The reason I found More to end his book in such a way, was to have his audience, in a sense, do the same thing, pull idea’s that they found to be true in the book and take a conscious look at our own societies and see where they might fit best. ”(97) With this quote More’s character is touching on a subjective truth, that although he may not agree with everything Hythloday had to say, there is still a certain aspect of his ideas that rang true to him, which he would wish to see in our societies but does not expect to see them. Yet I freely confess there are many things in Utopian commonwealth that in our own societies I would wish rather than expect to see. This is portrayed at the end of the book, how More, and his character, choose to end it in this quote, “-I cannot agree with everything he said. But the “truth” in More’s Utopia is not to be found in the setting, the characters, nor the type of dialogue he uses, but in the idea’s he is trying to convey. There are few priests, so that priesthood may remain a highly dignified position, and also because it is difficult to find people good enough to be priests.The letter More is writing to Peter Giles is also a fictional piece which leads one to ask, what might More be saying about human nature, honesty, the state of truth, and the objective goal to his audience? From the very first word, to the very last, More is writing a fictional piece but in this, More sets up an almost realistic setting for his audience using the letters he “sends” to real people, and a specific dialogue called Platonic dialogue. There are two types of priests: those that do not marry and believe that they should not engage in any pleasure and those that marry and enjoy life to the point that it does not interfere with their labor. Mithras: Utopian's name for the Divine Being, whom they all believe in.īrutheskas: What Utopia's priests are known as. ![]() Also, he made many laws, including one that states that all Utopians must believe in a Divine Being, but that they may practice whichever religion they choose. A very wise man who ordered Utopia to be separated from the rest of the continent by a channel, as he felt that Utopians were superior to the rest of the people. Utopus: The founder, and first ruler, of Utopia. The Utopians feel that the world will not miss dead Zapolets, that it will in fact be a happier place without them. However, the Zapolets are fickle-they will change sides for an extra penny a day, and will fight against family members for money. Therefore, the Utopians do not feel guilty about hiring them, as they fight voluntarily. Zapolets: A savage people, whom the Utopians typically hire as warriors, as they prefer hiring warriors to having their own people fight. After staying a while in Utopia, they realized how foolish they looked. As a result, they were laughed at, as gold and treasures are children's toys in Utopia and are of absolutely no value. When their ambassadors came to Utopia, they wore a lot of gold and treasures, as they had heard the Utopians were poor and had little material wealth, and they wanted to show off. Philarch: Elected every year, these are the magistrates ruling over every thirty 'families'.Īrchphilarch: Elected every year, Archphilarchs rule over ten Philarchs.Īnemolians: One of Utopia's neighboring people. His son does not take his position when he dies instead, a new Prince is elected. Elected by the magistrates, he rules for life. Raphael recommends this to other governments. In this manner, the king focuses on the wealth of the country, and not his own. Their ruler is never to have more than one thousand pounds in gold, or the equivalent. The account of the meeting at the Cardinal's house showed how counselors applaud whatever their superiors want, and how Raphael's advice would be of no use to the king, and therefore Raphael should not become a counselor to the king. The Cardinal saw some wisdom in Raphael's remarks. The book is based on this description.Ĭardinal Morton: A Cardinal whom Raphael once visited, and whose counselors agree with his opinions, whatever they may be. He lived in Utopia for five years, and describes every aspect of it to Giles and More. Raphael Hythloday: A well-traveled friend of Giles', who does not believe in the present system of government, but rather in that of Utopia, which he thinks is the only true commonwealth. ![]() ![]() Peter Giles: More's friend, whom More sees in the Low countries, and who introduces More to Raphael. ![]() His interest in government and travel lead to a debate with Raphael and the description of Utopia, on which the book is based. He sees his friend, Peter Giles, while traveling, and is introduced to Raphael Hythloday, who describes Utopia. Thomas More: Author and main character of the book.
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