Interpreting Thomas More's Utopia, ed by John C Olin (New York: Fordham University Press, 1989), 98 pp The five essays in this collection were first presented at Fordham University in a symposium celebrating the four hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Thomas More's martyrdom and the fiftieth of his canonization (October 1985) Their publication is another example of John Olin's diligent service in behalf of sixteenth-century church history.' The first selection is "A Personal Appreciation" (1-5) by the governor of New York State, Mario M Cuomo, like Thomas More a Catholic layman dedicated to public service Cuomo wittily relates how visitors to his office sometimes assume that Holbein's portrait of More represents Christopher Columbus! Cuomo finds More a paradoxical and challenging role-model in his contemplative assessment of social problems and active efforts to remedy them Attacking the Republican party's "trickle-down" theory of wealth (4), the Democrat praises More's ideal of society as a family which promptly meets the basic needs of all of its members George M Logan reads More's work as a debate on the topic of the compatibility of the just and the useful in "The Argument of Utopia" (7-35) In Book I Hythloday holds that the two are identical while persona More argues that an altruistic councillor may persuade a self-interested monarch to pursue the just in the name of the useful In Book II author More depicts a society which follows justice in its domestic institutions and expendiency in its foreign policies Because Utopia is such a complex work, I am wary of essays which offer the argument or the key to its meaning Nevertheless, Logan's examination of the theme of the just and the useful explains significant disjunctures in the Utopian fabric, especially in Book II Readers of the Erasmus Yearbook The following list contains John C Olin's major publications to date: Desiderius Erasmus: Christian Humanism and the Reforntation New York: Harper � Row, 1965; New York: Fordham University Press, 1975 and 1987; A Reformation Debate: Sadoleto's Letter to the Genevans and Calvin's Reply New York: Harper � Row, 1966; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1976; The Catholic Reformation: Savonarola to Ignatius Loyola New York: Harper � Row, 1969; Luther, Erasmus and the Reformation: A Catholic-Protestant Reappraisal New York: Fordham University Press, 1969; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982; The Autobiography of St Ignatius Loyola with Related Documents Ed by John C Olin Trans by Joseph F O'Callaghan New York: Harper � Row, 1974; Six Essays on Erasmus and a Translation of Erasmus' Letter to Carondelet, 1523 New York: Fordham University Press, 1979; and Catholic Reform From Cardinal Ximenes to the Council of Trent, 1495-1563 New York: Fordham University Press, 1990 Richard L DeMolen has edited a festschrift, Religious Orders of the Catholic Reformation: In Honor of John C Olin on his Seventy-Fifth Birthday (New York: Fordham University Press, forthcoming) will also want to consult Logan's monograph, The Meaning of More's Utopia (Princeton, 1983), for its many references to the European humanist.2 Thomas I White seeks the unity of Utopia, less in philosophical than in religious terms, in "The Key to Nowhere: Pride and Utopia" (37-60) Perhaps because he has previously approached Utopia through its classical antecedents,3 White never refers to the biblical source for the concept of pride as the origin of all evil (Ecclesiasticus 10:15) Yet this verse is pertinently found in a section on the arrogance and greed of kings White defines "pride" as "feeling superior to others and reveling in their inferiority" (46) because of power or wealth For White, Book I examines the harm caused by pride, and Book II, the methods to defuse it He claims that "Once Utopia is seen as an essay on pride, the entire work takes on a new and more unified look" (48) He wisely asserts only that Utopia will look more unified; a literary critic cannot ignore the contrasting genres: analytical dialogue in Book I, descriptive monologue in Book II In his comprehensive biography of More, Richard C Marius traces the Utopian community of goods and uniform dress to medieval monasticism.4 In contrast, Germain Marc'hadour examines how Utopians differ from Christians in "Utopia and Martyrdom" (61-76).5 Although he acknowledges that the word "martyr" occurs only once in Utopia (217/38),6 Marc'hadour examines how Buthrescae and monks "witness" to their piety Utopian ascetics give no time to contemplation unlike Maria/Moria at the finale of Erasmus' rhapsody on Folly They are self-chosen, not elected by their fellow citizens like Utopian priests, nor called by God like Christians with an authentic religious vocation Although it has only a brief mention in Utopia, martyrdom is an appropriate topic for a conference recalling events in 1535 and 1935 In the last essay, "The Idea of Utopia from Hesiod to John Paul II" (7798), Olin surveys the utopian tradition and classifies its religious dimensions In Conjunction with Robert M Adams, Logan has also prepared a new edition of Utopia, published in the series, Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought (1989) Thomas I White's earlier writings on Utopia include: "Aristotle and Utopia," Renaissance (,2uarterly, 29 (1976): 635-75 and "Pride and the Public Good: Thomas More's Use of Plato in More's Utopia," Journal of the History of Philosophy, 20.4 (October 1982): 329-54 Here White notes that "More follows Augustine in thinking that pride is the mother of all sin" (341) Richard C Marius, Thomas More (New York: Knopf, 1984), 162 ff For an introduction to the works of Abbe Marc'hadour, see the festschrift prepared for his twenty-fifth anniversary as editor of the bilingual publication Moreana: Marie-Claude Rousseau, "Les livres et les heures de Germain Marc'hadour: Bio-bibliographie," Miscellanea Moreana (Binghamton, N.Y.: Medieval � Renaissance Texts � Studies, 1989), 3-8 Utopia, ed by Edward Surtz, S.J and J H Hexter, Complete Works of St Thomas More (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1965)