Utopia - Sir Thomas More

Historical Background Columbuss first voyage to New World, 1492 chief explorers: Vasco da Gama, John Cabot, Amerigo Vespucci, and Balboa Luthers publication of the Ninety-five Theses (Protestant Reformation) 1517 Henry VIII (1509), still married to first wife, Catherine of Aragon principal literary figures: Erasmus, Ariosto, Machiavelli, and Castiglione Great period in Western art: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian

Period Achievements invention of printing, the development of gunpowder, and the improvement of navigational instruments and ship designs

Classical Revival Rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman civilisation study and imitation offered key to greatness Literature of ancients well of wisdom and eloquence Challenged dogma, recognised the authority of nature; living a full life in this world opportunity and obligation Sense of the worth of the individual The dignity of man Humanism developed out of these concepts Christian Humanism emerged to accommodate the conflict between pagan classicism and Christian doctrine

Characters Thomas More I Peter Giles Raphael Hythloday talker of nonsense

In service and servitude More & Giles: Counsel a prince! Hythloday: Useless o o o o Other advisers know more Envy leads to discrediting Cannot lie and flatter like the others Will not be enslaved to a prince

Utopia nowhere or eu-topia= good place Geographical details Abraxa connected to mainland King Utopus dug channel used his soldiers and the enslaved people Witness to describe the land and customs o More inspired by literature of exploration

Aspects of noble savage propertyless and moneyless systems In accordance with Platos Republic

Families 40 members + 2 slaves 1 magistrate (phylarch) over 30 families 2-year shifts of families and workers 2

Farm city all occupations tried choose the one that suits you!!! Farming life same in Mores day Utopian & English farmers did not own their land communal or privately owned English farmers worked to feed the rich; any surplus for themselves, then to sell!!! Opportunity to change professions!! Chickens o o Hatched in incubators Men considered mothers

Gold and Silver Mined from the bowels of the earth No practical value (unlike iron) for purposes of vanity and wealth Value: what society places on it Hythloday comment: admiration and reverence for those who have gold, yet no judgment or generosity In Utopia o No money - surplus stores sold for gold and silver to be used for wars (paying mercenaries) Gold and silver devalued - chamberpots & chains for slaves Using psychological methods to teach people to despise what others value as wealth

o o Marriage Divorce

Women 18; men 22 Forbidden: sex before marriage otherwise no one would get married Choosing marriage partner: important Nothing must be hidden: shown naked to one another Parallel: buying a horse!!!

Not permitted Senate rules rarely 3

Adultery or insufferable perverseness Adulterer sentenced to slavery; innocent party free to wed If innocent party doesnt want divorce, must share half the slaves load Permanence of matrimony and family relationships are supported Companionship romantic love not mentioned No marriages of convenience no wealth Humorous choice of mate, but rational More, as Catholic, treats divorce as dangerous, last-resort proposition Only in this century have some of the laws for divorce been enacted, only in some countries

Religion No official state religion Freedom of beliefs Majority belief in one omnipotent god, Mithra Superstitions on the wane Must believe in immortality of the soul otherwise, crime and evil would prosper People who dont believe in the immortality of the soul persona non grata cant hold positions etc. Similarities in matters of ethical teachings and metaphysics, not in those practices which were criticized most frequently as church abuses No utopian liberality in the Roman Catholic world one Church one authoritative doctrine others heretics

Hythlodays Conclusion Utopia = only true commonwealth In other countries man tries to acquire wealth for himself; if not, hell starve in Utopia for good of community: no man owns anything, but rich has share in everything anxiety-free Workers who cater to vanities bankers, goldsmiths, noblemen in ease and luxury 4

 Money PRIDE

People who provide necessary sustenance for life live in poverty; even animals better off Governments = conspiracy of rich to keep common people subjected

Do away with money! Do away with class differences! Do away with poverty, crime, revenge etc.!

Christ teaches communal living Utopia would be possible if pride did not exist Pride leads to comparisons and then to satisfaction when found superior to someone else!! Elimination of private property and money is the core basis of Utopian society All other rules stem from these two bases Competition among individuals does not exist; no reason for crime Founded on Christian principles as opposed to Christian countries

Mores Conclusion Addressed to the reader Some things absurd Their methods of waging war, their religious ceremonies, and their social customs were some of these, but my chief objection was to the basis of their whole system, that is, their communal living and their moneyless economy. o This one thing alone takes away all the nobility, magnificence, splendor, and majesty which (in the popular view) are considered the true ornaments of any nation.

I cannot agree with everything he said. Yet I confess there are many things in the Commonwealth of Utopia which I wish our own country would imitate, though I dont really expect it will.

The Controversy Does More subscribe to the society in Utopia?

No its just a fantasy Yes - More is very tongue-in-cheek in his observations to the reader. Utopian society is idealist society although very difficult to implement

The Schoolmaster - Roger Ascham (1515-1568)

Roger Ascham Tutor and Latin secretary to Queen Elizabeth I Classics not just for aesthetic purposes - for guidance in moral values and political activity Corresponded in Latin with many humanists Toxophilus, describes archery with the traditional English longbow.

The Schoolmaster Published 2 years after his death Corporal punishment - ineffective as a motivating tool Should instill a love of learning, not fear of pain

Double Translation Method more effective than rote learning of grammar and rules Aim: a sense of style Ultimate goal not mimicking, but ethical and aesthetical fashioning of the self Education should teach a person to conjoin values and language to achieve decorum

'Book of Youth' the three concords noun/adj; verb/noun & relative/antecedent read selections of Ciceros De oratore

 translate it and read it to eliminate any doubts regarding content Must analyse it grammatically translate it into English; and then back into Latin without use of the original Instead of criticising the mistakes and bad work (unless cheating is involved) the master should point out how Tully does it in a gentle way Should foster master-student relations and allow the student to ask questions to clear up any uncertainties

Lady Jane Grey An example of a student who has a love of learning Reading Plato in Greek instead of gallivanting around the countryside Praise for her master, who instils her with such a passion for learning (?)

Englishman Italianated Diatribe against papists in Italy - influence the Englishmen who go there Believe that the Englishmen do not try to maintain their decorum (sense of decency) but hurl to the court of Circe (enchantress from the Odyssey that turns men into swine and other animals) You remain men in shape and fashion but become devils in life and condition The Roman Catholic Church to blame books, such as romances, translated into English to corrupt good Englishmen (read: Protestants)