Continuing his report to More and Giles of that dispute in Cardinal Morton's home, Hythloday tells how he further criticized English aristocracy and even the middle classes for their luxury and their vices, calling attention to the prevalence of taverns, alehouses, and brothels, as well as the practices of dicing and playing cards, football, and tennis, all of which affect moral fiber and the general welfare adversely. The remedies he proposed included limiting the production of wool, restoring of farmlands to their original use, and returning of former farmers to their work, thus increasing employment.
When asked by the cardinal to justify his objections to making theft a capital crime, Hythloday argued that a human life is of more worth than money, and that it is unreasonable to punish equally the taking of a man's life and his purse. He suggested further that if a thief knows that in the event he is caught he will receive the same sentence whether he robs or murders his victim, he may be much more disposed to murder him than he otherwise would. As to an alternative to the death penalty, Hythloday suggested a treatment similar to that of the ancient Romans of a nation neighboring on Persia, namely to sentence convicted thieves to hard labor on public works.
