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Cardinal John Morton
One of the men whom Raphael Hythloday speaks with at Cardinal Morton’s table, the lawyer praises the severity of English justice: he thinks it a good sign that so many thieves in England are hanged and that so few escape hanging. After Hythloday thoroughly critiques his position, the lawyer attempts to respond in pompous, verbose terms, but the Cardinal worthily silences him. Later, the lawyer just dismisses Hythloday’s argument out of hand—and ironically everyone present agrees with him, except for the Cardinal himself. The lawyer represents how pride and prejudice make us deaf to reason and wisdom.
A Lawyer Quotes in Utopia
The Utopia quotes below are all either spoken by A Lawyer or refer to A Lawyer. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 1 Quotes
Provision should have been made [in England], so that no man should be driven to this extreme necessity, first to steal and then to die.
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Here, Hythloday recalls a conversation he had with a cunning lawyer about justice. Their conversation centers on the example of the thief, who, in Europe, is hanged for his crimes. Hythloday argues that this punishment is extreme and inappropriatefor the crime. Indeed, Hylthloday thinks that the crime of stealing is motivated by "extreme necessity" as opposed to a base desire to do bad things. As such, the thief who steals to keep themselves or their family alive is more a victim than a criminal - their society has failed them by leaving them unable to earn a living, and then Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Du
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A Lawyer Character Timeline in Utopia
The timeline below shows where the character A Lawyer appears in Utopia. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1
One day, while sitting at Cardinal Morton’s table, Hythloday fell into discussion with a cunning lawyer concerning English law. The lawyer praises the rigorous justice executed upon felons and especially thieves...
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The lawyer responds that England should cherish these pampered, out-of-work serving men, for they are stouter and...
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The lawyer tediously claims he will answer Hythloday, promising to rehearse each of his points in order...
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...can be so organized that even bad people can’t help but to do good. The lawyer at once counters that, were England to do as the Polylerites do, the nation would...
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