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June, 2001
Renaissance Father (Part Two)
Thomas More, highest government official in the English kingdom under Henry VIII, was an artful parent. In the time before government schools, a dad had to be creative in the education of his children and More was a skillful educator in character. Gerry Wegemer, More scholar, finishes his report.
Click here for first part.
Sir Thomas More's primary concern in the education of his children was to teach virtue. But how to teach virtue has been a
question for parents in every age. More had observed and studied many ways. He was familiar, for example, with the way of the
Stoics, who stressed the importance of fighting passion until it no longer exerts its influence. This position was best articulated by
Seneca and Cicero. Yet, although More borrowed freely from these authors and recommended their writings, he did not choose
the Stoic way.
Why? Because he did not think virtue could be founded simply on habit. True, all virtues require habits; but for More, what was of
greatest importance was what would motivate and direct those habits. He wanted his children to act from love. Thus, he saw the
primary task of education as cultivating a good conscience and noble loves. And in that order of importance—conscience
first because one must constantly use good judgment to discern what is indeed noble and good.
Also necessary for proper education of the soul would be what More called "right imagination and remembrance," a state of mind
born of careful instruction and good conversation. The need for "right imagination" is especially evident when one considers the
problem of "remembering" during a time of pressure or temptation. At such a time it can be virtually impossible to stay focused on
what is right—unless one has been properly prepared beforehand. Without the help of an imagination previously shaped by deeply
treasured conviction, images of pleasure or impulses of passion are almost sure to take over and block out the light of reason.
Good conversation was one of the most common and effective means which More used to cultivate right imagination and good
remembrance in the souls of his children. He saw every conversation, no matter how trivial its subject, as an opportunity to
cultivate the garden of that child's soul. Not only did these everyday conversations cultivate reflection and self-knowledge, but they
also provided the best opportunities for planting and cultivating those precepts and principles which every person needs.
More's ability to speak and play with his children on their own level surprised many of his dignified friends. As one early
biographer put it, "Although he was in high office and always busily engaged in affairs of State, yet he came down to the level of
his children's studies, joking with them in neat and witty phrases."
Playful irony was the dominant characteristic of More's clever way of engaging the minds and hearts of his children, who often
wondered if their father was speaking seriously or in jest. This means of testing and developing judgment and character More
learned especially from Socrates and Lucian. It was a means to develop that capacity most necessary for true virtue: a capacity
for the type of reflection that eventually matures into contemplation. More understood clearly that all human beings are created to
contemplate God. This one purpose of life ordered everything else in his work as a parent and educator.
Other means that he used to develop this capacity for reflection and right remembrance were daily prayer and instruction in the
faith. Through these, he helped his children cultivate the habit of considering ordinary events from a supernatural point of view.
Whenever, for example, they would complain of some suffering or discomfort, he would merrily remind them that people do not
"go to heaven in featherbeds." He also told stories that helped develop in each child a well-formed conscience and could explain
complex and demanding ideas in an attractive and illuminating manner.
The family also read and discussed a great deal together. Family readings often took place before or during dinner, since More
made a special point of seeing to it that dinner conversations were a good mixture of the serious and the entertaining. Visitors like
Erasmus marveled at how well the children could follow an argument and participate in sustained conversation; they also marveled
at the cheerful atmosphere of this large and busy household.
These children never doubted their father's love. Even when away on business, he kept in close touch, sending letters and poems
to encourage and amuse them. From these trips he brought gifts both pleasant and profitable. He brought unusual pets, such as the
family monkey, or sweets that all could enjoy. He was fond of collecting old coins, both for display and for history lessons. And he
brought many other things he knew his family would enjoy—things as diverse as songs they could play and sing together and
exotic plants for their family garden. This was not a Stoic approach to cultivating virtue.
More's fundamental principle in education was crystal-clear: "Put virtue in the first place . . . , learning in the second." In this way,
as we have seen, he was convinced that his children would grow to be "inwardly calm and at peace and neither stirred by praise
of flatterers nor stung by the follies of unlearned mockers of learning." In stating this principle, More was simply reaffirming the
commonsense observations of Plato and Aristotle that a person needs stability of character to see the world with objectivity. Since
passion and pride cloud the intellect, he realized, the point of a complete education is to help a person achieve the self-mastery
needed for reason to reign.
The liberal arts, he said, can "prepare the soul for virtue" by fostering this self-mastery not only by developing reason, but also by
helping people reach "the contemplation of celestial realities through the study of nature." Such contemplation can bring about a
profound grasp of first principles. When this depth of understanding is combined with the experience found especially in the study
of history, law, and literature, students can "learn prudence in human affairs"—and thus acquire the "one special thing without
which all learning is half lame."
Abridged from Thomas More: A Profile in Courage, Copyright
Scepter Publishers, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
Visit Gerry Wegemer at the Center for Thomas More Studies at The University of Dallas.
Read press release about The Center for Thomas More Studies
Get information about his summer high school program:
Thomas More in England
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