Utopia Quotations

Question 1

What are the five themes that are present in Thomas More’s Utopia?

Answer 1

‘Exploration through travel and philosophy’, ‘Uniformity and dissent’, ‘Civic virtue and the moral education of citizens’, ‘Common welfare vs. private investment’ and ‘truth’.

Question 2

Briefly summarise book one of Thomas More’s Utopia

Answer 2

Set in Antwerp, Peter Giles, Thomas More and Raphael Hythloday discuss philosophical ideas in More’s garden. Book one is more theoretical and philosophy.

Question 3

What do the three characterisations in Thomas More’ Utopia represent?

Answer 3

Peter Giles is representative of the Church, Thomas More is representative of the law/impartial and Raphael Hythloday is representative of the Humanists and philosophers.

Question 4

What does Thomas More’s household represent in Utopia?

Answer 4

“More’s household is a microcosm of the good community: it is a place of friendship, plentiful food, harmonious cohabitation with nature (as symbolised by the garden), and serious but friendly philosophical discussion.” - Lit Charts.

Question 5

What does Raphael Hythloday say about the grave in Book one?

Answer 5

“The man who has no grave is covered by the sky,” and “The road to heaven is the same length from all places.”

Question 6

What does Raphael Hythloday say about the sun and earth in book one? And how does he compare those things to people?

Answer 6

“The sun is less fierce, the earth greener, the creatures less savage. At last you reach people, cities, and towns which not only trade among themselves and with their neighbours but even carry on commerce by sea and land with remote counties.”

Question 7

What does Raphael Hytloday say about Court life when asked if he’d advise the King or Prince?

Answer 7

“Would a way of life so absolutely repellent to my spirit make my life happier? As it is now, I live as I please, and I fancy very few courtiers, however splendid, can say that.”

Question 8

What does Thomas More say about Raphael Hytloday serving the King or Prince?

Answer 8

“It is clear, my dear Raphael, that you seek neither wealth nor power, and indeed I value and revere a man of such disposition as much as I do the mightiest persons in the world. […] You could best perform such a service by joining the council of some great prince and inciting him to just and noble actions […] for a people’s welfare or misery flows in a stream their prince, as from a never-failing spring.”

Question 9

What does Thomas More say about hanging as a punishment for thieves/

Answer 9

“There is no need to wonder: this way of punishing thieves [hanging them] goes beyond the call of justice, and is not, in any case, for the public good. The penalty is too harsh itself, yet is isn’t an effective deterrent.”

Question 10

How does Thomas More liken England to an ill-tempered schoolmaster?

Answer 10

“Severe and terrible punishments are enacted against theft, when it would be much better to enable every man to earn his own living, instead of being driven to the awful necessity of stealing and dying for it.”

Question 11

What is said about noblemen in book one of Thomas More’s Utopia?

Answer 11

“There are a great many noblemen who live idly like drones off the labor of others, their tenants whom they bleed white by constantly raising their rents.”

Question 12

What is said about stealing and starving in book one of Thomas More’s Utopia?

Answer 12

“Those who are turned off soon set about starving, unless they set about stealing.”

Question 13

What does Thomas More say about the Wool trade in book one?

Answer 13

“The reason is that the wool trade, thought it can’t be called a monopoly, because it isn’t in the hands of one single person, is concentrated in few hands […] and these so rich that the owners are never pressed to sell until they have a mind to, and that is only when they can get their price.”

Question 14

What does Thomas More say about incentivizing murder?

Answer 14

“If theft carries the same penalty as murder, the thief will be encouraged to kill the victim who otherwise he would have only robbed. When the punishment is the same, murder is safer, since one conceals both crimes by killing the witness. Thus wile we try to terrify thieves with extreme cruelty, we really invite them to kill the innocent.”

Question 15

What does Thomas More say about a King ruling over beggars?

Answer 15

“A king has no dignity when he exercises authority over beggars, only when he rules over prosperous and happy subjects.”

Question 16

What does Raphael Hytloday say in book one about the ownership of private property?

Answer 16

“For justice cannot exist where all the best things in life are held by the worst people; nor can anyone be happy where property is limited to a few, since even those few are always uneasy, and the many are utterly wretched.”

Question 17

Briefly summarise book two of Thomas More’s Utopia.

Answer 17

The trio continue their conversation and move from philosophy and Humanism to discussing Utopia itself.

Question 18

What does Raphael Hythloday say about people moving between the countryside and the city every year?

Answer 18

‘Every year twenty person from each household move back to the city, after completing a two-year stint in the country. In their place, twenty others are sent out from town, to learn farm work from those who have already been in country for a year and are therefore better skilled in farming.’

Question 19

What is a capital offence in Utopia?

Answer 19

‘It is a capital offense to make plans about public business outside of the senate or the popular assembly.’

Question 20

What is Utopia’s (the country) stance on trade?

Answer 20

‘Besides farm work (which, as I said, everybody performs), each person is taught a particular trade of his own, such as wool-working, linen-making, masonry, metal-work, or carpentry.’

Question 21

How is a typical Utopian’s day split up?

Answer 21

‘Of the day’s twenty-four hours, the Utopians devote only six to work. They work three hours before noon, when they go to lunch. After lunch they rest for a couple of hours, then go to work for another three hours.’

Question 22

How do typically Utopians spend their evenings?

Answer 22

‘Generally these periods are devoted to intellectual activity.’

Question 23

What is special about cloaks in Utopia?

Answer 23

Nothing as ‘Throughout the entire island, these cloaks are of the same color, which is that of natural wool.’

Question 24

Why are hospitals large in Utopia?

Answer 24

‘The hospitals are large for two reasons: so that the sick, however numerous they may be, will not be packed closely and uncomfortably together, and also so that those who have a contagious disease, such as might pass from one to the other, may be isolated.’

Question 25

How do Utopians criticise decadence?

Answer 25

‘The Utopians marvel that any mortal can take pleasure in the dubious sparkle of a little jewel or bright gemstone, when he has a star, or the sun itself, to look at. They are amazed at the foolishness of any mortal man who considers himself a nobler fellow because he wears clothing of specially fine wool.’

Question 26

At what age do people marry in Utopia?

Answer 26

‘Women do not marry till they are eighteen, nor men till they are twenty-two.’

Question 27

On what grounds are divorce permissible in Utopia?

Answer 27

‘Their marriages are seldom terminated except by death, though they do allow divorce for adultery or for intolerably offensive behaviour.’

Question 28

Does Utopia have conscription?

Answer 28

No ‘In each city, soldiers are chose from those who have volunteered. No one is forced to fight abroad against his will, because they think a an who is naturally fearful will act weakly at best, and may even spread panic amongst his comrades.’

Question 29

What does Utopia say about women fighting alongside men at war?

Answer 29

‘[…] so women are allowed to accompany their men on military service if they want to - not only not forbidden, but encouraged and praised for doing so.’

Question 30

Is Utopia tolerant of other religions?

Answer 30

Yes ‘For it is one of their oldest rules that no man’s religion, as such, shall be held against him.’

Question 31

What does Raphael Hythloday say would happen if money disappeared?

Answer 31

‘If money disappeared, so would fear, anxiety, worry, toil, and sleepless nights.’

Question 32

As Utopia concludes, what is said about pride?

Answer 32

‘Pride is a serpent from hell that twines itself around the hearts of men; and it acts like a suckfish in holding them back from choosing a better way of life.’