Thomas More
Author
Description
"I die the King's good servant, but God's first," declared Sir Thomas More from the scaffold upon his 1535 execution for treason. Condemned to death for his refusal to acknowledge Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church of England, More spent his final months in the Tower of London, writing this message of hope in the face of suffering. The noted Renaissance humanist cast his work of political thought and spiritual reflection in the form of a...
2) Utopia
Author
Series
Appears on list
Description
"In his most famous and controversial book, Utopia, Thomas More imagines a perfect island nation where thousands live in peace and harmony, men and women are both educated, and all property is communal. Through dialogue and correspondence between the protagonist Raphael Hythloday and his friends and contemporaries, More explores the theories behind war, political disagreements, social quarrels, and wealth distribution and imagines the day-to-day lives...
3) The prince
Author
Description
Need to seize a country? Have enemies you must destroy? In this handbook for despots and tyrants, the Renaissance statesman Machiavelli sets forth how to accomplish this and more, while avoiding the awkwardness of becoming generally hated and despised. "Men ought either to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be...
