Sir Thomas More was an English lawyer and best known as the councilor to King Henry VIII before he took the throne. More was married with children and a full on family man who also was active in his community. More held many different positions of great status in England and held himself to an equally high standard of judgment to always live out a life of great morality. Sir Thomas More’s fought to uphold the dignity and beliefs of the holy Church in a time of adversity and attack upon the Roman Catholic Church.
Thomas More was born in London, England on February 7 1478 to Sir John and Agnes More. His father, being knighted and a successful lawyer, much was expected of Thomas More at a young age. After primary school More served Archbishop of Canterbury as a household page, a notable job for one so young. With respectable connections and education, More was admitted to Oxford in 1492 and received a general education for two years. After that more began to practice to become a lawyer. At this time More lived near a monastery where he would regularly join the Monks in the spiritual exercises. It was at this point in More’s life where faith became more prominent and strived to join the monks ranks, but decided later to remain a layman. He married Jane Colt in 1505 and they had four children together before Jane’s untimely death. And years later after her death he married also widowed, Alice Middleton. More was an important councilor to King Henry VIII and traveled as a diplomat on the kings behalf. More opposed the Protestant Reformation taking place in England at the time and spoke out against its spread. More also wrote and published his famous novel, Utopia, published in 1516. This novel was greatly acclaimed and portrayed an ide...
... middle of paper ...
...s to not deny him as Peter did. But also to be true to ourselves and honest in the choices that we make. Sir Thomas More is relevant to any person today who is faced with adversity and must reflect within themselves and try to choose to do the right thing for everyone.
From Thomas’ youth to his untimely death, he was God’s tool. Thomas hoped to keep the Church of England pure from outside influences, and today we strive to keep ourselves pure from the taints of sin. Thomas’ sainthood is an example for each person alive today to cease the day, and be the best version of yourself by presenting God’s love wherever you go. Thomas’ example and sacrifice are one of the thousandths that have and are going to lay down their lives for the Catholic faith. Their sacrifice is an official call for those of the to-day and sacrifice and find themselves within God and his people.
Reason to defend Sir Thomas More: More is just thinks that his private conscience is more important than his public duties and will do what he thinks is right, not what is convenient. This is not considered High Treason as More is not attempting to betray his country in any way.
I believe Thomas did a subpar job of executing logos, ethos, and pathos in his “This I Believe” essay. The essay had its strong moments especially in how easily the audience could relate to Thomas’s belief; even with this being so, the essay lacked depth in many areas which caused the essay to have a too simplistic and dull feel to it. This same belief Thomas holds and believes in so strongly has been the cause of great history changing wars and for millions of people to leave their homes and lives behind all for a single belief. Overall Thomas’s belief is incredibly rooted in to his very being causing the person he is today because of this I believe he will hold this belief for most if not all his life however the manner in which he wrote about his belief, unfortunately, was not as strong as the belief itself.
Although Thomas More was among the most famous English humanists, Wilcox writes in In Search of God and Self that he did not hold humanism as the center of most of his writings, staying with medieval themes of religion. To this Thomas More might respond that a deep devotion to the Christian religion and a belief in the need for reform coupled with a humanistic perspective were at the heart of his writings. This would place More at the center of Northern humanists who believed that a classical education, especially including the original writings of the early Church fathers, would lead to a more deeply pious, spiritual person and a better society. While Italian humanists focused on the individual person, More focused on the betterment of
Thomas More was born in London in 1478. He studied at Oxford where he took a profound love of classical literature. In Utopia, More shows his own skills in humanism. In this story, modeled after Plato's Republic, More examines his culture against a hypothetical culture he invents. His Utopia varies greatly from both his society and our society today. Four ways Utopia differs from our society are social system, attitude towards jewelry, marriage customs, and religion.
This is shown through his use of explaining the way religion, war, philosophy, slavery, education, and more in Utopia. Each of the ways that Sir Thomas More explains how these concepts work in Utopia are reflections of what he wishes for England, and are his take on “a perfect society.” While being subjected to a monopoly on religion, Sir Thomas More wants for a society with tolerance for different views. While living in a society that uses slaves and is a large component of the triangular trade, he wishes for one where slaves are frowned upon, and if necessary comprised of criminals who break big laws. Sir Thomas More lives in England, a country which tried to amass a large empire in the 16th century, and thus wishes for the country to be more peaceful. These views are shown in his perception of Utopia, and show how his time period and surroundings greatly influenced his
First, the knights demanded that Becket do as the king desired but he strongly refused. On the same day at sunset, the knights appeared in the Canterbury Cathedral once more searching for him. Becket then answered of his whereabouts when the knights were asking where his so called “traitorous” self was. When Becket finished talking, the knights then charged him and killed him. The population of England was scarred by this cruel murder. Becket’s tomb became a place of dedicated, religious pilgrimage. The Pope idolized him and for a long period of time, he was the most admired of the English saints. After this tragedy, Becket then became a martyr and a saint. Thomas Becket being honored as a martyr and a saint by Pope Alexander III resulted in the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury becoming a holy place of
Stewart, Agnes M. The Life and Letters of Sir Thomas More:. London: Burns & Oates, 1876.
He uses the characters to bring about points that went against common thought at the time. More does give some insight to his thoughts when he says, “When Raphael had finished his story, I was left thinking that not a few of the laws and customs he had described as existing among the Utopians were really absurd” (p. 106). More explains these things consisted of war, religion, and other smaller customs. More next says that “… my chief objection was to the basis of their whole system, that is, their communal living and moneyless economy” (p. 106). It is clear here that More was not completely for the Utopian society. He even goes as far as dismissing the communal practices which is the basis of the entire society in the first place. It makes sense since he was heavily involved in the Roman Catholic Church and an important figure. Much of Utopia goes completely against the norms that were set by 1516 in England. More also ends book II by stating, “Meantime, while I can hardly agree with everything he said… I freely confess that in the Utopian commonwealth there are very many features that in our own societies I would wish rather than expect to see” (p. 107). More is showing that even though he doesn’t agree with many of the aspects of Utopia, that it isn’t all bad. The only problem is that More poses the practices he likes with wishful thinking and not practicality. According to More,
This clearly demonstrates the fact that More knew what he was on about and wasn’t going to go against his beliefs for the sake of living. More strongly believed in the church and the Head of the Church, the Pope. He sustained in doing what you feel right in your heart, not what people tell you. More knew that if he stayed alive, it would have been sufferable, living in jail for the rest of his life, no job and little sight of family. He did what he thought was right. “ I do no harm, I say none harm, I think none harm. And if this be not enough to keep a man alive, in good faith I long not to live”(pg. 97)
Thomas kept his fate despite being alienated by just about everyone in society. He was an outcast near death with more reasons than most to abandon his faith in God. Throughout it all Thomas remained steadfast in his faith in God. When Thomas was at his weakest, he put forth all of his energy into prayer. Someone reading this would more than likely see the miracle performed by God and it would reaffirm their faith in God.
Sir Thomas More wrote this story exactly in the time when Europe was religiously being torn apart by conflicts and revolutions such as the reformation, that caused “the separation of the Christians of western Europe into Catholics and Protestant” (khanacademy). Religion as a whole was as a consequence, an important and hot topic to discuss at the time considering all that is going on. I wonder why Hythloday spent so much time and effort discussing that matter with the narrator. It was rather dangerous to talk too controversially about religion during that period. The Author, by expressing himself through a fictional monotheist but laic polity in which the inhabitants all believe in a single Power, God and governed by specific moral code laws
Sir Tomas More’s Utopia indirectly criticizes fifteen hundredth European catholic society of corruption, violence, poverty and of inequality. As a lord chancellor to Henry VIII, Thomas More was well aware of these problems and wrote a satire to propose his awareness in a carful manner, as we can see his hesitation to publish the book on his letter to Peter Giles especially when he described his “two minds” (More, 8). To criticize the problems of his times on a safe platform, he created a fictional character Raphael Hythloday, who is wise and knowledgeable of new places from the sailing experience with Amerigo Vespucci. This not only reflects the times in which people stepped out their voyages to the New World but also provides a foil to the European society—the
Through publishing Utopia, More wished to provoke thought in European society about the state of affairs and how broken and misguided they were. Through the lens of the culture of the island of Utopia, Thomas More reconciles the tension between pleasure and Christianity that is seen in contemporary Christian and that by linking the notions together a system can be created that is superior. More critiques the selfish natures of people who exist contrary to religion that are rife with greed and overconsumption as well as the pitfalls that come from following religion doctrines, which lead to strict regimes and denials of the body. The system More outlines allows for individuals to lead happy, fulfilling lives while at the same time acting conscientiously towards other citizens so to be able to create a better society than the one he currently witnesses.
...aying, "If the Utopians can create such a good and just state with only natural reason to guide them, why can't England, belonging to a religion which promotes goodness and brotherly love, come up with something at least as good?" This then is More's wish, a Christian socialism.
Thomas a’ Kempis was a very influential catholic and his writings in the Imitation of Christ are still found important and popular still today. He believed that believing in Christ and accepting him into your life was a very important part of being a catholic. He believed you must live a life that is most close to the life that Jesus lived. Thomas a’ Kempis believed in the importance of imitating Christ. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a’ Kempis focuses on the interior life and spirituality. He wants people to focus on what is truly important in his opinion, Christ. No material goods or money can make you truly happy. Thomas a Kempis wants people to focus on living a life like Christ because in the end He is all you will have. Many people agree with the beliefs of Thomas a’ Kempis and follow his suggestions on how to live a life Christ would be accepting