Witty, influential work by one of the greatest scholars of the Renaissance satirizes the shortcomings of the upper classes and religious institutions. Required reading for humanities classes, this literary gem is ripe with vignettes and caricatures — with Folly, a metaphor for stupidity, the centerpiece. Unabridged republication of the John Wilson translation.
Utopia by Sir Thomas More 16th-century classic by English ecclesiastic and scholar envisioned a tolerant, patriarchal island kingdom free of private property, violence, bloodshed and vice. Forerunner of many later attempts.
The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli Classic, Renaissance-era guide to acquiring and maintaining political power. Today, nearly 500 years after it was written, this calculating prescription for autocratic rule continues to be much read and studied.
