personality. There is a certain open-hearted acceptance of things good, without too close an inquiry into their logical relations. More's ethical system is contained in the Enchiridion Ethicum. On a cursory examination this appears to be the work of an author who is rambling on with no particular plan in mind. For a little while he remains true to the theoretical exposition which one might suppose to be his main object; but he soon turns aside, and much of his time is devoted to earnest, if not original, exhortations to a virtuous life. The various subjects, too, are treated with the most reckless disregard for consistency. That there should be any logical connection between a and b seems not at all necessary. It is only when the book is regarded in the light of its purpose that these seeming vagaries are understood, and the inconsistencies, if not justified, at least explained. It is distinctly stated that the aim of the book is not theoretical, but practical.[1] "Ethics is the art of living well and happily."[2]
An exposition of this nature necessarily differs from the ordinary ethical treatise in the proportions of space given to different subjects and in the manner of their treatment. Besides the thorough-going influence exercised upon the book by its purpose, there was also the influence of other philosophical systems. More was not preeminently a philosopher; his turn of thought partook too much of the mystical and was too entirely under the sway of his emotions. Such a type of mind, though not likely to originate much for itself, is especially fitted to appreciate the thoughts of other men. More, in common with the other Cambridge Platonists, followed Plato in his Neo-Platonic aspect, Aristotle, and Descartes. No other writers of modern times are referred to at much length, though two or three, among them Bacon, are quoted occasionally; but the worthies of the ancient world have a prominent place. Cicero, Marcus Antoninus, Zeno, Plutarch, Epictetus, and a host of others are brought in to clinch all arguments, and two or three appear on nearly every page.
