THOMAS MORE, Saint. Born in London on 7 Feb. 1477 or 1478 into a family of honourable standing; died there on 6 July 1535.
As a page, at about the age of 13, in the service of the Lord Chancellor, Archbishop Morton, he was sent by him to Canterbury College, Oxford (1492) for humanistic studies, whence in 1494 he moved on to the study of jurisprudence and obtained a lectureship in law at Furnival’s Inn. Meanwhile, More did not abandon letters, combining the meditation of the Fathers of the Church with the reading of the classics; he translated epigrams from the Greek Anthology with William Lily. From his meeting with Erasmus in 1499, when the latter, on a journey to Oxford, stopped in London, there arose a mutual esteem and affection that never waned.
Though urged to enter the religious life, on Colet’s advice he remained in the lay state, though retaining to the end of his life a sincere admiration for the Carthusian life. Elected a member of Parliament in 1504, he opposed the excessive levy demanded by Henry VIII on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter to the King of Scotland: the House of Commons reduced the sum demanded by the King to about a quarter, but the latter, indignant, had More’s father arrested on frivolous charges and kept him in the Tower until he had paid a heavy fine. In 1505 More married Jane Colt, by whom he had four children: Margaret, Elizabeth, Cecilia, and John. After Jane’s death in 1511, he contracted a second marriage with Alice Middleton, a widow older than himself. In 1510 he was appointed Under-Sheriff of London; in 1515 he was sent to Flanders as ambassador to defend English commercial interests; in 1516 he received a life pension of £100, and the following year was named ambassador to Calais. The King then chose him for the Privy Council and later as Master of Requests (perhaps in 1518). In 1524 he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons, and in 1525 he received the title of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. When, towards the end of 1527, Henry VIII asked More’s opinion on the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he met with a firm refusal; but the King, resolved in his purpose, in 1529 forced Wolsey to resign the chancellorship because he had failed to bring the Pope round to his designs; he then offered the office to More, perhaps in the hope of making him change his mind. More accepted reluctantly and became the first layman to hold that office (25 Oct. 1529); when invited to reconsider the question of Catherine’s status, he maintained his position and confined himself to the strict duties of his office. When, early in 1531, Henry claimed to be recognized as Supreme Head of the Church of England, More’s position became increasingly delicate; he avoided public pronouncements and on 30 March 1531, in reporting to Parliament the King’s justification of his conduct, he confined himself to the mere role of spokesman. On 12 May 1532, Archbishop Warham, under royal pressure, presented the Act of Conditional Submission of the Clergy; on the same day More resigned on grounds of health, retiring to live with his family at Chelsea, where Henry left him undisturbed for eighteen months, though determined to bend him to his will. The former chancellor, included among the adherents of Elizabeth Barton, who had prophesied misfortunes for Henry if he attempted a new marriage, was examined by a commission on 6 March 1534 but remained unshaken, and back at Chelsea he defended himself, even in writing, against all the accusations. On 13 April he was summoned to take the Oath of Succession: he declared himself willing to swear to the succession of the issue of Anne Boleyn, but not to the remainder of the oath, which implied recognition of the divorce and the repudiation of papal authority. Imprisoned in the Tower, he remained there until 10 July 1535, when, tried for high treason, he was condemned to death by beheading.
He was beatified by Leo XIII in 1886 and canonized by Pius XI in 1935 FISHER, JOHN (v.).
Among More’s writings the best known is the Latin dialogue Utopia. Having had occasion to reflect deeply on the political and social questions agitating the Renaissance world (the emergence of modern nations presented to an attentive Catholic the need for ideal solutions to the problem of organizing the “community” of this earth), More, alluding in his Vita Edwardi V and in that of the Duke of York, supposes the dialogue to have taken place in Antwerp between three characters: More himself, Peter Giles, his friend and Erasmus’s, and an imaginary Raphael Hythlodaeus, an old sailor who plays the leading part by narrating what he had seen in his travels to very distant lands. The first book of the work, which is a critique of the customs of European politics, inspired by outright Machiavellianism, and of the social organization of England, where wealth was concentrated in the hands of an oligarchy, has as its central question: faced with a politics devoid of scruples, can a “Catholic-minded” philosopher participate in the direction of the state, knowing that his moral counsels will meet with no favourable reception? The answer that emerges is that it is not right to withdraw, for one cannot convert rulers to one’s own conceptions, but by adapting to circumstances one must rectify what is possible without compromising the whole by rigid intransigence. In the second book, Raphael Hythlodaeus describes the laws and customs of an imaginary island, Utopia, where he had stayed for some time, and where there flourished a prec-Christian society inspired by the dictates of natural reason.
On the basis of a community of goods (the society without private property is created by T. M. to highlight the economic injustices of his native land and as an ultimate aspiration towards a life as far as possible fraternally “communal”), the author evidently wishes to show the degree of civilization attainable by human reason alone; certain “utopian” institutions would be adoptable in Europe, while others would not, as he himself declares at the end of the work, where a subtle wit and irony often end in satire. The utopian society is but one great family governed by magistrates who call themselves and are fathers. All activity is regulated by a senate where debates are held on every question of common interest; in particular contingencies recourse is had to the consultation of the entire isolated population. Though there exist diverse religious professions, a large part of the population believes in one eternal and immense divinity whom they call Father. All are moreover convinced of the existence of a single supreme being, creator and provident of the universe, whom they call Mithras. If anyone wishes to draw others to his belief, he uses only persuasion; otherwise he is exiled or enslaved; no one, however, is free to deny a providence and a retribution after death. In that case he is excluded from public office and may hold his opinions only in private with priests and wise men, in the hope that he may thus be brought to change his mind. On becoming acquainted with the Christian faith, brought by Raphael and his companions, many Utopians converted, while always respecting the freedom of others. The priests (men and women), few in number and saintly in Utopia, have the task of counselling and admonishing; they exclude from office the impious, who, if they do not show repentance, are referred to the judgment of the senate.
Divorce is permitted for adultery or incompatibility of character, as is euthanasia in certain cases of illness. In international relations the Utopians make no treaties, for nature suffices to this end; in war they buy off their enemies so that they may depose their prince or incite his relatives to usurp his power or their neighbours to occupy his lands—here More repeats, veiled by irony, his criticism of Machiavellianism—; they nevertheless detest war and are most sparing of the blood of their own citizens.
The other writings of T. may be grouped into works of humanistic erudition (such as the translation of epigrams from the Greek Anthology and of Dialogues by Lucian, and the Life of Pico della Mirandola); of religious meditation, among which the Dialogue of Consolation against Tribulation, written in English during his imprisonment in the Tower, is also notable artistically; of religious polemic against heretics, likewise composed in English for practical reasons; and, finally, set apart are his letters to family and friends and the interesting Apology written after his resignation. T. contributed greatly to the development of English as a literary language, especially in prose.
In the complex figure of T. M., the balance between Catholic orthodoxy and the demand for renewal, between politics and religion, between humanism and the Renaissance, is concentrated; his most refined culture is also an expression of the constant harmony of his life.