few as possibly they can, and are much more set on taking many prisoners, than on killing those that fly before them: nor do they ever let their men so loose in the pursuit of their enemies, that they do not retain an entire body still in order; so that if they have been forced to engage the last of their battalions before they could gain the day, they will rather let their enemies all escape than pursue them, when their own army is in disorder; remembering well what has often fallen out to themselves, that when the main body of their army has been quite defeated and broken, so that their enemies reckoning the victory was sure, and in their hands, have let themselves loose into an irregular pursuit, a few of them that lay for a reserve, waiting a fit opportunity, have fallen on them while they were in this chase, straggling in disorder, apprehensive of no danger, but counting the day their own, and have turned the whole action, and so wresting out of their hands a victory that seemed certain and undoubted, the vanquished have of a sudden become victorious.

"It is hard to tell whether they are more dexterous in laying or avoiding ambushes: they sometimes seem to fly when it is far from their thoughts; and when they intend to give ground, they do it so, that it is very hard to find out their design. If they see they are ill posted, or are like to be overpowered by numbers, then they either march off in the night with great silence, or by some stratagem they delude their enemies: if they retire in the day-time, they do it in such order, that it is

no less dangerous to fall upon them in a retreat, than in a march. They fortify their camps well with a deep and a large trench, and throw up the earth that is dug out of it for a wall; nor do they employ only their slaves in this, but the whole army works at it, except those that are then upon the guard; so that when so many hands are at work, a great line and a strong fortification is finished in so short a time, that it is scarce credible. 165 Their armour is very strong for defence, and yet is not so heavy as to make them uneasy in their marches; they can even swim with it. All that are trained up to war, practise swimming much. Both horse and foot make great use of arrows, and are very expert at it. They have no swords, but fight with a poleaxe that is both sharp and heavy, by which they thrust or strike down an enemy. They are very good at finding out warlike machines, and disguise them so well, that the enemy does not perceive them till he feels the use of them; so that he cannot prepare such a defence against them, by which they might be made ridiculous as well as useless. The chief consideration had in the making of them is, that they may be easily carried and managed.

165 The author had here in view the practice of the Roman armies, who worked as described in the text, and have left, in almost every country in Europe, a camp thus fortified, an object of admiration to all mankind. Never was military discipline carried so far as by the republicans of Rome, whose, valour bore down everything before it, and whose perseverance wore out the patience of the most determined foes.

"If they agree to a truce, they observe it so religiously, that no provocations will make them break it. They never lay their enemies' country waste, nor burn their corn; and even in their marches they take all possible care, that neither horse nor foot may tread it down, for they do not know but that they may have use for it themselves. They hurt no man that they find disarmed, unless he is a spy. When a town is surrendered to them, they take it into their protection; and when they carry a place by storm, they never plunder it, but put those only to the sword that opposed the rendering it up, and make the rest of the garrison slaves: but for the other inhabitants, they do them no hurt; and if any of them had advised a surrender of it, they give them good rewards out of the estates of those that they condemn, and distribute the rest among their auxiliary troops, but they themselves take no share of the spoil.

"When a war is ended, they do not oblige their friends to reimburse them of their expense in it; but they take that from the conquered, either in money, which they keep for the next occasion, or in lands, out of which a constant revenue is to be paid them; by many increases, the revenue which they draw out from several countries on such occasions, is now risen to above 700,000 ducats a year. They send some of their own people to receive these revenues, who have orders to live magnificently, and like princes, and so they consume much of it upon the place; and either bring over the rest to Utopia, or lend it to that nation in which it

lies. This they most commonly do, unless some great occasion, which falls out but very seldom, should oblige them to call for it all. It is out of these lands that they assign these rewards to such as they encourage to adventure on desperate attempts, which was mentioned formerly. If any prince that engages in war with them is making preparations for invading their country, they prevent him, and make his country the seat of the war, for they do not willingly suffer any war to break in upon their island; and if that should happen, they would only defend themselves by their own people, but would not at all call for auxiliary troops to their assistance.

OF THE RELIGIONS OF THE UTOPIANS.

"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. Some worship such men as have been eminent in former times for virtue or glory, not only as ordinary deities, but as the supreme God; yet the greater and wiser sort of them worship none of these, but adore one eternal, invisible, infinite, and incomprehensible Deity,166 as a being that is far above all our apprehensions, that is spread over the whole universe, not by its

166 Something like the state of things here described existed in Greece, and, perhaps, in no other country, at least to the same extent. Sir Thomas More evidently does not disapprove of it, but rather exaggerates the superstition of the ancients, and

bulk, but by its power and virtue; him they call the Father of all, and acknowledge that the beginnings, the increase, the progress, the vicissitudes, and the end of all things come only from him; nor do they offer divine honours to any but to him alone. 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. They differ in this, that one thinks the God whom he worships is this Supreme Being, and another thinks that his idol is that God; but they all agree in one principle, that whatever is this Supreme Being, is also that great essence, to whose glory and majesty all honours are ascribed by the consent of all nations.

66

By degrees they all fall off from the various superstitions that are among them, and grow up to that one religion that is most in request, and is much the best; and there is no doubt to be made, but that all the others had vanished long ago, if it had not happened that some unlucky accidents falling on those who were advising the change of those superstitious ways of worship, these have been ascribed not to chance, but to somewhat from heaven, and so have raised in them a fear that the god, whose worship was like to be abandoned, has

allows it to his Utopians; for even the Greeks never thought their heroes, or deified men, even on the same level with their lowest gods, to say nothing of the Supreme. Their philosophers conceived of God as we do.

く