254 More, Sir Thomas of the Dutch Republic and Great Britain The Spirit of the Laws was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Catholic Church in 1751 but had great influence on the Scottish Enlightenment and on the founding fathers of the United States His theory of the distribution of powers influenced the writing of the U.S Constitution Montesquieu also contributed an article on “taste” to the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond d’Alembert Further reading: Kingston, Rebecca Montesquieu and the Parlement of Bordeaux Geneva: Librarie Droz, 1996; Shackleton, Robert Montesquieu: A Critical Biography London: Oxford University Press, 1961; Shklar, Judith Montesquieu Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987 William E Burns More, Sir Thomas (1478–1535) judge and chancellor of England Sir Thomas More was a lawyer and judge in Renaissance England who rose to the highest appointed office of chancellor under Henry VIII, king of England More was born in London on February 7, 1478, son of Sir John More, a prominent judge More studied at Oxford under Thomas Linacre and William Grocyn He returned to London around 1494 to complete his studies in law and in 1496 was admitted to the law court of Lincoln’s Inn, located in central London He became a lawyer in 1501 At one point in his early legal career, More seriously considered becoming a monk While he worked at Lincoln’s Inn, he lived at a nearby monastery run by the Carthusians, taking part in their monastic life of prayer, fasting, and religious studies Although More quit the monastery, he continued to live out many of its religious practices throughout his life More decided to enter a lifetime political career when he joined Parliament in 1504 Shortly after, he married Jane Colt She bore him four children She died at a young age in childbirth and More quickly remarried a widow named Alice Middleton to care for his children When More urged Parliament to decrease its appropriation of funds to King Henry VII, Henry retaliated by imprisoning More’s father until a fine was paid and More had withdrawn from political service After the king’s death, More became active again He was appointed undersheriff of London in 1510 He was noted for his impartiality and speed in seeing that Most famous for his imaginary “perfect” society, Utopia, Sir Thomas More was beheaded in 1535 for opposing Henry VIII cases were heard in a timely fashion More attracted the attention of King Henry VIII, who appointed him to a number of high posts and missions on behalf of the government He was made Speaker of the House of Commons in 1523 As Speaker he helped establish the parliamentary privilege of free speech Henry made him chancellor in 1529 He resigned in 1532, at the height of his career and reputation Throughout his life, More was recognized as a reformer and scholar He wrote and published many works in Latin and English and was friends with a number of scholars and bishops In 1499, the scholar Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam first visited England and formed a lifelong friendship and correspondence with More On subsequent visits, Erasmus lived in More’s household at Chelsea They produced a Latin translation of Lucian’s works, which was printed at Paris in 1506 In 1509, Erasmus wrote the Encomium moriae, or Praise of Folly (1509), dedicating it to More During one of his diplomatic missions to Flanders in