Cbdpter

Tlte

Reraiuance

i \

was relative ro spiritualiry_ the less spirirually ifrf,ig *"r,. the less form it had (or "^1"iS-f..3 the more deformed it was). Medievar p..aory expressed the christian view of rhe universe and the "?. inaiviiuar. the dominance of religion o"."-""r,'riiitirrgThe Renaissance shattered from heaven to the natural wodd to tt . t,rm".r-;.;"g, "tt"rrrion Renaissance artists often "rrd dealr with religious-th:r":r, b;,..h"y li"*a their subjects in a naruralistic setting. Renaissance art also deveroped a new concepr ofvisuar space that was defined frorn. the r,""afoini Ir was a quantirative space in which the ;;;il;;td;I'o"oru.r"" artisr, employing reason and mathematic., potr.ry"J th. of .fr" object as it appeared to the "r..rrtirLio"', ir, ir depicted tnl ou;"., i:;::$":rT:nsions 'vn The Renaissance began in the late fourreenth cenrury in the norrhern Italian city-states, *y"r,,nig ,;;-;;;rperous from the revival of *ade in rhe Middle Ages. Italiarirrr"r"t Ii,, and bankers had the wearth to acquire libraries and 6ne wdrks or ,"a ro supporr art, lirerature, and scholarship' Surrounded uy ".i ii."i"J"rs of ancient Rome*amphitheaters, monumenrs, and sculptr.rri_rt" well.to-do took an interest in classicar curture trrougii. tr, .t late fifteenth and .and' rhe sixreenth centuries, Renaissance " nZ; .p*"a ro Germany, France, spain' and England through books -- availabil ,n gru"t numbers due to rhe invention of the printi.,g [.".r.-

rh medieval culture. The art of the Middle Ages had ,"r".d ."0. -rs function; its purpose; ;; il; ;" mind ro God; Ir depicted a " -in spirituar universe itrictr ;il r;;;"t,*al was the supreme reariry. The Gorhic cathedral, *F ;,r1;ing buttress"r, .o"r"d toward heaven' rising in ascending tiers; it of a hierarchical universe Ji,n "#u"La .n. *Ji.rJ"-J.".prio., c"JJrr.in"l painting also expressed gradations of spirituar values. n.Ji.i""",y, tt u tuft ,iiuria-'painting po*rayed the damned, the right .iJ;;h; saved; dark colors evil, light cotors good. SpatiipJ;;;.;;; "*prrsrud

778

Pan Tbra Early lvtodmt

Eunpe

o'{

!.ii

Perrarch

THE FATHER OF HUMANISM

During his lifetime, Francesco perr,,ca, or petmrch (rrodr374),

,]
r"d *

. darkness.

reputation as a poet and scholar. or*".Jr-"jlil,in,r"" "s. :ounding of human. isrn,' he insprircd other humanists through lri, foru.i* Jurr;;l;;;;;;; criticism of,medieval Latin as barbaric in Ln,r"r, ,o-,i"-roa and other Romans; and his literary *""il "iti."ro, seneca; s"r.a ,n .r"rii"ur lrlja.'. p.,rr""t, ,.* his own as a restoration of ciassical brilliance *-i",I."a of medieval ^Be .'
,

I
.

"rr*

of true happiness and. eternal salvatiorrj, rr" a"i"raa,r erqnian or a platonist but a Christian.,, petrarch.was

f,i, o*r, "=.urf-co'r"i-ou'"".';;;.;;;ir-rL or,r. ^oa."., Like many orher humanists, petrarch remained devoted to christianityl "!/hen it comes to thioking or speaking of religion,.,rr"irrio-r-,h.iiglr".,

j:*ln:petrarch

A distinctly modern elemenr in pe*arcb,s thought is the subjective and indi. . vidualjstic character of his.writing, In talhing abqoi fri^..iiuJi-illiog
demonstrates

r'"""

'i"'

learning.

for their ignorance of ancient *"i,"rr-irra

much prefe*ed to the dy! and gurgid treatise. *rirr"r, iy ,Jof and theologians. In the following fassage, pp,r".d";i;i';;"t

humanism best represented by Erasmus. christian rrr-urri..r-.o^binpd an in" tense devotion to christianity with a great love for classic"r rii.".,*f *ffi;.;

am not , cic, a forerunner of the Christian

.J*"rt,

,*,t,

,h.;; ;t;-.;;;;;;;

"r.i" i, .irr,.*por""i",
to
classical

pfriforopfr"r,

it.ru opioioos u., to declare itself not only equal bur supe_ L_r,fr. . , . \il/hat shall we say of men who s( .rior ro the glorious past. I.say notlring of.-r},. M"r.* Tullius.Cicero,z rhe bright ,un of vulgar, rhe dregs of rnankind, orh*..oyingr.nd qu.n..? of those who scoffar va*o and Sene but hardlv melit sel a'nd arescandalir.a "
dates

. . . O inglorious agel that scorns antiquity, motheq to whom it owes everv noble

its a**ihar

and

pythagoru.r And, good God! under what

iricornp.,;i.:;;;

.,t#:IrTr? li'l' '"'n

",liri,ir.y

choose

tocall

. . . But what can be said ,in defense of men of Aristotle (3u422r.c.), a leadtng G education who ought not to be igno."nt had an enornou inllnenc. iurong of m.di.v4l tiquity and. yet are plunged, in this same dark- tn-lyrr*, a 'tud.ni-oi rtarc\c,^.tzt_r4t B.C.) was one of rhe grctest philosooh!, .neSS and

The Humanists, Fascination

with Antiquity

Humanisrs believed that a refined person musr know the literature of Greece and Rome' They srrove to imirate .rr" rryr. to speak and write as eloqtrendy as the Greeks and "i,ir "rr"i"rrtr,ends, Romans. ro*".a they sought to read, these resrore to circulation."""y r"""p oiancieatliterasure rhat courd srill be ffi:::*

astate the fields of sound learnlng. They

"nd diallcti_ tion, rhere has arisen ,1: "r _1:.:,,"f $.}#iF,,yiE'::;r;"*1,;lr,B.Ll,;iT*r,f.,o;l cians [expens in logical argument], who are "i*i-rn".i..alis.d'"li;b,r, not only ignorant but demented. Like a black :9ic1:Jt-0ry38.c.)wosrii"rn""ri",o,-*andrhc* armv of ants from some ord.*.n o^r,,r,.y !i1l;flilill.illli.:?,....rr:i11.*rnired"ndcmuri swarm forth from their hiding praces a.* schorar and
Plato and Arisrorle, and laugh"at

without the gteatest irritation

of ,]** unJiprl;p,", ;i;; fi:T:*:':1"1:: delUSiOnl you see that I cannot speak of these matters ffi[ffiT':J:h?,":Hi]#ijilr'#JtT,S:fl
indicn"- ::1ts:l!isy,nringsr.,.dir;";.;;;;;ilj"ffifi;il

"ni condemn ::i.::Jl 1...i;-1o.,65) ,as , Rorri"n #;;;il ff.:':[,]?f."rffiwhoseliterarT

:::::lj,_r-r;{)-;[:'ioil

hjstorrr statesrnan, drarartl

"yti*"'il*,ry'i

.--.-....--..'-":::,:i-."*--*i-*.;i.....--......-...
Cbapter

'

'l

"'. ..:,:,,,'i .

,.

Tbe

Renairance

crude,_l

280

Part Tbree Early Mo&rn Etrope

manhisroriansl?..,

shed sryle of Livy and Sallusc [Ro-

edge and virrue, and yec harbour the mosr ex.

todaS as I so often have 66625ie6 ro lamenr and cornplain-men who are innocenr of knowl.

live and are growing old, Such are rhe crirics of

, So.!.T che cimes, my friend, upon which we have fallen; such is che period in which we

teachings.

troduce among us new authors and outlandish

alted opinion of rhemselves. Nor contenc with losing the words of the ancienls, they must tack rheir geniu,c and rheir ashes. f[.y "t..i"i. in their ignorance, as if what tfr.y aiJ'noi know were nor worth knowing. They give fuil rein to their license aod .on..-lr, and flee$ in-

HUMANIST EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

Leonardo Bruni (1374-L444) was

Leonardo Bruni STUDY OF GREEK TITERATURE AND A

..?:::::::ly?1b:,:b::
st,adih

a Florendne humanisr who extolled both inrellectual study and accive. involve-u", i. p,.iti" humanism. In the first reading from t "ff"i*;;";;;L.i.*'.1 i*," Uhiri rin* OurnTines ir-Uar,irrri
et Literis (o" r"*"irs;;l-i;,;;"iiffi.",*","a l: "^::":,:: ?,, -ri"" nobre lady n rp r,'," a-i J#; ffi ;:iffi ; i13 l.:..^ ::::.:'--"1 -,.. :1., *e Coun t of Urbioo, B r""i o"riir*-irril

" fot ancienc Gre.k

ii,".",*"

and ranguage.

*^"?1,: : | li:, i-"f :,: :: ^f :*T""d.d.

familiarity with the bestminds a.,a rtytist, -11', ::"1v

Ijlli;.i:,T,*':l':

:1: u"., p,.p",*]il; ; ffi or chris rial d";;;;; ffi

"

d;ff ii";.L;;c;;;;;.;;fffiJ:: ::

ilff ; :ffi *.# ;ffi:H :11 ;;;i

, I ot Larin:. wh,ich implies study marked by a broad.spirit, accurare / attention ro details. scholarsirip, .nd car.ful Unless rhisiolid basis be / s,ecyed it. is useless ro arrempr I duflng edifice, \)iljthour jt ro rear an en. the grear i merirs of lirerature are un,intelligii.l., rnonurt*
but. perperually confirm and extend oI. I._ quaintance wirh ir uotjl ir is thoroughly our own, . . . To this end we must be su ,e_.1, careful in our chojce ofauthors, t.r, ii.rririi'. "n and debased style infect our own *riting degrade our rasre; wh,ich danger i, U.r. "nJ .Joii.J by bringing a keen, critical inse to b.";;;;; selecr works, observing rhe sense of."ct, i.rsage, the structure of the sentence, the force of
arr of composition impossible, fJ".t.in "nd ,hi.;;: sential knowledge we musr never relax our careful attention to the grammar of the language,

them. How great advantage ro your know.ledge, For ir is our duty ro undersrand rhe enhancernenr of your fame, increase of yo'* our.own history and its developrnenr; pleasure, will come from an understanding oi achievements of peoples and of i(ngs. rhis tongue? There are doctors ofcivil l.*.ri-For rhe careful study of the past fr where; and rhe chance of learning will ^ nor fail toresrghr in conternpoiary affairs and rhee. But if rhis one and <inly aJ.tor of Cr..[ citizens and ro monatchi lessons of inci letters disappears; no one can be found ,o ,.r.h or warning in the ordering of public thee," Overcome at length by rhese ,..ro*, I From History, also, we draw our score of gave myself to Chrysoloras, wirh such zeal to ples of moral preceprs, learn, that.what through the wakeful day I garh_ In the monurnents of ancient li ered, I followed after in the night, .r.n i,h.n which have come down ro us History holds as.leep. position ofgreat distinctjon. \7e specially such [RornanJ aurhors as Livy, S.tiur, "nd'Curi tiusi{ and, perhaps even above .t.r., ON TEARNING AND LITERATURE ;Jiu, Caesar; the sryle oiwhose Co^.en,..i.r,rJ;: . . , The foundar.ions of all true learning rnust gant and so limpid, enrirles them ro ou, b:1",1 in rirl and thorough ln"i,f.ag. admiration, ... 1ou.nd

*"r,

tions-such

rneans be included. Nowhere do we 6nd the vinues more warmly extolled, the vices ,o 6.r..iy decried. Frorn them we rnay learn, also, how to express consolation, encouragement, dissuasion or advice, If rhe principles which oororr r., are porrrayed for us by philosophers, it is from the tormer that we learn how ro employ the emo-

The great Orators of antiguity must by all

foii

as

indignation, or

IOVE FOR GREEK LITERATURE

nor been rn use among us for seven hundred ;. Chrysoloras rhe Byzanrine,l a man of nobirth and well versed in Greek lecters, Greek learning co us. !7hen his couni-nva-ded by the Turks, he came by sea, to Venice. The report of him soon .ir."a,
he waq cordially invited and besought and
a

n 6rsr came a knowledge of Greek, which

public stipend, ro come to Florinc.

on Homer, Plato and Demosrhenes,3 and che other [Greek] poecs, philosophers, orarors, of
admirable teaching,and speak with them and be instrucred in theii

Chrysoloras I was rorn in mind, a..*ini ii shameful to deserr the law, and yet crimf co " lose such a chance ofsrudying Greek licerarurel and ofren wich youchful imprilse t *ould saf ro myself; "Thou, when it is permitced thee ro g"ze

love ofacademic studies, and had spent no pairis on dialectic and rhetoric. Ar

lirtle

tie coming of

whom such glorious things are spread abroad,

In this way our reading

style, , ,
.

every word down to rhe leasr jrnporrant partjcle, reacrs directly

;"; ;;;
.ipf-

his score of riches to rhe youth. I was ing Civil Law,2 but . , . I burned wich

(c. I355-1415), a

tuccd chc 6tudy ofGreek litereture co the ltal.o open a new. age of l7cscern humanistic

Byzantine writcr snd

divinely offered? For seven hundiid y.".r, no one in Iraly has possessed Greek lertersi ,nj u., we confess that all knowledge is derived froi
rDemosthcnir (384-122 B.cJ was an Arhcnian srarcsrnan and oratot whose.oratorical style was much adrnired by RcOa$$oce humanisrs-

lly=t?

wjl,

,l:l

wilr thou

deserc and rob

neglect rhis opporcuniry so

such srudies as conduce to rhe profitabf.

But we rnusr not forger rhar rrue distjnct.ion rs ro be gained by a wide and varied range of

menr of life, in which, however, we musr observe due proportion in the attent.ion and cime
we devote to them.

Hesiod, Pindar, Euripides and fCr..[j poets, proves that he knew rheir",1.I works hardlv less intimately rhan rhose of ,h. phjl;;o;;:1 Plaro, also, frequenrly appeals ,o it,.., u'nAln rhrs way covers rhem wjth his approval. If we
lQ..Curius Rufus, a Roman historian and rherorician of rhc mid-f rst ccntury Lo., .o,npor.J,
rhc Great.

horne-cheir application in indjvidual c^ses, FrrI rher, from orarory we derive our store ofthose eleganr or srriking turns of expression whjch are used wirh so much efitct in litirary Lasrly, in orarory we 6nd thar *.d,f.t of uo."Cr. lary, that clear easy-flowing sryle, thar verve and force, which are invaluable ro us borh in wr.iring and in conversarion, .I corne now to poetry and the poers, , . , For we cannor poinr to any grear mind of the past for whom the poets had not a po*erful utrrac_ tion, Arisrorle, in constanr,ly quoting

pity_in drivjns

--p.;i;;r,

H";;r,

.T-f"l:",,h: Roman r tnc early sixth

;schools,

law rs codidcd by Empcror ceorury A.D. and studlcd in me-

amongst such srudies I place Historyl a .Firsr subject which musr nor on any account be ne_ glecred by one who aspires ro true cultivarion.
t.,.

bJ"g6;;;iil*"iil;

\--\

^'

^r.

f,..rer';"J'i

1t.,\'.',

,,,;.ii;k.-r"rr'',

"'""''"'

-\

281 CbaPurg TheRenzisance

conrent with turn to Cicero' we find him not and others of the Ennius, Accius,t "."rf"" t."jering poems from the Greek Ir**,tu*

"nJ.*ptoying uie* th"t familiaricy with the

them habitually' ' ' ' Hence

m-y

Sreat Poets ot

"",io"i,u for
"tion.

the ;-l;;t upon Nature, and uPon rnustCauses carry v'rhich Origins of things,

true educ' is essentiai to any claim to their writings we 6nd deeP-spec' in

and

*.l"tl-*'i,ius

many tm' frori their authorship' Besides these' life are sug r"r,"ii itr,t t uPon matters ofdaily ;il-; il*trated' Alt this is expressed with

"tt"inment; vast, which tacks all grace.of exwould seem to be put under a bushel "r.tti".' thrown away' Indeed' one may talrly o, oartly itis to possiss profoundand dignity as demands our admira"Jr"nrrgton" cannot convey it in lanir.i. ii ""a ip what I have endeavoured to lW'here'ttowever' ru,,, to nlr"i. *o*ty of rhe subiect' r.."i"t,fr. That hiih standard of education be it iJaouUte capacity exisr-breadttt.ot tea111q the outset is only to ,.r.tred allow the highest title to ."J who has seen maoy things and "ft&le-we *".-n"iUt ".e "."* ani to abidins fame',If we-review the Poet, Oratot' Historian' and and Koman] rhe great names of ancient [Greek a be studied, each must concribute Aristotle' Theo;.;; Plato' Democritus' varro, Cicero, Seneca' Augustine' shalt find it hard to saY great.Latin cpic L-, ,rrr-ru9 s'c') srote the 6rst Romc's founding "*t.ttu, more their attainments or of

both fiom their antiquity and

full' ready' share. Our learning thus becomes .i.grni available for action or for in ail subiects' But to enable us to use of what we know we must knowledge the power of expression' o", "aJ-,o ,*o sides of learning' indeed' should.noc Th.r. aid and distinc' r"r""a' they afford mutual in licerary form'.not lccomPa; tion. Proficiency tacts ano nied by broad acquaintance with whilst informaburr.n

;;; il ;;;;tt; ,"il. .n.r*l ii't

;;;'t, " ;;il;;t.;

tr*. ;;.::li" *ii.f-i

;fJ.# l.i.j-i.*.i.g ;ir;iJ;;

it

;.;J;r.'h. ;ii;;,

il;;;;;., ;;;;,;t, il;;,;*",i*,

*t

;""H. ;iiJ *; Lased on the lcgcnds Ij*::,T.1i}xfl

iI"i':''t[;ii5J.'"T];1Y':*"

we admire their literary Power'

The Renaissance I

Trhe

Book of the Courtier

Baldesar Castigtione

In tw lmtiarr statzs, the most prestigiow life took place in the curts of ratler s - Wlnlc Machiaqt elli wr ote abant nedwds md. rula far dw xrccessful prirrce, odwrs dtscribed. ke qualities rwcessarl far men ar wofiwnl*pi"Sm rise ar nrainaintlwir poition in court kfe. The most farnous of dwse uniters was tfu ltalian diplamat Baldesar Castiflione ( 1 47 8- 1 5 29 ), wtw wrote The Book of the Courtier while a member of fie Dnl<c of U rbhw's conrt. In the following excerpt, Casnglione descrhes fvx, tfu best qrnlities of dle courtier-tlu ideal "Rmaissance.fltant"-and 5econd, the siwes imd. actiorts

batswtedm wanteflof the cowt. CoNsroBR: Wlry Castiglione corciders rcble birth impartnnt; what mlents Castiglione thinl<s are most importmrt fm dv cowtier's sr,rccess; how a wmunr's path to sr{ccess at court

diffcrsfrun amilr's. "Thus, I would have our Courtier bom of a noble and genteel family; because it is far less.becoming for one of low birth to fail to do virruous things than for one of

enemy is; and in every other place, humane,.modest, resewed, avoiding ostentation above all things as well as that impudent praise of himself by which a man always arouses hatred and disgust in all who hear him.,, "I would have him more than passably leamed in letters, at least in those studies which we call the humanities. Let him be conversant not only with the Latin language, but with Greek as well, because of the abundance and variety of things that are so divinely written therein. Ler him be versed in the poets, as well as in the orators and historians, and let him be practiced also in writing verse and prose, especially in our own vemacular; foq besides the personal satisfacdon he will take in this, in this way he will never wanr for pleasant enterrainment with ihe ladies, who are usually fond of such things. . . . These studies, moreover, will make him fluent, and (as Aristippus said to the tyrant) bold and self-confident in speaking with everyone. However, I would have our Courtier ke.[ one precept firmly in mind, namely, in this as in everything else, to be cautious and reserved rather than forward, and take care not to get the mistaken notion that he knows somethinghe does not know."

noble birth, who, should he stray from the path of his forebears, stains the family name, and not only fails to achieve anything but loses what has been achieved already. For noble birth is like a bright lamp that makes manifest and visible deeds both good and bad, kindling and spurring on to virrue as much for fear of dishonor as
for hope of praise. . . . Besides his noble birth, I would wish the Courtier favored in this other respect, and endowed by nature not

***

'

only with talent and with beauty of countenance and

person, but with that certain grace which we call an'air,' which shall make him at first sight pleasing and lovable to all who see him; and let this be an.adomment informrng and aftending all his actions, giving the promiseoutwardly that such a one is worthy of the company and the

I think that in her ways, manners, words, gestures, and bearing, a woman ought to be very unlike a man; for just as he must show a certain solid and sturdy manli. ness, so it is seemly for a woman to have a soft and delicate tendemess, with an air of womanly sweetness in her eyery movement, which, in her going and staying, and in whatever she says; shall always make her appear rhe woman without any resemblance to a man.
'Now, if this precept be added to the rules which
these gentlemen have taught the Courtier, then I think she ought to be able ro follow many such and adom herself with the best accomplishments, as signor Gasparo says. For I hold that many virrues of the mind are as rcessary to.a woman as to a man; also, gentle birth; to avoid affectation, to be naturally graceful in all her actions, to be mannerly, clever, prudent, not arrogant, not envious, not slanderous, not vain, not contentious, not

favorofevery great lord.". . . "But to come to some particulars: I hold that the principal and true profession of the Courtier must be that of arms . . . which I wish him ro exercise with vigor; and let him be known among the others as bold, energetic, and faithful to whomever he serves. . . . The more our Couftier excels in this art, the more will he merit praise; although I do not deem it necessary that he have
the perfect knowledge of things and other qualities that a commander, for since this would launch us on too great a sea, we shall be satisfied, as we have said, if he have complete loyalty and an undaunted spirit, and be

inept, to know how to gain and hold the favor of her

mistress and of all others, to perform well and gracefully the exercises that are suitable for women. And I do think that beauty is more necessary to her than to the Courtier, for truly that woman lacks much who lacks beaury Also she must be more circumspect, and more careful not to give occasion for evil being said of her, and conduct herself so that she may not only escape being

hfit

.
'---:

always seen to have them. . .

- Therefore, let the man we are seeking be exceedingly fierce, harsh, and always among the first, whereve. the

sullied by guik but even by the suspicion of it, for a woman has not so many ways of defending herself
against false calumnies as a man has."

tu-

The Prince

Niccold Machiavelli

i ' :,

CHAPTER )$/tr

Or Cnurlrv aNp CLrunNcv, aNo-WuErunn - - i*.n 'ro Bs *T oR Feanno

Ir

Is

in fie hour of need,, [fl.y triii ageinst you. The Prince, therefole, rvho without otherwise] ,.;Lrirg t ii-rself builds wholly on iheir professibns is undone. For the ili:;J;ii"d;hi.h we buy with'a pricc, and do 1ot B{n by greatness and ,
property, their lives, and their children for-you; but
.i

Prince pnssrNc to the other qualities above referred to, I'say that every *.rc1frl and not "ruei.rNevertheless, he , should desire to b. the abuse of this aga]ity of mercy' Cesare should be on his

Romagna' united it' ii;;;i; *r, ,"prtEa"t*i, v;irrrt crueltv,restored look at things iri their sothat if we and brought it to oraerl-nafl.ai.n"", r" *", i, iealitv far more merciful than the ;;;-.ud ii;i1 U" ,... iirt suffered oeoole of Florence,

grrJ'g'l"t

J;;l;l

nobility of character, thoug\ they be fairly'earned are iotmade good, but,i fail us when we have ocCasion to serthem. Moreover, men are less careful how they offend him who rnakesl himself loved than him who makes himseffeared. For.love is held by the ' tie of obligation, which, because men are a sorry b1eed, is broken on every whisier of'privati interest; but fear is bound by the apprehension of punishment which never relaxes its grasp.

'-i,il;;''.h.1;;;

il#;; ;;.;;;ffi

;il;ilr""id

the imiutation of cruelty,

of ,ffi;;; arti.gria the reproach, andbeing thought obedient' For tiep frit subiects united .rra *i,"'" [;bil;;;; be ;.;;^;;ii, Ji*'a.';;-;;;'t?'* signal examples will in the endtake to things H#;:iill ;i;;;;;ilr'o* t"o e'Jrtleniency permitsthes: hurt the fot

pi'ces

bY factions'.

A prince should

;r,ouia i"'pi?" r"ri i" such p fashion that if lre dg npt win love he may es-cape hate. For a man may very well be feared and yet not hated, and ti,is wiil be the case so long ai he does not meddle with or with'the women of*ris cii-izens and subiects. And if ih;

;Ei"..

their course and so ti-r"r"fiti" .apqZ-an{bloodihed; ;h.r;., th" ;;;;;itiai or tr," prince ini ure individuals onlv. it is impossible to escape a name for And for a n.* prir"l,-of 'li9i1'."", dangeis' Wherefore lirgil' bv the full oi cruelty, since new arshness of f,er reign on the plea that it was tt. t mouth of Dido,

ffi;j.'il;;
new,

s#;;;;

saying:- "*""ro

A fate unkind, and newness in my-reign Compel me thus to guard a wide domain' Nevertheless, the new Prince should
easily set in motion;

"*.b" ,", ,-r,trra t e himself be the first to raise alarms; but

too ready ofbelief' nor too

shouldsotemperp'ua.n""withkindlinessthattoog.reatconfidencein guard, nor groirndles distrust render others shall not tnroi-hi* or ni,

hi*

ir,r,rPPortable. perhaps be answered

It might than feared, o, r"rr.a'r"trio-thrn lored. love ind-fear ea-n hardly exist that we should *irf,-il [e U"ti, U.,t since it is far safer to be feared than together, if *e *,rrt cil"*a u.t*"." th..ry, be affirmed that they-are thankless, loved. For of men ilt;;;;;ally gain, devoted to you fickle. false, st"dio"t to'a:void danger, greedy of ihem' and readv' as I said Lnr., u'n'Ht' "[o" 'r blood' and sacrifice

Andherecomesinthequestionwhetheritisbettertobelovedrather

Hli:';;r;']i;i;

#il;.1;iriiJd;;ilfit't"'t,-to

t'

'hud'their

consirained to put any to death, he should do so only when there,is -ot reasonable iustification. But, above all, he muqt ab., manifest cars. from the property of others. For men will soo4er forget the deathof stain &eir fathei than.the loss of their patrimorry. Mgreover, pretexts fo:, confiscation are never to seek; and he who has once beggn to live by rapine alway; finds reasons for taking what is not his; whereas reaqons for str-edding blood are fewer, and sooner exha"sted. ' But wrhen a Prince is with his army, and l1as.ma1y soldiers upder his com*ard, he must needs disregard the repr6ach of iruelty, for without such a reputation in its Captain, no army can be held together or kept under any kind of control. Among other things remarkable in Hannibal this }as been noted, that having a very great army, made up of men of many different nations and brought to fight in a foreign countty, no dissension ever arose among the soldiers themselves, nor any mutiny against their leader, either in-his good:or in his evil fortunes. This we can o"nlv ascribe to the transcendentiruelty, which, ioined with numberless ereat qualities, rendered him at once venerable and terrible in the eyes Of f,i, ,oidi.rr; for without this reputation for cruelty these other virtues would not have produced the like Unreflecting writers, indeed, while they prajse his achievements, lrave condemncd the chief.cause of them; but that his other meritsrv.ould not by themselves have been so;efficacious{il-q may see from th6 casg gf Scipio, one of the greatest Captains, 'ne3e6 his own tirne only but of all timls of which we have record, whose armies rose 'against him in'Spain from no other cause than his too great leniency in allorvirig them a

pffi;it

results. : r

The Prince

4'

Nfucold Mdchiavelli But since a Frince should. know how to use the be'ast's nature wiseh he ought of beasts to choose both the lion and the fox; for the lion cannot guard himself from the toils, nor the fox from wolves. He must therefore be a fox to discern toils, and a lion io drive offwolves. To rely wholly on the lion is unwise; and for this reiison a prudent Prince neither can ngr ought to keep his word whe.n to keep it is hurful to him and the causes which led him to pledge it aib removed. If all men were good, this would not be good advice, but since they are dishonest and do not keep faith'with you, you, ih return, need not keep faith with them; and no prince was ever at a loss for plausible reasohs to cloak a breach of fafth. Of this numberless recent initances could be given, and it might be shown how many solemn treaties and engagements have been iendered inoperative and idlethrough want of faith in Princes, and that he,who was best known to p141, the fox has had the best success. It is necessary, indeed, io put a good colour on thii nature, and to be

freedom inconsistent with military, strictneSs. With which weakness Fabius Maximus taxedrhim in the Senate House, calling him tlie cor,upt"r of,th" Roman soldiery. Again, when the Locriarrs rirere sharnefully ouiraged by one of his lieutenants, he neither avenged them, nor punfrom the natural - ishedihe insolence of his officer; and this disposition, So that it was said

easiness of his

in the senate by one whosought to excuse many who linew better how t9 refrain frorn doing him, ttrat there were to correct the wrong-doing of others. This -wrong themselves than how in tirne have marred the name and fame evcn of tempir, however, must Scipio, had he continued in it, and retaine-d his command. Eut living as he did under the control of the Senate, this.hurfrrl quality wAs not merely
fr,eturning to the question ofb.i.rg lovedor feared, I sum rtp by saying,

beingloved depends'upon his subiects,-while his being feared depends upo-n himself,-a wise Prince should build onwhat is his o*n, ,nd not on what rests with others. Only, as I have said, he must do

thatsince

hTs

his utmost to escape hatred.

CHAPTER XVtrI

How

PRINcES Suout-o KSBP FAIrH

Evnny oNr understands how praiseworthy it is in a Prince-to keep faith, and to live uprightly and not craftily, Nevertheless, we see from what has taken place in *r own days that Princes who have set little store by their word,'but have known how to overreach men by their cunning, havc accomplished great things, and in the end got the better of those who
trusted to honest dealing.

skilful in simulating and disseinbling. But men are so simple, and governed so absolutely by their present needs, that he who wishes to deceive will never fail in finding willing dupes. One recent example I will not omit. Pope Alexander VI had no car or thought but how to deceive, and always found material to work on. No man ever had a more effective manner of asseverating, or made promises with more solemn protestationi, or observed thern less, Andy.et, bqcause he understood this side of human nature, his frauds always sugceeded, It.is not essential, then,.that'a Princeshould hav. all the'good qualities which I have enumerated above, but it is mpst,essential that he should seem to have them; .l will evgn venture to af6rm that if he has and invariably practises them all, they are hurful; whereai the appearapce of

having them is usefirl. Thus, it is well to seqm merciful, faithful, humane, religious, and upright, and also to be so; but the rnind should

there are two ways of contending, one in accordance with the laws, the other by force; the first of which is proper to men, the second to beasts. But since.the first method is often ineffectual, it becomes necessary to resort to the second. A Prince should, ther-efore, understand how to use well both the man and the beast. And this lesson has been covertly taught by the ancient writers, who relate,how,Achilles and many otheri of these old Princes were given over to be brought up ,"J trri""d by Chironj the Centaur; since-the only meaning of their having for insiructor one who was half man and half beast is, that it is n...ri.ry for a Prince to know how to use both naturs, and that the one without ihe other has no stability'

Be

it known, then, that

remain so balanced that were itneedful not to be so, you should be able and know how to change to the contrary. And:you are to understand ttiat a Prince; and modt of all a new P,rince, cannot observe al} those rules of conduct in respect whereof rnen are accounted good, being often forced, in order to preserve his Prince{irm, to act in opposition to gogd faith, charity, humanity,, and religion. He musLtherefore keep'his mind ready to. shift as.the winds.and tides of Fortune turn, and, as I.have dlready said, he bught rrot to quit good courses if he can help it, but should know how to folloiv,evil:courses if
he must. A Prince should therefore be very careful that nothing everpscapes his

The Prince

47

so thatto see lins which is,not replete with the five iualities aLove named'

;;;;rid.tr,f* t i* ."{'"",1:l'-F?,4,1 Hiffiilil, h;;;rfrnd religion.the embodirrr*tvirtue which it And therg no il'ffiffiil ,."*to-po.resl th.an this las! because men in
is is

io, hi-io ;;;;#y fo1 evelY orte can see rather by the eye than by the hand, ,"""-rriira*. what ffi, f";ir"';;;i.'E;.;r;; sees what vou seem' but few.knowof the to the opinion ;;; ;;;.;;d ih.r. f.* dlo "ot oppose themselves up' back ;;;;h" have the maiestv of-the State to most them of Princes, where of all ." NI;;;;"r, in the actio"s of all men, and we look to results. whereth;i;;;liit-rnri to;*h-;" can appeal, m4intaining his authority, fore if a prince ,r""""d, i., establishinj and be fudged honourable and be approved b1 eyery ;;;;;1i;h*t; by results, and one. For the vulgar *" rfri,rl,it"t"nby appearan".t-.nd finding room when the th;;;;ld i;*"f," ,p of tt. !"re', tI; f* onlv *"nv haue no longir ground to stand on"'A'".;;;;'it'i#-;f;;t own davs, whose name it is as well not to and good.faith, ;ildil"i;'")^ p;;ht.g peace practised them asalthough the mortal he preaches tnem' both; and both., !''d \t of "r,"*y oit.n"r'tttrn on t losi him his kinsdom'and authority' ;;;ii, ", "'u

80

Early

il.

rn Europe

and commerce would make greater progress, in my opinion, without being diminished by the money trade that is carried on: and the city would be much richer if they did as they do in Genoa, where the house of Saint George takes the money of all who wish to bring it at five per cent, and lends it ro merchants to trade with at eight and one third or six and two thirds per cenr ldenier douze ou quinzel, which is a measure that has caused the greatness bnd wealth of that city, and which seems to me very advisable for the public and the individual. . . . There, Monsieur, are the meens which have brought us gold and silver in abundance during the last rwo hundred years. There is much more in spain and Italy than in France, because in Italy even the nobility engage in trade, and the people ofspain have no other occupation. Hence everything is dearer in spain and Italy than in France, and more so in Spain than in ltaly, and even domestic service and handcrafts, which ettracts our Auvergnats and Limousins to spain, as I know from them themselves, because they earn three times as much as they do in France: for the rich, haughty and indolent spaniard sells his effort very dearry, as witness cleynaerts, who writes in his letters, in the the chaprer on expenses' in a single enrry, for being shaved in Portugal, fifteen ducats a year. It is therefore an abundance of gold and silver which in part causes the dearness of things.

Economic Life: The Olden

Way

speculations the Lltopia is targely based, begins the diarogue in the following

Sir Thomas More Utopia

XII.,tn"r"

"'However the case may be, it seems to me by no means pro.tabre t the common wear to keep for the .*.ig.n.y of a war a vast murtitud of such people as troubtt and disturb it," i.."". y;; have wr unless you choose it,.and y,u ought to take f., *or. than of war. yer this is noithe on-tr siiu.tion thar *.k.; ,h;;ing neces is another which, as I believe,

;;; ...o;;;;;il;

r";;;;;ili;i;;;,

Engtisi

k'u'

THE NOWHERE LAND OF PERFECTION

one of rhe mosr subtle and yet effective forms of sociat criticism is the of a "perfect" society, the perfection of which consists of the absence of those attributes of rhe cxisting order that arc scen to be faulty. There is no reason to believe that Sir Th6mas Morc (1478-l j3j) cnvisionjd
dcpicrion

his Utopia

existence. More was a practical statesman who rose io be tord chariceilor of England, bur he refused to acknowledge his king, Henry VIII, as sovcr. eign over the church and was beheaded for treason. the priirciple for which he deliberarely accepred death was not the ideal ofa new-and plrfect society on earth, but rhe old faith and order of Roman Catholicisiir. It has been brillianrly argued by a modern scholar (. H. Hexter) rhat More was ittustratgroorl, crrvy, lrarrrd, ancl rrnUlrlon, Gonorntlonc of men whg dreern of bulld. ing p.erfect societies have overlooked More's purpose and falled to rccognize that he was no_utopian in this sense. Like his gieat predecessor, pratJ(the author of the Republrc), More has bccomc a teoihcr df socist reformers rnd

nist econom-ic principles, which men should actuatly seek to bring into

as an ideal society (1516), based

on what were to become Commu-

ing in a novel way the Catholic condemnation of the treditiongl vices-

pasturei they pull down houses and distroy ;;i; ;;; -townsr i;i", church to pen the sheep in. And, as if enough Engiish rrni *.r. not wasred on- ranges and. preserves of game, tr,-ose gJoa f"ii;;, rurn a, human habitations and ar cultivated"tanJ into a ;ird;;;.. " 'consequently in order thar one iiiatiabte gtuiton . ind .ccursed plague of his narive rand may ioin fieiJ to fierd and ,uiiouna ,rny thousand acres with one fenceit.nrntr.ie .rictea. some of them, either circ.umvented by fraud or overwhetmed by vioi;;;';;;,rijp.a .u.o of their.own Property, or else, wearied by unjust acrst are By hook or by croo-k the poor *r.t"h.i are compeiled driven to selt. to reave their homes-men end women, iusbends enJ rrives, oipfrnir-i"a *faa*i, psrenrs wlrh ilrrre ehrrrJrcn and q househoro noiriei
sounce: St'

otherwise holy men, who are not satisfied witi the annual r"u"nurr--.n-d profits which iheir predecessors used to a"riul from their esrates. Tfrey not conrenr, uy sumptu. 1ie ous life, to do no good to rheir counrr)r; they must ario do ir posiiiue harm. They leave no ground to be tilled;'rhey'enctor.

"'Whar is that?' asked the Cardinal. "'Your sheep,' I answered, 'which are usually so tame and so cheaplS fed' begin now, according to ,por,, a l. ro gieedy-and *ita tnat thel devour human beings rhimselves ,nJ d.r.r,.te and depopulate 6eldi houses, and towns. In.a, thos-e p.r,r or ,r,. rearm wheri rLe finest and therefore cosrriest woor is produced, th.r..r. nobremen, l.i,t.r.n, ."1 even some abbots' thougl

rlaiig.i-rJr..;i

.r"ry-ti;[iffi';;;

6;;;il;.,ii rrr";l

revolutionaries, Rephecl, e wice lnd obcervlnt world trevelcr, upon whore

iiJ;',;ruH:',tl,l*1ff,I'riiiii,-i;:;;,6;*i;7i-ii;;:l;1fi;r';:[;ili;;.r"ii';;;;il,,

'fhomas More,-llspia,edited by Edwsrd surtz, s.J. (Nerv Hrven, conn.l yrtc

,.ii

82

Early

Mo/
\

Europe

Economic Life: The

Olr' ,{ry

g,

farm work reqir.cs many hands. Away they must go, I say, from the only homes familiar and known ro rhem, and they 6nd no shelter to go to. All their household goods which would nor fetch a great price if they could wait for a purchaser, since they rnust be thrust out, they sell for a trifle. "'After they have soon spent that trifle in wandering from place to place, what remains for them but to steal and be hanged-justly, you may sayl-or to wander and beg. And yet even in the laner case they are cast into prison as vagrants for going about idle when, thotrgh they most eagerly offer their labor, there is no one to hire them. For there is no farm work, to which they have been trained, to be had, when there is no land for plowing left. A single shepherd or herdsman is sufficient for grazing livestock on thet land for whose cultivation many hands were once re, quired to make it rais.e crops. . .' : :' "Yet surely, my dear More, to tell you candidly my heart's sentiments, it appears to me that where-ver you have private property and all men measure all things by cash values, there it is scarcely possible for a commonwealth to have justice or prosperity-unless you think iustice exists where all the best things flow into the hands of the worst citizens or prosperity prevails where all is divided among very few-and even they are not altogether well off, while the resr ere downright wretched. "As a result, when in my heart I ponder on the extremely wise and holy institutions of the Utopians, emong whom, with very few laws, affairs are ordered so aptly that virtue has its reward, and yet, with equality of distribution, all men have abundance of all things, and then when I contrasr wirh their policies the many nations elsewhere ever making ordinartces and yet never one of them achieving good order-nations where whatever a man has acquired he calls his own private property, but where all these laws daily framed are nor enough for a man ro secure or to defend or even to distinguish from someone el3e's the goods which each in turn calls his own, a predicament readily attested by the numberless and ever new and interminable lawsuits-when I consider, I repeat, all these facts, I become more partial to Plato and less surprised at his refusal to make laws for those who rejected that legislation which gave to all an equal share in all goods. "This wise sage, to be sure, easily foresaw that the one and only road to the general welfare lies in the maintenance of equality in all respects. I have my doubts that the latter could ever be preserved where the individual's possessions are his private properry. When every man aims at absolute ownership of all the properry he can gerr be there never so great abundance of goods, it is all shared by a handful who leave the rest in poverty. It generally happens that the one class preeminqnrly deserves the lot of the other, for the rich are greedy, unscrupulousr and useless,

able.burden of poverty and misfortunes for by far the giearest and by

while the poor are well-behaved, simple, and by their dairy industry more beneficial ro rhe commonwealth rhan to themsllves. I am fully persuaded that no iust and even distribution of goods can be made and that no happiness can be found in human affairs unless private properry is utterly abolished. while it lasts, there will always remain a heavy .nd in"s..f-

far the best parr of mankind. . . ."

. .As.the report goes and as the rPr""rnrr". of the ground shows, the island once was not surrounded by iea. But utopus,-who as conqueror gave the island its name (up to then it had been crlted Abraxa) and who brought the rude and rustic people to such a perfection of culture and humanity as makes them now superior to almosi arl other mortals, gained
a

fifteen miles on the side where the land was connected with the continent and caused the sea to flow around the rand. He set to the task not only the nativ.es bur, ro prevenr them from thinking the rabor , ;irgr;;.;;l', own soldiers also. with the work divided arnong so many hlnds,'the enterprise was finished with incredibre speed and iiruck theieighboring peoples, who at 6rst had derided the proiect as vain, with *oider ani identical in la.nguage, traditions, cuitoms, and laws, They are siiiraiarso in la.yout and.everywhere, as far as the nature of the iround p;i;, similar even in ap-pearance. None of them is ,"p.r.,Id uy-r*, ,r,ii

-victory

at his very first landing. He then ordered the excavat'ion of

terror at its success. The island contains fifty-four city.stares, ail spacious and magnificent,

than the masters of wi,at they'hold. Everywhere in the rural diitricts they have, at suitable distances from oneanother,farmhousesweliequippedwithagriculturalimptements

twenty-four miles from the nearest, but none is so lsolated that a person cannot go from it to another.in a day's iourney on foot. rrorn three old and experienced citizenr common -Let to discuss rhe affairs of ".ir,.ity interest to the island once a year at Amaurotum, for this city, being in the very center of the country, is situated most conveniLntly foi rhe ,"f ,.r.ntatives of all sections. tt is considered the chief as well ,t," i"iilt The lands are so well assigned to the cities that each ", at leJst twelve "ity. has miles.of country gn gvery side, and on some sides even much more, to wit, the side on which the cities are farther apart. No city has any desire to extend its territory, for they consider themselves thi tenants rather 'ol.vr
:

Theyareinhabitedbycitizens*lroc.o-einsucJessiontoliveit,.'..N" rural household numbers less than forty men and women, besides two : serfs attached to the soil. over theri are set a master and a mistress,, . . .u
r-,l.i

. - r...;?ili+i. ' : tr.'

.,**rtn*u '*'.1iqi/5,M+r*l;

84

Early

M1 r Europe

workingmen-xcepr for the-utopians. The ratter divide the day and night into twenty-four equal houri and assign only six ," *"ir,. There are three before noon, afrer which they go to dinn".. After dinner, when they have rested for two hours in rhi ifternoon, they again give three ,o *::l and.finish up with supper. Counting or," o,"lo.i as 6eginning at midday, rhey go to bed about eight o,cloik, and sleep clairns eighi
hours.

ifanyone is attracted to anothe-r occupation, he is transferred by adoption to a family pursuing rhar crafr for which he has a riking. cale is taken not only by his father bgt by the authorities, too, that he i"itt u" assigned to a greve and honorable householder. Moreover, if anyone after b-eing thoroughly taught one craft desires another arso, ihe r"1," f.ioission is given. Having acquired. both,,he practices his choice unless the city has more need of the one than of the other, The phief and almost the onry function of the syphogranrs is to manage and provide that no one sit idre, but that each hiiself inJustrious-ly to his trade, and yet rhat he be not wearied lnniy ueart or uuiJ"n *itt tit L a constant toil from early morning till late at night. such wretchedness is worse than the lot of slaves, and yet it is almJst everywhere the life of

Agriculture rs the one pursuit which is common to all, both men and women, wirhout exception. They are all instructed in it from childhood, partly by principles taught in school, partly by 6eld trips to the farms closer to rhe city as if for recrearion. u"r" trr"y do not merely look on, bu.t, as opporrunity arises for bodiry exercise, ttrey ao the actuar work. Besides agriculture (which is, as I srid, common io ail), each is taught one particular craft as his own. This is generally either wool-worklng or. linen'making or masonry or mehr-working or There is no ""rpentry. other pursuit which occupies any number worth mentioning. As for clothes, these are of one and the same patern throughout the island and down rhe centuries, though there is a distinction beiween the-sexes and between the single and married. The garments are comely ro the eye, convenient for bodily movement, and fii for wear in heat and cold. Each family, I say, does irs own tailoring. of the other crafts, one is learnid by each person, and not the men only, but the women too. The latter as the weaker sex have the lighter occupations and generally work wool and flax. To the men are committed the.remaining more laborious crefts. For the mosr parrr i. brought up in his father's craft, for which most have a natural inclination. But "..r,

.rJiirr., virtues check the poyer of the vices, by *h"i nrL ,h;t;;;;te designs; and, finally,

Economic Life: The Olden Way gj daybreak. Attendance is compulsory only for those who have been specially chosen to devote themierves'to learning. greai A numue, or att classes, however, both mares and femares, flockio heir the lectures, some to one and some to anorher, according to their n"aur.iin.rin.tion. gut if anyone should prefer to devore this tlme to his trade, as is rhe case with many minds which do not reach the rever for rny oiit. il;il;, inte[ec. tual disciplines, he is not hindered; in fact, t. ii p;;iJ as usefur to the commonwealth. "u.i A.fter s.uppgr they spend one hour in recreation, in summer in the gardens, in winter in the common hails in ;r,i"t ,ii!y'ir.*'r'i"r, meats. There they either pray music or enterrain themserves wr,h Dice and that kind of foolish and ruinous game "r;;;;r;,ril: they are nor with' They d9 pt"y rwo games not unrike chess. The first is ""qr;;;;;; a battre of numbers in which one number prunders another. rne s."oiJis a game in which the vices figh1 a pirchid battle with the virtues. In the ratter is exhibited very clevirry, to begin with,-both the strife of"the vices with one another and their concertJd-opposition to the virtuesi then, *hat vices are opposed to what virtu.es,.bf what forces grr"y op.nty, by what srraragems they attack inairectly, uy wti"i'..r"gurra, th.

ii

th;

rheir by what means'the orre side gains the victory.

The intervals berween the hours of work, sleep, and food are reft to every man's discretion, not to waste in revelry oridlen"ss, but to devote the time free from work to some other occupation according io ,rr,". These periods are commonly devoted to inter:rectuar purrritrl ro.ii i. their custom that public lectures are daily delivered in the hours before

Now you can see how nowhere is ther" any ricense to waste time, nowhere any. prerext ro evade work-no *i"; ;iop,-iro-rt"iour., no brothel anywhere, no^opportunity for corruprion, irir,i"g hore, no secrer meeting prace. on the contriry, being.underir,. "'"-i" oiirr, p"opi" are bound either to be performing the uruiuuoi o;; "y.r;","ying their leisure in a fashion noi.without i"""n.y. This universar behavior must of ne.cessity lead to an abundance of ail Jommodities. since the latter are distributed evenly among all, it followr, oi.orrr"; ,h.;;;';;e can be reduced to poverry or beggary. ln the senate at Amaurotum (to which, as I said before, rhree are sent city),.they first deiermine what commoaity is in :*::1,,1llr^l _.-'_":t prenty in each particurar prace and again where on the isranJ in" .rop, have. been meager. ir once fill ip ,t scarcity of one place by the surplus of another. llref service they " This ierform *i,tioui ;;;;;;;, receiving nothing in return from those,6 irto- they give. i-(or" *to t.r" p,'ti"u1.i ty tt o.i' rlq-u il i n g, ny jT:: :::1',":::::" ?: it receive what. thiy.iack from.an6,n"i ..i; rerurn from "i i" *t " given nothing. Thus, the whole isunais-iit<;;

:t

::l

;i;h. f;;lir.

i.ilrliin.

Now I have described-toyou, as exactly as I could, rhe structure of tha comrrronwealth which I iudge not merely the best il.,hr;;l;;;;il;

eorr . rSrrtlrJ wr6rur rus lrollls vl a l,vutlrlultwEallll.

I
;iji
iil
i

\ruL)lug

L/

tuPrar tu ug

iil
,iiir ill
iii
rli

sure, men talk freely of the public welfare-but look after thei' orivate interests only. [n Utopia where nothing is private, they serious ncern themselves with public affairs. Assuredly in both cases they acr rasoot-

27.

FOR THE RELIET OF THE

R,

bly. For, outside Utopia, how many are there who do not realize that, unless they make some separate provision for themselves, however flourishing the commonwealth, they will themselves starve? For this reasonl
necessity compels them to hold that they must take account of themselves rather than of the people, that is, of others. On the other hand, in Utopia, where everything belongs to everybody, no one doubts, provided only that the public granaries are well filled, that the individual will lack nothing for his private use. The reason is that the distribution of goods is not niggardly. In Utopia there is no poor man and no beggar. Though no man has anything, yet all are rich. For what can be greater riches for a man than to live with a ioyful and peaceful mind, free of all worries not troubled about his food or harassed by the querulous demands of his wife or fearing poverty for his son or worrying about his daughter's dowry, but feeling secure about the livelihood and happiness of himself and his family: wife, sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, great-great-grandsons, and all the long line of their descendants that gentlefolk anticipate? Then take into eccount the fact that there is no less provision for those who are now helpless but once worked than for those who are still working. At this point I should like anyone to be so bold as to compare this fairness with the so-called justice prevalent in other nations, among which, upon my soul, I cannot discover the slightest race of justice and fairness. What brand of iustice is it that any nobleman whatsoever or goldsmith-banker or moneylender or, in fact, anyone else from among those who either do no work at all or whose work is of a kind not very essential to the commonwealth, should attain a life of luxury and grandeur on the basis of his idleness or his nonessential work? In the meantime, the common laborer, the carter, the carpenter, and the farmer perform work so hard and continuous that beasts of burden could scarcely endure it and work so essential that no commontil/ealth could last even one year without it, Yet they earn such scanty fare and lead such a miserable life that the condition of beasts of burden might seem far preferable. The latter do not have to work so incessantly nor is their food much worse (in fact, sweeter to their taste) nor do they entertain any fear for the future. The workmenr on the other hand, not only have to toil and suffer without return or pro6t in the present but agonize over the rhought of an indigent old age. Their daily wage is too scanty to suffice even for the day: much less is there an excess and surplus that daily can be laid by for their needs in old age.

of the l6rh I1._:::l"I'r'_r:*lornf c!a1ge-sof the. poor "$rury in Engl aooptron ot An Act for rhe. Relief ry{ t 59g, which-r
i-. rs r, e/en barely" ey'en a barelv suffici was no longer the province of the ctltrth, .iit t Ja U*"' by.the .T:_:?: each plish- to provide syite. k was the dutl gove\mcnt in -?:..n_1.::p,ed nr.na ;;;.i
11,.,^091. I : could vuru
i

rll
,,l1

ill ii:

\no

p ri c p t., ; h. ; ;; id !not d o w ntheirn own livelihoods, ;l/,y;,; idrrur earn rnerr rarn llvelrhoods,";

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t'
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+'fJ;,Xtr.,Tlff ,:'','*':',ii:,i?,l{:[?:'#liiXt"J*
Poor Relief A

:ii

of 1598

of all

Be it enacted bil, the ity of this presenr parlian: Churchwardens oi rish, and four subsrantial hous . . . who shall be noriipdted yearly in Easter ;;;k; r;;;; seal of two-or more Jft".s tf," peace in the same co, in or near the same p ::? the same parish; and they part of them shall,/ake p::r or rnem snalfake orderyom time to time by and wir :: :yo o.,n ore s/ch Justices o\,peace for setting [o work c

:i::iyl:::.:",1r9.
such,*h"l

tf l:::1.h. B/"f\welring po\lf

perenrs

and m/intain rheir chil\n, hnJrtro .tt ,r"n pa :"- unmarri or.unmarried/ashaving no means or l:.-f \maintain them use no d^.ily tr.ede life to ff taxationget their livilg by; and also to ra otherwisepy or :..::. *,::y't"y.raxerton of every iinhab$nt and every occr ln.the saiy'parish in such compet.nt,rm\d sums of mone think fi/a convenient stock of.flax, hemp) conventenr stocl( of,flax, hemp,\ool, thread, ir ware and stuff to set the pooi.o\*ork, and al sums y'f money for and towards the necessarf of tfre i, and. such other among them il;g \i.f pbe, and not lld;/lt.d:

shau\ot Uy tr,. s.iJ"p;;r;;;'il

?y::l a/d.to do.and execute ali other things,

I: out of the same.parish according to the ab\ity l:: the. puning out.oisuch childien \ a;;p;;
i, *.rii;E:o;r;
as to

of tt

ftock.T.o.tlrerwise concprning the premises,

t: Which said Church*."dens,'rnd Overseers so to

them\iall