Utopia

Thomas MoreProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.7

Word count: 238K words
Chapters: 24

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Utopia by Saint Thomas MoreAuthor: More, Thomas, Saint, 1478-1535,Language: English, Class: HX: Social sciences: Socialism, Communism, Anarchism, Release Date: Apr 1, 2000

Editor's review

Utopia is a dialogue written in Latin by Thomas More, using the institutions of a fictional island to discuss property, labor, education, religion, and governance. Its value lies not only in depicting an ideal society but in using dialogue and contrast to compel readers to examine the existing order: which arrangements are mere custom, and which can be reimagined. The Project Gutenberg edition is a free English eBook, convenient for searching and comparative reading, and suitable for selections in intellectual history, political philosophy, and literature courses. Note the layers of the dialogue and the possibility of irony; do not take the book's descriptions directly as More's complete political program. For readers seeking to understand the origin of the concept of "utopia," this is an indispensable text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students and teachers of political philosophy, intellectual history, or literature
Readers who want to understand the origin of the concept of "utopia" and dialogue-form writing
General readers interested in questions of property, labor, and institutional design
Researchers who need a free English electronic text for selections or comparative reading

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a full plot-driven novel or light entertainment
Beginners who need detailed notes and historical introductions to enter the text
Readers hoping for practical institutional solutions they can apply directly

Reading tips

Read the dialogue of Book I first, noting its critique of contemporary society, then proceed to the description of the island in Book II
Distinguish among the narrator, More himself, and the dialogue characters, and note irony and indeterminacy
List the arrangements concerning property, labor, and education as you read, then compare them with real institutions
If the English is difficult, use a reliable translation or introduction to understand the structure, then return to selected passages in the original.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is Utopia a novel or a work of political philosophy?

It has features of both literary and intellectual texts: it narrates the institutions of a fictional island in dialogue form while criticizing contemporary society through its characters. Read it with attention both to its narrative structure and irony and to its arguments about property, labor, and governance; it should not be simply assigned to a single genre.

Is this Project Gutenberg edition suitable for beginners?

It is suitable as a free English text, convenient for searching and selected reading, but it offers no detailed notes or scholarly introduction. Without background in sixteenth-century Europe, readers should use a reliable introduction or translation to understand the layers of the dialogue and the context of the era, then return to the original for close reading.

Is the utopia described in the book More's ideal society?

It cannot be simply equated with it. The work is in dialogue form, and the narrator's and characters' positions do not fully coincide; the descriptions carry irony and indeterminacy. Distinguish the narrative layers and treat it as a critical imagining of the existing order, not a political program to be adopted directly.

What background knowledge is needed to read Utopia?

Some knowledge of sixteenth-century European society and religion and of the humanist dialogue tradition helps, but you need not read a great deal of historical material first. Begin with the two-book structure: Book I is largely a critique of contemporary society, and Book II describes the institutions of the island; then add background gradually.

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About the author

Thomas More Author · English · 1478–1535

Thomas More (1478–1535) was an English humanist of the Renaissance, as well as a lawyer, statesman, and writer, who served as Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII. In 1516 he published Utopia in Latin, depicting through a fictional island an ideal society with common ownership of property; the work founded the traditions of utopian socialism and utopian literature and remains his best-known representative work. Another major work, A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, explores faith and spiritual consolation in adversity through dialogue. Because he refused to acknowledge the king as supreme head of the Church, More was executed at the Tower of London in 1535 and was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1935. His writings combine humanist reflection with literary imagination and have had a lasting influence on later political thought.