More: DE OPTIMO STATU REIPUBLICAE DEQUE NOVA INSULA UTOPIA (1516)

De optimo statu reipublicae deque noua insula Utopia sermonis quem Raphael Hythlodaeus uir eximius, de optimo reipublicae statu habuit liber primus, per illustrem uirum Thomam Morum inclitae Britanniarum urbis Londini et ciuem, et uicecomitem.

On the best state of the commonwealth and on the new island Utopia, the discourse which Raphael Hythlodaeus, a most distinguished man, delivered on the best state of the commonwealth, Book One, by the illustrious man Thomas More, both a citizen of the renowned city of London of the Britains, and undersheriff.

[homo peregrinans Raphael Hythlodaeus]

[the wandering man Raphael Hythlodaeus]

cum non exigui momenti negotia quaedam inuictissimus Angliae Rex Henricus eius nominis octauus, omnibus egregii principis artibus ornatissimus, cum serenissimo castellae principe Carolo controuersa nuper habuisset, ad ea tractanda, componendaque, oratorem me legauit in Flandriam, comitem et collegam uiri incomparabilis Cuthberti Tunstalli, quem sacris scriniis nuper ingenti omnium gratulatione praefecit, de cuius sane laudibus nihil a me dicetur, non quod uerear ne parum sincerae fidei testis habenda sit amicitia, sed quod uirtus eius, ac doctrina maior est, quam ut a me praedicari possit, tum notior ubique atque illustrior, quam ut debeat, nisi uideri uelim solem lucerna, quod aiunt, ostendere.

since the most unconquered King of England, Henry VIII, most adorned with all the arts of an egregious prince, had lately had certain matters of no slight moment in controversy with the most serene Prince of Castile, Charles, he sent me as orator (ambassador) into Flanders to handle and to settle them, as companion and colleague of that incomparable man Cuthbert Tunstall, whom he has lately, with the immense congratulation of all, set over the sacred archives; of whose praises indeed nothing will be said by me, not because I fear that friendship should be held a witness of less than sincere faith, but because his virtue and doctrine are greater than that they can be proclaimed by me, and moreover are everywhere more well-known and more illustrious than that they ought to be—unless I should wish to seem to show, as they say, the sun by a lamp.

occurrerunt nobis Brugis—sic enim conuenerat—hi, quibus a principe negotium demandabatur, egregii uiri omnes. in his praefectus Brugensis uir magnificus, princeps et caput erat, ceterum os et pectus Georgius Temsicius Cassiletanus Praepositus, non arte solum, uerum etiam natura facundus, ad haec iureconsultissimus, tractandi uero negotii cum ingenio, tum assiduo rerum usu eximius artifex. ubi semel atque iterum congressi, quibusdam de rebus non satis consentiremus, illi in aliquot dies uale nobis dicto, Bruxellas profecti sunt, principis oraculum sciscitaturi.

they met us at Bruges—so indeed it had been agreed—those to whom the business had been entrusted by the prince, all distinguished men. among these the Prefect of Bruges, a magnificent man, was the chief and head; but the voice and heart was George Temse, the Provost of Cassel, eloquent not only by art but also by nature, moreover a most consummate jurisconsult, and in handling the business an outstanding craftsman, both by native talent and by assiduous experience of affairs. when, after we had met once and again, we were not quite in agreement about certain matters, they, having bidden us farewell for several days, set out for Brussels to consult the prince’s oracle.

ego me interim—sic enim res ferebat—Antuerpiam confero. ibi dum uersor, saepe me inter alios, sed quo non alius gratior, inuisit Petrus Aegidius Antuerpiae natus, magna fide, et loco apud suos honesto, dignus honestissimo, quippe iuuenis haud scio doctiorne, an moratior. est enim optimus et litteratissimus, ad haec animo in omnes candido, in amicos uero tam propenso pectore, amore, fide, adfectu tam sincero, ut uix unum aut alterum usquam inuenias, quem illi sentias omnibus amicitiae numeris esse conferendum.

I meanwhile—for so the matter required—betake myself to Antwerp. There, while I sojourn, Peter Giles, born at Antwerp, of great good faith and of an honorable station among his own people, worthy of the most honorable, indeed a young man I know not whether more learned or more well-mannered, often visited me among others, but than whom no other was more agreeable. For he is most excellent and most lettered, moreover with a mind candid toward all, but toward friends with a heart so inclined, with love, fidelity, and affection so sincere, that you would scarcely anywhere find one or two whom you would judge to be comparable to him in every particular of friendship.

rara illi modestia, nemini longius abest fucus, nulli simplicitas inest prudentior, porro sermone tam lepidus, et tam innoxie facetus, ut patriae desiderium, ac laris domestici, uxoris, et liberorum, quorum studio reuisendorum nimis quam anxie tenebar—iam tum enim plus quattuor mensibus abfueram domo—magna ex parte mihi dulcissima consuetudine sua, et mellitissima confabulatione leuauerit.

a rare modesty is his; from no one is pretense more remote, in no one is there a more prudent simplicity; moreover, so charming in speech, and so innocently facetious, that the longing for my fatherland and for the household hearth, my wife, and my children—by whose eagerness to be revisited I was held only too anxiously—for by that time I had been away from home for more than four months—he in great part relieved for me by his most delightful companionship and his most honey-sweet conversation.

hunc cum die quadam in templo diuae Mariae, quod et opere pulcherrimum, et populo celeberrimum est, rei diuinae interfuissem, atque peracto sacro, pararem inde in hospitium redire, forte colloquentem uideo cum hospite quodam, uergentis ad senium aetatis, uultu adusto, promissa barba, penula neglectim ab humero dependente, qui mihi ex uultu atque habitu nauclerus esse uidebatur.

When, on a certain day, I had attended the divine service in the temple of the Blessed Mary—which is both most beautiful in workmanship and most frequented by the people—and, the sacred rite completed, was preparing to return thence to my lodging, by chance I see him conversing with a certain stranger, a man of an age verging toward old age, with a sunburnt face, a long beard, a cloak hanging carelessly from his shoulder, who from his face and dress seemed to me to be a shipmaster.

at Petrus ubi me conspexit, adit ac salutat. respondere conantem seducit paululum, et uides inquit hunc!—simul designabat eum cum quo loquentem uideram—eum inquit iam hinc ad te recta parabam ducere. uenisset inquam pergratus mihi tua causa.

But when Peter caught sight of me, he comes up and greets me. As I was trying to reply, he draws me aside a little, and says, “Do you see this man!”—at the same time he was pointing out the one with whom I had seen him talking—“him,” he says, “I was already preparing straight from here to bring to you.” “He would have come,” I said, “most welcome to me for your sake.”

immo, inquit ille, si nosses hominem, sua. nam nemo uiuit hodie mortalium omnium, qui tantam tibi hominum, terrarumque incognitarum narrare possit historiam. quarum rerum audiendarum scio auidissimum esse te. ergo inquam non pessime coniectaui.

“Nay rather,” said he, “if you knew the man, for his own sake. For of all mortals alive today, there lives no one who could narrate to you so great a history of men and of un-known lands. And I know you to be most avid for the hearing of such things.” “Therefore,” I said, “I did not conjecture amiss.”

nam primo aspectu protinus sensi hominem esse nauclerum. atqui inquit aberrasti longissime; nauigauit quidem non ut Palinurus, sed ut Ulysses; immo uelut nempe Plato. Raphael iste, sic enim uocatur gentilicio nomine Hythlodaeus, et latinae linguae non indoctus, et graecae doctissimus—cuius ideo studiosior quam Romanae fuit, quoniam totum se addixerat philosophiae; qua in re nihil quod alicuius momenti sit, praeter Senecae quaedam, ac Ciceronis extare latine cognouit—relicto fratribus patrimonio, quod ei domi fuerat—est enim Lusitanus—orbis terrarum contemplandi studio Amerigo Vespucio se adiunxit, atque in tribus posterioribus illarum quattuor nauigationum quae passim iam leguntur, perpetuus eius comes fuit, nisi quod in ultima cum eo non rediit.

for at first glance I immediately sensed the man to be a shipmaster. But he says, you have strayed very far; he did indeed sail not as Palinurus, but as Ulysses; nay, rather, just as Plato. This Raphael—so he is called by his gentile-name Hythlodaeus—both in the Latin tongue not unlearned, and in the Greek most learned—of which therefore he was more studious than of the Roman, since he had wholly devoted himself to philosophy; in which matter he knew that nothing of any moment exists in Latin, except certain things of Seneca and of Cicero—having left to his brothers the patrimony which he had at home—for he is a Lusitanian—out of zeal for contemplating the globe joined himself to Amerigo Vespucci, and in the three later of those four voyages which are now read everywhere, he was his constant companion, except that on the last he did not return with him.

curauit enim atque adeo extorsit ab Amerigo, ut ipse in his xxiiii esset qui ad fines postremae nauigationis in castello relinquebantur. itaque relictus est, uti obtemperaretur animo eius, peregrinationis magis quam sepulchri curioso. quippe cui haec assidue sunt in ore, caelo tegitur qui non habet urnam, et undique ad superos tantumdem esse uiae.

for he contrived, and even extorted, from Amerigo that he himself should be among those 24 who, at the farthest limits of the last voyage, were left in a fort. therefore he was left behind, that his disposition might be obeyed—curious of peregrination rather than of sepulcher. for indeed these sayings are constantly on his lips: he is covered by the sky who has no urn, and from every side it is the same distance to the gods above.

quae mens eius, nisi deus ei propitius adfuisset, nimio fuerat illi constatura.

which plan of his, unless God had been propitious to him, would have cost him far too dearly.

ceterum postquam digresso Vespucio multas regiones cum quinque castellanorum comitibus emensus est, mirabili tandem fortuna Taprobanen delatus, inde peruenit in Caliquit, ubi repertis commode Lusitanorum nauibus, in patriam denique praeter spem reuehitur.

However, after Vespucci departed, he, having traversed many regions with five companions of the castellans, was at length, by marvelous fortune, borne to Taprobane; thence he arrived at Calicut, where, Portuguese ships conveniently having been found, he is at last conveyed back to his fatherland beyond hope.

[peregrinationes Raphaelis]

[peregrinations of Raphael]

haec ubi narrauit Petrus, actis ei gratiis quod tam officiosus in me fuisset, ut cuius uiri colloquium mihi gratum speraret, eius uti sermone fruerer, tantam rationem habuisset, ad Raphaelem me conuerto, tum ubi nos mutuo salutassemus, atque illa communia dixissemus, quae dici in primo hospitum congressu solent, inde domum meam digredimur, ibique in horto considentes in scamno cespitibus herbeis constrato, confabulamur.

When Peter had narrated these things, thanks having been given to him because he had been so obliging toward me—inasmuch as he had had such consideration that, since he hoped the colloquy of that man would be pleasing to me, I might enjoy the use of his discourse—I turn to Raphael; then, when we had exchanged greetings and had said those commonplaces which are wont to be said at the first meeting of guests, from there we go off to my house, and there, sitting in the garden on a bench covered with grassy sods, we confabulate.

narrauit ergo nobis, quo pacto posteaquam Vespucius abierat, ipse, sociique eius, qui in castello remanserant, conueniendo atque blandiendo coeperint se paulatim eius terrae gentibus insinuare, iamque non innoxie modo apud eas, sed etiam familiariter uersari, tum principi cuidam—cuius et patria mihi, et nomen excidit—grati, carique esse. eius liberalitate narrabat commeatum, atque uiaticum ipsi et quinque eius comitibus affatim fuisse suppeditatum, cum itineris—quod per aquam ratibus, per terram curru peragebant—fidelissimo duce, qui eos ad alios principes, quos diligenter commendati petebant, adduceret. nam post multorum itinera dierum, oppida atque urbes aiebat reperisse se, ac non pessime institutas magna populorum frequentia respublicas.

he therefore told us how, after Vespucius had departed, he himself and his companions who had remained in the fort began by meeting and by coaxing to insinuate themselves little by little with the peoples of that land, and now not only to have dealings among them without harm, but even to consort familiarly; then to be in favor with and dear to a certain prince—both whose country and name have slipped my memory. By his liberality, he said, provisions and viaticum had been supplied abundantly to himself and to five of his companions, with a most faithful guide for the journey—which they accomplished by water on rafts, by land by wagon—who should conduct them to other princes, whom, being carefully commended, they sought. For, after journeys of many days, he said he had found towns and cities, and commonwealths by no means ill-constituted, with a great concourse of peoples.

nempe sub aequatoris linea tum hinc atque inde ab utroque latere quantum fere spatii solis orbita complectitur, uastas obiacere solitudines perpetuo feruore torridas. squalor undique et tristis rerum facies horrida atque inculta omnia feris habitata, serpentibusque, aut denique hominibus, neque minus efferis quam sint beluae, neque minus noxiis. ceterum ubi longius euectus sis, paulatim omnia mansuescere.

namely, under the line of the equator, then on this side and that on either flank, as much stretch of space as the orbit of the sun almost encompasses, there lie vast solitudes, scorched by perpetual fervor. Squalor everywhere and a sad aspect of things: all horrid and uncultivated, inhabited by wild beasts and by serpents, or finally by men no less feral than the beasts, and no less noxious. But when you have been carried farther away, gradually all things grow tamer.

caelum minus asperum, solum uirore blandum, mitiora animantium ingenia, tandem aperiri populos, urbes, oppida, in his assidua non inter se modo, ac finitimos, sed procul etiam dissitas gentes, terra marique commercia. inde sibi natam facultatem multas ultro citroque terras inuisendi, quod nulla nauis ad iter quodlibet instruebatur, in quam non ille, comitesque eius libentissime admittebantur.

the climate less harsh, the soil coaxing with verdure, the natures of living creatures gentler; at length peoples, cities, towns are opened up, and among these continual commerce not only among themselves and their neighbors, but also with peoples far distant, by land and sea. thence, he said, there arose for him the opportunity of visiting many lands to and fro, since no ship was being equipped for whatever voyage, into which he and his companions were not most gladly admitted.

naues quas primis regionibus conspexerunt, carina plana fuisse narrabat. uela consutis papyris aut uiminibus intendebantur, alibi coriacea. post uero acuminatas carinas canabea uela reppererunt.

he related that the ships which they caught sight of in the first regions had a flat keel. The sails were stretched of papyrus stitched together or of wicker; elsewhere, of leather. Later, however, they found pointed keels and hempen sails.

omnia denique nostris similia. nautae maris ac caeli non imperiti. sed miram se narrabat inisse gratiam, tradito magnetis usu, cuius antea penitus erant ignari.

in short, everything was like our own. the sailors were not unskilled in sea and sky. but he said he had entered into marvelous favor by imparting the use of the magnet, of which before they had been utterly ignorant.

ideoque timide pelago consueuisse sese, neque alias temere, quam aestate credere. nunc uero eius fiducia lapidis contemnunt hiemem, securi magis, quam tuti, ut periculum sit, ne quae res magno eis bono futura putabatur, eadem per imprudentiam magnorum causa malorum fiat.

and therefore they had been accustomed to venture upon the sea timidly, nor to entrust themselves rashly at any other time than in summer. now, however, in confidence in that stone they contemn winter, more secure than safe, so that there is danger lest the very thing which was thought would be a great good to them, through imprudence become the cause of great evils.

quid quoque in loco se uidisse narrauit, et longum fuerit explicare, neque huius est operis institutum, et alio fortasse loco dicetur a nobis, praesertim quicquid ex usu fuerit non ignorari, qualia sunt in primis ea, quae apud populos usquam ciuiliter conuiuentes animaduertit, recte prudenterque prouisa. his enim de rebus et nos auidissime rogabamus, et ille libentissime disserebat, omissa interim inquisitione monstrorum, quibus nihil est minus nouum. nam Scyllas et Celenos rapaces, et Lestrigonas populiuoros, atque eiuscemodi immania portenta, nusquam fere non inuenias, at sane ac sapienter institutos ciues haud reperias ubilibet.

To recount what he said he had seen in each place would be lengthy to unfold, nor is it the plan of this work; perhaps it will be told by us elsewhere—especially whatever it would be of use not to be ignorant of, such as, in the first place, those things which he observed among peoples anywhere living civilly together, rightly and prudently provided. For about these matters we too were asking most avidly, and he was discoursing most willingly, the inquiry into monsters being meanwhile omitted, than which nothing is less novel. For Scyllas and ravenous Celaenos, and people-devouring Laestrygonians, and monstrous portents of that sort, you will find almost anywhere; but citizens sanely and wisely instituted you will not find just anywhere.

ceterum ut multa apud nouos illos populos adnotauit perperam consulta, sic haud pauca recensuit, unde possint exempla sumi corrigendis harum urbium, nationum, gentium, ac regnorum erroribus idonea, alio, ut dixi, loco a me commemoranda.

However, as he noted many measures ill-advisedly consulted among those new peoples, so too he reviewed not a few, whence examples might be taken, suitable for correcting the errors of these cities, nations, peoples, and kingdoms—matters to be commemorated by me, as I said, in another place.

nunc ea tantum referre animus est, quae de moribus atque institutis narrabat Utopiensium, praemisso tamen eo sermone, quo uelut tractu quodam ad eius mentionem reipublicae deuentum est.

now it is my intention to relate only those things which he told about the customs and institutions of the Utopians, yet with that discourse prefaced, by which, as if by a certain traction, we came to the mention of that republic.

nam cum Raphael prudentissime recensuisset, alia hic, alia illic errata, utrobique certe plurima, tum quae apud nos, quaeue item sunt apud illos cauta sapientius, cum uniuscuiusque populi mores atque instituta sic teneret, tamquam in quemcumque locum diuertisset, totam ibi uitam uixisse uideretur, admiratus hominem miror Petrus, profecto mi Raphael, inquit, cur te regi cuipiam non adiungas, quorum neminem esse satis scio, cui tu non sis futurus uehementer gratus, utpote quem hac doctrina, atque hac locorum hominumque peritia non oblectare solum, sed exemplis quoque instruere, atque adiuuare consilio sis idoneus, simul hoc pacto et tuis rebus egregie consulueris, et tuorum omnium commodis magno esse adiumento possis.

for when Raphael had most prudently reviewed errors—some here, some there, certainly very many on both sides—and then what among us, and likewise what among them, is handled with more sapient caution; since he held the customs and institutions of each people in such a way that, as if he had turned aside into whatever place, he would seem to have lived his whole life there; admiring the man, Peter marvels: “Truly, my Raphael,” he says, “why do you not attach yourself to some king? I for my part know well there is not one of them to whom you would not be exceedingly welcome, inasmuch as you, with this learning and this expertise of places and of men, are fitted not only to delight, but also to instruct by examples and to assist with counsel; and at the same time, by this course, you would have provided excellently for your own affairs, and you could be a great aid to the interests of all your friends.”

quod ad meos attinet, inquit ille, non ualde commoueor, nempe in quos mediocriter opinor me officii mei partes impleuisse. nam quibus rebus alii non nisi senes et aegri cedunt, immo tum quoque aegre cedunt, cum amplius retinere non possunt, eas res ego non sanus modo ac uegetus, sed iuuenis quoque cognatis, amicisque dispartiui, quos debere puto hac mea esse benignitate contentos, neque id exigere atque expectare praeterea, ut memet eorum causa regibus in seruitium dedam.

as to my own people, said he, I am not greatly moved, namely those toward whom I think I have moderately fulfilled the parts of my duty. for the things which others yield only when old and sick—indeed even then they yield with difficulty, when they can no longer retain them—those things I, not only sound and vigorous, but even while a young man, have dis-parted to kinsfolk and friends; whom I think ought to be content with this my benignity, and not to demand and expect besides that, for their sake, I should give myself into servitude to kings.

bona uerba inquit Petrus, mihi uisum est non ut seruias regibus, sed ut inseruias.

"Good words," said Peter, "it seemed to me not that you should serve kings, but that you should be of service to them."

hoc est inquit ille, una syllaba plusquam seruias.

"that is," said he, "by one syllable more than 'serve'."

at ego sic censeo inquit Petrus, quoquo tu nomine rem appelles, eam tamen ipsam esse uiam, qua non aliis modo et priuatim, et publice possis conducere, sed tuam quoque ipsius conditionem reddere feliciorem.

but I am of this opinion, says Peter: by whatever name you call the matter, yet that this very thing is the way by which you can conduce not only to others, both privately and publicly, but also render your own condition itself more felicitous.

felicioremne inquit Raphael, ea uia facerem, a qua abhorret animus! atqui nunc sic uiuo ut uolo, quod ego certe suspicor paucissimis purpuratorum contingere. quin satis est eorum, qui potentum amicitias ambiunt, ne magnam putes iacturam fieri, si me atque uno aut altero mei similibus sint carituri.

happier, said Raphael, should I make myself by that way from which my mind recoils! and yet now I live as I will, which I certainly suspect to befall very few of the purpurates. nay rather, there are enough of those who court the friendships of potentates; do not think a great loss would be incurred, if they were to be without me and one or two like me.

tum ego, perspicuum est inquam te mi Raphael, neque opum esse, neque potentiae cupidum, atque ego profecto huius tuae mentis hominem non minus ueneror ac suspicio, quam eorum quemuis, qui maxime rerum sunt potentes. ceterum uideberis plane rem te atque isthoc animo tuo tam generoso, tam uere philosopho dignam facturus, si te ita compares, ut uel cum aliquo priuatim incommodo ingenium tuum atque industriam, publicis rebus accommodes, quod numquam tanto cum fructu queas, quanto si a consiliis fueris magno alicui principi, eique—quod te facturum certe scio—recta atque honesta persuaseris. nempe a principe bonorum, malorumque omnium torrens in totum populum, uelut a perenni quodam fonte promanat.

then I, it is perspicuous, I say, that you, my Raphael, are neither a man of wealth nor desirous of power; and I for my part venerate and esteem a man of this disposition of yours no less than any of those who are most powerful in affairs. moreover, you will plainly appear to be doing something worthy of yourself and of that spirit of yours so generous, so truly philosophical, if you so compose yourself that, even with some private inconvenience, you accommodate your natural talent and industry to public affairs—which you could never do with as much fruit as if you were in the counsels of some great prince, and to him—which I certainly know you would do—you were to persuade what is right and honest. for from a prince a torrent of all goods and ills pours into the whole people, as from a certain perennial fountain it emanates.

in te uero tam absoluta doctrina est, ut uel citra magnum rerum usum, porro tanta rerum peritia, ut sine ulla doctrina, egregium consiliarium cuiuis regum sis praestaturus.

But in you there is such absolute learning that even without great experience of affairs; and, moreover, such great expertise in affairs that, without any learning, you would furnish an excellent counselor to any of the kings.

bis erras, inquit ille, mi More, primum in me, deinde in re ipsa. nam neque mihi ea est facultas, quam tu tribuis, et si maxime esset, tamen cum otio meo negotium facesserem, publicam rem nihil promoueam. primum enim principes ipsi plerique omnes militaribus studiis—quorum ego neque peritiam habeo, neque desidero—libentius occupantur, quam bonis pacis artibus, maiusque multo studium est, quibus modis per fas ac nefas noua sibi regna pariant, quam uti parta bene administrent.

"Twice you err," said he, "my More, first about me, then about the matter itself. For neither have I the capability which you ascribe to me; and even if I had it in the highest degree, yet while I should be making business for my leisure, I would in no way advance the commonwealth. For, first, the princes themselves, almost all, are more willingly occupied with military studies—of which I have neither expertise nor desire—than with the good arts of peace; and there is a much greater zeal for contriving, by right and by wrong, how they may beget new realms for themselves, than for using the realms acquired so as to administer them well."

praeterea quicumque regibus a consilio sunt, eorum nemo est, qui non aut uere tantum sapit, ut non egeat, aut tantum sibi sapere uidetur, ut non libeat alterius probare consilium, nisi quod absurdissimis quibusque dictis assentiuntur et supparasitantur eorum, quos ut maxime apud principem gratiae, student assentatione demereri sibi. et certe sic est natura comparatum, ut sua cuique inuenta blandiantur. sic et coruo suus arridet pullus, et suus simiae catulus placet.

Moreover, whoever are to kings for counsel, there is none of them who does not either truly have so much wisdom that he has no need, or seems to himself to have so much wisdom that he does not care to approve another’s counsel—except that they assent to the most absurd sayings and under-parasite those whom, as being most in favor with the prince, they strive by flattery to win over for themselves. And certainly thus is nature contrived, that a man’s own inventions cajole him. Thus the crow’s own chick smiles upon it, and the monkey’s own whelp pleases.

quod si quis in illo coetu uel alienis inuidentium, uel praeferentium sua, aliquid afferat, quod aut aliis temporibus factum legit, aut aliis fieri locis uidit, ibi qui audiunt, perinde agunt, ac si tota sapientiae suae periclitaretur opinio, et post illa pro stultis plane sint habendi, nisi aliquid sufficiant inuenire, quod in aliorum inuentis uertant uitio. si cetera destituant, tum huc confugiunt, haec nostris, inquiunt, placuere maioribus, quorum prudentiam utinam nos aequaremus, itaque hoc dicto ueluti egregie perorata re considunt. tamquam magnum sit periculum, si quis ulla in re deprehendatur maioribus suis sapientior.

But if anyone in that assembly, whether of those envying what is another’s or those preferring their own, brings forward something which he has either read was done at other times, or has seen being done in other places, those who hear act just as if the whole opinion of their wisdom were in peril, and thereafter must plainly be accounted fools, unless they can manage to find something which they may turn to fault in the inventions of others. If other resources fail them, then they flee to this: “These things,” they say, “pleased our elders, whose prudence would that we might equal”; and so, with this said, as though the matter had been excellently perorated, they sit down—just as if it were a great danger if anyone should be found in any matter wiser than his ancestors.

a quibus tamen, ut quicque optime consultum est, ita aequissimo animo ualere sinimus. at si qua de re potuit consuli prudentius, eam protinus ansam cupide arreptam mordicus retinemus. itaque in haec superba, absurda, ac morosa iudicia, cum saepe alibi, tum semel in Anglia quoque incidi.

from which, nevertheless, inasmuch as each thing has been most excellently deliberated, we allow it to prevail with the most equitable mind. But if concerning any matter counsel could have been taken more prudently, that handle, straightway greedily seized, we hold on to tooth-and-nail. And so upon these proud, absurd, and morose judgments I have chanced to fall, often elsewhere, and once in England as well.

obsecro inquam, fuisti apud nos!

I beg, I say, have you been among us!

fui inquit, atque aliquot menses ibi sum uersatus, non multo post eam cladem, qua Anglorum occidentalium ciuile aduersus regem bellum miseranda ipsorum strage compressum est.

I was, he said, and for several months I tarried there, not long after that disaster by which the civil war of the Western English against the king was crushed with their own pitiable slaughter.

[de Cardinalis Ioannis Mortoni conuiuione]

[on Cardinal John Morton’s banquet]

interea multum debui reuerendissimo patri Ioanni Mortono Cantuariensi Archiepiscopo et Cardinali, ac tum quoque Angliae Cancellario, uiro mi Petre—nam Moro cognita sum narraturus—non authoritate magis, quam prudentia ac uirtute uenerabili. etenim statura ei mediocris erat, nec aetati, quamquam serae cedens. uultus quem reuereare, non horreas.

meanwhile I owed much to the most reverend father John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal, and then also Chancellor of England, a man, my Peter—for I am about to relate things known to More—venerable not so much for authority as for prudence and virtue. For his stature was moderate, nor did it yield to his age, although advanced. A countenance to revere, not to shudder at.

in congressu non difficilis. serius tamen et grauis. libido erat asperius interdum compellando supplicantes experiri, sed sine noxa, quid ingenii, quam animi praesentiam quisque prae se ferret, qua uelut cognata sibi uirtute, modo abesset impudentia delectabatur, et ut idoneam ad res gerendas amplectebatur, sermo politus et efficax, iuris magna peritia, ingenium incomparabile, memoria ad prodigium usque excellens.

in meeting not difficult. yet more serious and grave. he had a desire to test petitioners by at times addressing them rather more harshly, but without harm, to see what of wit, or rather what presence of mind, each displayed; in which, as in a virtue as it were cognate to himself, so long as impudence was absent, he took delight, and he embraced it as suitable for conducting affairs; speech polished and efficacious, great expertise in law, incomparable genius, a memory excelling to the point of prodigy.

haec enim natura egregia, discendo atque exercendo prouexit.

for this distinguished nature has advanced by learning and by exercising.

huius consiliis rex plurimum fidere, multum respublica niti—cum ego aderam—uidebatur. quippe qui ab prima fere iuuenta protinus a schola coniectus in aulam, maximis in negotiis per omnem uersatus aetatem, ac uariis fortunae aestibus assidue iactatus prudentiam rerum—quae sic recepta non facile elabitur—multis, magnisque cum periculis didicerat.

On this man’s counsels the king seemed to place the greatest trust, and the commonwealth to lean much—when I was present. For he, almost from his earliest youth, straightway from school cast into the court, having been engaged in the greatest affairs through his whole life, and assiduously tossed by the various tides of fortune, had learned prudence in affairs—which, thus acquired, does not easily slip away—with many and very great dangers.

forte fortuna cum die quodam in eius mensa essem, laicus quidam legum uestratium peritus aderat, is nescio unde nactus occasionem, coepit accurate laudare, rigidam illam iustitiam, quae tum illic exercebatur in fures, quos passim narrabat nonnumquam suspendi uiginti in una cruce, atque eo uehementius dicebat se mirari, cum tam pauci elaberentur supplicio, quo malo fato fieret, uti tam multi tamen ubique grassarentur.

by chance, when on a certain day I was at his table, there was present a certain layman, an expert in your laws; he, having gotten an occasion I know not whence, began meticulously to praise that rigid justice which was then there exercised upon thieves, whom he said were here and there sometimes hanged, twenty on a single cross; and he declared all the more vehemently that he marveled, since so few escaped punishment, by what evil fate it came about that so many nevertheless were marauding everywhere.

tum ego, ausus enim sum libere apud Cardinalem loqui; nihil mireris inquam. nam haec punitio furum et supra iustum est, et non ex usu publico. est enim ad uindicanda furta nimis atrox, nec tamen ad refrenanda sufficiens.

then I—for I had dared to speak freely before the Cardinal—do not marvel, I say. For this punishment of thieves is both beyond what is just and not in the public interest. For it is too atrocious for punishing thefts, and yet not sufficient for restraining them.

quippe neque furtum simplex tam ingens facinus est, ut capite debeat plecti, neque ulla poena est tanta, ut ab latrociniis cohibeat eos, qui nullam aliam artem quaerendi uictus habent. itaque hac in re non uos modo, sed bona pars huius orbis imitari uidetur malos praeceptores, qui discipulos uerberant libentius quam docent. decernuntur enim furanti grauia atque horrenda supplicia, cum potius multo fuerit prouidendum, uti aliquis esset prouentus uitae, ne cuiquam tam dira sit furandi primum, dehinc pereundi necessitas.

for neither is simple theft so immense a crime that it ought to be punished with death, nor is any punishment so great as to restrain from brigandage those who have no other art of seeking a livelihood. and so in this matter not you only, but a good part of this world, seems to imitate bad preceptors, who more readily flog their pupils than teach them. for grave and horrendous punishments are decreed for the thief, whereas it would much rather have been provided that there be some provision for livelihood, lest there be for anyone first the dire necessity of stealing, and then of perishing.

est inquit ille, satis hoc prouisum; sunt artes mechanicae, est agricolatio, ex his tueri uitam liceat, ni sponte mali esse mallent. at non sic euades inquam. nam primum omittamus eos, qui saepe uel ab externis bellis, uel ciuilibus mutili redeunt domum, ut nuper apud uos e Cornubiensi proelio, et non ita pridem e Gallico, qui uel reipublicae impendunt membra, uel regi, quos neque pristinas artes exercere debilitas patitur, neque aetas nouam discere.

“it is,” said he, “sufficiently provided for this; there are mechanical arts, there is agriculture; from these it is permitted to sustain life, unless they would rather choose to be wicked of their own accord.” “but you will not so escape,” said i. “for first let us set aside those who often return home maimed either from foreign wars or from civil ones, as lately among you from the cornish battle, and not so long ago from the french, who expend their limbs either for the commonwealth or for the king, whom disability does not allow to exercise their former arts, nor does age to learn a new one.”

hos inquam omittamus, quando bella per intermissas uices commeant. ea contemplemur, quae nullo die non accidunt.

let us, I say, omit these, since wars come and go in intermitted turns. let us contemplate those things which on no day fail to occur.

tantus est ergo nobilium numerus, qui non ipsi modo degant otiosi tamquam fuci laboribus aliorum, quos puta suorum praediorum colonos augendis reditibus ad uiuum usque radunt. nam eam solam frugalitatem nouere, homines alioquin ad mendicitatem usque prodigi; uerum immensam quoque otiosorum stipatorum turbam circumferunt, qui nullam umquam quaerendi uictus artem didicere. hi simul atque herus obierit, aut ipsi aegrotauerint, eiiciuntur ilico.

so great, then, is the number of nobles, who not only themselves live idle, like drones, on the labors of others—namely, the tenants of their estates, whom they scrape to the quick to augment revenues. For they know only this sort of frugality—men otherwise prodigal even to mendicancy; yet they also carry about with them an immense crowd of idle retainers, who have never learned any art of seeking a livelihood. These, as soon as the master has died, or they themselves have fallen ill, are cast out immediately.

nam et otiosos libentius quam aegrotos alunt, et saepe morientis heres non protinus alendae sufficit paternae familiae. interim illi esuriunt strenue, nisi strenue latrocinentur. nam quid faciant!

for they maintain the idle more willingly than the ailing, and often the heir of a dying man is not at once sufficient for the maintenance of the paternal household. meanwhile those men hunger strenuously, unless they strenuously commit latrociny. for what are they to do!

siquidem ubi errando paululum uestes ac ualetudinem attriuere, morbo iam squalidos, atque obsitos pannis, neque generosi dignantur accipere, neque audent rustici; non ignari eum qui molliter educatus in otio ac deliciis, solitus sit accinctus acinace ac cetra, totam uiciniam uultu nebulonico despicere et contemnere omnes prae se, haudquaquam idoneum fore, qui cum ligone ac marra, maligna mercede ac uictu parco, fideliter inseruiat pauperi.

since indeed, when by wandering a little they have worn down their clothes and their health, now squalid with disease and covered with rags, neither do the noble-born deign to receive them, nor do the rustics dare; not unaware that he who, softly reared in leisure and delights, has been accustomed, girded with scimitar and buckler, to look down upon the whole vicinity with a knavish countenance and to contemn all in comparison with himself, will be by no means suitable to serve faithfully a poor man with hoe and mattock, for a mean wage and on a sparing diet.

ad haec ille, atqui nobis inquit, hoc hominum genus in primis fouendum est. in his enim, utpote hominibus animi magis excelsi ac generosioris, quam sunt opifices aut agricolae, consistunt uires ac robur exercitus, si quando sit confligendum bello.

to this he said: and yet, says he, this kind of men must above all be fostered by us. for in them—inasmuch as they are men of a spirit more exalted and more generous than are craftsmen or agriculturists—consist the forces and the robust strength of the army, if ever there is to be a conflict in war.

profecto inquam ego, eadem opera dicas licet, belli gratia fouendos esse fures, quibus haud dubie numquam carebitis, dum habebitis hos. quin neque latrones sunt instrenui milites, neque milites ignauissimi latronum, adeo inter has artes belle conuenit. at hoc uitium tamen frequens est uobis, non proprium.

Assuredly, said I, with the same effort you may say that thieves ought to be fostered for the sake of war, of whom you will doubtless never be without, so long as you have these. Indeed, neither are brigands not-strenuous soldiers, nor are soldiers the most slothful of brigands, so well do these arts agree. But this vice, however, is common with you, not peculiar.

est enim omnium fere gentium commune. nam Gallias infestat alia praeterea pestis pestilentior, tota patria stipendiariis, in pace quoque—si illa pax est—oppleta atque obsessa militibus, eadem persuasione inductis, qua uos otiosos hic ministros alendos esse censuistis. nempe quod Morosophis uisum est, in eo sitam esse publicam salutem, si in promptu semper adsit ualidum, firmumque praesidium, maxime ueteranorum.

for it is common to almost all nations. for Gaul is infested by another pest, more pestilential besides, the whole fatherland, even in peace—if that is peace—crammed full and besieged by stipendiaries, by soldiers brought in under the same persuasion by which you have judged that idle ministers should be maintained here. namely, because it has seemed to the Morosophs that the public safety is placed in this: if there be always at hand a strong and firm guard, especially of veterans.

neque enim confidunt inexercitatis quicquam, ut uel ideo quaerendum eis bellum sit, ne imperitos habeant milites, et homines iugulandi gratis, ne—ut habet facete Sallustius—manus aut animus incipiat per otium torpescere.

for they do not confide anything to the unexercised, so that for that very reason war should be sought by them, lest they have inexperienced soldiers, and men to be butchered gratuitously, lest—as Sallust facetiously has it—the hand or the mind begin to grow torpid through leisure.

at quam sit perniciosum huiusmodi beluas alere, et Gallia suo malo didicit, et Romanorum, Carthaginensium, ac Syrorum, tum multarum gentium exempla declarant, quorum omnium non imperium modo, sed agros quoque, atque adeo urbes ipsas parati ipsorum exercitus aliis atque aliis occasionibus euerterunt. quam uero non magnopere necessarium, uel hinc elucescit, quod ne Galli quidem milites armis ab unguiculis exercitatissimi cum euocatis comparati uestris, admodum saepe gloriantur superiores sese discessisse, ut ne quid dicam amplius, ne praesentibus uidear adblandiri uobis.

but how pernicious it is to nourish beasts of this sort, both Gaul learned to its own harm, and the examples of the Romans, the Carthaginians, and the Syrians, and then of many nations, declare; for the well-prepared armies of all these, on one occasion and another, overthrew not only their Empire, but also their fields, and indeed the cities themselves. how truly not particularly necessary [such forces are], this too shines forth from the fact that not even the Gallic soldiers—most exercised in arms from their very fingernails—when compared with your evocati (recalled veterans), very often boast that they came off the superior side; so that I may say nothing further, lest I seem to flatter you who are present.

sed nec uestri illi uel opifices urbici, uel rudes atque agrestes agricolae otiosos generosorum stipatores creduntur ualde pertimescere, nisi aut hi quibus ad uires atque audaciam corpus contigit ineptius, aut quorum animi uis inopia rei familiaris infringitur, adeo periculum nullum est, ne quorum ualida et robusta corpora—neque enim nisi selectos dignantur generosi corrumpere—nunc uel elanguescunt otio, uel negotiis prope muliebribus emolliuntur, iidem bonis artibus instructi ad uitam, et uirilibus exercitati laboribus effeminentur. certe utcumque sese haec habet res, illud mihi nequaquam uidetur publicae rei conducere, in euentum belli, quod numquam habetis, nisi cum uultis, infinitam eius generis turbam alere, quod infestat pacem, cuius tanto maior haberi ratio, quam belli debeat. neque haec tamen sola est furandi necessitas.

but neither are your men, whether city craftsmen or rude and rustic husbandmen, believed to be greatly afraid of the idle bodyguards of the high‑born, unless either those to whom there has fallen a body rather ill‑suited for strength and audacity, or those whose force of spirit is broken by poverty of household means; accordingly there is no danger at all that those whose strong and robust bodies— for the well‑born deign to corrupt none save the select— now either grow languid with idleness, or are softened by occupations almost womanish, the same men, furnished with good arts for life and trained by manly labors, should be effeminized. assuredly, however this matter stands, this seems to me by no means to conduce to the commonwealth: to nourish, for the event of war—which you never have, except when you wish—an infinite throng of that sort, which infests peace, of which so much greater account ought to be had than of war. nor, however, is this the sole necessity of stealing.

est alia magis quantum credo, peculiaris uobis.

There is another, more so, as I believe, peculiar to you.

quaenam est ea! inquit

What is that! he says

oues Cardinalis. inquam uestrae, quae tam mites esse, tamque exiguo solent ali, nunc—uti fertur—tam edaces atque indomitae esse coeperunt, ut homines deuorent ipsos, agros, domos, oppida uastent ac depopulentur. nempe quibuscumque regni partibus nascitur lana tenuior, atque ideo pretiosior, ibi nobiles et generosi, atque adeo Abbates aliquot sancti uiri, non his contenti reditibus, fructibusque annuis, qui maioribus suis solebant ex praediis crescere, nec habentes satis, quod otiose ac laute uiuentes, nihil in publicum prosint, nisi etiam obsint, aruo nihil relinquunt, onmia claudunt pascuis, demoliuntur domos, diruunt oppida, templo dumtaxat stabulandis ouibus relicto, et tamquam parum soli perderent apud uos ferarum saltus, ac uiuaria, illi boni uiri habitationes omnes, et quicquid usquam est culti, uertunt in solitudinem.

the Cardinal’s sheep. I say, yours, which are wont to be so mild, and to be nourished on so little, now—as it is said—have begun to be so edacious and untamed that they devour men themselves, and lay waste and depopulate fields, homes, and towns. indeed, in whatever parts of the kingdom a finer wool is produced, and therefore more precious, there the nobles and the well-born, and even certain Abbots, holy men, not content with those revenues and annual fruits which used to increase to their ancestors from their estates, nor deeming it enough that, living idly and sumptuously, they profit nothing for the public unless indeed they also harm it, leave nothing to the ploughland, they enclose everything as pastures, they demolish houses, they tear down towns, the church only being left for stabling sheep, and as though game-forests and preserves among you wasted too little soil, those good men turn all habitations, and whatever anywhere is cultivated, into a wilderness.

ergo ut unus helluo inexplebilis ac dira pestis patriae, continuatis agris, aliquot milia iugerum uno circumdet septo, eiiciuntur coloni. quidam suis etiam aut circumscripti fraude, aut ui oppressi exuuntur, aut fatigati iniuriis, adiguntur ad uenditionem. itaque quoquo pacto emigrant miseri, uiri, mulieres, mariti, uxores, orbi, uiduae, parentes cum paruis liberis, et numerosa magis quam diuite familia, ut multis opus habet manibus res rustica, emigrant inquam e notis atque assuetis laribus, nec inueniunt quo se recipiant, supellectilem omnem haud magno uendibilem, etiam si manere possit emptorem, cum extrudi necesse est, minimo uenundant.

therefore, so that one insatiable glutton and a dire pest of the fatherland, with the fields made continuous, may surround several thousand acres with a single fence, the tenant-farmers are cast out. Some are even stripped of their own possessions, either overreached by fraud or oppressed by force, or, wearied by injuries, are driven to a sale. And so, somehow the wretched emigrate—men, women, husbands, wives, orphans, widows, parents with small children, and a household more numerous than wealthy, since country work needs many hands—they emigrate, I say, from their familiar and accustomed hearths, nor do they find where to take refuge; all their household goods, not saleable for much, even if a buyer could stay by waiting, since it is necessary to be thrust out, they sell for the very least.

id cum breui errando insumpserint, quid restat aliud denique, quam uti furentur, et pendeant iuste scilicet, aut uagentur atque mendicent. quamquam tum quoque uelut errones coniiciuntur in carcerem, quod otiosi obambulent, quorum operam nemo est qui conducat, cum illi cupidissime offerant. nam rusticae rei cui assueuerunt nihil est quod agatur, ubi nihil seritur.

when they have spent that in a short time by wandering, what at last remains except that they steal and are hanged—justly, to be sure—or else roam and beg? although then too they are thrown into prison as vagrants, because they saunter about idle, though there is no one to hire their labor, while they most eagerly offer it. for in the rustic business to which they have been accustomed there is nothing to be done where nothing is sown.

siquidem unus opilio atque bubulcus sufficit ei terrae depascendae pecoribus, in cuius cultum, ut sementi faciendae sufficeret, multae poscebantur manus.

since a single shepherd and cowherd suffices for that land to be grazed down by herds, whereas for its cultivation—so that sowing might be carried out—many hands were required.

atque hac ratione fit, ut multis in locis annona multo sit carior. quin lanarum quoque adeo increuit pretium, ut a tenuioribus, qui pannos inde solent apud uos conficere, prorsus emi non possint, atque ea ratione plures ab opere ablegantur in otium. nam post aucta pascua infinitam ouium uim absumpsit tabes, uelut eorum cupiditatem ulciscente deo immissa in oues lue, quam in ipsorum capita contortam esse fuerat iustius.

and by this method it comes about that in many places the grain-supply is much dearer. Nay, the price of wools has so increased that the poorer sort, who are accustomed among you to make cloths from it, cannot at all purchase it, and by that rationale more are sent away from work into idleness. For after the pastures were enlarged, a wasting disease consumed an infinite quantity of sheep, as though a god, avenging their cupidity, had sent a pestilence among the sheep—which would have been more just to have been turned upon their own heads.

quod si maxime increscat ouium numerus, pretio nihil decrescit tamen. quod earum, si monopolium appellari non potest quod non unus uendit, certe oligopolium est. reciderunt enim fere in manus paucorum, eorundemque diuitum, quos nulla necessitas urget ante uendendi quam libet, nec ante libet quam liceat quanti libet.

but even if the number of sheep should increase to the utmost, the price nevertheless does not decrease at all. for in their case, if it cannot be called a monopoly since not one man sells, it is certainly an oligopoly. for they have well-nigh fallen into the hands of a few, and these the same rich men, whom no necessity presses to sell before they please, nor does it please them before it is permitted to sell at whatever price they please.

iam cetera quoque pecorum genera, ut aeque cara sint, eadem ratio est, atque hoc etiam amplius, quod dirutis uillis, atque imminuta re rustica non sint qui foeturam curent. neque enim diuites illi, ut ouium, sic etiam armentorum foetus educant; sed aliunde macra empta uili, posteaquam suis pascuis pinguerint, magno reuendunt. ideoque, sicuti reor, nondum sentitur totum huius rei incommodum.

Now the other kinds of herd-animals too, although they are equally dear, stand on the same footing; and this even more, because with the villas torn down and the rustic economy diminished, there are none to care for breeding. For those rich men do not, as with the sheep, likewise rear the offspring of the herds; but animals lean, bought cheap from elsewhere, after they have fattened them on their own pastures, they resell at a high price. Therefore, as I reckon, the whole disadvantage of this matter is not yet felt.

nempe adhuc his modo locis reddunt cara, ubi uendunt. ceterum ubi aliquandiu celerius extulerint illinc, quam nasci possint, tum demum ibi quoque paulatim decrescente copia, ubi coemuntur, necesse est hic insigni laboretur inopia.

indeed up to now they are dear only in those places where they sell. however, when for some time they have exported thence more quickly than they can be born, then at last there too, with the supply gradually diminishing, in the places where they are bought up, it is necessary that here we labor under a remarkable scarcity.

ita qua re uel maxime felix haec uestra uidebatur insula, iam ipsam paucorum improba cupiditas uertit in perniciem. nam haec annonae caritas in causa est, cur quisque quam possit plurimos e familia dimittat, quo quaeso nisi mendicatum, aut quod generosis animis persuadeas facilius latrocinatum!

thus that thing by which this your island seemed most happy, now the shameless cupidity of a few has turned the island itself to ruin. for this dearness of provisions is the cause why each man dismisses from his household as many as he can—whither, I ask, if not to beg, or—what you can more easily persuade noble spirits to—to brigandage!

quid quod ad miseram hanc egestatem, atque inopiam adiungitur, importuna luxuries. nam et ministris nobilium, et opificibus, et ipsis propemodum rusticis, et omnibus denique ordinibus, multum est insolentis apparatus in uestibus, nimius in uictu luxus. iam ganea, lustra, lupanar, et aliud lupanar tabernae, uinariae, ceruisiariae, postremo tot improbi ludi, alea, charta, fritillus, pila, sphaera, discus, an non haec celeriter exhausta pecunia, recta suos mystas mittunt aliquo latrocinatum!

And what of the fact that to this wretched penury and want there is added inopportune luxury? For both among the servants of the nobles, and among the artificers, and almost among the rustics themselves, and, finally, in all orders, there is much insolent display in apparel, excessive luxury in victuals. Now cook-shops, dens, a brothel, and another brothel—the taverns, wine-shops, alehouses—and, in fine, so many shameless games: dice, cards, the dice-box, ball, sphere, discus—do not these, when the money is quickly drained, send their initiates straightaway somewhere to go a-robbing!

has perniciosas pestes eiicite, statuite, ut uillas atque oppida rustica, aut hi restituant qui diruere, aut ea cedant reposituris, atque aedificare uolentibus. refrenate coemptiones istas diuitum, ac uelut monopolii exercendi licentiam. pauciores alantur otio, reddatur agricolatio, lanificium instauretur, ut sit honestum negotium, quo se utiliter exerceat otiosa ista turba, uel quos hactenus inopia fures fecit, uel qui nunc errones aut otiosi sunt ministri, fures nimirum utrique futuri.

cast out these pernicious plagues; decree that the villas and the rustic towns be either restored by those who demolished them, or else ceded to those who will replace them and wish to build. rein in those coemptions of the rich, and, as it were, the license for exercising monopoly. let fewer be sustained in idleness; let agriculture be restored; let wool-working be re-instituted, so that there may be an honorable business by which that idle mob may usefully exercise itself—both those whom indigence has hitherto made thieves, and those who now are vagrants or idle servants, both sorts, assuredly, destined to be thieves.

certe nisi his malis medemini, frustra iactetis exercitam in uindicanda furta iustitiam, nempe speciosam magis, quam aut iustam aut utilem. siquidem cum pessime sinitis educari, et mores paulatim ab teneris annis corrumpi, puniendos uidelicet, tum demum cum ea flagitia uiri designent, quorum spem de se perpetuam a pueritia usquam praebuerant, quid aliud quaeso quam facitis fures, et iidem plectitis!

surely, unless you remedy these evils, you vaunt in vain a justice exercised in avenging thefts—namely one more specious than either just or useful. since you allow people to be most badly educated, and their morals to be gradually corrupted from tender years—punishing them, forsooth, only then at last when, as men, they display those disgraces of which they had given a perpetual promise of themselves from boyhood—what else, I ask, do you do but make thieves, and these same men you punish!

iam me haec loquente iuris ille consultus interim se ad dicendum composuerat, ac statuerat secum modo illo solemni disputantium uti, qui diligentius repetunt quam respondent, adeo bonam partem laudis ponunt in memoria.

now, while I was saying these things, that jurisconsult meanwhile had composed himself for speaking, and had resolved with himself to use that solemn mode of disputants, who rehearse more diligently than they respond, to such a degree that they rest a good part of their claim to praise on memory.

belle, inquit, dixisti profecto, cum sis uidelicet hospes, qui magis audire his de rebus aliquid potueris, quam exacte quicquam cognoscere, id quod ego paucis efficiam perspicuum. nam primum ordine recensebo quae tu dixisti. deinde ostendam quibus in rebus imposuit tibi nostrarum rerum ignoratio, postremo rationes tuas omnes diluam atque dissoluam.

well, he said, you have indeed spoken, since you are, namely, a stranger, who have been able rather to hear something about these matters than to know anything exactly—a point which I will make perspicuous in a few words. for first, in order, I will recount what you have said. then I will demonstrate in what matters ignorance of our affairs has imposed upon you; finally I will dilute and dissolve all your arguments.

igitur ut a primo quod sum pollicitus exordiar, quattuor mihi uisus es...

therefore, that I may begin from the first thing I have promised, you seemed to me to have made four points...

tace inquit Cardinalis; nam haud responsurus paucis uideris qui sic incipias. quamobrem leuabimus in praesenti te hac respondendi molestia, seruaturi tamen integrum id munus tibi in proximum congressum uestrum, quem—nisi quid impediat, aut te, aut Raphaelem hunc—crastinus dies uelim referat. sed interim abs te mi Raphael perquam libenter audierim, quare tu furtum putes ultimo supplicio non puniendum quamue aliam poenam ipse statuas, quae magis conducat in publicum.

be silent, says the Cardinal; for you seem hardly about to answer in few words, since you begin thus. wherefore we will at present relieve you of this annoyance of replying, yet we will keep that office intact for you for your next meeting, which—unless something hinder, either you or this Raphael—tomorrow I would wish to bring about. but meanwhile, from you, my Raphael, I would very gladly hear why you think theft ought not to be punished with the ultimate punishment, or what other penalty you yourself would appoint, which would more conduce to the public good.

nam tolerandum ne tu quidem sentis. at si nunc per mortem quoque, tamen in furtum ruitur, proposita semel uitae securitate, quae uis, quis metus posset absterrere maleficos; qui mitigatione supplicii, uelut praemio quodam ad maleficium se inuitatos interpretarentur!

for not even you think it to be tolerable. But if now, even with death as the penalty, nevertheless there is a rush into theft, then—once security of life were offered—what force, what fear could deter malefactors? they would interpret the mitigation of punishment as though they were being invited to crime by a kind of reward!

omnino mihi uidetur inquam pater benignissime homini uitam eripi propter ereptam pecuniam prorsus inicum esse. siquidem cum humana uita ne omnibus quidem fortunae possessionibus paria fieri posse arbitror. quod si laesam iustitiam, si leges uiolatas, hac rependi poena dicant, haud pecuniam; quid ni merito summum illud ius, summa uocetur iniuria!

altogether, it seems to me—I say, most kindly father—that to snatch away a man’s life on account of money snatched is utterly iniquitous. Since I judge that human life cannot be made equal even by all the possessions of Fortune. But if they say that injured Justice, that violated laws, are repaid by this penalty, not by money—why should not that “supreme law” deservedly be called “supreme injustice”!

nam neque legum probanda sunt tam Manliana imperia, ut sicubi in leuissimis parum obtemperetur, illico stringant gladium; neque tam Stoica scita, ut omnia peccata adeo existiment paria, uti nihil iudicent interesse, occidatne aliquis hominem, an nummum ei surripiat, inter quae—si quicquam aequitas ualet—nihil omnino simile aut affine. deus uetuit occidi quemquam, et nos tam facile occidimus ob ademptam pecuniolam! quod si quis interpretetur, illo dei iussu interdictam necis potestatem, nisi quatenus humana lex declaret occidendum, quid obstat quo minus homines eodem modo constituant inter se, quatenus stuprum admittendum sit, adulterandum, peierandum!

for neither are the commands of the laws to be approved as so “Manlian” that, if anywhere in the very slightest matters there is too little obedience, they at once draw the sword; nor the Stoic ordinances so, that they reckon all sins so equal as to judge it makes no difference whether someone kills a man or filches a coin from him—between which—if equity avails anything—there is nothing at all similar or akin. God forbade that anyone be killed, and we so easily kill on account of a snatched-away little sum of money! But if someone interprets that by that command of God the power of killing is interdicted, except insofar as human law declares someone must be killed, what stands in the way of men in like manner constituting among themselves to what extent debauchery is to be admitted, adultery to be committed, perjury to be committed!

siquidem cum deus non alienae modo, uerum etiam suae cuique mortis ius ademerit, si hominum inter se consensus de mutua cede, certis placitis consentientium, adeo debet ualere, ut illius praecepti uinculis eximat suos satellites, qui sine ullo exemplo dei, eos interemerint, quos humana sanctio iussit occidi; an non hoc pacto praeceptum illud dei tantum iuris est habiturum, quantum humana iura permiserint! ac fiet nimirum ut ad eundem modum omnibus in rebus statuant homines, quatenus diuina mandata conueniat obseruari. denique lex Mosaica, quamquam inclemens et aspera; nempe in seruos, et quidem obstinatos lata, tamen pecunia furtum haud morte mulctauit.

since God has taken away the right not only over another’s death, but indeed also over each one’s own, if the consensus of men among themselves concerning mutual slaughter, by the settled compacts of those consenting, ought so to prevail as to exempt its satellites from the bonds of that precept—those who, without any precedent from God, have slain those whom human sanction has ordered to be killed—will not that precept of God in this way be going to have only as much force as human laws have permitted! and it will surely come about that in the same manner men will determine in all things how far it is fitting that the divine mandates be observed. finally, the Mosaic law, although unmerciful and harsh—namely enacted upon slaves, and indeed obstinate ones—nevertheless punished theft of money with a fine, not with death.

ne putemus deum in noua lege clementiae; qua pater imperat filiis maiorem indulsisse nobis inuicem saeuiendi licentiam.

let us not think that God, in the new law of clemency; by which the Father commands his sons, has indulged us with a greater license for savagery against one another.

haec sunt cur non licere putem. quam uero sit absurdum, atque etiam perniciosum reipublicae furem, atque homicidam ex aequo puniri, nemo est, opinor, qui nesciat. nempe cum latro conspiciat non minus imminere discriminis dumtaxat furti damnato, quam si praeterea conuincatur homicidii, hac una cogitatione impellitur in caedem eius, quem alioqui fuerat tantum spoliaturus.

these are the reasons why I think it is not permissible. But how truly absurd, and even pernicious to the commonwealth, it is for a thief and a murderer to be punished on equal terms, there is no one, I suppose, who does not know. For when the bandit perceives that no less danger threatens if he is condemned for theft only than if he is besides convicted of homicide, by this single thought he is impelled to the killing of the man whom otherwise he was only going to despoil.

quippe praeterquam quod deprehenso nihil sit plus periculi, est etiam in caede securitas maior, et maior caelandi spes sublato facinoris indice. itaque dum fures nimis atrociter studemus perterrefacere, in bonorum incitamus perniciem.

Indeed, besides the fact that for one apprehended there is nothing more of danger, there is also in slaughter a greater security, and a greater hope of concealing, the indicator of the crime having been removed. And so, while we strive too atrociously to terrify thieves, we incite the ruin of the good.

iam quod quaeri solet; quae punitio possit esset commodior; hoc meo iudicio haud paulo facilius est repertu; quam quae possit esse deterior. cur enim dubitemus eam uiam utilem esse castigandis sceleribus; quam scimus olim tam diu placuisse Romanis administrandae reipublicae peritissimis! nempe hi magnorum facinorum conuictos in lapidicinas, atque fodienda metalla damnabant, perpetuis adseruandos uinculis.

now as to what is commonly asked; what punishment might be more commodious; this, in my judgment, is by no small measure easier to find; than what might be worse. for why should we doubt that way to be useful for chastising crimes; which we know once for so long to have pleased the Romans, most expert in administering the republic! indeed these men condemned those convicted of great crimes to the stone-quarries, and to mines to be dug, to be kept in perpetual chains.

quamquam ego quod ad hanc rem attinet, nullius institutum gentis magis probo, quam id quod interea dum peregrinabar, in Perside obseruatum apud uulgo dictos Polyleritas adnotaui, populum neque exiguum, neque imprudenter institutum, et nisi quod tributum quotannis Persarum pendit regi; cetera liberum ac suis permissum legibus. ceterum quoniam longe ab mari, montibus fere circumdati, et suae terrae nulla in re maligne contenti fructibus, neque adeunt alios saepe, neque adeuntur. tamen ex uetusto more gentis, neque fines prorogare student, et quos habent ab omni facile iniuria, et montes tuentur, et pensio quam rerum potienti persoluunt, immunes prorsus ab militia, haud perinde splendide, atque commode, felicesque magis quam nobiles, aut clari degunt.

although, as far as this matter pertains, I approve the institution of no people more than that which, meanwhile as I was peregrinating, I noted observed in Persia among those commonly called the Polyleritae, a people neither small nor imprudently constituted, and except that it pays the Persian king a yearly tribute; in other respects free and allowed their own laws. moreover, since they are far from the sea, almost surrounded by mountains, and in no respect scantily supplied by the fruits of their own land, they neither go to others often, nor are they gone to. yet by the ancient custom of the nation, neither do they strive to extend their borders, and those which they have are easily defended from every injury, both by the mountains and by the payment which they make over to the potentate; entirely exempt from military service, not so much splendidly as comfortably, and living more happy than noble or famous.

quippe ne nomine quidem opinor praeterquam conterminis admodum, satis noti.

for indeed, not even by name, I think, are they sufficiently known, except to those very conterminous.

ergo apud hos furti qui peraguntur, quod sustulere domino reddunt, non, quod alibi fieri solet, principi; utpote cui tantum iuris esse censent in rem furtiuam quantum ipsi furi; sin res perierit, pretio ex bonis furum confecto ac persoluto tum reliquo uxoribus eorum atque liberis integro, ipsi damnantur in opera, ac nisi atrociter commissum furtum est, neque clauduntur ergastulo, neque gestant compedes, sed liberi, ac soluti in publicis occupantur operibus. detrectantes ac languidius gerentes sese; non tam uinculis cohercent quam excitant uerberibus, strenuam nauantes operam, absunt a contumeliis, noctu tantum nominatim censiti cubiculis includuntur. praeter assiduum laborem nihil incommodi est in uita.

therefore among these people, in thefts that are perpetrated, what they have taken away they restore to the owner, not, as elsewhere is wont to be done, to the prince; seeing that they judge him to have as much right in the stolen thing as the thief himself; but if the thing has perished, the price having been assessed from the goods of the thieves and paid, then the remainder is left intact to their wives and children, they themselves are condemned to labor, and unless the theft has been atrociously committed, they are neither shut up in an ergastulum, nor do they bear fetters, but free and unbound they are employed in public works. Those who shirk and carry themselves more sluggishly; they do not so much restrain them with chains as rouse them with lashes, while those rendering strenuous service are spared insults, only at night, being enrolled by name, they are shut into their little chambers. Apart from continual labor there is nothing inconvenient in their life.

aluntur enim haud duriter qui publicae rei seruiunt, e publico. alibi aliter. siquidem alicubi quod impenditur in eos ex eleemosyna colligitur, atque ea uia quamquam incerta; tamen ut est ille populus misericors nulla reperitur uberior.

For those who serve the commonwealth are maintained not harshly, at the public expense. Elsewhere, otherwise. Indeed, in some places that which is expended on them is collected from alms; and by that way, although uncertain; nevertheless, as that people is compassionate, none is found more bountiful.

alibi reditus quidam publici ad id destinantur. est ubi certum in eos usus tributum uiritim conferunt. quin aliquot in locis nullum publicum opus faciunt, sed ut priuatus quisque eget mercenariis, ita illorum cuiuspiam in eum diem operam, stata mercede conducit apud forum, paulo minoris quam quanti liberam fuerat conducturus; praeterea fas est seruilem ignauiam flagris corripere.

Elsewhere certain public revenues are designated for that purpose. There are places where they contribute per capita a fixed tax for those uses. Indeed, in several places they do no public work at all; rather, as each private person needs hirelings, he contracts at the forum for the labor of any one of them for that day at a stipulated wage, a little less than what he would have hired a free man for; moreover, it is lawful to correct servile sloth with whips.

sic fit uti numquam opere careant; et praeter uictum aliquid quoque die ab singulis publico inferatur aerario.

Thus it comes about that they never lack for work; and, besides victuals, something also is each day paid in by each person to the public treasury.

uno quodam colore uestiuntur et omnes et soli, capillo non abraso uerum paulo supra auriculas attonso, e quarum altera paululum praescinditur. cibum cuique ab amicis dari, potumque ac sui coloris uestem, licet; pecuniam datam esse danti pariter, atque accipienti capitale, neque minus periculosum etiam homini libero quacumque de causa nummum a damnato recepisse, et seruos item—sic enim damnatos uocant—arma contingere. suos quaeque regio propria distinguit nota, quam abiecisse capitale est, ut uel extra suos conspici fines, uel cum alterius regionis seruo quicquam esse collocutum.

They all, and they alone, are clothed in a single particular color, their hair not shaven but cut a little above the ears, one of which is slightly clipped. It is permitted for each to receive food from friends, and drink and clothing of their own color; but for money to be given is a capital offense, equally for the giver and for the recipient, nor is it less perilous even for a free man, for whatever cause, to have received a coin from a condemned person; and for the “slaves”—for so they call the condemned—to touch arms is likewise capital. Each region distinguishes its own by a proper mark, to have cast off which is capital, just as it is a capital offense either to be seen outside their own borders, or to have had any conversation with a slave of another region.

at neque tutior fugae meditatio quam ipsa est fuga. quin conscium talis fuisse consilii in seruo nex est; in libero seruitus. contra indici praemia decreta sunt; libero pecunia, seruo libertas.

but neither is the meditation of flight any safer than flight itself. Nay indeed, that a slave has been privy to such a counsel is death; for a free man, servitude. On the contrary, rewards have been decreed for an informer: for a free man, money; for a slave, freedom.

utrique uero uenia atque impunitas conscientiae, ne quando persequi malum consilium quam poenitere sit tutius.

and to both, indeed, pardon and impunity for being privy, lest ever it be safer to carry through an evil plan than to repent.

huius rei haec lex atque hic ordo est, quem dixi. qui quantum habeat humanitatis et commodi, facile patet. quando sic irascitur, ut uitia perimat seruatis hominibus, atque ita tractatis, ut bonos esse necesse sit.

This is the law and this the order of this matter, which I have said. How much humanity and advantage it has is easily evident. For it is angered in such a way as to destroy vices while men are preserved, and to treat them in such a way that they must be good.

et quantum ante damni dederunt, tantum reliqua uita resartiant.

and let them, by the remaining life, repair as much as the damage they have previously caused.

porro ne ad pristinos relabantur mores, adeo nullus est metus, ut uiatores quoque quibus iter aliquo institutum est, non aliis uiae ducibus sese tutioreis arbitrentur, quam seruis illis ad quamque regionem subinde commutatis. nempe ad perpetrandum latrocinium nihil habent usquam non importunum; manus inermes; pecunia tantum sceleris index; deprehenso parata uindicta; neque spes ulla prorsus fugiendi quoquam. quo enim pacto falleret ac tegeret fugam; homo nulla uestium parte populo similis; nisi abeat nudus!

furthermore, lest they slip back to their former mores, there is so little fear that even travelers whose journey is set to some place think themselves safer with no other guides of the way than those slaves, interchanged from time to time for each region. For for perpetrating latrociny they have nowhere anything that is not inopportune; hands unarmed; money only the index of the crime; vengeance ready for the one caught; nor any hope at all of fleeing anywhere. For how could he deceive and cover his flight—a man in no part of his clothing like the populace—unless he go away naked!

quin sic quoque fugientem proderet auricula.

indeed, even so the ear would betray the fugitive.

at ne inito saltem consilio coniurent in rempublicam id demum scilicet periculum est. quasi in tantam uenire spem ulla possit uicinia non tentatis ac sollicitatis ante multarum regionum seruitiis. quae tantum absunt a facultate conspirandi; ut ne conuenire quidem; et colloqui aut salutare se mutuo liceat; ut credantur interim id consilium intrepide credituri suis; quod reticentibus periculosum, prodentibus maximo esse bono sciant.

but that at least, after a plan has been entered upon, they might swear together against the commonwealth—this, forsooth, is the real danger. as though any vicinity could come into so great a hope without the slave-groups of many regions having first been tested and solicited. these are so far from a faculty of conspiring; that it is not permitted even to convene; or to converse or to salute one another; so that meanwhile they are thought likely to entrust such a plan intrepidly to their own masters; since they know that, for those keeping silent, it is dangerous, but for those betraying it, it is of the greatest benefit.

cum contra nemo sit prorsus exspes, obediendo ac perferendo, bonamque de se praebendo spem, emendatioris in posterum uitae, posse his modis fieri, ut libertatem aliquando recuperet. quippe nullo non anno restitutis aliquot commendatione patientiae.

whereas, on the contrary, no one is utterly without hope that, by obeying and enduring, and by presenting good hope of himself—of a more amended life for the future—it may in these ways come about that he may someday recover liberty. For indeed not a year passes without several being restored by the commendation of their patience.

haec cum dixissem atque adiecissem nihil mihi uideri causae, quare non hic modus haberi uel in Anglia possit, multo maiore cum fructu, quam illa iustitia, quam iuris ille peritus tantopere laudauerat.

when I had said these things and had added that nothing seemed to me cause why this method could not be maintained even in England, with much greater fruit than that justice which that expert in law had so greatly lauded.

sub haec ille, nempe iureconsultus, numquam inquit istud sic stabiliri queat in Anglia, ut non in summum discrimen adducat rempublicam et simul haec dicens, commouit caput, ac distorsit labrum, atque ita conticuit. et omnes qui aderant, pedibus in eius ibant sententiam.

Upon this he, namely the jurisconsult, said that this could never be so established in England as not to bring the commonwealth into utmost peril; and as he was saying these things, he moved his head and twisted his lip, and so fell silent. And all who were present went over to his opinion, voting with their feet.

tum Cardinalis non est, inquit, procliue diuinare, commodene an secus res cessura sit, nullo prorsus facto periculo. uerum si pronuntiata mortis sententia, differri executionem iubeat princeps, atque hunc experiatur morem, cohibitis asylorum priuilegiis. tum uero si res comprobetur euentu esse utilis, rectum fuerit eam stabiliri.

then the Cardinal: it is not, he says, easy to divine whether the matter will turn out advantageously or otherwise, with absolutely no danger incurred. But if, the sentence of death having been pronounced, the prince should order the execution to be deferred, and should try this custom, the privileges of asylums being restrained. Then indeed, if the matter is proved by the event to be useful, it will have been right to establish it.

alioqui tunc quoque afficere supplicio eos, qui sunt ante damnati, neque minus e republica fuerit, neque magis iniustum, quam si nunc idem fieret, nec ullum interea nasci ex ea re potest periculum. quin mihi certe uidentur errones quoque ad eundem posse modum non pessime tractari, in quos hactenus tam multis aeditis legibus, nihil promouimus tamen.

otherwise even then to inflict punishment on those who have been previously condemned would have been no less for the commonwealth, nor more unjust than if the same were done now, nor in the meantime can any peril arise from that matter. Indeed, it certainly seems to me that errants too could be handled after the same fashion not badly, against whom, though so many laws have been published up to now, we have nonetheless made no progress.

haec ubi dixit Cardinalis, quae me narrante contempserant omnes, eadem nemo non certatim laudibus est prosecutus, maxime tamen illud de erronibus, quoniam hoc ab ipso adiectum est. nescio an quae sunt secuta silere praestiterit. erant enim ridicula, sed narrabo tamen.

When the Cardinal had said these things, the very same which, when I was relating them, everyone had despised, there was no one who did not vie to pursue them with praises—most of all that point about the vagrants, since this was added by himself. I do not know whether it would have been better to keep silence about what followed. For they were ridiculous; yet I will tell them nonetheless.

nam non erant mala, et aliquid ad hanc rem pertinebant.

for they were not bad, and they pertained somewhat to this matter.

adstabat forte parasitus quidam, qui uideri uolebat imitari morionem, sed ita simulabat, ut propior uero esset, tam frigidis dictis captans risum, ut ipse saepius, quam dicta sua rideretur. excidebant homini tamen interdum quaedam, adeo non absurda, ut fidem adagio facerent, crebro iactu iaci aliquando is Venerem. ergo, dicente quodam e conuiuis, iam meo sermone bene prouisum esse furibus, atque a Cardinale etiam cautum de erronibus, restare nunc uti his praeterea consuleretur publicitus, quos ad egestatem morbus aut senectus impulisset, atque ad labores unde uiui possit, reddidisset impotes.

There happened to stand by a certain parasite, who wished to seem to imitate a buffoon, but he simulated it in such a way that he was nearer to the truth, snatching at laughter with such frigid sayings that he himself was more often laughed at than his sayings. Yet now and then certain things fell from the man, so not absurd that they lent credence to the adage that by frequent casting someone at some time throws a “Venus.” Therefore, when one of the dinner-guests said that by my discourse provision had now been well made for thieves, and that by the Cardinal provision too had been taken concerning errants, it remained now that, in addition, public provision be taken for those whom sickness or old age had driven into destitution and had rendered incapable of the labors whereby one may live.

sine, inquit, me. nam ego et hoc recte ut fiat uidero. etenim hoc genus hominum misere cupio aliquo e conspectu amoliri meo, ita me male uexarunt saepe, cum querulis illis opplorationibus flagitarent pecuniam, quas numquam tamen tam commode potuerunt occinere, ut nummum a me extorquerent. quippe semper alterum euenit, ut aut non libeat dare, aut ne liceat quidem, quando nihil est quod detur.

"Let me," said he. "For I too will see that this is done rightly. Indeed I sorely desire to remove this sort of people somehow from my sight, so often have they ill-vexed me, when with those querulous ululations they would demand money—yet they were never able to sound them forth so conveniently as to extort a coin from me. For invariably the one or the other happens: either I have no mind to give, or I am not even permitted, since there is nothing that can be given."

itaque nunc coeperunt sapere. nam ne perdant operam, ubi me praeterire uident, praetermittunt taciti, ita nihil a me sperant amplius, non hercule magis quam si essem sacerdos. sed illos ego mendicos omnes lata lege distribui ac dispartiri iubeo in Benedictinorum coenobia, et fieri laicos ut uocant monachos; mulieres moniales esse impero.

and so now they have begun to be wise. For, lest they waste their effort, when they see me pass by, they pass me by in silence; thus they hope nothing further from me, not, by Hercules, any more than if I were a priest. but I order all those beggars by a broad law to be distributed and apportioned into the coenobia of the Benedictines, and to become lay, as they call them, monks; I command the women to be nuns.

subrisit Cardinalis et approbat ioco, ceteri etiam serio. ceterum theologus quidam frater hoc dicto in sacerdotes ac monachos adeo est exhilaratus, ut iam ipse quoque coeperit ludere homo alioqui prope ad toruitatem grauis.

The Cardinal smiled and approves in jest, the others even in earnest. Moreover, a certain theologian, a friar, by this remark against priests and monks is so exhilarated that now he too has begun to jest—a man otherwise weighty, verging almost on grimness.

at ne sic quidem, inquit, extricaberis a mendicis, nisi nobis quoque prospexeris fratribus.

but not even so, he says, will you be extricated from the beggars, unless you also make provision for us brothers.

atqui, inquit Parasitus, hoc iam curatum est. nam Cardinalis egregie prospexit uobis cum statueret de cohercendis, atque opere exercendis erronibus. nam uos estis errones maximi.

“But indeed,” says the Parasite, “this has already been taken care of. For the Cardinal has excellently provided for you when he decreed about coercing, and exercising with work, the vagabonds. For you are the greatest vagabonds.”

hoc quoque dictum, cum coniectis in Cardinalem oculis eum uiderent non abnuere, coeperunt onmes non illibenter arripere, excepto fratre. nam is—neque equidem miror—tali perfusus aceto, sic indignatus est, atque incanduit, ut nec a conuiciis quidem potuerit temperare; hominem uocauit nebulonem, detractorem, susurronem, et filium perditionis, minas interim terribiles citans e scriptura sacra. iam scurra serio scurrari coepit.

this also having been said, when, with their eyes cast upon the Cardinal, they saw that he did not refuse, they all began, not unwillingly, to seize upon it, except the brother. for he—nor indeed do I marvel—being drenched with such vinegar, was so indignant and grew so hot that he could not even restrain himself from revilings; he called the man a good‑for‑nothing, a detractor, a whisperer, and a son of perdition, meanwhile citing terrible menaces from Holy Scripture. now the buffoon began to scurrilize in earnest.

et erat plane in sua palaestra.

and he was plainly in his own arena.

noli, inquit, irasci bone frater, scriptum est, in patientia uestra possidebitis animas uestras

do not, he said, be angry, good brother, it is written, in your patience you will possess your souls

rursum frater—referam enim ipsius uerba—non irascor, inquit furcifer, uel saltem non pecco. nam Psalmista dicit, irascimini et nolite peccare.

again, brother—for I will report his own words—I am not angry, says the gallows-bird, or at least I do not sin. for the Psalmist says, be angry and do not sin.

admonitus deinde frater a Cardinale suauiter, ut suos affectus compesceret, non domine, inquit, ego loquor nisi ex bono zelo sicut debeo, nam uiri sancti habuerunt bonum zelum, unde dicitur: zelus domus tuae comedit me et canitur in ecclesiis: irrisores Helizei, dum conscendit domum dei, zelus calui sentiunt,

then the brother, admonished by the Cardinal gently to restrain his affections, “no, lord,” he says, “I speak only out of good zeal, as I ought, for holy men have had good zeal, whence it is said: the zeal of your house has consumed me and it is sung in the churches: the mockers of Elisha, while he was ascending to the house of God, feel the zeal of the bald man,”

sicut fortasse sentiet iste derisor, scurra, ribaldus.

as perhaps this derider, scurrilous buffoon, ribald, will feel.

facis inquit, Cardinalis bono fortassis affectu, sed mihi uideris facturus, nescio an sanctius, certe sapientius, si te ita compares, ne cum homine stulto et ridiculo ridiculum tibi certamen instituas.

you act, said the Cardinal, perhaps with good affection; but you seem to me about to do—whether more saintly I know not, certainly more wisely—if you so compose yourself that you do not institute for yourself a ridiculous contest with a foolish and ridiculous man.

non domine inquit, non facerem sapientius. nam Solomon ipse sapientissimus dicit: responde stulto secundum stultitiam eius sicut ego nunc facio, et demonstro ei foueam in quam cadet, nisi bene praecaueat. nam si multi irrisores Helizei, qui erat tantum unus caluus, senserunt zelus calui, quanto magis sentiet unus derisor multorum fratrum, in quibus sunt multi calui!

“No, my lord,” he said, “I would not act more wisely. For Solomon himself, most wise, says: ‘Answer a fool according to his folly,’ just as I am now doing, and I point out to him the pit into which he will fall, unless he takes good precautions. For if the many mockers of Elisha—who was only one bald man—felt the zeal of the bald man, how much more will a single derider feel it from many brethren, among whom there are many bald men!”

et etiam habemus bullam Papalem, per quam omnes qui derident nos, sunt excommunicati.

and we also have a Papal bull, by which all who deride us are excommunicated.

Cardinalis, ubi uidit nullum fieri finem, nutu ablegato parasito, ac aliam in rem commodum uerso sermone, paulo post surgit e mensa, atque audiendis clientum negotiis dedit se, nosque dimisit.

The Cardinal, when he saw that no end was being made, with a nod sent the parasite away, and, the conversation conveniently turned to another matter, a little later rises from the table and devoted himself to hearing the clients’ business, and dismissed us.

[de optimo statu reipublicae]

[on the best state of the republic]

en mi More, quam longo te sermone oneraui, quod tam diu facere plane puduisset me, nisi tu et cupide flagitasses, et sic uidereris audire, tamquam nolles quicquam eius confabulationis omitti, quae quamquam aliquanto perstrictius, narranda tamen mihi fuit omnino propter eorum iudicium, qui quae me dicente spreuerant, eadem rursus euestigio non improbante Cardinale, etiam ipsi comprobarunt, usque adeo assentantes ei, ut parasiti quoque eius inuentis, quae dominus per iocum non aspernabatur, adblandirentur et serio propemodum admitterent. ut hinc possis aestimare quanti me ac mea consilia aulici forent aestimaturi.

Well then, my More, with how long a discourse I have burdened you—a thing it would plainly have shamed me to do for so long, unless you had both eagerly demanded it, and seemed to listen in such a way as if you wished nothing of that confabulation to be omitted; which, although somewhat more cursorily, nevertheless had altogether to be narrated by me on account of the judgment of those who had spurned what I was saying, yet the same things, straightway, when the Cardinal did not disapprove, they themselves approved also—assenting to him to such a degree that even his parasites fawned upon the inventions which their master did not disdain in jest, and almost admitted them in earnest. From this you can estimate at what value the courtiers would be going to esteem me and my counsels.

profecto mi Raphael inquam magna me affecisti uoluptate, ita sunt abs te dicta prudenter simul et lepide omnia, praeterea uisus mihi interim sum, non solum in patria uersari, uerum etiam repuerascere quodammodo iucunda recordatione Cardinalis illius, in cuius aula puer sum educatus. cuius uiri memoriae quod tu tam impense faues, non credas mi Raphael quanto mihi sis effectus hoc nomine carior, cum esses alioqui carissimus. ceterum non possum adhuc ullo pacto meam demutare sententiam, quin te plane putem, si animum inducas tuum, uti ne ab aulis principum abhorreas, in publicum posse te tuis consiliis plurimum boni conferre.

Indeed, my Raphael, said I, you have affected me with great delight; so prudently and so wittily have you said everything; moreover, in the meantime I seemed to myself not only to be in my fatherland, but even somehow to grow a boy again by the pleasant recollection of that Cardinal, in whose court I was brought up as a boy. Since you so earnestly favor the memory of that man, you would not believe, my Raphael, how much on that account you have become dearer to me, though you were otherwise most dear. However, I cannot yet by any means change my opinion, but I plainly think that, if you would induce your mind so as not to shrink from the courts of princes, you could by your counsels confer a very great amount of good upon the commonwealth.

quare nihil magis incumbit tuo, hoc est boni uiri, officio. siquidem cum tuus censeat Plato. respublicas ita demum futuras esse felices, si aut regnent philosophi, aut reges philosophentur, quam procul aberit felicitas, si philosophi regibus nec dignentur saltem suum impartiri consilium!

Therefore nothing presses more upon your office—namely, that of a good man. Since your Plato holds that commonwealths will be happy only if either philosophers rule or kings philosophize, how far off will happiness be if philosophers do not deign even to impart their counsel to kings!

non sunt, inquit ille, tam ingrati, quin id libenter facerent, immo multi libris aeditis iam fecerunt, si ii qui rerum potiuntur essent parati, bene consultis parere. sed bene haud dubie praeuidit Plato, nisi reges philosophentur ipsi, numquam futurum, ut peruersis opinionibus a pueris imbuti, atque infecti penitus philosophantium comprobent consilia; quod ipse quoque experiebatur apud Dionysium. an non me putas, si apud aliquem regum decreta sana proponerem, et perniciosa malorum semina, conarer illi euellere, protinus aut eiiciendum aut habendum ludibrio!

"they are not," said he, "so ungrateful as not to do that gladly; indeed many, with books published, have already done it—if only those who wield affairs were ready to obey good counsels. But Plato, without doubt, foresaw well that, unless kings themselves philosophize, it will never come to pass that, imbued from boyhood with perverse opinions and thoroughly infected, they approve the counsels of those philosophizing; which he himself also was experiencing at the court of Dionysius. Do you not think that, if I were to set forth sound decrees at the court of some king, and tried to root out for him the pernicious seeds of evils, I should forthwith either have to be ejected or be held up to mockery!"

age finge me apud regem esse Gallorum, atque in eius considere consilio, dum in secretissimo secessu praesidente rege ipso, in corona prudentissimorum hominum, magnis agitur studiis, quibus artibus ac machinamentis Mediolanum retineat, ac fugitiuam illam Neapolim ad se retrahat; postea uero euertat Venetos, ac totam Italiam subiiciat sibi. deinde Flandros Brabantos, totam postremo Burgundiam suae faciat ditionis. atque alias praeterea gentes, quarum regnum iam olim animo inuasit.

come now, suppose me to be with the king of the Gauls, and to take my seat in his council, while, in the most secret retreat, with the king himself presiding, in a corona of the most prudent men, matters are pursued with great studies as to by what arts and machinations he may retain Milan, and draw back that fugitive Naples to himself; afterwards indeed to overthrow the Venetians, and to subject all Italy to himself. then the Flemings and the Brabanters, and finally all Burgundy he may make his dominion. and besides other nations as well, whose realm he long ago has invaded in his mind.

hic dum alius suadet feriendum cum Venetis foedus tantisper duraturum, dum ipsis fuerit commodum, cum illis communicandum consilium. quin deponendam quoque apud eosdem aliquam praedae partem, quam rebus ex sententia peractis repetat, dum alius consulit conducendos Germanos, alius pecunia demulcendos alius Heluetios. aduersus numen imperatoriae maiestatis, auro, uelut anathemate, propitiandum.

Here, while one advises that a treaty be struck with the Venetians, to last just so long as it shall be convenient for them, and that counsel be shared with them. Nay, that some portion of the booty be deposited with those same men, which, when matters have been carried through according to plan, he may reclaim; while another advises that the Germans be hired, another that the Helvetians be soothed with money. Against the numen of imperial majesty— to be propitiated with gold, as with an anathema.

dum alii uidetur cum Aragonum rege componendas esse res, et alieno Nauariae regno, uelut pacis authoramento cedendum; alius interim censet castelliae principem aliqua spe affinitatis irretiendum, atque aulicos nobiles aliquot in suam factionem certa pensione esse pertrahendos. dum maximus omnium nodus occurrit, quid statuendum interim de Anglia sit. ceterum de pace tractandum tamen, et constringenda firmissimis uinculis, semper infirma societas, amici uocentur, suspiciantur ut inimici.

while to some it seems that affairs must be composed with the king of Aragon, and that the kingdom of Navarre, belonging to another, must be yielded as a pledge of peace; meanwhile another judges that the prince of Castile is to be ensnared by some hope of affinity, and that several courtly nobles are to be drawn into his faction by a fixed pension. while the greatest knot of all arises, what is to be decided in the meantime concerning England. moreover, peace must nevertheless be treated of, and the ever-infirm alliance bound with the firmest bonds; let them be called friends, but suspected as enemies.

habendos igitur paratos, uelut in statione Scotos, ad omnem intentos occasionem, si quid se commoueant Angli protinus immittendos. ad haec fouendum exulem nobilem aliquem occulte, namque id aperte ne fiat prohibent foedera, qui id regnum sibi deberi contendat, ut ea uelut ansa contineat, suspectum sibi principem.

therefore the Scots are to be kept ready, as if on outpost-station, intent upon every opportunity, and, if the English so much as stir themselves, to be sent in immediately. in addition, some noble exile is to be fostered secretly (for treaties forbid that this be done openly), one who contends that that kingdom is owed to himself, so that by this, as by a kind of handle, he may hold in check the prince whom he suspects.

hic, inquam, in tanto rerum molimine, tot egregiis uiris ad bellum sua certatim consilia conferentibus, si ego homuncio surgam, ac uerti iubeam uela, omittendam Italiam censeam et domi dicam esse manendum, unum Galliae regnum fere maius esse, quam ut commode possit ab uno administrari, ne sibi putet rex de aliis adiiciendis esse cogitandum.

here, I say, in so great a mass of affairs, with so many eminent men, each in emulous rivalry bringing their counsels for war, if I, a mere little man, should rise and order the sails to be turned, should judge that Italy ought to be omitted and say that we must stay at home, that the single kingdom of Gaul is almost too great to be conveniently administered by one man, let the king not think that he ought to be considering the adding of other realms to himself.

tum si illis proponerem decreta Achoriorum populi, Utopiensium insulae ad Euronoton oppositi, qui cum olim bellum gessissent, ut regi suo aliud obtinerent regnum, quod affinitatis antiquae causa sibi contendebat haereditate deberi, consecuti tandem id, ubi uiderunt nihilo sibi minus esse molestiae in retinendo, quam in quaerendo pertulerunt, uerum assidua pullulare semina, uel internae rebellionis, uel externae incursionis, in deditos ita semper aut pro illis, aut contra pugnandum, numquam dari facultatem dimittendi exercitus, compilari interim se, efferri foras pecuniam, alienae gloriolae suum impendi sanguinem, pacem nihilo tutiorem, domi corruptos bello mores, imbibitam latrocinandi libidinem, confirmatam caedibus audaciam, leges esse contemptui, quod rex in duorum curam regnorum distractus, minus in utrumuis animum posset intendere. cum uiderent alioqui tantis malis nullum finem fore, inito tandem consilio, regi suo humanissime fecerunt optionem retinendi utrius regni uellet. nam utriusque non fore potestatem, se plures esse, quam qui a dimidiato possint rege gubernari, cum nemo sit libenter admissurus mulionem sibi cum alio communem.

then if I should set before them the decrees of the people of the Achorii, situated opposite the island of the Utopians toward the Euronotus, who, when once they had waged war to obtain for their king another kingdom, which he, on account of ancient affinity, claimed to be owed to him by inheritance, having at last gained it, when they saw that there were for themselves no fewer troubles in retaining it than they had endured in seeking it—indeed that there continually sprouted seeds either of internal rebellion or of external incursion, that upon their subjects there was thus always fighting either for them or against them, that the opportunity was never given of disbanding the army, that meanwhile they themselves were being plundered, that money was being carried abroad, that for another’s petty glory their own blood was being expended, that peace was by no whit safer, that at home morals were corrupted by war, a lust of brigandage imbibed, audacity confirmed by slaughters, the laws held in contempt, because the king, distracted with the care of two kingdoms, could less direct his mind to either—since they saw otherwise that there would be no end to such great evils, having at last taken counsel, they most humanely gave their king the option of retaining whichever kingdom he wished; for there would not be the power to hold both, and they said that they were more numerous than those who can be governed by a halved king, since no one will willingly admit to himself a muleteer shared with another.

ita coactus est ille bonus princeps, nouo regno cuipiam ex amicis relicto—qui breui etiam post eiectus est—antiquo esse contentus.

Thus that good prince was compelled, having left the new kingdom to one of his friends—who shortly thereafter was also driven out—to be content with the old.

praeterea si ostenderem omnes hos conatus bellorum, quibus tot nationes eius causa tumultuarentur, cum thesauros eius exhausissent, ac destruxissent populum, aliqua tandem fortuna frustra cessuros tamen, proinde auitum regnum coleret, ornaret quantum posset, et faceret quam florentissimum. amet suos et ametur a suis, cum his una uiuat, imperetque suauiter, atque alia regna ualere sinat, quando id quod nunc ei contigisset, satis amplum superque esset. hanc orationem quibus auribus mi More, putas excipiendam!

Moreover, if I were to point out that all these attempts of wars, by which so many nations were thrown into tumult on his account, after they had exhausted his treasuries and destroyed the people, would nevertheless at length, by some fortune, prove in vain; therefore he should cultivate the ancestral kingdom, adorn it as much as he could, and make it as flourishing as possible. Let him love his own and be loved by his own, live together with them, and rule gently, and let him allow the other kingdoms to stand, since that which had now befallen him would be ample enough and more than enough. With what ears, my More, do you think this speech would be received!

profecto non ualde pronis inquam.

assuredly, not with ears very well-inclined, I say.

pergamus ergo inquit, si consiliariis cum rege quopiam tractantibus, et comminiscentibus quibus technis ei queant coaceruare thesauros, dum unus intendendam consulit aestimationem monetae, cum ipsi sit eroganda pecunia. deiiciendam rursus infra iustum, cum fuerit corroganda. uti et multum aeris paruo dissoluat, et pro paruo multum recipiat; dum alius suadet ut bellum simulet, atque eo praetextu coacta pecunia cum uisum erit, faciat pacem, sanctis cerimoniis, quo plebeculae oculis fiat praestigium, miseratus uidelicet humanum sanguinem princeps pius; dum alius ei suggerit in mentem, antiquas quasdam, et tineis adesas leges, longa desuetudine antiquatas, quas quod nemo latas meminisset, omnes sint transgressi, earum ergo mulctas iubeat exigi, nullum uberiorem prouentum esse, nullum magis honorificum, utpote qui iustitiae prae se personam ferat; dum ab alio admonetur, uti sub magnis mulctis multa prohibeat, maxime talia, quae ne fiant, in rem sit populi.

let us proceed then, he says: if counselors, negotiating with some king and contriving by what technics they may be able to heap up treasures for him, while one advises that the valuation of the coinage be stretched upward when money is to be disbursed by him, and cast down again below the just level when it is to be collected, so that he may discharge much copper with little, and receive much in return for little; while another urges that he simulate war, and under that pretext, when money has been exacted, make peace when it shall seem good, with sacred ceremonies, in order that there be a prestidigitation for the eyes of the plebs, the pious prince, forsooth, having taken pity on human blood; while another suggests to his mind certain ancient laws, moth-eaten and antiquated by long desuetude, which, because no one remembered they had been enacted, all have transgressed—let him therefore order the mulcts of these to be exacted: no yield more abundant, none more honorific, inasmuch as it carries before it the persona of justice; while from another he is admonished to prohibit many things under great mulcts, especially such as, not being done, is to the advantage of the people.

post pecunia cum illis dispenset, quorum commodis obstat interdictum, sic et a populo gratiam iniri, et duplex adferri compendium, uel dum ii mulctantur, quos quaestus cupiditas pellexit in casses, uel dum aliis uendit priuilegia, tanto pluris, quanto scilicet fuerit melior princeps, utpote qui grauatim quicquam contra populi commodum priuato cuiquam indulgeat, et ob id non nisi magno pretio. dum alius ei persuadet obstringendos sibi iudices, qui quauis in re pro regio iure disceptent, accersendos praeterea in palatium, atque inuitandos uti coram se de suis rebus disserant, ita nullam causam eius tam aperte iniquam fore, in qua non aliquis eorum uel contradicendi studio, uel pudore dicendi eadem, uel quo gratiam ineant, apud eum aliquam reperiant rimam, qua possit intendi calumnia. sic dum iudicibus diuersa sentientibus, res per se clarissima disputatur, et ueritas in quaestionem uenit, ansam commodum regi dari, pro suo commodo ius interpretandi.

afterwards let him dispense money to those whose advantages the interdict obstructs; thus both favor with the people is initiated, and a double compendium is brought in, either when those are mulcted whom the cupidity of gain has lured into the snares, or when he sells privileges to others—at so much the higher price, the better, of course, the prince is, inasmuch as he, being slow to indulge anything against the people’s advantage to any private person, will not do so except for a great price. meanwhile another persuades him that judges must be bound to himself, who in any matter will dispute for the royal right; that moreover they must be summoned to the palace and invited to discourse in his presence about their cases; thus there will be no case of his so openly iniquitous in which not some one of them, either from zeal for contradicting, or from shame at saying the same things, or in order to enter into favor, will not find with him some chink through which chicanery can be inserted. thus, while the judges hold divergent opinions, a matter most clear per se is litigated and truth comes into question, a handle being conveniently given to the king to interpret the law for his own convenience.

ceteros aut pudore accessuros, aut metu, sic intrepide fertur postea pro tribunali sententia. neque enim deesse praetextus potest pronuncianti pro principe. nempe cui satis est aut aequitatem a sua parte esse, aut uerba legis, aut contortum scripti sensum, aut quae legibus denique omnibus praeponderat, apud religiosos iudices principis indisputabilem praerogatiuam.

the others will come over either by shame or by fear; thus thereafter the sentence is pronounced intrepidly from the tribunal. For indeed a pretext cannot be lacking to one pronouncing for the prince: namely, it suffices for him that either equity is on his side, or the words of the law, or a contorted sense of the writing, or—what at last outweighs all laws, before religious judges—the prince’s indisputable prerogative.

dum omnes in Crassiano illo consentiunt atque conspirant, nullam auri uim satis esse principi, cui sit alendus exercitus. praeterea nihil iniuste regem facere, ut maxime etiam uelit posse. quippe omnia omnium eius esse, ut homines etiam ipsos, tantum uero cuique esse proprium quantum regis benignitas ei non ademerit, quod ipsum ut quam minimum sit, principis multum referre, ut cuius tutamentum in eo situm sit, ne populus diuitiis ac libertate lasciuiat, quod hae res minus patienter ferant dura atque iniusta imperia, cum contra egestas atque inopia retundat animos, ac patientes reddat, adimatque pressis generosos rebellandi spiritus.

while all agree and conspire in that Crassian scheme, that no quantity of gold is enough for a prince who has an army to be fed. moreover, that the king does nothing unjustly, since, most of all, whatever he wills he is able to do. for indeed everything of everyone is his—even human beings themselves—while only so much is proper to each as the king’s benignity has not taken away from him; and that it greatly concerns the prince that this be as little as possible, since his safeguard is placed in this: that the people not grow wanton through riches and liberty, because these things endure harsh and unjust rule less patiently; whereas, conversely, want and penury blunt spirits and make them patient, and take away from the oppressed the noble spirits of rebelling.

hic si ego rursus adsurgens contendam haec consilia omnia regi et inhonesta esse, et perniciosa. cuius non honor modo, sed securitas quoque in populi magis opibus sita sit quam suis. quos si ostendam, regem sibi deligere sua causa, non regis, uidelicet uti eius labore ac studio ipsi commode uiuant.

here, if I, rising again, should contend that all these counsels are both dishonorable to the king and pernicious; that not his honor only, but his security also, is situated more in the resources of the people than in his own; if I should show that they choose a king for themselves for their own sake, not for the king’s, namely, that by his labor and zeal they themselves may live commodiously.

tutique ab iniuriis. eoque magis ad principem eam pertinere curam, ut populo bene sit suo, quam ut sibi, non aliter ac pastoris officium est, oues potius quam semet pascere, quatenus opilio est.

and safe as well from injuries. and all the more does that care pertain to the prince, that it be well with his people rather than with himself, not otherwise than the office of a pastor is to feed the sheep rather than himself, insofar as he is a shepherd.

nam quod populi egestatem censeant pacis praesidium esse, longissime aberrare eos ipsa res docet. nempe ubi plus rixarum comperias, quam inter mendicos! quis intentius mutationi rerum studet, quam cui minime placet praesens uitae status!

for the fact that they deem the people’s indigence to be the safeguard of peace, the thing itself teaches that they are straying very far. namely, where do you find more quarrels than among beggars! who is more intent upon the mutation of affairs than he to whom the present status of life least pleases!

aut cui denique audacior impetus ad conturbanda omnia, spe alicunde lucrandi, quam cui iam nihil est quod possit perdere! quod si rex aliquis adeo aut contemptus esset, aut inuisus suis, ut aliter eos continere in officio non possit, nisi contumeliis, compilatione, et sectione grassetur, eosque redigat ad mendicitatem, praestiterit illi profecto regno abdicare, quam his retinere artibus, quibus quamquam imperii nomen, retineat, certe amittit maiestatem. neque enim regiae dignitatis est, imperium in mendicos exercere, sed in opulentos potius, atque felices.

or who, finally, has a more audacious impetus to throw everything into confusion, with the hope of gaining lucre from somewhere, than he who now has nothing that he can lose! and if some king were so either despised or hated by his own people that he cannot otherwise keep them to their duty unless he goes marauding with contumelies, plundering, and sequestration, and reduces them to beggary, it would assuredly have been better for him to abdicate the kingdom than to retain it by these arts, by which, although he retains the name of rule, he certainly loses majesty. for it is not of royal dignity to exercise dominion over beggars, but rather over the opulent and the fortunate.

quod ipsum sensit certe uir erecti ac sublimis animi Fabricius, cum responderet malle se imperare diuitibus, quam diuitem esse. et profecto unum aliquem uoluptate ac deliciis fluere, gementibus undique ac lamentantibus aliis, hoc non est regni, sed carceris esse custodem. denique ut imperitissimus medicus est, qui morbum nescit nisi morbo curare, ita qui uitam ciuium non nouit alia uia corrigere, quam ademptis uitae commodis, is se nescire fateatur imperare liberis.

This very thing was surely perceived by Fabricius, a man of an erect and sublime spirit, when he answered that he preferred to rule over the rich rather than to be rich. And indeed for some one person to overflow with pleasure and delights, while others on every side groan and lament—this is not to be of a kingdom, but to be the custodian of a prison. Finally, just as the most unskilled physician is he who knows not to cure except by disease, so he who does not know how to correct the life of the citizens by any road other than by removing the commodities of life—let him confess that he does not know how to rule free men.

quin aut inertiam potius mutet suam, aut superbiam. nam his fere uitiis accidit, ut populus eum uel contemnat, uel habeat odio. uiuat innocuus de suo, sumptus ad reditus accommodet, refrenet maleficia, et recta institutione suorum praeueniat potius, quam sinat increscere, quae deinde puniat, leges abrogatas consuetudine haud temere reuocet, praesertim quae diu desitae numquam desideratae sunt.

nay, let him rather change his inertia, or his pride. for by these vices it commonly comes to pass that the people either contemn him or hold him in hatred. let him live innocuously on his own, accommodate expenditures to revenues, restrain malefactions, and by the right institution of his own prevent them rather than allow things to grow which he then punishes; let him not rashly recall laws abrogated by custom, especially those which, long discontinued, have never been desired.

neque umquam commissi nomine eiusmodi quicquam capiat, quale priuatum quempiam iudex, uelut inicum ac uafrum non pateretur accipere.

nor should he ever take anything of this sort under the name of a commission, such as a judge would not suffer any private person, as inequitable and wily, to accept.

hic si proponerem illis Macarensium legem, qui et ipsi non longe admodum absunt ab Utopia, quorum rex quo primum die auspicatur imperium, magnis adhibitis sacrificiis iuriiurando astringitur, numquam se uno tempore supra mille auri pondo in thesauris habiturum, aut argenti, quantum eius auri pretium aequet. hanc legem ferunt ab optimo quodam rege institutam, cui maiori curae fuit patriae commodum, quam diuitiae suae, uelut obicem aceruandae pecuniae tantae, quanta faceret inopiam eius in populo. nempe eum thesaurum uidebat suffecturum, siue regi aduersus rebelleis, siue regno aduersus hostium incursiones esset confligendum.

here, if I were to propose to them the law of the Macarians, who themselves are not very far removed from Utopia, whose king, on the very first day he inaugurates his rule, after great sacrifices have been offered, is bound by oath never at any one time to have in his treasuries more than 1,000 pounds of gold, or of silver as much as equals the value of that gold. they say that this law was instituted by a certain most excellent king, to whom the commonwealth’s advantage was of greater concern than his own riches, as a barrier against heaping up money of such an amount as would produce a scarcity of it among the people. indeed, he saw that that treasury would suffice, whether the king had to fight against rebels, or the kingdom against incursions of enemies.

ceterum minorem esse quam ut animos faciat inuadendi aliena. quae potissima condendae legis causa fuit. proxima quod sic prospectum putauit, ne desit pecunia, quae in quotidiana ciuium commutatione uersetur, et cum regi necesse est erogare, quicquid thesauro supra legitimum accreuit modum, non quaesiturum censuit occasiones iniuriae.

however, [the sum] to be smaller than would make spirits for invading another’s property—which was the most weighty cause of establishing the law. Next to this, that he thought provision was thus made, lest there be lacking money to be employed in the daily commutation of the citizens; and, since it is necessary for the king to disburse whatever has accrued to the treasury beyond the lawful measure, he judged that he would not seek occasions of injury.

talis rex et malis erit formidini, et a bonis amabitur. haec ergo atque huiusmodi si ingererem apud homines in contrariam partem uehementer inclinatos, quam surdis essem narraturus fabulam!

Such a king will be a dread to the wicked, and will be loved by the good. Therefore, if I were to thrust these things and the like upon men vehemently inclined to the contrary party, what a fable I would be about to narrate to the deaf!

surdissimis inquam, haud dubie. neque hercule miror, neque mihi uidentur—ut uere dicam—huiusmodi sermones ingerendi, aut talia danda consilia, quae certus sis numquam admissum iri. quid enim prodesse possit, aut quomodo in illorum pectus influere sermo tam insolens, quorum praeoccupauit animos, atque insedit penitus diuersa persuasio!

to the very deaf, I say, without a doubt. Nor, by Hercules, do I marvel, nor do there seem to me—truly to speak—such discourses to be thrust in, or such counsels to be given, which you are certain will never be admitted. For what could it profit, or how could so unheard-of a speech flow into the breast of those whose minds a contrary persuasion has preoccupied and has settled deep within!

apud amiculos in familiari colloquio non insuauis est haec philosophia scholastica. ceterum in consiliis principum, ubi res magnae magna authoritate aguntur, non est his rebus locus.

among intimates in familiar colloquy this scholastic philosophy is not unpleasing. but in the counsels of princes, where great affairs are transacted with great authority, there is no place for these things.

hoc est, inquit ille, quod dicebam non esse apud principes locum philosophiae.

this is, said he, what I was saying, that there is no place for philosophy among princes.

immo inquam est uerum, non huic scholasticae, quae quiduis putet ubiuis conuenire, sed est alia philosophia ciuilior, quae suam nouit scenam, eique sese accommodans, in ea fabula quae in manibus est, suas partes concinne et cum decoro tutatur. hac utendum est tibi. alioquin dum agitur quaepiam Plauti comoedia, nugantibus inter se uernulis, si tu in proscenium prodeas habitu philosophico, et recenseas ex Octauia locum in quo Seneca disputat cum Nerone.

On the contrary, I said, it is true—not for this scholastic sort, which thinks whatever fits wherever, but there is another, more civil philosophy, which knows its own stage, and, accommodating itself to it, in the play that is in hand, maintains its own roles neatly and with decorum. This is the one you must make use of. Otherwise, while some comedy of Plautus is being acted, the homeborn slaves bantering among themselves, if you step forth onto the proscenium in philosophical garb and declaim a passage from the Octavia in which Seneca disputes with Nero.

nonne praestiterit egisse mutam personam, quam aliena recitando talem fecisse tragicomoediam! corruperis enim, peruerterisque praesentem fabulam, dum diuersa permisces, etiam si ea quae tu affers meliora fuerint. quaecumque fabula in manu est, eam age quam potes optime.

Would it not have been better to have played a mute role, than by reciting alien material to have made such a tragicomedy! For you will have corrupted and perverted the present play, while you intermingle diverse things, even if those which you bring are better. Whatever play is in hand, act that as best you can.

neque ideo totam perturbes, quod tibi in mentem uenit alterius, quae sit lepidior.

nor therefore perturb the whole, because another, which is more charming, has come into your mind.

sic est in republica sic in consultationibus principum. si radicitus euelli non possint opiniones prauae, nec receptis usu uitiis mederi queas, ex animi tui sententia, non ideo tamen deserenda respublica est, et in tempestate nauis destituenda est, quoniam uentos inhibere non possis. at neque insuetus et insolens sermo inculcandus, quem scias apud diuersa persuasos pondus non habiturum, sed obliquo ductu conandum est, atque adnitendum tibi, uti pro tua uirili omnia tractes commode.

thus it is in the republic, thus in the consultations of princes. If depraved opinions cannot be plucked up by the roots, nor can you cure vices received by use according to the judgment of your mind, the commonwealth is not on that account to be deserted, and in a tempest the ship is not to be forsaken, since you cannot inhibit the winds. And neither is an unaccustomed and insolent discourse to be inculcated, which you know will have no weight with those persuaded to diverse views; but it must be attempted by an oblique guidance, and you must strive, so that, to your capacity, you may handle all things commodiously.

et quod in bonum nequis uertere, efficias saltem, ut sit quam minime malum. nam ut omnia bene sint, fieri non potest, nisi omnes boni sint, quod ad aliquot abhinc annos adhuc non expecto.

and what you cannot convert into good, at least effect that it be as little evil as possible. for that all things be well cannot be brought to pass, unless all are good—which I do not yet expect for some years to come.

hac, inquit, arte nihil fieret aliud, quam ne dum aliorum furori mederi studeo, ipse cum illis insaniam. nam si uera loqui uolo, talia loquar necesse est. ceterum falsa loqui, sitne philosophi nescio, certe non est meum.

“By this art,” he said, “nothing else would be effected than that, while I strive to remedy the fury of others, I myself would go mad with them. For if I wish to speak the truth, it is necessary that I speak such things. Moreover, to speak falsehoods—whether this be a philosopher’s part I do not know—certainly it is not mine.”

quamquam ille meus sermo ut fuerit fortasse ingratus illis, atque molestus, ita non uideo cur uideri debeat usque ad ineptias insolens. quod si aut ea dicerem, quae fingit Plato in sua republica aut ea quae faciunt Utopienses in sua, haec quamquam essent, ut certe sunt, meliora, tamen aliena uideri possint, quod hic singulorum priuatae sunt possessiones, illic omnia sunt communia. mea uero oratio—nisi quod ad eos qui statuissent secum, ruere diuersa uia praecipites, iucundus esse non potest, qui reuocet ac praemonstret pericula—alioquin quid habuit, quod non ubiuis dici, uel conueniat, uel oporteat!

Although that discourse of mine, while perhaps ungrateful to them and troublesome, yet I do not see why it ought to seem insolent up to the point of ineptitude. For if I were either to say those things which Plato fashions in his Republic, or those which the Utopians do in theirs, these, although they would be—as certainly they are—better, nevertheless might seem alien, because here the possessions are the private properties of individuals, there all things are common. But my speech—save that, to those who had resolved with themselves to rush headlong by a contrary road, he who calls them back and premonstrates the dangers cannot be agreeable—otherwise, what did it have that might not be said anywhere, or be fitting, or be requisite!

equidem si omittenda sunt omnia tamquam insolentia atque absurda, quaecumque peruersi mores hominum fecerunt, ut uideri possint aliena, dissimulemus oportet, apud Christianos, pleraque omnia quae Christus docuit, ac dissimulari usqueadeo uetuit, ut ea quoque quae ipse in aures insusurrasset suis, palam in tectis iusserit praedicari. quorum maxima pars ab istis moribus longe est alienior, quam mea fuit oratio. nisi quod concionatores homines callidi, tuum illud consilium secuti puto, quando mores suos homines ad Christi normam grauatim paterentur aptari, doctrinam eius uelut regulam plumbeam accommodauerunt ad mores, ut aliquo saltem pacto coniungerentur scilicet.

Indeed, if all things are to be omitted as insolent and absurd, whatever the perverse morals of men have made so that they might seem alien, we must, among Christians, dissimulate almost everything that Christ taught—and he forbade it to be dissimulated to such a degree that even the things he himself had whispered into the ears of his own, he ordered to be proclaimed openly on the housetops. Of which the greater part is far more alien from those morals than my speech was—except that preachers, shrewd men, following that counsel of yours, since men would with reluctance allow their morals to be fitted to the norm of Christ, have accommodated his doctrine, like a rule of lead, to the morals, so that at least in some fashion they might, forsooth, be conjoined.

qua re nihil uideo quid profecerint, nisi ut securius liceat esse malos, atque ipse profecto tantumdem proficiam in consiliis principum.

Wherefore I see not what they have profited, except that it may be more securely permitted to be wicked, and I myself assuredly shall profit just as much in the counsels of princes.

nam aut diuersa sentiam, quod perinde fuerit, ac si nihil sentiam, aut eadem, et ipsorum adiutor sim, ut inquit Micio Terentianus, insaniae. nam obliquus ille ductus tuus non uideo quid sibi uelit, quo censes adnitendum, si non possint omnia reddi bona, tamen ut tractentur commode, fiantque, quoad licet, quam minime mala. quippe non est ibi dissimulandi locus, nec licet conniuere.

for either I shall think different things, which would be just as if I thought nothing, or the same, and I shall be a helper, as Terentian Micio says, of their insanity. for that oblique guidance of yours, I do not see what it would have for itself—what you judge one must strive for: if all things cannot be rendered good, nevertheless that they be handled commodiously, and become, as far as it is permitted, as little evil as possible. for indeed there is no place there for dissembling, nor is it permitted to connive.

approbanda sunt aperte pessima consilia, et decretis pestilentissimis subscribendum est. speculatoris uice fuerit, ac pene proditoris, etiam qui improbe consulta maligne laudauerit. porro nihil occurrit, in quo prodesse quicquam possis, in eos delatus collegas, qui uel optimum uirum facilius corruperint, quam ipsi corrigantur, quorum peruersa consuetudine uel deprauaberis, uel ipse integer atque innocens, alienae malitiae, stultitiaeque praetexeris, tantum abest ut aliquid possit in melius obliquo illo ductu conuertere.

the worst counsels must be openly approved, and one must subscribe to the most pestilent decrees. it will be in the role of a spy, and almost of a traitor, even for the one who has wickedly and malignantly praised ill-advised measures. furthermore, nothing presents itself in which you can profit anything, being thrown in among colleagues who would more easily corrupt even the best man than be corrected themselves; by whose perverse custom you will either be depraved, or you yourself, intact and innocent, will cloak another’s malice and folly—so far is it from the case that anything can be converted for the better by that oblique line of conduct.

quam ob rem pulcherrima similitudine declarat Plato, cur merito sapientes abstineant a capessenda quippe republica. cum populum uideant in plateas effusum assiduis imbribus perfundi, nec persuadere queant illis, ut se subducant pluuiae, tectaque subeant. gnari nihil profuturos sese si exeant, quam ut una compluantur, semet intra tecta continent habentes satis, quando alienae stultitiae non possunt mederi, si ipsi saltem sint in tuto.

Wherefore by a most beautiful similitude Plato declares why, with good reason, the wise abstain from taking up the republic. When they see the people poured out into the streets, being drenched by continual showers, and cannot persuade them to withdraw themselves from the rain and to go under roofs, knowing that they will profit nothing if they go out, save to be drenched together, they keep themselves within doors, having enough—since they cannot remedy another’s folly—if at least they themselves are in safety.

quamquam profecto mi More—ut ea uere dicam, quae meus animus fert—mihi uidetur ubicumque priuatae sunt possessiones, ubi omnes omnia pecuniis metiuntur, ibi uix umquam posse fieri, ut cum republica aut iuste agatur, aut prospere, nisi uel ibi sentias agi iuste, ubi optima quaeque perueniunt ad pessimos, uel ibi feliciter, ubi omnia diuiduntur in paucissimos, nec illos habitos undecumque commode, ceteris uero plane miseris.

Although indeed, my More—to speak truly the things which my spirit bears—it seems to me that wherever possessions are private, where all measure everything by money, there it can scarcely ever come to pass that the commonwealth is dealt with either justly or prosperously, unless you would even judge it to be justly managed where all the best things come to the worst men, or happily where everything is divided among the very few, and not even those are in any way commodiously provided for, while the rest are plainly wretched.

quam ob rem cum apud animum meum reputo, prudentissima atque sanctissima instituta Utopiensium, apud quos tam paucis legibus, tam commode res administrantur, ut et uirtuti pretium sit, et tamen aequatis rebus omnia abundent omnibus, tum ubi his eorum moribus ex aduerso comparo, tot nationes alias, semper ordinantes, nec ullam satis ordinatam umquam, earum omnium in quibus quod quisque nactus fuerit, suum uocat priuatum, quorum tam multae indies conditae leges non sufficiunt, uel ut consequatur quisquam, uel ut tueatur, uel ut satis internoscat ab alieno, illud quod suum inuicem quisque priuatum nominat, id quod facile indicant infinita illa tam assidue nascentia, quam numquam finienda litigia.

for which reason, when within my mind I reckon up the most prudent and most holy institutions of the Utopians, among whom with so few laws affairs are administered so commodiously, so that both there is a reward for virtue, and yet, with affairs equalized, all things abound for all, then, when to these their customs, by way of contrary comparison, I set over against them so many other nations, always ordering and yet never any sufficiently ordered—of all those in which whatever each has gotten he calls his own private property—whose laws, so many framed day by day, are not sufficient either for anyone to obtain, or to guard, or to distinguish sufficiently from another’s that which each in turn calls his own private property, which is easily indicated by those infinite litigations, as assiduously springing up as never to be brought to an end.

haec inquam, dum apud me considero, aequior Platoni fio, minusque demiror, dedignatum illis leges ferre ullas, qui recusabant eas quibus ex aequo omnes omnia partirentur commoda. siquidem facile praeuidit homo prudentissimus, unam atque unicam illam esse uiam ad salutem publicam, si rerum indicatur aequalitas, quae nescio an umquam possit obseruari, ubi sua sunt singulorum propria. nam cum certis titulis, quisque quantum potest, ad se conuertit, quantacumque fuerit rerum copia, eam omnem pauci inter se partiti, reliquis relinquunt inopiam, fereque accidit, ut alteri sint alterorum sorte dignissimi, cum illi sint rapaces, improbi atque inutiles, contra hi modesti uiri, ac simplices, et cotidiana industria, in publicum quam in semet benigniores.

These things, I say, while I consider them with myself, I become fairer to Plato, and I marvel the less that he disdained to enact any laws for those who refused those by which, on equal terms, all would apportion to all the commodities. For the most prudent man easily foresaw that that one and only path to public safety would be, if an equality of things be declared; which I do not know whether it can ever be observed where each one’s own possessions are private. For when, under fixed titles, each man, as much as he can, turns things to himself, however great the abundance of goods may have been, a few, having divided it all among themselves, leave penury to the rest; and it almost comes to pass that the one party are most worthy of the other party’s lot, since those are rapacious, dishonest, and useless, whereas these are modest men and simple, and by daily industry more beneficent for the commonwealth than for themselves.

adeo mihi certe persuadeo, res aequabili ac iusta aliqua ratione distribui, aut feliciter agi cum rebus mortalium, nisi sublata prorsus proprietate, non posse. sed manente illa, mansuram semper apud multo maximam, multoque optimam hominum partem, egestatis et erumnarum anxiam atque ineuitabilem sarcinam. quam ut fateor leuari aliquantulum posse, sic tolli plane contendo non posse.

so much am I indeed persuaded that matters cannot be distributed by some equitable and just rationale, nor can it go felicitously with the affairs of mortals, unless property be utterly abolished. but with that remaining, the anxious and inevitable burden of poverty and hardships will always remain upon by far the greatest, and by far the best, portion of humankind. which, as I admit can be lightened somewhat, so I plainly contend cannot be removed.

nempe si statuatur ne quis supra certum agri modum possideat, et uti sit legitimus cuique census pecuniae, si fuerit legibus quibusdam cautum, ut neque sit princeps nimium potens, neque populus nimis insolens, tum magistratus ne ambiantur, neu dentur uenum, aut sumptus in illis fieri sit necesse, alioquin et occasio datur per fraudem ac rapinas sarciendae pecuniae, et fit necessitas eis muneribus praeficiendi diuites, quae potius fuerant administranda prudentibus.

namely, if it be established that no one possess above a certain measure of land, and that for each there be a lawful assessment of money; if it be provided by certain laws that neither the prince be too potent nor the people too insolent, then that magistracies not be courted, nor be put up for sale, nor be such that expenses must be incurred in them; otherwise both an occasion is given for money to be made up by fraud and rapine, and there arises a necessity of preferring to those offices the rich, which rather ought to have been administered by the prudent.

talibus inquam legibus, quemadmodum aegra assiduis solent fomentis fulciri corpora deploratae ualetudinis, ita haec quoque mala leniri queant, ac mitigari. ut sanentur uero atque in bonum redeant habitum, nulla omnino spes est, dum sua cuique sunt propria. quin dum unius partis curae studes, aliarum uulnus exasperaueris, ita mutuo nascitur ex alterius medela alterius morbus, quando nihil sic adiici cuiquam potest, ut non idem adimatur alii.

by such laws, I say, just as bodies of deplorable health are wont to be propped up by assiduous fomentations, so these evils too can be soothed and mitigated. But that they be healed in truth and return into a good condition, there is absolutely no hope, so long as each has his own as private property. Nay rather, while you devote yourself to the cares of one part, you will have exasperated the wound of the others; thus, reciprocally, from the remedy of one is born the disease of another, since nothing can be so added to anyone that the same is not taken away from another.

at mihi inquam contra uidetur, ibi numquam commode uiui posse, ubi omnia sint communia. nam quo pacto suppetat copia rerum, unoquoque ab labore subducente se! utpote quem neque sui quaestus urget ratio, et alienae industriae fiducia reddit segnem. at cum et stimulentur inopia, neque quod quisquam fuerit nactus, id pro suo tueri ulla possit lege, an non necesse est perpetua caede ac seditione laboretur!

but to me, on the contrary, it seems that one can never live commodiously where all things are common. For how will a supply of things be at hand, with each man withdrawing himself from labor—since the calculation of his own gain does not urge him, and confidence in another’s industry renders him sluggish? But when men are likewise goaded by want, and no one can by any law defend as his own what he has gotten, is it not necessary that there be continual toil with perpetual slaughter and sedition!

sublata praesertim authoritate ac reuerentia magistratuum, cui quis esse locus possit, apud homines taleis, quos inter nullum discrimen est, ne comminisci quidem queo.

specially with the authority and reverence of magistrates removed—what place could there be for them among such men, among whom there is no discrimination?—I cannot even conceive.

non miror inquit, sic uideri tibi, quippe cui eius imago rei, aut nulla succurrit, aut falsa. uerum si in Utopia fuisses mecum, moresque eorum atque instituta uidisses praesens, ut ego feci, qui plus annis quinque ibi uixi, neque umquam uoluissem inde discedere, nisi ut nouum illum orbem proderem, tum plane faterere, populum recte institutum nusquam alibi te uidisse quam illic.

"I do not wonder," he says, "that it seems so to you, since either no image of that reality occurs to you, or a false one. But if you had been with me in Utopia, and had seen their mores and institutions in person—as I did, who lived there for more than five years—nor would I ever have wished to depart from there, except to publish that New World—then plainly you would confess that you have seen a rightly instituted people nowhere else than there."

atqui profecto inquit Petrus Aegidius, aegre persuadeas mihi, melius institutum populum in nouo illo, quam in hoc noto nobis orbe reperiri, ut in quo neque deteriora ingenia, et uetustiores opinor esse, quam in illo respublicas et in quibus plurima ad uitam commoda longus inuenit usus, ut ne adiiciam apud nos casu reperta quaedam, quibus excogitandis nullum potuisset ingenium sufficere.

However indeed, says Peter Aegidius, you would with difficulty persuade me that a better-instituted people is to be found in that new world than in this world known to us, since in it the talents are no worse, and, as I suppose, the republics are more ancient than in that one, and in which long use has discovered very many commodities for life—not to add certain things discovered among us by chance, for the devising of which no ingenuity could have sufficed.

quod ad uetustatem, inquit ille, rerum attinet publicarum, tum pronunciare posses rectius, si historias illius orbis perlegisses, quibus si fides haberi debet, prius apud eos erant urbes, quam homines apud nos. iam uero quicquid hactenus uel ingenium inuenit, uel casus repperit, hoc utrobique potuit extitisse. ceterum ego certe puto, ut illis praestemus ingenio, studio tamen atque industria longe a tergo relinquimur.

as to antiquity, said he, of public affairs, you could then pronounce more rightly, if you had read through the histories of that world; to which, if credit is to be given, there were cities among them before there were men among us. moreover, whatever up to now either ingenuity has discovered or chance has found, this could have existed in both places. however, I for my part think that, though we excel them in ingenium, yet in zeal and industry we are left far behind.

nam—ut ipsorum habent annales—ante appulsum illuc nostrum de rebus nostris—quos illi uocant ultraequinoctialeis—nihil umquam quicquam audierant, nisi quod olim annis ab hinc ducentis supra mille, nauis quaedam apud insulam Utopiam naufragio periit, quam tempestas eo detulerat. eiecti sunt in litus Romani quidam, atque Aegyptii, qui postea numquam inde discessere.

for—as their annals record—before our arrival there, about our affairs—us, whom they call the ultra‑equinoctials—they had never ever heard anything at all, except that once, more than 1200 years ago, a certain ship perished by shipwreck near the island Utopia, which a storm had borne thither. Certain Romans and Egyptians were cast ashore, who afterwards never departed from there.

hanc unam occasionem, uide quam commodam illis sua fecit industria. nihil artis erat intra Romanum imperium, unde possit aliquis esse usus, quod non illi aut ab expositis hospitibus didicerint, aut acceptis quaerendi seminibus adinuenerint. tanto bono fuit illis aliquos hinc semel illuc esse delatos.

this one opportunity—see how convenient to them their own industry made it. There was no art within the Roman Empire, from which someone might derive any use, that they did not either learn from the cast‑ashore guests, or, having received the seeds of inquiry, invent. So great a good was it for them that some men from here once were borne thither.

at si qua similis fortuna quempiam antehac illinc huc perpulerit, tam penitus hoc obliteratum est, quam istud quoque forsan excidet posteris, me aliquando illic fuisse. et ut illi uno statim congressu quicquid a nobis commode inuentum est, fecerunt suum; sic diu futurum puto, priusquam nos accipiamus quicquam quod apud illos melius quam nobis est institutum. quod unum maxime esse reor in causa, cur cum neque ingenio, neque opibus inferiores simus eis, ipsorum tamen res quam nostra prudentius administretur, et felicius efflorescat.

But if any similar fortune had at any time before driven someone from there to here, this has been so thoroughly obliterated, as perhaps that fact too will slip from the memory of posterity—that I was once there. And just as they, at a single encounter and straightway, made whatever had been conveniently/in a suitable way invented by us their own, so I think it will be long before we receive anything that among them is instituted better than among us. This one thing I reckon chiefly to be the cause why, although we are inferior to them neither in talent nor in resources, nevertheless their affairs are administered more prudently and flourish more felicitously than ours.

ergo mi Raphael inquam, quaeso te atque obsecro, describe nobis insulam. nec uelis esse breuis, sed explices ordine, agros, fluuios, urbes, homines, mores, instituta, leges, ac denique omnia, quae nos putes uelle cognoscere. putabis autem uelle quicquid adhuc nescimus.

Therefore, my Raphael, I said, I beg and beseech you, describe the island to us. And do not wish to be brief, but expound in order the fields, rivers, cities, people, mores, institutions, laws, and finally everything which you think we wish to know. And you will suppose that we wish whatever we do not yet know.

nihil inquit faciam libentius. nam haec in promptu habeo. sed res otium poscit.

Nothing, he says, will I do more willingly. For I have these things ready to hand. But the matter demands leisure.

eamus ergo inquam intro pransum, mox tempus nostro arbitratu sumemus.

let us go in then, said I, indoors to dine, soon we shall take time at our discretion.

fiat inquit. ita ingressi prandemus.

let it be done, he says. thus, having entered, we will lunch.

pransi, in eundem reuersi locum, in eodem sedili consedimus, ac iussis ministris ne quis interpellaret, ego ac Petrus Aegidius hortamur Raphaelem, ut praestet quod erat pollicitus. is ergo ubi nos uidit intentos, atque auidos audiendi, cum paulisper tacitus et cogitabundus assedisset, hunc in modum exorsus est. primi libri finis.

After luncheon, having returned to the same place, we sat down on the same bench; and, the servants having been instructed that no one should interrupt, Peter Giles and I urge Raphael to fulfill what he had promised. Therefore, when he saw us intent and eager to hear, after he had sat for a little while silent and thoughtful, he began in this manner. end of the first book.

sermonis quem Raphael Hythlodaeus de optimo reipublicae statu habuit, liber secundus, per Thomam Morum ciuem et uicecomitem Londinensem.

the second book of the discourse which Raphael Hythlodaeus delivered concerning the best state of the republic, by Thomas More, citizen and undersheriff of London.

[Raphaelis sermo pomeridianus.]

[Raphael's afternoon discourse.]

[de Utopiensium insula.]

[about the island of the Utopians.]

Utopiensium insula in media sui parte—nam hac latissima est—milia passuum ducenta porrigitur, magnumque per insulae spatium non multo angustior, fines uersus paulatim utrimque tenuatur. hi uelut circumducti circino quingentorum ambitu milium, insulam totam in lunae speciem renascentis effigiant. cuius cornua fretum interfluens, milibus passuum plus minus undecim dirimit, ac per ingens inane diffusum, circumiectu undique terrae prohibitis uentis, uasti in morem lacus stagnans magis quam saeuiens, omnem prope eius terrae aluum pro portu facit.

The island of the Utopians in its middle part—for here it is widest—stretches two hundred miles, and for a great space of the island it is not much narrower; as it goes toward the borders it is gradually attenuated on both sides. These, as if drawn round with a compass into a circuit of five hundred miles, fashion the whole island into the semblance of a reborn (waxing) moon. The horns of which a strait flowing between separates by about eleven miles, and, diffused through a vast void, with the winds kept off on every side by the surrounding land, lying still in the manner of a vast lake rather than raging, it makes almost the whole bosom of that land into a harbor.

magnoque hominum usu naues quaqua uersus transmittit. fauces hinc uadis, inde saxis formidolosae. in medio ferme interstitio una rupes eminet, eoque innoxia, cui inaedificatam turrim praesidio tenent, ceterae latentes et insidiosae.

and, with great human use, it sends ships across in every direction. The narrows are formidable here with shallows, there with rocks. Almost in the middle of the interval a single rock stands out, and for that reason is innocuous: they hold as a guard a tower built upon it; the rest are hidden and insidious.

canales solis ipsis noti, atque ideo non temere accidit, uti exterus quisquam hunc in sinum, nisi Utopiano duce, penetret, ut in quem uix ipsis tutus ingressus est, nisi signis quibusdam e litore uiam regentibus. his in diuersa translatis loca, hostium quamlibet numerosam classem facile in perniciem traherent. ab altera parte non infrequentes portus.

channels known only to themselves; and therefore it does not readily occur that any outsider penetrates this bay, unless with a Utopian as leader, since ingress is scarcely safe even for them themselves, unless certain signs from the shore direct the way. By transferring these to different places, they would easily draw the enemy’s fleet, however numerous, into perdition. On the other side, the harbors are not few.

at ubique descensus in terram ita natura munitus, aut arte, ut ingentes copiae paucis inde queant propugnatoribus arceri.

But everywhere the landing to land is so fortified by nature, or by art, that vast forces can thence be warded off by a few defenders.

ceterum uti fertur, utique ipsa loci facies prae se fert, ea tellus olim non ambiebatur mari. sed Utopus cuius utpote uictoris nomen refert insula, nam ante id temporis Abraxa dicebatur, quique rudem atque agrestem turbam ad id quo nunc ceteros prope mortales antecellit cultus, humanitatisque perduxit, primo protinus appulsu uictoria potitus, passuum milia quindecim, qua parte tellus continenti adhaesit, exscindendum curauit, ac mare circum terram duxit. cumque ad id operis non incolas modo coegisset—ne contumeliae loco laborem ducerent—sed suos praeterea milites omnes adiungeret, in tantam hominum multitudinem opere distributo incredibili celeritate res perfecta, finitimos—qui initio uanitatem incoepti riserant—admiratione successus ac terrore perculerit.

However, as it is reported, and as indeed the very face of the place bears before itself, that land once was not encompassed by the sea. But Utopus—whose name, as that of the conqueror, the island bears, for before that time it was called Abraxa—and who led the rude and rustic crowd to that cultivation and humanity in which it now surpasses almost all other mortals, upon his very first landing, having forthwith obtained the victory, took care that fifteen thousand paces, in that part where the land adhered to the continent, be cut through, and he led the sea around the land. And since for that work he compelled not the inhabitants only—lest they take the labor as a contumely—but besides added to them all his own soldiers, with the work distributed among so great a multitude of men, the matter was completed with incredible celerity, and the neighbors—who at the beginning had laughed at the vanity of the undertaking—were struck with admiration at the success and with terror.

insula ciuitates habet quattuor et quinquaginta spatiosas omnes ac magnificas lingua, moribus, institutis, legibus, prorsus iisdem, idem situs omnium, eadem ubique quatenus per locum licet, rerum facies. harum quae proximae inter se sunt milia quattuor ac uiginti separant. nulla rursus est tam deserta, e qua non ad aliam urbem pedibus queat unius itinere diei perueniri.

the island has fifty-four cities, all spacious and magnificent, with language, morals, institutions, and laws altogether the same; the plan of all is the same, and the aspect of things everywhere the same, so far as the locality allows. of these, those which are nearest to each other are separated by twenty-four miles. nor, again, is there any so remote that from it one cannot reach another city on foot by a single day’s journey.

ciues quaque ex urbe terni senes ac rerum periti tractatum de rebus insulae communibus, quotannis conueniunt nam Amaurotum.—ea urbs quod tamquam in umbilico terrae sita maxime iacet omnium partium legatis opportuna—prima, princepsque habetur.

citizens from each city, three elders and men skilled in affairs, meet every year for a conference on the island’s common matters at Amaurotum.—that city—because, as if set in the navel of the land, it lies most opportune for the legates of all parts—is held the first and principal.

agri ita commode ciuitatibus assignati sunt, ut ab nulla parte minus soli quam duodecim passuum milia una quaeuis habeat. ab aliqua multo etiam amplius, uidelicet qua parte longius urbes inter se disiunguntur. nulli urbi cupido promouendorum finium.

the fields have been so commodiously assigned to the cities that on no side does any single one have less soil than twelve miles. on some side much more as well, namely on that side where the cities are more widely separated from one another. no city has a desire for extending its frontiers.

quippe quos habent agricolas magis eorum se, quam dominos putant.

indeed they think themselves rather to belong to those husbandmen whom they have, than to be their masters.

habent ruri per omnes agros commode dispositas domos, rusticis instrumentis instructas. hae habitantur ciuibus per uices eo commigrantibus. nulla familia rustica in uiris mulieribusque pauciores habet, quam quadraginta praeter duos ascriptitios seruos, quibus pater materque familias graues ac maturi praeficiuntur, et singulis tricenis familiis phylarchus unus.

they have in the countryside, through all the fields, houses conveniently arranged, equipped with rustic implements. these are inhabited by citizens migrating thither by turns. no rural household has fewer men and women than forty, besides two ascriptitious slaves, over whom a father and a mother of the household, grave and mature, are set in charge; and for every thirty families, one phylarch.

e quaque familia uiginti quotannis in urbem remigrant, hi qui biennium ruri compleuere. in horum locum totidem recentes ex urbe subrogantur, ut ab his qui annum ibi fuere. atque ideo rusticarum peritiores rerum, instituantur, alios anno sequente docturi, ne si pariter omnes ibi noui, agricolationisque rudes essent, aliquid in annona per imperitiam peccaretur.

and from each household twenty every year remigrate to the city—those who have completed a biennium in the countryside. In their place just as many fresh men from the city are subrogated, to be trained by those who have been there a year. And thus men more experienced in rural affairs are instructed, to teach others the following year, lest, if all alike there were new there and unpracticed in agriculture, some fault be committed in the grain-supply through inexperience.

is innouandorum agricolarum mos, et si solemnis sit, ne quisquam inuitus asperiorem uitam cogatur continuare diutius, multi tamen quos rusticae rei studium natura delectat, plures sibi annos impetrant.

there is a custom of renewing the farmers; and although it is customary, so that no one unwilling is compelled to continue the harsher life longer, nevertheless many whom nature delights with a zeal for rustic affairs obtain more years for themselves.

agricolae terram colunt, nutriunt animalia, ligna comparant, atque in urbem qua commodum est, terra, mariue conuehunt. pullorum infinitam educant multitudinem, mirabili artificio. neque enim incubant oua gallinae, sed magnum eorum numerum calore quodam aequabili fouentes animant, educantque, hi simul atque e testa prodiere, homines, uice matrum comitantur, et agnoscunt.

the farmers cultivate the land, nourish animals, procure wood, and into the city, wherever it is convenient, they convey it by land, or by sea. they rear an infinite multitude of chicks, by a marvelous artifice. for the hens do not brood the eggs, but, cherishing a great number of them with a certain even heat, they quicken them and rear them; these, as soon as they have come forth from the shell, follow humans, in the place of mothers, and recognize them.

equos alunt perquam paucos, nec nisi ferocientes, neque alium in usum quam exercendae rebus equestribus iuuentuti. nam omnem, seu colendi, seu uehendi laborem, boues obeunt, quos—ut fatentur—equis impetu cedere, sic patientia uincere, nec tot obnoxios morbis putant, ad haec minore impendio, et operae, et sumptus ali, ac denique laboribus emeritos, in cibum tandem usui esse.

they keep very few horses, and not unless they are fierce, nor for any other use than for the youth to be exercised in equestrian matters. for all labor, whether of cultivating or of conveying, is undertaken by oxen, which—as they admit—yield to horses in impetuosity, yet surpass them in patience; nor do they think them so liable to diseases; besides, they are maintained with a lesser outlay, both of toil and of expense, and finally, when discharged from their labors, they are at last of use for food.

semente in solum panem utuntur. nam aut uuarum uinum bibunt, aut pomorum, pirorumue, aut denique aquam nonnumquam meram, saepe etiam, qua mel, aut glycyrizam incoxerint, cuius haud exiguam habent copiam.

they use their grain for bread alone. for they drink either wine of grapes, or of apples or pears, or finally water, sometimes pure, often also that in which they have boiled honey or glycyrrhiza, of which they have no scant supply.

cum exploratum habeant—habent enim certissimum—quantum annonae consumat urbs, et circumiectus urbi conuentus, tamen multo amplius et sementis faciunt, et pecudum educant, quam quod in suos usus sufficiat, relicum impartituri finitimis. quibuscumque rebus opus est, quae res ruri non habentur, eam suppellectilem omnem ab urbe petunt, et sine ulla rerum commutatione, a magistratibus urbanis nullo negotio consequuntur. nam illo singulo quoque mense, plerique ad festum diem conueniunt.

since they have it ascertained—for they have it most certain—how much of the grain-supply the city, and the community surrounding the city, consumes, yet they both make much more sowing and raise more herds than suffices for their own uses, intending to impart the remainder to their neighbors. Whatever things are needed which are not had in the countryside, all that equipment and furnishings they seek from the city, and without any commutation of goods they obtain it from the urban magistrates with no trouble. For there, each single month, most people gather on a festal day.

cum frumentandi dies instat, magistratibus urbanis agricolarum phylarchi denunciant, quantum ciuium numerum ad se mitti conueniat, quae multitudo frumentatorum, cum ad ipsum diem opportune adsit, uno prope sereno die tota frumentatione defunguntur.

when the day for grain-harvesting is at hand, the phylarchs of the farmers announce to the urban magistrates what number of citizens it is fitting to be sent to them; and when the multitude of harvesters is present, opportunely, on the very day, they finish the whole harvesting almost in a single clear day.

[de urbibus, ac nominatim de Amauroto.]

[on the cities, and in particular about Amaurot.]

urbium qui unam norit, omnes nouerit, ita sunt inter se—quatenus loci natura non obstat—omnino similes. depingam igitur unam quampiam—neque enim admodum refert quam—sed quam potius, quam Amaurotum! qua nec ulla dignior est, quippe cui senatus gratia reliquae deferunt, nec ulla mihi notior, ut in qua annos quinque perpetuos uixerim.

who has known one of the cities will have known them all, so alike are they among themselves—so far as the nature of the place does not stand in the way—altogether similar. I will therefore depict some one—nor indeed does it much matter which—but rather, why not Amaurotum! than which none is more worthy, since by the senate’s favor the rest defer to it, nor is any to me more familiar, seeing that in it I lived for five continuous years.

situm est igitur Amaurotum, in leni deiectu montis, figura fere quadrata. nam latitudo eius paulo infra collis incoepta uerticem, milibus passuum duobus ad flumen Anydrum pertinet, secundum ripam aliquanto longior.

Amaurotum is therefore situated on the gentle declivity of a hill, of an almost square figure. For its breadth, from a little below the point where the hill begins, extends for two miles to the river Anyder, and along the bank it is somewhat longer.

oritur Anydrus milibus octoginta supra Amaurotum, modico fonte, sed aliorum occursu fluminum, atque in his duorum etiam mediocrium auctus, ante urbem ipsam, quingentos in latum passus extenditur, mox adhuc amplior, sexaginta milia prolapsus, excipitur oceano. hoc toto spacio, quod urbem ac mare interiacet, ac supra urbem quoque aliquot milia, sex horas perpetuas influens aestus, ac refluus alternat celeri flumine. cum sese pelagus infert, triginta in longum milia, totum Anydri alueum suis occupat undis, profligato retrorsum fluuio.

The Anydrus rises 80 miles above Amaurotum, from a modest spring; but, increased by the meeting of other rivers—and among these even two of middling size—just before the city itself it extends 500 paces in breadth, and soon, yet larger, having glided 60 miles, it is received by the Ocean. Through this whole space which lies between the city and the sea, and for several miles above the city as well, the tide flowing in for 6 continuous hours, and ebbing, alternates with a swift current. When the main sea pours itself in, for 30 miles in length it occupies the whole channel of the Anydrus with its waves, the river driven back.

tum aliquanto ultra liquorem eius salsugine corrumpit, dehinc paulatim dulcescens amnis, sincerus urbem perlabitur, ac refugientem uicissim purus et incorruptus, ad ipsas prope fauces insequitur.

then somewhat further beyond it corrupts its water with salinity; thereafter, little by little growing fresh, the river, pure, glides past the city, and, the sea retreating, in turn, pure and uncorrupted, it follows almost to the very jaws.

urbs aduersae fluminis ripae, non pilis ac sublicibus ligneis, sed ex opere lapideo, egregie arcuato ponte, commissa est, ab ea parte, quae longissime distat a mari, quo naues totum id latus urbis possint inoffensae praeteruehi.

the city has been joined to the opposite bank of the river, not by wooden piles and trestles, but by a bridge of stonework, excellently arched, from that side which is farthest from the sea, in order that ships may be able to pass by unhindered along that entire side of the city.

habent alium praeterea fluuium, haud magnum quidem illum, sed perquam placidum, ac iucundum. nam ex eodem scaturiens monte, in quo ciuitas collocatur, mediam illam per deuexa perfluens Anydro miscetur. eius fluuii caput, fontemque, quod paulo extra urbem nascitur, munimentis amplexi, Amaurotani iunxerunt oppido.

they have, moreover, another river—not indeed a great one, but exceedingly placid and pleasant. for, springing from the same mountain on which the city is situated, flowing through its middle down the declivities, it is mingled with the Anydrus. the Amaurotians, having encompassed with fortifications the head of that river and the spring, which rises a little outside the city, have joined it to the town.

ne si qua uis hostium ingruat, intercipi, atque auerti aqua, neue corrumpi queat. inde canalibus coctilibus, diuersim ad inferiores urbis partes aqua diriuatur, id sicubi locus fieri uetat, cisternis capacibus, collecta pluuia, tantumdem usus adfert.

lest, if any force of enemies should attack, the water could be intercepted and averted, nor could it be corrupted. From there, by baked‑clay canals, the water is distributed in different directions to the lower parts of the city; where the site anywhere forbids this being done, rainwater, collected in capacious cisterns, brings just as much use.

murus altus, ac latus oppidum cingit, turribus, ac propugnaculis frequens, arida fossa, sed alta, lataque ac ueprium sepibus impedita tribus ab lateribus circumdat moenia, quarto flumen ipsum pro fossa est.

a high and broad wall girds the town, thick with towers and bulwarks; a dry fosse, but deep and broad and impeded with hedges of brambles, surrounds the walls on three sides, on the fourth the river itself is in place of a fosse.

plateae cum ad uecturam, tum aduersus uentos descriptae, commode aedificia neutiquam sordida, quorum longa, et totum per uicum, perpetua series, aduersa domorum fronte conspicitur. has uicorum frontes uia distinguit pedes uiginti lata. posterioribus aedium partibus, quanta est uici longitudo, hortus adiacet, latus, et uicorum tergis undique circumseptus.

The streets, laid out both for carriage and against the winds, have conveniently buildings by no means sordid, whose long and, throughout the whole street, perpetual series is seen with the house-fronts facing it. A way twenty feet wide separates these street-fronts. To the rear parts of the houses, matching the length of the street, a garden adjoins, broad, and on all sides enclosed by the backs of the streets.

nulla domus est, quae non ut hostium in plateam, ita posticum in hortum habeat. quin bifores quoque facili tractu manus apertiles, ac dein sua sponte coeuntes, quemuis intromittunt, ita nihil usquam priuati est. nam domos ipsas uno quoque decennio sorte commutant.

there is no house which does not have, just as a front door onto the street, so a postern into the garden. indeed the double-doors too, easy to open with a hand’s pull, and then of their own accord coming together, let anyone in; thus nothing anywhere is private. for they exchange the houses themselves by lot every single decade.

hos hortos magnifaciunt. in his uineas, fructus, herbas, flores habent. tanto nitore, cultuque, ut nihil fructuosius usquam uiderim, nihil elegantius.

they hold these gardens in great esteem. in these they have vineyards, fruits, herbs, flowers. with such splendor and cultivation that I have seen nothing more fruitful anywhere, nothing more elegant.

qua in re studium eorum, non ipsa uoluptas modo, sed uicorum quoque inuicem de suo cuiusque horti cultu certamen accendit. et certe non aliud quicquam temere urbe tota reperias, siue ad usum ciuium, siue ad uoluptatem commodius. eoque nullius rei, quam huiusmodi hortorum, maiorem habuisse curam uidetur is qui condidit.

in this matter, not only the pleasure itself, but also the mutual contest of the wards, over the cultivation of each one’s garden, kindles their zeal. and certainly you would hardly find anything else in the whole city, whether for the use of the citizens or for pleasure, more commodious. and for that reason, he who founded it seems to have had greater care for nothing than for gardens of this kind.

nam totam hanc urbis figuram, iam inde ab initio descriptam ab ipso Utopo ferunt. sed ornatum, ceterumque cultum, quibus unius aetatem hominis haud suffecturam uidit, posteris adiiciendum reliquit. itaque scriptum in annalibus habent, quos ab capta usque insula, mille septingentorum, ac sexaginta annorum complectentes historiam, diligenter et religiose perscriptos adseruant, aedes initio humiles, ac ueluti casas, et tuguria fuisse, e quolibet ligno temere factas, parietes luto obductos, culmina in aciem fastigiata stramentis operuerant.

for they relate that this whole figure of the city was, from the very beginning, drawn up by Utopus himself. But the ornament and the rest of the cultivation/finish, for which he saw the lifespan of a single man would by no means suffice, he left to be added by posterity. And so they have it written in the annals—which, comprising a history from the capture of the island, of 1,760 years, they preserve carefully and religiously written out—that at the start the houses were humble, as if cottages and huts, made at random from whatever wood; the walls were overlaid with mud; the roofs, pitched to a ridge, they had covered with thatch.

at nunc omnis domus uisenda forma tabulatorum trium, parietum facies, aut silice, aut cementis, aut latere coctili constructae, in aluum introrsus congesto rudere. tecta in planum subducta, quae intritis quibusdam insternunt. nullius impendii, sed ea temperatura, quae nec igni obnoxia sit, et tolerandis tempestatum iniuriis plumbum superet.

but now every house is to be seen in the form of three stories; the face of the walls is constructed either of flint, or of cement, or of fired brick, with rubble heaped inward into the core. the roofs are drawn out level, which they overlay with certain well-triturated compounds—at no expense—yet of such a temper as to be not liable to fire and, in withstanding the injuries of storms, to surpass lead.

uentos a fenestris uitro—nam eius ibi creberrimus usus est—expellunt. interim etiam lino tenui, quod perlucido oleo, aut succino perlinunt, gemino nimirum commodo. siquidem ad eum modum fit, ut et plus lucis transmittat, et uentorum minus admittat.

they drive the winds away from the windows by glass—for its use there is very frequent there. meanwhile they also use thin linen, which they smear over with translucent oil or with amber, with a double advantage to be sure: for in that way it comes about that it both transmits more light and admits less of the winds.

[de magistratibus.]

[on the magistrates.]

triginta quaeque familiae magistratum sibi quotannis eligunt, quem sua prisca lingua Syphograntum uocant, recentiore phylarchum, Syphograntis decem cum suis familiis Traniborus olim, nunc protophylarchus dictus praeficitur.

every thirty families elect a magistrate for themselves each year, whom in their ancient tongue they call Syphogrant, in the more recent, Phylarch; over ten Syphogrants with their families there is set a Traniborus, formerly so called, now called Protophylarch.

demum Syphogranti omnes, qui sunt ducenti, iurati lecturos sese, quem maxime censent utilem, suffragiis occultis renunciant principem unum uidelicet ex his quattuor, quos eis populus nominauit. nam a quaque urbis quarta parte, selectus unus commendatur senatui.

at last all the Syphogrants, who are two hundred, having sworn that they will choose the one whom they deem most useful, by secret suffrages declare a prince—namely one from among those four whom the people have nominated to them. for from each fourth part of the city, one chosen man is commended to the senate.

principis magistratus perpetuus est in omnem illius uitam, nisi tyrannidis affectatae suspicio impediat. Traniboros quotannis eligunt. ceterum haud temere commutant.

the prince’s magistracy is perpetual for all his life, unless a suspicion of attempted tyranny hinders. They elect the Tranibors every year. Otherwise they do not rashly change them.

reliqui magistratus omnes annui.

The remaining magistrates are all annual.

Tranibori tertio quoque die, interdum si res postulat saepius, in consilium cum principe ueniunt. de republica consultant. controuersias priuatorum—si quae sunt—quae perquam paucae sunt, mature dirimunt.

The Tranibors, every third day, and sometimes, if the affair requires, more often, come into council with the prince. They consult about the commonwealth. The private controversies—if there are any—which are very few indeed, they promptly resolve.

Syphograntos semper in senatum duos adsciscunt, atque omni die diuersos. cautumque ut ne quid ratum sit quod ad rempublicam pertineat, de quo non tribus in senatu diebus ante agitatum, quam decretum sit. extra senatum, aut comitia publica de rebus communibus inire consilia capitale habetur.

They always enroll two Syphogrants into the senate, and every day different ones. And it is provided that nothing be ratified which pertains to the republic, about which there has not been debate in the senate on three days before it is decreed. To enter upon counsels about common matters outside the senate or the public assemblies is held capital.

haec eo ferunt instituta, ne procliue esset, coniuratione principis, ac Tranibororum, oppresso per tyrannidem populo, statum reipublicae mutare. atque ideo quicquid magni momenti iudicatur, ad Syphograntorum comitia defertur, qui cum suis familiis communicata re, post inter se consultant, ac suum consilium renunciant senatui. interdum ad totius insulae consilium res defertur.

They report these institutions were established so that it would not be easy, by a conspiracy of the prince and the Tranibors, with the people oppressed by tyranny, to change the condition of the commonwealth. And therefore whatever is judged of great moment is referred to the assemblies of the Syphogrants, who, the matter having been communicated with their families, afterwards consult among themselves and report their counsel to the senate. Sometimes the matter is referred to the council of the whole island.

quin id quoque moris habet senatus, ut nihil, quo die primum proponitur, eodem disputetur. sed in sequentem senatum differatur, ne quis ubi quod in buccam primum uenerit, temere effutierit, ea potius excogitet postea, quibus decreta tueatur sua, quam quae ex reipublicae usu sint. malitque salutis publicae, quam opinionis de se iacturam facere, peruerso quodam ac praepostero pudore, ne initio parum prospexisse uideatur.

indeed the senate also has this custom: that nothing is debated on the same day on which it is first proposed; but it is deferred to the subsequent session of the senate, lest anyone, whatever first comes into his mouth, rashly blurt it out, and then later devise rather those things by which he may defend his own decrees than those which are to the use of the commonwealth. and he would prefer to make a loss of the public safety than of the opinion about himself, by a certain perverse and preposterous modesty, lest he seem at the outset to have looked ahead too little.

cui prospiciendum initio fuit, ut consulto potius, quam cito loqueretur.

he ought, at the outset, to have provided that he speak advisedly rather than quickly.

[de artificiis.]

[on artifices.]

ars una est omnibus uiris, mulieribusque promiscua agricultura, cuius nemo est expers. hac a pueritia erudiuntur omnes, partim in schola traditis praeceptis, partim in agros uiciniores urbi, quasi per ludum educti, non intuentes modo, sed per exercitandi corporis occasionem tractantes etiam.

there is one art for all men, and agriculture—common also to women—of which no one is without a share. in this, from childhood, all are educated, partly in school by transmitted precepts, partly, led out as if for play into the fields nearer to the city, not only observing but also handling, by the opportunity for exercising the body.

praeter agriculturam—quae est omnibus, ut dixi, communis—quilibet unam quampiam, tamquam suam docetur, ea est fere aut lanificium, aut operandi lini studium, aut cementariorum, aut fabri, seu ferrarii, seu materiarii artificium. neque enim aliud est opificium ullum, quod numerum aliquem, dictu dignum occupet illic. nam uestes, quarum, nisi quod habitu sexus discernitur, et caelibatus a coniugio, una per totam insulam forma est, eademque per omne aeuum perpetua, nec ad oculum indecora, et ad corporis motum habilis, tum ad frigoris aestusque rationem apposita.

apart from agriculture—which, as I said, is common to all—each person is taught some one craft as his own; it is generally either wool-working, or the pursuit of working flax, or the trade of masons, or the craft of a smith, whether an ironworker or a timber-worker. For there is no other handicraft that occupies there any number worth the saying. As for garments, of which—save that by attire sex is distinguished, and celibacy from wedlock—there is one single form through the whole island, and the same perpetual through all ages, not unseemly to the eye, handy for the movement of the body, and suited with regard to cold and heat.

eas inquam, quaeque sibi familia conficit.

those, I say, which each family makes for itself.

sed ex aliis illis artibus unusquisque aliquam discit, nec uiri modo, sed mulieres etiam. ceterum hae uelut imbecilliores, leuiora tractant. lanam fere, linumque operantur.

but of those other crafts each one learns some one, not the men only, but the women also. moreover these, as the comparatively weaker, handle the lighter tasks. they work wool for the most part, and flax as well.

uiris artes reliquae magis laboriosae mandantur, maxima ex parte quisque in patriis artibus educatur. nam eo plerique natura feruntur. quod si quem animus alio trahat, in eius opificii, cuius capitur studio, familiam quampiam adoptione traducitur, cura non a patre modo eius, sed magistratibus etiam praestita, ut graui, atque honesto patrifamilias mancipetur.

the remaining, more laborious arts are entrusted to men; for the most part each person is brought up in the ancestral arts. For most are borne by nature in that direction. But if one’s spirit draws him elsewhere, he is transferred by adoption into some household of that craft whose pursuit captivates him, care being taken not only by his father but also by the magistrates, that he be formally conveyed to a grave and honorable paterfamilias.

quin si quis unam perdoctus artem, aliam praeterea cupiuerit, eodem modo permittitur. utramque nactus, utram uelit exercet, nisi alterutra ciuitas magis egeat.

indeed, if anyone, thoroughly taught in one art, should desire another besides, it is permitted in the same way. Having acquired both, he exercises whichever he wishes, unless either city is in greater need.

Syphograntorum, praecipuum ac prope unicum negotium est, curare, ac prospicere, ne quisquam desideat otiosus. sed uti suae quisque arti sedulo incumbat, nec ab summo mane tamen, ad multam usque noctem perpetuo labore, uelut iumenta, fatigatus.

The Syphogrants’ chief and almost sole business is to take care and to provide that no one lounge idle; but that each man sedulously apply himself to his own art; and yet not from the very earliest morning to far into the night, worn out by perpetual labor, like beasts of burden.

nam ea plusquam seruilis erumna est, quae tamen ubique fere opificum uita est, exceptis Utopiensibus, qui cum in horas uigintiquattuor aequales, diem connumerata nocte diuidant, sex dumtaxat operi deputant, tres ante meridiem, a quibus prandium ineunt, atque a prandio duas pomeridianas horas, cum interquieuerint, tres deinde rursus labori datas, cena claudunt. cum primam horam ab meridie numerent; sub octauam cubitum eunt. horas octo somnus uindicat.

for that is a more‑than‑servile drudgery, which yet is almost everywhere the life of artisans, except among the Utopians, who, since they divide the day, the night counted in, into twenty‑four equal hours, assign only six to work: three before midday, after which they begin lunch; and after lunch, having rested for two afternoon hours, they then again devote three to labor, which they close with supper. since they count the first hour from midday, they go to bed about the eighth; sleep claims eight hours.

quicquid inter operis horas ac somni cibique medium esset, id suo cuiusque arbitrio permittitur, non quo per luxum, aut segnitiem abutatur, sed quod ab opificio suo liberum, ex animi sententia in aliud quippiam studii bene collocet. has intercapedines plerique impendunt litteris. solemne est enim publicas cotidie lectiones haberi, antelucanis horis, quibus ut intersint, ii dumtaxat adiguntur, qui ad litteras nominatim selecti sunt.

whatever lies between the hours of work and the interval of sleep and food is permitted to each person’s own discretion, not that he may abuse it in luxury or sloth, but that, free from his craft, he may, according to the sentiment of his mind, well invest it in some other pursuit of study. most people devote these intervals to letters. for it is customary that public readings be held daily, in the pre-dawn hours, attendance at which only those are compelled to give, who have been by name selected for letters.

ceterum ex omni ordine mares simul, ac feminae multitudo maxima ad audiendas lectiones, alii alias, prout cuiusque fert natura confluit. hoc ipsum tempus tamen, si quis arti suae malit insumere quod multis usu uenit—quorum animus in nullius contemplatione disciplinae consurgit—haud prohibetur, quin laudatur quoque, ut utilis reipublicae.

Moreover, from every order, males together with females, a very great multitude come together to hear the lectures—some to one, others to another—just as each one’s nature inclines. This very time, however, if anyone prefers to expend upon his own art—which, as often happens in practice, is the case for many, whose spirit does not rise in the contemplation of any discipline—he is not prohibited; indeed he is even praised, as useful to the commonwealth.

super cenam tum unam horam ludendo producunt, aestate in hortis, hieme in aulis illis communibus, in quibus comedunt. ibi aut musicen exercent, aut se sermone recreant. aleam atque id genus ineptos ac perniciosos ludos ne cognoscunt quidem, ceterum duos habent in usu ludos, latrunculorum ludo non dissimiles.

after supper they then prolong an hour by playing, in summer in the gardens, in winter in those common halls in which they eat. there they either exercise music, or refresh themselves with conversation. dice and games of that sort, silly and pernicious, they do not even know; however, they have in use two games, not dissimilar to the game of latrunculi.

alterum numerorum pugnam, in qua numerus numerum praedatur. alterum in quo collata acie cum uirtutibus uitia confligunt. quo in ludo perquam scite ostenditur et uitiorum inter se dissidium, et aduersus uirtutes concordia.

the one is a battle of numbers, in which number preys upon number; the other, in which, with the battle line drawn up, vices conflict with virtues. in that game it is shown very cleverly both the dissension of the vices among themselves, and their concord against the virtues.

item quae uitia, quibus se uirtutibus opponant, quibus uiribus aperte oppugnent, quibus machinamentis ab obliquo adoriantur, quo praesidio, uirtutes uitiorum uires infringant, quibus artibus eorum conatus eludant, quibus denique modis alterutra pars uictoriae compos fiat.

likewise which vices oppose themselves to which virtues, with what forces they openly oppugn them, with what machinations they assail from the oblique; by what aid the virtues break the strength of the vices, by what arts they elude their attempts, and finally by what modes either side becomes in possession of victory.

sed hoc loco, ne quid erretis quiddam pressius intuendum est. etenim quod sex dumtaxat horas in opere sunt, fieri fortasse potest, ut inopiam aliquam putes, necessariarum rerum sequi. quod tam longe abest ut accidat, ut id temporis ad omnium rerum copiam quae quidem ad uitae uel necessitatem requirantur uel commoditatem non sufficiat modo, sed supersit etiam, id quod uos quoque intelligetis si uobiscum reputetis apud alias gentes, quam magna populi pars iners degit.

but at this point, lest you err in anything, something must be looked at more closely. for indeed, because only six hours are in work, it can perhaps occur that you think some want of necessary things follows. which is so far from happening that that amount of time not only suffices for an abundance of all things which are required for life either by necessity or for convenience, but even is left over—something which you also will understand, if you reckon with yourselves, among other peoples how great a part of the populace lives inert.

primum mulieres fere omnes, totius summae dimidium, aut sicubi mulieres negotiosae sunt, ibi ut plurimum, earum uice, uiri stertunt. ad haec, sacerdotum ac religiosorum, quos uocant, quanta quamque otiosa turba, adiice diuites omnes maxime praediorum dominos, quos uulgo generosos appellant ac nobiles, his adnumera ipsorum famulitium, totam uidelicet illam cetratorum nebulonum colluuiem. robustos denique ac ualentes mendicos adiunge, morbum quempiam praetexentes inertiae, multo certe pauciores esse quam putaras inuenies eos, quorum labore constant haec omnia quibus mortales utuntur.

first, almost all the women, half of the whole total; or if anywhere the women are industrious at business, there for the most part, in their stead, the men snore. to these, add the priests and the “religious,” as they call them—what a great and how idle a crowd! add all the rich, especially the lords of estates, whom in common speech they call “generous” and “noble”; to these, enumerate their own household of attendants, namely that entire colluvies of target-bearing ne’er-do-wells. finally, add the sturdy and able-bodied beggars, masking their inertia with some pretended ailment—you will find that those by whose labor all the things stand which mortals use are certainly much fewer than you had supposed.

expende nunc tecum ex his ipsis quam pauci in necessariis opificiis uersantur. siquidem ubi omnia pecuniis metimur, multas artes necesse est exerceri inanes prorsus ac superfluas, luxus tantum ac libidinis ministras. nam haec ipsa multitudo quae nunc operatur, si partiretur in tam paucas artes, quam paucas commodus naturae usus postulat; in tanta rerum abundantia; quantam nunc esse necesse sit, pretia nimirum uiliora forent, quam ut artifices inde uitam tueri suam possent.

Weigh now with yourself from these very points how few are engaged in necessary handicrafts. For since we measure all things by monies, it must needs be that many arts are exercised which are utterly vain and superfluous, ministers only of luxury and lust. For this very multitude which now works, if it were divided among so few arts as the commodious use of nature demands; in so great an abundance of things; as great as there must needs be now, the prices, assuredly, would be so low that the artificers could not from them maintain their life.

at si isti omnes quos nunc inertes artes distringunt; ac tota insuper otio ac desidia languescens turba, quorum unus quiuis earum rerum quae aliorum laboribus suppeditantur; quantum duo earundem operatores consumit; in opera uniuersi atque eadem utilia collocarentur, facile animaduertis; quantulum temporis ad suppeditanda omnia; quae uel necessitatis ratio; uel commoditatis efflagitet—adde uoluptatis etiam quae quidem uera sit ac naturalis—abunde satis superque foret.

But if all those whom now inert arts distract; and the whole crowd, moreover, languishing in leisure and sloth—each single one of whom consumes, of those things which are supplied by the labors of others, as much as two workers of the same—were all placed into labors both common and useful, you readily perceive how little time would be required for supplying all the things which either the principle of necessity or of convenience demands—add also pleasure, provided it be true and natural—there would be abundantly enough and to spare.

atque id ipsum in Utopia res ipsa perspicuum facit. nam illic in tota urbe cum adiacente uicinia uix homines quingenti ex omni uirorum ac mulierum numero, quorum aetas ac robur operi sufficit, uacatio permittitur. in iis syphogranti—quamquam leges eos labore soluerunt—ipsi tamen sese non eximunt; quo facilius exemplo suo reliquos ad labores inuitent.

and this very thing in Utopia the fact itself makes perspicuous. for there in the whole city together with the adjoining vicinity scarce five hundred persons, out of the entire number of men and women whose age and vigor suffice for work, are granted exemption. among these the syphogrants—although the laws have released them from labor—yet do not exempt themselves; in order the more easily by their example to invite the rest to labors.

eadem immunitate gaudent hi; quos commendatione sacerdotum, persuasus populus occultis syphograntorum suffragiis ad perdiscendas disciplinas perpetuam uacationem indulget. quorum si quis conceptam de se spem fefellerit; ad opifices retruditur, contraque non rarenter usu uenit; ut mechanicus quispiam, subcisiuas illas horas tam gnauiter impendat litteris, tantum diligentia proficiat, ut opificio suo exemptus, in litteratorum classem prouehatur.

the same immunity is enjoyed by those; whom, at the commendation of the priests, the people, persuaded by the secret suffrages of the syphogrants, grants a perpetual vacation for thoroughly learning the disciplines. of whom, if anyone should have disappointed the expectation conceived of him; he is thrust back to the craftsmen, and on the contrary it not infrequently comes to pass by experience; that some mechanic, spending those cut-off hours so industriously on letters, advances so much by diligence that, exempted from his craft, he is promoted into the class of men of letters.

ex hoc litteratorum ordine legati, sacerdotes, Tranibori ac ipse denique deligitur princeps, quem illi prisca ipsorum lingua Barzanem, recentiore Ademum appellant.

from this order of the literate, legates, priests, the Tranibors, and finally the prince himself is chosen, whom they call in their own ancient tongue Barzanem, and in the more recent, Ademum.

reliqua fere multitudo omnis; cum neque otiosa sit; nec inutilibus opificiis occupata, procliuis aestimatio est, quam paucae horae quantum boni operis pariant.

almost the whole remaining multitude; since it is neither idle; nor occupied with unprofitable crafts, it is an easy estimation how few hours produce how much good work.

ad ea quae commemoraui, hoc praeterea facilitatis accedit quod in necessariis plerisque artibus, minore opera quam aliae gentes, opus habent. nam primum aedificiorum, aut structura; aut refectio ideo tam multorum assiduam ubique requirit operam, quod quae pater aedificauit; haeres parum frugi, paulatim dilabi sinit, ita quod minimo tueri potuit; successor eius de integro impendio magno cogitur instaurare. quin frequenter etiam quae domus alii ingenti sumptu stetit, hanc alius delicato animo contemnit, eaque neglecta; atque ideo breui collapsa; aliam alibi impensis non minoribus extruit.

to those things which I have commemorated, this, besides, of facility is added: that in most necessary arts, with less labor than other nations, they have need. for, first, of buildings, either construction; or repair therefore requires everywhere the assiduous work of so many, because what a father has built; an heir, too little frugal, allows gradually to slip into dilapidation, so that what he could have kept with the least care; his successor is compelled to restore afresh at great expense. nay, frequently even a house which for one stood at enormous cost, another, with a delicate mind, despises, and it, neglected; and therefore soon collapsed; he elsewhere erects another with outlays no smaller.

at apud Utopienses compositis rebus omnibus; et constituta republica rarissime accidit; uti noua collocandis aedibus area deligatur et non modo remedium celeriter praesentibus uitiis adhibetur, sed etiam imminentibus occurritur. ita fit, ut minimo labore, diutissime perdurent aedificia, et id genus opifices uix habeant interdum quod agant; nisi quod materiam dolare domi et lapides interim quadrare atque aptare iubentur, quo—si quod opus incidat—maturius possit exurgere.

But among the Utopians, with all affairs composed; and the republic established, it very rarely happens; that a new plot is chosen for placing houses, and not only is a remedy swiftly applied to present vices, but the impending are also anticipated. Thus it comes about that, with the least labor, the buildings last for a very long time, and artificers of that kind sometimes scarcely have anything to do; except that they are ordered to hew timber at home and meanwhile to square and fit stones, so that—if any work should occur—the structure may be able to rise the sooner.

iam in uestibus uide, quam paucis operis egeant; primum dum in opere sunt; corio neglectim aut pellibus amiciuntur quae in septennium durent. cum procedunt in publicum, superinduunt chlamydem uestem, quae rudiores illas uestes contegat; eius per totam insulam unus color est, atque is natiuus. itaque lanei panni, non modo multo minus quam usquam alibi sufficit, uerum is ipse quoque multo minoris impendii est, at lini minor est labor, eoque usus crebrior, sed in lineo solus candor, in laneo sola mundicies conspicitur, nullum tenuioris fili pretium est.

now, in garments see how little workmanship they need; first, while they are at work, they are clothed carelessly with hide or with skins which last for a septennium. when they go forth into public, they put on over it a chlamys garment, to cover those rougher clothes; its color is one throughout the whole island, and that native. therefore woolen cloth not only suffices much less than anywhere else, but it itself also is of much less expense; but for linen the labor is less, and its use more frequent; yet in linen only whiteness, in wool only cleanliness is regarded; there is no valuation of finer-spun thread.

itaque fit, ut cum alibi nusquam, uni homini quattuor aut quinque togae laneae diuersis coloribus, ac totidem sericiae tunicae sufficiant, delicatioribus paulo ne decem quidem, ibi una quisque contentus est, plerumque in biennium. quippe nec causa est ulla cur plures affectet, quas consecutus neque aduersus frigus esset munitior, neque uestitu uideretur uel pilo cultior.

and so it comes about that, whereas elsewhere nowhere would four or five woolen togas of different colors, and just as many silken tunics, suffice for a single man—indeed not even ten for the somewhat more delicate—there each person is content with one, for the most part for a biennium. For there is no cause why he should affect more; once obtained, he would be neither more fortified against cold, nor would he seem either more cultured in vesture or more groomed by a hair.

quamobrem cum et omnes utilibus sese artibus exerceant, et ipsarum etiam opera pauciora sufficiant, fit nimirum, ut abundante rerum omnium copia, interdum in reficiendas—si quae detritae sunt—uias publicas immensam multitudinem educant, persaepe etiam cum nec talis cuiuspiam operis usus occurrat, pauciores horas operandi publice denuntient. neque enim superuacaneo labore ciues inuitos exercent magistratus; quandoquidem eius reipublicae institutio hunc unum scopum in primis respicit; ut quoad per publicas necessitates licet; quam plurimum temporis ab seruitio corporis ad animi libertatem cultumque ciuibus uniuersis asseratur. in eo enim sitam uitae felicitatem putant.

Wherefore, since all exercise themselves in useful arts, and since even fewer works of those same suffice, it naturally comes about that, with an abundance of every kind of things, they sometimes lead out an immense multitude to repair—if any are worn—the public roads; very often too, when no need of any such work occurs, they proclaim fewer hours of public labor for working. For the magistrates do not drive the citizens, unwilling, with superfluous toil; since the institution of that commonwealth chiefly regards this one scope: that, so far as public necessities allow, as much time as possible may be secured for all the citizens from the servitude of the body to the freedom and cultivation of the mind. For in that they think the felicity of life is set.

[de commerciis mutuis.]

[on mutual commerce.]

sed iam quo pacto sese mutuo ciues utantur; quae populi inter se commercia; quaeque sit distribuendarum rerum forma uidetur explicandum.

but now in what way citizens make mutual use of one another; what commerce peoples have among themselves; and what the form of distributing things is, seems to call for explanation.

cum igitur ex familiis constet ciuitas; familias ut plurimum, cognationes efficiunt. nam feminae—ubi maturuerint—collocatae maritis; in ipsorum domicilia concedunt. at masculi filii, ac deinceps nepotes; in familia permanent, et parentum antiquissimo parent.

since therefore the city consists of families; families, for the most part, are constituted by cognations. for women—when they have matured—married to husbands; they go into their husbands’ domiciles. but male sons, and thereafter grandsons; remain in the family, and obey the most ancient of the parents.

nisi prae senecta mente parum ualuerit. tunc enim aetate proximus ei sufficitur.

unless, by reason of senectitude, he has been of too little strength in mind. For then the one nearest to him in age is substituted for him.

uerum ne ciuitas aut fieri infrequentior; aut ultra modum possit increscere, cauetur, ne ulla familia, quarum milia sex, quaeque ciuitas, excepto conuentu, complectitur; pauciores quam decem; pluresue quam sexdecim puberes habeat. impuberum enim nullus praefiniri numerus potest. hic modus facile seruatur, transcriptis iis in rariores familias, qui in plenioribus excrescunt.

but, lest the city either become less frequented; or be able to increase beyond measure, it is provided that no family—of which there are six thousand, which each city, the rural district excepted, comprises—have fewer than ten; or more than sixteen adults. for as to minors, no number can be predetermined. this measure is easily kept, by transferring into the thinner families those who in the fuller ones overflow.

at si quando in totum plus iusto abundauerit; aliarum urbium suarum infrequentiam sarciunt. quod si forte per totam insulam plus aequo moles intumuerit, tum ex qualibet urbe descriptis ciuibus in continente proximo ubicumque indigenis agri multum superest, et cultu uacat; coloniam suis ipsorum legibus propagant, ascitis una terrae indigenis si conuiuere secum uelint. cum uolentibus coniuncti in idem uitae institutum; eosdemque mores, facile coalescunt, idque utriusque populi bono.

but if ever overall it has abounded more than is just; they repair the infrequency of their other cities. but if perchance through the whole island the mass has swelled beyond what is equitable, then, with citizens assigned from any city, on the nearest continent wherever much land remains to the indigenes and lies idle from cultivation; they propagate a colony under their own laws, the indigenes of the land being taken in together if they should wish to live together with them. joined with the willing into the same institute of life; and the same mores, they coalesce easily, and this to the good of both peoples.

efficiunt enim suis institutis, ut ea terra, utrisque abunda sit; quae alteris ante parca ac maligna uidebatur. renuentes ipsorum legibus uiuere, propellunt his finibus quos sibi ipsi describunt. aduersus repugnantes, bello confligunt.

for by their institutions they bring it about that that land is abundant for both; which to the other party before had seemed parsimonious and malignant. those refusing to live by their laws they drive into those bounds which they trace out for themselves. against those who resist, they engage in war.

nam eam iustissimam belli causam ducunt, cum populus quispiam eius soli quo ipse non utitur, sed uelut inane ac uacuum possidet, aliis tamen qui ex naturae praescripto inde nutriri debeant, usum ac possessionem interdicat. si quando ullas ex suis urbibus aliquis casus, eousque imminuerit, ut ex aliis insulae partibus seruato suo cuiusque urbis modo, resarciri non possint—quod bis dumtaxat ab omni aeuo pestis grassante saeuitia fertur contigisse—remigrantibus e colonia ciuibus replentur. perire enim colonias potius patiuntur, quam ullam ex insulanis urbibus imminui.

for they deem that the most just cause of war is this: when a certain people, of land which it does not itself use but holds as if empty and void, nevertheless interdicts the use and possession to others who, by nature’s prescription, ought to be nourished from it. if ever some chance has diminished any of their cities to such a degree that they cannot be repaired from other parts of the island, with each city’s own standard preserved— which is reported to have happened only twice in all time, when a plague raged with savagery— they are filled up by citizens remigrating from the colony. for they would rather allow the colonies to perish than that any one of the island cities be diminished.

sed ad conuictum ciuium reuertor. antiquissimus—ut dixi—praeest familae. ministri sunt uxores maritis, et liberi parentibus, atque in summa minores natu maioribus.

but I return to the common life of the citizens. the eldest—as I said—presides over the family. the wives are servants to their husbands, and the children to their parents, and, in sum, the younger in age to their elders.

ciuitas omnis in quattuor aequales partes diuiditur. in medio cuiusque partis forum est omnium rerum. eo in certas domos opera cuiusque familiae conuehuntur, atque in horrea singulae seorsum species distributae sunt.

the whole city is divided into four equal parts. in the middle of each part there is a forum of all things. thither, into certain houses, the works of each family are conveyed, and in the storehouses the several kinds are distributed separately.

ab iis quilibet paterfamilias quibus ipse suique opus habent, petit, ac sine pecunia, sine omni prorsus hostimento quicquid petierit, aufert. quare enim negetur quicquam! cum et omnium rerum abunde satis sit nec timor ullus subsit, ne quisquam plusquam sit opus, flagitare uelit!

From them any head of household asks for the things of which he and his own have need, and without money, without any charge whatsoever, he carries away whatever he has requested. Why indeed should anything be refused! since of all things there is abundantly enough, and no fear at all exists, lest anyone should wish to demand more than is needed!

nam cur superuacua petiturus putetur is, qui certum habeat, nihil sibi umquam defuturum! nempe auidum ac rapacem, aut timor carendi facit, in omni animantum genere, aut in homine sola reddit superbia, quae gloriae sibi ducit, superflua rerum ostentatione ceteros antecellere, quod uitii genus in Utopiensium institutis nullum omnino locum habet.

For why should he be thought about to seek superfluities, who is certain that nothing will ever be lacking to him? Indeed, in every kind of living creature the fear of being without makes one avid and rapacious; or in man alone pride produces it, which counts it glory to surpass the rest by an ostentation of superfluous things—a kind of vice which in the institutions of the Utopians has absolutely no place.

adiuncta sunt foris—quae commemoraui—fora cibaria, in quae non olera modo, arborumque fructus et panes comportantur, sed pisces praeterea quadrupedumque et auium quicquid esculentum est, extra urbem locis appositis ubi fluento tabum ac sordes eluantur. hinc deportant pecudes occisas depuratasque manibus famulorum—nam neque suos ciues patiuntur assuescere laniatu animalium, cuius usu, clementiam humanissimum naturae nostrae affectum paulatim deperire putant, neque sordidum quicquam atque immundum, cuius putredine corruptus aer morbum posset inuehere—perferri in urbem sinunt.

Outside the gates—of which I have made mention—are annexed victual-fora, into which not vegetables only, and the fruits of trees and loaves, are brought, but fishes besides and, of quadrupeds and of birds, whatever is edible, outside the city in appointed places where by flowing water the gore and filth are washed away. From there they allow the slaughtered and purified cattle, by the hands of servants—for they neither suffer their own citizens to grow accustomed to the butchery of animals, by the use of which they think clemency, the most humane affection of our nature, gradually perishes, nor anything sordid and unclean, by the putrefaction of which a corrupted air could bring in disease—to be carried into the city.

habet praeterea quilibet uicus, aulas quasdam capaces, aequali ab sese inuicem interuallo distantes, nomine quamque suo cognitas. has colunt Syphogranti, quarum unicuique triginta familiae uidelicet ab utroque latere quindecim sunt adscriptae, cibum ibi sumpturae. obsonatores cuiusque aulae, certa hora conueniunt in forum, ac relato suorum numero, cibum petunt.

besides this, each ward has certain capacious halls, at equal intervals distant from one another, each known by its own name. These the Syphogrants occupy, and to each of them thirty families—namely fifteen on either side—are assigned, to take their meal there. The purveyors of each hall, at a fixed hour, come together into the forum, and, having reported the number of their own, ask for food.

sed prima ratio aegrotorum habetur, qui in publicis hospitiis curantur. nam quattuor habent in ambitu ciuitatis hospitia, paulo extra muros tam capacia ut totidem oppidulis aequari possint, tum ut neque aegrotorum numerus quamlibet magnus anguste collocaretur, et per hoc incommode, tum quo ii qui tali morbo tenerentur, cuius contagio solet ab alio ad alium serpere, longius ab aliorum coetu semoueri possint. haec hospitia ita sunt instructa, atque omnibus rebus quae ad salutem conferant referta, tum tam tenera ac sedula cura adhibetur, tam assidua medicorum peritissimorum praesentia, ut cum illuc nemo mittatur inuitus, nemo tamen fere in tota urbe sit, qui aduersa ualetudine laborans, non ibi decumbere quam domi suae praeferat.

but first consideration is had for the sick, who are cared for in public hospices. For they have four hospices in the circuit of the city, a little outside the walls, so capacious that they could be matched with as many little towns—both so that the number of the sick, however great, should not be lodged narrowly and therefore inconveniently, and so that those who are held by such a disease whose contagion is wont to creep from one to another might be removed farther from the company of others. These hospices are so equipped, and stocked with all things that contribute to health, and such tender and sedulous care is applied, with so assiduous a presence of the most expert physicians, that although no one is sent there unwilling, yet there is hardly anyone in the whole city who, laboring under adverse health, does not prefer to lie there rather than in his own home.

cum aegrotorum obsonator cibos ex medicorum praescripto receperit, deinceps optima quaeque inter aulas aequabiliter pro suo cuiusque numero distribuuntur, nisi quod principis, pontificis, et Tranibororum respectus habetur, ac legatorum etiam, et exterorum omnium—si qui sunt, qui pauci ac raro sunt—sed iis quoque cum adsunt, domicilia certa atque instructa parantur.

when the purveyor of the sick has received the foods according to the physicians’ prescription, thereafter the choicest items are distributed among the halls equitably in proportion to the number of each, except that regard is had for the Prince, the Pontiff, and the Tranibors, and also for the ambassadors and for all foreigners—if there are any, who are few and rare—but for them too, when they are present, fixed and well-appointed lodgings are prepared.

ad has aulas prandii, cenaeque statis horis tota syphograntia conuenit, aeneae tubae clangore commonefacta, nisi qui aut in hospitiis, aut domi decumbunt. quamquam nemo prohibetur, postquam aulis est satis factum e foro domum cibum petere. sciunt enim neminem id temere facere, nam et si domi prandere nulli uetitum sit, nemo tamen hoc libenter facit, cum neque honestum habeatur, et stultum sit deterioris parandi prandii sumere laborem, cum lautum atque opiparum praesto apud aulam, tam propinquam sit.

to these halls at set hours of luncheon and of dinner the whole syphograntia assembles, reminded by the clang of a brazen trumpet, except those who are lying sick either in the hospitia or at home. although no one is forbidden, after the halls have been served, to fetch food from the market home. for they know that no one does this rashly, for even if to dine at home is forbidden to no one, yet no one does this willingly, since neither is it held honorable, and it is foolish to take on the labor of preparing a poorer luncheon, when a sumptuous and opulent one is ready at the hall, so near.

in hac aula ministeria omnia in quibus paulo plus sordis, aut laboris est, obeunt serui. ceterum coquendi, parandique cibi officium, et totius denique instruendi conuiuii solae mulieres exercent, cuiusque uidelicet familiae per uices.

in this hall all the services in which there is a little more sordidness or labor are performed by slaves. For the rest, the office of cooking and preparing food, and finally of arranging the whole banquet, women alone exercise, namely by turns of each family.

tribus, pluribusue mensis pro numero conuiuarum discumbitur. uiri ad parietem, feminae exterius collocantur, ut si quid his subiti oboriatur mali, quod uterum gerentibus interdum solet accidere, imperturbatis ordinibus exurgant, atque inde ad nutrices abeant. sedent illae quidem seorsum cum lactentibus in cenaculo quodam ad id destinato, numquam sine foco atque aqua munda, nec absque cunis interim, ut et reclinare liceat infantulos, et ad ignem cum uelint exemptos fasciis libertate ac ludo reficere.

At three, or more, tables according to the number of diners they recline. The men are placed by the wall, the women on the outer side, so that if any sudden ill should arise to them, which is sometimes wont to befall those who are pregnant, they may rise with the orders unperturbed, and go thence to the nurses. Those indeed sit apart with the sucklings in a certain upper room appointed for that, never without a hearth and clean water, nor meanwhile without cradles, so that both it may be permitted to lay the little infants down, and, at the fire, when they wish, to refresh them, taken out from their swaddling-bands, with freedom and play.

suae quaeque soboli nutrix est, nisi aut mors, aut morbus impediat. id cum accidit, uxores Syphograntorum propere nutricem quaerunt, nec id difficile est. nam quae id praestare possunt, nulli officio sese offerunt libentius, quoniam et omnes eam misericordiam laude prosequuntur, et qui educatur, nutricem parentis agnoscit loco.

Each woman is the nurse to her own offspring, unless either death or disease hinders. When that happens, the wives of the Syphogrants promptly seek a nurse, nor is that difficult. For those who can provide this offer themselves to no duty more gladly, since everyone pursues that compassion with praise, and the one who is brought up acknowledges the nurse in the place of a parent.

in antro nutricum, considunt pueri omnes, qui primum lustrum non expleuere. ceteri impuberes, quo in numero ducunt quicumque sexus alterius utrius intra nubiles annos sunt, aut ministrant discumbentibus, aut qui per aetatem nondum ualent, adstant tamen, atque id summo cum silentio. utrique quod a sedentibus porrigitur, eo uescuntur, nec aliud discretum prandendi tempus habent.

in the nurses’ cave, all the children who have not completed their first lustrum sit down. the other impubescents, in which number they reckon whoever of either sex are within the pre-nubile years, either minister to those reclining, or—those who by age are not yet strong—nevertheless stand by, and that with the greatest silence. both groups feed on what is handed to them by those sitting, nor have they any other distinct time for taking a meal.

in medio primae mensae, qui summus locus est, et cui—nam ea mensa suprema in parte cenaculi transuersa est—totus conuentus conspicitur, Syphograntus cum uxore considet. his adiunguntur duo ex natu maximis. sedent enim per omnes mensas quaterni.

in the middle of the first table, which is the highest place, and from which—for that table in the upper part of the cenacle is set crosswise—the whole assembly is seen, the Syphogrant sits with his wife. To them are joined two of the eldest by birth. For at all the tables they sit by fours.

at si templum in ea Syphograntia situm est, sacerdos, eiusque uxor ita cum Syphogranto sedent ut praesideant. ab utraque parte collocantur iuniores, post senes rursus, atque hoc pacto per totam domum, et aequales inter se iunguntur, et dissimilibus tamen immiscentur, quod ideo ferunt institutum, ut senum grauitas ac reuerentia—cum nihil ita in mensa fieri, diciue potest, ut eos ab omni parte uicinos effugiat—iuniores ab improba uerborum, gestuumque licentia cohibeat.

but if a temple is situated in that Syphograntia, the priest, and his wife, sit with the Syphogrant in such a way that they preside. On either side the younger are placed, then in turn the elders, and in this fashion throughout the whole house both equals are joined among themselves, and yet they are intermingled with unequals, which they say is therefore instituted, so that the gravity and reverence of the elders—since nothing at the table can be done or said in such a way as to escape them, being neighbors on every side—may restrain the younger from an improper license of words and gestures.

ciborum fercula non a primo loco deinceps apponuntur, sed senioribus primum omnibus—quorum insignes loci sunt—optimus quisque cibus infertur. deinde reliquis aequaliter ministratur. at senes lautitias suas—quarum non tanta erat copia, ut posset totam per domum affatim distribui—pro suo arbitratu circumsedentibus impartiuntur.

The dishes of food are not set down from the first place onward in succession, but to all the elders first—whose places are distinguished—each choicest dish is brought in. Then the rest are ministered to equally. But the elders impart their delicacies—of which there was not such a supply that it could be amply distributed through the whole house—at their own discretion to those sitting around.

sic et maioribus natu suus seruatur honos, et commodi tantumdem tamen, ad omneis peruenit.

thus both their proper honor is preserved for those older by birth, and yet just the same amount of benefit reaches everyone.

omne prandium, cenamque ab aliqua lectione auspicantur, quae ad mores faciat, sed breui tamen ne fastidio sit. ab hac seniores, honestos sermones, sed neque tristes, nec infacetos ingerunt. at nec longis logis totum occupant prandium, quin audiunt libenter iuuenes quoque atque adeo de industria prouocant, quo et indolis cuiusque et ingenii per conuiuii libertatem prodentis sese, capiant experimentum.

they commence every luncheon and dinner with some reading which makes toward morals, yet brief nonetheless lest it breed distaste. after this the elders introduce respectable discourses, but neither sad nor without wit. nor do they occupy the whole luncheon with long speeches; rather, they listen gladly to the young men as well, and indeed even deliberately call them forth, in order that, as by the liberty of the banquet each one’s natural disposition and talent, revealing itself, may appear, they may take the measure.

prandia breuiuscula sunt, cenae largiores, quod labor illa, has somnus et nocturna quies excipit, quam illi ad salubrem concoctionem magis efficacem putant. nulla cena sine musica transigitur. nec ullis caret secunda mensa bellariis.

Lunches are rather brief, dinners more ample, because work follows the former, while sleep and nocturnal rest follow the latter, which they deem more efficacious for salubrious digestion. No dinner is completed without music. Nor does the second course lack any confections.

odores incendunt, et unguenta spargunt. nihilque non faciunt, quod exhilarare conuiuas possit. sunt enim hanc in partem aliquanto procliuiores, ut nullum uoluptatis genus—ex quo nihil sequatur incommodi—censeant interdictum.

they burn incenses, and sprinkle unguents; and they leave nothing undone that could exhilarate the guests. for they are in this direction somewhat more inclined, so that they deem no kind of pleasure—for which no incommodity follows—interdicted.

hoc pacto igitur in urbe conuiuunt, at ruri, qui longius ab sese dissiti sunt, omnes domi quisque suae comedunt. nulli enim familiae quicquam ad uictum deest, quippe a quibus id totum uenit, quo uescantur urbici.

thus, therefore, in the city they banquet together; but in the countryside, those who are more distant from one another all eat at home, each in his own house. for to no household is anything lacking for victuals, since from them comes all that the urbanites consume.

[de peregrinatione Utopiensium.]

[on the peregrination of the Utopians.]

at si quos aut amicorum alia in urbe commorantium, aut ipsius etiam uidendi loci desiderium coeperit, a Syphograntis ac Traniboris suis ueniam facile impetrant, nisi si quis usus impediat. mittitur ergo simul, numerus aliquis cum epistola principis, quae et datam peregrinandi copiam testatur, et reditus diem praescribit. uehiculum datur cum seruo publico, qui agat boues et curet.

but if any are seized either by a desire of visiting friends residing in another city, or even of seeing the place itself, they easily obtain leave from their Syphogrants and Tranibors, unless some need should hinder. therefore, at the same time, a certain number are sent with them, together with a letter of the prince, which both attests that a power to peregrinate has been granted, and prescribes the day of return. a vehicle is given with a public slave, to drive the oxen and see to it.

ceterum nisi mulieres in coetu habeant, uehiculum uelut onus et impedimentum, remittitur. toto itinere cum nihil secum efferant, nihil defit tamen, ubique enim domi sunt. si quo in loco diutius uno die commorentur, suam ibi quisque artem exercet, atque ab artis eiusdem opificibus, humanissime tractantur.

However, unless they have women in the company, the vehicle, as a burden and impediment, is sent back. Over the whole journey, though they carry nothing out with them, nothing is lacking, for everywhere they are at home. If in any place they linger longer than one day, each there exercises his own art, and by the artificers of the same art they are treated most humanely.

si semet authore quisquam extra suos fines uagetur, deprehensus sine principis diplomate, contumeliose habitus, pro fugitiuo reducitur, castigatus acriter. idem ausus denuo, seruitute plectitur.

if anyone, on his own authority, wanders beyond his own bounds, being apprehended without the prince’s diploma, he is treated contumeliously, brought back as a fugitive, and sharply castigated. daring the same again, he is punished with servitude.

quod si quem libido incessat per suae ciuitatis agros palandi, uenia patris et consentiente coniuge, non prohibetur. sed in quodcumque rus peruenerit, nullus ante cibus datur, quam ante meridianum operis pensum,—aut quantum ante cenam ibi laborari solet—absoluerit. hac lege quouis intra suae urbis fines ire licet.

but if a desire assails someone to roam through the fields of his own city, with the father’s leave and the spouse consenting, he is not prohibited. but to whatever farmstead he has come, no food is given beforehand, until he has completed the forenoon quota of work,—or as much as is there accustomed to be labored before dinner—. under this law it is permitted to go anywhere within the bounds of his own city.

erit enim non minus utilis urbi, quam si in urbe esset.

for he will be no less useful to the city than if he were in the city.

iam uidetis quam nulla sit usquam otiandi licentia, nullus inertiae praetextus, nulla taberna uinaria, nulla ceruisiaria, nusquam lupanar, nulla corruptelae occasio, nullae latebrae, conciliabulum nullum, sed omnium praesentes oculi necessitatem aut consueti laboris, aut otii non inhonesti faciunt.

now you see how there is nowhere any license for idling, no pretext for inertia, no wine tavern, no alehouse, nowhere a brothel, no occasion for corruption, no hiding-places, no meeting-place; but the eyes of all present impose the necessity either of accustomed labor or of not-dishonorable leisure.

[de aequatione ubertatis.]

[on the equalization of abundance.]

quem populi morem necesse est omnium rerum copiam sequi. atque ea cum aequabiliter ad omnes perueniat, fit nimirum, ut inops esse nemo aut mendicus possit.

which custom of the people it is necessary that an abundance of all things follow. and when these things reach to all equably, it happens, of course, that no one can be needy or a mendicant.

in senatu Amaurotico—quem uti dixi terni quotannis omni ex urbe frequentant—ubi primum constiterit; quae res quoque loco abundet, rursum cuius alicubi malignior prouentus fuerit, alterius inopiam, alterius protinus ubertas explet, atque id gratuito faciunt, nihil uicissim ab his recipientes quibus donant. sed quae de suis rebus unicuipiam urbi dederint, nihil ab ea repetentes, ab alia cui nihil impenderunt, quibus egent accipiunt. ita tota insula uelut una familia est.

in the Amaurotic senate—whom, as I said, three apiece every year from each city attend—once it has first convened; which goods in what place abound, and again where anywhere a yield has been more malign, the scarcity of one is straightway supplied by the abundance of another; and they do this gratis, receiving nothing in turn from those to whom they give. but whatever of their own goods they have given to any single city—seeking nothing back from it—they receive from another, to which they have expended nothing, the things they need. thus the whole island is as it were one family.

at postquam satis prouisum ipsis est,—quod non antea factum censent, quam in biennium propter anni sequentis euentum prospexerint—tum ex his quae supersunt magnam uim frumenti, mellis, lanae, lini, ligni, cocci, et conchyliorum, uellerum, cerae, seui, corii, ad haec animalium quoque in alias regiones exportant. quarum rerum omnium, septimam partem inopibus eius regionis dono dant, reliquam pretio mediocri uenditant, quo ex commercio, non eas modo merces, quibus domi egent,—nam id fere nihil est praeter ferrum—sed argenti atque auri praeterea, magnam uim in patriam reportant. cuius rei diutina consuetudine supra quam credi possit, ubique iam earum rerum copia abundant.

but after sufficient provision has been made for themselves,—which they do not deem to have been accomplished before they have provided for a biennium in view of the following year’s outcome—then from what remains they export to other regions a great quantity of grain, honey, wool, flax, wood, cochineal and purple-shellfish, fleeces, wax, tallow, hides, and, in addition to these, animals as well. Of all these things, they give as a gift a seventh part to the poor of that region; the remainder they sell at a moderate price; and from this commerce they bring back to their fatherland not only those merchandises of which they are in need at home— for that is almost nothing except iron— but, besides this, a great quantity of silver and gold. By the long-standing custom of this practice, beyond what can be believed, they now everywhere abound in a supply of those things.

itaque nunc parum pensi habent, praesente ne pecunia, an in diem uendant, multoque maximam partem habeant in nominibus, in quibus tamen faciendis non priuatorum umquam, sed confectis ex more instrumentis, publicam urbis fidem sequuntur. ciuitas ubi solutionis dies aduenerit, a priuatis debitoribus exigit creditum, atque in aerarium redigit, eiusque pecuniae quoad ab Utopiensibus repetatur, usura fruitur. illi maximam partem numquam repetunt.

and so now they hold it of little account whether they sell for ready money or on term, and they keep by far the greater part in notes (nomina); yet in drawing these up they follow, never the credit of private persons, but, the instruments having been executed according to custom, the public faith of the city. The city, when the day of payment has arrived, exacts the sum credited from the private debtors and turns it into the treasury, and of that money, until it is called for again by the Utopians, it enjoys interest. They for the most part never call it back.

nam quae res apud se nullum habet usum, eam ab his auferre, quibus usui est, haud aecum censent. ceterum si res ita poscat, ut eius aliquam partem alii populo mutuam daturi sint, tum demum poscunt, aut cum bellum gerendum est, quam in rem unam totum illum thesaurum quem habent domi seruant, uti aut extremis in periculis, aut in subitis praesidio sit. potissimum quo milites externos—quos libentius quam suos ciues obiiciunt discrimini—immodico stipendio conducant, gnari multitudine pecuniae hostes ipsos plerumque mercabiles, et uel proditione, uel infestis etiam signis inter se committi.

for the thing which has no use among themselves, to take it away from those to whom it is of use, they judge not equitable. moreover, if the case so requires that they are going to give some part of it on loan to another people, then at last they demand it, or when war must be waged, for which single purpose they keep in reserve at home all that treasure they have, so that it may be a safeguard either in extreme perils or in sudden emergencies. chiefly, by it they may hire foreign soldiers—whom they more willingly than their own citizens expose to danger—at immoderate stipend, knowing that with an abundance of money the enemies themselves are for the most part marketable, and can be brought, either by treason, or even with standards hostile, to clash among themselves.

hanc ob causam inaestimabilem thesaurum seruant, at non ut thesaurum tamen, sed ita habent, quomodo me narrare profecto deterret pudor, metuentem ne fidem oratio non sit habitura, quod eo iustius uereor, quo magis mihi sum conscius, nisi uidissem praesens, quam aegre potuissem ipse perduci, ut alteri idem recensenti crederem. necesse est enim fere quam quicque est ab eorum qui audiunt moribus alienum, tam idem procul illis abesse a fide. quamquam prudens rerum aestimator minus fortasse mirabitur, cum reliqua eorum instituta, tam longe ab nostris differant; si argenti quoque atque auri usus ad ipsorum potius, quam ad nostri moris rationem accommodetur.

For this cause they keep an inestimable treasure, yet not as a treasure, but they hold it in such a way as shame in truth deters me from narrating, fearing lest my discourse may not obtain credence—a thing which I the more justly fear, the more I am conscious that, unless I had seen it in person, how hardly I myself could have been brought to believe another recounting the same. For it is almost necessary that whatever is alien from the customs of those who hear stands just so far removed from their faith. Although a prudent estimator of affairs will perhaps marvel less, since the rest of their institutions differ so far from ours, if the use of silver and of gold likewise be accommodated to their own custom rather than to the rule of our manner.

nempe cum pecunia non utantur ipsi, sed in eum seruent euentum, qui ut potest usu uenire, ita fieri potest ut numquam incidat. interim aurum, argentumque—unde ea fit—sic apud se habent, ut ab nullo pluris aestimetur, quam rerum ipsarum natura meretur, qua quis non uidet quam longe infra ferrum sunt! ut sine quo non hercule magis quam absque igni atque aqua uiuere mortales queant, cum interim auro, argentoque nullum usum, quo non facile careamus, natura tribuerit, nisi hominum stultitia pretium raritati fecisset.

for they themselves do not use money, but lay it by for that eventuality which, as it can come into use, so it can also happen that it never occurs. meanwhile they hold gold and silver—out of which it is made—among them in such a way that no one esteems them at a higher rate than the nature of the things themselves deserves; and who does not see how far below iron they are! without which, by Hercules, mortals can no more live than without fire and water; whereas meanwhile nature has assigned to gold and silver no use which we cannot easily lack, unless the folly of men had made a price for rarity.

quin contra, uelut parens indulgentissima optima quaeque in propatulo posuerit, ut aerem, aquam, ac tellurem ipsam, longissime uero uana ac nihil profutura semouerit.

on the contrary, as a most indulgent parent has set in the open whatever things are best—air, water, and the earth itself—and has removed far away the vain things and those that will be of no profit.

ergo haec metalla si apud eos in turrim aliquam abstruderentur. princeps ac senatus in suspicionem uenire posset—ut est uulgi stulta solertia—ne deluso per technam populo, ipsi aliquo inde commodo fruerentur. porro si phyalas inde aliaque id genus opera fabre excusa conficerent, si quando incidisset occasio, ut conflanda sint rursus, atque in militum eroganda stipendium, uident nimirum fore, ut aegre patiantur auelli quae semel in delitiis habere coepissent.

therefore, if these metals were shut away among them in some tower, the princeps and the senate could come under suspicion—as is the foolish cleverness of the vulgus—lest, the people deluded by a contrivance, they themselves should enjoy some advantage from it. moreover, if from it they were to make phials and other works of that kind, skillfully hammered out, then if ever the occasion arose that they must be melted down again and disbursed into the soldiers’ stipend, they plainly see it will come to pass that they would scarcely endure to have torn away the things which they had once begun to hold among their delights.

his rebus uti occurrant, excogitauere quandam rationem, ut reliquis ipsorum institutis consentaneam, ita ab nostris—apud quos aurum tanti fit, ac tam diligenter conditur—longissime abhorrentem, eoque nisi peritis non credibilem. nam cum in fictilibus e terra uitroque elegantissimis quidem illis, sed uilibus tamen edant bibantque. ex auro, atque argento non in communibus aulis modo, sed in priuatis etiam domibus, matellas passim, ac sordidissima quaeque uasa conficiunt.

to meet these matters they have devised a certain method, as consonant with their other institutions, yet most far abhorrent from ours—among whom gold is held at such a price, and is stored so diligently—and therefore not believable except to the experienced. For while they eat and drink from earthenware of clay and from glass—those indeed most elegant, yet cheap nonetheless—they fashion out of gold and silver, not only in the common halls but even in private houses, chamber-pots everywhere, and whatever vessels are most sordid.

ad haec catenas et crassas compedes, quibus cohercent seruos; iisdem ex metallis operantur. postremo quoscumque aliquod crimen infames facit, ab horum auribus anuli dependent aurei, digitos aurum cingit, aurea torques ambit collum, et caput denique auro uincitur. ita omnibus curant modis, uti apud se aurum argentumque in ignominia sint, atque hoc pacto fit, ut haec metalla, quae ceterae gentes non minus fere dolenter ac uiscera sua distrahi patiuntur, apud Utopienses, si semel omnia res postularet efferri, nemo sibi iacturam unius fecisse assis uideretur.

To these they add chains and thick fetters, with which they coerce slaves; they fashion them from the same metals. Finally, whoever some crime renders infamous, from their ears golden rings hang, gold girds the fingers, a golden torque encircles the neck, and the head at last is bound with gold. Thus by every method they take care that gold and silver are in ignominy among them; and in this way it comes to pass that these metals, which other nations endure to have torn away scarcely less painfully than their own viscera, among the Utopians, if once circumstances should require that all be carried out, no one would seem to himself to have suffered the loss of a single as.

margaritas praeterea legunt in litoribus, quin in rupibus quibusdam adamantes ac pyropos quoque; neque tamen quaerunt, sed oblatos casu, perpoliunt. his ornant infantulos, qui ut primis pueritiae annis, talibus ornamentis gloriantur, ac superbiunt; sic ubi plusculum accreuit aetatis, cum animaduertunt eiusmodi nugis non nisi pueros uti, nullo parentum monitu, sed suomet ipsorum pudore deponunt. non aliter ac nostri pueri, cum grandescunt nuces, bullas, et pupas abiiciunt.

they pick up pearls besides on the shores, nay on certain cliffs even diamonds and pyropes too; nor, however, do they seek them, but when offered by chance, they polish them to perfection. with these they adorn little infants, who, in the first years of boyhood, glory in and are proud of such ornaments; thus, when a little more of age has accrued, when they notice that such trifles are used only by boys, with no admonition of parents, but by their own shame they lay them aside. no otherwise than our boys, when they grow up, throw away nuts, bullae, and dolls.

itaque haec tam diuersa ab reliquis gentibus instituta, quam diuersas itidem animorum affectiones pariant, numquam aeque mihi atque in Anemoliorum legatis inclaruit. uenerunt hi Amaurotum—dum ego aderam—et quoniam magnis de rebus tractatum ueniebant, aduentum eorum terni illi ciues, ex qualibet urbe praeuenerant, sed omnes finitimarum gentium legati, qui eo ante appulerant, quibus Utopiensium perspecti mores erant, apud quos sumptuoso uestitui nihil honoris haberi intelligebant, sericum contemptui esse, aurum etiam infame sciebant, cultu quam poterant modestissimo uenire consueuerant. at Anemolii, quod longius aberant, ac minus cum illis commercii habuerant, cum accepissent, eodem omnes, eoque rudi corporis cultu esse, persuasi non habere eos, quo non utebantur, ipsi etiam superbi magis, quam sapientes, decreuerunt apparatus elegantia, deos quosdam repraesentare, et miserorum oculos Utopiensium, ornatus sui splendore praestringere.

and so how these institutions, so diverse from the rest of the nations, likewise beget diverse affections of mind, never appeared to me so clearly as in the legates of the Anemolians. they came to Amaurotum—while I was present—and since they were coming to treat of great matters, those three citizens, one from each city, had anticipated their arrival; but all the legates of the neighboring nations who had put in there before, to whom the manners of the Utopians were well observed, and who understood that among them no honor is had for sumptuous vesture, that silk is held in contempt, and that gold even is infamous, had been accustomed to come in a dress as modest as they could. but the Anemolians, because they were farther away and had had less commerce with them, when they had learned that all there are the same, and with that rough plainness of bodily care, being persuaded that they did not have what they did not use, they themselves also, more proud than wise, resolved by the elegance of their apparatus to represent certain gods, and to dazzle the pitiable eyes of the Utopians with the splendor of their adornment.

itaque ingressi sunt legati tres, cum comitibus centum, omnes uestitu uersicolori, plerique serico, legati ipsi—nam domi nobiles erant—amictu aureo, magnis torquibus, et inauribus aureis, ad haec anulis aureis in manibus, monilibus insuper appensis in pileo, quae margaritis ac gemmis affulgebant, omnibus postremo rebus ornati, quae apud Utopienses, aut seruorum supplicia, aut infamium dedecora, aut puerorum nugamenta fuere. itaque operae pretium erat uidere, quo pacto cristas erexerint, ubi suum ornatum cum Utopiensium uestitu—nam in plateis sese populus effuderat—contulere. contraque non minus erat uoluptatis considerare quam longe sua eos spes expectatioque fefellerat, quamquam longe ab ea existimatione aberant, quam se consecuturos putauerant.

therefore three envoys entered, with a hundred companions, all in varicolored attire, most in silk; the envoys themselves—for they were nobles at home—in a golden mantle, with great torques and golden earrings, and besides with golden rings on their hands, necklaces moreover hung upon the cap, which flashed with pearls and gems, in short adorned with all the things which among the Utopians were either the insignia of slaves’ punishments, or the disgraces of the infamous, or the trifles of children. therefore it was worth the effort to see how they raised their crests, when they compared their finery with the clothing of the Utopians—for the people had poured out into the streets—and on the other hand it was no less a pleasure to observe how far their hope and expectation had deceived them, although they were far from that estimation which they had thought they would attain.

nempe Utopiensium oculis omnium, exceptis perquam paucis, qui alias gentes aliqua idonea de causa inuiserant, totus ille splendor apparatus pudendus uidebatur, et infimum quemque pro dominis reuerenter salutantes, legatos ipsos ex aurearum usu catenarum pro seruis habitos, sine ullo prorsus honore praetermiserunt. quin pueros quoque uidisses, qui gemmas ac margaritas abiecerant, ubi in legatorum pileis affixas conspexerunt, compellare matrem ac latus fodere. en mater, quam magnus nebulo margaritis adhuc et gemmulis utitur, ac si esset puerulus!

namely, to the eyes of all the Utopians, except for very few who had visited other peoples for some suitable cause, that whole splendor of apparatus seemed shameful; and, reverently saluting every lowest person as masters, they passed by the envoys themselves—taken, from their use of golden chains, for slaves—without any honor at all. Indeed, you might have seen even the boys, who had thrown away gems and pearls when they had caught sight of them fastened on the envoys’ caps, address their mother and poke her in the side: Look, mother, what a great ninny still makes use of pearls and little gems, as if he were a little boy!

at parens serio etiam illa, tace inquit fili, est opinor quispiam e morionibus legatorum. alii catenas illas aureas reprehendere, utpote nullius usus, quippe tam graciles, ut eas facile seruus infringere, tam laxas rursus, uti cum fuerit libitum possit excutere, et solutus ac liber quouis aufugere.

but the parent, even at that, seriously: “Hush,” she says, “my son; I suppose he is someone from the ambassadors’ jesters.” Others reprehended those golden chains, as being of no use, inasmuch as they were so slender that a slave could easily break them, and so loose in turn that, whenever it pleased him, he could shake them off and, released and free, run off anywhere.

uerum legati postquam ibi unum, atque alterum diem uersati tantam auri uim in tanta uilitate conspexerunt, nec in minore contumelia, quam apud se honore habitam uidissent, ad haec in unius fugitiui serui catenas compedesque plus auri, atque argenti congestum, quam totus ipsorum trium apparatus constiterat, subsidentibus pennis omnem illum cultum, quo sese tam arroganter extulerant, pudefacti, seposuerunt. maxime uero postquam familiarius cum Utopiensibus collocuti, mores eorum atque opiniones didicere, mirantur illi siquidem quemquam esse mortalium quem exiguae gemmulae, aut lapilli dubius oblectet fulgor, cui quidem stellam aliquam, atque ipsum denique solem liceat intueri, aut quemquam tam insanum esse, ut nobilior ipse sibi ob tenuioris lanae filum uideatur, siquidem hanc ipsam—quantumuis tenui filo sit—ouis olim gestauit, nec aliud tamen interim, quam ouis fuit. mirantur item aurum suapte natura tam inutile, nunc ubique gentium aestimari tanti, ut homo ipse per quem, atque adeo in cuius usum id pretii obtinuit, minoris multo quam aurum ipsum aestimetur, usque adeo ut plumbeus quispiam, et cui non plus ingenii sit quam stipiti, nec minus etiam improbus quam stultus, multos tamen et sapientes et bonos uiros in seruitute habeat, ob id dumtaxat, quod ei magnus contigit aureorum numismatum cumulus, quem si qua fortuna, aut aliqua legum stropha—quae nihil minus ac fortuna ipsa summis ima permiscet—ab hero illo ad abiectissimum totius familiae suae nebulonem transtulerit, fit nimirum paulo post, ut in famuli sui famulicium concedat, uelut appendix additamentumque numismatum.

But the envoys, after they had spent there one day and then another and had beheld such a mass of gold at such a cheap rate, and had seen it held in no less contumely than it was held in honor among themselves, and, besides, that on the fetters and shackles of a single runaway slave there was heaped up more gold and silver than the whole apparatus of the three of them had cost, with their plumes drooping, shamefaced, laid aside all that finery with which they had so arrogantly flaunted themselves. Most of all, indeed, after they had conversed more familiarly with the Utopians and learned their customs and opinions, they marvel that there should be any among mortals whom the doubtful gleam of tiny little gems or pebbles delights, for whom indeed it is permitted to gaze upon some star, and at last upon the sun himself; or that anyone should be so insane as to seem to himself nobler on account of a thread of finer wool—since this very wool, however fine the thread be, a sheep once wore it, and yet meanwhile it was nothing other than a sheep. They marvel likewise that gold, by its very nature so useless, is everywhere among the nations valued so highly, that the man himself, through whom and indeed for whose use it has obtained that price, is esteemed much less than the gold itself—to such a degree that some leaden fellow, who has no more wit than a log, and is no less wicked than he is foolish, nevertheless holds many wise and good men in servitude for this sole reason: that a great heap of golden coins has fallen to him; which heap, if by some Fortune, or by some twist of the laws—which, no less than Fortune herself, mixes up the highest and the lowest—should be transferred from that master to the most abject rascal of his whole household, it surely comes to pass shortly after that he passes over into the servitude of his own servant, as an appendix and additament of the coins.

ceterum multo magis eorum mirantur, ac detestantur insaniam qui diuitibus illis, quibus neque debent quicquam, neque sunt obnoxii, nullo alio respectu, quam quod diuites sunt, honores tantum non diuinos impendunt, idque cum eos tam sordidos atque auaros cognoscunt, ut habeant certo certius ex tanto nummorum cumulo, uiuentibus illis ne unum quidem nummulum umquam ad se uenturum.

but far more do they marvel at, and detest, the insanity of those who, to those rich men—to whom they neither owe anything nor are subject—with no other regard than that they are rich, lavish honors all but divine; and this when they know them to be so sordid and avaricious, that, from so great a heap of coins, they are most certain that, while those men live, not even a single little coin will ever come to them.

[de educatione et artibus.]

[on education and the arts.]

has atque huiusmodi opiniones partim ex educatione conceperunt. in ea educti republica cuius instituta longissime ab his stultitiae generibus absunt, partim ex doctrina et litteris. nam et si haud multi cuiusque urbis sunt, qui ceteris exonerati laboribus soli disciplinae deputantur.

these and opinions of this kind they have partly conceived from education; brought up in that commonwealth whose institutions are very far removed from these kinds of stupidity, partly from doctrine and letters. for even if there are not many in each city who, relieved of other labors, are assigned solely to discipline.

ii uidelicet in quibus a pueritia egregiam indolem, eximium ingenium, atque animum ad bonas artes propensum deprehendere, tamen omnes pueri litteris imbuuntur, et populi bona pars, uiri, feminaeque, per totam uitam, horas illas quas ab operibus liberas diximus, in litteris collocant.

those, namely, in whom from boyhood they apprehend an excellent disposition, an exceptional ingenium, and a mind with a propensity toward the good arts; nevertheless all boys are imbued with letters, and a good part of the people, both men and women, throughout their whole life, invest those hours which we have said are free from labors in letters.

disciplinas ipsorum lingua perdiscunt. est enim neque uerborum inops, nec insuauis auditu, nec ulla fidelior animi interpres est. eadem fere—nisi quod ubique corruptior, alibi aliter—magnam eius orbis plagam peruagatur.

they thoroughly learn the disciplines in their own tongue. for it is neither poor in words, nor unpleasant to hear, nor is there any interpreter of the mind more faithful. the same, almost—save that everywhere more corrupt, elsewhere differently—pervades a great tract of the globe.

ex omnibus his philosophis, quorum nomina sunt in hoc noto nobis orbe celebria, ante nostrum aduentum ne fama quidem cuiusquam eo peruenerat, et tamen in musica, dialecticaque, ac numerandi et metiendi scientia, eadem fere quae nostri illi ueteres inuenere. ceterum ut antiquos omnibus prope rebus exaequant, ita nuperorum inuentis dialecticorum longe sunt impares. nam ne ullam quidem regulam inuenerunt earum, quas de restrictionibus, amplificationibus, ac suppositionibus acutissime excogitatis in paruis logicalibus passim hic ediscunt pueri.

Of all these philosophers, whose names are celebrated in this world known to us, before our arrival not even the report of any had reached there; and yet in music and dialectic, and in the science of numbering and measuring, they have found almost the same things as those our ancients discovered. However, as they equal the ancients in almost all matters, so they are by far unequal to the recent inventions of the dialecticians. For they have not discovered even a single rule of those which, concerning restrictions, amplifications, and suppositions—most keenly devised in the little logicals—boys here everywhere learn by heart.

porro secundas intentiones tam longe abest ut inuestigare suffecerint, ut nec hominem ipsum in communi quem uocant, quamquam—ut scitis—plane colosseum et quouis gigante maiorem, tum a nobis praeterea digito demonstratum, nemo tamen eorum uidere potuerit.

Moreover, as for second intentions, it is so far from being the case that they have sufficed to investigate them, that not even Man himself “in common,” as they call it—although, as you know, plainly colossal and greater than any giant, and moreover pointed out by us with the finger—yet none of them has been able to see.

at sunt in astrorum cursu, et caelestium orbium motu, peritissimi. quin instrumenta quoque diuersis figuris solerter excogitarunt, quibus solis ac lunae, et ceterorum item astrorum quae in ipsorum horizonte uisuntur, motiones ac situs exactissime comprehensos habent. ceterum amicitias, atque errantium dissidia siderum, ac totam denique illam ex astris diuinandi imposturam, ne somniant quidem.

but they are most expert in the course of the stars, and in the motion of the celestial orbs. Nay rather, they have also cleverly devised instruments of diverse shapes, by which they have most exactly comprehended the motions and positions of the sun and moon, and likewise of the other stars that are seen on their horizon. However, the friendships and the quarrels of the wandering stars, and, finally, that whole imposture of divining from the stars, they do not even dream of.

imbres, uentos, ac ceteras tempestatum uicissitudines, signis quibusdam longo perspectis usu praesentiunt. sed de causis earum rerum omnium, et de fluxu maris eiusque salsitate, et in summa de caeli mundique origine, ac natura partim eadem quae ueteres philosophi nostri disserunt, partim ut illi inter se dissident, ita hi quoque dum nouas rerum rationes afferunt, ab omnibus illis dissentiunt, nec inter se tamen usquequaque conueniunt.

Rains, winds, and the other vicissitudes of storms they anticipate by certain signs observed through long experience. But about the causes of all these things, and about the flux of the sea and its salinity, and, in sum, about the origin and nature of the sky and the world, partly they discourse the same things as our ancient philosophers, partly—as those disagree among themselves—so these men also, while they bring forward new rational accounts of things, dissent from all of them, nor, however, do they everywhere agree among themselves.

in ea philosophiae parte qua de moribus agitur, eadem illis disputantur quae nobis, de bonis animi quaerunt et corporis, et externis, tum utrum boni nomen omnibus his, an solis animi dotibus conueniat. de uirtute disserunt, ac uoluptate, sed omnium prima est ac princeps controuersia, quanam in re, una pluribusue sitam hominis felicitatem putent. at hac in re propensiores aequo uidentur in factionem uoluptatis assertricem, ut qua uel totam, uel potissimam felicitatis humanae partem definiant.

in that part of philosophy which treats of morals, the same things are debated by them as by us: they inquire about the goods of the mind and of the body, and the external ones, then whether the name of good befits all these, or only the endowments of the mind. they discourse about virtue and pleasure, but the first and chief controversy of all is what thing, whether in one or in several, they think a man's felicity is situated. and in this matter they seem more inclined than is equitable toward the faction that is the assertress of pleasure, so that by it they define either the whole, or the most principal part, of human felicity.

et quo magis mireris ab religione quoque—quae grauis et seuera est fereque tristis et rigida—petunt tamen sententiae tam delicatae patrocinium. neque enim de felicitate disceptant umquam, quin principia quaedam ex religione deprompta, tum philosophia quae rationibus utitur coniungant, sine quibus ad uerae felicitatis inuestigationem mancam, atque imbecillam per se rationem putant.

and, what will the more make you marvel, from religion too—which is weighty and severe, and for the most part gloomy and rigid—they nevertheless seek the patronage of such delicate opinions. For they never dispute about felicity without at the same time conjoining certain principles drawn from religion with the philosophy that employs reasons; without these they consider reason by itself to be maimed and feeble for the investigation of true felicity.

ea principia sunt huiusmodi: animam esse immortalem, ac dei beneficentia ad felicitatem natam, uirtutibus ac bene factis nostris praemia post hanc uitam, flagitiis destinata supplicia. haec tametsi religionis sint, ratione tamen censent ad ea credenda, et concedenda perduci, quibus e medio sublatis, sine ulla cunctatione pronunciant neminem esse tam stupidum, qui non sentiat petendam sibi per fas ac nefas uoluptatem. hoc tantum caueret ne minor uoluptas obstet maiori, aut eam persequatur quam inuicem retaliet dolor.

the principles are of this sort: that the soul is immortal, and by the beneficence of God born for felicity; that after this life rewards are appointed for our virtues and good deeds, punishments for flagitious crimes. Although these belong to religion, nevertheless they judge that by reason one is led to believe and to concede them; and with these removed from the midst, they declare without any hesitation that no one is so stupid as not to perceive that pleasure must be sought for himself by right and wrong alike. He would only beware of this: that a lesser pleasure not obstruct a greater, or that he not pursue one which pain will in turn requite.

nam uirtutem asperam, ac difficilem sequi, ac non abigere modo suauitatem uitae, sed dolorem etiam sponte perpeti, cuius nullum expectes fructum—quis enim potest esse fructus si post mortem nihil assequeris cum hanc uitam totam insuauiter hoc est misere traduxeris—id uero dementissimum ferunt.

for to follow a harsh and difficult virtue, and not only to drive away the suavity of life, but also to endure pain of one’s own accord, from which you expect no fruit—what fruit, indeed, can there be, if after death you obtain nothing, when you have passed this whole life without suavity, that is, miserably—they deem to be most demented.

nunc uero non in omni uoluptate felicitatem, sed in bona, atque honesta sitam putant. ad eam enim uelut ad summum bonum, naturam nostram ab ipsa uirtute pertrahi, cui sola aduersa factio felicitatem tribuit. nempe uirtutem definiunt, secundum naturam uiuere ad id siquidem a deo institutos esse nos.

now indeed they think that felicity is not in every pleasure, but in good and honorable pleasure. for to it, as to the highest good, our nature is drawn by virtue itself, and even the opposing faction attributes happiness to it alone. namely, they define virtue as living according to nature, since for that end we have been established by God.

eum uero naturae ductum sequi quisquis in appetendis fugiendisque rebus obtemperat rationi. rationem porro, mortales primum omnium in amorem, ac uenerationem diuinae maiestatis incendere, cui debemus, et quod sumus, et quod compotes esse felicitatis possumus, secundum id commonet, atque excitat nos ut uitam quam licet minime anxiam, ac maxime laetam ducamus ipsi, ceterisque omnibus ad idem obtinendum adiutores nos pro naturae societate praebeamus. neque enim quisquam umquam fuit tam tristis ac rigidus assecla uirtutis, et osor uoluptatis, qui ita labores, uigilias et squalores indicat tibi, ut non idem aliorum inopiam, atque incommoda leuare, te pro tua uirili iubeat, et id laudandum humanitatis nomine censeat, hominem homini saluti ac solatio esse, si humanum est maxime—qua uirtute nulla est homini magis propria—aliorum mitigare molestiam, et sublata tristitia uitae iucunditati, hoc est uoluptati reddere.

And indeed he follows nature’s leading, whoever in things to be sought and to be shunned obeys reason. Reason, moreover, first of all inflames mortals into love and veneration of the divine majesty, to whom we owe both what we are and that we can be possessors of felicity; in the second place it admonishes—and it rouses us—to lead a life as little anxious and as most joyful as may be ourselves, and to offer ourselves as helpers to all others for obtaining the same, by reason of the fellowship of nature. For there has never been anyone so grim and rigid an adherent of virtue and a hater of pleasure, who prescribes to you labors, vigils, and squalors in such a way that he does not also bid you, to the best of your ability, to lighten the want and inconveniences of others, and judge that praiseworthy under the name of humanity: that a human be to a human for safety and solace—if anything is most human—than which virtue none is more proper to man—to mitigate the trouble of others, and, sadness having been removed, to render life back to agreeableness, that is, to pleasure.

quid ni natura quemque instiget ut sibimet idem praestet! nam aut mala est uita iucunda, id est, uoluptaria, quod si est, non solum neminem ad eam debes adiutare, sed omnibus utpote noxiam ac mortiferam, quantum potes adimere, aut si conciliare aliis eam, ut bonam non licet modo, sed etiam debes, cur non tibi in primis ipsi! cui non minus propitium esse te quam aliis decet.

Why should not nature instigate each person to provide the same for himself! For either the pleasant life, that is, the voluptuary one, is bad—if it is, you ought not only to aid no one toward it, but to take it away from all, as noxious and deadly, as far as you can—or, if to procure it for others as a good is not only permitted but even a duty, why not for yourself first and foremost! toward whom it is fitting that you be no less propitious than toward others.

neque enim cum te natura moneat uti in alios bonus sis, eadem te rursus iubet, in temet saeuum atque inclementem esse.

for neither, when nature admonishes you to be good toward others, does that same nature in turn command you to be savage and inclement toward yourself.

uitam ergo iucundam inquiunt, id est uoluptatem tamquam operationum omnium finem, ipsa nobis natura praescribit, ex cuius praescripto uiuere, uirtutem definiunt. at cum natura mortales inuitet ad hilarioris uitae mutuum subsidium—quod certe merito facit. neque enim tam supra generis humani sortem quisquam est, ut solus naturae curae sit, quae uniuersos ex aequo fouet, quos eiusdem formae communione complectitur—eadem te nimirum iubet etiam atque etiam obseruare, ne sic tuis commodis obsecundes; ut aliorum procures incommoda.

Therefore, they say, a pleasant life, that is, pleasure as the end of all operations, nature herself prescribes to us; to live according to whose prescription they define as virtue. But since nature invites mortals to the mutual subsidy of a more cheerful life—which she certainly does with good reason. For no one is so far above the lot of the human race as to be alone an object of nature’s care, she who fosters all equally, whom she embraces by the communion of the same form—the same nature, assuredly, bids you again and again to observe, lest you so comply with your own conveniences as to procure incommodities for others.

seruanda igitur censent non inita solum inter priuatos pacta, sed publicas etiam leges, quas aut bonus princeps iuste promulgauit, aut populus, nec oppressus tyrannide, nec dolo circumscriptus, de partiendis uitae commodis, hoc est materia uoluptatis, communi consensu sanxit. iis inoffensis legibus tuum curare commodum, prudentia est; publicum praeterea, pietatis; sed alienam uoluptatem praereptum ire, dum consequare tuam; ea uero iniuria est, contra tibi aliquid ipsi demere, quod addas aliis, id demum est humanitatis ac benignitatis officium, quod ipsum numquam tantum aufert commodi, quantum refert. nam et beneficiorum uicissitudine pensatur, et ipsa benefacti conscientia, ac recordatio caritatis eorum et beneuolentiae quibus benefeceris, plus uoluptatis affert animo, quam fuisset illa corporis qua abstinuisti.

therefore they judge to be kept not only pacts entered among private persons, but also the public laws, which either a good prince has justly promulgated, or the people—neither oppressed by tyranny nor overreached by fraud—by common consent has sanctioned concerning the partition of life’s advantages, that is, the material of pleasure. To look after your own advantage without offending those laws is prudence; to care, moreover, for the public (advantage) is piety; but to go to preempt another’s pleasure while you pursue your own—that truly is injustice; whereas, conversely, to take something from yourself in order to add it to others, that indeed is the office of humanity and benignity, which act itself never takes away as much advantage as it brings back. For it is balanced both by the reciprocity of benefactions, and the very consciousness of a good deed, and the recollection of the charity and benevolence of those to whom you have done good brings more pleasure to the soul than would have been that of the body which you abstained from.

postremo—quod facile persuadet animo libenter assentienti religio—breuis et exiguae uoluptatis uicem, ingenti ac numquam interituro gaudio rependit deus.

finally—which religion easily persuades to a mind gladly assenting—God recompenses, in lieu of brief and scant pleasure, with immense and never-perishing joy.

itaque hoc pacto censent, et excussa sedulo et perpensa re omnes actiones nostras, atque in his uirtutes etiam ipsas, uoluptatem tandem uelut finem, felicitatemque respicere.

therefore they judge thus: with the matter sedulously sifted and weighed, all our actions, and among these even the virtues themselves, at length look to pleasure as, so to speak, the end, and to felicity.

uoluptatem appellant omnem corporis animiue motum statumque, in quo uersari natura duce delectet. appetitionem naturae, non temere addunt. nam ut quicquid natura iucundum est, ad quod neque per iniuriam tenditur, nec iucundius aliud amittitur, nec labor succedit, non sensus modo, sed recta quoque ratio persequitur, ita quae praeter naturam dulcia sibi mortales uanissima conspiratione confingunt—tamquam in ipsis esset perinde res ac uocabula commutare—ea omnia statuunt adeo nihil ad felicitatem facere, ut plurimum officiant etiam, uel eo quod quibus semel insederunt, ne ueris ac genuinis oblectamentis usquam uacet locus, totum prorsus animum falsa uoluptatis opinione praeoccupant.

they call pleasure every motion and state of body or mind, in which it delights to be engaged with nature as guide. “the appetition of nature,” they add, not rashly. for just as whatever is by nature agreeable, toward which one is aimed neither through injustice, nor is some more agreeable thing lost, nor does labor ensue, not sense only but right reason also pursues, so those things which, contrary to nature, mortals fashion as sweet to themselves by a most vain conspiracy—as though it were equally within themselves to change things as words—they determine that all these contribute so nothing to felicity that they do the greatest harm as well, even in this: that once they have settled in them, so that nowhere is there left room for true and genuine delectations, they utterly preoccupy the whole mind with a false opinion of pleasure.

sunt enim perquam multa, quae cum suapte natura nihil contineant suauitatis, immo bona pars amaritudinis etiam plurimum, peruersa tum improbarum cupiditatum illecebra, non pro summis tantum uoluptatibus habeantur; uerum etiam inter praecipuas uitae causas numerentur.

for there are very many things which, although by their very nature they contain nothing of suavity—nay, a good share of bitterness, indeed very much—by the perverse allurement of depraved cupidities are held not only as the highest pleasures; but even are numbered among the principal causes of life.

in hoc adulterinae uoluptatis genere, eos collocant, quos ante memoraui, qui quo meliorem togam habent, eo sibi meliores ipsi uidentur. qua una in re, bis errant. neque enim minus falsi sunt, quod meliorem putant togam suam, quam quod se. cur enim si uestis usum spectes, tenuioris fili lana praestet crassiori!

In this genus of adulterine pleasure, they place those whom I mentioned before, who, the better a toga they have, by so much the better they seem to themselves. In this one matter, they err twice; for they are no less mistaken in thinking their toga better than in thinking themselves so. For why, if you regard the use of clothing, should wool of a finer thread be preferable to a coarser?

at illi tamen tamquam natura non errore praecellerent, attolunt cristas, et sibimet quoque pretii credunt inde non nihil accedere. eoque honorem, quem uilius uestiti sperare non essent ausi elegantiori togae, uelut suo iure exigunt, et praetermissi negligentius indignantur.

but they, nevertheless, as though they excelled by nature, not by error, raise their crests, and believe that not a little of value accrues to themselves therefrom. And so the honor which, being more cheaply clad, they would not have dared to hope for, they demand on account of a more elegant toga, as if by their own right; and, when passed over, they grow indignant at being treated with neglect.

at hoc ipsum quoque, uanis et nihil profuturis honoribus affici, an non eiusdem inscitiae est! nam quid naturalis et uerae uoluptatis affert nudatus alterius uertex, aut curuati poplites, hoccine tuorum poplitum dolori medebitur! aut tui capitis phrenesim leuabit!

but this very thing also, to be affected by vain honors that will profit nothing, is it not the same ignorance! for what does another’s denuded crown (vertex), or bent poplites (knees), bring to natural and true pleasure? will this cure the pain of your poplites! or will it lighten the phrenzy of your head!

in hac fucatae uoluptatis imagine, mirum quam suauiter insaniunt ii qui nobilitatis opinione sibi blandiuntur ac plaudunt, quod eiusmodi maioribus nasci contigerit, quorum longa series diues—neque enim nunc aliud est nobilitas—habita sit, praesertim in praediis, nec pilo quidem minus sibi nobiles uidentur, etiam si maiores nihil inde reliquerint, aut relictum ipsi obligurierint.

in this image of painted-over pleasure, it is wondrous how sweetly they go insane who, with the opinion of nobility, flatter and applaud themselves, because it has happened to them to be born from ancestors of such a sort, whose long series has been held rich—since now nobility is nothing else—especially in landed estates; nor do they seem to themselves a whit less noble, even if their forefathers have left nothing from it, or they themselves have gobbled up what was left.

his adnumerant eos qui gemmis ac lapillis—ut dixi—capiuntur, ac dii quodammodo sibi uidentur facti, si quando eximium aliquem consequantur, eius praesertim generis, quod sua tempestate, maximo apud suos aestimetur; neque enim apud omnes, neque omni tempore, eadem genera sunt in pretio; sed nec nisi exemptum auro ac nudum comparant. immo ne sic quidem, nisi adiurato uenditore, et praestanti cautionem, ueram gemmam ac lapidem uerum esse, tam solliciti sunt; ne oculis eorum, ueri loco adulterinus imponat. at spectaturo tibi, cur minus praebeat oblectamenti factitius, quem tuus oculus non discernit a uero!

To these they add those who are captivated by gems and little stones—as I said—and who in a certain way seem to themselves to have been made gods, if ever they obtain some exceptional specimen, especially of that kind which, in its own season, is esteemed most highly among their people; for neither among all, nor at every time, are the same kinds in price; and they do not even purchase it unless stripped of gold and bare. Nay, not even then, unless the seller has been adjured and provides a guarantee that it is a true gem and the stone genuine, are they so solicitous; lest a counterfeit be imposed upon their eyes in place of the true. But for you, who are going to look at it, why should the factitious afford less delectation, which your eye does not discern from the true!

uterque ex aequo ualere debet, tibi, non minus hercle quam caeco.

Each of the two ought to be of equal value, to you, no less, by Hercules, than to a blind man.

quid ii qui superfluas opes adseruant, ut nullo acerui usu, sed sola contemplatione delectentur, num ueram percipiunt; an falsa potius uoluptate luduntur! aut hi qui diuerso uitio, aurum quo numquam sint usuri, fortasse nec uisuri amplius, abscondunt, et solliciti ne perdant, perdunt. quid enim aliud est, usibus demptum tuis et omnium fortasse mortalium, telluri reddere!

what of those who preserve superfluous wealth, so that, with no use of the heap but by contemplation alone, they may be delighted—do they perceive the true; or are they rather played with by a false pleasure! or those who, with the opposite vice, hide gold which they will never use, perhaps not even see again, and, anxious lest they lose it, lose it. for what else is it, removed from your uses and perhaps from those of all mortals, to give it back to the earth!

et tu tamen abstruso thesauro, uelut animi iam securus laetitia gestis. quem si quis furto sustulerit, cuius tu ignarus furti, decem post annis obieris, toto illo decennio, quo subtractae pecuniae superfuisti, quid tua retulit, surreptum an saluum fuisse! utroque certe modo tantumdem usus ad te peruenit, ad has tam ineptas laetitias, aleatores—quorum insaniam auditu, non usu cognouere—uenatores praeterea, atque aucupes, adiungunt.

and yet you, with your treasure hidden away, as though already secure in mind, caper with joy. If someone should remove it by theft, and you, ignorant of the theft, should die ten years later, in all that decade during which you outlived the subtracted money, what did it bring you, that it had been filched or kept safe! In either case, surely, the same quantum of use reached you; to these so inept joys they add gamblers—whose madness they have learned by hearing, not by experience—hunters, moreover, and fowlers.

nam quid habet, inquiunt, uoluptatis, talos in alueum proiicere, quod toties fecisti, ut si quid uoluptatis inesset, oriri tamen potuisset ex frequenti usu satietas! aut quae suauitas esse potest, ac non fastidium potius in audiendo latratu, atque ululatu canum! aut qui maior uoluptatis sensus est, cum leporem canis insequitur, quam cum canis canem!

for what, they say, of pleasure is there in casting dice into the dice-box, something you have done so often that, if any pleasure were inherent, a satiety could nevertheless have arisen from frequent use! or what suavity can there be, and not rather disgust, in hearing the barking and ululation of dogs! or what greater sense of pleasure is there when a dog pursues a hare than when a dog pursues a dog!

nempe idem utrobique agitur, accurritur enim, si te cursus oblectet. at si te caedis spes, laniatus expectatio sub oculis peragendi retinet, misericordiam potius mouere debet, spectare, lepusculum a cane, imbecillum a ualidiore, fugacem ac timidum a feroce, innoxium denique a crudeli discerptum.

Surely the same thing is being done in either case; people run up, if the running delights you. But if it is the hope of slaughter, the expectation of a rending and of having it carried through under your eyes keeps you; it ought rather to move compassion, to behold a little hare torn to pieces by a dog—the weaker by the stronger, the fleet and timid by the fierce, the harmless, in fine, by the cruel.

itaque Utopienses totum hoc uenandi exercitium, ut rem liberis indignam, in lanios—quam artem per seruos obire eos supra diximus—reiecerunt. infimam enim eius partem esse uenationem statuunt, reliquas eius partes et utiliores et honestiores ut quae et multo magis conferant, et animalia necessitatis dumtaxat gratia perimant, cum uenator ab miseri animalculi caede ac laniatu, nihil nisi uoluptatem petat, quam spectandae necis libidinem in ipsis etiam bestiis, aut ab animi crudelis affectu censent exoriri, aut in crudelitatem denique, assiduo tam efferae uoluptatis usu defluere.

and so the Utopians have relegated this whole exercise of hunting, as a thing unworthy of free persons, to the butchers—which craft, as we said above, they carry on through slaves. For they judge hunting to be the lowest part of that art; its remaining parts they deem both more useful and more honorable, as being those which both contribute much more and put animals to death solely for the sake of necessity, whereas the hunter, from the slaughter and mangling of the wretched little creature, seeks nothing but pleasure—a libido of watching a killing which, even in the very beasts, they reckon either to spring from an affect of a cruel mind, or, finally, by the assiduous use of so savage a pleasure, to flow down into cruelty.

haec igitur et quicquid est eiusmodi—sunt enim innumera—quamquam pro uoluptatibus mortalium uulgus habeat, illi tamen cum natura nihil insit suaue, plane statuunt, cum uera uoluptate nihil habere commercii. nam quod uulgo sensum iucunditate perfundunt—quod uoluptatis opus uidetur—nihil de sententia decedunt. non enim ipsius rei natura, sed ipsorum peruersa consuetudo in causa est.

Therefore these things, and whatever is of such a sort—for they are innumerable—although the vulgar count them among the pleasures of mortals, yet they, since nothing sweet is inherent by nature, plainly determine that they have no commerce with true pleasure. For as to the fact that they commonly drench the sense with delight—which seems a work of pleasure—on that account they do not depart at all from their opinion. For the cause is not the nature of the thing itself, but their own perverse custom.

cuius uitio fit, ut amara pro dulcibus amplectantur. non aliter ac mulieres grauidae picem et seuum, corrupto gustu, melle mellitius arbitrantur. nec cuiusquam tamen aut morbo, aut consuetudine deprauatum iudicium, mutare naturam, ut non aliarum rerum, ita nec uoluptatis potest.

by whose vice it comes about that they embrace the bitter in place of the sweet. No otherwise than pregnant women, with their taste corrupted, deem pitch and tallow sweeter than honey. Yet no one’s judgment, depraved either by sickness or by custom, can change nature; as it cannot change the nature of other things, so neither can it change that of pleasure.

uoluptatum quas ueras fatentur, species diuersas faciunt. siquidem alias animo, corpori alias tribuunt. animo dant intellectum, eamque dulcedinem quam ueri contemplatio pepererit.

Of the pleasures which they acknowledge as true, they make different species. For indeed they assign some to the mind, others to the body. To the mind they grant intellect, and that sweetness which contemplation of the true will have brought forth.

ad haec suauis additur bene actae uitae memoria, et spes non dubia futuri boni.

to these things there is added the sweet memory of a well-spent life, and an undoubted hope of future good.

corporis uoluptatem in duas partiuntur formas, quarum prima sit ea, quae sensum perspicua suauitate perfundit, quod alias earum instauratione partium fit, quas insitus nobis calor exhauserit. nam hae cibo potuque redduntur, alias dum egeruntur illa, quorum copia corpus exuberat. haec suggeritur, dum excrementis intestina purgamus, aut opera liberis datur, aut ullius prurigo partis frictu scalptuue lenitur.

they partition the pleasure of the body into two forms, of which the first is that which suffuses the sense with manifest suavity, which at times comes about by the instauration of those parts that the inborn heat in us has exhausted. for these are restored by food and drink; at other times when those things are voided, by the abundance of which the body overflows. this is supplied when we purge the intestines of excrements, or when the function is devoted to the begetting of children, or when the pruritus of any part is soothed by rubbing or scratching.

interdum uero uoluptas oritur, nec redditura quicquam quod membra nostra desiderent, nec ademptura quo laborent; ceterum quae sensus nostros tamen ui quadam occulta, sed illustri motu titillet afficiatque, et in se conuertat, qualis ex musica nascitur.

Sometimes indeed a pleasure arises, neither about to render back anything that our members desire, nor to take away that under which they labor; yet one which, by a certain occult force but by an illustrious motion, titillates and affects our senses and turns them toward itself—such as is born from music.

alteram corporeae uoluptatis formam, eam uolunt esse, quae in quieto, atque aequabili corporis statu consistat, id est nimirum sua cuiusque nullo interpellata malo sanitas. haec siquidem, si nihil eam doloris oppugnet, per se ipsa delectat, etiam si nulla extrinsecus adhibita uoluptate moueatur. quamquam enim sese minus effert, minusque offert sensui, quam tumida illa edendi bibendique libido, nihilo tamen secius multi eam statuunt uoluptatum maximam, omnes fere Utopienses magnam et uelut fundamentum omnium ac basim fatentur, ut quae uel sola placidam et optabilem uitae conditionem reddat, et qua sublata, nullus usquam reliquus sit cuiquam uoluptati locus.

the other form of bodily pleasure they want to be that which consists in a quiet and equable state of the body, that is to wit each one’s health, interrupted by no ill. This indeed, if no pain assails it, delights by itself, even if it is moved by no pleasure applied from without. For although it exhibits itself less, and offers itself less to sense, than that swollen appetite for eating and drinking, nonetheless many pronounce it the greatest of pleasures; almost all the Utopians acknowledge it great and, as it were, the foundation and base of all, inasmuch as it alone renders the condition of life placid and desirable, and, with it removed, no place for pleasure remains anywhere for anyone.

nam dolore prorsus uacare, nisi adsit sanitas, stuporem certe non uoluptatem uocant. iamdudum explosum est apud eos decretum illorum, qui stabilem et tranquillam sanitatem—nam haec quoque quaestio gnauiter apud eos agitata est—ideo non habendam pro uoluptate censebant, quod praesentem non posse dicerent, nisi motu quopiam extrario sentiri. uerum contra nunc in hoc prope uniuersi conspirant, sanitatem uel in primis uoluptati esse.

for to be utterly free from pain, unless health be present, they certainly call stupor, not pleasure. the decree of those who—since this question too has been vigorously agitated among them—therefore judged that stable and tranquil health is not to be held for pleasure, because they said that what is present cannot be felt unless by some external motion, has long since been exploded among them. but on the contrary, now nearly all conspire in this: that health is, above all, pleasure.

etenim cum in morbo, inquiunt, dolor sit, qui uoluptati implacabilis hostis est, non aliter, ac sanitati morbus, quid ni uicissim insit sanitatis tranquillitati uoluptas! nihil enim ad hanc rem referre putant, seu morbus dolor esse, seu morbo dolor inesse dicatur. tantumdem enim utroque modo effici.

for indeed, since in disease, they say, there is pain, which is an implacable enemy to pleasure, no otherwise than disease is to health, why should not, in turn, pleasure be present in the tranquillity of health! for they think it makes nothing to this matter, whether disease be pain, or whether pain be said to be in disease. for the same amount is effected in either way.

quippe si sanitas, aut uoluptas ipsa sit, aut necessario uoluptatem pariat, uelut calor igni gignitur, nimirum utrobique efficitur, ut quibus immota sanitas adest his uoluptas abesse non possit. praeterea dum uescimur, inquiunt, quid aliud quam sanitas quae labefactari coeperat, aduersus esuriem—cibo commilitone—depugnat, in qua dum paulatim inualescit, ille ipse profectus ad solitum uigorem suggerit illam, qua sic reficimur, uoluptatem. sanitas ergo quae in conflictu laetatur, eadem non gaudebit adepta uictoriam!

for if health either is pleasure itself or necessarily begets pleasure, just as heat is generated by fire, clearly in both cases it comes about that, for those to whom unmoved health is present, pleasure cannot be absent. moreover, while we take food, they say, what else is it than health, which had begun to be undermined, that fights it out against hunger—with food as a comrade-in-arms—in which, while it gradually grows strong, that very advance toward its wonted vigor supplies that pleasure by which we are thus restored. therefore, will not the same health which rejoices in the conflict rejoice as well when victory has been won!

sed pristinum robur, quod solum toto conflictu petiuerat, tandem feliciter assecuta, protinus obstupescet! nec bona sua cognoscet atque amplexabitur! nam quod non sentiri sanitas dicta est, id uero perquam procul a uero putant.

but, having at last successfully attained the former robustness which alone it had sought through the whole conflict, will it straightway be stupefied! nor will it recognize and embrace its own goods! for the statement that health is not felt, they think to be very far indeed from the truth.

quis enim uigilans, inquiunt, sanum esse se non sentit, nisi qui non est! quemne tantus, aut stupor, aut lethargus adstringit, ut sanitatem non iucundam sibi fateatur ac delectabilem! at delectatio quid aliud quam alio nomine uoluptas est!

for who, being awake, they say, does not perceive himself to be sound, except one who is not! Does such great stupor or lethargy constrain a man that he does not confess health to be pleasant and delectable for himself! But what is delectation other than pleasure under another name!

amplectuntur ergo in primis animi uoluptates,—eas enim primas omnium principesque ducunt—quarum potissimam partem censent ab exercitio uirtutum bonaeque uitae conscientia proficisci. earum uoluptatum quas corpus suggerit, palmam sanitati deferunt. nam edendi, bibendique suauitatem, et quicquid eandem oblectamenti rationem habet, appetenda quidem, sed non nisi sanitatis gratia statuunt.

they therefore embrace, first of all, the pleasures of the mind,—for these they reckon as first and as chiefs of all,—the greater part of which they judge to proceed from the exercise of the virtues and the conscience of a good life. Of those pleasures which the body suggests, they award the palm to health. For the suavity of eating and drinking, and whatever has the same rationale of oblectation, they deem indeed to be things to be sought, but only for the sake of health.

neque enim per se iucunda esse talia, sed quatenus aduersae ualitudini clanculum surrepenti resistunt. ideoque sapienti, sicuti magis deprecandos morbos, quam optandam medicinam, et dolores profligandos potius, quam adsciscenda solatia, ita hoc quoque uoluptatis genere non egere quam deliniri praestiterit, quo uoluptatis genere si quisquam se beatum putet, is necesse est fateatur, se tum demum fore felicissimum, si ea uita contigerit, quae in perpetua fame, siti, pruritu, esu, potatione, scalptu, frictuque, traducatur; quae quam non foeda solum, sed misera etiam sit, quis non uidet! infimae profecto omnium hae uoluptates sunt, ut minime sincerae, neque enim umquam subeunt, nisi contrariis coniunctae doloribus, nempe cum edendi uoluptate copulatur esuries, idque non satis aequa lege.

for such things are not pleasant in themselves, but only insofar as they resist ill-health stealthily creeping in. and so for the wise man, just as diseases are rather to be deprecated than medicine to be desired, and pains rather to be routed than solaces to be enlisted, so too in this kind of pleasure it is preferable not to need it than to be beguiled by it; and if anyone thinks himself blessed by this kind of pleasure, he must needs confess that he will then at last be most happy, if that life should befall him which is passed in perpetual hunger, thirst, itching, eating, potation, scratching, and rubbing; who does not see how such a life is not only foul but also wretched! assuredly these are the lowest pleasures of all, as being least pure; for they never come on except conjoined with contrary pains—namely, hunger is coupled with the pleasure of eating—and on terms not quite equitable.

nam ut uehementior, ita longior quoque dolor est. quippe et ante uoluptatem nascitur, et nisi uoluptate una commoriente, non extinguitur.

for the more vehement the pain, the longer it is as well; indeed it both arises before the pleasure, and is not extinguished unless the pleasure dies along with it.

huiusmodi ergo uoluptates, nisi quatenus expetit necessitas, haud magni habendas putant. gaudent tamen etiam his, gratique agnoscunt naturae parentis indulgentiam, quae foetus suos ad id quod necessitatis causa tam assidue faciundum erat, etiam blandissima suauitate pelliceat. quanto enim in tedio uiuendum erat, si ut ceterae aegritudines quae nos infestant rarius, ita ii quoque cotidiani famis ac sitis morbi, uenenis ac pharmacis amaris essent abigendi!

Pleasures of this kind, therefore, except insofar as necessity demands, they think are not to be held in great account. Yet they also take delight in these, and gratefully acknowledge the indulgence of Nature the parent, who entices her offspring to that which for the sake of necessity had to be done so assiduously, even by most charming sweetness. For how much in tedium would life have to be lived, if—just as the other ailments which infest us are rarer—those daily diseases too, of hunger and thirst, had to be driven off by poisons and bitter medicines!

at formam, uires, agilitatem, haec ut propria, iucundaque naturae dona libenter fouent. quin eas quoque uoluptates, quae per aures, oculos, ac nares admittuntur, quas natura proprias ac peculiares esse homini uoluit—neque enim aliud animantium genus, aut mundi formam pulchritudinemque suspicit, aut odorum; nisi ad cibi discrimen, ulla commouetur gratia; neque consonas inter se discordesque sonorum distantias internoscit—et has inquam ut iucunda quaedam uitae condimenta persequuntur. in omnibus autem hunc habent modum ne maiorem minor impediat, neu dolorem aliquando uoluptas pariat, quod necessario sequi censent, si inhonesta sit.

But they gladly cherish form, strength, agility, these as proper and pleasant gifts of nature. Nay, those pleasures too which are admitted through the ears, eyes, and nostrils, which nature willed to be proper and peculiar to man—for no other kind of living beings either beholds the form and beauty of the world, or, as to odors, is moved by any charm, save for the discrimination of food; nor does it discern, among sounds, the consonant and dissonant intervals—these too, I say, they pursue as certain pleasant condiments of life. In all things, however, they keep this measure: that the lesser not impede the greater, and that pleasure not at some time beget pain—which they judge must necessarily follow, if it be dishonorable.

at certe formae decus contemnere; uires deterere, agilitatem in pigritiam uertere, corpus exhaurire ieiuniis, sanitati iniuriam facere; et cetera naturae blandimenta respuere; nisi quis haec sua commoda negligat, dum aliorum publicamue ardentius procurat, cuius laboris uice maiorem a deo uoluptatem expectet; alioquin ob inanem uirtutis umbram nullius bono, semet affligere; uel quo aduersa ferre minus moleste possit; numquam fortasse uentura. hoc uero putant esse dementissimum, animique et in se crudelis; et erga naturam ingratissimi; cui tamquam debere quicquam dedignetur; omnibus eius beneficiis renunciat.

but certainly to contemn the adornment of form; to wear down one’s strength; to turn agility into sloth; to drain the body by fasts; to do injury to health; and to spit out the other blandishments of nature; unless someone neglects these his own advantages, while he more ardently cares for the affairs of others or the public, in return for which labor he expects a greater pleasure from God; otherwise, to afflict himself for an empty shadow of virtue, to no one’s good; or in order that he may be able to bear adversities less painfully—perhaps never destined to come. This indeed they think to be most demented, and of a spirit both cruel toward itself, and most ungrateful toward nature; to which, as if he disdained to owe anything, he renounces all her benefits.

haec est eorum de uirtute ac uoluptate sententia; qua nisi sanctius aliquid inspiret homini; caelitus immissa religio; nullam inuestigari credunt humana ratione ueriorem; qua in re rectene an secus sentiant, excutere nos, neque tempus patitur, neque necesse est. quippe qui narranda eorum instituta, non etiam tuenda suscepimus. ceterum hoc mihi certe persuadeo, utut sese habeant haec decreta; nusquam neque praestantiorem populum, neque feliciorem esse rempublicam.

this is their judgment concerning virtue and pleasure; than which, unless something more sacred should inspire a man; religion sent down from heaven; they believe none truer can be investigated by human reason; in which matter whether they think rightly or otherwise, to sift it, neither does time permit us, nor is it necessary. for we have undertaken to narrate their institutions, not also to defend them. moreover, this I surely persuade myself, however these decrees may stand; nowhere is there a more preeminent people, nor a happier commonwealth.

corpore sunt agili uegetoque; uirium amplius quam statura promittat nec ea tamen improcera; et cum neque solo sint usquequaque fertili; nec admodum salubri caelo; aduersus aerem ita sese temperantia uictus muniunt; terrae sic medentur industria; ut nusquam gentium sit frugis, pecorisque prouentus uberior; aut hominum uiuaciora corpora; paucioribusque morbis obnoxia. itaque non ea modo quae uulgo faciunt agricolae; diligenter ibi administrata conspicias; ut terram natura maligniorem, arte atque opera iuuent; sed populi manibus alibi radicitus euulsam siluam, alibi consitam uideas; qua in re habita est non ubertatis; sed uecturae ratio; ut essent ligna, aut mari, aut fluuiis, aut urbibus ipsis uiciniora, minore enim cum labore terrestri itinere, fruges quam ligna longius afferuntur.

they are of an agile and vigorous body; with strength more than their stature promises, nor is that, however, undersized; and since neither is their soil everywhere fertile, nor their sky very healthful; against the air they thus fortify themselves by temperance of diet; they thus remedy the earth by industry; so that nowhere among the nations is there a more abundant yield of grain and of cattle; or more long‑lived bodies of men, and liable to fewer diseases. therefore not only the things which farmers commonly do you may observe carefully administered there; so that they help soil, rather unkind by nature, by art and by labor; but by the people’s hands you may see woodland in one place torn up by the roots, in another planted; in which matter account has been taken not of fertility; but of carriage; so that timber might be nearer either to the sea, or to rivers, or to the cities themselves, for with less toil by a land journey, crops than timber are carried farther.

gens facilis ac faceta, sollers, otio gaudens, corporis laborum—cum est usus—satis patiens, ceterum alias haudquaquam sane appetens; animi studiis infatigata.

an easy and witty people, skillful, rejoicing in leisure, quite patient of bodily labors—when there is need—but otherwise by no means at all eager for them; indefatigable in the pursuits of the mind.

qui cum a nobis accepissent de litteris et disciplina Graecorum—nam in Latinis praeter historias ac poetas nihil erat quod uidebantur magnopere probaturi—mirum quanto studio contenderunt, ut eas liceret ipsis, nostra interpretatione perdiscere. coepimus ergo legere, magis adeo primum ne recusare laborem uideremur, quam quod fructum eius aliquem speraremus. at ubi paulum processimus, ipsorum diligentia fecit, ut nostram haud frustra impendendam animo statim praeciperemus.

when they had received from us about the letters and discipline of the Greeks—for in Latin matters, besides histories and poets, there was nothing that they seemed likely greatly to approve—marvelous with how much zeal they strove that it might be permitted to them to learn them thoroughly by our interpretation. therefore we began to read, indeed at first rather lest we seem to refuse the labor than because we were hoping any fruit from it. but when we had advanced a little, their diligence brought it about that we straightway anticipated in mind that our effort would not be expended in vain.

siquidem litterarum formas, tam facile imitari, uerba tam expedite pronunciare, tam celeriter mandare memoriae, et tanta cum fide reddere coeperunt, ut nobis miraculi esset loco, nisi quod pleraque pars eorum, qui non sua solum sponte accensi, uerum senatus quoque decreto iussi, ista sibi discenda sumpserunt; e numero scholasticorum, selectissimis ingeniis, et matura aetate fuerunt. itaque minus quam triennio nihil erat in lingua, quod requirerent bonos authores, nisi obstet libri menda, inoffense perlegerent.

since, indeed, they began so easily to imitate the letter-forms, to pronounce the words so expeditiously, to commit them to memory so swiftly, and to render them back with such fidelity, that it was for us in the place of a marvel, except that the greater part of them—who, not only of their own accord were enkindled, but also by decree of the senate were ordered—took upon themselves these things as to be learned for themselves; they were from the number of the scholastics, with most select talents, and of mature age. and so, in less than three years, there was nothing in the language which they looked for in good authors that they did not read through without stumbling, unless the blemish of the book stood in the way.

eas litteras ut equidem coniicio ob id quoque facilius arripuerunt, quod nonnihil illis essent cognatae. suspicor enim eam gentem a graecis originem duxisse; propterea quod sermo illorum cetera fere Persicus, non nulla graeci sermonis uestigia seruet in urbium ac magistratuum uocabulis. habent ex me,—nam librorum sarcinam mediocrem loco mercium quarto nauigaturus in nauem conieci quod mecum plane decreueram numquam potius redire quam cito—Platonis opera pleraque, Aristotelis plura, Theophrastum item de plantis, sed pluribus, quod doleo, in locis mutilum.

those letters, as I for my part conjecture, they seized the more easily also for this reason, that they were in no small measure cognate to them. For I suspect that that nation has drawn its origin from the Greeks; for this reason, that their speech—otherwise almost wholly Persian—preserves some vestiges of the Greek speech in the vocabularies of cities and magistracies. They have from me,—for, being about to sail for the fourth time, I threw onto the ship a moderate burden of books in place of wares, since I had quite decided with myself never rather to return than quickly—most of the works of Plato, more of Aristotle’s, and likewise Theophrastus On Plants, but mutilated, to my sorrow, in more places.

in librum enim dum nauigabamus negligentius habitum, cercopithecus inciderat; qui lasciuiens ac ludibundus, paginas aliquot hinc atque inde euulsas lacerauit. ex iis qui scripsere grammaticam, Lascarem habent tantum, Theodorum enim non aduexi mecum, nec dictionarium aliquem praeter Hesychium, ac Dioscoridem; Plutarchi libellos habent carissimos, et Luciani quoque facetiis ac lepore capiuntur. ex poetis habent Aristophanem, Homerum, atque Euripidem; tum Sophoclem minusculis Aldi formulis.

for into the book—while we were sailing, it having been kept rather negligently—a cercopithecus (a monkey) had fallen; and, frisking and playing, he tore out and mangled several pages here and there. of those who have written on grammar they have only Lascaris, for I did not bring Theodore with me, nor any dictionary except Hesychius and Dioscorides; they have Plutarch’s little books most dear, and they are also captivated by Lucian’s facetiae and charm. of the poets they have Aristophanes, Homer, and Euripides; then Sophocles in Aldus’s diminutive formats.

ex historicis Thucydidem atque Herodotum; necnon quin Herodianum. in re medica quoque sodalis meus Tricius Apinatus aduexerat secum parua quaedam Hippocratis opuscula, ac Microtechnen Galeni, quos libros magno in pretio habent; siquidem et si omnium fere gentium, re medica minime egent, nusquam tamen in maiore honore est, uel eo ipso quod eius cognitionem numerant inter pulcherrimas atque utilissimas partes philosophiae; cuius ope philosophiae dum naturae secreta scrutantur, uidentur sibi non solum admirabilem inde uoluptatem percipere; sed apud authorem quoque eius, atque opificem summam inire gratiam; quem ceterorum more artificum arbitrantur; mundi huius uisendam machinam homini—quem solum tantae rei capacem fecit—exposuisse spectandam; eoque cariorem habere; curiosum ac sollicitum inspectorem, operisque sui admiratorem; quam eum qui uelut animal expers mentis; tantum ac tam mirabile spectaculum, stupidus immotusque neglexerit.

from the historians Thucydides and Herodotus; and likewise, yes, Herodian. In the medical sphere too my companion Tricius Apinatus had brought with him certain small opuscules of Hippocrates, and Galen’s Microtechnen, which books they hold in great price; since even if, of almost all nations, they have the least need of the medical art, nowhere nevertheless is it in greater honor, even for this very reason that they reckon its cognition among the most beautiful and most useful parts of philosophy; by whose aid of philosophy, while they scrutinize nature’s secrets, they seem to themselves not only to receive from it admirable delight; but also to enter into the highest favor with its author and artificer; whom they judge, after the custom of other craftsmen, to have set forth the machine of this world to be seen by man—whom alone he made capable of so great a thing—to be looked upon; and therefore to hold dearer the curious and solicitous inspector, and admirer of his work, than him who, like an animal devoid of mind, has neglected so great and so wonderful a spectacle, dull and unmoved.

Utopiensium itaque exercitata litteris ingenia mire ualent ad inuentiones artium, quae faciant aliquid ad commodae uitae compendia. sed duas tamen debent nobis Chalcographorum et faciendae chartae, nec solis tamen nobis sed sibi quoque bonam eius partem. nam cum ostenderemus eis libris chartaceis impressas ab Aldo litteras, et de chartae faciendae materia, ac litteras imprimendi facultate loqueremur; aliquid magis quam explicaremus—neque enim quisquam erat nostrum qui alterutram calleret—ipsi statim acutissime coniecerunt rem; et cum ante pellibus, corticibus, ac papyro tantum scriberent, iam chartam ilico facere, et litteras imprimere tentarunt; quae cum primo non satis procederent, eadem saepius experiendo, breui sunt utrumque consecuti, tantumque effecerunt, ut si essent Graecorum exemplaria librorum; codices deesse non possent.

Thus the wits of the Utopians, exercised by letters, marvelously avail for inventions of the arts which make something toward the compendia of a commodious life. Yet they owe to us two arts, Chalcography (copper-plate printing) and the making of paper—nor to us alone, but to themselves also a good share of it. For when we showed them letters impressed by Aldus in paper books, and spoke about the material for making paper and the faculty of printing letters—feeling out somewhat more than we could explain (for none of us was skilled in either)—they themselves at once most keenly inferred the matter; and whereas before they wrote only on hides, bark, and papyrus, now straightway they attempted to make paper and to print letters; and although at first these did not go quite well, by trying the same things repeatedly they shortly attained both, and accomplished so much that, were there exemplars of Greek books, codices could not be lacking.

at nunc nihil habent amplius, quam a me commemoratum est, id uero quod habent impressis iam libris in multa exemplariorum milia propagauere.

but now they have nothing more than what has been mentioned by me; indeed, what they do have, with the books now printed, they have propagated into many thousands of exemplars.

quisquis eo spectandi gratia uenerit, quem insignis aliqua dos ingenii aut longa peregrinatione usum; multarum cognitio terrarum commendet—quo nomine gratus fuit noster appulsus—pronis animis excipitur. quippe libenter audiunt, quid ubique terrarum geratur. ceterum mercandi gratia non admodum frequenter appellitur.

whoever comes there for the sake of viewing, one whom some distinguished endowment of ingenium or use from long peregrination, the cognition of many lands, commends—under which title our making-landfall was welcome—is received with ready minds. For indeed they gladly listen to what is done everywhere on the earth. But for the sake of merchandising, it is not very frequently called at.

quid enim ferrent; nisi aut ferrum, aut quod quisque referre mallet, aurum argentumue! tum quae ex ipsis exportanda sint, ea consultius putant ab se efferri quam ab aliis illinc peti, quo et exteras undique gentes exploratiores habeant, neque maritimarum rerum usum ac peritiam oblitum eant.

for what indeed would they carry; unless either iron, or what each would rather bring back, gold or silver! then, as for the things that ought to be exported from themselves, they judge it more advisable that they be carried out by themselves than sought from there by others, whereby they may both have foreign nations on all sides more thoroughly under reconnaissance, and not go forgetting the use and expertise of maritime affairs.

[de legibus Utopiensium.]

[on the laws of the Utopians.]

pro seruis neque bello captos habent nisi ab ipsis gesto, neque seruorum filios; neque denique quemquam quem apud alias gentes seruientem possent comparare, sed aut si cuius apud se flagitium in seruitium uertitur, aut quos apud exteras urbes—quod genus multo frequentius est—admissum facinus destinauit supplicio. eorum enim multos, interdum aestimatos uili, saepius etiam gratis impetratos, auferunt.

As for slaves, they have neither those captured in war, unless the war has been waged by themselves, nor the children of slaves; nor, finally, anyone whom they could purchase as serving in bondage among other peoples, but either someone whose disgraceful act among them is converted into servitude, or those whom in foreign cities— a kind much more frequent— a committed crime has destined for punishment. Many of these they carry off, sometimes appraised at a low price, more often even obtained gratis.

haec seruorum genera non in opere solum perpetuo; uerum etiam in uinculis habent; sed suos durius quos eo deploratiores, ac deteriora meritos exempla censent, quod tam praeclara educatione ad uirtutem egregie instructi; contineri tamen ab scelere non potuerint.

these kinds of slaves they keep not only in perpetual labor, but indeed also in chains; but their own they treat more harshly—whom on that account they deem the more deplorable, and to have merited worse exemplary punishments—because, though so illustriously instructed for virtue by so preeminent an education, yet they have not been able to be restrained from crime.

aliud seruorum genus est; cum alterius populi mediastinus quispiam laboriosus ac pauper elegerit apud eos sua sponte seruire. hos honeste tractant ac nisi quod laboris; utpote consuetis, imponitur plusculum non multo minus clementer ac ciues habent; uolentem discedere—quod non saepe fit—neque retinent inuitum, neque inanem dimittunt.

there is another kind of slaves; when some menial of another people, laborious and poor, has elected of his own accord to serve among them. these they treat honorably, and—except that a little more labor, as to those accustomed, is imposed—they hold them not much less clemently than citizens; one willing to depart—which does not often happen—they neither detain unwilling, nor do they send him away empty.

aegrotantes, ut dixi, magno cum adfectu curant, nihilque prorsus omittunt quo sanitati eos, uel medicinae uel uictus obseruatione, restituant. quin insanabili morbo laborantes assidendo, colloquendo, adhibendo demum quae possunt leuamenta solantur. ceterum si non immedicabilis modo morbus sit uerum etiam perpetuo uexet atque discrutiet; tum sacerdotes ac migistratus hortantur hominem, quandoquidem omnibus uitae muniis impar aliis molestus ac sibi grauis morti iam suae superuiuat, ne secum statuat pestem diutius ac luem alere, neue cum tormentum ei uita sit mori dubitet, quin bona spe fretus acerba illa uita uelut carcere atque aculeo uel ipse semet eximat; uel ab aliis eripi se sua uoluntate patiatur; hoc illum cum non commoda, sed supplicium abrupturus morte sit prudenter facturum, quoniam uero sacerdotum in ea re consiliis, id est interpretum dei sit obsecuturus, etiam pie sancteque facturum.

the sick, as I said, they care for with great affection, and they omit absolutely nothing by which they may restore them to health, whether by the art of medicine or by the observance of diet. nay rather, those laboring under an incurable disease they console by sitting with them, by conversing, by applying at last whatever alleviations they can. but if the disease be not only unmedicable, but also perpetually harass and rack; then the priests and the magistrates exhort the man, since, being unequal to all the duties of life, troublesome to others and grievous to himself, he now survives to his own death, that he should not resolve with himself to nourish longer a plague and a pest, nor, since life is a torment to him, hesitate to die; but, relying on good hope, either himself to remove himself from that bitter life as from a prison and a sting, or to allow himself by his own will to be taken away by others; that he, since by death he is about to cut short not advantages but a punishment, will act prudently, and that, since in this matter he will be obedient to the counsels of the priests, that is, the interpreters of God, he will also act piously and holily.

haec quibus persuaserint; aut inedia sponte uitam finiunt, aut sopiti sine mortis sensu soluuntur. inuitum uero neminem tollunt nec officii erga eum quicquam imminuunt persuasos hoc pacto defungi honorificum. alioqui qui mortem sibi consciuerit causa non probata sacerdotibus et senatui; hunc neque terra neque igne dignantur; sed in paludem aliquam turpiter insepultus abiicitur.

Those whom they have persuaded to this: either by fasting they of their own accord finish life, or, lulled to sleep, they are released without any sense of death. But they remove no one unwilling, nor do they diminish anything of the duty owed to him; they consider it honorable that those persuaded should end in this fashion. Otherwise, whoever has taken death upon himself, his cause not approved by the priests and the senate, him they deem worthy neither of earth nor of fire; rather, he is disgracefully cast out unburied into some marsh.

femina non ante annum duodeuicesimum nubit. mas non nisi expletis quattuor etiam amplius. ante coniugium, mas aut femina si conuincatur furtiuae libidinis, grauiter in eum eamue animaduertitur; coniugioque illis in totum interdicitur, nisi uenia principis noxam remiserit, sed et pater et mater familias cuius in domo admissum flagitium est; tamquam suas partes parum diligenter tutati magnae obiacent infamiae; id facinus ideo tam seuere uindicant, quod futurum prospiciunt, ut rari in coniugalem amorem coalescerent; in quo aetatem omnem cum uno uideant exigendam; et perferendas insuper quas ea res affert molestias, nisi a uago concubitu diligenter arceantur.

a woman does not marry before her eighteenth year. a male not unless, with four more completed as well. before marriage, if a male or a female is convicted of furtive libido, heavy punishment is inflicted on him or her; and marriage is entirely interdicted to them, unless the prince’s pardon remits the fault; and the father and mother of the household in whose house the scandal was admitted lie under great infamy, as though they had too carelessly guarded their own charge. they vindicate that deed therefore so severely, because they foresee that otherwise few would coalesce into conjugal love; in which they see their whole age must be spent with one person; and, moreover, the annoyances which that matter brings must be endured, unless they are diligently kept away from wandering concubitus.

porro in deligendis coniugibus ineptissimum ritum—uti nobis uisum est—adprimeque ridiculum, illi serio ac seuere obseruant. mulierem enim seu uirgo seu uidua sit, grauis et honesta matrona proco nudam exhibet, ac probus aliquis uir uicissim nudum puellae procum sistit.

furthermore, in choosing spouses, a most inept rite—as it seemed to us—and especially ridiculous, they observe seriously and strictly. For a woman, whether she be a maiden or a widow, a grave and honorable matron presents her naked to the suitor; and in turn some upright man presents the suitor, naked, to the girl.

hunc morem cum uelut ineptum ridentes improbaremus, illi contra ceterarum omnium gentium insignem demirari stultitiam, qui cum in equuleo comparando, ubi de paucis agitur nummis, tam cauti sint, ut quamuis fere nudum nisi detracta sella tamen, omnibusque reuulsis ephippiis recusent emere, ne sub illis operculis hulcus aliquod delitesceret, in deligenda coniuge, qua ex re aut uoluptas, aut nausea sit totam per uitam comitatura, tam negligenter agant, ut reliquo corpore uestibus obuoluto, totam mulierem uix ab unius palmae spatio—nihil enim praeter uultum uisitur—aestiment adiungantque sibi non absque magno—si quid offendat postea—male cohaerendi periculo. nam neque omnes tam sapientes sunt ut solos mores respiciant, et in ipsorum quoque saepientum coniugiis, ad animi uirtutes nonnihil additamenti corporis etiam dotes adiiciunt, certe tam foeda deformitas, latere sub illis potest inuolucris ut alienare prorsus animum ab uxore queat, cum corpore iam seiungi non liceat; qualis deformitas si quo casu contingat post contractas nuptias, suam quisque sortem necesse est ferat, ante uero ne quis capiatur insidiis, legibus caueri debet.

when we, laughing, were disapproving this custom as inept, they on the contrary were marveling at the conspicuous stupidity of all the other nations, who, when in buying a horse, where the matter concerns a few coins, are so cautious that, although it is almost naked, yet unless the saddle has been removed, and with all the trappings torn off, they refuse to buy, lest some ulcer lurk under those coverings, in choosing a spouse, from which affair either pleasure or nausea is going to accompany one for the whole life, they act so negligently that, with the rest of the body wrapped in garments, they assess the whole woman scarcely from the space of a single palm—for nothing is seen except the face—and they join her to themselves not without great—if something should offend afterwards—danger of ill-cohering. for neither are all so wise as to regard only morals, and even in the marriages of the wise themselves, to the virtues of the mind they also add some increment of the body’s endowments; assuredly such foul deformity can lie hidden under those wrappings as to be able utterly to alienate the mind from the wife, when it is now not permitted to be sundered in body; such a deformity, if by some chance it should befall after the nuptials have been contracted, each man must needs bear his lot; but beforehand, lest anyone be taken by snares, provision ought to be made by the laws.

idque tanto maiore studio fuit curandum quod et soli illarum orbis plagarum singulis sunt contenti coniugibus; et matrimonium ibi haud saepe aliter, quam morte soluitur; nisi adulterium; in causa fuerit, aut morum non ferenda molestia. nempe alterutri sic offenso facta ab senatu coniugis mutandi uenia; alter infamem simul ac caelibem perpetuo uitam ducit. alioquin inuitam coniugem, cuius nulla sit noxa repudiare, quod corporis obtigerit calamitas, id uero nullo pacto ferunt; nam et crudele iudicant, tum quemquam deseri, cum maxime eget solatio, et senectuti, cum et morbos afferat et morbus ipsa sit; incertam atque infirmam fidem fore.

and this had to be cared for with so much the greater zeal, because they alone of those tracts of the world are content with single spouses apiece; and marriage there is not often dissolved otherwise than by death; unless adultery has been the cause, or a not-to-be-borne annoyance of morals. namely, if either party is thus offended, leave from the senate to change spouse is granted; the other leads a life forever both infamous and celibate. otherwise, to repudiate an unwilling spouse against whom there is no fault, because a calamity of the body has befallen, this they in no way endure; for they both judge it cruel that anyone should be deserted when he most of all needs consolation, and that to old age, since it both brings diseases and is itself a disease, faith would be uncertain and infirm.

ceterum accidit interdum ut cum non satis inter se coniugum conueniant mores repertis utrique aliis quibuscum sperent se suauius esse uicturos amborum sponte separati; noua matrimonia contrahant, haud absque senatus authoritate tamen, qui nisi causa per se atque uxores suas diligenter cognita; diuortia non admittit. immo ne sic quidem, facile. quod rem minime utilem sciunt firmandae coniugum caritati, facilem nouarum nuptiarum spem esse propositam.

however, it sometimes happens that, when the spouses’ mores do not sufficiently agree between themselves, each having found others with whom they hope they will live more sweetly, the two by mutual will separate; they contract new matrimonies, not without the authority of the senate, however, which does not admit divorces unless, after the cause has been diligently ascertained by itself and by examination of the husbands and their wives. indeed, not even thus, easily. for they know that the easy prospect of new nuptials set forth is a thing least useful for the strengthening of conjugal charity.

temeratores coniugii grauissima seruitute plectuntur, et si neuter erat caelebs, iniuriam passi—uelint modo—repudiatis adulteris coniugio inter se ipsi iunguntur alioquin quibus uidebitur. at si laesorum alteruter erga tam male merentem coniugem; in amore persistat; tamen uti coniugii lege non prohibetur si uelit in opera damnatum sequi; acciditque interdum ut alterius poenitentia alterius officiosa sedulitas miserationem commouens principi, libertatem rursus impetret. ceterum ad scelus iam relapso nex infligitur.

violators of marriage are punished with the very gravest servitude, and if neither was single, the wronged parties—if only they wish—having repudiated the adulterers, are themselves joined in marriage to each other, otherwise to whom it shall seem good. But if either of the injured persists in love toward a spouse who has so ill deserved, nevertheless he is not prohibited by the law of marriage, if he wishes, to follow one condemned to labor; and it sometimes happens that the penitence of the one and the dutiful assiduity of the other, moving the prince to compassion, obtains liberty again. However, upon one who has now relapsed into crime, the death‑penalty is inflicted.

ceteris facinoribus nullam certam poenam lex ulla praestituit; sed ut quodque atrox, aut contra uisum est; ita supplicium senatus decernit. uxores mariti castigant, et parentes liberos; nisi quid tam ingens admiserint; ut id publice puniri, morum intersit. sed fere grauissima quaeque scelera seruitutis incommodo puniuntur, id siquidem et sceleratis non minus triste; et reipublicae magis commodum arbitrantur, quam si mactare noxios et protinus amoliri festinent.

for other crimes no law prescribes any fixed penalty; but according as each seems atrocious, or the contrary; thus the senate decrees the punishment. husbands chastise wives, and parents their children; unless they have committed something so enormous; that it is a matter of public morals that it be punished publicly. but generally the gravest crimes are punished by the inconvenience of servitude, for this indeed they judge to be no less grievous for the criminals; and more advantageous to the commonwealth, than if they should hasten to slaughter the guilty and remove them forthwith.

nam et labore quam nece magis prosunt, et exemplo diutius alios ab simili flagitio deterrent. quod si sic habiti rebellent atque recalcitrent, tum demum uelut indomitae beluae. quos cohercere carcer et catena non potest, trucidantur.

for they profit more by labor than by killing, and by example they deter others for a longer time from a similar flagitious offense. But if, being thus kept, they rebel and recalcitrate, then at last, like untamed beasts, those whom prison and chain cannot coerce are slaughtered.

at patientibus non adimitur omnis omnino spes; quippe longis domiti malis si eam poenitentiam prae se ferant, quae peccatum testetur magis eis displicere quam poenam, principis interdum praerogatiua; interdum suffragiis populi, aut mitigatur seruitus aut remittitur.

but for those who are patient, not every hope is altogether taken away; indeed, if, subdued by long evils, they display that penitence which testifies that the sin displeases them more than the punishment, sometimes by the prerogative of the prince, sometimes by the suffrages of the people, their servitude is either mitigated or remitted.

sollicitasse ad stuprum nihilo minus quam stuprasse periculi est. in omni siquidem flagitio certum destinatumque conatum aequant facto. neque enim id quod defuit ei putant prodesse debere; per quem non stetit; quominus nihil defuerit.

to have solicited to rape is no less a peril than to have raped. for indeed in every outrage they equal a definite and purposed attempt with the deed. nor do they think that what was lacking ought to benefit him, since it was not through him that anything was lacking.

moriones in delitiis habentur, quos ut affecisse contumelia magno in probro est, ita uoluptatem ab stultitia capere non uetant. siquidem id morionibus ipsis maximo esse bono censent, cuius qui tam seuerus ac tristis est ut nullum neque factum neque dictum rideat ei tutandum non credunt, ueriti ne non satis indulgenter curetur ab eo, cui non modo nulli usui, sed ne oblectamento quidem—qua sola dote ualet—futurus esset.

Jesters are kept as delights; while to have inflicted contumely upon them is held a great disgrace, they do not forbid taking pleasure from their stupidity. For they judge that to be of the greatest good to the jesters themselves; and they do not think he should be entrusted with their care who is so severe and gloomy as to laugh at no deed nor word, fearing lest he would not be tended with sufficient indulgence by one to whom they would be not only of no use, but not even for entertainment—by which sole endowment he has any value.

irridere deformem aut mutilum, turpe ac deforme non ei, qui ridetur, habetur, sed irrisori qui cuiquam quod in eius potestate non erat ut fugeret, id uitii loco stulte exprobret.

to mock a deformed or maimed person is held shameful and deformed not for the one who is mocked, but for the mocker, who foolishly reproaches as a vice in anyone that which it was not in his power to avoid.

ut enim formam naturalem non tueri segnis atque inertis ducunt, sic adiumentum ab fucis quaerere infamis apud illos insolentia est. usu enim ipso sentiunt, quam non ullum formae decus uxores aeque ac morum probitas et reuerentia commendet maritis. nam ut forma nonnulli sola capiuntur, ita nemo nisi uirtute atque obsequio retinetur.

for just as they reckon it the mark of a sluggish and inert person not to preserve one’s natural form, so to seek an aid from dyes/cosmetics is among them a notorious insolence. for by experience itself they perceive that no ornament of form commends wives to their husbands so much as moral probity of manners and reverence. for as some are captured by beauty alone, so no one is retained except by virtue and deference.

non poenis tantum, deterrent a flagitiis, sed propositis quoque honoribus ad uirtutes inuitant, ideoque statuas uiris insignibus et de republica praeclare meritis in foro collocant, in rerum bene gestarum memoriam, simul ut ipsorum posteris maiorum suorum gloria calcar et incitamentum ad uirtutem sit. qui magistratum ullum ambierit exspes omnium redditur.

they not only deter from flagitious acts by penalties, but also, by honors set forth, invite to virtues; and therefore they place statues of eminent men, who have deserved excellently of the commonwealth, in the forum, in memory of deeds well done, and at the same time that for their descendants the glory of their ancestors may be a spur and incitement to virtue. whoever shall have canvassed for any magistracy is rendered hopeless of all.

conuiuunt amabiliter, quippe nec magistratus ullus insolens, aut terribilis est; patres appellantur; et exhibent. iisdem defertur; ut debet; ab uolentibus honor; non ab inuitis exigitur. ne principem quidem ipsum, uestis aut diadema, sed gestatus frumenti manipulus discernit, ut pontificis insigne est praelatus cereus.

they live together amiably, since no magistrate is insolent or terrifying; they are called fathers; and they display themselves as such. to these same men honor is paid; as it ought; by the willing; it is not exacted from the unwilling. not even the prince himself is distinguished by garment or diadem, but by a sheaf of grain borne before him, just as the insignia of the pontiff is a wax taper carried in front.

leges habent perquam paucas. sufficiunt enim sic institutis paucissimae. quin hoc in primis apud alios improbant populos, quod legum interpretumque uolumina, non infinita sufficiunt.

they have very few laws. for men so constituted, very few indeed suffice. nay, this above all they disapprove among other peoples: that volumes of laws and of interpreters, unless infinite, do not suffice.

ipsi uero censent iniquissimum; ullos homines his obligari legibus; quae aut numerosiores sint, quam ut perlegi queant; aut obscuriores quam ut a quouis possint intelligi.

they themselves judge it most iniquitous that any men be bound by laws which are either more numerous than can be read through, or more obscure than that they can be understood by anyone.

porro causidicos; qui causas tractent callide; ac leges uafre disputent; prorsus omnes excludunt. censent enim ex usu esse; ut suam quisque causam agat; eademque referat iudici; quae narraturus patrono fuerat. sic et minus ambagum fore et facilius elici ueritatem.

furthermore, they utterly exclude all advocates; who handle causes cunningly; and dispute the laws slyly. for they judge it to be to the advantage; that each person plead his own cause; and report to the judge the same things; which he had been about to narrate to his patron (advocate). thus both there will be fewer circumlocutions and the truth will more easily be elicited.

dum eo dicente; quem nullus patronus fucum docuit; iudex solerter expendit singula; et contra uersutorum calumnias simplicioribus ingeniis opitulatur. haec apud alias gentes; in tanto perplexissimarum aceruo legum difficile est obseruari.

while he is speaking; whom no patron has taught deceit; the judge skillfully weighs each particular; and he assists simpler wits against the calumnies of the crafty. these things among other peoples; amid so great a heap of the most perplexing laws, are difficult to observe.

ceterum apud eos unusquisque est legis peritus. nam et sunt—ut dixi—paucissimae; et interpretationum praeterea ut quaeque est maxime crassa; ita maxime aequam censent. nempe cum omnes leges—inquiunt—ea tantum causa promulgentur; ut ab iis quisque sui commonefiat officii; subtilior interpretatio paucissimos admonet—pauci enim sunt qui assequantur—cum interim simplicior ac magis obuius legum sensus; omnibus in aperto sit; alioquin quod ad uulgus attinet; cuius et maximus est numerus et maxime eget admonitu; quid referat utrum legem omnino non condas; an conditam in talem interpreteris sententiam; quam nisi magno ingenio et longa disputatione nemo possit eruere; ad quam inuestigandam neque crassum uulgi iudicium queat attingere; neque uita in comparando uictu occupata sufficere.

Moreover, among them each person is skilled in law. For both the laws are—as I said—very few; and, besides, of interpretations, the more coarse they are, the more equitable they deem them. For, since all laws—they say—are promulgated for this one reason only; that each person may be reminded by them of his duty; a subtler interpretation admonishes very few—for few there are who grasp it—whereas the simpler and more obvious sense of the laws; is in the open for all; otherwise, as regards the common people, whose number is the greatest and who most of all need admonition; what difference does it make whether you do not enact a law at all; or interpret an enacted one into such a meaning that no one can elicit unless by great ingenuity and long disputation; to investigate which neither the coarse judgment of the crowd can attain; nor can a life occupied in procuring a livelihood suffice.

iis eorum uirtutibus incitati finitimi; qui quidem liberi sunt et suae spontis—multos enim ipsi iam olim tyrannide liberauerunt—magistratus sibi; ab illis alii quotannis; alii in lustrum impetrant; quos defunctos imperio, cum honore ac laude reducunt; nouosque secum rursus in patriam reuehunt. atque hi quidem populi optime profecto ac saluberrime reipublicae suae consulunt; cuius et salus et pernicies, cum ab moribus magistratuum pendeat; quos nam potuissent elegisse prudentius, quam qui neque ullo pretio queant ab honesto deduci—utpote quod breui sit remigraturis inutile—ignoti ciuibus, aut prauo cuiusquam studio aut simultate flecti! quae duo mala, affectus atque auaritiae, sicubi incubuere iudiciis, illico iustitiam omnem, fortissimum reipublicae neruum dissoluunt.

stirred by their virtues, the neighboring peoples; who indeed are free and of their own volition—for they themselves long ago freed many from tyranny—obtain magistrates for themselves from them; some every year; others for a five‑year lustrum; whom, when they have finished their command, they lead back with honor and praise; and they carry new ones with them back again to their homeland. And these peoples, assuredly, consult in the best and most healthful way for their republic; since both its safety and its ruin depend upon the morals of magistrates; whom, pray, could they have chosen more prudently than men who can by no price be drawn away from the honest—seeing that for those who will shortly return, anything else is unprofitable—men unknown to the citizens, not to be bent by anyone’s depraved favoritism or enmity! These two evils, partiality and avarice, whenever they press upon judgments, immediately dissolve all justice, the stoutest sinew of the republic.

hos Utopiani populos, quibus qui imperent ab ipsis petuntur, appellant socios, ceteros quos beneficiis auxerunt amicos uocant.

The Utopians call these peoples, for whom those who are to rule are sought from themselves, allies; the others whom they have augmented by benefits they call friends.

foedera quae reliquae inter se gentes toties ineunt; frangunt ac renouant, ipsi nulla cum gente feriunt. quorsum enim foedus inquiunt; quasi non hominem homini satis natura conciliet quam qui contempserit, hunc uerba scilicet putes curaturum! in hanc sententiam eo uel maxime trahuntur, quod in illis terrarum plagis, foedera pactaque principum solent parum bona fide seruari.

the treaties which the remaining nations so often enter among themselves; they break and renew; they themselves make none with any nation. ‘For to what end a treaty,’ they say; ‘as though nature did not sufficiently conciliate man to man; he who has despised that—do you suppose he will care for words!’ To this opinion they are drawn all the more because in those regions of the world the treaties and pacts of princes are wont to be kept with too little good faith.

etenim in Europa idque his potissimum partibus quas Christi fides et religio possidet, sancta est et inuiolabilis ubique maiestas foederum, partim ipsa iustitia et bonitate principum, partim summorum reuerentia metuque pontificum, qui ut nihil in se recipiunt ipsi; quod non religiosissime praestant. ita ceteros omnes principes iubent, ut pollicitis omnibus modis immorentur, tergiuersantes uero pastorali censura et seueritate compellunt. merito sane censent turpissimam rem uideri si illorum foederibus absit fides; qui peculiari nomine fideles appellantur.

For indeed in Europe—and especially in those parts which the faith and religion of Christ possess—the majesty of treaties is everywhere sacred and inviolable, partly by the very justice and goodness of princes, partly by the reverence and fear of the supreme pontiffs, who take upon themselves nothing which they do not most religiously fulfill. Thus they command all the other princes to dwell upon their promises in every way, while those who prevaricate they compel by pastoral censure and severity. With good reason, surely, they judge it to seem a most disgraceful thing if fidelity be absent from the treaties of those who by a peculiar name are called the Faithful.

at in illo nouo orbe terrarum, quem circulus aequator uix tam longe ab hoc nostro orbe semouet; quam uita moresque dissident; foederum nulla fiducia est; quorum ut quodque plurimis ac sanctissimis ceremoniis innodatum fuerit; ita citissime soluitur inuenta facile in uerbis calumnia, quae sic interim de industria dictant callide; ut numquam tam firmis adstringi uinculis queant; quin elabantur aliqua, foedusque et fidem pariter eludant. quam uafriciem, immo quam fraudem dolumque; si priuatorum deprehenderent interuenisse contractui; magno supercilio rem sacrilegam; et furca dignam clamitarent, hi nimirum ipsi; qui eius consilii principibus dati; semet gloriantur quo authores. fit ut iustitia tota uideatur, aut non nisi plebea uirtus et humilis, quaeque longo interuallo subsidat infra regale fastigium; aut uti saltem duae sint quarum altera uulgus deceat, pedestris et humirepa; neue usquam septa transilire queat, multis undique restricta uinculis, altera principum uirtus, quae sicuti sit quam illa popularis augustior; sic est etiam longo interuallo liberior, ut cui nihil non liceat nisi quod non libeat.

but in that new world of lands, which the circle of the equator scarcely removes so far from our own world; how far life and morals disagree; there is no trust in treaties; which, although each one has been knotted with very many and most sacred ceremonies; yet it is dissolved very swiftly, a calumny easily found in the words having been devised, which meanwhile they dictate thus cleverly on purpose; so that they can never be bound by bonds so firm; but that some loopholes slip out, and they elude both the treaty and good faith alike. what knavery, nay rather what fraud and deceit; if they had detected it to have intervened in a private contract; with great superciliousness they would shout that the thing was sacrilegious; and worthy of the gallows, these very men, to be sure; who are given to princes as of that counsel; glory themselves as its authors. it comes about that all justice seems either to be nothing but plebeian and humble virtue, which by a long interval sinks below the royal summit; or at least that there are two virtues, of which the one befits the crowd, pedestrian and ground-creeping; and may nowhere be able to leap across the enclosures, being restricted on every side by many bonds, the other the virtue of princes, which, just as it is more august than that popular one; so also by a long interval it is freer, so that to it nothing is not permitted except what it does not desire.

hos mores ut dixi principum; illic foedera tam male seruantium puto in causa esse; ne ulla feriant Utopienses; mutaturi fortasse sententiam si hic uiuerent.

these customs, as I said, of princes there so badly keeping treaties, I think to be the cause; that the Utopians strike no treaties; perhaps they would change their opinion if they lived here.

quamquam illis uidetur ut optime seruentur; male tamen inoleuisse foederis omnino sanciendi consuetudinem qua fit, ut—perinde ac si populum populo; quos exiguo spacio, collis tantum aut riuus discriminat; nulla naturae societas copularet—hostes atque inimicos inuicem sese natos putent, meritoque in mutuam grassari perniciem, nisi foedera prohibeant, quin his ipsis quoque initis, non amicitiam coalescere, sed manere praedandi licentiam, quatenus per imprudentiam dictandi foederis, nihil quod prohibeat satis caute comprehensum in pactis est. at illi contra censent, neminem pro inimico habendum, a quo nihil iniuriae profectum est. naturae consortium, foederis uice esse, et satius, ualentiusque homines inuicem beneuolentia, quam pactis, animo quam uerbis connecti.

although to them it seems that they are thereby best observed; yet the custom of altogether sanctioning a treaty has badly taken root, whereby it comes about that—just as if no fellowship of nature were linking people to people, whom a scant interval, a hill only or a brook, separates—they suppose themselves born as foes and enemies to one another, and think it rightful to press on to mutual perdition unless treaties forbid; and even when these are entered, not that friendship coheres, but that a license for predation remains, in so far as, through the imprudence of dictating the treaty, nothing that forbids has been included in the pacts with sufficient caution. but they, on the contrary, judge that no one is to be held an enemy from whom no injury has proceeded. the consortium of nature is in place of a treaty, and it is better and more valiant that men be connected to one another by benevolence rather than by pacts, by spirit rather than by words.

[de re militari.]

[on military affairs.]

bellum utpote rem plane beluinam, nec ulli tamen beluarum formae in tam assiduo, atque homini est usu, summopere abominantur, contraque morem gentium ferme omnium nihil aeque ducunt inglorium, atque petitam e bello gloriam. eoque licet assidue militari sese disciplina exerceant, neque id uiri modo, sed feminae quoque, statis diebus, ne ad bellum sint, cum exigat usus, inhabiles; non temere capessunt tamen, nisi quo aut suos fines tueantur, aut amicorum terris, infusos hostes propulsent, aut populum quempiam tyrannide pressum, miserati,—quod humanitatis gratia faciunt—suis uiribus tyranni iugo, et seruitute liberent. quamquam auxilium gratificantur amicis non semper quidem, quo se defendant, sed interdum quoque illatas retalient, atque ulciscantur iniurias.

they abominate war as a plainly bestial thing—and yet to no species of beasts is it in such continual use as it is to man—and, contrary to the custom of almost all nations, they consider nothing equally inglorious as glory sought from war. And therefore, although they constantly exercise themselves in military discipline, and not men only, but women also, on stated days, lest they be unfit for war when need requires; nevertheless they do not rashly undertake it, except either to protect their own boundaries, or to repulse enemies poured into the lands of friends, or, having pitied some people pressed by tyranny—which they do for the sake of humanity—to free by their own forces from the yoke of the tyrant and from servitude. Although they bestow aid upon friends, not always indeed that they may defend themselves, but sometimes also that they may retaliate and avenge injuries inflicted.

uerum id ita demum faciunt, si re adhuc integra consulantur ipsi, et probata causa, repetitis ac non redditis rebus belli authores inferendi sint, quod non tunc solum decernunt, quoties hostili incursu abacta est praeda, uerum tum quoque multo infestius, cum eorum negotiatores usquam gentium, uel iniquarum praetextu legum, uel sinistra deriuatione bonarum, iniustam subeunt, iustitiae colore, calumniam.

but they do this only then, if they themselves are consulted while the matter is still intact, and, with the cause approved, after demanding back their goods and not having them returned, they be the authors of bringing war; which they decree not then only, whenever booty has been driven off by a hostile incursion, but then also much more hostilely, when their merchants anywhere among the nations, either under the pretext of unjust laws, or by a sinister derivation of good ones, undergo an unjust calumny under the color of justice.

nec alia fuit eius origo belli, quod pro Nephelogetis aduersus Alaopolitas, paulo ante nostram memoriam, Utopienses gessere, quam apud Alaopolitas Nephelogetarum mercatoribus illata praetextu iuris—ut uisum est ipsis—iniuria certe, siue illud ius, siue ea iniuria fuit, bello tam atroci est uindicata, cum ad proprias utriusque partis uires, odiaque circumiectarum etiam gentium studia atque opes adiungerentur, ut florentissimis populorum aliis concussis, aliis uehementer afflictis, orientia ex malis mala, Alaopolitarum seruitus demum, ac deditio finierit, qua in Nephelogetarum—neque enim sibi certabant Utopienses—potestatem concessere, gentis, florentibus Alaopolitarum rebus, haud quaquam cum illis conferendae.

nor was there any other origin of that war which the Utopians waged, on behalf of the Nephelogetae against the Alaopolitae, a little before our remembrance, than the injury inflicted at the Alaopolitae upon the Nephelogetae’s merchants under the pretext of law—as it seemed to them—an injury certainly, whether that was law or that was injury; it was vindicated by so atrocious a war, when to the proper forces of each party there were added also the hatreds of the surrounding nations, their zeal and resources, so that, with some of the most flourishing peoples shaken, others vehemently afflicted, evils arising from evils, at last the servitude and surrender of the Alaopolitae brought it to an end, whereby they passed into the power of the Nephelogetae—for the Utopians were not contending for themselves—a nation by no means to be compared with them when the affairs of the Alaopolitae were flourishing.

tam acriter Utopienses amicorum, etiam in pecuniis, iniuriam persequuntur, suas ipsorum, non item, qui sicubi circumscripti bonis excidant, modo corporibus absit uis hactenus irascuntur, uti quoad satisfactio fiat, eius commercio gentis abstineant. non quod minoris sibi curae ciues, quam socii sint, sed horum tamen pecuniam intercipi, aegrius quam suam ferunt, propterea quod amicorum negotiatores, quoniam de suo perdunt priuato, graue uulnus ex iactura sentiunt. at ipsorum ciuibus nihil nisi de publica perit.

So keenly do the Utopians pursue the injury of their friends, even in monies—whereas their own, not so—that, if anywhere they are overreached and despoiled of goods, provided violence be absent from their bodies, they are angry only thus far: that, until satisfaction is made, they abstain from commerce with that people. Not because citizens are of less care to them than allies; but they bear more grievously the interception of the allies’ money than of their own, for their friends’ negotiators, since they lose from their own private stock, feel a grave wound from the loss, whereas for their own citizens nothing perishes save from the public.

praeterea quod abundabat domi, ac ueluti supererat, alioqui non emittendum foras. quo fit uti intertrimentum citra cuiusquam sensum accidat. quo circa nimis crudele censent id damnum multorum ulcisci mortibus, cuius damni incommodum nemo ipsorum, aut uita, aut uictu persentiscat.

besides, because it abounded at home and, as it were, was superfluous—otherwise not to be sent abroad. hence it comes about that the wastage occurs without anyone’s perception. wherefore they deem it too cruel to avenge that loss with the deaths of many, the incommodity of which loss none of them perceives either in life or in victuals.

ceterum si quis suorum usquam per iniuriam debilitetur, aut occidat, siue id publico factum consilio, siue priuato sit, per legatos re comperta, nisi deditis noxiis placari non possunt, quin ilico bellum denuncient. noxae deditos, aut morte, aut seruitio puniunt.

However, if any of their own anywhere is by injury maimed or slain, whether that has been done by public counsel or by private, after the matter has been ascertained through legates they cannot be placated unless the guilty are surrendered; rather, they immediately declare war. Those surrendered for the offense they punish either with death or with servitude.

cruentae uictoriae non piget modo eos, sed pudet quoque, reputantes inscitiam esse quamlibet pretiosas merces nimio emisse, arte doloque uictos, oppressos hostes impendio gloriantur, triumphumque ob eam rem publicitus agunt, et uelut re strenue gesta, tropheum erigunt. tunc enim demum uiriliter sese iactant, et cum uirtute gessisse, quoties ita uicerint, quomodo nullum animal praeter hominem potuit, id est ingenii uiribus. nam corporis inquiunt ursi, leones, apri, lupi, canes, ceteraeque beluae dimicant, quarum ut pleraeque nos robore ac ferocia uincunt, ita cunctae ingenio, et ratione superantur.

bloody victories not only irk them, but shame them as well, reckoning it ignorance to have bought however precious wares at too great a price; enemies conquered by art and by guile, overpowered foes, they glory in exceedingly, and they celebrate a triumph publicly for that reason, and, as for a matter stoutly carried through, they set up a trophy. For then at length they vaunt themselves manfully, and that they have acted with virtue, whenever they have conquered thus, in the way no animal except man has been able—that is, by the forces of ingenuity. For, they say, bears, lions, boars, wolves, dogs, and the other beasts fight with the body; and though many of them surpass us in strength and ferocity, yet all are overcome by wit and by reason.

hoc unum illi in bello spectant, uti id obtineant, quod si fuissent ante consecuti, bellum non fuerant illaturi. aut si id res uetet, tam seueram ab his uindictam expetunt, quibus factum imputant, ut idem ausuros in posterum terror absterreat. hos propositi sui scopos destinant, quos mature petunt, at ita tamen, uti prior uitandi periculi cura, quam laudis aut famae consequendae sit.

this one thing they look to in war: to obtain that which, if they had achieved it earlier, they would not have brought war. or, if the situation forbids that, they demand from those on whom they impute the deed so severe a vengeance that fear may deter them from daring the same in the future. these they designate as the targets of their purpose, whom they promptly pursue; yet in such a way that the care of avoiding danger is prior to that of acquiring praise or fame.

itaque protinus indicto bello, schedulas ipsorum publico signo roboratas, locis maxime conspicuis hosticae terrae, clam uno tempore multas appendi procurant, quibus ingentia pollicentur praemia, si quis principem aduersarium sustulerit, deinde minora quamquam illa quoque egregia decernunt, pro singulis eorum capitibus, quorum nomina in iisdem litteris proscribunt, ii sunt quos secundum principem ipsum, authores initi aduersus se consilii ducunt. quicquid percussori praefiniunt, hoc geminant ei, qui uiuum e proscriptis aliquem ad se perduxerit, cum ipsos quoque proscriptos, praemiis iisdem, addita etiam impunitate, contra socios inuitant. itaque fit celeriter, ut et ceteros mortales suspectos habeant, et sibi inuicem ipsi, neque fidentes satis, neque fidi sint, maximoque in metu et non minore periculo uersentur.

Therefore, immediately on a war being proclaimed, they procure that many of their placards, validated by a public seal, be posted at the most conspicuous places of the enemy’s land, secretly and all at the same time; in these they promise enormous rewards, if anyone shall have removed the opposing leader; then they decree smaller—though those too outstanding—rewards for each of the heads of those whose names they proscribe in the same letters; these are those whom, next to the leader himself, they consider the authors of the counsel first initiated against themselves. Whatever they fix for the assassin, this they double for him who shall have brought one of the proscribed to them alive, while they also invite the proscribed themselves, by the same rewards, with impunity added, against their associates. And so it quickly comes about that they both hold the rest of mortals suspect, and also themselves toward one another, being neither sufficiently trusting nor trustworthy, and they live in very great fear and in no lesser peril.

nam saepenumero constat euenisse, uti bona pars eorum et princeps in primis ipse ab his proderentur, in quibus maximam spem reposuerunt.

for it has very often been established to have happened, that a good part of them, and the chief himself, first and foremost, were betrayed by those in whom they had placed the greatest hope.

tam facile quoduis in facinus impellunt munera, quibus illi nullum exhibent modum. sed memores in quantum discrimen hortantur, operam dant, uti periculi magnitudo beneficiorum mole compensetur. eoque non immensam modo auri uim, sed praedia quoque magni reditus in locis apud amicos tutissimis, propria ac perpetua pollicitantur, et summa cum fide praestant.

so easily do gifts impel anyone to any crime, to which they set no measure. But, mindful into how great a peril they are urging them, they take care that the magnitude of the danger be compensated by the mass of benefits. And to that end they promise not only an immense mass of gold, but also estates of great revenue in places most secure among friends, as their own and perpetual, and they provide them with the utmost good faith.

hunc licitandi mercandique hostis morem, apud alios improbatum, uelut animi degeneris crudele facinus illi magnae sibi laudi ducunt, tamquam prudentes, qui maximis hoc pacto bellis, sine ullo prorsus proelio defungantur, humanique ac misericordes etiam, qui paucorum nece noxiorum, numerosas innocentium uitas redimant, qui pugnando fuerint occubituri. partim e suis, partim ex hostibus, quorum turbam, uulgusque non minus ferme quam suos miserantur, gnari non sua sponte eos bellum capessere, sed principum ad id furiis agi.

this manner of bidding and bargaining for the enemy, disapproved among others as a cruel deed of a degenerate spirit, they reckon to themselves for great praise, as prudent men who in this fashion discharge the greatest wars without any battle at all, and as humane and merciful too, who by the death of a few guilty persons redeem the numerous lives of the innocent, who by fighting would have fallen—partly of their own, partly of the enemy—whose throng and common folk they pity almost no less than their own, knowing that they take up war not of their own accord, but are driven to it by the frenzies of princes.

si res hoc pacto non procedat, dissidiorum semina iaciunt, aluntque fratre principis, aut aliquo e nobilibus in spem potiundi regni perducto. si factiones internae languerint, finitimas hostibus gentes excitant, committuntque, eruto uetusto quopiam titulo, quales numquam regibus desunt, suas ad bellum opes polliciti, pecuniam affluenter suggerunt. ciues parcissime, quos tam unice habent caros, tantique sese mutuo faciunt, ut neminem sint e suis cum aduerso principe libenter commutaturi.

if matters do not proceed in this fashion, they sow the seeds of dissensions, and they foster them by having the prince’s brother, or some one of the nobles, brought into the hope of obtaining possession of the kingdom. if the internal factions have languished, they rouse the neighboring nations against the enemy and set them at odds, having disinterred some ancient claim, of the sort that never fail kings; having pledged their resources for war, they supply money in abundance. they spare their citizens most sparingly, whom they hold so uniquely dear, and they so highly value one another, that they would not willingly exchange any one of their own for the opposing prince.

at aurum, argentumque quoniam unum hunc in usum omne seruant, haud grauatim erogant, utpote non minus commode uicturi, etiam si uniuersum impenderent.

but gold and silver, since they reserve all of it for this one use, they disburse without reluctance, inasmuch as they would live no less commodiously even if they expended the whole.

quin praeter domesticas diuitias est illis foris quoque infinitus thesaurus, quo plurimae gentes, uti ante dixi, in ipsorum aere sunt. ita milites undique conductos ad bellum mittunt, praesertim ex Zapoletis.

Indeed, besides domestic riches, they have abroad as well an infinite treasure, by which very many nations, as I said before, are in their pay. Thus they send to war soldiers hired from everywhere, especially from the Zapoletes.

hic populus quingentis passuum milibus ab Utopia distat, orientem solem uersus, horridus, agrestis, ferox, siluas montesque asperos, quibus sunt innutriti, praeferunt. dura gens, aestus, frigoris, et laboris patiens, delitiarum expers omnium, neque agriculturae studens, et cum aedificiorum tum uestitus indiligens, pecorum dumtaxat curam habent. magna ex parte uenatu et raptu uiuunt.

this people is 500 miles distant from Utopia, toward the rising sun; rugged, rustic, fierce, they prefer rough forests and mountains, by which they are nurtured. a hard race, patient of heat, cold, and toil, devoid of all delights, not devoted to agriculture, and careless alike of buildings and of dress; they have concern only for cattle. for the most part they live by hunting and rapine.

ad solum bellum nati, cuius gerendi facultatem studiose quaerunt, repertam cupide amplectuntur, et magno numero egressi, cuiuis requirenti milites uili semet offerunt. hanc unam uitae artem nouerunt, qua mors quaeritur, sub quibus merent, acriter pro iis et incorrupta fide dimicant.

born for war alone, they diligently seek the faculty of waging it, and, once found, they greedily embrace it; and, going out in great number, they offer themselves cheaply to anyone requiring soldiers. This one art of life they know, in which death is sought; under those for whom they serve for pay, they fight sharply and with incorrupt fidelity.

uerum in nullum certum diem sese obstringunt, sed ea lege in partes ueniunt, ut postero die, uel ab hostibus, oblato maiore stipendio sint staturi, iisdem perendie rursus inuitati plusculo remigrant. rarum oritur bellum, in quo non bona pars illorum in utroque sint exercitu. itaque accidit quotidie, ut sanguinis necessitudine coniuncti, qui et iisdem in partibus conducti familiarissime semet inuicem utebantur, paulo post in contrarias distracti copias, hostiliter concurrant.

But they bind themselves to no fixed day; rather they enter into the parties on this condition: that on the following day they will be ready to stand, even for the enemies, if a greater stipend is offered; and, invited again by the same on the day after tomorrow with a little more, they migrate back. Rare is the war that arises in which a good part of them are not in both armies. Thus it happens every day that men joined by the bond of blood—who, hired on the same side, were consorting most familiarly with one another—shortly after, torn apart into opposing forces, clash as enemies.

et infestis animis, obliti generis, immemores amicitiae, mutuo sese confodiant, nulla alia causa in mutuam incitati perniciem, quam quod a diuersis principibus exigua pecuniola conducti, cuius tam exactam habent rationem, ut ad diurnum stipendium unius accessione assis facile ad commutandas partes impellantur. ita celeriter imbiberunt auaritiam, quae tamen nulli est eis usui. nam quae sanguine quaerunt, protinus per luxum, et eum tamen miserum consumunt.

and with hostile minds, forgetful of kin, unmindful of friendship, they stab each other mutually, incited to mutual destruction by no other cause than that, having been hired by different princes for a paltry little sum of money, of which they keep so exact an account that, by the accession of one as to the daily stipend, they are easily driven to change sides. thus they have quickly imbibed avarice, which, however, is of no use to them. for what they seek with blood, they straightway waste through luxury—and that a wretched one.

hic populus Utopiensibus aduersus quosuis mortales militat, quod tanti ab iis eorum conducatur opera quanti nusquam alibi. Utopienses siquidem ut bonos quaerunt quibus utantur ita hos quoque homines pessimos quibus abutantur. quos cum usus postulat, magnis impulsos pollicitationibus, maximis obiiciunt periculis, unde plerumque magna pars numquam ad exigenda promissa reuertitur, superstitibus, quae sunt polliciti bona fide, persoluunt, quo ad similes ausus incendantur.

this people fights for the Utopians against any mortals whatsoever, because their service is hired by them at so high a price as nowhere else. The Utopians, indeed, just as they seek good men to employ, so also these most wicked men to exploit. When use requires, urged on by great promises, they expose them to the greatest perils; whence very often a great part never returns to exact the promised pay. To the survivors they pay in full, in good faith, what they have promised, in order that they may be incited to similar ventures.

neque enim pensi quicquam habent, quam multos ex eis perdant. rati de genere humano maximam merituros gratiam se, si tota illa colluuie populi tam tetri, ac nepharii orbem terrarum purgare possent.

for they count it as nothing how many of them they lose. thinking that they will deserve the greatest gratitude from the human race, if they could purge the world of that whole colluvies of a people so grim and nefarious.

secundum hos eorum copiis utuntur, pro quibus arma capiunt, deinde auxiliaribus ceterorum amicorum turmis. postremo suos ciues adiungunt, e quibus aliquem uirtutis probatae uirum, totius exercitus summae praeficiunt. huic duos ita substituunt, uti eo incolumi, ambo priuati sint, capto aut interempto, alter e duobus uelut haereditate succedat, eique ex euentu tertius.

next after these they make use of the forces of those on whose behalf they take up arms, then the auxiliary troops of their other friends. lastly they add their own citizens, from among whom they set over the supreme command of the whole army some man of approved virtue. to him they appoint two substitutes in such a way that, while he is unharmed, both are private citizens; if he is captured or slain, one of the two succeeds, as it were, by inheritance, and to him, as circumstances turn out, a third.

ne—ut sunt bellorum sortes uariae—periclitante duce totus perturbetur exercitus. e quaque ciuitate delectus exercetur ex his, qui sponte nomen profitentur. neque enim inuitus quisquam foras in militiam truditur, quod persuasum habeant, si quis sit natura timidior, non ipsum modo nihil facturum strenue, sed metum etiam comitibus incussurum.

lest—as the fortunes of wars are various—if the leader is in peril the whole army be thrown into disorder. From each city a levy is conducted from those who of their own accord declare their name. For indeed no one unwilling is thrust out for military service, because they are convinced that, if someone is by nature more timid, not only will he himself do nothing strenuously, but he will also instill fear into his comrades.

ceterum si quod bellum ingruat in patriam, ignauos huiusmodi, modo ualeant corpore, in naues mixtos melioribus collocant; aut in moenibus sparsim disponunt. unde non sit refugiendi locus. ita suorum pudor, hostis in manibus, atque adempta fugae spes, timorem obruunt, et saepe extrema necessitas in uirtutem uertitur.

However, if any war presses upon the fatherland, the cowardly of this sort—provided they are sound in body—they place, mixed with the better men, on ships; or they station them here and there on the walls, whence there is no place of retreat. Thus shame before their own, the foe at hand, and the hope of flight removed, overwhelm fear, and often extreme necessity is turned into virtue (valor).

at sicuti ad externum bellum ex ipsis nemo protrahitur nolens, ita feminas uolentes in militiam comitari maritos, adeo non prohibent, ut exhortentur etiam, et laudibus incitent, profectas cum suo quamque uiro, pariter in acie constituunt. tum sui quemque liberi affines cognati circumsistunt, ut hi de proximo sint mutuo sibi subsidio, quos maxime ad ferendas inuicem suppetias natura stimulat. in maximo probro est coniunx absque coniuge redux, aut amisso parente reuersus filius.

but just as for an external war no one of them is dragged forth unwilling, so women who are willing to accompany their husbands into military service they so far from prohibiting that they even exhort and incite them with praises; each woman, having set out with her own husband, they station on equal terms in the battle line. then each man is surrounded by his own children, in‑laws, and kinsmen, so that these may be at hand as mutual support to one another—those whom nature most stimulates to bring succor in turn. it is held in the utmost disgrace for a spouse to return without the spouse, or for a son to come back with a parent lost.

quo fit, uti si ad ipsorum manus uentum sit modo perstent hostes, longo et lugubri proelio ad internitionem usque decernatur. nempe ut omnibus curant modis ne ipsis dimicare necesse sit, modo bello possint uicaria conductitiorum manu defungi, ita cum uitari non potest quin ipsi ineant pugnam, tam intrepide capessunt, quam quoad licuit prudenter detrectabant, nec tam primo ferociunt impetu quam mora sensim et duratione inualescunt, tam offirmatis animis ut interimi citius quam auerti queant. quippe uictus illa securitas quae cuique domi est, ademptaque de posteris anxia cogitandi cura—nam haec solicitudo generosos ubique spiritus frangit—sublimem illis animum et uinci dedignantem facit.

wherefore it comes about that, if it has come to close quarters with them themselves, provided only the enemies persist, the matter is decided by a long and lugubrious battle even unto extermination. For just as they take care by all means that it not be necessary for themselves to fight, provided they can discharge the war by the vicarious hand of mercenaries, so, when it cannot be avoided that they themselves enter the combat, they seize it as intrepidly as, so long as it was permitted, they prudently shunned it; nor do they rage so much in the first onset as they grow strong little by little by delay and by duration, with spirits so steadfast that they can more quickly be slain than turned aside. For the security of sustenance which each one has at home, and the anxious care of thinking about posterity having been removed—for this solicitude everywhere breaks noble spirits—makes in them a lofty soul, disdainful of being conquered.

ad haec militaris disciplinae peritia fiduciam praebet, postremo rectae opiniones—quibus et doctrina et bonis reipublicae institutis imbuti a pueris sunt—uirtutem addunt. qua neque tam uilem habent uitam, ut temere prodigant, neque tam improbe caram, ut cum honestas ponendam suadeat, auare turpiterque retineant.

In addition to these, expertise in military discipline provides confidence; finally, right opinions—by which, both through doctrine and through the good institutions of the commonwealth, they have been imbued from boyhood—add virtue. By which they hold life neither so cheap that they squander it rashly, nor so wickedly dear that, when honor counsels that it be laid down, they grasp and retain it avariciously and disgracefully.

dum ubique pugna maxima feruet, lectissimi iuuenes coniurati, deuotique, ducem sibi deposcunt aduersum, hunc aperte inuadunt, hunc ex insidiis adoriuntur, idem eminus idem cominus petitur, longoque ac perpetuo cuneo, summissis assidue in fatigatorum locum recentibus, oppugnatur. raroque accidit—ni sibi fuga prospiciat—ut non intereat aut uiuus in hostium potestatem ueniat.

while everywhere the greatest fight seethes, the choicest young men, sworn together and devoted, demand for themselves a leader against him; him they attack openly, him they assail from ambush; the same man is targeted both from afar and at close quarters; and, with a long and perpetual wedge, with fresh men continually sent up into the place of the wearied, he is pressed. and it rarely happens—unless he provides for himself by flight—that he does not perish or come alive into the power of the enemies.

si ab ipsis uictoria sit, haudquaquam caede grassantur, fugatos enim comprehendunt, quam occidunt libentius. neque umquam ita persequuntur fugientes, ut non unam interim sub signis instructam aciem retineant, adeo nisi ceteris superati partibus, postrema acie sua uictoriam adepti sint, elabi potius hostes uniuersos sinant, quam insequi fugientes perturbatis suorum ordinibus insuescant. memores sibimet haud semel usu uenisse, ut mole totius exercitus uicta profligataque, cum hostes uictoria gestientes, hac atque illac abeuntes persequerentur, pauci ipsorum in subsidiis collocati ad occasiones intenti, dispersos ac palantes illos et praesumpta securitate negligentes derepente adorti, totius euentum proelii mutauerunt.

if the victory is on their side, by no means do they press on with slaughter; for they apprehend the routed rather than kill them. Nor do they ever so pursue the fleeing as not to keep meanwhile one battle-line drawn up under the standards; to such a degree that, unless, the other parts having been overborne, they should have obtained the victory by their rearmost line, they would rather allow all the enemies to slip away than grow accustomed to pursuing fugitives with their own ranks thrown into disorder. Mindful to themselves that it has not happened only once by experience that, when the mass of the whole army was conquered and prostrated, while the enemies, exulting in victory, going off this way and that, were pursuing, a few of their own posted in the reserves, intent upon opportunities, suddenly assailing those men—scattered and straggling and neglectful through presumed security—changed the entire outcome of the battle.

extortaque e manibus tam certa et indubitata uictoria, uicti uictores inuicem uicerunt.

and, the victory so certain and indubitable having been wrested from their hands, the conquered in turn conquered the conquerors.

haud facile dictu est, astutiores instruendis insidiis, an cautiores ad uitandas sient. fugam parare credas, cum nihil minus in animo habent, contra cum id consilii capiunt, nihil minus cogitare putes. nam si nimium sese sentiunt, aut numero, aut loco premi, tunc aut noctu, agmine silente, castra mouent, aut aliquo stratagemate eludunt, aut interdiu ita sensim sese referunt, tali seruato ordine, ut non minus periculi sit cedentes quam instantes adoriri.

it is not easy to say whether they are more astute in laying ambushes, or more cautious in avoiding them. you would think they were preparing to flee, when they have nothing of the sort in mind; conversely, when they adopt that plan, you would suppose them to be thinking of anything but that. for if they perceive themselves to be pressed too much, either by numbers or by position, then either by night, with the column silent, they move camp, or they elude by some stratagem, or in the daytime they thus little by little draw themselves back, such order being maintained, that it is no less peril to assail them when withdrawing than when pressing on.

castra diligentissime communiunt fossa praealta lataque, terra quae egeritur introrsum reiecta, nec in eam rem opera mediastinorum utuntur, ipsorum manibus militum res agitur, totusque exercitus in opere est, exceptis qui pro uallo in armis ad subitos casus excubant. itaque tam multis adnitentibus, magna multumque amplexa loci munimenta, omni fide citius perficiunt.

they most diligently fortify the camp with a very deep and wide fosse, the earth that is excavated being thrown inward; nor do they employ for that matter the labor of camp-servants, the business is conducted by the soldiers’ own hands, and the whole army is at work on the task, except those who keep watch in arms before the rampart for sudden contingencies. and so, with so many striving, the muniments of the place, great and encompassing much ground, they complete more quickly and with all fidelity.

armis utuntur ad excipiendos ictus, firmis, nec ad motum gestumue quemlibet ineptis, adeo ut ne natando quidem molesta sentiant. nam armati natare inter militaris disciplinae rudimenta consuescunt. tela sunt eminus sagittae, quas acerrime simul et certissime iaculantur non pedites modo, sed ex equis etiam, cominus uero non gladii, sed secures uel acie letales uel pondere seu caesim seu punctim feriant.

they use arms to catch incoming blows, sturdy, and not ill‑suited to any movement or gesture, to such a degree that they do not find them burdensome even when swimming. for, armed, they are accustomed to swim among the rudiments of military discipline. their missiles at a distance are arrows, which they hurl both most keenly and most unerringly, not only on foot but also on horseback; at close quarters, however, not swords, but axes—lethal either by their edge or by their weight—whether they strike by cut or by thrust.

machinas excogitant solertissime, factas accuratissime caelant ne ante proditae quam res postulet, ludibrio magis quam usui sint, in quibus fabricandis hoc in primis respiciunt, uti uectu faciles et habiles circumactu sint.

they devise siege-machines most cleverly, and, once made, they conceal them most scrupulously, lest, if revealed before the situation requires, they be more for mockery than for use; and in the fabricating of them they look above all to this: that they be easy in transport and handy in being turned about.

initas cum hostibus inducias tam sancte obseruant, ut ne lacessiti quidem uiolent. hostilem terram non depopulantur, neque segetes exurunt, immo ne hominum equorumue pedibus, conterantur, quantum fieri potest prouident, rati in ipsorum usus crescere. inermem neminem laedunt, nisi idem speculator sit.

they observe truces entered into with enemies so sacredly that they do not violate them even when provoked. they do not devastate hostile territory, nor do they burn the crops; nay rather, they provide, so far as can be done, that they not be crushed under the feet of men or horses, reckoning that they grow for their own uses. they harm no unarmed person, unless he is likewise a spy.

deditas urbes tuentur, at nec expugnatas, diripiunt, sed per quos deditio est impedita eos enecant, ceteris defensoribus in seruitutem addictis. imbellem turbam omnem relinquunt intactam. si quos deditionem suasisse compererint, his e damnatorum bonis aliquam partem impartiunt, reliqua sectione auxiliares donant.

They protect surrendered cities, and they do not plunder even those taken by storm; but those by whose agency surrender has been impeded they kill, the rest of the defenders consigned to servitude. They leave the entire unwarlike crowd untouched. If they discover any to have advised surrender, to these they impart some portion from the goods of the condemned; the remainder, by auction (section), they donate to the auxiliaries.

nam ipsorum nemo quicquam de praeda capit.

for none of them takes anything from the booty.

ceterum confecto bello, non amicis impensas in quos insumpsere, sed uictis imputant, exiguntque eo nomine, partim pecuniam quam in similes bellorum usus reseruant, partim praedia quae sint ipsis apud eos perpetua non exigui census. huiusmodi reditus nunc apud multas gentes habent, qui uariis ex causis paulatim nati, supra septingenta ducatorum milia in singulos annos excreuere, in quos e suis ciuibus aliquos emittunt quaestorum nomine, qui magnifice uiuant, personamque magnatum illic prae se ferant, at multum tamen superest quod inferatur aerario, nisi malint eidem genti credere, quod saepe tantisper faciunt, quoad uti necesse sit uixque accidit umquam, ut totam reposcant. ex his praediis partem assignant illis, qui ipsorum hortatu tale discrimen adeunt quale ante monstraui.

Moreover, when the war has been brought to completion, they charge the expenses not to the friends on whom they spent them, but to the conquered, and under that title they exact partly money, which they reserve for similar uses of wars, partly landed estates which for themselves among them are perpetual and of no scant revenue. Revenues of this kind they now have among many nations, which, arisen little by little from various causes, have increased to above seven hundred thousand ducats in each single year; to administer which they send out some of their citizens under the name of quaestors, who live magnificently and there carry themselves with the persona of magnates, and yet much remains over to be brought into the treasury, unless they prefer to lend it to the same nation—which they often do for so long as there is need to use it—and it scarcely ever happens that they demand back the whole. From these estates they assign a part to those who, at their urging, undertake such a hazard as I showed before.

si quis princeps armis aduersus eos sumptis, eorum ditionem paret inuadere, magnis illico uiribus extra suos fines occurrunt; nam neque temere in suis terris bellum gerunt, neque ulla necessitas tanta est, ut eos cogat aliena auxilia in insulam suam admittere.

If any prince, with arms taken up against them, prepares to invade their dominion, they immediately with great forces meet him beyond their own confines; for they neither rashly wage war in their own territories, nor is any necessity so great as to compel them to admit foreign auxiliaries into their island.

[de religionibus Utopiensium.]

[on the religions of the Utopians.]

religiones sunt non per insulam modo; uerum singulas etiam urbes uariae, aliis Solem, Lunam aliis, aliis aliud errantium siderum dei uice uenerantibus, sunt quibus homo quispiam, cuius olim aut uirtus aut gloria enituit, non pro deo tantum, sed pro summo etiam deo suspicitur.

the religions are not only throughout the island; rather even in individual cities they are diverse, some venerating the Sun, others the Moon, others some other of the wandering stars in the stead of a god; there are those for whom some man, whose virtue or glory once shone, is regarded not only as a god, but even as the highest god.

at multo maxima pars, eademque longe prudentior, nihil horum, sed unum quoddam numen putant, incognitum, aeternum, immensum, inexplicabile, quod supra mentis humanae captum sit, per mundum hunc uniuersum, uirtute non mole diffusum. hunc parentem uocant. origines, auctus, progressus, uices, finesque rerum omnium, huic acceptos uni referunt, nec diuinos honores alii praeterea ulli, applicant.

but by far the greatest part, and the much more prudent too, think none of these, but a certain single numen, unknown, eternal, immense, inexplicable, which is beyond the grasp of the human mind, diffused through this whole universe by power, not by mass. they call this one father. the origins, augmentations, progresses, vicissitudes, and ends of all things they ascribe to this one alone, as received from him, nor do they apply divine honors to any other besides.

quin ceteris quoque omnibus, quamquam diuersa credentibus, hoc tamen cum istis conuenit, quod esse quidem unum censent summum, cui et uniuersitatis opificium, et prouidentia debeatur, eumque communiter omnes patria lingua Mythram appellant, sed eo dissentiunt, quod idem alius apud alios habetur. Autumante quoque quicquid id sit, quod ipse summum ducit, eandem illam prorsus esse naturam, cuius unius numini ac maiestati, rerum omnium summa, omnium consensu gentium tribuitur.

nay, among all the others too, although believing diverse things, yet this agrees with these, that they judge there is indeed one supreme, to whom both the workmanship of the universe and providence are owed; and all commonly call him by their native tongue Mithras; but they differ herein, that the same is held as someone else among different peoples. He also asserts that whatever that is which he himself deems supreme is precisely that same nature, to whose sole numen and majesty the sum of all things, by the consensus of all nations, is attributed.

ceterum paulatim omnes ab ea superstitionum uarietate desciscunt, atque in unam illam coalescunt religionem, quae reliquas ratione uidetur antecellere. neque dubium est quin ceterae iam pridem euanuissent, nisi quicquid improsperum cuiquam inter mutandae religionis consilia fors obiecisset, non id accidisse casu, sed caelitus immissum interpretaretur timor, tamquam numine, cuius relinquebatur cultus, impium contra se propositum uindicante.

but gradually all secede from that variety of superstitions, and coalesce into that one religion which seems to excel the rest by reason. Nor is there any doubt that the others would long since have vanished, had not whatever adverse thing Fortune threw in anyone’s way amid counsels for changing religion been interpreted by fear, not as having happened by chance, but as sent from heaven—as though the numen, whose cult was being abandoned, were avenging itself against an impious design set against it.

at posteaquam acceperunt a nobis Christi nomen, doctrinam, mores, miracula, nec minus mirandam tot martyrum constantiam, quorum sponte fusus sanguis, tam numerosas gentes in suam sectam longe lateque traduxit, non credas quam pronis in eam affectibus etiam ipsi concesserint, siue hoc secretius inspirante deo, siue quod eadem ei uisa est haeresi proxima, quae est apud ipsos potissima, quamquam hoc quoque fuisse non paulum momenti crediderim, quod Christo communem suorum uictum audierant placuisse, et apud germanissimos Christianorum conuentus adhuc in usu esse. certe quoquo id momento accidit, haud pauci nostram in religionem coierunt Lymphaque sacra sunt abluti. uerum quoniam in nobis quattuor—totidem enim dumtaxat supereramus, nam duo fatis concesserant—nemo id quod doleo, sacerdos erat.

but after they received from us the name of Christ, the doctrine, the morals, the miracles, and no less to be marveled at, the constancy of so many martyrs—whose blood, poured out of their own accord, led over far and wide so numerous peoples into their sect—you would not believe with how inclined affections even they themselves yielded to it, whether with God more secretly inspiring this, or because the same seemed closest to that heresy which is most powerful among them; although I would think that this too had no small weight: that they had heard a common livelihood of his own followers had pleased Christ, and that among the most kindred assemblies of Christians it is still in use. certainly, whatever the motive by which it happened, not a few came together into our religion and were washed by the sacred water. but since among us four—for just so many of us survived at the time, for two had yielded to the fates—no one, which I lament, was a priest.

ceteris initiati, ea tamen adhuc sacramenta desiderant, quae apud nos non nisi sacerdotes conferunt, intelligunt tamen, optantque ita ut nihil uehementius. quin hoc quoque sedulo iam inter se disputant an sine Christiani pontificis missu quisquam e suo numero delectus sacerdotii consequatur characterem. et electuri, sane uidebantur.

Initiated into the rest, they nevertheless still desire those sacraments which among us only priests confer; yet they understand them, and they long for them with nothing more vehement a desire. Indeed, they are already diligently disputing among themselves whether, without the mandate of the Christian pontiff, anyone chosen from their own number might obtain the character of the priesthood. And they seemed, assuredly, about to elect.

uerum cum ego discederem, nondum elegerant.

But when I was departing, they had not yet elected.

quin hi quoque religioni Christianae, qui non assentiunt, neminem tamen absterrent, nullum oppugnant imbutum. nisi quod unus e nostro coetu me praesente cohercitus est. is cum recens ablutus, nobis contra suadentibus, de Christi cultu publice maiore studio, quam prudentia dissereret, usque adeo coepit incalescere, ut iam non nostra modo sacra ceteris anteferret, sed reliqua protenus uniuersa damnaret.

indeed, even those who do not assent to the Christian religion nevertheless deter no one; they assail no one who has been initiated. except that one man of our company, in my presence, was restrained. he, being recently washed, while we urged the contrary, was discoursing publicly about the cult of Christ with greater zeal than prudence, and began to grow so heated that he now not only preferred our sacred rites to the others, but straightway condemned all the rest without exception.

prophana ipsa, cultores impios ac sacrilegos, aeterno plectendos igni uociferaretur. talia diu concionantem comprehendunt, ac reum non spretae religionis, sed excitati in populo tumultus agunt, peraguntque, damnatum, exilio mulctant, siquidem hoc inter antiquissima instituta numerant, ne sua cuiquam religio fraudi sit.

he would vociferate that the rites themselves were profane, and that the worshipers were impious and sacrilegious, to be punished with eternal fire. Such things haranguing for a long time, they seize him, and they proceed against him as a defendant not for spurned religion, but for a tumult stirred up among the people; and, once condemned, they mulct him with exile, since they reckon this among their most ancient institutions: that one’s own religion should be a harm to no one.

Utopus enim iam inde ab initio, cum accepisset incolas ante suum aduentum de religionibus inter se assidue dimicasse, atque animaduertisset eam rem, quod in commune dissidentes, singulae pro patria sectae pugnabant, occasionem praestitisse sibi uincendarum omnium, adeptus uictoriam in primis sanxit, uti quam cuique religionem libeat sequi liceat, ut uero alios quoque in suam traducat, hactenus niti possit, uti placide, ac modeste suam rationibus astruat, non ut acerbe ceteras destruat, si suadendo non persuadeat, neque uim ullam adhibeat, et conuiciis temperet, petulantius hac de re contendentem exilio, aut seruitute mulctant.

For indeed Utopus, from the very beginning, when he had learned that the inhabitants before his advent had assiduously fought among themselves about religions, and had observed that that matter, namely that, while disagreeing in common, the several sects were fighting for the fatherland, had presented to him the occasion for conquering them all, having gained the victory he first sanctioned, that it be permitted for each to follow whatever religion he may wish, and that he may indeed also bring others over into his own, he may strive thus far, that he establish his own quietly and modestly by reasons, not that he bitterly destroy the others; and if by persuading he does not persuade, let him apply no force at all, and let him restrain himself from invective; one contending too petulantly about this matter they mulct with exile, or servitude.

haec Utopus instituit non respectu pacis modo quam assiduo certamine, atque inexpiabili odio funditus uidit euerti, sed quod arbitratus est, uti sic decerneretur, ipsius etiam religionis interesse, de qua nihil est ausus temere definire, uelut incertum habens, an uarium ac multiplicem expetens cultum deus, aliud inspiret alii, certe ui ac minis exigere, ut quod tu uerum credis idem omnibus uideatur, hoc uero et insolens et ineptum censuit. tum si maxime una uera sit, ceterae omnes uanae, facile tamen praeuidit—modo cum ratione ac modestia res agatur—futurum denique; ut ipsa per se ueri uis emergat aliquando atque emineat. sin armis et tumultu certetur, ut sint pessimi quique maxime peruicaces, optimam ac sanctissimam religionem ob uanissimas inter se superstitiones, ut segetes inter spinas ac frutices obrutum iri.

These things Utopus instituted not merely with a view to peace, which he saw being utterly overturned by continual contest and inexpiable hatred, but because he judged that, if it were thus decreed, it concerned religion itself; about which he dared to define nothing rashly, holding it as uncertain whether God, desiring a varied and multiple cult, might inspire one thing to one person, another to another. Certainly to exact by force and threats that what you believe true should seem the same to all—this he deemed both insolent and inept. Then, even if one alone be true and all the rest vain, he easily foresaw—provided the matter be conducted with reason and modesty—that at last it would come to pass that the force of the true itself would sometime emerge and stand out. But if the contest be waged with arms and tumult, since the worst are wont to be the most pervicacious, the best and most holy religion, on account of the vainest superstitions among themselves, would be buried, like crops among thorns and shrubs.

itaque hanc totam rem in medio posuit, et quid credendum putaret liberum cuique reliquit. nisi quod sancte ac seuere uetuit, ne quis usque adeo ab humanae naturae dignitate degeneret, ut animas quoque interire cum corpore, aut mundum temere ferri, sublata prouidentia putet.

and so he set this whole matter in the common domain, and left it free to each what he thought ought to be believed; except that he solemnly and severely forbade anyone to degenerate so far from the dignity of human nature as to think that souls also perish with the body, or that the world is borne along at random, providence having been removed.

atque ideo post hanc uitam supplicia uitiis decreta, uirtuti praemia constituta credunt. contra sentientem, ne in hominum quidem ducunt numero, ut qui sublimem animae suae naturam, ad pecuini corpusculi uilitatem deiecerit, tantum abest ut inter ciues ponant, quorum instituta, moresque—si per metum liceat—omnes, floccifacturus sit. cui enim dubium esse potest, quin is publicas patriae leges, aut arte clam eludere, aut ui nitatur infringere, dum suae priuatim cupiditati seruiat, cui nullus ultra leges metus, nihil ultra corpus spei superest amplius.

and therefore they believe that after this life punishments have been decreed for vices, rewards appointed for virtue. One who thinks the contrary they do not reckon even in the number of men, as one who has cast down the lofty nature of his soul to the cheapness of a little bestial body; so far are they from placing him among citizens, whose institutions and customs—if fear allowed—he would make light of all. For who can be in doubt that such a man will either by craft secretly elude, or by force strive to break, the public laws of the fatherland, while he serves his private cupidity, for whom beyond the laws no fear remains, beyond the body no hope remains any longer.

quamobrem sic animato nullus communicatur honos, nullus magistratus committitur, nulli publico muneri praeficitur. ita passim uelut inertis, ac iacentis naturae despicitur. ceterum nullo afficiunt supplicio, quod persuasum habeant, nulli hoc in manu esse, ut quicquid libet, sentiat; sed nec minis adigunt ullis, animum ut dissimulet suum, nec fucos admittunt, et mendacia, quae uelut proxima fraudi, mirum quam habent inuisa.

Wherefore, to one so minded no honor is communicated, no magistracy is committed, he is put in charge of no public munus. Thus everywhere he is looked down upon as of an inert and prostrate nature. However, they afflict him with no punishment, because they are persuaded that it is in no one’s hand to feel whatever he pleases; nor do they drive him by any menaces to dissimulate his mind, nor do they admit fucuses and pretenses, and lies—which, as nearest to fraud—they hold in wondrous detestation.

uerum ne pro sua disputet sententia prohibent, atque id dumtaxat apud uulgus. nam alioquin apud sacerdotes, grauesque uiros seorsum, non sinunt modo, sed hortantur quoque, confisi fore, ut ea tandem uesania rationi cedat.

But they forbid him to dispute on behalf of his own opinion, and that only among the populace. For otherwise, among the priests and grave men apart, they not only allow it but even exhort it, confident that this madness will at length cede to reason.

sunt et alii, nec ii sane pauci, nempe improhibiti, ueluti neque ratione penitus pro se carentes, neque mali, qui uitio longe diuerso, brutorum quoque aeternas esse animas opinantur. at nostris tamen neque dignitate comparandas, neque ad aequam natas felicitatem. hominum enim cuncti fere tam immensam fore beatitudinem pro certo atque explorato habent, ut morbum lamententur omnium, mortem uero nullius, nisi quem uident anxie e uita, inuitumque diuelli.

there are also others, and indeed they are not few, namely those not prohibited—as being neither utterly lacking reason on their side nor wicked—who, by a far different fault, opine that the souls of brute creatures too are eternal. yet they deem them neither to be compared with ours in dignity, nor born to an equal felicity. for almost all hold as certain and ascertained that the beatitude of human beings will be so immense, that they lament the sickness of everyone, but the death of no one—except the one whom they see anxiously torn from life, and unwilling.

nempe hoc pro pessimo habent augurio, tamquam anima exspes ac male conscia, occulto quopiam imminentis poenae praesagio, reformidet exitum. ad hoc haudquaquam gratum deo, eius putant aduentum fore, qui cum sit accersitus, non accurrit libens, sed inuitus ac detrectans pertrahitur. hoc igitur mortis genus, qui intuentur horrent, itaque defunctos, moesti ac silentes efferunt, precatique propitium manibus deum, uti eorum clementer infirmitatibus ignoscat, terra cadauer obruunt.

Indeed they hold this as a most evil augury, as though the soul, hopeless and of a bad conscience, by some hidden presage of imminent punishment, shrinks from the exit. Moreover, they think the advent of one is by no means pleasing to God, who, when he has been summoned, does not run up willingly, but, unwilling and detrectating, is dragged along. Therefore those who behold this kind of death shudder, and so they carry out the deceased, sad and silent; and, having prayed the god propitious to the Manes, that he may mercifully forgive their infirmities, they cover the corpse with earth.

contra, quicumque alacriter ac pleni bona spe decesserint, hos nemo luget, sed cantu prosecuti funus, animas deo, magno commendantes affectu, corpora tandem reuerenter magis quam dolenter concremant, columnamque loco insculptis defuncti titulis erigunt. domum reuersi, mores, actaque eius recensent, nec ulla uitae pars, aut saepius, aut libentius, quam laetus tractatur interitus. hanc probitatis memoriam, et uiuis efficacissima rentur incitamenta uirtutum, et gratissimum defunctis cultum putant, quos interesse quoque de se sermonibus opinantur, quamquam—ut est hebes mortalium acies—inuisibiles.

on the contrary, whoever have departed briskly and full of good hope, no one mourns these, but, having accompanied the funeral with song, commending the souls to God with great affection, they at last cremate the bodies more reverently than sorrowfully, and they set up on the spot a column with the deceased’s titles engraved. having returned home, they review his character and deeds, nor is any part of the life treated either more often or more willingly than the glad passing. they consider this remembrance of probity both the most efficacious incitement of virtues for the living and the most pleasing honor for the departed, who they think also take part in the conversations about themselves, although—since the eyesight of mortals is dull—they are invisible.

nam neque felicium sorti conueniat, libertate carere migrandi quo uelint, et ingratorum fuerit prorsus abiecisse desiderium amicos inuisendi suos, quibus eos dum uiuerent, mutuus amor, caritasque deuinxerat, quam bonis uiris, ut cetera bona, auctam post fata potius, quam imminutam coniectant. mortuos ergo uersari inter uiuentes credunt, dictorum factorumque spectatores, eoque res agendas fidentius aggrediuntur, talibus uelut freti praesidibus, et ab inhonesto secreto deterret eos, credita maiorum praesentia.

for neither would it be fitting to the lot of the happy to be without the liberty of migrating whither they will, and it would be the part of ingrates outright to have cast off the desire of visiting their friends, by whom, while they lived, mutual love and charity had bound them, which good men conjecture, like the other goods, to be augmented after death rather than diminished. therefore they believe the dead to be conversant among the living, spectators of things said and done, and hence they more confidently set upon affairs to be done, as if relying on such protectors; and from dishonorable secrecy the believed presence of the ancestors deters them.

auguria, ceterasque superstitionis uanae diuinationes, quarum apud alias gentes magna est obseruatio, negligunt prorsus, atque irrident. miracula uero, quae nullo naturae proueniunt adminiculo, uelut praesentis opera, testesque numinis uenerantur. qualia et ibi frequenter extare ferunt, et magnis interdum ac dubiis in rebus publica supplicatione, certa cum fiducia procurant, impetrantque.

they altogether neglect, and mock, auguries and the other divinations of empty superstition, the observance of which is great among other peoples. But the miracles which arise by no aid of nature they venerate as the works and witnesses of a present divinity. Such, they report, frequently appear there as well, and in great and sometimes doubtful matters they, by public supplication, with sure confidence both procure and obtain them.

gratum deo cultum putant naturae contemplationem, laudemque ab ea. sunt tamen, iique haud sane pauci, qui religione ducti, litteras negligunt, nulli rerum cognitioni student, neque otio prorsus ulli uacant, negotiis tantum, bonisque in ceteris officiis statuunt, futuram post fata felicitatem promereri. itaque alii aegrotis inseruiunt, alii uias reficiunt, purgant fossas, pontes reparant, cespites, arenam, lapides effodiunt, arbores demoliuntur ac dissecant, bigisque ligna, fruges, item alia in urbes important, nec in publicum modo, sed priuatim quoque ministros, ac plus quam seruos agunt. nam quicquid usquam operis est asperum, difficile, sordidum, a quo plerosque labor, fastidium, desperatio deterreat, hoc illi sibi totum libentes, hilaresque desumunt, ceteris otium procurant, ipsi perpetuo in opere ac labore uersantur, nec imputant tamen, nec aliorum sugillant uitam, nec suam efferunt.

they think a worship pleasing to God is the contemplation of nature, and the praise arising from it. there are, however, and indeed not a few, who, led by religion, neglect letters, apply themselves to no cognition of things, nor give themselves at all to any leisure, but determine that by business alone and by good offices toward others they will merit the happiness to come after death. accordingly some attend upon the sick, others repair roads, cleanse ditches, mend bridges, dig sods, sand, stones, fell and cut up trees, and with two-horse carts bring wood, grain, and likewise other things into the cities; and not only for the public, but privately also they act as attendants, and more than servants. for whatever work anywhere is rough, difficult, sordid—by which labor, disgust, and despair deter most people—this they take upon themselves wholly, willingly and cheerful; they procure leisure for the rest, themselves are engaged perpetually in work and labor; and yet they neither impute it, nor taunt the life of others, nor exalt their own.

ii quo magis sese seruos exhibent, eo maiore apud omnes in honore sunt.

the more they show themselves as servants, the greater is their honor among all.

eorum tamen haereses duae sunt, altera caelibum, qui non Venere modo in totum abstinent, sed carnium esu quoque. quidam animalium etiam omnium, reiectisque penitus tamquam noxiis uitae praesentis uoluptatibus, futurae dumtaxat, per uigilias ac sudores inhiant, eius propediem obtinendae spe. alacres interim, uegetique.

their heresies, however, are two: one is of the celibates, who abstain not only wholly from Venus, but also from the eating of flesh; some even from all animals; and, the pleasures of the present life having been utterly rejected as noxious, they long only for the future, through vigils and sweats, in the hope of obtaining it before long. meanwhile, they are brisk and vigorous.

altera laboris haud minus appetens, coniugium praefert, ut cuius nec aspernantur solatium, et opus, naturae debere se, et patriae liberos putant. nullam uoluptatem refugiunt, quae nihil eos ab labore demoretur. carnes quadrupedum uel eo nomine diligunt, quod tali cibo se ualidiores ad opus quodque censeant.

the other, no less appetent of labor, prefers marriage, as one whose solace they do not spurn, and they think that they owe work to nature and children to their fatherland. they shun no pleasure which in no way detains them from labor. they are fond of the flesh of quadrupeds even for this very reason, that by such food they consider themselves stronger for each and every work.

hos Utopiani prudentiores, at illos sanctiores reputant. quos quod caelibatum anteferunt matrimonio, asperamque uitam placidae anteponunt, si rationibus niterentur irriderent, nunc uero cum se fateantur religione duci suspiciunt ac reuerentur. nihil enim sollicitius obseruant, quam ne temere quicquam ulla de religione pronuncient.

these the Utopians reckon more prudent, but those more holy. Those, because they prefer celibacy to matrimony and set an austere life before a placid one, if they were relying on reasons, they would ridicule; but now, since they confess themselves to be led by religion, they look up to and revere them. For they observe nothing more solicitously than that they not rashly pronounce anything concerning any religion.

huiusmodi ergo sunt, quos illi peculiari nomine sua lingua Buthrescas uocant, quod uerbum latine religiosos licet interpretari.

Such therefore are those whom they, by a peculiar name in their own language, call Buthrescas, which word may be interpreted in Latin as “religious.”

sacerdotes habent eximia sanctitate, eoque admodum paucos. neque enim plus quam tredecim in singulis habent urbibus pari templorum numero, nisi cum itur ad bellum. tunc enim septem ex illis cum exercitu profectis totidem sufficiuntur interim, sed illi reuersi, suum quisque locum recuperat, qui supersunt, ii quoad decedentibus illis ordine succedant, comites interea sunt nam Pontificis.

they have priests of exceptional sanctity, and on that account very few. for they do not have more than thirteen in each city, equal to the number of temples, except when they go to war. for then, when seven of them have set out with the army, just so many are supplied in the meantime, but when those return, each recovers his own place; those who are left over, until they succeed in order as those depart, are meanwhile companions of the Pontiff.

unus reliquis praeficitur.

one is put in charge of the rest.

eliguntur a populo, idque ceterorum ritu magistratuum, occultis, ad studia uitanda, suffragiis. electi a suo collegio consecrantur. ii rebus diuinis praesunt, religiones curant, ac morum ueluti censores sunt, magnoque pudori ducitur ab iis quemquam tamquam uitae parum probatae accersi, compellariue.

they are elected by the people, and that in the rite of the other magistrates, by secret suffrages, to avoid partisanship. those elected are consecrated by their own college. they preside over divine matters, take care of religions, and are, as it were, censors of morals; and it is accounted a great disgrace for anyone to be summoned or addressed by them as though of a life too little approved.

ceterum ut hortari atque admonere illorum est, ita coercere atque in facinorosos animaduertere principis, atque aliorum est magistratuum, nisi quod sacris interdicunt, quos improbe malos comperiunt. nec ullum fere supplicium est quod horreant magis. nam et summa percelluntur infamia, et occulto religionis metu lacerantur, ne corporibus quidem diu futuris in tuto.

But while to exhort and to admonish belongs to them, to coerce and to animadvert upon malefactors belongs to the prince and to other magistrates—except that they interdict from the sacred rites those whom they discover to be shamelessly wicked. Nor is there almost any punishment that they dread more. For they are struck by supreme infamy, and are lacerated by a hidden fear of religion, that not even their bodies will be for long in security.

quippe ni properam poenitentiam sacerdotibus approbent, comprehensi impietatis poenam Senatui persoluunt.

Indeed, unless they make prompt penitence acceptable to the priests, when apprehended they pay to the Senate the penalty for impiety.

pueritia iuuentusque ab illis eruditur, nec prior litterarum cura, quam morum ac uirtutis habetur, namque summam adhibent industriam, ut bonas protenus opiniones, et conseruandae ipsorum reipublicae utiles, teneris adhuc, et sequacibus puerorum animis instillent, quae ubi pueris penitus insederint, uiros per totam uitam comitantur, magnamque ad tuendum publicae rei statum—qui non nisi uitiis dilabitur, quae ex peruersis nascuntur opinionibus—afferunt utilitatem.

boyhood and youth are educated by them, nor is care of letters held prior to morals and virtue; for they apply the utmost industry, that straightway good opinions, and those useful for preserving their own commonwealth, may be instilled into the still tender and sequacious minds of boys; which, when they have settled deep within the boys, accompany the men through their whole life, and bring great advantage for safeguarding the condition of the commonwealth—which falls to ruin only through vices, which are born from perverse opinions.

sacerdotibus—ni feminae sint. nam neque ille sexus excluditur, sed rarius, et non nisi uidua, natuque grandis eligitur—uxores sunt popularium selectissimae. neque enim ulli apud Utopienses magistratui maior habetur honos usque adeo, ut si quid etiam flagitii admiserint, nulli publico iudicio subsint, deo tantum, ac sibi relinquuntur.

to the priests—unless they be women. for that sex is not excluded, but more rarely, and only a widow, and advanced in years, is chosen—the wives are the most select from among the commoners. for to no magistracy among the Utopians is greater honor held, to such a degree that, if they should even have committed any scandal, they are subject to no public judgment; they are left to God alone, and to themselves.

neque enim fas putant illum, quantumuis scelestum, mortali manu contingere, qui deo tam singulari modo uelut anathema dedicatus est. qui mos illis facilior est obseruatu, quod sacerdotes et tam pauci, et tanta cum cura deliguntur. nam neque temere accidit, ut qui ex bonis optimus ad tantam dignitatem, solius respectu uirtutis euehitur, in corruptelam et uitium degeneret, et si iam maxime contingeret, ut est mortalium natura mutabilis, tamen qua sunt paucitate, nec ulla praeter honorem potestate praediti, ad publicam certe perniciem nihil magni ab his momenti pertimescendum sit.

for they do not think it lawful that he, however wicked, be touched by a mortal hand, who has been dedicated to God in so singular a way as, so to speak, an anathema. This custom is easier for them to observe, because the priests are both so few and are chosen with such great care. For it does not readily happen that one who, from among the good the best, is raised to so great a dignity with regard to virtue alone, degenerates into corruption and vice; and if indeed it should ever so much occur—as the nature of mortals is mutable—nevertheless, given their small number and that they are endowed with no power beyond honor, certainly nothing of great moment is to be feared from them for the public ruin.

quos ideo tam raros atque infrequentes habent, ne dignitas ordinis, quem nunc tanta ueneratione prosequuntur, communicato cum multis honore uilesceret, praesertim cum difficile putent frequentes inuenire tam bonos, ut ei sint dignitati pares, ad quam gerendam non sufficit mediocribus esse uirtutibus.

whom therefore they keep so rare and infrequent, lest the dignity of the order, which they now pursue with such veneration, be cheapened by the honor being communicated to many, especially since they think it difficult to find many so good as to be equal to that dignity, for the managing of which it does not suffice to have mediocre virtues.

nec eorum aestimatio apud suos magis, quam apud exteras etiam gentes habetur, quod inde facile patet, unde etiam natum puto. nempe decernentibus proelio copiis, seorsum illi non admodum procul considunt in genibus, sacras induti uestes, tensis ad caelum palmis, primum omnium pacem, proxime, suis uictoriam, sed neutri cruentam parti comprecantur, uincentibus suis decurrunt in aciem, saeuientesque in profligatos inhibent, uidisse tantum atque appellasse praesentes ad uitam satis, diffluentium contactus uestium, reliquas quoque fortunas ab omni bellorum iniuria defendit. qua ex re apud omnes undique gentes, tanta illis ueneratio, tantum uerae maiestatis accessit, ut saepe ab hostibus non minus salutis ad ciues reportarint, quam ab ipsis ad hostes attulissent.

nor is their estimation held more among their own than even among foreign nations, which is easily evident from that whence I also think it arose. namely, when the forces are deciding a battle, those men, apart, not very far off, sit upon their knees, clothed in sacred garments, with palms stretched to heaven; they implore first of all peace, next, victory for their own, but for neither party bloody; they run down into the battle-line when their side is winning, and restrain those raging against the routed; merely to have seen and addressed those present is enough for life, and the contact of their flowing garments protects the remaining fortunes also from every injury of wars. from which fact, among all nations on every side, so great a veneration, so great an accession of true majesty has accrued to them, that often they have brought back from enemies no less safety to their citizens than they had themselves brought to enemies.

siquidem aliquando constat, inclinata suorum acie, desperatis rebus, cum ipsi in fugam uerterentur, hostes in caedem ac praedam ruerent, interuentu sacerdotum interpellatam stragem, ac diremptis inuicem copiis, pacem aequis conditionibus esse compositam atque constitutam. neque enim umquam fuit ulla gens tam fera, crudelis ac barbara, apud quos ipsorum corpus non sacrosanctum, atque inuiolabile sit habitum.

for indeed it is established that sometimes, when their own battle-line had been inclined, with affairs despaired of, when they themselves were turning to flight and the enemies were rushing in for slaughter and spoil, by the intervention of the priests the carnage was interrupted, and, the forces mutually separated, peace on equitable conditions was composed and constituted. for there has never been any nation so fierce, cruel, and barbarous, among whom their person has not been held sacrosanct and inviolable.

festos celebrant initialem atque ultimum cuiusque mensis diem, et anni item, quem in menses partiuntur, circuitu lunae finitos, ut solis ambitus annum circinat. primos quosque dies Cynemernos, postremos ipsorum lingua Trapemernos appellant, quae uocabula perinde sonant, ac si primifesti et finifesti uocentur.

they celebrate as feast-days the initial and the ultimate day of each month, and likewise of the year, which they divide into months, defined by the circuit of the moon, just as the circuit of the sun encircles the year. the first days they call Cynemernos, the last in their own tongue Trapemernos—words which sound just as if they were called first-festal and end-festal.

delubra uisuntur egregia, utpote non operosa modo, sed quod erat in tanta ipsorum paucitate necessarium, immensi etiam populi capacia. sunt tamen omnia subobscura, nec id aedificandi inscitia factum, sed consilio sacerdotum ferunt, quod immodicam lucem cogitationes dispergere, partiore ac uelut dubia colligi animos, et intendi religionem putant.

distinguished shrines are seen, not only elaborate in workmanship, but also, which was necessary in such great paucity of them, capacious even for an immense populace. yet all are somewhat obscure, and this was not done from ignorance of building, but, they report, by the counsel of the priests, because they think that immoderate light scatters cogitations, while in more partial and as it were dubious light minds are collected, and religion is intensified.

quae quoniam non est ibi apud omnes eadem, et uniuersae tamen eius formae quamquam uariae ac multiplices, in diuinae naturae cultum uelut in unum finem diuersa uia commigrant. idcirco nihil in templis uisitur, auditurue, quod non quadrare ad cunctas in commune uideatur. si quod proprium sit cuiusquam sectae sacrum, id intra domesticos quisque parietes curat, publica tali peragunt ordine, qui nulli prorsus ex priuatis deroget.

since it is not there the same among all, yet all its forms, although various and multiple, by diverse ways converge, as it were, into one end—the cult of the divine nature. therefore nothing is seen or heard in the temples which does not seem to square with all in common. if there is any sacred thing proper to anyone’s sect, each attends to that within domestic walls; they conduct public matters in such an order as to derogate in no way at all from any of the private.

itaque nulla deorum effigies in templo conspicitur, quo liberum cuique sit, qua forma deum uelit e summa religione concipere. nullum peculiare dei nomen inuocant, sed Mythrae dumtaxat, quo uocabulo cuncti in unam diuinae maiestatis naturam, quaecumque sit illa, conspirant, nullae concipiuntur preces, quas non pronunciare quiuis inoffensa sua secta possit.

Therefore no effigy of the gods is seen in the temple, so that it may be free for each person, in whatever form he wishes, to conceive God out of supreme religion. They invoke no peculiar name of a god, but that of Mithras only; by which appellation all conspire into one nature of divine majesty, whatever that may be. No prayers are framed but such as anyone can pronounce without offense to his own sect.

ad templum ergo in finifestis diebus uespere conueniunt, adhuc ieiuni, acturi deo de anno, menseue cuius id festum postremus dies est, prospere acto gratias, postero die, nam is primifestus est, mane ad templa confluitur, ut insequentis anni, mensisue, quem ab illo auspicaturi festo sint, faustum felicemque successum comprecentur. at in finifestis antea quam templum petunt uxores, domi ad uirorum pedes, liberi ad parentum prouoluti, peccasse fatentur sese aut admisso aliquo, aut officio indiligenter obito, ueniamque errati precantur. ita si qua se nubecula domesticae simultatis offuderat, tali satisfactione discutitur, uti animo puro ac sereno sacrificiis intersint.

Therefore on the end‑feast days they gather at the temple in the evening, still fasting, intending to give thanks to God for the year or the month—whose feast‑day that last day is—prosperously accomplished; on the next day, for that is the first‑feast day, at morning they flock to the temples, to pray for a favorable and felicitous success of the following year or month, which from that feast they are about to inaugurate. But on the end‑feast days, before they make for the temple, wives at home, prostrate at their husbands’ feet, and children at their parents’, confess that they have sinned—either by some offense committed or by a duty carelessly discharged—and they beg pardon for the error. Thus, if any little cloud of domestic dissension had been cast over them, by such satisfaction it is dispelled, so that with a pure and serene mind they may take part in the sacrifices.

nam interesse turbido, religio est. eoque odii, iraeue in quemquam sibi conscii, nisi reconciliati ac defecatis affectibus ad sacrificia non ingerunt sese, uindictae celeris, magnaeque metu.

for to be present in a turbid state is a religious scruple. And therefore, if they are conscious to themselves of hatred or anger against anyone, unless reconciled and with their affections purified, they do not intrude themselves upon the sacrifices, for fear of swift and great vengeance.

eo cum ueniunt, uiri in dextram delubri partem, feminae seorsum in sinistram commeant. tum ita se collocant, ut cuiusque domus masculi ante patremfamilias consideant, feminarum materfamilias agmen claudat. ita prospicitur, uti omnes omnium gestus foris ab his obseruentur, quorum authoritate domi ac disciplina reguntur, quin hoc quoque sedulo cauent, uti iunior ibi passim cum seniore copuletur, ne pueri pueris crediti, id temporis puerilibus transigant ineptiis, in quo deberent maxime religiosum erga superos metum, maximum, ac prope unicum uirtutibus incitamentum concipere.

when they come there, the men go into the right part of the shrine, the women separately go into the left. then they place themselves so that the males of each household sit down before the paterfamilias, and, for the women, the materfamilias brings up the rear of the line. provision is thus made that the conduct of all is observed from outside by those by whose authority and discipline they are governed at home; indeed they also carefully take precautions that the younger everywhere there be coupled with the elder, lest boys, entrusted to boys, spend that time in childish inanities, at which they ought especially to conceive a religious fear toward the gods above—the greatest, and almost the sole incitement to virtues.

nullum animal in sacrificiis mactant, nec sanguine rentur, ac caedibus diuinam gaudere clementiam, qui uitam animantibus ideo est elargitus, ut uiuerent. thus incendunt et alia item odoramenta, ad haec cereos numerosos praeferunt, non quod haec nesciant nihil ad diuinam conferre naturam, quippe ut nec ipsas hominum preces, sed et innoxium colendi genus placet, et iis odoribus luminibusque, ac ceteris etiam cerimoniis nescio quomodo sese sentiunt homines erigi, atque in dei cultum animo alacriore consurgere. candidis in templo uestibus amicitur populus, sacerdos uersicolores induitur, et opere et forma mirabiles materia non perinde pretiosa.

They slaughter no animal in sacrifices, nor do they suppose that the divine clemency rejoices in blood and slaughters—He who has bestowed life upon living beings for this very reason, that they might live. They kindle frankincense and likewise other aromatics; to these they also bear numerous wax candles before them, not because they are unaware that these contribute nothing to the divine nature—just as neither do the very prayers of men—but both the innocuous kind of worship is pleasing, and by those odors and lights, and by other ceremonies as well, somehow men feel themselves lifted up, and rise to the worship of God with a more eager spirit. In the temple the people are clothed in white garments, the priest is clad in variegated colors, admirable in workmanship and in form, with the material not correspondingly precious.

neque enim auro intextae. aut raris coagmentatae lapidibus, sed diuersis auium plumis, tam scite, tantoque artificio laboratae sunt, ut operis pretium nullius aestimatio materiae fuerit aequatura. ad hoc in illis uolucrum pennis, plumisque, et certis earum ordinibus, quibus in sacerdotis ueste discriminantur, arcana quaedam dicunt contineri mysteria, quorum interpretatione cognita—quae per sacrificos diligenter traditur—diuinorum in se beneficiorum, suaeque uicissim pietatis in deum, ac mutui quoque inter se officii admoneantur.

for they are neither inwoven with gold, nor joined with rare stones, but are wrought from the diverse feathers of birds, so cleverly and with such artifice that no valuation of the material would be equal to the worth of the workmanship. Moreover, in those birds’ wings and plumes, and in their fixed orders by which they are distinguished in the priest’s vestment, they say certain arcane mysteries are contained, the interpretation of which—diligently handed down through the sacrificial priests—once known, reminds them of the divine benefactions toward them, and in turn of their own piety toward God, and also of the mutual duty among themselves.

cum primum sacerdos ita ornatus ex adito sese offert, cuncti protinus in terram uenerabundi procumbunt, tam alto ab omni parte silentio, ut ipsa rei facies, terrorem quemdam uelut praesentis cuiuspiam numinis incutiat. tellure paulum morati, dato ab sacerdote signo, erigunt sese. tum laudes deo canunt, quas musicis instrumentis interstingunt, aliis magna ex parte formis, quam quae nostro uisuntur orbe.

as soon as the priest, thus adorned, presents himself from the adytum, all straightway, reverent, prostrate themselves upon the earth, with so deep a silence on every side that the very aspect of the thing strikes a certain terror, as it were, of some present numen. having tarried a little on the ground, when a sign has been given by the priest, they raise themselves. then they sing praises to god, which they intersperse with musical instruments, for the most part in other forms than those that are seen in our world.

ex illis pleraque sicuti quae nobis in usu sunt, multum suauitate uincunt. ita quaedam nostris ne conferenda quidem sint. uerum una in re haud dubie longo nos interuallo praecellunt, quod omnis eorum musica, siue quae personatur organis, siue quam uoce modulantur humana, ita naturales affectus imitatur et exprimit, ita sonus accommodatur ad rem, seu deprecantis oratio sit, seu laeta, placabilis, turbida, lugubris, irata, ita rei sensum quendam melodiae forma repraesentat, ut animos auditorum mirum in modum afficiat, penetret, incendat.

Of those things, most, just as those which are in use among us, surpass greatly in suavity. Thus certain items are not even to be compared with ours. But in one matter they undoubtedly excel us by a long interval: that all their music, whether that which is made to sound by instruments, or that which they modulate with the human voice, so imitates and expresses natural affections, so is the sound accommodated to the subject—whether it be a supplicant’s speech, or cheerful, appeasing, turbulent, lugubrious, irate—so does the form of the melody represent a certain sense of the matter, that it affects, penetrates, and inflames the minds of the hearers in a wondrous fashion.

solemnes ad ultimum conceptis uerbis preces, sacerdos pariter populusque percensent, ita compositas, ut quae simul cuncti recitant, priuatim quisque ad semet referat. in his deum et creationis, et gubernationis, et ceterorum praeterea bonorum omnium, quilibet recognoscit authorem, tot ob recepta beneficia gratias agit. nominatim uero quod deo propitio in eam rempublicam inciderit quae sit felicissima, eam religionem sortitus sit, quam speret esse uerissimam.

at the last they run through the solemn prayers in set words, the priest and likewise the people, so composed that what all recite together each one privately refers to himself. In these each recognizes God as the author of creation and of governance, and moreover of all other goods besides, and he gives thanks for so many benefits received. Specifically, that, God being propitious, he has come upon that commonwealth which is most happy, and has been allotted that religion which he hopes to be the truest.

qua in re, si quid erret, aut si quid sit alterutra melius, et quod deus magis approbet, orare se eius bonitas efficiat, hoc ut ipse cognoscat. paratum enim sequi se quaqua uersus ab eo ducatur, sin et haec reipublicae forma sit optima, et sua religio rectissima, tum uti et ipsi constantiam tribuat, et ceteros mortales omneis ad eadem instituta uiuendi, in eandem de deo opinionem perducat, nisi inscrutabilem eius uoluntatem etiam sit, quod in hac religionum uarietate delectet. denique precatur, ut facile defunctum exitu ad se recipiat, quam cito, seroue praefinire quidem non audere se. quamquam quod inoffensa eius maiestate fiat, multo magis ipsi futurum cordi sit, difficillima morte obita, ad deum peruadere, quam ab eo diutius, prosperrimo uitae cursu distineri.

in this matter, if he err in anything, or if either alternative be better, and that which God more approves, he prays that His goodness may bring it about that he himself know this. for he is prepared to follow wherever he is led by Him; but if both this form of the commonwealth be the best, and his own religion the most correct, then that He both grant constancy to him, and lead all other mortals to the same institutes of living, into the same opinion concerning God—unless it also be of His inscrutable will that He takes delight in this variety of religions. finally he prays that He may easily receive him at his passing, how soon or how late he does not indeed dare to predefine. although that it be done without offense to His majesty would be much more at heart to him: to make his way through to God, a most difficult death undergone, rather than to be kept distant from Him longer by the most prosperous course of life.

hac prece dicta rursus in terram proni, pauloque post erecti, discedunt pransum, et quod superest diei, ludis et exercitio militaris disciplinae percurrunt.

with this prayer said, again prone to the earth, and a little later, raised erect, they depart to lunch, and whatever remains of the day they run through with games and with the exercise of military discipline.

[laus reipublicae Utopiensis.]

[praise of the Utopian commonwealth.]

descripsi uobis quam potui uerissime eius formam reipublicae quam ego certe non optimam tantum, sed solam etiam censeo, quae sibi suo iure possit reipublicae uindicare uocabulum. siquidem alibi, de publico loquentes ubique commodo, priuatum curant. hic ubi nihil priuati est, serio publicum negotium agunt, certe utrobique merito.

I have described to you, as truthfully as I could, the form of its republic, which I, for my part, judge not only the best, but even the only one that can, by its own right, vindicate to itself the appellation of “republic.” For elsewhere, while speaking everywhere of the public advantage, they look after the private; here, where there is nothing private, they prosecute the public business in earnest—indeed, in both cases with good reason.

nam alibi, quotus quisque est qui nesciat, nisi quid seorsum prospiciat sibi, quantumuis florente republica semet tamen fame periturum, eoque necessitas urget, ut sui potius, quam populi id est aliorum habendam sibi rationem censeat. contra hic, ubi omnia omnium sunt nemo dubitat—curetur modo, ut plena sint horrea publica—nihil quicquam priuati cuiquam defuturum. neque enim maligna rerum distributio est, neque inops, neque mendicus ibi quisquam.

for elsewhere, how few are there who do not know that, unless a man looks out separately for himself, however flourishing the commonwealth, he will nevertheless perish of hunger; and necessity urges him to this, that he judge he must have consideration for his own rather than for the people’s—that is, for others’. conversely here, where all things are everyone’s, no one doubts—only let it be cared for that the public granaries be full—that nothing at all of the private will be lacking to anyone. for the distribution of things is not illiberal, nor is there anyone there needy or a beggar.

et cum nemo quicquam habeat, omnes tamen diuites sunt. nam quid ditius esse potest, quam adempta prorsus omni solicitudine, laeto ac tranquillo animo uiuere! non de suo uictu trepidum, non uxoris querula flagitatione uexatum, non paupertatem filio metuentem, non de filiae dote anxium, sed de suo, suorumque omnium, uxoris, filiorum, nepotum, pronepotum, abnepotum, et quam longam posterorum seriem suorum, generosi praesumunt, uictu esse, ac felicitate securum.

and although no one has anything, yet all are rich. for what can be richer than to live, every solicitude utterly removed, with a cheerful and tranquil mind! not trembling about his own sustenance, not vexed by a wife’s querulous dunning, not fearing poverty for his son, not anxious about a daughter’s dowry, but, as to his own and of all who are his, his wife, his sons, his grandsons, his great-grandsons, his great-great-grandsons, and however long a series of his posterity, men of noble spirit presume that they will be secure in sustenance and in felicity.

quid quod nihilo minus his prospicitur, qui nunc impotes olim laborauerunt, quam his qui nunc laborant.

What of the fact that no less provision is made for those who, now incapacitated, once labored, than for those who labor now.

hic aliquis uelim cum hac aequitate audeat aliarum iustitiam gentium comparare, apud quas dispeream, si ullum prorsus comperio, iustitiae, aequitatisque uestigium. nam quae haec iustitia est, ut nobilis quispiam, aut aurifex, aut foenerator, aut denique alius quisquam eorum, qui aut omnino nihil agunt, aut id quod agunt, eius generis est, ut non sit reipublicae magnopere necessarium, lautam ac splendidam uitam, uel ex otio, uel superuacuo negotio consequatur, cum interim mediastinus, auriga, faber, agricola, tanto, tamque assiduo labore, quam uix iumenta sustineant, tam necessario, ut sine eo ne unum quidem annum possit ulla durare respublica uictum tamen adeo malignum parant, uitam adeo miseram ducunt, ut longe potior uideri possit conditio iumentorum, quibus nec tam perpetuus labor, nec uictus multo deterior est, et ipsis etiam suauior, nec ullus interim de futuro timor. at hos et labor sterilis, atque infructuosus, in praesenti stimulat, et inopis recordatio senectutis occidit, quippe quibus parcior est diurna merces, quam ut eidem possit diei sufficere, tantum abest ut excrescat, et supersit aliquid quod quotidie queat in senectutis usum reponi.

Here I would like someone to dare to compare to this equity the justice of other peoples, among whom—may I perish if I discover any trace at all of justice or equity. For what sort of justice is this, that some noble, or a goldsmith, or a moneylender, or finally anyone else of those who either do absolutely nothing, or what they do is of such a kind that it is not greatly necessary to the commonwealth, should obtain a luxurious and splendid life either from leisure or from superfluous business; while meanwhile the menial, the driver, the smith, the farmer, with labor so great and so assiduous as beasts of burden can scarcely endure, and so necessary that without it no commonwealth could last even a single year, nevertheless contrive a livelihood so mean, and lead a life so miserable, that the condition of the beasts of burden might seem far preferable—for they have neither so perpetual a toil, nor sustenance much worse (and even to them sweeter), nor meanwhile any fear about the future. But these men are both goaded in the present by barren and unfruitful labor, and struck down by the recollection of a needy old age, since their daily wage is too scant to suffice for that same day—so far is it from increasing and from there being something left over that each day could be set aside for the use of old age.

an non haec iniqua est et ingrata respublica, quae generosis ut uocant et aurificibus, et id genus reliquis, aut otiosis, aut tantum adulatoribus, et inanium uoluptatum artificibus, tanta munera prodigit. agricolis contra, carbonariis, mediastinis, aurigis et fabris, sine quibus nulla omnino respublica esset, nihil benigne prospicit. sed eorum florentis aetatis abusa laboribus, annis tandem ac morbo graues, omnium rerum indigos, tot uigiliarum immemor, tot ac tantorum oblita beneficiorum miserrima morte repensat ingratissima.

or is not this commonwealth iniquitous and ungrateful, which prodigally lavishes such bounties upon the “well-born,” as they call them, and upon goldsmiths, and the rest of that kind—either idlers, or mere flatterers, and artificers of empty pleasures? to farmers, by contrast, to charcoal-burners, to menials, to drivers and smiths, without whom no commonwealth at all would exist, it provides nothing kindly. but after abusing the labors of their flourishing age, when at length they are burdened by years and sickness, needy of all things, unmindful of so many vigils, forgetful of so many and so great benefits, it, most ungrateful, repays them with a most wretched death.

quid quod ex diurno pauperum demenso diuites cotidie aliquid, non modo priuata fraude, sed publicis etiam legibus abradunt, ita quod ante uidebatur iniustum, optime de republica meritis pessimam referre gratiam, hoc isti deprauatum etiam fecerunt, tum prouulgata lege iustitiam.

What of the fact that from the daily ration of the poor the rich every day scrape away something, not only by private fraud, but even by public laws—so that what formerly seemed unjust, to return the worst gratitude to those who have deserved best of the commonwealth, these men have even made it, depraved as it is, into “justice” by a promulgated law?

itaque omnes has quae hodie usquam florent respublicas animo intuenti ac uersanti mihi, nihil sic me amet deus, occurrit aliud quam quaedam conspiratio diuitum, de suis commodis reipublicae nomine, tituloque tractantium. comminiscunturque et excogitant omnes modos atque artes quibus, quae malis artibus ipsi congesserunt, ea primum ut absque perdendi metu retineant, post hoc ut pauperum omnium opera, ac laboribus quam minimo sibi redimant, eisque abutantur. haec machinamenta, ubi semel diuites publico nomine hoc est etiam pauperum, decreuerunt obseruari, iam leges fiunt.

therefore, as I look upon and turn over in my mind all these commonwealths which flourish anywhere today, so help me God, nothing occurs to me other than a certain conspiracy of the rich, handling their own conveniences under the name and title of the republic. and they devise and contrive all modes and arts by which, first, the things which they themselves have heaped up by evil arts they may retain without fear of losing; after this, that they may buy for themselves at the least price the work and labors of all the poor, and abuse them. these machinations, when once the rich have decreed that they be observed in the public name—that is, even of the poor—straightway become laws.

at homines deterrimi cum inexplebili cupiditate, quae fuerant omnibus suffectura, ea omnia inter se partiuerint, quam longe tamen ab Utopiensium reipublicae felicitate absunt! e qua cum ipso usu sublata penitus omni auiditate pecuniae, quanta moles molestiarum recisa, quanta scelerum seges radicitus euulsa est! quis enim nescit fraudes, furta, rapinas, rixas, tumultus, iurgia, seditiones, caedes, proditiones, ueneficia, cotidianis uindicata potius quam refrenata suppliciis, interempta pecunia commori, ad haec metum sollicitudinem, curas, labores, uigilias, eodem momento quo pecunia perituras.

but men most depraved, with insatiable cupidity, have divided among themselves all those things which would have sufficed for everyone—how far, nevertheless, they stand from the felicity of the Utopians’ commonwealth! in which, with the very use of money removed and every avidity for money utterly taken away, what a mass of annoyances has been cut off, what a crop of crimes has been torn up by the roots! for who does not know that frauds, thefts, rapines, quarrels, tumults, altercations, seditions, slaughters, treasons, poisonings—avenged daily rather than restrained by punishments—die when money is slain; and, besides these, fear, solicitude, cares, labors, and vigils will perish at the same moment at which money perishes.

quin paupertas ipsa, quae sola pecuniis uisa est indigere, pecunia prorsus undique sublata, protinus etiam ipsa decresceret.

nay, poverty itself, which alone seemed to be in need of money, with money absolutely removed everywhere, would forthwith itself also diminish.

id quo fiat illustrius, reuolue in animo tecum annum aliquem sterilem atque infoecundum, in quo multa hominum milia, fames abstulerit, contendo plane in fine illius penuriae excussis diuitum horreis, tantum frugum potuisse reperiri, quantum si fuisset inter eos distributum, quos macies ac tabes absumpsit illam caeli, solique parcitatem, nemo omnino sensisset. tam facile uictus parari posset, nisi beata illa pecunia, quae praeclare scilicet inuenta est, ut aditus ad uictum per eam patesceret, sola nobis ad uictum uiam intercluderet.

that this may become more illustrious, revolve in your mind with yourself some barren and unfruitful year, in which famine has carried off many thousands of human beings; I contend plainly that at the end of that penury, the granaries of the rich having been shaken out, so much grain could have been found that, if it had been distributed among those whom leanness and wasting consumed, no one at all would have sensed that parsimony of sky and sun. so easily could sustenance be procured, were it not that blessed money, which of course was splendidly invented so that access to sustenance might be opened through it, alone blocks for us the way to sustenance.

sentiunt ista, non dubito, etiam diuites, nec ignorant quanto potior esset illa conditio nulla re necessaria carere, quam multis abundare superfluis, tam numerosis eripi malis, quam magnis obsideri diuitiis. neque mihi quidem dubitare subit, quin uel sui cuiusque commodi ratio, uel Christi seruatoris authoritas—qui neque pro tanta sapientia potuit ignorare quid optimum esset, neque qua erat bonitate id consulere, quod non optimum sciret—totum orbem facile in huius reipublicae leges iamdudum traxisset, nisi una tantum belua, omnium princeps parensque pestium superbia, reluctaretur. haec non suis commodis prosperitatem, sed ex alienis metitur incommodis.

I do not doubt that even the rich perceive these things, nor are they ignorant how much more preferable that condition would be, to lack nothing necessary, than to abound in many superfluities, as it is preferable to be rescued from so numerous ills than to be besieged by great riches. Nor does a doubt occur to me that either the calculation of each one’s own advantage, or the authority of Christ the Savior—who, by reason of such wisdom, could not have been ignorant what was best, nor, given the goodness that was his, have taken counsel for anything that he did not know to be best—would long since have drawn the whole world easily into the laws of this commonwealth, if only a single beast, pride, the chief and parent of all plagues, were not resisting. This measures prosperity not by its own advantages, but by the disadvantages of others.

haec ne dea quidem fieri uellet, nullis relictis miseris quibus imperare atque insultare possit. quorum miseriis praefulgeat ipsius comparata felicitas, quorum suis explicatis opibus, angat atque incendat inopiam. haec auerni serpens mortalium pererrans pectora, ne meliorem uitae capessant uiam, uelut remora retrahit ac remoratur.

This not even as a goddess would she wish to come to pass, with no wretches left over whom she might command and insult; in whose miseries her own felicity, by comparison, might shine forth, and by the unfolding of whose own resources she might choke and inflame indigence. This serpent of Avernus, wandering through the breasts of mortals, lest they take up a better way of life, like a remora draws them back and delays them.

quae quoniam pressius hominibus infixa est, quam ut facile possit euelli, hanc reipublicae formam, quam omnibus libenter optarim, Utopiensibus saltem contigisse gaudeo, qui ea uitae sunt instituta secuti, quibus reipublicae fundamenta iecerunt non modo felicissime, uerum etiam quantum humana praesagiri coniectura contigit, aeternum duratura. extirpatis enim domi cum ceteris uitiis ambitionis, et factionum radicibus, nihil impendet periculi, ne domestico dissidio laboretur, quae res una multarum urbium egregie munitas opes pessundedit. at salua domi concordia, et salubribus institutis, non omnium finitimorum inuidia principum—quae saepius id iam olim semper reuerberata tentauit—concutere illud imperium, aut commouere queat.

since this is more firmly implanted in men than that it can easily be plucked out, I rejoice that this form of commonwealth, which I would gladly wish for all, has at least befallen the Utopians, who have followed those institutions of life by which they have laid the foundations of the commonwealth not only most felicitously, but also—so far as human conjecture can presage—destined to endure forever. For, with the roots of ambition and of factions, together with the other vices, extirpated at home, no danger impends that they should be burdened by domestic dissension, which single cause has ruined the excellently fortified resources of many cities. But, with concord secure at home and with healthful institutions, not even the envy of all the neighboring princes—which time and again, even long ago, always beaten back, has attempted this—can shake that dominion or move it.

haec ubi Raphael recensuit, quamquam haud pauca mihi succurrebant, quae in eius populi moribus, legibusque perquam absurde uidebantur instituta, non solum de belli gerendi ratione, et rebus diuinis, ac religione, aliisque insuper eorum institutis, sed in eo quoque ipso maxime, quod maximum totius institutionis fundamentum est uita scilicet, uictuque communi, sine ullo pecuniae commercio, qua una re funditus euertitur omnis nobilitas, magnificentia, splendor, maiestas, uera ut publica est opinio decora atque ornamenta reipublicae tamen quoniam defessum narrando sciebam, neque mihi satis exploratum erat, possetne ferre, ut contra suam sententiam sentiretur, praesertim quod recordabar, eo nomine quosdam ab illo reprehensos, quasi uererentur, ne non satis putarentur sapere, nisi aliquid inuenirent, in quo uellicare aliorum inuenta possent, idcirco et illorum institutione, et ipsius oratione laudata, manu apprehendens intro cenatum duco, praefatus tamen aliud nobis tempus, iisdem de rebus altius cogitandi, atque uberius cum eo conferendi fore, quod utinam aliquando contingeret.

when Raphael had recounted these things, although not a few points came to mind for me which in that people’s morals and laws seemed instituted very absurdly—not only concerning the method of waging war, and divine matters and religion, and, besides, their other institutions, but also especially in that very point which is the greatest foundation of the whole institution, namely life and common living, without any commerce of money, by which single thing all nobility, magnificence, splendor, majesty—the true, as public opinion holds, adornments and ornaments of the republic—are utterly overthrown; nevertheless, since I knew he was wearied by narrating, nor was it sufficiently clear to me whether he could endure that one should think contrary to his judgment (especially as I recalled that on that score he had reproved certain men, as though they feared they would not be thought wise enough unless they found something in which they could twitch at the inventions of others), therefore, both their institution and his speech having been praised, taking him by the hand I lead him inside to supper, having first declared, however, that another time would be ours for thinking more deeply about the same matters and for conferring with him more copiously—which would that it might sometime befall.

interea quemadmodum haud possum omnibus assentiri quae dicta sunt, alioqui ab homine citra controuersiam eruditissimo simul et rerum humanarum peritissimo, ita facile confiteor permulta esse in Utopiensium republica, quae in nostris ciuitatibus optarim uerius, quam sperarim.

meanwhile, just as I am by no means able to assent to all the things that have been said, otherwise by a man beyond controversy most erudite and at the same time most experienced in human affairs, so I readily confess that there are very many things in the republic of the Utopians which I would more truly desire in our cities than I would hope for.

secundi libri finis sermonis pomeridiani Raphaelis Hythlodaei, de legibus et institutis Utopiensis insulae paucis adhuc cognitae, per clarissimum et eruditissimum uirum D. Thomam Morum ciuem et uicecomitem Londinensem.

the end of the second book of the afternoon discourse of Raphael Hythlodaeus, on the laws and institutions of the island of Utopia, as yet known to few, by the most illustrious and most erudite man, Sir Thomas More, citizen and undersheriff of London.