First published in Latin in 1516, Thomas More's Utopia is one of the most influential books in the Western philosophical and literary tradition and one of the supreme achievements of Renaissance humanism. This is the first edition of Utopia since 1965 (the Yale edition) to combine More's Latin text with an English translation, and also the first edition to provide a Latin text that is both accurate and readable. The text is based on the early editions (with the Froben edition of March 1518 as copy-text), but spelling and punctuation have been regularized in accordance with modern practices. The translation is a revised version of the acclaimed lively and readable Adams translation, which also appears in Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought. This edition, which incorporates the results of recent Utopian scholarship, also includes an introduction, textual apparatus, a full commentary and a guide to the voluminous scholarly and critical literature on Utopia.
Excerpt from The Utopia of Sir Thomas More: In Latin From The; Edition of March 1518, and in English From the First Edition of Ralph Robynson's Translation in 1551, With Additional Translations, Introduction and Notes N attempt has been made, in this edition of Sir Thomas More's work, to treat it with something of the same exact care that is looked for, as a matter of course, in editing a classical author. The text has been revised, the variations made in it by the author himself noted, and the readings of different editions compared. The allusions to persons and events, real or imaginary, have also, as far as possible, been traced out. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
A classic work of fiction and political philosophy, Utopia explores themes of social and economic inequality, imperialism, and the nature of government. Written by Sir Thomas More in the early sixteenth century, the book is a seminal work of the Renaissance and a touchstone for contemporary political thought and theory. This edition includes both the original Latin text and an English translation for modern readers. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
The first half (Book I) of Utopia is a dialogue, which presents a perceptive analysis of contemporary social, economic, penal, and moral ills in England; the second (Book II) is a narrative describing Utopia, a country run according to the ideals of the English humanists, where poverty, crime, injustice, and other ills do not exist. This new 2017 edition of Thomas More's complete and unabridged Utopia features the modern translation from the Latin of Gilbert Burnet.
Subtitled "On the best state of a republic and on the new island of Utopia," this is the legendary 1516 political satire that, in its attempts to mock the English king Henry VIII, gave birth to an entire genre of imaginative fiction exploring the possibilities of the "perfect" society. Debate continues to rage among scholars of the Renaissance today whether More actually believed in the socialist, equalitarian concepts he espoused in *Utopia,* some of which seem unlikely positions for a wealthy, powerful man whose actions as a public figure were often at odds with them. But this remains a foundational work of Western thought and literature, and essential reading for anyone who wishes to be considered well read. English statesman and writer SIR THOMAS MORE (1478-1535) is best remembered as both a humanist scholar and a religious martyr: he was beheaded by King Henry VIII for refusing to acknowledge the monarch as the head of the Church of England.
Utopia is a work of fiction and political philosophy by Thomas More. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. There is no private property on Utopia, with goods being stored in warehouses and people requesting what they need. There are also no locks on the doors of the houses, which are rotated between the citizens every ten years. Agriculture is the most important job on the island. Every person is taught it and must live in the countryside, farming for two years at a time, with women doing the same work as men. Parallel to this, every citizen must learn at least one of the other essential trades: weaving (mainly done by the women), carpentry, metalsmithing and masonry. There is deliberate simplicity about these trades; for instance, all people wear the same types of simple clothes and there are no dressmakers making fine apparel. All able-bodied citizens must work; thus unemployment is eradicated, and the length of the working day can be minimised: the people only have to work six hours a day (although many willingly work for longer). More does allow scholars in his society to become the ruling officials or priests, people picked during their primary education for their ability to learn. All other citizens are however encouraged to apply themselves to learning in their leisure time. Slavery is a feature of Utopian life and it is reported that every household has two slaves. The slaves are either from other countries or are the Utopian criminals. These criminals are weighed down with chains made out of gold. The gold is part of the community wealth of the country, and fettering criminals with it or using it for shameful things like chamber pots gives the citizens a healthy dislike of it. It also makes it difficult to steal as it is in plain view. The wealth, though, is of little importance and is only good for buying commodities from foreign nations or bribing these nations to fight each other. Slaves are periodically released for good behaviour. Jewels are worn by children, who finally give them up as they mature. Other significant innovations of Utopia include: a welfare state with free hospitals, euthanasia permissible by the state, priests being allowed to marry, divorce permitted, premarital sex punished by a lifetime of enforced celibacy and adultery being punished by enslavement. Meals are taken in community dining halls and the job of feeding the population is given to a different household in turn. Although all are fed the same, Raphael explains that the old and the administrators are given the best of the food. Travel on the island is only permitted with an internal passport and any people found without a passport are, on a first occasion, returned in disgrace, but after a second offence they are placed in slavery. In addition, there are no lawyers and the law is made deliberately simple, as all should understand it.
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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
