Utopia:
written in Latin by Sir Thomas More, Chancellor of England: translated into English.
London, Printed for Richard Chiswell, and to be sold by George Powerl over against Lincolns-Inn-Gate in Chancery-Lane, 1685
The second edition, reissue with cancel title-page of this enigmatic work which continues to defy simple interpretation. As Burnet (1643-1715) noted in his preface, 'I do not think... More himself went in heartily to that which is the chief Basis of his Utopia, the taking away of all Property, and the levelling of the World; but that he only intended to set many Notions in his Reader's way; and that he might not seem too much in earnest, he went so far out of all Roads to do it the less suspected'.
The tale begins when More encounters the fictional character Raphael Hythloday, a traveller who has just returned from voyages with Amerigo Vespucci. Hythloday tells More of a distant island called Utopia, where all property is held in common and gold and silver are used not as currency but as the material for making shackles and chamber pots. However, all is not as it seems, and the paradoxes in the names of Hythloday ('the nonsense speaker') and Utopia ('nowhere') reveal a more complex story.
Burnet's translation was completed in 1684 during in a low period of his life when he was out of royal favour. He found in More an unlikely ally; a fellow victim of political circumstance, who was 'one of the greatest Men that this Island has produced' (Preface).
'This translation, though not so frequently reprinted... is, in some respects, much superior, and certainly presents a more readable text' (Pforzheimer).
Second Burnet edition, reissue with cancel title; 8vo (18.5 x 12 cm); text in English, cancel title-page, A7 cancel, new front pastedown, slight loss to F1 top-margin corner; contemporary speckled calf, rebacked, contrasting red morocco lettering-piece, wear with loss of leather to corners and spine margin, offsetting to endpapers, a few small stains, otherwise internally clean; [22], 206pp.
ESTC R3411; McAlpin c: IV, p. 204.
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