Utopia

Utopia was written in Latin by Thomas More and first published in 1516 in Leuven, with a revised edition in 1518. Its full title, Libellus vere aureus, nec minus salutaris quam festivus, de optimo reipublicae statu deque nova insula Utopia, can be rendered as 'A truly golden little book, no less beneficial than entertaining, on the best state of a commonwealth and on the new island of Utopia'. More coined the name of the island from the Greek ou, 'not', and topos, 'place', so that it means literally 'no place'. Later, through an English homophony, the reading eu-topos, 'good place', became common, and More himself played with that ambiguity. The work has two books. The first is a dialogue set in Antwerp, where More meets the traveller Raphael Hythlodaeus, who has returned from distant lands. They debate whether a wise man should place his knowledge at the service of kings. Hythlodaeus, sceptical, denounces dynastic wars, the disproportionate execution of thieves, and the enclosure of common land for sheep farming, which impoverished the peasants. More argues that the philosopher must act within real circumstances. Hythlodaeus replies that the best way to make the point is to describe the island of Utopia. The second book is that description. The island is presented as artificially created by King Utopus, who had the isthmus joining it to the mainland cut through. It has fifty-four cities of identical structure, with the capital, Amaurot, at the centre. Houses are reassigned by lot every ten years, and there is no private property. Everyone works in agriculture and must learn at least one trade, the working day is short, and free time is devoted to study and enjoyment. Politics is organised around families, with officials chosen yearly and a prince chosen for life by the syphogrants of each city, subject to control. Religious tolerance is practised, though atheism is frowned upon. The work is largely a veiled criticism of English and European society of its time, and its influence on the utopian tradition and on the very word 'utopia' has been enormous.