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For other persons named Thomas Browne, see Thomas Browne (disambiguation). Thomas Browne may refer to Thomas Alexander Browne (1826-1915 Australian writer Thomas Browne (1605-1682 English author

Portrait of Sir Thomas Browne

Sir Thomas Browne (October 19, 1605 – October 19, 1682) was an English author of varied works which disclose his wide learning in diverse fields including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding

Browne's writings display a deep curiosity towards the natural world, influenced by the Scientific revolution of Baconian enquiry. Francis Bacon 1st Viscount St Alban KC QC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626 was an English Philosopher, Statesman, and author A consummate literary craftsman, Browne's works are permeated by frequent reference to Classical and Biblical sources and to his own highly idiosyncratic personality. "Classical literature" redirects here For literature in Classical languages outside the Graeco-Roman sphere see Ancient literature. 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 His literary style varies according to genre resulting in a rich, unusual prose that ranges from rough notebook observations to the highest baroque eloquence. For the Wikipedia guideline regarding editing articles see WikipediaManual of Style.

Contents

Biography

The son of a silk merchant from Upton, Cheshire, he was born in the parish of St Michael, Cheapside, in London on October 19, 1605. Upton (also known as Upton-by-Chester) is a Civil parish and a large suburb on the outskirts of Chester, Cheshire, England. Cheshire (or archaically the County of Chester) is a county in North West England. Cheapside is a street in Cheap ward of the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street Cornhill His father died while he was still young and he was sent to school at Winchester College. Winchester College is a well-known boys' Independent school, and an example of an English Public school, in the city of Winchester in Hampshire In 1623 Browne went to Oxford University. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the He graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford in 1626 after which he studied medicine at various Continental universities, including Leiden, where he received an MD in 1633. Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. Leiden University (Universiteit Leiden located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest University in The Netherlands. Doctor of Medicine ( MD or MD, from the Latin Medicinæ Doctor meaning "Teacher of Medicine" is a doctoral He settled in Norwich in 1637 where he practiced medicine and lived until his death in 1682. History Roman The Romans had their regional capital at Venta Icenorum on the river to the south which is near modern-day Caistor St Edmund

His first well-known work bore the Latin title Religio Medici (The Religion of a Physician). 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 This work was circulated in manuscript among his friends, and it caused Browne some surprise and embarrassment when an unauthorised edition appeared in 1642, since the work contained a number of religious speculations that might be considered unorthodox. An authorised text with some of the controversial matter removed appeared in 1643. The expurgation did not end the controversy; in 1645, Alexander Ross attacked Religio Medici in his Medicus Medicatus (The Doctor, Doctored) and in fact the book was placed upon the Papal index of forbidden reading for Catholics in the same year. Alexander Ross (c 1590 - 1654 was a prolific Scottish writer and controversialist In Religio Medici Browne had confirmed his belief in the existence of witches. It is known that in later life he attended the 1662 Bury St. Edmunds witch trial,[1] where he was influential in the outcome of the trial. The Bury St Edmunds witch trials were a series of trials conducted in the Town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England intermittently between the years 1599 [2]

In 1646, Browne published Pseudodoxia Epidemica, or, Enquiries into Very many Received Tenets, and commonly Presumed Truths, whose title refers to the prevalence of false beliefs and "vulgar errors. Sir Thomas Browne 's vast work refuting the common errors and superstitions of his age Pseudodoxia Epidemica, first appeared in 1646 and went through five subsequent " A sceptical work that debunks a number of legends circulating at the time in a paradoxical and witty manner, it displays the Baconian side of Browne—the side that was unafraid of what at the time was still called "the new learning. A paradox is a true statement or group of statements that leads to a Contradiction or a situation which defies intuition; or inversely Francis Bacon 1st Viscount St Alban KC QC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626 was an English Philosopher, Statesman, and author " The book is significant in the history of science. In 1658 Browne published together two Discourses which are intimately related to each other, the first Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial or a Brief Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately found in Norfolk, occasioned by the discovery of some Bronze Age burials in earthenware vessels found in Norfolk. Hydriotaphia Urn Burial or a Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately found in Norfolk, is a work by Sir Thomas Browne, published in 1658 as the first The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. These inspired Browne to meditate upon the funerary customs of the world and the fleetingness of earthly fame and reputation. A funeral is a Ceremony marking a person's Death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of Beliefs and practices used by a Culture to remember

Urn-Burial's "twin" discourse is The Garden of Cyrus, or, The Quincunciall Lozenge, or Network Plantations of the Ancients, Artificially, Naturally, and Mystically Considered, whose subject is the quincunx, the arrangement of five units like the five-spot in dice, which Browne uses to demonstrate that the Platonic forms exist throughout Nature. The Garden of Cyrus or The Quincunciall or Lozenge or Network Plantations of the Ancients naturally artificially mystically considered is a Discourse written For Sir Francis Galton 's machine for demonstrating the Normal distribution named "quincunx" see Bean machine. For other uses see either Die or Dice (disambiguation. Dice (the Plural of Die, from Old French

Quincunx

1671 Knighthood to death

In 1671 King Charles II, accompanied by the Royal Court, visited Norwich. History Roman The Romans had their regional capital at Venta Icenorum on the river to the south which is near modern-day Caistor St Edmund The courtier John Evelyn, who had occasionally corresponded with Browne, took good use of the Royal visit to call upon the learned doctor of European fame and wrote of his visit: His whole house & garden is a paradise and Cabinet of rarieties & that of the best collection, amongst Medails, books, Plants, natural things. John Evelyn ( 31 October 1620 – 27 February 1706) was an English writer gardener and diarist

During his visit to Norwich, King Charles II visited Browne's home. A banquet was held in the Civic Hall St. Andrews for the Royal visit. Obliged to honour a notable local, the name of the Mayor of Norwich was proposed to the King for knighthood. The Mayor, however, declined the honour and proposed the name of Browne instead.

Sir Thomas Browne died on 19 October 1682, his 77th birthday. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. His skull became the subject of dispute when in 1840 his lead coffin was accidentally re-opened by workmen. Year 1840 ( MDCCCXL) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year It was not re-interred until 4 July 1922 when it was registered in the church of Saint Peter Mancroft as aged 316 years. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The St Peter Mancroft Church stands in the heart of Norwich, Norfolk, opposite The Forum.

Literary works

  • Religio Medici (1643)
  • Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646–72)
  • Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial (1658)
  • The Garden of Cyrus (1658)
  • A Letter to a Friend (1656; pub. 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 Sir Thomas Browne 's vast work refuting the common errors and superstitions of his age Pseudodoxia Epidemica, first appeared in 1646 and went through five subsequent Hydriotaphia Urn Burial or a Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately found in Norfolk, is a work by Sir Thomas Browne, published in 1658 as the first The Garden of Cyrus or The Quincunciall or Lozenge or Network Plantations of the Ancients naturally artificially mystically considered is a Discourse written A Letter to a Friend (written 1656 published posthumously in 1690, by the 17th century Philosopher and Physician Sir Thomas Browne is a medical post. 1690)
  • Christian Morals (1670s; pub. Christian Morals is a work in prose by the physician and religious apologist Sir Thomas Browne, published posthumously in 1716. post. 1716)
  • Musaeum Clausum Tract 13 from Miscellaneous Tracts first pub. Musaeum Clausum ( Latin for Sealed Museum) also known as Bibliotheca abscondita, is a tract written by Sir Thomas post. 1684
  • See also Library of Sir Thomas Browne

Literary influence

The literary critic Robert Sencourt succinctly assessed Browne as "an instance of scientific reason lit up by mysticism in the Church of England". No single document gives better evidence of the Erudition of Sir Thomas Browne, physician philosopher and Encyclopedist than the 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican

Indeed, Browne's paradoxical place in the history of ideas, as both a promoter of the new inductive science, as an adherent of ancient esoteric learning as well as devout Christian greatly contributes to his ambiguity in the history of ideas. A paradox is a true statement or group of statements that leads to a Contradiction or a situation which defies intuition; or inversely Induction or inductive reasoning, sometimes called inductive logic, is the process of Reasoning in which the premises of an argument are believed Add to this the complexity of his labyrinthine thought and his ornate language, along with his many allusions to the Bible, Classical learning and to a variety of esoteric authors. 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 These combined factors account for why Browne remains little-read and much-misunderstood. However, the influence of his literary style spans four centuries.

In the eighteenth century, Doctor Johnson, who shared Browne's love of the Latinate, wrote a brief Life in which he praised Browne as a faithful Christian. Samuel Johnson (often referred to as Dr Johnson) (18 September Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth

In the nineteenth century Browne's reputation was revived by the Romantics. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Thomas De Quincey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Charles Lamb (who considered himself the rediscoverer of Browne) were all admirers. 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 Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( 21 October 1772 &ndash 25 July 1834) was an English Poet, Critic and philosopher Charles Lamb is the name of Charles Lamb (writer (1775-1834 a British essayist Charles Lamb (politician (1891-1965 a Canadian The seminal American novelist Herman Melville, heavily influenced by his style, deemed him "a cracked archangel. Herman Melville (August 1 1819 &ndash September 28 1891 was an American novelist Short story writer Essayist and poet Archangels are superior or higher-ranking Angels Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions including Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism "

The English author Virginia Woolf however wrote of him in 1923,

"Few people love the writings of Sir Thomas Browne, but those that do are the salt of the earth. (Adeline Virginia Woolf (née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941 was an English Novelist and Essayist, regarded as one of the foremost Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "

In the twentieth century those who have admired the English man of letters include:

http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/button_image.png Embedded file

“ I am merely a word for Chesterton, for Kafka, and Sir Thomas Browne—I love him. Tlön Uqbar Orbis Tertius is a Short story by the 20th century Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936 was an influential English writer of the early 20th century I translated him into seventeenth century Spanish and it worked very well. We took a chapter out of Urne Buriall and we did that into Quevedo's Spanish and it went very well. Francisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas ( Madrid, September 14, 1580 &ndash Villanueva de los Infantes, September 8, ”

On America

Each of Sir Thomas Browne's major writings makes significant mention of America. Sir Thomas Browne ( October 19, 1605 &ndash October 19, 1682) was an English author of varied works which disclose his wide learning As a keen geographer, botanist and zoologist Browne wrote on America in his encyclopedia Pseudodoxia Epidemica. An encyclopedia (or '''encyclopædia''') is a comprehensive written Compendium that contains Information on either all branches of Knowledge Sir Thomas Browne 's vast work refuting the common errors and superstitions of his age Pseudodoxia Epidemica, first appeared in 1646 and went through five subsequent He also employed the proper-place name of America as a symbol of the new, the unknown and the exotic.

Browne's study of nature led him to raise the query in Religio Medici (1643) the zoological puzzle:

How America abounded with beasts of prey, and noxious Animals, yet contained not in it that necessary creature, a Horse, is very strange. 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

In Pseudodoxia Epidemica frequent references to America can be found. Indeed its opening address entitled To the Reader describes his efforts to determine truth in compiling an encyclopædia:

but oft-times fain to wander in the America and untravelled parts of truth.

Throughout his encyclopædia Browne includes speculations and reports from America including mention of the giant phalanges spider, speculation as to why American natives skin-pigmentation differs from African natives, makes a geographical comparison of the proportions of the Gulf of California to the Red Sea and collated sundry notes upon its vegetation. He also noted that the Swiss alchemist-physician Paracelsus equated America as representing the rear of the world stating:

…of the Geography of Paracelsus, who according to the Cardinal points of the World, divideth the body of man; and therefore working upon humane ordure, and by long preparation rendring it odiferous, he terms it Zibeta Occidentalis, Western Civet; making the face the East, but the posteriours the America or Western part of his Microcosm. Paracelsus (11 November or 17 December 1493 in Einsiedeln Switzerland – 24 September 1541 in Salzburg, Austria) was an alchemist,

The dedicatory epistle of the discourse The Garden of Cyrus (1658) humorously makes light of the great volume of printed information available upon the botany of America thus:

(you) who know that three full Folio's are yet too little, and how New Herballs fly from America upon us, from persevering enquirers. The Garden of Cyrus or The Quincunciall or Lozenge or Network Plantations of the Ancients naturally artificially mystically considered is a Discourse written

The concluding lines of the discourse drowsily contemplates the fact that the world consists of time-zones thus:

The Huntsmen are up in America, and they are already past their first sleep in Persia.

As a medical man Browne was appreciative of William Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood (1628). William Harvey ( April 1, 1578 – June 3, 1657) was an English Physician who is credited with being the first in In correspondence he advised

be sure you make yourself master of Dr Harvey's piece De Circul. Sang; which discovery I prefer to that of Columbus, (i. e. that of America).

The opening lines of his discourse Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial compares the 'discovery' of America to that of a significant archaeological find.

That great antiquity America lay buried for a thousand years; and a large part of the earth is still in the Urn unto us.

When introduced to the prophecies of Nostradamus sometime in the 1670s Browne wrote a pastiche of the Lyons physician's verses. Michel de Nostredame (14 December 1503 or 21 December 1503 &ndash 2 July 1566 usually Latinized to Nostradamus, was a French Apothecary His miscellaneous tract, A prophecy concerning the future State of Several Nations makes several remarkable 'predictions' based upon reason of America's future. In quasi-oracular style Browne challenges the wisdom of the Slave-trade.

When Africa shall no longer sell out its Blacks to be Slaves and drudges to the American Tracts.

Browne 'predicted' that sometime in the distant future America would protect its wealth and be a land pursuing happiness, employing the highly-original phrase, American Pleasure.

When America shall cease to send out its treasure but employ it instead in American Pleasure.

adding the explanatory note:

That is when America shall be better civilized, new policied and divided between great Princes, it may come to pass that they will no longer suffer their Treasure of Gold and Silver to be sent out to maintain the Luxury of Europe and other parts: but rather employ it to their own advantages, in great Exploits and Undertakings, magnificent Structure, Wars, or Expeditions of their own.

He also prognosticated America to become the economic equal of Europe:

When the New World shall the old invade nor count them their Lords but their Fellows in Trade.

adding the explanatory note:

That is, When America shall be so well peopled, civilized and divided into Kingdoms, they are likely to have so little regard of their Originals, as to acknowledge no subjection unto them: they may also have a distinct commerce between themselves, or but independentlt with those of Europe, and may hostilely and pyratically assault them, even as the Greek and Roman Colonies after a long time dealt with their Original Countries.

These examples of reports upon America's botany, zoology and geography are remarkable for their very earliness in American history for in Browne's day (1605-82) America was a fledging colony; in literary terms his usage of the proper place-name of America as a symbol must also be noted; however, more importantly, it was from reports of the superabundance of America's natural resources, its geographical size and the determination of its founding settlers led one seventeenth century European thinker to perceive America as an exotic continent with great future potential.

Portraits of Sir Thomas Browne

The National Portrait Gallery in London has a fine contemporary portrait of Sir Thomas Browne and his wife Dorothy, Lady Browne (née Mileham). More recent sculptural portraits include Pegram’s statue of Sir Thomas contemplating with urn. This statue occupies the central position in the Haymarket beside St. Peter Mancroft, not far from the site of his house. It was erected in 1905 and moved from its original position in 1973. In 2005 Robert Mileham’s small standing figure in silver and bronze was commissioned for the 400th anniversary of Browne's birth.

References

  1. ^ Bunn, Ivan. The Lowestoft Witches. Retrieved on 2007-12-15. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 533 - Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of
  2. ^ Thomas, Keith (1971). Religion and the Decline of Magic. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0140137440.  

External links

Persondata
NAME Browne, Thomas, Sir
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Browne, Thomas
SHORT DESCRIPTION English author
DATE OF BIRTH October 19, 1605
PLACE OF BIRTH St Michael, Cheapside, London, England
DATE OF DEATH October 19, 1682
PLACE OF DEATH Norfolk, England
Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Cheapside is a street in Cheap ward of the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street Cornhill London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Kingdom of England was a State (927-1707 located in Western Europe dating from the ninth or tenth century to the early eighteenth century when it was legally Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom.
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