The New York Public Library, Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature
Thomas More
Libellus vere aureus nec minus salutaris quam festivus de optimo reip[ublicae] statu, deq[ue] noua Insula Vtopia [Utopia]
[Louvain, Belgium]: Arte Theodorici Martini, [1516]
The first edition of Thomas More's Utopia juxtaposes an illustration of the island of Utopia with a sample of its alphabet, both of which add a sense of exotic reality to More's fictional country. The alphabet is accompanied by a poem in Latin, which reads in English: "Utopus, my ruler, converted me, formerly not an island, into an island. Alone of all lands, without the aid of abstract philosophy, I have represented for mortals the philosophical city. Ungrudgingly do I share my benefits with others; undemurringly do I adopt whatever is better from others." More entrusted the publication of his work to a friend, the philosopher Desiderius Erasmus, sending him the text and the prefatory materials in September 1516. By November, Erasmus had enlisted Thierry Martin of Louvain to print it, and in December, the first copies were distributed.
Libellus vere aureus nec minus salutaris quam festivus de optimo reip[ublicae] statu, deq[ue] noua Insula Vtopia [Utopia]
[Louvain, Belgium]: Arte Theodorici Martini, [1516]
The first edition of Thomas More's Utopia juxtaposes an illustration of the island of Utopia with a sample of its alphabet, both of which add a sense of exotic reality to More's fictional country. The alphabet is accompanied by a poem in Latin, which reads in English: "Utopus, my ruler, converted me, formerly not an island, into an island. Alone of all lands, without the aid of abstract philosophy, I have represented for mortals the philosophical city. Ungrudgingly do I share my benefits with others; undemurringly do I adopt whatever is better from others." More entrusted the publication of his work to a friend, the philosopher Desiderius Erasmus, sending him the text and the prefatory materials in September 1516. By November, Erasmus had enlisted Thierry Martin of Louvain to print it, and in December, the first copies were distributed.
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