Famous People

Southland Times, Issue 20831, 20 July 1929, Page 22

Famous People

ONE MINUTE BIOGRAPHIES.

WHO: SIH THOMAS MORE

Where: England. When: Fifteenth to sixteenth centuries. Why famous: An English statesman, who has sometimes been referred to as “one of the brightest spirits of the Renaissance.” A man whose sympathies and whose understanding were far in advance of the age in which he lived. He received an excellent education, at Oxford and at Lincoln s Inn, London; and in the latter city he was admitted to the bar. In Parliament, where he was seated when but 21' years of age, he gave evidence of that uprightness and unflinching devotion to his highest sense of right which was characteristic of him throughout his career. Rapidly he advanced. He was sent abroad on diplomatic errands, once in company of the great Cardinal Wolsey, who was then virtually the ruler of the realm. He was made a Privy Councillor, he was appointed treasurer of the exchequer. Through Wolsey’s influence, he was elected to be Speaker of the House of Commons; finally he succeeded Wolsey himself as Lord High Chancellor which office he filled with ability and integrity for three years. It seemed that nothing would halt his advancement. Then a sudden check came. Luther’s religious reforms were gaining ground in England. Popular sentiment had become strongly anti-clerical, yet there was as yet no distinct cleavage between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Neither rulers nor populace knew precisely where they stood. Hence both religious factions were persecuted. And so it was that More, “a scathing critic of the religious orders and the popular superstitions they fostered,” as one historian describes him, “became the martyr of Papal Supremacy.” The egotism of Henry VIII had become colossal. Sir Thomas could not approve Henry’s stand with regard to the divorce from Catherine of Aragon and at once he asked to be relieved of his seal as Lord High Chancellor. When in 1534 the King had himself declared supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church in England, More would not acquiesce in that either, declining to take the required oath of supremacy. This, of course, meant that the great Sir Thomas More went to the Tower of London on a charge of treason, and it was equally certain that he would not come forth again. There is a well-known story told with regard to Sir Thomas More and his favourite daughter, Margaret Roper, which runs in substance as follows: Ihe young woman broke through the crowd which had gathered to see her father being led away from his trial; she flung herself down at his feet: and cried: “They have condemned you and you are innocent!” To which he made only the quiet reply “And would you have me die guilty?” In 1516 was published More’s political romance, “Utopia,” which has long been a classic. The author’s learning was varied and profound. He is said to have possessed a rare wit, and he wrote admirably both in English and in Latin. He was a friend to the great men of his time, to Erasmus and Dean Colet. Holbein painted his portrait. A man of such inherent honesty and uprightness, dignity and poise that throughout all the ensuing years the world has honoured his memory.