The character and virtues of Sir Thomas More are a far cry from the values of modernity. The sixteenth century English statesman, and eventual venerated saint, who lost his head after displeasing King Henry VIII, teaches us that the way we use our words is one of the most glaring differences between us and him.
Born in 1478, Thomas More was an English lawyer, judge, jurist, scholar and statesman. The England he inhabited had not quite healed from the wars over the crown in the earlier parts of the fifteenth century, and turmoil seemed to be simmering below the surface once again. Though he faithfully served the beloved king Henry, More also challenged the monarch’s lust for power. More was also a contemporary of major Protestant leaders such as Martin Luther and William Tyndale. Luther was the head of the reformation in Germany and Tyndale had translated the Bible into English, making edits which contradicted the teachings of the Catholic Church. More eventually exchanged polemics with both of these men.
One under-appreciated aspect of More’s character was his deep care for his choice of words. For example, in his fiery exchanges with Martin Luther, More demonstrated a sense of confidence in his speech. He made clear that prudence with words, as with all things, means taking the appropriate approach at the appropriate time. This time called for vigorous and harsh words.
The writings back and forth between the two men were far from congenial. Luther, in his writings, attacked the Catholic Church (to which More adhered to his death) and King Henry, who till a certain point was quite a vigorous defender of the Catholic faith. The Pope had even awarded a corresponding title indicating such when Henry published a book defending the seven sacraments after Luther had denigrated them. The language Luther used was quite vile, making frequent reference to feces, insulting the king as an idiot and a liar, and making apparent a rage-filled personality. More’s responses to him were not gentle, responding in kind in the Responsio Ad Lutherum:
“… as long as your reverend paternity will be determined to tell these shameless lies, others will be permitted… to throw back into your paternity’s shitty mouth, truly the shit-pool of all shit… and to empty out all the sewers and privies onto your crown… against which no less than the kingly crown you have determined to play the buffoon.”
What should modernity take from this impassioned language? Many have understandably questioned how a venerated saint could speak with such a vulgar and fiery tongue. Is this truly the behavior of a saint?
Leaving aside the fact that someone being a canonized saint does not mean they were perfect, More responded in this way, not because he thought nothing of words, but because he thought much of them. More saw a danger in the way he thought Luther’s words could lead others astray, into error and into a lessening of appropriate respect for authority, and thus he believed it fitting to respond to Luther in Luther’s own manner in order to make clear what a respectable Christian ought to think of Luther’s behavior. In Martinus Lutherus contra Henricum Regem Angliae, Luther blatanly and frequently insults the character of Henry VIII after Henry’s publication of his Defence of the Seven Sacraments:
“The King of England after the same fashion in his book blabbers much about my flight into Bohemia… so senseless and effeminate is the hate of this stolid King!”
It should also be noted that More provided a kind of apology to readers for the intense polemic, indicating a self-awareness. Luther never did this. More also speaks for and in defense of his king while Luther speaks for himself in an unmitigated aggression.
More’s value of words can also be seen in the final and famous chapter of More’s life. More’s refused to swear by Henry VIII’s Act of Succession (which not only declared Anne Boleyn Queen and her children successors to Henry, but also declared Henry and said successors to be head of the Church in England). This refusal placed him in hot water. When he was called on to swear by this act, More remained silent for a time, but neither spoke against it either, believing this would protect him legally from execution on a charge of treason. Here we see a clever prudence, that wisdom in speech at times means not speaking at all. There is a time to speak and a time to keep quiet, and More knew which was which. It did not ultimately save him though, and some time after his resignation as Chancellor he was indicted, imprisoned, and tried. In the 1966 film about Thomas More, A Man for All Seasons, when his daughter Margaret visits him in prison, she tries to persuade him to swear by the act publicly while denying it in his heart, so that he may be reunited with his family again, Thomas says:
“When a man takes an oath, he’s holding his own self in his own hands like water, and if he opens his fingers then, he needn’t hope to find himself again.”
This is a wonderfully sublime aspect of More’s viewpoint on the use of words. He recognized how intimately connected the whole of the human person is and how the whole of it is expressed every time we open our mouths. An oath is a serious thing, it is the pinnacle of what an ordinary person can do with their words. Speech and words are how God made the earth, He literally spoke creation into being. Thus, it should deeply impress us that He shared with us the gift of speech.
More’s clever strategy had to be defeated by the very opposite of his careful use of words: perjury. Thomas Cromwell’s deceitful lawfare and Richard Rich’s lies under oath convicted More of treason, and he was executed by decapitation shortly after. He was eventually canonized a saint of the Catholic Church and is venerated as a patron of lawyers and politicians.
Thomas More serves as an excellent example of care with one’s words. There is in our time a common proliferance of swearing and sharing of obscene, intimate or inappropriate subjects in conversation in public and social media, cursing around women and children, etc. Believing Christians should deeply worry about what we might say to God when we stand before Him, and He asks us why we did not use our words better. Words are not just words, words always mean something. Thomas More should encourage those who read this to go the extra mile, be better with how you use your words. We ought to work on refraining from foul language, bite our tongues when tempted to gossip about a coworker, and to know when to keep silent when words aren’t useful in a given moment. We should not only refrain from bad or useless speech, but follow Thomas More’s example and make an effort to speak good things, such as he did to his friend and fellow scholar Desiderius Erasmus in a 1516 letter:
“We are ‘together, you and I, a crowd’; that is my feeling, and I think I could live happily with you in any wilderness. Farewell, dearest Erasmus, dear as the apple of my eye.”
Becoming more virtuous and increasing in goodness is becoming more like unto God, so do as He did, speak goodness into being.
