“Agriculture is that which is so universally understood among them that no person, either man or woman, is ignorant of it; they are instructed in it from their childhood, partly by what they learn at school, and partly by practice, they being led out often into the fields about the town, where they not only see others at work but are likewise exercised in it themselves. Besides agriculture, which is so common to them all, every man has some peculiar trade to which he applies himself; such as the manufacture of wool or flax, masonry, smith’s work, or carpenter’s work; for there is no sort of trade that is in great esteem among them. Throughout the island they wear the same sort of clothes, without any other distinction except what is necessary to distinguish the two sexes and the married and unmarried. The fashion never alters, and as it is neither disagreeable nor uneasy, so it is suited to the climate, and calculated both for their summers and winters. Every family makes their own clothes; but all among them, women as well as men, learn one or other of the trades formerly mentioned. Women, for the most part, deal in wool and flax, which suit best with their weakness, leaving the ruder trades to the men. The same trade generally passes down from father to son, inclinations often following descent: but if any man’s genius lies another way he is, by adoption, translated into a family that deals in the trade to which he is inclined; and when that is to be done, care is taken, not only by his father, but by the magistrate, that he may be put to a discreet and good man: and if, after a person has learned one trade, he desires to acquire another, that is also allowed, and is managed in the same manner as the former. When he has learned both, he follows that which he likes best, unless the public has more occasion for the other.
“Farming is so widely understood among them that no one, man or woman, is ignorant of it. They learn it from childhood, partly at school and partly through practice. They are often taken into the fields around the town. There they not only watch others work but also do the work themselves. Besides farming, which everyone knows, every man practices a particular trade. These include making woolen cloth or linen, masonry, metalworking, and carpentry. No trade is held in especially high regard among them. Throughout the island, they wear the same kind of clothes. The only differences distinguish men from women and married people from unmarried people. The style never changes. It is neither unattractive nor uncomfortable, and it suits the climate in both summer and winter. Every family makes its own clothes. Everyone, women as well as men, learns one of the trades already mentioned. Women mostly work with wool and flax, which are better suited to their lesser physical strength. They leave the heavier trades to men. The same trade usually passes from father to son, since interests often run in families. But if a man has a talent for something else, he is adopted into a family practicing his preferred trade. Both his father and the magistrate take care to place him with a sensible, good man. If someone wishes to learn a second trade after mastering the first, he may do so through the same arrangement. Once he has learned both, he practices whichever he prefers, unless the community has greater need of the other.”
The chief, and almost the only, business of the Syphogrants is to take care that no man may live idle, but that every one may follow his trade diligently; yet they do not wear themselves out with perpetual toil from morning to night, as if they were beasts of burden, which as it is indeed a heavy slavery, so it is everywhere the common course of life amongst all mechanics except the Utopians: but they, dividing the day and night into twenty-four hours, appoint six of these for work, three of which are before dinner and three after; they then sup, and at eight o’clock, counting from noon, go to bed and sleep eight hours: the rest of their time, besides that taken up in work, eating, and sleeping, is left to every man’s discretion; yet they are not to abuse that interval to luxury and idleness, but must employ it in some proper exercise, according to their various inclinations, which is, for the most part, reading. It is ordinary to have public lectures every morning before daybreak, at which none are obliged to appear but those who are marked out for literature; yet a great many, both men and women, of all ranks, go to hear lectures of one sort or other, according to their inclinations: but if others that are not made for contemplation, choose rather to employ themselves at that time in their trades, as many of them do, they are not hindered, but are rather commended, as men that take care to serve their country. After supper they spend an hour in some diversion, in summer in their gardens, and in winter in the halls where they eat, where they entertain each other either with music or discourse. They do not so much as know dice, or any such foolish and mischievous games. They have, however, two sorts of games not unlike our chess; the one is between several numbers, in which one number, as it were, consumes another; the other resembles a battle between the virtues and the vices, in which the enmity in the vices among themselves, and their agreement against virtue, is not unpleasantly represented; together with the special opposition between the particular virtues and vices; as also the methods by which vice either openly assaults or secretly undermines virtue; and virtue, on the other hand, resists it. But the time appointed for labour is to be narrowly examined, otherwise you may imagine that since there are only six hours appointed for work, they may fall under a scarcity of necessary provisions: but it is so far from being true that this time is not sufficient for supplying them with plenty of all things, either necessary or convenient, that it is rather too much; and this you will easily apprehend if you consider how great a part of all other nations is quite idle. First, women generally do little, who are the half of mankind; and if some few women are diligent, their husbands are idle: then consider the great company of idle priests, and of those that are called religious men; add to these all rich men, chiefly those that have estates in land, who are called noblemen and gentlemen, together with their families, made up of idle persons, that are kept more for show than use; add to these all those strong and lusty beggars that go about pretending some disease in excuse for their begging; and upon the whole account you will find that the number of those by whose labours mankind is supplied is much less than you perhaps imagined: then consider how few of those that work are employed in labours that are of real service, for we, who measure all things by money, give rise to many trades that are both vain and superfluous, and serve only to support riot and luxury: for if those who work were employed only in such things as the conveniences of life require, there would be such an abundance of them that the prices of them would so sink that tradesmen could not be maintained by their gains; if all those who labour about useless things were set to more profitable employments, and if all they that languish out their lives in sloth and idleness (every one of whom consumes as much as any two of the men that are at work) were forced to labour, you may easily imagine that a small proportion of time would serve for doing all that is either necessary, profitable, or pleasant to mankind, especially while pleasure is kept within its due bounds: this appears very plainly in Utopia; for there, in a great city, and in all the territory that lies round it, you can scarce find five hundred, either men or women, by their age and strength capable of labour, that are not engaged in it. Even the Syphogrants, though excused by the law, yet do not excuse themselves, but work, that by their examples they may excite the industry of the rest of the people; the like exemption is allowed to those who, being recommended to the people by the priests, are, by the secret suffrages of the Syphogrants, privileged from labour, that they may apply themselves wholly to study; and if any of these fall short of those hopes that they seemed at first to give, they are obliged to return to work; and sometimes a mechanic that so employs his leisure hours as to make a considerable advancement in learning is eased from being a tradesman and ranked among their learned men. Out of these they choose their ambassadors, their priests, their Tranibors, and the Prince himself, anciently called their Barzenes, but is called of late their Ademus.
The chief, and almost the only, duty of the Syphogrants is to ensure that no one lives in idleness. They make sure everyone works diligently at their trade. Yet the people do not exhaust themselves with constant labor from morning to night, like beasts of burden. Such a life is harsh slavery. Yet it is the normal life of workers everywhere except in Utopia. The Utopians divide the day and night into twenty-four hours and set aside six for work. They work three hours before dinner and three afterward. They then eat supper and go to bed at eight in the evening, sleeping for eight hours. Everyone may decide how to spend the time left after working, eating, and sleeping. But they must not waste it on luxury and idleness. They must use it for some worthwhile activity suited to their interests, most often reading. Public lectures are usually held every morning before dawn. Only those selected for scholarly study are required to attend. Yet many men and women of all ranks attend lectures on subjects that interest them. Others have no taste for contemplation and prefer to spend that time at their trades, as many do. No one stops them. Instead, they are praised for taking care to serve their country. After supper, they spend an hour in recreation. In summer they gather in their gardens, and in winter in their dining halls. There they entertain one another with music or conversation. They know nothing of dice or other such foolish and harmful games. They do, however, have two games somewhat like our chess. One involves several numbers, with one number, as it were, consuming another. The other represents a battle between virtues and vices. It gives an entertaining picture of the hostility among vices and their cooperation against virtue. It also shows the particular opposition between individual virtues and vices. It illustrates how vice openly attacks or secretly undermines virtue, and how virtue resists. But we must examine their working hours closely. Otherwise, you might suppose that working only six hours would leave them short of essential supplies. This is far from true. Six hours provide more than enough time to produce an abundance of necessities and comforts. You will easily understand this if you consider how many people in other nations do no work at all. First, women, who make up half of humanity, generally do little work. And where a few women work diligently, their husbands are idle. Then consider the vast number of idle priests and members of religious orders. Add all the rich, especially landowners known as noblemen and gentlemen. Include their households of idle servants, kept more for show than for use. Add all the strong, healthy beggars who pretend to be ill to justify their begging. Altogether, you will find far fewer people whose labor supplies humanity's needs than you perhaps imagined. Then consider how few workers do anything genuinely useful. Because we measure everything by money, we create many pointless and unnecessary trades that serve only extravagance and luxury. Suppose workers produced only what life's needs and comforts required. There would be such abundance that prices would fall too low for tradespeople to live on their earnings. Suppose everyone making useless things were given more useful work. Suppose everyone wasting their life in laziness and idleness were forced to work. Each of these idle people consumes as much as any two working people. You can easily imagine how little time would then be needed to provide everything necessary, useful, or enjoyable for humanity. This is especially true when pleasure is kept within proper bounds. Utopia makes this very clear. In a large city and all its surrounding territory, scarcely five hundred people of working age and strength are not working. This includes both men and women. Even the Syphogrants work, although the law exempts them. They do not claim that exemption, hoping their example will encourage everyone else to work diligently. The same exemption is granted to people whom the priests recommend to the people for scholarly study. The Syphogrants select them by secret vote, freeing them from work so they can devote themselves entirely to learning. If any fail to fulfill their early promise, they must return to work. Sometimes a tradesperson makes considerable progress in learning during their free time. They are then released from their trade and admitted among the scholars. From this group, the Utopians choose their ambassadors, priests, Tranibors, and the Prince himself. The Prince was formerly called their Barzenes, but has lately been called their Ademus.
“And thus from the great numbers among them that are neither suffered to be idle nor to be employed in any fruitless labour, you may easily make the estimate how much may be done in those few hours in which they are obliged to labour. But, besides all that has been already said, it is to be considered that the needful arts among them are managed with less labour than anywhere else. The building or the repairing of houses among us employ many hands, because often a thriftless heir suffers a house that his father built to fall into decay, so that his successor must, at a great cost, repair that which he might have kept up with a small charge; it frequently happens that the same house which one person built at a vast expense is neglected by another, who thinks he has a more delicate sense of the beauties of architecture, and he, suffering it to fall to ruin, builds another at no less charge. But among the Utopians all things are so regulated that men very seldom build upon a new piece of ground, and are not only very quick in repairing their houses, but show their foresight in preventing their decay, so that their buildings are preserved very long with but very little labour, and thus the builders, to whom that care belongs, are often without employment, except the hewing of timber and the squaring of stones, that the materials may be in readiness for raising a building very suddenly when there is any occasion for it. As to their clothes, observe how little work is spent in them; while they are at labour they are clothed with leather and skins, cut carelessly about them, which will last seven years, and when they appear in public they put on an upper garment which hides the other; and these are all of one colour, and that is the natural colour of the wool. As they need less woollen cloth than is used anywhere else, so that which they make use of is much less costly; they use linen cloth more, but that is prepared with less labour, and they value cloth only by the whiteness of the linen or the cleanness of the wool, without much regard to the fineness of the thread. While in other places four or five upper garments of woollen cloth of different colours, and as many vests of silk, will scarce serve one man, and while those that are nicer think ten too few, every man there is content with one, which very often serves him two years; nor is there anything that can tempt a man to desire more, for if he had them he would neither be the, warmer nor would he make one jot the better appearance for it. And thus, since they are all employed in some useful labour, and since they content themselves with fewer things, it falls out that there is a great abundance of all things among them; so that it frequently happens that, for want of other work, vast numbers are sent out to mend the highways; but when no public undertaking is to be performed, the hours of working are lessened. The magistrates never engage the people in unnecessary labour, since the chief end of the constitution is to regulate labour by the necessities of the public, and to allow the people as much time as is necessary for the improvement of their minds, in which they think the happiness of life consists.
“With so many people forbidden to remain idle or do useless work, you can easily judge how much they accomplish. They achieve all this in the few hours they are required to work. But besides everything already said, their essential trades require less work than anywhere else. Among us, building and repairing houses takes many workers. Often, a careless heir lets a house his father built fall into decay. The next owner must then spend heavily on repairs that a little maintenance could have prevented. Often, one person builds a house at great expense. Another neglects it, believing he has a more refined taste in architecture. He lets it fall into ruin, then builds another at just as great a cost. Among the Utopians, however, everything is managed so that people very seldom build on new ground. They repair their houses promptly and take care to prevent decay. Their buildings therefore last a very long time with very little work. The builders responsible for this often have nothing else to do except cut timber and square stones. This keeps materials ready whenever a building needs to be put up very quickly. As for their clothes, notice how little work goes into them. At work, they wear loosely cut leather and animal skins, which last seven years. In public, they put on an outer garment that covers their work clothes. These outer garments are all one colour, the natural colour of wool. They need less woollen cloth than people anywhere else, and the cloth they use is much less expensive. They use more linen, but it takes less work to prepare. They judge cloth only by the whiteness of the linen or the cleanliness of the wool. They pay little attention to how fine the thread is. Elsewhere, one man can barely manage with four or five woollen outer garments in different colours and as many silk waistcoats. Those with more particular tastes think even ten too few. In Utopia, every man is content with one outer garment, which very often lasts him two years. Nothing tempts him to want more. Having more would make him neither warmer nor the slightest bit better dressed. Since everyone does useful work and is content with fewer things, they have a great abundance of everything. Often, large numbers are sent to repair the roads because there is no other work for them. But when there is no public work to do, working hours are reduced. The magistrates never put people to unnecessary work. The chief purpose of their system of government is to match work to the public’s needs. It also gives people as much time as they need to develop their minds. They believe this is where happiness in life lies.