4I die the King's good servant, but God's first, declared Sir Thomas More from the scaffold upon his 1535 execution for treason. Condemned to death for his refusal to acknowledge Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church of England, More spent his final months in the Tower of London, writing this message of hope in the face of suffering.
The noted Renaissance humanist cast his work of political thought and spiritual reflection in the form of a fictional dialogue between a young man and his dying uncle. Set in sixteenth-century Hungary during the Ottoman conquests, the colloquy voices the youth's anguish at the impending invasion and the elder's words of solace. More offers a reflection of his own dire circumstances as well as a powerful statement of his conviction that God is a Christian's only comfort. A penetrating exploration of the fleeting nature of pleasure, the essence of worldly power, and Christ's redemptive power, this book constitutes an enduring legacy of faith.