From Nowhere: Utopian and Dystopian Visions of our - Chris J. Young

18. Saint Thomas More. De optimo reip.
statu, deque noua insula Vtopia.
Basel: Johannes Froben, 1518.
Unlike the 1516 and 1517 editions where
Utopia appeared alone, this edition printed in
November 1518 by Johann Froben of Basel,
includes the collected epigrams of Thomas More
and Desiderius Erasmus (d. 1536). Froben earned
a reputation for producing beautiful woodcuts,
which are very much evident in this edition.
They include the Utopian alphabet that creates
the illusion of Utopia as a newly discovered
island. Much like Latin, the Utopian alphabet
was based on the Phoenician model, with each
letter representing a phonetic unit. Accompanying
the alphabet is a quatrain, together with a Latin
translation, that was probably constructed by
More’s fellow humanist Pierre Gillis (1486–1533).
An English translation of the verses reads:
The commander Utopus made
me, who was once not an island,
into an island. i alone of all
nations, without philosophy,
have portrayed for mortals the
philosophical city. Freely i impart
my benefits; not unwillingly i
accept whatever is better.
These words capture the essence of what More’s
Utopia has achieved in literature, freely imparting
the benefits of his utopia to the world, while
challenging others to construct a better utopia.
On loan from the Centre for Renaissance and
Reformation Studies, Victoria University in the
University of Toronto
18. De optimo reip. statu, deque noua insula Vtopia.
From Nowhere: Utopian and Dystopian Visions of our Past, Present, and Future 35