogrants. Meals are also shared - and the order of women for cooking is established.
Everyone works (except senior officials and scientists). Work in the village is organized on a rotational basis: you have to work for 2 years. In total they work 6 hours a day, the rest of the time is for self-improvement. However, this turns out to be enough for abundance.
Gold is the most useless metal in Utopia. It is used to make chamber pots and chains for slaves. Slaves are captured either as a result of a serious crime or as prisoners of war.
The institution of marriage is sacred: divorce - only with the permission of the Senate and their wives and with mutual consent - if the character is not suitable. The penalty for adultery is slavery.
Utopians do not like war. However, they consider it a completely acceptable reason for war if another people leaves their lands neglected - then Utopia appropriates them for itself. The Utopians greatly value the lives of their citizens, and therefore, in the event of war, they first of all try to sow discord and mutual suspicion in the enemy’s camp. If this fails, then they recruit mercenary military forces from the surrounding peoples. If this does not lead to victory, then well-trained troops of Utopians enter the battle, for the training of which daily military exercises have been introduced in Utopia.
It is interesting that in Utopia there is religious tolerance. The exceptions are those who do not believe in the immortality of the soul (i.e., atheists), that hell is supposed to be for evil, heaven for virtue, because, as More notes, such non-believers cannot be stopped by laws, and they will be guided by personal passions. Therefore, they are deprived of citizenship. The majority professes a monistic religion: faith “in some single deity, unknown, eternal, immeasurable, inexplicable, exceeding the understanding of human reason, widespread throughout this world not by its bulk, but by power: they call him father. To him alone they attribute the beginnings, increases, advancements, changes and ends of all things; to him alone, and to no one else, they give divine honors.” The Utopians did not know Christianity, and only Hydlotey’s companions brought it with them. Such an attitude towards a religious issue seems rather strange for a Catholic saint (More was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1935).
“Utopia” is not a utopia at all, but a very real plan for a socialist society. And therefore, of course, her ideas were not included in Catholic social doctrine. It is characteristic that in the documents for More’s canonization “Utopia” is not even mentioned. And yet this book was the first, albeit purely speculative, attempt by European culture to avoid the coming capitalism and take a different, opposite path.
Nikolay Somin
1. Introduction. 2. The era of Thomas More. 3. Biography. 4. Creativity. 5. Mor-humanist and “Utopia”.
5.1. Religious and ethical concept of “Utopia”.
5.2. Social system of "Utopia". 6. Conclusion.
1. Introduction.
Utopian socialism as a great achievement of social thought, which was one of the most important sources of scientific communism, owes the birth of many ideas to Thomas More. Written by More in 1516. “A very useful, as well as entertaining, truly golden book about the best structure of the state and about the new island of Utopia,” or “Utopia” for short, gave the name to pre-Marxist socialism. In his works, More proposed democratic principles for the organization of state power that were completely new for his era, posed and solved legal problems from a humanistic position. Formed during the period of formation of the capitalist formation, the emergence of early capitalist relations, More's views have not lost their historical significance. His project of an ideal state still causes sharp clashes of opinions between scientists from different countries. The life and work of T. More, a scientist, poet, lawyer and statesman, attracts the attention of many researchers.
2. The era of Thomas More.
End of the 15th century marked the advent of a new time. The economic development trends of this period determined the beginning of the process of primitive accumulation of capital. In England and other most developed countries of Europe, new social relations are emerging - capitalist, new classes are emerging, nations are emerging, the centralization of state power is increasing, which prepares the transformation of class-representative monarchies into absolutist ones. New trends in ideology manifest themselves with particular force, which becomes the first arena where the battle flares up against feudalism, the spiritual enslavement of man by the Catholic Church, against scholasticism and superstition.
In Italy already in the 14th-15th centuries, and in other European countries from the late 15th to early 16th centuries, the Renaissance began - a movement unfolded under the banner of the “renaissance” of ancient culture. Around the same time, the ideological movements of humanism and church reformation appeared. Each of them had its own form of manifestation and range of socio-political ideas.
The overwhelming majority of humanists of the era of T. More were people of moderately progressive views. They called for the development of education, the eradication of extortion and ignorance in the state apparatus, the mitigation of cruelty in laws and morals, but nothing more. However, more radical teachings also arose in the depths of humanism. The author of one of them was T. More, an outstanding English humanist of the 16th century. His political and legal views not only reflected the emergence of new social and political relations, but, above all, revealed their inherent internal contradictions.
In England at that time, the initial accumulation of capital on an unprecedented scale caused the ruin of small commodity producers - both artisans and peasants. Peasants-copyholders suffered especially hard - people who were personally free, but who owned their land temporarily, according to “copies” - medieval documents, the extension of which after a set period depended entirely on the landlord - the feudal owner of the land.
In connection with the development of the English cloth industry, the need for raw materials for it increased sharply, which led to the rapid growth of sheep breeding in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The country was undergoing a massive conversion of arable land belonging to large landowners into pastures. Landlords sharply expanded the practice of so-called “fencing” - the seizure and fencing of communal lands, which included the original peasant plots. Such a huge number of peasants were ruined and driven from their lands that even the rapidly developing industry could not provide them with employment.
At the same time, the English state established the so-called vagrancy laws, which were called “bloody legislation” in history.
The bourgeoisie, from the moment of its emergence, was burdened with its own opposite; with every major bourgeois movement, independent movements broke out of that class, which was the more or less developed predecessor of the modern proletariat. These included the movements of T. Munzer and the Anabaptists during the Reformation and the peasant war in Germany in the beginning. 16th century, G.Babeuf - during the years of the French bourgeois revolution of the late 18th century.
The doctrine of T. More about the ideal state arose in an era when the contradictions of bourgeois social relations were already beginning to take their toll, despite the preservation of the foundations of feudalism, but the question of the correct structure of society could not yet be resolved due to the absence of capitalist production and the industrial proletariat generated by it.
3. Biography.
Thomas More was born in London on February 7, 1478. The parents, grandfathers and great-grandfathers of the great English thinker belonged to wealthy London citizens, from among whom members of city governments and representatives of English cities in the House of Commons of Parliament were usually elected.
Thomas More's maternal grandfather in 1503. was elected to the post of Sheriff of London, his service in another matter was associated with the legal corporation, Lincoln Sinn, in which Thomas's father, John More, also serves.
The life of the City of London and the field of law were familiar to Thomas Tom from a young age. His own activities also unfolded in them, providing him with rich material for observations and conclusions.
Thomas was the second of John More's six children, but the eldest son, and his father intended him for a legal career. Thomas received his general education at one of the best London secondary classical schools at that time, located at the monastery of St. Anthony.
After school, according to the customs of his environment, young Thomas served as a page in the house of Archbishop (later Cardinal) Morton and, on his advice, was sent to Oxford University, where he studied for less than two years, since his father was not inclined to turn his son into a scientist.
Since 1494 T. More's studies begin in the London Inns, first in the New Inn, and then in Lincoln Sinn. In 1502 he receives the title of Queen's Counsel.
He masters the best achievements of previous and contemporary philosophical, political, historical, and legal thought, and becomes an expert in antiquity. T. More explores the socio-political orders of many countries and peoples, deeply studies the political history of England, and shows interest in theological literature, where the main things for him are the works of the fathers of the Christian church. In them he tries to find rational meaning and positive social significance.
In the last years of his stay in Lincoln University and at the beginning of his legal practice, T. More established close friendly relations with the outstanding Dutch humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam, the English humanists W. Grotsin, T. Linacre, D. Colet.
The process of the formation of T. More's worldview is difficult to trace due to the lack of necessary historical documents. He showed a critical attitude towards the world around him already at the age of 25-26, when he wrote his first works, epigrams, and political poems.
T. More's political activity began in 1504, when he was elected to the House of Commons of Parliament.
In 1510 T. More was elected to the House of Commons for the second time and was soon appointed one of the assistant sheriffs of London, becoming a civil judge. He remained in this post for about 7 years, gaining fame as a fair and humane judge.
By the time of the creation of Utopia, T. More had achieved a level of success that was significant for his environment. There seemed to be nothing connecting him with the lower strata of society. And yet, such a connection existed. He showed deep sympathy for the working people and the oppressed. This sympathy, on the one hand, and deep insight into the essence of social and political relations for that time, on the other, were the main reasons that led T. More to the views on the need to restructure society, state power, and change laws.
"Utopia" was written by More in 1515-1516. He started it during a trip to Flanders as part of the embassy appointed by King Henry 8 to resolve conflicts that arose between England and the Netherlands regarding mutual trade in wool and cloth.
The circumstances surrounding the creation of Utopia are little known. According to Erasmus of Rotterdam, T. More first wrote its second part, and then the first. At the same time, he worked on his other work - the chronicle “The Story of Richard 3”.
Soon after traveling to Flanders and Calais, where he participated in negotiations with French merchants, More received and accepted the invitation of King Henry 8 to enter his public service.
When Henry 8 ascended the throne, More dedicated to him the poem “On the Day of the Coronation of Henry 8, the Most Glorious and Happiest King of Britain,” where he sharply criticized “power without borders,” “violation of laws,” general oppression, slander and ignorance that existed under Henry 7, and expressed hope for fundamental changes that, in his opinion, should have occurred in the policy of the new king. The literature about T. More emphasizes that he had a heightened sense of civic duty, which, in all likelihood, led him to royal service. It is also not accidental, apparently, that, having become one of the members of the Royal Council, T. More joined the commission that considered all petitions received in the royal name and recommended that the king make one decision or another.
The subsequent life of T. More had two different periods. Initially, the king showed clear favor towards him. T. More received the rights of a knight, he was appointed assistant treasurer, in 1523. elected Speaker of the House of Commons. In 1529 Henry 8, on the recommendation of the Royal Council, makes More Lord Chancellor, that is, his Prime Minister.
Since 1532 Another, tragic period begins in the life of the thinker. The change in his fate was closely connected with More's negative attitude towards the sudden turn in the king's church policy, which was carried out in 1532-1534. a reform as a result of which the former Catholic Church in England was placed under the authority of the king, and the king himself, on the contrary, was freed from any power of the Pope.
The reform, despite its motives, was of a relatively progressive nature, promoting the development of the national sovereignty of the English state, but More could not understand this.
At the very beginning of the church reform, T. More resigned from his duties as Lord Chancellor. Then Henry 8 waged a persistent and methodical struggle against the former “favorite”.
The first of the accusations against T. More of “high treason” - for communication with a certain “soothsayer” of the king’s death - was a simple slander and failed. The second - for refusing to swear allegiance to new royal acts - led to the imprisonment of T. More in the Tower.
Despite the persuasion of his relatives, his congenial wife and eldest daughter, T. More did not agree to recognize the reform of the royal act, which denied the supremacy of the Pope.
At the beginning of his imprisonment, this threatened to condemn him not for “high treason,” but for treasonous intent, which could not entail the death penalty. But Henry 8 passed through parliament a number of other acts, according to which everyone was obliged to swear allegiance to the king and recognize all of him, including new titles. Denying even one title of king was equivalent to high treason. The Court of the King's Bench, whose commission was selected by Henry 8 himself, handed down a severe sentence to T. More to a painful execution. “By the grace of the king” it was replaced by cutting off the head.
Thomas More's death left behind a large literary legacy, only partially published during his lifetime. In addition to the works mentioned above, it includes extensive correspondence, poems, epigrams, original translations, the autobiographical work “Apology”, “Dialogue on Oppression against Adversity” written in the Tower, etc. Not all of T. More’s works have been fully studied. The true pearl of everything written by T. More remains his “Utopia”. She made his name immortal.
4. Creativity.
The literary work of Thomas More is distinguished not only by its richness, but also by its variety of genres. More's personal fate, like all his work, was closely connected with the turbulent and complex era of humanistic quests and the acute socio-political struggle of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.
Being at the very center of the ideological and political struggle of his time, More, with his characteristic enormous temperament, honesty and sincerity, reflected the hopes and aspirations of the humanistic environment to which he belonged. And in this sense, his poetry and prose represent a bright page in the spiritual life and struggle of an entire generation of European humanists who discovered at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. striking commonality of their intellectual interests and ideological quests. In particular, Latin poetry, “The History of Richard 3” and especially More’s “Utopia” perfectly convey the spiritual atmosphere, with its clearly defined range of ideas, that was characteristic of the humanistic circle of Colet, More, and Erasmus on the eve of the Reformation.
If More's later religious treatises are, in a certain sense, the result of the development of the humanistic concept of the Reformation era, or rather, they reveal its transformation into its opposite, then everything written by More on the eve of the Reformation reflected optimistic dreams of a just reorganization of society on a reasonable basis, with the assistance of wise rulers and through church reform.
Among More's works of the pre-Reformation period, an important place belongs to his poetry. More's poetic work, including more than 250 Latin poems, epigrams and a poem for the coronation of Henry 8, falls on a brilliant period in the history of English humanism and at the same time the happiest time in the life of More himself.
Political themes occupy a prominent place in More's poetry. Speaking about the political motives of More's poetry, we should, first of all, highlight the problem of the best political structure of society, which is closely related to the problems of “Utopia” and worried the minds of many humanists in Europe at that time. Interpretation by humanists of the 16th century. one way or another, was associated with the ideal of a perfect sovereign. What should a perfect sovereign be like, capable of ensuring public welfare? To be a servant of the people, upholding laws and protecting peace.
The traditions of ancient love of freedom and hatred of various forms of tyranny, preached in the works of Erasmus and More, in the conditions of feudal Europe of the 16th century. had a deeply progressive significance, contributing to the development of the political ideology of the emerging bourgeoisie.
Condemning political tyranny and contrasting it with his ideal of a sovereign, More resolutely rejected the idea of the allegedly divine origin of the king's power and developed the idea of the origin of royal power from the people. On this basis, More considered it not only possible, but also necessary to raise the question of the responsibility of the sovereign to the people, arguing that “the people, by their will, give power and take it away.”
Thomas More, like his humanist friends, sincerely believed in the possibility of realizing the ideal of an enlightened monarchy. For More, the good will of an enlightened monarch, under the conditions of that time, seemed to be the most acceptable and most realistic means of implementing a reasonable reorganization of society on the basis of humanistic principles.
More's Latin poetry also reflected the mood of the pre-Reformation era. It is known how important the issue of church reform occupied in the humanistic concept of a perfect society. Following his mentors and friends John Colet and Erasmus, who dreamed of church reform and a reasonable reorganization of society in the spirit of the ideals of early Christianity, More in his epigrams wittily ridiculed the vices of the Catholic clergy. He castigated their luxury and money-grubbing.
Paying tribute to the deeply progressive ideological struggle of More and Erasmus against church obscurantism, superstitions and vices of the Catholic clergy, one should still not lose sight of the fact that, despite the severity and uncompromisingness, their criticism was based on a positive program of reforms, the goal of which was not in the overthrow of Catholicism, and in the cleansing of the church from the vicious clergy, and theology from scholastic dogmatism. Dreaming of restoring the “true” teaching of Christ by returning to the ideals of early Christianity, More, Erasmus and their like-minded people hoped to renew and strengthen the Catholic Church, making it the support of a just reconstruction of the entire society. This project reflected not only the specifics of the social environment from which the humanists were born, but also the historical originality of the spiritual life of the era.
5. Mor-humanist and “Utopia”.
Knowing well the social and moral life of his homeland, the English humanist, Thomas More, was imbued with sympathy for the misfortunes of its people. These sentiments of his were reflected in the famous work with a long title in the spirit of that time - “A very useful, as well as entertaining, truly golden book about the best structure of the state and about the new island of Utopia...”. It was published with the close participation of Erasmus of Rotterdam, a close friend, who dedicated his “Praise of Folly,” completed in More’s house, to him in 1616 and immediately gained great popularity in humanistic circles.
The humanistic worldview of the author of "Utopia" led him to conclusions of great social relevance and significance, especially in the first part of this work. The author's insight was by no means limited to stating the terrible picture of social disasters, emphasizing at the very end of his work that upon careful observation of the life of not only England, but also “all states,” they represent “nothing but some kind of conspiracy of the rich, under the pretext and under in the name of the state, thinking about their own benefits."
Already these deep observations suggested to More the main direction of projects and dreams in the second part of Utopia. Numerous researchers of this work have noted not only direct, but also indirect references to the texts and ideas of the Bible (primarily the Gospels), especially ancient and early Christian authors. Of all the works that had the greatest impact on More, Plato's "Republic" stands out. Many humanists, starting with Erasmus, saw in Utopia a long-awaited rival to this greatest creation of political thought, a work that had existed by that time for almost two millennia.
If not the most characteristic, defining feature of the socio-philosophical doctrine underlying “Utopia” is the anti-individualistic interpretation of social life, conceivable in an ideal state. Consistent anti-individualism necessarily requires the abolition of private property. Maximum equality in the size of property and the accompanying equalization in consumption was a frequent demand of popular opposition movements in the Middle Ages, which usually received religious justification. Elements of it are also present in More as an active supporter of “Christian humanism”, who appealed to primitive Christianity with its ideals of universal equality.
5.1. Religious and ethical concept of "Utopia"
The desire inherent in the humanists of the Erasmus circle, to which T. More belonged, to combine the ideological heritage of pagan ancient literature with the teachings of Christ, Greek philosophers and the New Testament gave rise to a number of modern researchers, both in our country and abroad, to call the thinkers of this circle “Christian” humanists", and this movement - "Christian humanism".
The most significant point in the so-called “Christian humanism” was the rationalistic criterion in the interpretation of socio-religious issues, which at that time constituted the strongest and most promising side in the development of humanism as a form of bourgeois enlightenment, clearing the way for a new anti-feudal worldview of the future bourgeois society.
It was in line with these humanistic quests, which creatively synthesized the ideological heritage of antiquity and the Middle Ages and boldly rationalistically compared political and ethnic theories with the social development of that era, that More’s “Utopia” emerged, which reflected and originally comprehended the full depth of socio-political conflicts of the era of the decomposition of feudalism and primitive accumulation capital. To understand the humanistic concept of both More himself and those around him, it is very important, along with the socio-political problems of Utopia, to also explore its aesthetic and religious aspects. This task has become especially relevant in modern conditions, when historiography, based on a very tendentious interpretation of “Utopia,” is trying to reduce all its ideological content to Christian ethics. Thus, the originality of “Utopia” is emasculated, its significance as an outstanding work of social thought, which expressed not only the urgent needs of its time, but was also far ahead of its time in a bold attempt to design a perfect social system that would put an end to the existence of classes and estates, is denied.
Turning to the analysis of the ethical aspect of "Utopia", it is easy to notice that the main thing in Utopian ethics is the problem of happiness. The Utopians believed that “for people, all happiness, or its most important share,” lies in pleasure and enjoyment.
However, according to the ethics of the Utopians, human happiness does not lie in all pleasures, but “only in the honest and noble”, based on virtue and ultimately striving for the “highest good”, to which “virtue drives our nature.” By posing and solving these “eternal” problems, More reveals a thorough acquaintance with ancient Greek philosophy, in particular with the writings of Plato and Aristotle. This is evidenced not only by the commonality of the problems and terminology posed, but also by numerous textual coincidences of “Utopia” with Plato’s dialogues “Philebus”, “Republic”, as well as Aristotle’s “Ethics”.
At the same time, we are talking about a deep understanding of the essence of Plato’s ethical philosophy, without distortions and Christian bias, which it would be natural to assume from the Catholic More. First of all, this is revealed when More considers such important categories as pleasure and enjoyment.
Utopian ethics defines the concept of “pleasure” as “every movement and state of body and soul, in which, under the guidance of nature, a person enjoys.” Just as in Plato's dialogue Philebus, Utopia provides a thorough classification of the types and types of pleasures.
Most of all, Utopians value spiritual pleasures, which they consider “first and dominant.” These are the pleasures associated with the exercise of virtue and with the consciousness of a blameless life. Moreover, in the spirit of the teachings of the Stoics, virtue means “a life in accordance with the laws of nature,” to which people are destined by God.” But if nature inspires us to be kind to others, then it does not imply that you should be harsh and unmerciful to yourself; on the contrary, it itself nature prescribes to us a pleasant life, that is, pleasure, as the final goal of all our actions. The author of “Utopia” proceeded from the conviction that asceticism is contrary to human nature. And in this one can see the humanist’s reaction to feudal-Catholic ethics. The exception, according to the ethics of the Utopians, is permissible only when a person voluntarily neglects his own good for the sake of ardent concern for others and for society, “expecting greater pleasure from God in return for his work.”
Otherwise, it is completely stupid to torment yourself without benefit to anyone “because of the empty ghost of virtue.”
It is noteworthy that the perfect ethics of the Utopians was based and argued almost exclusively by the arguments of reason.
The Utopians considered their ethics the most reasonable, primarily because it is useful for society as a whole and for each member of society individually, since the principles of this ethics, from their point of view, most of all corresponded to the very essence of human nature, manifested in man’s desire for luckily. Another criterion that guided the citizens of a perfect state in their ethical philosophy was religion, which postulated the idea of the immortality of the soul, its divine destiny for happiness. The humanity of Utopian ethics was also reinforced by the belief in afterlife reward for good and bad deeds. The Utopians were convinced that people were destined by God himself to a virtuous life, that is, life “in accordance with the laws of nature.” Substantiating the ethics of a perfect state with the help of religion, the author of Utopia proceeded from the false idea of the incompatibility of human morality with atheism, and in this he remained a son of his time. However, something else is important: the religion of the Utopians itself is imbued with the spirit of rationalism and acquires a somewhat utilitarian character, since it illuminates only what is in the interests of the entire society. From religion we take exactly as much as is required to substantiate humanistic ideals, in particular the most reasonable, from More’s point of view, ideals of ethics and politics. Thus, the author of Utopia persistently tries to reconcile religion with public benefit and the arguments of reason. In his unconscious desire to snatch the human mind from religious shackles, providing him with unlimited opportunities for knowledge, he comes to the need to declare everything reasonable pleasing to God. The rationalistic moment in the religion of the Utopians plays such an important role that, in the end, the voice of reason, for example, in such a matter as public benefit, is perceived by the Utopians as the voice of God; and the very process of cognition of the surrounding world acquires divine sanction under the pen of a humanist. And in this sense, the peculiar religion of Utopia anticipates the philosophical deism of the Enlightenment, which served as nothing more than a convenient and easy way to get rid of religion. Glorifying reason and appealing to reason in everything (even when solving religious problems), the religion of Utopia does not raise the question of the personality of God, but recognizes him as the root cause of the world. Such a religion has nothing in common either with Catholicism or with future Protestantism.
It should be emphasized the historical merit of Mora, who at the beginning of the 17th century. boldly proclaimed the idea of complete religious freedom, basing the religious order of a perfect state on the law according to which no person could be persecuted for his religious beliefs. The religions of the Utopians differed from each other not only on their island, but also in each city. True, what was common to the religions of the Utopians was that they necessarily prescribed to all citizens strict adherence to reasonable and useful moral norms for the whole society, as well as established political orders, i.e., instead of what, from the point of view of the Morahumanist, represented a universal human value: philanthropy, a combination of personal interests with the public good, as well as the prevention of religious civil strife. The maintenance of these reasonable moral and political standards, according to More, was best ensured by belief in the immortality of the soul. Otherwise, the citizens of Utopia enjoyed complete freedom of religion. Everyone could propagate their religion “only calmly and judiciously, with the help of arguments,” without resorting to violence and refraining from insulting other religions. The idea of religious tolerance, put forward by More on the eve of the Reformation, long anticipated the principle that was formulated only at the end of the 17th century. The “Edict of Nantes”, not to mention the fact that in resolving the religious issue the author of “Utopia” was much more consistent than the compilers of this document. Unlike modern Moru Europe, there was no religious strife and hatred in Utopia: pagan beliefs and Christianity coexisted equally there. The striking contrast that exists between the natural, rationalistic and non-confessional humanistic religion of Utopia, with its wide tolerance and respect for the religious beliefs of other peoples, and the official Catholicism of the times of the Reformation, religious wars and popular heretical movements is obvious. However, More himself, who created his “Utopia” during the period of humanistic searches for ways to reform the church, apparently did not consider the religious concept of “Utopia” to be contrary to the teachings of Christ and the Christian religion. Moreover, some features of the religious concept of the Utopians were so attractive to More that he would probably be glad if Catholicism, simplified and purified of scholasticism as a result of the reform, borrowed them for the benefit of all Christianity.
THOMAS MORE: Utopia
The author of the fantastic (there is no other way to call it) treatise, which gave its name to a whole direction of socio-political thought, was not only an outstanding humanist writer and a “mad dreamer”, but, in addition, also a famous public figure of his time. Lord Chancellor at the court of Henry VIII, he ended his life on the chopping block for refusing to recognize the king as the head of the Anglican Church and disagreement with the next marriage of the monarch. The famous novel was written, as they say, in his free time from his main work and immediately brought its author pan-European fame.
Utopia means “a place that does not exist,” “a non-existent place.” Actually, it exists, but only in the imagination of the author and reader. More's task is to outline a model of an ideal state, free from the vices and shortcomings of previously known social structures. The idea is not new More is by no means a pioneer of utopian thought. Before him and after him, there were any number of such projects - both in the West and in the East. But all of them were given an artificial name, invented by an English humanist thinker. This alone makes his name immortal.
The story of a traveler who visited the mysterious island of Utopia begins casually, dispassionately and with the smallest details - as if we are talking about good old England. Many commentators, who were especially concerned about the question of the prototype of the utopian state, were inclined towards such a solution. However, others placed it anywhere, in various corners of the earth.
The island of the Utopians in its middle part, where it is widest, extends for two hundred miles, then over a considerable distance this width decreases slightly, and towards the ends the island gradually narrows on both sides.
If these ends could be traced with a compass, a circle of five hundred miles would be obtained. They give the island the appearance of a new moon. Its horns are separated by a bay approximately eleven miles long. Throughout this vast distance, the water, surrounded on all sides by land, is protected from the winds like a large lake, rather stagnant than stormy, and almost the entire interior of this country serves as a harbor, sending out ships in all directions, to the great benefit of the people.
But the main thing, of course, is different. The main thing is a detailed description of the structure of the Utopian state, based on the principles of justice and equality. There is no inhuman oppression and sweatshop labor system, no sharp division between rich and poor, and gold is generally used to punish certain offenses; those who are guilty must wear heavy gold chains. The cult of the Utopians is a harmoniously developed personality.
“...” Since they are all busy with useful work and only a small amount of labor is enough to complete it, they end up with abundance in everything.
They live amicably among themselves, since not a single official shows arrogance or harbors fear. They are called fathers and behave with dignity. The Utopians give them due honor voluntarily, and it does not have to be demanded by force. "..."
They have very few laws, and for a people with such institutions, very few are enough. They even especially disapprove of other nations because the countless volumes of laws and interpreters on them seem insufficient.
“...” According to the Utopians, no one can be considered an enemy if he has not done us any harm; the bonds of nature replace the contract, and it is better and stronger to unite people mutually by affection, and not by contractual agreements, by the heart, and not by words. "..."
The Utopians strongly abhor war as a truly brutal act, although no breed of animals uses it as often as humans, contrary to the custom of almost all peoples, they do not consider anything as inglorious as the glory gained by war. "..."
Thomas More recreated such an attractive model of social order that it seemed that everyone who read his book should immediately adopt progressive ideas and try to put them into practice. But this did not happen either in the 16th century or in any subsequent one. What has been said applies equally to the countless string of utopian socialists who lived and worked after the author of “Utopia” itself. The unrealizable image he invented, however, turned out to be so attractive that at times it began to seem like any hope for bright prospects for social development and improvement of social relations - a complete utopia.
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