The Pitfalls of Christian Political Moralism: Book I of Utopia and its Augustinian Source
In depicting the Utopia's main character Raphael Hythloday, Thomas More appears to have drawn on the character Evodius in Augustine's dialogue On Free Choice. Hythloday and Evodius hold similar views on the relation between human law and the divine prohibition on homicide. Hythloday's...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2020]
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| In: |
Moreana
Year: 2020, Volume: 57, Issue: 1, Pages: 89-102 |
| Further subjects: | B
Augustine
B Citoyenneté B Law B Peine de mort B Augustin B death penalty B Moralité chrétienne B Citizenship B Christianity B Chrétienté B Christian morality B Homicide B Utopia B Droit |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In depicting the Utopia's main character Raphael Hythloday, Thomas More appears to have drawn on the character Evodius in Augustine's dialogue On Free Choice. Hythloday and Evodius hold similar views on the relation between human law and the divine prohibition on homicide. Hythloday's views appear at first to be inconsistent, but Evodius's arguments for his related views can help make better sense of Hythloday's. Both characters also turn out to display similar moral-political confusions, caused by the interaction of their Christian faith with their insufficient political education, that hurt their ability to serve their country as good citizens. These confusions are typical of educated Christian citizens but not inevitable: More and Augustine each offer alternative models of more clear-sighted Christians who can serve their earthly homeland in full awareness of its imperfections. |
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| ISSN: | 2398-4961 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Moreana
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3366/more.2020.0075 |