Essays Contents
Man For All Seasons
May 4, 2023
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist.
Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of Classical antiquity,
at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th,
15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term humanist
(Italian: umanista) referred to teachers and students of the humanities,
known as the studia humanitatis, which included the study of
Latin and Ancient Greek literatures, grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry,
and moral philosophy.
It was not until the 19th century that this began to be called humanism
instead of the original humanities, and later by the retronym
Renaissance humanism to distinguish it from later humanist developments.
During the Renaissance period most humanists were Christians, so their
concern was to "purify and renew Christianity", not to do away
with it. Their vision was to return ad fontes ("to the sources") to
the simplicity of the Gospels and rediscovery of the New Testament,
bypassing the complexities of medieval Christian theology.
He also served Henry VIII as Lord High Chancellor of England from
October 1529 to May 1532. He wrote Utopia, published in 1516,
which describes the political system of an imaginary island state.
More opposed the Protestant Reformation, directing polemics against
the theology of Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin and
William Tyndale. More also opposed Henry VIII's separation from
the Catholic Church, refusing to acknowledge Henry as supreme
head of the Church of England and the annulment of his marriage
to Catherine of Aragon. After refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy,
he was convicted of treason and executed. On his execution, he was reported to have said:
"I die the King's good servant, and God's first".
Pope Pius XI canonised More in 1935 as a martyr.
Pope John Paul II in 2000 declared him the patron saint of statesmen and politicians.
More: being urged to sign the oath:
And when we stand before God, and you are sent to Paradise
for doing according to your conscience, and I am damned
for not doing according to mine,
will you come with me - for "fellowship"?
wikipedia.org/ A_Man_for_All_Seasons_(play)
A Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt based on the life of Sir Thomas More. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954,
and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced
in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with his
The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.
It was first performed in London opening at the Globe Theatre (now Gielgud Theatre) on 1 July 1960. It later found its way to Broadway, enjoying a critically and commercially successful run of over a year. It has had several revivals, and was subsequently made into a multi-Academy Award-winning 1966 feature film and a 1988 television movie.
The plot is based on the historical events leading up to the execution of More,
the 16th-century Chancellor of England, who refused to endorse
Henry VIII's wish to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, who did not
bear him a son, so that he could marry Anne Boleyn, the sister of his
former mistress.
The play portrays More as a man of principle, envied by rivals such as
Thomas Cromwell, loved by the common people and by his family.
Title
The title reflects 20th century agnostic playwright Robert Bolt's portrayal
of More as the ultimate man of conscience. As one who remains true to
himself and his beliefs while adapting to all circumstances and times,
despite external pressure or influence,
More represents "a man for all seasons."
Bolt borrowed the title from Robert Whittington, a contemporary of More,
who in 1520 wrote of him:
"More is a man of an angel's wit and singular learning.
I know not his fellow.
For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness and affability?
And, as time requireth, a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes,
and sometime of as sad gravity. A man for all seasons."
Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of Classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term humanist (Italian: umanista) referred to teachers and students of the humanities, known as the studia humanitatis, which included the study of Latin and Ancient Greek literatures, grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy.
It was not until the 19th century that this began to be called humanism instead of the original humanities, and later by the retronym Renaissance humanism to distinguish it from later humanist developments.
During the Renaissance period most humanists were Christians, so their concern was to "purify and renew Christianity", not to do away with it. Their vision was to return ad fontes ("to the sources") to the simplicity of the Gospels and rediscovery of the New Testament, bypassing the complexities of medieval Christian theology.
And when we stand before God, and you are sent to Paradise
for doing according to your conscience, and I am damned
for not doing according to mine,
will you come with me - for "fellowship"?
wikipedia.org/ A_Man_for_All_Seasons_(play)
I know not his fellow.
For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness and affability?
And, as time requireth, a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes,
and sometime of as sad gravity. A man for all seasons."