TOMÁS MORO: BIOGRAPHY, PHILOSOPHY, CONTRIBUTIONS, WORKS, PHRASES - ARTE - 2025

Thomas More (1478 - 1535), originally Thomas More, was an English-born philosopher, statesman, lawyer, and writer. He is famous for having been one of Henry VIII's chancellors and a great opponent of the Protestant current, which earned him a position as a saint in the Catholic Church.

He studied at the University of Oxford, then prepared to become a lawyer, a career in which he had a brilliant destiny. Although he chose civil life and devoted himself to public service, his religious vocation was latent from an early age.

Sir Thomas More, by Hans Holbein, via Wikimedia Commons

Moro's philosophy was embodied in one of his most important works: Utopia. The impact that this book had on the world of philosophy, especially politics, was immense because it proposed the government of a fictional state guided by morality and reason.

He entered Parliament in 1504, but did not agree with Henry VII, who ruled the nation at that time. That is why he decided to separate himself from public life until this sovereign died and his young son was crowned.

From 1510 Thomas More served as sub-prefect of London. Seven years later he entered the service of Henry Tudor, the eighth of his name to rule England.

To that administration Moro served first as a diplomat and then as the right hand of the monarch, being his secretary.

He received his knighthood in 1521 and later began serving as Chancellor of Lancaster. In 1529 Moro finally obtained the position of Lord Chancellor by the grace of King Henry VIII.

Defense of Catholicism

From that time he began to show his disagreement and fierce rejection of the proposals of Martin Luther, who sought to break the order of the Catholic Church and its authorities in Rome.

Thus began the resounding separation between Moro and the English sovereign. The philosopher and chancellor did not support Henry VIII's idea of ​​rejecting Catholic dogma and installing himself at the head of the ecclesiastical hierarchy in his nation.

Nor did he support the divorce between Enrique Tudor and Catalina de Aragón, which was one of the elements that promoted the British schism of the continental church. Thomas More did not take the oath in favor of the supremacy of the monarch and his new dynastic line.

He himself decided to separate from his post as chancellor, but that was not enough to contain Enrique's anger. Tomás Moro was tried as a traitor and as a conviction he obtained execution.

Biography

Early years

Thomas More was born on February 7, 1478 in the city of London, England. He was the second child and the first son of the marriage between Agnes Graunger and Sir John Moro, a successful lawyer who was later appointed a judge.

The little boy received his first letters at one of the most prestigious schools in the city, St. Anthony.

He was for a short period in that institution, his life changed course when his father found him accommodation as a page in the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Morton.

When Thomas More entered Morton's command in 1490, he was 12 years old. At that time the archbishop was also Chancellor of England.

Two years later Moro managed to enter the University of Oxford. It was Morton himself who helped him get that place, since he had been pleasantly surprised by the qualities of the young man.

For the rest of his life Morton continued to be a very important figure for Moro who took him as a role model, despite the fact that he passed away in 1500.

Education

It is not known if Thomas More was part of St. Mary Hall or Canterbury College. Some of his teachers at the university were Thomas Linacre, who was a doctor and academic, and he also received lessons from William Grocyn, a specialist in teaching Greek.

It was in that institution where Moro fed on the intellectual current known as humanism, which dominated the academic curriculum of the time. Also in these years he learned both Greek and Latin.

Moro's stay at Oxford was short, he only spent two years in the student body. This was mainly due to pressure from his father to follow his example and become a lawyer.

Although young Thomas did not agree, he moved to begin his preparation at the New Inn. All the English litigants belonged to the "Inn of Court", a sort of bar associations.

At that time the name made a direct reference to the inns where legal professionals stayed and where they carried out legal activities. The young people were formed in these posadas watching the performances of the "barristers".

In 1496 Thomas More entered Lincoln's Inn, one of the most important inns of the time, and was received as a barrister in 1501.

Religious and civil vocation

Before marrying and settling down as a family man, Thomas More moved into the Charterhouse guest cabins. This was an important monastery ruled by the Carthusian brothers and there he dedicated himself to performing spiritual exercises with them.

After proving his vocation, Moro preferred to continue with his life as a civilian since he knew that his desire to start a family was more intense than that of seclusion in a monastery. He felt that he could strike a balance between his religious leanings and his professional and family life.

Professional beginnings

Thomas More began to gain renown as a lawyer and in 1504 he was selected as a member of the English Parliament as the representative of Great Yarmouth.

In that same period he had his first clash with the royal authority, since Henry VII had insistently requested that a retroactive subsidy be approved to replace the funds he had spent on his daughter's wedding.

It is known that Moro played an active role in having King Henry VII's request rejected by Parliament. Since then the crown was in bad terms with Tomás Moro and he preferred to dedicate himself to private activities and maintain a low profile in national politics.

Family

As his name became relevant in professional and political spheres, Thomas More also found love in a young woman named Jane Colt. The couple married in 1505 and settled in Old Barge, Bucklersbury.

It was a priority for Moro to be able to give his wife more in-depth instruction than what had been provided. He emphasized subjects such as literature and music, which he considered important to stimulate the intellect.

The Moors had four children between the year of their union and Jane's death in 1511. The names of their descendants were: Margaret, Elizabeth, Cicely and John, named after Thomas's father.

Although it was not well received, Thomas More made the decision to marry again just days after Jane's death. The matter was so delicate that special permission had to be obtained from the Church.

His new wife was a widow named Alice Middleton, she had a daughter and did not conceive during her marriage with Moro. She was seven years older than her husband and was also a very wealthy woman.

In addition to taking care of Moro's four children and Alice's daughter, the couple took custody of two more girls: Anne Cresacre, who later married John Moro and Margaret Giggs.

Entry into politics

From 1510 Thomas More had been selected as London's representative to Parliament. In addition, he served as sub-prefect of the English capital, in that position he had as main duties to preside over the local court and provide legal advice to other officials.

That kept him extremely busy, so it is thought that after the death of his wife, the only possible solution to maintain order was to choose his new partner early. In this way, he did not lose control within his home, without neglecting his work.

Something that has been celebrated of Tomás Moro was his insistence, contrary to custom, to provide education for both his daughters and the boy. Among all, Margareth highlighted, who was very given with languages.

The example of the Moro was emulated by different houses that, inspired by the results, procured appropriate education for their daughters.

In 1514 Moro got the position of master of requests, a year later he fully entered the service of Henry VIII and was opening his space within the Privy Council of the British monarch.

Diplomatic

One of the first commissions given to Thomas More was a trip to Bruges as a member of the English diplomatic delegation along with Cuthbert Tunstall and others. The mission was to renegotiate some commercial agreements between England and Holland.

Moro seemed like the ideal envoy as he was well versed in commercial law having worked closely with London companies. In addition, he represented the interests of the city to which he owed his loyalty.

Although the negotiations stopped in July, Moro decided to stay on the mainland for several more months.

In this period, he began to write Utopia, one of his most relevant works, charged with social criticism and sarcasm by portraying European society with all its flaws. During his journey he crossed paths with that of his friend Erasmus of Rotterdam.

Both met in England in 1499 and since then they became very close, it seems that Erasmus did not master the English language, so the communications between them were in Latin.

They were so close that Erasmus even had a room in Moro's house where he used to go seasonally to visit England.

When Moro was beginning his writing of Utopia, he met other friends of Erasmus on the continent such as Jerónimo de Busleyden and Pieter Gillis.

Utopia

Tomás Moro published his most famous literary work, which broke various paradigms of the time, in 1516. The work was adored both by academics who favored the humanist system and by public servants.

The selection of the island's name arose from a play on words between "ou - topos", which in Greek means "nowhere" and "eu - topos", which means "good place".

Consequently, the setting was fictional, and precisely that gave the author sufficient freedom to address social problems frankly.

In this society it was governed by a communist, republican and democratic system. Instead of following the designs of an autocrat, intellect and good judgment.

He also highlighted the fact that there was freedom of belief, which in European eyes was understood as paganism. It raised the central difference with the Christian medieval institutions that were in decline.

In addition, he took a different approach to human nature than that put forward by other philosophers such as Machiavelli. Moro addressed the suppression of evil in men thanks to the freedoms within the government system and the domain of reason.

Also between 1513 and 1518 he was working on the History of King Richard III, but Moro did not finish this work.

In the service of the king

In 1518 Thomas More's position as a member of King Henry VIII's Privy Council was confirmed. The selection of this academic to occupy a position within the court was favored by his fame as an intellectual, which would do good to the government of the young monarch.

He used his position as a counselor to promote important educational reforms in England, thereby favoring the study of Greek classics and the proposals made by Erasmus of Rotterdam.

Moro also served as royal secretary until 1525 and was the main link between Cardinal Wolsey and the English monarch. Among his other duties was that of diplomat and orator appointed by the crown.

From 1520 until the following year, Tomás Moro was in the conversations that took place between Carlos V and the merchants of Hansa.

The king honored him in 1521 by granting him the title of knight, at the same time Moro collaborated with the writing of Henry VIII's work entitled Defense of the seven sacraments. With that writing, the English king received from the pope the title of "Defender of the faith."

Moro was selected as speaker of the Commons in 1523. The year that followed the universities took advantage of the fact that a humanist was directly related to the government and included themselves among their priorities.

Then the academic authorities appointed as superior steward of the University of Oxford. This was emulated later, in 1525 by the University of Cambridge.

Chancellery

From 1525 Thomas More became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Also at this time he was entrusted with the task of refuting the biblical texts translated into common languages ​​and it was his mission to oppose the reform or Protestant claims.

Finally, he managed to occupy the position of lord chancellor in 1529; at that time he took the post that had been Cardinal Wolsey's. It also did not meet the expectations that its predecessor had created in the king, in fact, it did not even support them.

But Moro did not let that get in the way of his management, since beneficial measures were taken for Henry VIII from the beginning. Likewise, the Parliament of the Reform was formed, which was in session for seven years.

In 1531 it was the same Moro who was in charge of making public the support that different European universities had expressed about the thesis with which Henry VIII justified the nullity of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon.

Parliament approved the divorce and removed Maria's successor rights. Likewise, they accepted the new union of the king with Ana Bolena and the pope began to be referred to as the "bishop of Rome."

Break with the government

The English movement for separation from the Catholic Church was guided, rather than by actual religious differences, by nationalism. The British rejected the interference of France and Spain, which dominated the actions of Rome.

Despite this, Moro was very attached to ecclesiastical traditions and did not consent to such a drastic change in religious dogma.

The popularity and affection of the English people for the Tudors was very important during the schism that occurred under Henry VIII. Add to that that the division was actually convenient for both civilians and lower clergy.

The British Isles were separated in geography, language, culture, and economic interests from the mainland. All those elements came together so that social change became much more digestible at the time for the inhabitants of England.

For Thomas More it was impossible to swear his recognition of Henry's supremacy, because he was not willing to abandon his faith, nor the authority of the pope. That is why he decided to present his resignation to the Chancellery in May 1532.

However, Henry VIII still continued to hold him as a close collaborator. A year later, Moro decided not to appear at the coronation of Ana Bolena and with that failure aroused the wrath of the English sovereign and sealed his fate.

Last years

Although Thomas More privately sent Henry VIII his congratulations, as well as his best wishes, it was not enough. Charges against the former foreign minister soon began to appear, the first was for bribery, but it was soon denied.

He was later charged with treason for a link to Elizabeth Barton, who had claimed that with the new marriage the king had "damaged his soul." It was also found that Moro had recommended that Barton not repeat this to anyone.

In March 1534 the Oath of Succession had to be taken, in which loyalty to the new line of heirs to the English crown was ratified and Moro did not want to take it.

He later argued that he had no problems with the new succession, but if he accepted it publicly, he should likewise accept the approach concerning the authority of the pope.

Prison

Thomas More was captured by the royal authorities on April 17, 1534, and was taken to the Tower of London. While confined there, Thomas Cromwell visited him several times, but Moro was not willing to sacrifice his beliefs, not even for his loyalty to the king.

He made it clear that his confinement did not displease him at all and that if he had been able, he would have done so voluntarily earlier. He explained that only his responsibilities as a parent bound him to the world.

The charges that were raised against him were, in the first place: malicious silence, for not taking an oath of the supremacy of the king over the pope.

To this accusation was added that of malicious conspiracy, for his alleged alliance with Bishop John Fisher. Both were said to have claimed that Parliament did not have the authority to decide whether the monarch had greater legitimacy over the faith than the pope.

Judgment

The trial against Thomas More was held on July 1, 1535. The accused defended himself on the grounds that he had never betrayed the king, since he did not affirm or deny anything regarding the sovereign's supremacy and consequently accepted the premise for not opposing.

Then a witness appeared, Richard Rich, who had never been on good terms with Moro and claimed that he had heard from the ex-chancellor that the king was not the rightful head of the Church.

Several other witnesses denied Rich's statements, including Thomas More himself. But none of that managed to change the verdict that found him guilty of high treason. Later, Moro himself decided to clarify his position in which he affirmed that temporal men cannot lead the Church.

In the first instance, he was condemned to the classic punishment for individuals who were not from aristocratic families, that is, he would be hanged, dragged and dismembered. King Henry VIII did not consent to this and commuted the sentence to beheading.

Death

Thomas More was executed on July 6, 1535 in the capital of England. With his last words he made it clear that he had always served the king loyally, but that God was highest in his priorities.

His head was put on a stake, while his body was buried in the Chapel of the Tower of London known as St. Peter ad Vincula.

The only relative present at the time was his adopted daughter Margareth, who saved his head and brought it into their family vault at Canterbury.

His death was a severe blow to the academics and humanists of the time, especially to his friend Erasmus of Rotterdam.

Philosophy

The thought of Tomás Moro is expressed with greater intensity in his work Utopia. He addressed one of the main obstacles his society faced to get ahead, this was the fact that politics and morals had gone their separate ways.

One of the immediate consequences of government corruption was that the same evil passed to other areas of great importance such as the economy and society in general.

The powerful and millionaires kept the legal system hijacked, thus perpetuating and concentrating their power.

Moro was intelligent enough not to express his reasoning in a historical context and framed in the geopolitics of his time, but in fiction. If his ideas flourished on an island that would never exist, he could not win enemies.

characteristics

In this fictitious state the government was republican and democratic, like that of the Greeks in their prime. For Moro, the ideal country was governed by reason, rather than by economic power and divine tradition.

This whole model is based on the inner goodness that this humanist attributes to men (at least within the work).

It is a reasonable consequence that everything raised in Utopia is unrealizable in reality, because the characteristics of its inhabitants are not of this world. The option remains open to question whether the ideal of Moro could take place in the promised kingdom of heaven.

It also addresses the work distributed among members of the community, with specific schedules. Another point of great relevance is the idea of ​​marriage for clergy and gender equality.

This vision that poses a kind of communism was fundamental for theorists like Karl Marx. But many have argued that the ideas that Moro displays in the work are nothing more than satire and that is why Moro chose so many sarcasm-laden puns.

Contrasts

In his life, the ideas that Moro put into practice did not correspond to what he had expressed in his Utopia. Some think that he applied the model proposed by Walter Hilton in which it is explained that there can be a balance between culture and spiritual life.

For Hilton, religion, academia and civil life can meet at one point and generate great benefits for the community if this combination is used to effect real change through government.

An example of this are the subsidies that the English crown received thanks to the intervention of Thomas More as Chancellor.

In the same way, he defended tradition by adhering to the Catholic canon until its last moments and with that he defended the social and religious order that many thought Moro had criticized with his work.

Other contributions

His greatest action was educational reform, since he defended humanism and its teaching. He advocated that the study of Greek and its most important works should be propagated in English universities.

He also considered that the students' approach to historical sources could give a broader vision of contemporary problems. This led to a better analysis of the Holy Scriptures and an accurate understanding of the reality of Renaissance society.

He also generated a great social impact with the example he set himself: female education. Moro's daughters were educated in a small school that he ordered to install inside his house, where his only son was also educated.

He was in favor of teaching women and men with the same complexity, in addition to teaching the same subjects. Thanks to the excellent results he obtained, the other families of good social position in England began to educate their daughters.

Plays

- A Merry Jest, c. 1516.

- Utopia, 1516.

- Latin Poems (Latin Poems), 1518 - 1520.

- Letter to Brixius (Letter to Brixius), 1520.

- Reply to Luther (Responsio ad Lutherum), 1523.

- A Dialogue Concerning Heresies (A Dialogue Concerning Heresies), 1529 - 1530.

- Supplication of Souls, 1529.

- Carta contra Frith (Letter Against Frith), 1532.

- The Confutation of Tyndale's Answer, 1532-1533

- Apology, 1533.

- Debellation of Salem and Bizance, 1533.

- The Answer to a Poisoned Book, 1533.

Other works

- The History of King Richard III (The History of King Richard III), written between 1513 - 1518.

- The Last Four Things (The Four Last Things), composed about 1522.

- A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, 1534.

- Treatise Upon the Passion, 1534.

- Treatise on the Blessed Body, 1535.

- Instructions and Prayers, 1535.

- The Agony of Christ (De Tristitia Christi), 1535

Phrases

- “You should not abandon ship during a storm because you cannot control the wind. What you cannot make good, you must at least make it as bad as possible ”.

- "I never intend, being God my good Lord, to tie my soul to the back of another man, not even to that of the best living man I know: because I know where it could lead her."

- "I die being a good servant of the king, but first of God."

- "My case was such in this matter through the clarity of my own conscience, that although I may feel pain I will not suffer any harm, since in this case a man can lose his head and receive no harm."

- "What is delayed is not avoided."

- “I have never seen a fool who did not think he was wise. If a fool perceives himself as a fool, that point is not crazy, but a small spark of intelligence.

References

1. En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Thomas More. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
2. Marc'hadour, G. (2020). Sir Thomas More - Biography, Books, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: britannica.com.
3. Beneyto, J. (1964). History of political doctrines.: Aguilar.
4. Baker-Smith, D. (2019). Thomas More (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Plato.stanford.edu. Available at: plato.stanford.edu.
5. The Center for Thomas More Studies, University of Dallas. (2020). Quotes of Thomas More. Available at: thomasmorestudies.org.