Saintly humor

Every time I read Saint Thomas More I like him more than before (pun intended). Take, for instance, this little bit from Utopia, Book I:

“But that’s not the only thing that compels people to steal. There are other factors at work which must, I think, be peculiar to your country.”

“And what are they?” asked the Cardinal.

“Sheep,” I told him. “These placid creatures, which used to require so little food, have now apparently developed a raging appetite, and turned into man-eaters. Fields, houses, towns, everything goes down their throats.”

It doesn’t get much better than that, does it?