Q - Thomas More
Posted on 28th January 2021
Thomas More 1478 - 1535 was an English lawyer, author, statesman and social philosopher.
He was a councillor to King Henry VIII, but opposed the Kings separation from the Catholic Church, and the naming of himself as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. This ultimately led to his execution.
‘It is naturally given to all men to esteem their own inventions best’
‘If the lion knew his own strength, hard were it for any man to rule him’
‘The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest’
‘Nobody owns anything but everyone is rich – for what greater wealth can there be than cheerfulness, peace of mind, and freedom from anxiety?’
‘An absolutely new idea is one of the rarest things known to man’
‘You wouldn’t abandon ship in a storm just because you couldn’t control the winds’
‘By reason of gifts and bribes the offices be given to rich men, which should rather have been executed by wise men’
‘It is only natural, of course, that each man should think his own opinions best: the crow loves his fledgling, and the ape his cub’
‘What part so ever you take upon you, play that as well as you can and make the best of it’
‘I die the King’s faithful servant, but God’s first’
‘One of the greatest problems of our time is that many are schooled but few are educated’
‘Some men may be snared by beauty alone, but none can be held except by virtue and compliance’
‘A good tale evil told were better untold, and an evil take well told need none other solicitor’
‘A pretty face may be enough to catch a man, but it takes character and good nature to hold him’
‘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!’
‘Pride thinks its own happiness shines the brighter by comparing it with the misfortunes of others’
‘The change of the word does not alter the matter’
‘The servant may not look to be in better case than his master’
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