Raphael Hythlodaeus, the philosopher of Thomas More's Utopia, is generally considered to be an uncompromising and inflexible political idealist. However, Raphael may be more subde and complex than he is usually thought to be. Raphael may be capable of practical, prudent political advice, and may even desire to give such advice in some way, as long as his active participation in politics is not required. If this is true, then his real fault or blindness could be his lack of awareness of how vulnerable he is to the accusation that he is avoiding his public duty and not political idealism.