Utopia

First published in Latin in 1516, this work is framed as Thomas More's conversation in Antwerp with the sailor-philosopher Raphael Hythloday. Book One debates enclosure, hanging for theft, and the use of counsel at European courts. Book Two describes the island of Utopia: common property, rotating labor, regulated pleasure, religions tolerated under a civic cult, and war conducted by hirelings and stratagem. The account is offered as travel report and as a mirror for Christian princes. It is a philosophical dialogue and imagined geography, not a novel and not a program More claims to have seen.

Bound in green canvas cover blocked with a black and gold design. Mid-brown endleaves. Orange or pale yellow slipcase.