Text A Life in Utopia

—from Utopia(Book II)

Thomas More

[1]All the Utopians, men and women alike, work at agriculture, and no one is inexperienced in it.They are trained in it from their childhood, partly by school instruction and partly by practice.School children are often taken into the nearby fields as though for play, where they not only see men and women working, but get exercise by working themselves.

[2]Besides agriculture, which is so common to them all, every man has some peculiar trade of his own, such as the manufacture of wool, or linen, masonry, smith’s work, or carpentry.There is no other craft which is practiced by any considerable number of them.People wear the same sort of clothes throughout the island, except for the distinctions which mark the differences between the married and unmarried.The fashion of clothing never changes.Their clothing looks well, does not hinder their movements, and is suitable both for summer and winter.Every household makes its own clothes; but each man and woman also learn one of the other trades formerly mentioned.Women, for the most part, deal in wool and linen, which suit best with their weakness, leaving the ruder trades to the men.The same trade generally passes down from father to son, often by natural inclination.But if any man’s genius lies elsewhere, he is adopted into a family that deals in the trade he prefers.When anyone makes such a change, both his father and the magistrate see to it that he is transferred to a responsible and upright householder.After a man has learned one trade, if he desires to acquire another, it is managed in the same manner.When he has learned both, he follows whichever he likes better, unless the public has special need for the other.

[3]The chief, and almost the only business of the syphogrants, is to take care that no man sits around in idleness, and everyone follows his trade diligently.But no one has to wear himself out with perpetual toil, from morning to night, as if he were a beast of burden.Such a life, though it is the common life of workmen in all other countries, is no better than a slave’s.The Utopians, dividing the day and night into twenty-four hours, appoint six of these for work; three of which are before dinner, and three after.They then sup, and at eight o’clock, counting from noon, they go to bed and sleep eight hours.

[4]The rest of their time besides that taken up in work, eating and sleeping, is left to every man’s discretion on the understanding that they shall not waste them idly and wantonly.They use their time busily on any pursuit that pleases them.Many of them fill these intervals with reading.It is ordinary to have public lectures every morning before daybreak; at which none are obliged to appear but those who are marked out for the pursuit of learning; yet a great many, both men and women of all ranks, go to hear lectures of one sort or another, according to their inclinations.But if anyone whose mind does not delight in intellectual pursuits prefers to employ himself at that time in his trade, as many do, this is not forbidden, but commended as beneficial to the commonwealth.After supper, they spend an hour in some diversion , in summer in their gardens, and in winter in the halls where they eat; where they entertain each other, either with music or discourse.They know nothing about gambling with dice or other such foolish and mischievous games.They play two sorts of games not unlike our chess.One is a battle of numbers, in which one number, as it were, consumes another.The other resembles a battle between the virtues and the vices, in which the vices battle against the virtues.In this game the cooperation of the vices against the virtues and their opposition to each other is shown up very cleverly, as well as the special oppositions between particular virtues and vices, and the methods by which the vices openly assault or secretly undermine the virtues, and how the virtues break the strength of the vices and by what means finally one side or the other wins the victory.

[5]To understand their way of life fully we must look at one point more carefully.They allot only six hours to labour, and you might think that a scarcity of essential goods would result.But it is so far from being true, that this time is not sufficient for supplying them with plenty of all things, either necessary or convenient, that it is rather too much; and this you will easily apprehend , if you consider how great a part of all other nations is quite idle.

[6]First, women generally do little, who are the half of mankind; and if some few women are diligent, their husbands are idle.Then consider the multitude of idle priests, and of those that are called religious men.Add to these all rich men, chiefly those that have estates in land, who are called noblemen and gentlemen, together with their families, made up of idle persons, that are kept more for show than use.Reckon in with these strong and lusty beggars, who go about feigning some disease to excuse their laziness.You will find that the number of those by whose labors mankind is supplied is much less than you perhaps imagined.Then consider how few of those that work are employed in labors that are of real service; for we, who measure all things by money, give rise to many trades that are both vain and superfluous, and serve only to support luxury and wantonness.If those who work produced only what men need for good living, there would be such an abundance of them that prices would go down and tradesmen could not be maintained by their gains.You can easily imagine how little time would be enough to produce the goods that man’s needs and convenience demand (and his pleasure too if it were true and natural pleasure), if only the workers in useless trades were placed in worthwhile occupations and all the idlers who languish in sloth but eat twice as much as labourers were put to work on useful tasks.

After You Read

Knowledge Focus

1.Pair work: Discuss the following questions with your partner.

1)Why is no one, either men or women, ignorant of agriculture in Utopia?

2)What do people in Utopia do besides agriculture?

3)Whose clothes are different from each other?

4)What should be done if a man’s genius is not in line with his father’s trade?

5)What is the chief business of “syphogrants”?

6)What is the routine life of the Utopians like?

7)Are people compelled to attend lectures in their leisure time?

8)What are the two games popular among Utopians?

9)Why is six-hour working time sufficient to produce all the necessities and conveniences of life?

10)Who are the idle people satirized by the author?

2.Solo work: Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to what you learned and tell why.

____ 1)Children in Utopia are restricted to their school.

____ 2)Women do the same work as men in Utopia.

____ 3)People throughout the island wear the same sort of clothes which is suited to all climates.

____ 4)Not every person has his own trade in Utopia.

____ 5)Every Utopian family makes their own clothes.

____ 6)It’s an established custom that the son should take over the father’s trade.

____ 7)Every Utopian has to work like a beast of burden.

____ 8)The other hours of the day, those that are not used for work, sleep, and meals, are left to their individual choice so long as they don’t waste the time idly.

____ 9)Most of the rich and the religious men are idlers who do not work.

____ 10) Beggars usually suffer from some disease which keeps them from working.

Language Focus

1.Fill in the blanks with the following words you have learned from the text.

apprehend　adopt

　hinder

　upright

feign

allot

　discretion

commend　undermine　languish

1)He _____ death to escape capture, but in vain.

2)The middle-aged couple decided to _____ an orphan from Egypt.

3)Each passenger slept on the berth _____ to him.

4)Lucy could see in Mother’s face an internal struggle between concern and _____.

5)You are, I _____, ready to renew the contract.

6)Beyond the prosperous cities, millions of people still _____ in poverty.

7)The new policy will promote rather than _____ reforms.

8)He is remembered as a witty and _____ statesman.

9)Never miss a chance to _____ or reward your subordinates for a job well done.

10)The President’s enemies are spreading rumours to _____ his authority.

2.Complete the following sentences with the proper forms of the given words.

1)Everyone was reluctant to work with the _____ (experience) newcomer.

2)They spent long summer days of _____ (idle) relaxing by the river.

3)She showed no _____ (incline) to make friends.

4)She knew the children were up to _____ (mischievous).

5)The factory is in frequent _____ (scarce) of raw materials.

6)He held himself aloof from politics and material _____ (pursue).

7)Sunshine and moisture are _____ (benefit) to living things.

8)Her boss paid her a compliment because of her _____ (diligent).

9)I wouldn’t say he is brilliant but he is _____ (virtue).

10)I’m burning with _____ (curious).You must tell me who has won.

3.Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the expressions listed below.

take up

see to

give rise to

as it were

as though

go about　for show　pass down

wear out

　mark out

1)Looking after four children alone _____ her _____.

2)The tradition has been _____ for hundreds of years.

3)She only has those books _____—she never reads them.

4)Please take the matter up at once and _____ it that the goods are delivered without further delay.

5)The police will be able, _____, to see and hear us in action.

6)Although trees can significantly improve the local climate, they do however ______ a lot of space.

7)The directions of rural development have been _____.

8)She smiled to every guest _____ nothing unpleasant had ever happened.

9)They _____ their duties quietly.

10)These bad conditions have _____ a lot of crime.

4.Find the appropriate prepositions that collocate with the neighboring words.

1)They are trained in it from their childhood, partly _____ school instruction and partly _____ practice.

2)The same trade generally passes down from father to son, often _____ natural inclination.

3)When anyone makes such a change, both his father and the magistrate see to it that he is transferred _____ a responsible and upright householder.

4)But no one has to wear himself out _____ perpetual toil, from morning to night, as if he were a beast of burden.

5)The rest of their time besides that taken up in work, eating and sleeping, is left to every man’s discretion _____ the understanding that they shall not waste them idly and wantonly.

6)They use their time busily _____ any pursuit that pleases them.Many of them fill these intervals _____ reading.

7)The other resembles a battle _____ the virtues and the vices, in which the vices battle _____ the virtues.

8)But it is so far _____ being true, that this time is not sufficient _____ supplying them with plenty of all things, either necessary or convenient, that it is rather too much.

9)Chiefly those that have estates in land, who are called noblemen and gentlemen, together with their families, made _____ of idle persons, that are kept more _____ show than use.

10)All the idlers who languish _____ sloth but eat twice as much as labourers were put _____ work on useful tasks.

5.Error correction: Each of the following sentences has at least one grammatical error.Identify the errors and correct them.

1)But if anyone whose mind does not delight in intellectual pursuits prefer to employ himself at that time in his trade, as many do, this is not forbidden, but commend as beneficial to the commonwealth.

2)Reckon in with these strong and lusty beggar, who go about feign some disease to excuse their laziness.

3)Then consider how few of those that work are employed in labors that are of real service; for we, who measure all things by the money, give rise to many trades that are both vain and superfluous, and serve only to support luxury and wantonness.

4)It is ordinary to have public lectures every morning before daybreak; at which none is obliged to appear but those who are marking out for the pursuit of learning.

5)They know anything about gambling with dice or other so foolish and mischievous games.

Comprehensive Work

1.Pair work: Read the following passage about Thomas More and discuss the questions about the author with your partner.

Sir Thomas More (February 7, 1478-July 6, 1535), also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was the son of a judge and received his education at Oxford.He was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist.He was an important counsellor to Henry VIII of England and for three years toward the end of his life he was Lord Chancellor.He is recognised as a saint within the Catholic Church and is commemorated by the Church of England as a “Reformation martyr”.

More coined the word “utopia” —a name he gave to the ideal, imaginary island nation whose political system he described in Utopia, published in 1516.He opposed the king’s separation from the papal church and denied that the king was the Supreme Head of the Church of England, a status the king had been given by a compliant parliament through the Act of Supremacy of 1534.He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1534 for his refusal to take the oath required by the First Succession Act, because the act disparaged the power of the Pope and Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon.Then he was indicted of high treason and was found guilty and beheaded in 1535.

What kind of upbringing did he have? How did it influence him?

What was the relationship between More and Henry VIII?

What unique features can be found in More’s character?

How did he face his death on the scaffold?

2.Group work: Make an online research on Thomas More’s Utopia and discuss with your group members the controversial ideas presented in the fiction.

3.Group work: Comparison and contrast.

In many cultures, societies, religions, and cosmogonies, there are myths or memories of a distant past when humankind lived in a primitive and simple state.

These mythical or religious archetypes are inscribed in all the cultures and resurge with special vitality when people are in difficult and critical times.However, the projection of the myth does not take place towards the remote past, but either towards the future or towards distant and fictional places.

Please complete the table which presents a comparison between Thomas More’s Utopia and Tao Yuanming’s The Story of Peach Blossom Spring, and then analyze the reasons for their similarities and differences in a group of four or five students.

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