Nomos and Platonism in More's Utopia

This essay, following an existing train of scholarship working to make sense of the Platonic connection to Utopia, argues for nomos as a useful angle in furthering this understanding. Raphael's approach to politics combines with the Utopian social system to suggest a highly Platonic vision of nomos, whereby social norms are absorbed into an essentialized nature, stripped of all arbitrariness and therefore, ostensibly, perfectly rational. The result is a sterile regime that fails to acknowledge the whimsical elements necessary to the human soul and therefore also necessary to actual human societies.

The Utopia Correspondence of 1515

A thoroughly annotated and complete modern English translation and normalization of More’s correspondence has been needed for a long time. Many new letters have been uncovered in the 75 years since the publication of Elizabeth Roger’s still-indispensable edition, and intervening scholarship has prompted the reevaluation of important details of chronology and authorship. This article details the story of the work begun by a team of German scholars working under Hubertus Schulte-Herbrüggen in the 1980s towards bringing a new edition to fruition and offers introductions, notes, and translations to the so-called Utopia correspondence between Henry VIII and his ambassadors in the Low Countries as a sample of recently-renewed efforts to bring out a new edition of More’s correspondence.

The Political Theory of Thomas More’s Epigrammata

This essay argues that More’s Epigrammata contains a coherent political theory that is inspired by ancient Roman republicanism. More defines “liberty” as the people’s willing obedience to virtuous leaders who rule for the common good, and he claims that popular opinion is the source of legitimacy rather than divine sanction. In doing so, More critiques the Tudor regime and presents an alternative theory of kingship based on his understanding of liberty. However, More also criticizes hereditary monarchy as such and explicitly prefers a republican regime of elected men who share authority among equal peers. This republican regime more effectively promotes the common good, but it depends upon virtue in the rulers and in the citizens. More’s satirical epigrams on virtue and vice are part of his political teaching insofar as they establish his conception of citizen virtue, which supports his republicanism.