"Being marooned in this way was altogether agreeable to [Hythloday], as he was more eager to pursue his travels than afraid of death. He would often say 'The man who has no grave is covered by the sky' and 'The road to heaven is equally short from all places.'" (1.10)

Now, we're guessing you're more familiar with the term dystopia than utopia, but More coined the latter with Utopia. And he did so by penning this fictional account of a paradisiacal civilization. His opening lines here hammer home the importance of exploration on the road to enlightenment.

More pulls out two concerns central for Renaissance folk in just these first few lines of his book. First, there's the light of their travels. Then, there's dying abroad, and thus, dying without proper burial. Finally, well. There's just plain dying/death. Dudes and dudettes were pretty concerned about that back in the day.

Religion was still a very big deal during the Renaissance. Which meant that not being buried on consecrated ground was usually considered a punishment. So what Hythloday is saying is actually pretty brazen—and that, ladies and gents, is how devoted explorers were.

Think about it: they were heading off to far-flung places that most people assumed had monsters. And whirlpools. And worse, no cable TV. But the Renaissance didn't earn its moniker the "Age of Exploration" for nothing; exploration goes hand in hand with cultural and scientific discovery.

The narrator quickly allows his character to shine through in this passage. Right away, we're given a sampling of just who Hythloday is and what makes him tick. (Obviously, adventure is what gets his heart a-beating.)