on Relig.

Utopus (founder of Utopia) made this law*, not only to preserve the peace, which he saw being completely destroyed by endless disputes and implacable feuds, but also because he thought it was in the best interests of religion itself. He didn't' presume to say which creed was right. Apparently he considered it possible that God made different people believe different things, because He wanted to be worshiped in many different ways. But he was evidently quite certain that it was stupid and arrogant to bully everyone else into adopting one's own particular creed. It seemed to him perfectly obvious that , even if there only one true religion, and all the rest were nonsense, truth would eventually prevail of its own accord- as long as the matter was discussed calmly and reasonably. But if it was decided by force of arms, the best and most spiritual type of religion would go down before the silliest forms of superstition, just as corn is liable to be overgrown by thorns and brambles- for the worst people are always the most obstinate.

*So immediately after his victory he made a law, by which everyone was free to practise what religion he liked, and to try and convert other people to his own faith, provided he did it it quitetly and politely, by rational argument. But, if he failed to convince them, he was not allowed to make bitter attacks on other religions, nor to employ violence or personal abuse.

to Constitutional Law

They have very few laws, because, with their social system, very few laws are required. Indeed, one of their great complaints against other countries is that, although they've already got books and books of laws and interpretations of laws, they never seem to have enough. For, according to the Utopians, it's quite unjust for anyone to be bound by a legal code which is too long for an ordinary person to read right through, or too difficult for him to understand.

What's more, they have no barristers to be over-ingenious about individual cases and point of law. They think it better for each man to plead his own cause, and tell the judge the same story as he'd otherwise tell his lawyer. Under such conditions, the point at issue is less likey to be obscured, and it's easier to get at the truth- for, if nobody's telling the sort of lies that one learns from lawyers, the judge can aply all his shrwedness to weighing the facts aof the case, and protecting simple-minded characters aginst the unscrupulous attacks of clever ones.

This arrangement wouldn't work very well in other countries, because there's such a mass of complicated legislation to deal with. But in Utopia everyone's a legal expert, for the simple reason that they are, as I said, very few laws, and the crudest interpretation is always assumed to be the best one. They say the only purpose of a law is to remind people what they ought to do, so the more ingenious the interpretation, the less effective the law, since proportionately fewer people will understand it- whereas the simple and obvious meaning stares everyone in the face.

Respect, respect.

Talking of respect, isn't it equally idiotic to attach such importance to a lot of empty gestures which do nobody any good? For what real pleasure can you get out of the sight of a bared head or a bent knee? Will it cure the rheumatism in you own knee, or make you any less weak in the head?

Of ourse, the great believers in this type of artificial pleasure are those who pride themselves on their 'nobility'. Nowadays that merely means tghat they happen to belong to a family which has been rich for several generations, preferably in landed property. And yet they feel every bit as 'noble' even if they've failed to inherit any of the said property, or if they have inherited it and then frittered it all away.

An Ode to the Unemployed:

V”dal :)

But here’s a point that requires special attention, or you’re liable to get the wrong idea. Since they (the Utopians in The Utopia book) only work a six-hour day, you may think there must be a shortage of essential goods. On the contrary, those six hours are enough, and more than enough to produce plenty of everything that’s needed for a comfortable life. And you’ll understand why it is, if you reckon up how large a proportion of the population in other countries in totally unemployed. First you have practically all the women- that gives you nearly fifty per cent for a start. And in countries where they do work, the men tend to lounge about instead (:D totally made me smile). Then there are all the priests, and members of so-called religious orders- how much work do they do? Add all the rich, especially the landowners, popularly known as nobles and gentlemen. Include their domestic staffs- I mean those gangs of armed ruffians that I mentioned before. Finally, throw in all the beggars who are perfectly hale and hearty, but pretend to be ill as an excuse for being lazy. When you’ve counted them up, you’ll be surprised to find how few people actually produce what the human race consumes.

Takeh, maybe we shouldn’t feel so bad, eh?

When you intervene, big man, and try to change our world…

No, do the best you can to make the present production a success- don’t spoil the entire play just because you happen to think of another one that you’d enjoy rather more.

The same rule applies to politics and life at Court. If you can’t completely eradicate wrong ideas, or deal with inveterate vices as effectively as you could wish, that’s no reason for turning your back on public life altogether. You wouldn’t abandon ship in a storm just because you couldn’t control the winds.

On the other hand, it’s no use attempting to put across entirely new ideas, which will obviously carry no weight with people who are prejudiced against them. You must go to work indirectly. You must handle everything as tactfully as you can, and what you can’t put right you must try to make as little wrong as possible. For things will never be perfect, until human beings are perfect- which I don’t expect them to be for quite a number of years!

-Thomas More

keeping dry.

There's a delightful image in Plato, which explains why a sensible person is right to steer clear of politics. He sees everyone else rushing into the street and getting soaked in the pouring rain. He can't persuade them to go indoors and keep dry. He knows if he went out too, he'd merely get equally wet. So he just stays indoors himself, and, as he can't do anything about other people's stupidity, comforts himself with the thought: 'Well, I'm all right, anyway.'
-Raphael Hythloday in Utopia by Thomas More

You can go to heaven from anywhere...

'When Anaxogoras was dying at Lampsacus, his friends sked him if he wanted to be taken home to Clazomenae, in case anything happened to him; to which he made the splendid answer, "That will be quite unnecessary- you can get the the Underworld from anywhere." '
(Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes, I, 104)