55 Thomas More Quotes From The Saint, Lawyer And Philosopher
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Getting the Sir title was a very honorable address for men from the old British era, whose work and sayings earned him his title.
Sir Thomas More was also a great saint of the Renaissance. Serving for Henry VII, he became the Lord High Chancellor of England, where he still held on to the Catholic teachings.
This great man first started working as Archbishop writing comedies and biographies on the side. He further became a lawyer in the year 1501 after which he entered the British Parliament.
As time passed by, he was given the Sir title thereby making him a great saint, philosopher and a lawyer. Read this article to find the best of many St. Thomas More quotes that we have collected just for you. Make sure you also read our articles on [worship quotes] and Saint Patrick quotes.
Religious Thomas More Quotes
During his time as an archbishop, Sir Thomas learned a lot about the Christian faith and the Catholic church. It became so important to him that he even refused to support Henry VII throwing him into jail. Read these Thomas More Quotes to get inspired spiritually.
1. “I die the king 's faithful servant, but God 's first.”
- Thomas More.
2. “There are several sorts of religions, not only in different parts of the island, but even in every town; some worshipping the sun, others the moon or one of the planets.”
- Thomas More.
3. “The way to heaven out of all places is of length and distance.”
- Thomas More.
4. “God made the angels to show Him splendor, as He made animals for innocence and plants for their simplicity. But Man, He made to serve Him wittily, in the tangle of his mind.”
- Thomas More.
5. “Those among them that have not received our religion do not fright any from it, and use none ill that goes over to it, so that all the while I was there one man was only punished on this occasion.”
- Thomas More.
6. “And, indeed, though they differ concerning other things, yet all agree in this: that they think there is one Supreme Being that made and governs the world, whom they call, in the language of their country, Mithras.”
- Thomas More.
7. “For men use, if they have an evil turn, to write it in marble: and whoso doth us a good turn we write it in dust.”
- Thomas More.
8. “A faint faith is better than a strong heresy.”
- Thomas More.
9. “By confronting us with irreducible mysteries that stretch our daily vision to include infinity, nature opens an inviting and guiding path toward a spiritual life.”
- Thomas More.
10. “Comfort in tribulation can be secured only on the sure ground of faith holding as true the words of Scripture and the teaching of the Catholic Church.”
- Thomas More.
11. “Don’t worry about me no matter what happens in this world. Nothing can happen to me that God doesn’t want. And all that He wants, no matter how bad it may appear to us, is really for the best.”
- Thomas More.
12. “I never intend, God being my good Lord, to pin my soul to another man’s back, not even the best man that I know this day living: for I know not where he may hap to carry it.”
- Thomas More.
13. "What does it avail to know that there is a God, which you not only believe by Faith, but also know by reason: what does it avail that you know Him if you think little of Him?"
- Thomas More.
Thomas More 'Utopia' Quotes
'Utopia' first gained him fame. Sir Thomas More, king 's faithful servant, spoke many wise words that are still remembered as great quotes today. Following are some of Sir Thomas More quotes on philosophy from his book, 'Utopia'.
14. “A pretty face may be enough to catch a man, but it takes character and good nature to hold him.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
15. “Anyone who campaigns for public office becomes disqualified for holding any office at all.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
16. “If the lion knew his own strength, hard were it for any man to rule him.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
17. “Most people know nothing about learning; many despise it. Dummies reject as too hard whatever is not dumb.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
18. “If honor were profitable, everybody would be honorable.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
19. “To be educated, a person doesn't have to know much or be informed, but he or she does have to have been exposed vulnerably to the transformative events of an engaged human life.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
20. “You wouldn't abandon ship in a storm just because you couldn't control the winds.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
21. “Pride thinks its own happiness shines the brighter by comparing it with the misfortunes of others.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
22. “And it will fall out as in a complication of diseases, that by applying a remedy to one sore, you will provoke another; and that which removes the one ill symptom produces others.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
23. “They wonder much to hear that gold, which in itself is so useless a thing, should be everywhere so much esteemed, that even men for whom it was made, and by whom it has its value, should yet be thought of less value than it is.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
24. “For when they see the people swarm into the streets, and daily wet to the skin with rain, and yet cannot persuade them to go out of the rain, they do keep themselves within their houses, seeing they cannot remedy the folly of the people.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
25. “I think putting thieves to death is not lawful; and it is plain and obvious that it is absurd and of ill consequence to the commonwealth that a thief and a murderer should be equally punished.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
26. “They have no lawyers among them, for they consider them as a sort of people whose profession it is to disguise matters and to wrest the laws, and, therefore, they think it is much better that every man should plead his own cause.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
27. “In no victory do they glory so much as in that which is gained by dexterity and good conduct without bloodshed.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
28. “Terrifying thieves too much provokes them to cruelty.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
29. "It is naturally given to all men to esteem their own inventions best."
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
30. "One of the greatest problems of our time is that many are schooled but few are educated."
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
31. “One man to live in pleasure and wealth, whiles all other weep and smart for it, that is the part not of a king, but of a jailor.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
32. “All things appear incredible to us, as they differ more or less from our own manners.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
33. “Man's folly hath enhanced the value of gold and silver because of their scarcity; whereas nature, like a kind parent, hath freely given us the best things, such as air, earth, and water, but hath hidden from us those which are vain and useless.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
34. “I never saw fool yet that thought himself other than wise.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
35. “The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don’t want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don’t have a soul.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
36. “[How can anyone] be silly enough to think himself better than other people, because his clothes are made of finer woolen thread than theirs. After all, those fine clothes were once worn by a sheep, and they never turned it into anything better than a sheep.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
37. “Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish; Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
38. “Every tribulation whichever comes our way either is sent to be medicinal, if we will take it as such, or may become medicinal, if we will make it such, or is better than medicinal, unless we forsake it."
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
39. “The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
40. “The channel is known only to the natives; so that if any stranger should enter into the bay without one of their pilots he would run great danger of shipwreck.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
41. “For when they see the people swarm into the streets, and daily wet to the skin with rain, and yet cannot persuade them to go out of the rain, they do keep themselves within their houses, seeing they cannot remedy the folly of the people.”
- Thomas More, 'Utopia', 1516.
Inspirational Quotes
Thomas More - the saint, lawyer and a philosopher had the power to make change with his strong words. Listed here are some of the most inspiring quotes by Sir Thomas to guide you every day.
42. “No living creature is naturally greedy, except from fear of want - or in the case of human beings, from vanity, the notion that you're better than people if you can display more superfluous property than they can.”
- Thomas More.
43. “Occupy your mind with good thoughts, or the enemy will fill them with bad ones.”
- Thomas More.
44. “Lord, give me a sense of humor so that I may take some happiness from this life and share it with others.”
- Thomas More.
45. “Nobody owns anything but everyone is rich - for what greater wealth can there be than cheerfulness, peace of mind, and freedom from anxiety?”
- Thomas More.
46. “A friendship like love is warm; a love like friend ship is steady.”
- Thomas More.
47. “Education is not the piling on of learning, information, data, facts, skills, or abilities - that's training or instruction - but is rather making visible what is hidden as a seed.”
- Thomas More.
48. “The light, that lies in woman's eyes, has been my heart's undoing.”
- Thomas More.
49. “What part soever you take upon you, play that as well as you can and make the best of it.”
- Thomas More.
50. "An absolutely new idea is one of the rarest things known to man."
- Thomas More.
51. "A man taking basil from a woman will love her always."
- Thomas More.
52. “What you cannot turn to good, you must at least make as little bad as you can.”
- Thomas More.
53. “love rules without rules”
- Thomas More.
54. “The times are never so bad but that a good man can live in them.”
- Thomas More.
55. “I would uphold the law if for no other reason but to protect myself.”
- Thomas More.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for beautiful Thomas More quotes then why not take a look at Thomas Aquinas quotes, or Thomas Merton quotes.
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Bachelor of Arts Hons specializing in Modern Languages (French and Spanish)
Monisha KochharBachelor of Arts Hons specializing in Modern Languages (French and Spanish)
A Modern Languages graduate from the University College London, Monisha with a passion for travel and exploring different cultures. She is fluent in French and Spanish and is currently learning Hindi. Monisha enjoys discovering new foods and is an avid sports fan, following soccer and Formula 1. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis and watching TV shows.
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