Ideal Commonwealths

This volume gathers classic visions of the ideal state, from Plutarch's sober portrait of Sparta to the satirical "other worlds" of later Renaissance writers. Framed by Henry Morley's introduction, it traces the tradition of political imagination from Plato through Lycurgus, Thomas More, Francis Bacon, Tommaso Campanella, and Joseph Hall, linking virtue, governance, reform, and wit in a single conversation about the better commonwealth. Plutarch's Life of Lycurgus presents the legendary Spartan lawgiver as a figure of uncertain origins but decisive influence, who returns from foreign study to remake Sparta with divine approval. He establishes a balanced constitution, strengthens royal power with the senate and Ephors, and imposes severe reforms: equalized land, iron currency, communal dining, and a rejection of luxury in favor of discipline and public duty. The collection also includes Hall's Mundus Alter et Idem, a sharp allegory of vice and folly that moves through lands of gluttony, female rule, foolishness, and theft, while its closing reflections mock greed, conquest, and false explanations of human progress. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.