Brief as that little work is, it has introduced into our language a word the meaning of which is understood by thousands and tens of thousands who have never read the fiction from whence it is derived; while volumes upon volumes of metaphysical politics have sunk into the deep pool of oblivion, without raising even a momentary bubble upon its surface.

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More's Utopia is a complex, innovative and penetrating contribution to political thought, culminating in the famous 'description' of the Utopians, who live according to the principles of natural law, but are receptive to Christian teachings, who hold all possessions in common,and view gold as worthless. Drawing on the ideas of Plato,St Augustine and Aristotle, Utopia was to prove seminal in its turn, giving rise to the genres of utopian and dystopian prose fiction whose practitioners include Sir Francis Bacon,H.G. Wells, Aldous Huxley and George Orwell. At once a critique of the social consequences of greed and a meditation on the personal cost of entering public service,Utopia dramatises the difficulty of balancing the competing claims of idealism and pragmatism, and continues to invite its readers to become participants in a compelling debate concerning the best state of a commonwealth.

INTRODUCTION

Ralph Robinson to William Cecil

The Translator to the Gentle Reader

First Letter from Thomas More to Peter Giles

A Letterfrom Peter Giles to Jerome Busleyden

Second Letter from Thomas More to Peter Giles

THE FIRST BOOK:

Concerning the Best State of a Commonwealth

THE SECOND BOOK:

The Desaiption of Utopia

 Of the Cities and namely of Amaurote

 Of the Magistrates

 Of Sciences, Crafts and Occupations

 Of their Living and Mutual Conversation Together

 Of their Journeying or Travelling Abroad

 Of Bondmen, Sick Persons, Wedlock, and divers other Matters

 Of Warfare

 Of the Religions in Utopia

A Metre of Four Verses in the Utopian Tongue

A Short Metre of Utopia

The Utopian Alphabet

Glossary

Names