Statesman and Saint: Cardinal Wolsey, Sir Thomas More, and the Politics of Henry VIII

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xii, 338 p. Illustrations. Bibliography. References. Index. Originally published in Great Britain as the Statesman and the Fanatic. 'Time to make a different assessment.' Cardinal Wolsey and Sir Thomas More represent two opposite extremes, the two conflicting types of political leaders who throughout history have influenced the lives of their fellow-men. Today, Wolsey is usually regarded as an unscrupulous politician, and More as a saint.On 7 February, 1978, the five-hundredth anniversary of More's birth, the London Times leader-writer wrote: 'If the English people were to be set a test to justify their history and civilization by the example of one man, then it is Sir Thomas More whom they would perhaps choose: After considering the rival claims of Churchill, Gladstone, Dr Johnson, Shakespeare, Elizabeth I and King Alfred to be the greatest figure in English history, the leader-writer expressed the opinion that none of them was as great as More. If, in the twentieth century, even Churchill cannot compete with More, what chance has Wolsey? But it is surely time to make a different assessment. Wolsey, for all his faults-and he had many-was a great statesman, a man of natural dignity with a generous temperament, who preserved a relatively tolerant régime until he fell from power and was succeeded by More. A careful examination of More reveals.that Ihis love for his family is largely a myth; and that the saint was the worst kind of intolerant fanatic, an idealist gone astray, who began as a brilliant intellectual but developed first into a sycophantic courtier and then into a persecuting bigot, before he redeemed himself, at the eleventh hour, by a brave if muted stand for his principles which cost him his life. Very good in good dust jacket. DJ has some wear and soiling, with small edge wear. Rear panel of DJ and rear flap creased. Presumed first U. S. edition/first printing. N° de ref. del artículo 60720

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