Utopia

“Utopos me General from not island made island

Alone I of-lands all without philosophy

State philosophical I-have-formed for-mortals

Willingly I-impart my-things, not not-willingly I-accept better-ones.”

Prior to Book 1, More includes a depiction of the characters of the Utopian alphabet and provides a selection of Utopian poetry “translated” into English. The poem is in the voice of Utopos, the founder of Utopia. Two important features of More’s depiction of Utopia appear in this poem: first, the idea that Utopia reflects the ideal of the most rationally organized society that is possible and, second, that an essential part of Utopia’s governing philosophy is its willingness to use new ideas that will help it realize a perfect society.

“My job was simply to write down what I’d heard, which was perfectly easy—but my other commitments have left me less than no time to get this perfectly easy job done. I’ve been hard at work in the law courts, either at the Bar or on the Bench, either in civil or in criminal cases There’s always someone that has to be visited, either on business, or as a matter of courtesy. I’m out practically all day, dealing with other people—the rest of the day I spend with my family—so there’s no time left for me, that is, for my writing.”

Fictional correspondence forms an important part of More’s framing device for the dialogues in Books 1 and 2. In his letter to Peter Gilles, More sets up the basic conceit of his satirical novel: that he has simply recorded conversations in which the sailor Raphael Nonsenso related his social philosophy and tales of the island nation of Utopia. More’s explanation of his tardiness in setting these conversations into writing foreshadows an important theme: forms of social organization constrain and shape an individual’s choices and actions.