Journal of Catholic Legal Studies Volume 51 Number 2 Volume 52, 2012, Number 2 Article 3 Chicken Soup for the Legal Soul: The Jurisprudence of Saint Thomas More Brian M. Murray Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/jcls Part of the Catholic Studies Commons This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Catholic Legal Studies by an authorized editor of St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE LEGAL SOUL: THE JURISPRUDENCE OF SAINT THOMAS MORE BRIAN M. MURRAYt INTRODUCTION Before Thomas More's life ended, he uttered the following famous last words: "'I die the king's good servant, and God's first.' "1 The phrase, while brief, is a window through which one can view More's philosophy, legal career, and service as a judge under the regime of King Henry VIII. Roughly twenty years earlier, More, in his finest and most widely known work, Utopia,2 advocated perseverance through prudence to public servants facing moral difficulty: "Don't give up the ship in a storm because you cannot direct the winds. [W]hat you cannot turn to good, you may at least-to the extent of your powers-make less bad."3 These lines, demonstrating the tension between serving in a system of imperfect human law while trying to remain the loyal servant of an unearthly yet divine kingdom, also serve as bookends for More's life and philosophy.