HUMANIST AS HERO: The Life of Sir Thomas More

The name ""humanist"" in the title is used in the sense in which it was applied during More's lifetime, the 16th century, signifying scholars of classic literature. The text covers More's life, touching lightly on his childhood, going into more detail as to his character and philosophy, supplying a background of his friends, family, and the history, art and customs of his times. There's a vivid sense of the circle in which he moved- his friends and fellow humanists, Erasmus, Colet, the Italian Pico della Mirandola, whom he took as his model. While there is nothing particularly new to scholars, the layman will feel he has learned to know Sir Thomas More as an affable, brilliant man, a faithful patient father and husband, a scholar, philosopher, theologian, a devout Christian, a martyr. Neither stuffy nor overdrawn.