Utopia (book)

Thomas More’s Utopia is a work of fiction and political satire, first published in Latin in 1516 and revised in 1518. Its full original title translates to “A truly golden little book, not less beneficial than enjoyable, about how things should be in a state and about the new island Utopia.” The story is told as a frame narrative, focusing on an imaginary island and its religious, social, and political customs, many of which resemble monastic life. The name “Utopia” comes from Greek roots: ou- meaning “not” and topos meaning “place,” with a suffix typical of place names—so it literally means “nowhere.” More first called the island Nusquama, the Latin equivalent of “no-place,” before settling on the Greek-derived name.

Book 1: Dialogue of Counsel

In English, Utopia is pronounced the same as Eutopia, which in Greek means “good place.” More himself noted this confusion in an addendum, writing that his island should rightly be called Eutopie, a place of felicity. The first edition included a woodcut map of the island, the Utopian alphabet, poems by Pieter Gillis, Gerard Geldenhouwer, and Cornelius Grapheus, and a dedicatory letter from More to Gillis. The book opens with letters between More and real people he met in Europe—Peter Gilles, town clerk of Antwerp, and Hieronymus van Busleyden, a counselor to Charles V. These letters, along with a sample of Utopian alphabet and poetry, make the fictional land seem more believable. They explain why few have visited Utopia: someone coughed when its exact coordinates were announced.

In this book, More meets the traveler Raphael Hythlodaeus in Antwerp, and they discuss how best to advise a prince, a common topic at the time. Raphael criticizes European problems like kings starting wars and wasting money, and he argues against executing thieves, saying it makes murder safer for criminals. He blames theft on the enclosure of common land, which causes poverty and starvation as people are denied access to land for sheep farming.

More suggests Raphael could be a royal advisor, but Raphael refuses, saying his views are too radical. He aligns himself with Plato, believing kings must study philosophy to govern well. More reflects on whether philosophers should work within flawed systems to improve them rather than starting from scratch. Utopia is set in the New World, and More connects Raphael’s travels to Amerigo Vespucci’s real voyages.

Raphael is said to be one of the 24 men Vespucci left for six months at Cabo Frio, Brazil, in 1507. From there, Raphael travels further and discovers the island of Utopia, where he spends five years studying its customs. According to More, the island is crescent-shaped, about two hundred miles across at its widest point, tapering toward the ends, which curve to form a circle roughly five hundred miles in circumference.