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him the spirit of the new learning, and he returned with ardour to the study of Greek which he had begun at Oxford. At the same time he continued his study of the law, and in 1502 was appointed Under Sheriff of the City of London.

For a few years after 1504 he retired to private life and study, but in 1509, upon the death of Henry VII, returned to the practice of his profession, and devoted himself extensively to politics. He entered Parliament in 1514. It was not long before he attracted the attention of Henry VIII and Wolsey, who decided to employ him, and in 1518 was made Master of the Bequests and sworn a member of the King's Privy Council. From then on his rise was rapid. In 1521 he was Knighted and appointed Treasurer of the Exchequer, and in the Parliament of 1523 elected Speaker of the House of Commons. From 1514 to 1523 he was employed on various diplomatic missions, never failing to acquit himself with great credit and distinction. These travels in various parts of Europe, gave him the opportunity of studying intimately the government and institutions of the countries he visited. It resulted in that great work, The "Utopia", published in 1518, in which he describes the ideal government and civilisation.

Great jealousy now arose between More and Wolsey, who did everything he could to ruin him in the favor of the King. To get him out of the way he had him appointed Ambassador to Spain, but More never proceeded to this post. Henry VIII continued to shower him with favors. In 1525 he was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and in 1529 upon the disgrace and fall of Wolsey, succeeded him as Lord High Chancellor of England. During his tenure of this office the question came up of the King's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, and marriage to Anne Boleyn. More refused to lend his authority to the project, and in 1533, -

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