If you were asked to bequeath 10 books from your personal Library to a newly formed civilization toward the advantage and wealth of life, what would they be?

Take a moment to review your personal Library—books you have read and kept in your collection because of the erudite value and soul-stirring pleasure that have added to your life.

I find this topic fascinating and one of the main take-aways from Thomas More’s Utopia in which the King of Utopia, King Utopus, brought “all rude and wild people of the world to excellent perfection in all good fashions, humanity, and civil gentleness. They now surpass all the people of the World” (71).

 Thomas More in Utopia: “I happened to carry a great many books with me, instead of merchandise, when I sailed my fourth voyage; for I was so far from thinking of soon coming back, that I rather thought never to have returned at all, and I gave them all my books, among which were many of Plato’s and some of Aristotle’s works… They have no books of grammar but Lascares, for I did not carry Theodorus with me; nor have they any dictionaries but Hesichius and Dioscerides. They esteem Plutarch highly, and were much taken with Lucian’s wit and with his pleasant way of writing. As for the poets, they have Aristophanes, Homer, Euripides, and Sophocles of Aldus’s edition; and for historians, Thucydides, Herodotus, and Herodian.

One of my companions, Thricius Apinatus, happened to carry with him some of Hippocrates’s works and Galen’s Microtechne, which they hold in great estimation; Medicine, the most useful subject for though there is no nation in the world that needs physic so little as they do, yet there is not any that honors it so much; they reckon the knowledge of it one of the pleasantest and most profitable parts of philosophy, by which, as they search into the secrets of nature, so they not only find this study highly agreeable, but think that such inquiries are very acceptable to the Author of nature.”

In the section of “Learning” in  Utopia, More states that it is essential for one to own: 1) Grammar by Constantine Lascaris and Theodorus Gaza; 2) Linguistics by Hesychius and Pedanius Dioscorides; 3) Composition by Aldus Manutius; 4) Poetry by Aristophanes, Homer, Euripides, and Sophocles; 4) Philosophy by Plato and Aristotle; 5)History by Thucydides, Herodotus, Herodian, Hippocrates, and Galen; 6) Plants by Theophrastus and 6) Medicine by Tricius Apinatus, Hippocrates, and Galen’s Microtechne.

My long-time blog followers can already predict my new Quest: I must find English translations of these works from Thomas More’s personal library that he held so dear and was willing to impart to Utopia. In our digital age, it is fairly easy to find copies of the books in our Library if we were to give our copies away as More did. In the sixteenth century, this was not the case. It was rare to find in a library or even own one copy of these works. I know this is fiction, it did not really happen, but it is fun to imagine, so go with me here!

For my Summer 2023 Reads, I have been on a quest to find and read these Greek authors from More’s Library—in English, if possible. Fortunately, I have had some luck finding these works from More’s Library in Greek and/or English (see below). [**I added a few Roman works that were not on More’s list that I was interested in reading.]

POETS:

Aristophanes (446-386 BC)                Greek Poet and Playwright:  Clouds [see post]

Homer (8th century BC)                       Greek Poet:  Iliad and Odyssey

Euripides (480-406 BC)                       Greek Tragedian: The Bacche

Sophocles ( 497-406 BC)                    Greek Tragedian : Oedipus Rex, Antigone

GRAMMARIANS:

Constantine Lascarius (1434-1501)   Greek Grammarian

Theodorus Gaza (1400-1475)             Greek Grammarian: translated Aristotle

LINGUISTS:

Hesychius (5-6 century AD)                Greek Linguist, Alexandrini Lexicon

Pedanius Dioscorides (40-90 AD)      Greek Physician

Aldus Manutius (1449-1515) Italian Printer and Humanist: Aldine Press

PHILOSOPHERS:

Plato (428-348 BC)                             Greek Philosopher: Apology of Socrates

Aristotle (384-322 BC)                        Greek Philosopher and Polymath: Problems

**Epicurus (341-270 BC)                    Greek Philosopher: On Nature [see post]

**Plutarch (46-119 AD)                      Greek Middle Platonist Philosopher: Scripta moralia/ex codicibus quos possidet regia biblothecaonibus ab ‘Konto’ cum reiskiana editone collatis emendavit

HISTORIANS:

Thucydides (460-400 BC)                   Athenian Greek Historian

Herodotus (484-425 BC)                     Greek Historian: Histories

Hippocrates (460-370 BC)                  Greek Physician and Historian

Aelius Galen (129-216 AD)                 Roman Greek Physician and Scientist

**Pliny (23-79 AD)                              The Elder-Roman Historian: Naturalis Historic

PLANTS

Theophrastus  (371-287 BC)               Greek Philosopher

MEDICINE

Tricius Apinatus                                  More’s traveling companion (fictional)

Why were most of the books that the Utopians owned, including some of the books Thomas More gave them, written by Greeks?

More states that he spoke of Greek literature and learning to the Utopians and offered to “teach and instruct them in that tongue and learning” (123).  The Utopian nation took its beginnings from the Greeks and gave Greek names to  their cities and magistratures. More brought some of his personal library on his voyage and left the books with them. The Utopians were “delighted” with these selections as they are highly educated and value learning and intellectual pursuits. They also have a deep appreciation for classical Greek and Roman literature and philosophy such as Plato and Aristotle, whose texts were seen as a source of wisdom, moral guidance, and philosophical insight.

As a linguist, I see rhetorical value in Greek writing—its eloquence, techniques, and poetic beauty. However, Latin, Thomas More’s primary language, has had a significant influence on many European languages and would be easier to learn than Greek. Why did More not leave linguistic works in Latin, his primary language such as Cicero or Quintilian? In Utopia, More claims that “In Latin there was nothing that I thought they would greatly admire, besides the historians and the poets” (123). Isn’t it ironic that More wrote Utopia in Latin but did not leave any Latin works with the Utopians?

If you look at my previous blog on the Utopian tongue [see post], you will notice that the characters are very similar to Greek. This could have something to do with the fact that he left works from Greek writers as they would be easier to read (purely conjecture on my part!).

**Interesting fact that the only non-Greek author is Aldus Manutius, the Italian printer and inventor of the Aldine Press. Perhaps his books would teach the Utopians how to print their own copies of Classic Literature.

[Since the publication of this blog, I have found answers to my queries!

Why would Thomas More choose a book by an Italian printer to leave to his Utopian society?

The first possibility for this is that Thomas More produced his own editions of Utopia in 1491 and concentrated his efforts on producing scholarly editions with fine, careful presswork on the model of Aldus Manutius. He would use typefaces modelled on Manutius. Thomas More introduced the world to Aldus Manutius in Utopia by including Aldine editions of Greek authors in his luggage (258: see footnote: More, Utopia, ed. P. Turner; London, 1965, p. 100).

In 1501, More “shelved his Latin books to take up study of Greek” (261). It is unfortunate, according to Lowry, that More never said precisely what form his Greek studies took. But the Greek texts which More made his hero Raphael give to the Utopians suggest this conclusion: Plato, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Plutarch and Lucian; Hesychius’ Dictionary; the grammars of Gaza and Lascaris (I’ll get to you soon, I promise); Homer, Aristophanes, Euripides and Sophocles; Herodotus and Thucydides—ALL ARE ALDINE EDITIONS!!! (262).] Thank you Lowry Martin!!! so cool, so cool.

Since More was religious, why did he not leave a Bible or religious literature with the Utopians?

When I asked my husband, a theological scholar, what 10 books he would bequeath to a civilization, he said there was only one book that he would leave—the Bible. Upon further reflection, however, he did add a few more “practical application” books to complement the Scriptures: Failure of Nerve by Friedman; Good to Great by Jim Collins; Canoeing in the Mountains by Tod Bolinger; In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson; A Grief Observed and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis; The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard; Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby; 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey; and The Prodigal by Henri Nouwen.

So why did Thomas More, a devout Catholic himself, who wrote extensively on religious matters such as “A Dialogue Concerning Heresies” and “The Sadness of Christ” not leave a Catholic Bible?

I do not know much about More’s life around the year 1516, when Utopia was published. Perhaps he did not want to face persecution if he mentioned the “wrong” religious doctrine. I recently rewatched “A Man for All Seasons” in which More was beheaded in 1535, twenty years after Utopia was published, for his refusal to accept King Henry VIII’s authority over the Catholic church and his refusal to endorse his annulment and remarriage. This is a heart-breaking story about this courageous man who stayed true to his convictions and his integrity, even to his death. “But since in fact we see that avarice, anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust and stupidity commonly profit far beyond humility, chastity, fortitude, justice and thought, and have to choose, to be human at all… why then perhaps we /must/ stand fast a little –even at the risk of being heroes.” Sir Thomas More.

At a critical point in the movie, while imprisoned after 14 months for treason, More is ordered to surrender his books. How poignant. It is not often that I am equally moved by an Author’s life and his works. However, in this case, I am.

Enough questions! I must get back to my tall stack of treasures. I believe my Summer Reading will continue until the Fall!! So excited! Would love to hear your thoughts on your “10 books to bequeath to a new Civilization” (assuming they learn any language quickly!)

What 10 books would be on your list?

Work Cited

Adams, Robert M., trans. and ed. Utopia: A New Translation, Backgrounds, Criticism. By Sir Thomas More. A Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1975. Pp. xii + 239.