Thomas More's devotion to a higher law
A BIOGRAPHY FOR ALL SEASONS
THE LIFE OF THOMAS MORE
By Peter Ackroyd
447 pp., $30
One of the most poignant qualities to be found in the work of certain contemporary English writers is what Tennyson called a "passion for the past." If I were asked to name the one modern writer most deeply affected by this passion, it would be Peter Ackroyd. In novels like "Hawksmoor," "Chatterton," and "The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde," and in biographies of figures like Charles Dickens and William Blake, Ackroyd summons up the savor and texture of ages past: the cadences of speech, the tenor of thought, and the rhythms of daily life.
Now, Ackroyd has turned his considerable talents to the subject of the Roman Catholic statesman, writer, and martyr beheaded for his defiance of King Henry VIII. The story of Thomas More (1478-1535) is well known to many of us, thanks to Robert Bolt's dramatization of it in "A Man for All Seasons."
He was born in London, not far from the birthplace of Thomas Becket, the 12th century English saint who had also defied and been killed at the instigation of his king. Both men were caught up in the continuing struggle between the Roman Catholic Church and the emerging nation-state. Both paid for their principles with their lives.
Even if he had not become a martyr for his beliefs, More would still be remembered as the author of "Utopia" (1516), his widely read, highly influential speculative account of what might constitute a just society. More's Utopia featured education for both men and women, religious toleration, and a communist system abolishing private property.
Part of a circle of distinguished English humanists, More was also a close friend of the Dutch humanist Erasmus, whose famous essay, "In Praise of Folly," contains in its Latin title, "Moriae encomium," a punning tribute to More. A brilliant, learned, yet astutely pragmatic man, More was well known for his wit and had penned bawdy verses in his youth. Born into a wealthy and well-connected middle-class family, he trained as a lawyer.
In the course of his impressive career, he served as under-sheriff of London, a member of Parliament, a commissioner of sewers, a diplomat, a member of the Star Chamber, and finally, Lord Chancellor of England under Henry VIII, who would order his execution when More refused to support his break with Rome.