MORE, St. Thomas

Second edition of the verses written by the champion of English Catholicism. Thomas More (1478-1535) was the most skilled and appreciated scholar of Henry VIII s reign prior to the latter s break with Rome. His refusal to join the king s reformation cost him his life. His visionary depiction of the perfect government on the island of Utopia inspired generations of thinkers and politicians. Despite More s hesitations, the Epigrammata first appeared into print as part of the collection issued by Froben in March 1518 under Erasmus and Beatus Rhenanus supervision, together with Utopia and Erasmus s poems. A few months later, between November and December, Froben published the same three-part collection, apparently after some revision by the author. Fairfax Murray points out that more often than not the three parts (either edition) are found separately . Indeed, the BL has an independent copy of the Epigrammata of March (11409.g.47.). The book opens with a letter from Rhenanus to Willibald Pirckheimer, followed by the Progymnasmata, an erudite dialogue in Greek and Latin verses between More and the grammarian William Lily (c.1468-1522).