Religio Medici (The Religion of a Doctor) is a book by Sir Thomas Browne, which sets out his spiritual testament as well as being an early psychological self-portrait. Sir Thomas Browne ( October 19, 1605 &ndash October 19, 1682) was an English author of varied works which disclose his wide learning In its day, the book was a European best-seller and brought its author fame and respect throughout the continent. It was published in 1643 by the newly-qualified physician after an unauthorized version of his writings on the Christian virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity had been distributed and reproduced with added text. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Faith is a Belief in the trustworthiness of an Idea. Formal usage of the word "faith" is usually reserved for concepts of Religion, as in Hope is a Belief in a positive outcome related to events and Circumstances in one's life In Christian Theology charity, or love ( Agapē) means an unlimited loving-kindness toward all others
Samuel Pepys in his diaries complained that the Religio was "cried up to the whole world for its wit and learning", and its unorthodox views placed it swiftly upon the Papal Index Librorum Prohibitorum in 1645. Samuel Pepys, FRS (23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703 was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and The Index Librorum Prohibitorum ("List of Prohibited Books" was a list of publications prohibited by the Roman Catholic Church.
Although predominantly concerned with Christian faith, the Religio also meanders into digressions upon alchemy, hermetic philosophy, astrology, and physiognomy. Alchemy a part of the Occult Tradition is both a philosophy and a practice with an ultimately unknown aim involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems Physiognomy ( Gk physis, nature and gnomon, judge interpreter is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance especially Whilst discussing Biblical scripture the learned doctor reveals a penchant for esoteric learning, and confesses, for example, that "I have often admired the mystical way of Pythagoras and the secret magicke of numbers. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin "Pythagoras of Samos" redirects here For the Samian statuary of the same name see Pythagoras (sculptor. Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and A number is an Abstract object, tokens of which are Symbols used in Counting and measuring. "
Browne's latitudinarian Anglicanism equally allowed him to declare: "the severe schools shall never laugh me out of the philosophy of Hermes. Latitudinarian was initially a pejorative term applied to a group of 17th-century English Theologians who believed in conforming to official Church of England Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs Hermes ( Greek,, ˈhɝmiːz in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them of Shepherds and "
A rare surviving contemporary review by a distinguished member of the Parisian medical faculty, Gui De Patin (1601/2–72) indicates the considerable impact Religio Medici had upon the intelligentsia abroad:
'A new little volume has arrived from Holland entitled Religio Medici written by an Englishman and translated into Latin by some Dutchman. It is a strange and pleasant book, but very delicate and wholly mystical; the author is not lacking in wit and you will see in him quaint and delightful thoughts. There are hardly any books of this sort. If scholars were permitted to write freely we would learn many novel things, never has there been a newspaper to this; in this way the subtlety of the human spirit could be revealed'.
A translation into German of the Religio was made in 1746.
In the early nineteenth century Religio Medici was "re-discovered" by the English Romantics, firstly by Charles Lamb who introduced it to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who after reading it exclaimed, "O to write a character of this man!" Thomas de Quincey in his Confessions of an English Opium Eater also praised it, stating:
'I do not recollect more than one thing said adequately on the subject of music in all literature. Charles Lamb is the name of Charles Lamb (writer (1775-1834 a British essayist Charles Lamb (politician (1891-1965 a Canadian Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( 21 October 1772 &ndash 25 July 1834) was an English Poet, Critic and philosopher Thomas de Quincey (15 August 1785 &ndash 8 December 1859 was an English author and intellectual best known for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater It is a passage in Religio Medici of Sir T. Browne, and though chiefly remarkable for its sublimity, has also a philosophical value, inasmuch as it points to the true theory of musical effects'.
In the twentieth century the Swiss psychologist C.G.Jung used the term Religio Medici several times in his writings. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on
Though little read nowadays, in Virginia Woolf's opinion Religio Medici paved the way for all future confessionals, private memoirs and personal writings. (Adeline Virginia Woolf (née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941 was an English Novelist and Essayist, regarded as one of the foremost In the seventeenth century it spawned numerous imitative titles, including John Dryden's great poem, Religio Laici, but none matched the frank, intimate tone of the original in which the learned doctor invites the reader to share with him in the labyrinthine mysteries and idiosyncratic views of his personality. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar John Dryden (– was an influential English poet Literary critic, Translator and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England
External links
- Text of Religio Medici (1643 edition, 1645 edition)
- A Religio Medici bibliography
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