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The Ends of Life: Roads to Fulfillment in Early Modern England
Hailed as "immediately and universally recognized as indispensable" ( TLS ) and "compellingly readable, richly researched, fascinatingly detailed, delightfully written" ( LRB ), here is a masterful exploration of the ways in which people sought to lead fulfilling lives, illuminating the central values of early modern England, while casting incidental light on some of the perennial problems of human existence. Keith Thomas, one of the foremost historians of our time, sheds light on the origins of the modern ideal of human fulfillment and explores the many obstacles to its realization, looking at work, wealth, possessions, friendship, family, and sociability. The book looks at the cult of military prowess, the pursuit of honor and reputation, the nature of religious belief, and the desire to be posthumously remembered. The Ends of Life offers a fresh approach to the history of early modern England, providing modern readers with much food for thought on the problem of how we should live
and what goals in life we should pursue.
and what goals in life we should pursue.
428 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Keith Thomas
73 books49 followersSir Keith Thomas was born in 1933 and educated at Barry County Grammar School and Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Modern History. He has spent all his academic career in Oxford, as a senior scholar of St. Antony's (1955), a Prize Fellow of All Souls (1955-57), Fellow and Tutor of St John's (1957-85), Reader (1978-85), ad hominem Professor (1986) and President of Corpus Christi (1986-2000). He returned to All Souls as a Distinguished Fellow (2001-15). He is now an Honorary Fellow of All Souls, Balliol, Corpus Christi and St John's. Elected FBA in 1979, he was President of the British Academy (1993-97). He is a member of the Academia Europaea, a Founding Member of the Learned Society of Wales, a Foreign Hon. Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an Hon. Member of the Japan Academy. He has held visiting appointments at Princeton, Stanford, Columbia and Louisiana State Universities. He has published essays on many different aspects of the social and cultural history of early modern England.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 27, 2017
Over his long career, Keith Thomas has written a trio of books that are essential reading for anyone interested in the social history of early modern England, with this being his most recent. The theme that it tackles is a perennial one: how to live a good, as in a fulfilled, life. Whereas the reader will encounter goals and attitudes that are not so distant from our own today, there are many beliefs and practices – unsurprisingly found more towards the beginning of the period in question (the book spans the three hundred years from 1500 to 1800) – that are quite unlike those to which all but a fringe few now subscribe. These changes in outlook run in tandem with shifts in the accompanying social and economic order, with the most pronounced transitions during the period in question being associated with a growing commercialism, individualism and secularisation.
Thus, whereas the mediaeval conception of military glory as virtuous and noble carried over into this period, with martial skills and prowess being seen as an integral part of masculine identity, it gradually ceded its status to the pursuit of wealth, with the military becoming increasingly specialised and professional as feudalism became eclipsed by mercantile, and then industrial, capitalism. The old belligerent ethos was unsuited to the majority in the new commercial age, many of whom now looked down upon the murderous trade plied by those who clung to the ideals of chivalric nobility, or served in the common soldiery.
One of Thomas’s key observations is that routes to individual fulfilment were vastly more circumscribed at the beginning of this period than towards its end, and alas, many still find that their personal choices are greatly limited by their social and economic status today. Self-realisation is not quite as new a concept as we may often think, and the different ‘roads to fulfilment’ that he sketches – vocational, material, reputational, personal and posthumous – are all at play, to a greater or lesser degree, in our own lives now.
Thomas’s prose is always a joy to read, being both commendably objective and laced with wit, with contemporary voices from many different stations of life being given the opportunity to address the reader directly, in the form of the many quotations that pepper this text. For those interested in this period of English history, and particularly for those who aspire to write fiction and wish to gain an insight into the varied social milieux of this time, it is an indispensable resource.
Thomas ends the volume with a quote from a far earlier age – that of Augustan Rome – translated by John Dryden from Horace’s twenty-ninth ode, which is as salutary and joyous now, as it was to its readers in late seventeenth-century England:
Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He, who can call today his own;
He, who secure within, can say
Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have liv’d today.
Be fair, or foul, or rain, or shine,
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate are mine.
Not Heav’n itself upon the past has pow’r;
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.
Thus, whereas the mediaeval conception of military glory as virtuous and noble carried over into this period, with martial skills and prowess being seen as an integral part of masculine identity, it gradually ceded its status to the pursuit of wealth, with the military becoming increasingly specialised and professional as feudalism became eclipsed by mercantile, and then industrial, capitalism. The old belligerent ethos was unsuited to the majority in the new commercial age, many of whom now looked down upon the murderous trade plied by those who clung to the ideals of chivalric nobility, or served in the common soldiery.
One of Thomas’s key observations is that routes to individual fulfilment were vastly more circumscribed at the beginning of this period than towards its end, and alas, many still find that their personal choices are greatly limited by their social and economic status today. Self-realisation is not quite as new a concept as we may often think, and the different ‘roads to fulfilment’ that he sketches – vocational, material, reputational, personal and posthumous – are all at play, to a greater or lesser degree, in our own lives now.
Thomas’s prose is always a joy to read, being both commendably objective and laced with wit, with contemporary voices from many different stations of life being given the opportunity to address the reader directly, in the form of the many quotations that pepper this text. For those interested in this period of English history, and particularly for those who aspire to write fiction and wish to gain an insight into the varied social milieux of this time, it is an indispensable resource.
Thomas ends the volume with a quote from a far earlier age – that of Augustan Rome – translated by John Dryden from Horace’s twenty-ninth ode, which is as salutary and joyous now, as it was to its readers in late seventeenth-century England:
Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He, who can call today his own;
He, who secure within, can say
Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have liv’d today.
Be fair, or foul, or rain, or shine,
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate are mine.
Not Heav’n itself upon the past has pow’r;
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.
June 19, 2013
Heavy with research and the voices of the time, it almost felt that every sentence was in part a quotation. Even with abbreviated end note detail, the notes were one third of the book, so this book is massively researched. Aside from making religion perhaps more otherworldy than it really was, his choices of details and arguments were wonderful and Thomas provides entrance into the changing cultural values of early modern England (1500 to 1800). At times chronology and change over time are lost due to the topical arrangement, but overall Thomas does a good job of moving through time, including back into the medieval for context and forward towards the present (or at least the 19th century) for the final outworkings of particular ideas. The upper classes, as well as literary and religious elites are addressed most completely, because they wrote so much, but he makes good use of the advances of social history to find the voices of workers and women.
Do not be overwhelmed by the quotations and the research. Work your way into the text and let the heavily quote-laden prose carry you forward. The chapters are Fulfillment in the Age of Limited Possibilities, Military Prowess, Work and Vocation, Wealth and Possessions, Honour and Reputation, Friendship and Sociability, and finally Fame and the Afterlife. I especially liked the scene set in the first chapter, of a hierarchical society, meeting new ideas of individuality, and his discourse on the role of friendship, including its place in marriage and the family. Thomas does not provide a conclusion, a small complaint for such a full entrance into the cultural understandings of another time.
Do not be overwhelmed by the quotations and the research. Work your way into the text and let the heavily quote-laden prose carry you forward. The chapters are Fulfillment in the Age of Limited Possibilities, Military Prowess, Work and Vocation, Wealth and Possessions, Honour and Reputation, Friendship and Sociability, and finally Fame and the Afterlife. I especially liked the scene set in the first chapter, of a hierarchical society, meeting new ideas of individuality, and his discourse on the role of friendship, including its place in marriage and the family. Thomas does not provide a conclusion, a small complaint for such a full entrance into the cultural understandings of another time.
November 7, 2020
Wide-ranging and erudite, in this book Keith Thomas explores various purposes to which the English assigned ultimate value from the mid-1500s through the late 1700s. He suggests the military prowess declined as a widely-respected purpose as military service became a profession. He traces competing trends in attitudes to work and wealth - both that neither was an acceptable fundamental purpose and that each was. His take on reputation is less ambiguous: others’ opinions and respect was a major driver for human behavior throughout the period. He argues that conceptions of friendship evolved to recognized individual, emotionally intimate relationships in a new way, and - as religious skepticism increased - people sought to be remembered through material monuments.
On the one hand, as Thomas notes self-deprecatingly in his introduction, some chapters read almost as a collation of comments and quotations from the original sources. But that undersells what Thomas accomplishes. The book is readable and insightful, and it’s hard to imagine this being written by anyone other than an author who knows the period and the sources from decades of immersion in them, and who has the judgment to draw out meaningful patterns.
On the one hand, as Thomas notes self-deprecatingly in his introduction, some chapters read almost as a collation of comments and quotations from the original sources. But that undersells what Thomas accomplishes. The book is readable and insightful, and it’s hard to imagine this being written by anyone other than an author who knows the period and the sources from decades of immersion in them, and who has the judgment to draw out meaningful patterns.
July 31, 2018
It is a brilliant history of ideas and attitudes, of people who lived in Early Modern England. Built around impressive array of evidence, diaries, letters, books and pamphlets, all marshalled to illustrate aspects of what people thought of the 'ends of life', what they lived for and how they defined good life. Delving into the human history of topics such as Work, Wealth, Fame, Friendship and Death, just to name a few, this book puts the reader in a fascinating land, separated by time but ever so familiar. One can trace the roots of today's culture, personality triumphing over character, celebrity culture taking shape etc. I was completely mesmerized - it has been a fascinating journey!
March 21, 2018
Absolutely fascinating study of what makes life fulfilling for people who lived between the Reformation and the Enlightenment. Thoroughly enjoyable read, split in to sections for easy digestion.
December 9, 2021
Yet another field creating work by the Oxford legend Sir Keith Thomas!
April 15, 2024
Not Keith Thomas's best book but you can't really go wrong with him
July 12, 2010
The Ends of Life is a historical study of the things that English people found fulfilling in the period roughly from the English Reformation to the American Revolution. This spans a fascinating period of history, from the end of chivalry and united Catholicism, through the English Reformation, and the rise of finance and the Industrial Revolution. What people found to be desirable in life is a fascinating study.
Thomas's prose is good and readable. It uses its fair share of difficult language, but his writing is competent, non-technical, and does not descend into academic jargon. Difficult language is usually deployed in the service of explaining difficult concepts, rather than to show the erudition of the author. However, I should not mislead; Thomas's writing does not sparkle and crackle. He manages to communicate effectively, succinctly, and clearly, and occasionally manages to convey his own excitement about the subject matter. However, it is not perfect popular academic writing. It is merely very good.
The book addresses in successive chapters different things that people found fulfillment in: marriage; friendship; profession or trade; social and political advancement; attempts at immortality. Thomas gives fairly compelling accounts of the importance of each of these areas. Only in a few places is he guilty of appearing to read into events his own prejudices. Only in the final chapter, on attempts at immortality through bequests, progeny, and monuments, do I think that he reads his prejudices into his scholarship. He attempts to be evenhanded between social classes, but he is constrained by his sources. Nobility, gentry, and professionals left copious writings behind; tradesmen left fewer; and the poor laborers—the vast majority of English society—left almost nothing. Nevertheless, in a number of places Thomas makes strong circumstantial and inferential arguments about what common people thought and felt, as well as the upper classes.
One thing I would have liked to see if more discussion of the religious life as a calling and means to fulfillment. I am well aware that there is a fairly extensive literature on this matter already, but Thomas would have brought an interesting standpoint to it. He occasionally quotes George Herbert and Robert Burton, priests both and excellent and interesting writers, but he does not go into much depth. I hope that a discussion of this issue can be included in Thomas's next book.
Thomas's prose is good and readable. It uses its fair share of difficult language, but his writing is competent, non-technical, and does not descend into academic jargon. Difficult language is usually deployed in the service of explaining difficult concepts, rather than to show the erudition of the author. However, I should not mislead; Thomas's writing does not sparkle and crackle. He manages to communicate effectively, succinctly, and clearly, and occasionally manages to convey his own excitement about the subject matter. However, it is not perfect popular academic writing. It is merely very good.
The book addresses in successive chapters different things that people found fulfillment in: marriage; friendship; profession or trade; social and political advancement; attempts at immortality. Thomas gives fairly compelling accounts of the importance of each of these areas. Only in a few places is he guilty of appearing to read into events his own prejudices. Only in the final chapter, on attempts at immortality through bequests, progeny, and monuments, do I think that he reads his prejudices into his scholarship. He attempts to be evenhanded between social classes, but he is constrained by his sources. Nobility, gentry, and professionals left copious writings behind; tradesmen left fewer; and the poor laborers—the vast majority of English society—left almost nothing. Nevertheless, in a number of places Thomas makes strong circumstantial and inferential arguments about what common people thought and felt, as well as the upper classes.
One thing I would have liked to see if more discussion of the religious life as a calling and means to fulfillment. I am well aware that there is a fairly extensive literature on this matter already, but Thomas would have brought an interesting standpoint to it. He occasionally quotes George Herbert and Robert Burton, priests both and excellent and interesting writers, but he does not go into much depth. I hope that a discussion of this issue can be included in Thomas's next book.
November 16, 2013
So much of what we do today began so long ago. We forget there was a time when people thought about life differently. It makes you wonder what future generations will think about things in a far different way than we do.
This is a wonderful, insightful book useful not only for British folk, but Americans too.
This is a wonderful, insightful book useful not only for British folk, but Americans too.
Want to read
June 5, 2010Started reading; stopped after the 1st chapter.
November 19, 2018
The Ends of Life: roads to fulfilment in early modern England - Keith Thomas
\nDe gerenommeerde Engelse historicus Keith Thomas heeft na zesentwintig jaar een nieuw boek gepubliceerd. Na zijn baanbrekende studies Religion and the Decline of Magic uit 1971 en Man and the Natural World uit 1983, die beide een geheel nieuw licht wierpen op het historisch onderzoek naar de vroeg-moderne tijd, bleef het lange tijd oorverdovend stil. Nu is hij terug with a vengeance met The ends of life, een boek dat ambieert in kaart te brengen wat er in het Engeland van de 16de tot de 18de eeuw aan levensdoelen, normen, waarden en morele opvattingen en overtuigingen bestond over hoe een waardevol, oftewel een fulfilling, leven te leiden.
\nIn vroeg-modern Engeland bestonden er, net als vandaag de dag, uitlopende opvattingen over wat nu precies een waardevol leven constitueerde. Sommige mensen streven het optimaal ontplooien van hun eigen talenten, hetzij in hun privé-omgeving, hetzij in het publieke domein, na. Anderen halen hun voldoening uit de waardering die zij aan vriendschappen en goede familiebanden ontlenen. Dit soort behoeften acht Thomas van universele aard. Ze verschaffen immers een groeps- of een individuele identiteit en, wanneer succesvol nagestreefd, zelfrespect. Het ligt dan ook voor de hand dat in elk verleden over een bevredigende invulling van het leven is nagedacht. Dit gezegd hebbende, onderkent Thomas dat, zeker in de door hem uitgelichte periode, het gros van de mensen zich vooral richtte op het meer basale 'getting on with life'.
\nMet het methodologische voornemen van een antropologische aanpak, dient zich in Ends of life echter een probleem aan. Thomas noemt zichzelf in zijn verantwoording een 'lumper' oftewel een onderzoeker die juist op zoek is naar overeenkomsten in de door hem bestudeerde periode, dit in tegenstelling tot historici die juist de verschillen die zij tegenkomen beklemtonen. Wanneer men in ogenschouw neemt dat de periode die Ends of life geen drie zoals flaptekst en inleiding willen doen geloven, maar feitelijk bijna zes eeuwen (van de late 14de tot de vroege 19de eeuw) beslaat, is de vraag gerechtvaardigd of het benadrukken van de overeenkomsten geen geforceerd karakter krijgt. Het opmerkelijke is echter dat ondanks de zes eeuwenlange tijdsspanne die Thomas hanteert, hij van mening is dat hij daar door af te wijken van de gebruikelijke microscopische methode (die veel waardevol onderzoek naar de vroeg-moderne tijd kenmerkt) mee wegkomt. Dat zou misschien het geval kunnen zijn als h
ij inderdaad een niet-microscopische blik zou hebben gebruikt. In werkelijkheid is het boek een aaneenschakeling van citaten, vaak van een gedetailleerd, anecdotisch niveau die met de beste wil van de wereld het microscopische niet overstijgen. De auteur kiest dus voor een weliswaar beargumenteerde, maar niet bijster overtuigende, bedelvende, anecdotische beschrijving.
\nKeith Thomas onderscheidt een zestal gebieden die volgens veel vroeg-moderne Engelsen centraal stonden om een waardevol leven te leiden; militaire dapperheid, werk, rijkdom en bezit, eer en goede naam, vriendschap en roem en nagedachtenis. Opvallend genoeg staat godsdienst niet in dit rijtje. Thomas is zich bewust van deze omissie, maar verontschuldigt zich met een beroep op de onmogelijkheid de enorme hoeveelheid extra bronnenmateriaal te verwerken als hij godsdienst wel expliciet bij zijn onderzoek had betrokken. Bovendien komt het geloof in afgeleide vorm natuurlijk in de zes genoemde hoofdstukken aan de orde. Hoe begrijpelijk dit ook is (waarschijnlijk zou anders Ends of life nóg eens zesentwintig jaar op zich hebben laten wachten), het laat de lezer toch enigszins in verwondering achter. De indruk wordt gewekt dat er maar om de olifant in de kamer (de vroeg-moderne tijd is immers in religieus opzicht nou niet echt voorbij gekabbeld) heen gekeken moet worden.
\nDe sterke punten van het boeken doen echter de meeste kritiekpunten verbleken. Hoe geweldig is het bijvoorbeeld niet om in het hoofdstuk over Roem en Nagedachtenis te lezen wat men zich concreet bij de hemel voorstelde. Iedereen opslag alwetend zijn en doctor worden, of alle uitverkorenen zouden van al hun aardse kwalen, pijntjes en ander ongemakken verlost zijn. Vrouwen zouden, volgens sommigen, man worden en zwarten wit. Bovendien zou iedereen voor altijd begin dertig jaar oud blijven. De meer materialistische gelovige zag de hemel bekleed met tapijten, mooie schilderijen en strak geschoren heggen. Als, voor dit boek typerend, contrapunt van al dit gejubel citeert Thomas een 18de eeuwse jachtopziener die niet overtuigd is;
\n'But when I had considered everything, I made op my mind to believe, and I do now believe, notwithstanding what the parson said, that if there was but a good trout-stream running down Chicken Grove Bottom, Fernditch Lodge would beat it out and out.'
\n
\nDe gerenommeerde Engelse historicus Keith Thomas heeft na zesentwintig jaar een nieuw boek gepubliceerd. Na zijn baanbrekende studies Religion and the Decline of Magic uit 1971 en Man and the Natural World uit 1983, die beide een geheel nieuw licht wierpen op het historisch onderzoek naar de vroeg-moderne tijd, bleef het lange tijd oorverdovend stil. Nu is hij terug with a vengeance met The ends of life, een boek dat ambieert in kaart te brengen wat er in het Engeland van de 16de tot de 18de eeuw aan levensdoelen, normen, waarden en morele opvattingen en overtuigingen bestond over hoe een waardevol, oftewel een fulfilling, leven te leiden.
\nIn vroeg-modern Engeland bestonden er, net als vandaag de dag, uitlopende opvattingen over wat nu precies een waardevol leven constitueerde. Sommige mensen streven het optimaal ontplooien van hun eigen talenten, hetzij in hun privé-omgeving, hetzij in het publieke domein, na. Anderen halen hun voldoening uit de waardering die zij aan vriendschappen en goede familiebanden ontlenen. Dit soort behoeften acht Thomas van universele aard. Ze verschaffen immers een groeps- of een individuele identiteit en, wanneer succesvol nagestreefd, zelfrespect. Het ligt dan ook voor de hand dat in elk verleden over een bevredigende invulling van het leven is nagedacht. Dit gezegd hebbende, onderkent Thomas dat, zeker in de door hem uitgelichte periode, het gros van de mensen zich vooral richtte op het meer basale 'getting on with life'.
\nMet het methodologische voornemen van een antropologische aanpak, dient zich in Ends of life echter een probleem aan. Thomas noemt zichzelf in zijn verantwoording een 'lumper' oftewel een onderzoeker die juist op zoek is naar overeenkomsten in de door hem bestudeerde periode, dit in tegenstelling tot historici die juist de verschillen die zij tegenkomen beklemtonen. Wanneer men in ogenschouw neemt dat de periode die Ends of life geen drie zoals flaptekst en inleiding willen doen geloven, maar feitelijk bijna zes eeuwen (van de late 14de tot de vroege 19de eeuw) beslaat, is de vraag gerechtvaardigd of het benadrukken van de overeenkomsten geen geforceerd karakter krijgt. Het opmerkelijke is echter dat ondanks de zes eeuwenlange tijdsspanne die Thomas hanteert, hij van mening is dat hij daar door af te wijken van de gebruikelijke microscopische methode (die veel waardevol onderzoek naar de vroeg-moderne tijd kenmerkt) mee wegkomt. Dat zou misschien het geval kunnen zijn als h
ij inderdaad een niet-microscopische blik zou hebben gebruikt. In werkelijkheid is het boek een aaneenschakeling van citaten, vaak van een gedetailleerd, anecdotisch niveau die met de beste wil van de wereld het microscopische niet overstijgen. De auteur kiest dus voor een weliswaar beargumenteerde, maar niet bijster overtuigende, bedelvende, anecdotische beschrijving.
\nKeith Thomas onderscheidt een zestal gebieden die volgens veel vroeg-moderne Engelsen centraal stonden om een waardevol leven te leiden; militaire dapperheid, werk, rijkdom en bezit, eer en goede naam, vriendschap en roem en nagedachtenis. Opvallend genoeg staat godsdienst niet in dit rijtje. Thomas is zich bewust van deze omissie, maar verontschuldigt zich met een beroep op de onmogelijkheid de enorme hoeveelheid extra bronnenmateriaal te verwerken als hij godsdienst wel expliciet bij zijn onderzoek had betrokken. Bovendien komt het geloof in afgeleide vorm natuurlijk in de zes genoemde hoofdstukken aan de orde. Hoe begrijpelijk dit ook is (waarschijnlijk zou anders Ends of life nóg eens zesentwintig jaar op zich hebben laten wachten), het laat de lezer toch enigszins in verwondering achter. De indruk wordt gewekt dat er maar om de olifant in de kamer (de vroeg-moderne tijd is immers in religieus opzicht nou niet echt voorbij gekabbeld) heen gekeken moet worden.
\nDe sterke punten van het boeken doen echter de meeste kritiekpunten verbleken. Hoe geweldig is het bijvoorbeeld niet om in het hoofdstuk over Roem en Nagedachtenis te lezen wat men zich concreet bij de hemel voorstelde. Iedereen opslag alwetend zijn en doctor worden, of alle uitverkorenen zouden van al hun aardse kwalen, pijntjes en ander ongemakken verlost zijn. Vrouwen zouden, volgens sommigen, man worden en zwarten wit. Bovendien zou iedereen voor altijd begin dertig jaar oud blijven. De meer materialistische gelovige zag de hemel bekleed met tapijten, mooie schilderijen en strak geschoren heggen. Als, voor dit boek typerend, contrapunt van al dit gejubel citeert Thomas een 18de eeuwse jachtopziener die niet overtuigd is;
\n'But when I had considered everything, I made op my mind to believe, and I do now believe, notwithstanding what the parson said, that if there was but a good trout-stream running down Chicken Grove Bottom, Fernditch Lodge would beat it out and out.'
\n
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews