Religio Medici / Urne-Buriall

by Thomas Browne, Stephen Greenblatt (Editor), Ramie Targoff (Editor)

Sir Thomas Browne is one of the supreme stylists of the English a coiner of words and spinner of phrases to rival Shakespeare; the wielder of a weird and wonderful erudition; an  inquiring spirit in the mold of Montaigne. Browne was an inspiration to the Romantics as well as to W.G. Sebald, and his work is quirky, sonorous, and enchanting.

Here this baroque master’s two most enduring and admired works, Religio Medici and Urne-Buriall , appear in a new edition that has been annotated and introduced by the distinguished scholars Ramie Targoff and Stephen Greenblatt (author of the best-selling Will in the World and the National Book Award–winning The Swerve ). In Religio Medici Browne mulls over the relation between his medical profession and his profession of the Christian faith, pondering the respective claims of science and religion, questions that are still very much alive today. The discovery of an ancient burial site in an English field prompted Browne to write Urne-Buriall, which is both an early  anthropological examination of different practices of interment and a profound meditation on mortality. Its grave and exquisite music has resounded for generations.

Genres: Philosophy, Essays, Nonfiction, Religion, History, Classics, 17th Century

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1643

About the author

Sir Thomas Browne (1605–1682) was an English polymath and author of works on various subjects, including science, medicine, religion and esoteric.

Browne's writings display a deep curiosity towards the natural world, influenced by the scientific revolution of Baconian enquiry. Browne's literary works are permeated by references to Classical and Biblical sources as well as the idiosyncrasies of his own personality. Although often described as suffering from melancholia, his writings are also characterised by wit and subtle humour, while his literary style is varied, according to genre, resulting in a rich, unique prose which ranges from rough notebook observations to polished Baroque eloquence.

After graduating M.A. from Broadgates Hall, Oxford (1629), he studied medicine privately and worked as an assistant to an Oxford doctor. He then attended the Universities of Montpellier and Padua, and in 1633 he was graduated M.D. at Leiden.

Browne's medical education in Europe also earned him incorporation as M.D. from Oxford, and in 1637 he moved to Norwich, where he lived and practiced medicine until his death in 1682. While Browne seems to have had a keen intellect and was interested in many subjects, his life was outwardly uneventful, although during the Civil War he declared his support for King Charles I and received a knighthood from King Charles II in 1671.

Reviews

[Cornelius Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three and a half centuries old, and handsomely resurrected this autumn by New York Review of Books, Religio Medici and Urne-Buriall are probably the works that have secured Sir Thomas Browne's afterlife. Had the vagaries of time robbed us of them, however, this 17th-century doctor would still have a foothold in our lives - many of his coinages are nowadays commonplace (literary, medical, ambidextrous, hallucination, ingenious, electricity, ascetic, carnivorous...) and if Virginia Woolf is correct, Browne paved the way for all psychological novelists, autobiographers, and confession-mongers, the latter of which, in particular, the health of the book trade now seems unhealthily dependent upon - to say nothing of television channels.
In Religio Medici we follow Browne on his musings along the fault lines between his profession and his faith. The writing of Urne-Buriall was sparked by the discovery by a group of men digging in a rural field not far from where Browne lived of between forty and fifty ancient urns full of human ashes, pieces of bones, and funerary objects.
Both pieces are unlike anything I've previously read - and I've now reached the midpoint in a lifetime of reading, a chill fact that Urne-Buriall (the most involving meditation on death I've ever come across) repeatedly brought home. From each paragraph gleam nuggets that mental fingers have no option but to dig for. The writing is incredibly atmospheric, and can be read for the pleasure of its textures alone - this perhaps largely due to the editors wise decision to retain the original spelling (foulenesse, souldier, sleepe, himselfe, shipwrackt...) The same editors are to be congratulated for an introduction that nimbly places compass, flashlight and rucksack of provisions into the hands of 21st-century minds that now and again will certainly go astray in the mists - though even this is part of the pleasure!
This is one of those rare books you cradle in your hands for long moments, allowing a thought or turn of phrase to sink in. It's also one that somewhere like here you feel like quoting in its entirety. Not possible, of course, but I still have to end this with Browne's voice. He loved music, and in Religio Medici marvels at its power over him:
"it unites the ligaments of my frame, takes me to pieces, dilates me out of myself, and by degrees, mee thinkes, resolves me into Heaven."

[Richard S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Browne is a superb writer, an English Montaigne. I can see his stylistic influence on others, particularly Charles Lamb (and some of his prejudices are the same). Religio is a masterpiece of personal confession, an ode to reason but also to ambiguity. There's a modernist concept of "negative capability" which Browne delights in.

Urn is a bit tedious, although interesting in its own right, but feels even more like Montaigne. The style is not quite as exquisite as Religio.

I recommend Browne only to those who are interested in style, as opposed to content, and enjoy truly masterful writing. The sense is entertaining, but I think an average reader would find it tedious. Parts of Urn are difficult, and some evaded my comprehension. The particular NYBC edition had an excellent introduction, perhaps overly lengthy. The essential endnotes failed to translate several passages towards the end of Urn, including some in Greek for which Google Translator was unhelpful.

Browne invented several hundred mostly Latinate words, including "literary", "suicide" and "computer", about a hundred of which are commonly used today. For that, and his stylistic source for writers from Woolf to Hazlitt, we owe him.

[Alex Sarll]

Two rambling, amazing essays from that spell of the early seventeenth century when the English language was really starting to stretch its legs and realise what it could do. In verse, Shakespeare; in prose, Burton and Browne. And whereas Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy is a monster, a sea into which I'll be dipping for years to come, Browne created these slender musings, each the perfect companion for an afternoon excursion. 'Religio Medici' is a curious creature; ostensibly one man's musings on his faith, it also works as a character study of a deeply unreliable narrator. The sections where he's telling us how he definitely doesn't suffer from the sin of pride one bit, indeed, he's the least proud man in the world ever, are a reminder that self-disgust was self-obsession long before the Manic Street Preachers, and then you get the passages where he uses his scientific knowledge to explain away various Biblical miracles, or point out the absurdity of other details in scripture - before noting that this just gives him better opportunity for the exercise of faith! Is he taking the piss, or is this a sincere example of how stupid ideology can make a smart man? At this distance, it's impossible to say. But every so often, the prose starts to thrum and he makes you remember why you're putting up with him. There's also a major homoerotic subtext going on, for those who like that sort of thing.
'Urne-Buriall', though, is simply great. A survey of burial practices through the ages, occasioned by the discovery of an ancient grave site in Norfolk, it is positively vibrant with Browne's great store of knowledge, and his melancholy at the thought of death. Most every sentence is fit for the ages, and given an extra resonance by the way in which this man, now himself dead for centuries, is brought back to us through the trail his questing mind has left.

[Chuck LoPresti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the greatest prose stylist the English language can claim also possesses a strong sense of courage, depth of discourse and musical sense of crescendo. What can't this be a five? Perhaps it's fair to suggest that it's only chapter five of Urn Burial that warrants the claim but the work doesn't easily separate into disparate chapters. I have no fair claim to suggest what Browne intended but, presented as such, Urn Burial starts as a piece of scholarship well researched and better intended and slowly but steadily builds to the most amazing climax I can recall. Ripe with all the wisdom present in Aurelius, La Rouchefoucauld and Montaigne, Browne's work deserves all lofty praise - and you will work for it. This is not an easy read but at about 140 pages for both works - it's brief compared to Burton. Much has been written about Browne but to me, most comparisons fail to accurately describe the prowess of Browne's mind. The Anatomy of Melancholy might sit on a similar shelf to Religio Medici but Burton's rambling and often less than compelling prose is no brother to Browne's sapient efficiency. The key to this, for me at least, lies in the honest self-questioning that appears throughout Religio Medici. This is what many call modern thinking. Krasznahorkai and Jaimey Gordon compare more favorably to Browne in this aspect with their sheer love of words and lack of arrogance that would present their thoughts as facts otherwise. Both of these modern writers share Browne's inquisitive prowess, skillful prose and courage in presenting the formation of their thoughts as primary in place of the conclusions that some readers require. The reader of Browne quickly senses that he is writing with a concern about his audience, both weary and wary of the limits of dogmatic constraints in Religio Medici. All restraint is slowly tossed off like sand bags on an air balloon in Urn Burial as the work rises to heights unmatched in my reading experience. As Browne's vision slowly glows to a refulgent radiance his words increase with exponential measures of grace and any attentive reader should be left stunned at the vision enabled by this skillful master. To be read again and again.

I do not possess a exhaustive knowledge of the various editions of Browne's work sufficient enough to provide a more valuable comparative analysis but this small NRYB offering contains helpful notes, Latin translations, a glossary of historic names, insightful opening essay and as always - a beautiful cover featuring a delightfully comparable selection of art complemented by the somehow-always-right colors that make this a welcome addition to my shelf, my top shelf.

[Maya Joelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thy will be done, even in my own undoing.

I like Thomas Browne, even if he does think women are only 1/12 as good as men and wishes we could procreate like trees.

Longer review (maybe) to come.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been told that the style of Sir Thomas Browne's prose surpasses anything else written in the English language. After finishing this beautiful NYRB edition, I am inclined to add my support to that claim. It's sheer playfulness. I often find embellished writing tedious and suspicious, as if the author is trying to slip some deep flaw past me by applying a heavy varnish of awe and wonder. But Browne embraces his flaws and inconsistencies (of which there are many!) He dawdles over "irrelevant" details and fondly rattles off long lists of Greek poets and Biblical characters, commenting and speculating on their contradictory viewpoints.

For me, his writing is most captivating when it's rooted in curiosity. Perhaps this is why I enjoyed the Urne-Buriall much more than the Religio Medici on the whole.

[Brandon Sitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Among the strangest things I’ve read

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now for my life, it is a miracle of thirty yeares, which to relate, were not a History, but a peece of Poetry, and would sound to common eares like a fable; for the world, I count it not an Inne, but an Hospitall, and a place, not to live, but to die in. The world that I regarde is my selfe, it is the Microcosme of mine owne frame, that I cast mine eye on; for the other, I use it but like my Globe, and turn it rounde sometimes for my recreation. [82]

Darknesse and light divide the course of time, and oblivion shares with memory a great part even of our living beings; we slightly remember our felicities, and the smartest stroaks of affliction leave but short smart upon us. Sense endureth no extremeties, and sorrows destroy us or themselves. To weep into stones are fables. Afflictions induce callosities, miseries are slippery, or fall like snow upon us, which notwithstanding is no unhappy stupidity. To be ignorant of evils to come, and forgetfull of evils past, is a mercifull provision in nature, whereby we digest the mixture of our few and evil dayes, and our delivered senses not relapsing into cutting remembrances, our sorrows are not kept raw by the edge of repetitions. [136]

[J L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I'll be rereading the rest of my life.

Three hat tips to Mr. Borges, Mr. Sebald, and Mrs. Woolf for their endorsements of this strange, funny, and fecund genius of a 17th century physician -- particularly Sebald in his novel-ish travelogue, The Rings of Saturn.

A word about this book's difficulty: high. It took me a month to read through these two extended essays; longer will be the digestion of all the weird wonders contained here. But the rewards are rich: Browne's prose, those looping, sinuous, coiling, entangling, marvelous sentences; the labyrinthine turnings his faith, reason, and curiosity take all over the page; and the encounter with real literary sublimity. For it is sublime, the effect of these two essays -- on par with Sancho pleading with Don Quixote to resume his quest, with Anna crossing herself at the train tracks, with Lear and the Fool wandering the stormy heath, with Job hearing God in the whirlwind.

[DoctorM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two brilliantly eccentric and intriguing essays by one of the masters of English prose. "Urne-Buriall" especially is one of the half-forgotten gems of English literature--- one of those long walks through a whole world of ideas and arcane bits of the past that make one's life just a bit...uncanny. Sit and let your tongue run over the prose and read "Urne-Buriall" aloud a bit. Then look around and ask yourself Browne's questions--- which of us can ever know how many times and places his remains will be buried? Which of us can ever know how long his memory will survive? A fine meditation--- and one forgotten for far too long.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

(more like 4.5)

"The earth is a point not onely in respect of the heavens above us, but of that heavenly and celestiall part within us: that masse of flesh that circumscribes me, limits not my mind: that surface that tells the heavens it hath an end, cannot perswade me... whilst I study to find how I am a Microcosme or little world, I finde my selfe something more than the great."

these texts are gorgeous, and greenblatt&targoff's introduction is lovely as well. i spent a long night lying on the floor of a friend's loft, drinking cider and reading parts of it aloud to him when i couldn't help it, and honestly... that was maybe the best way to experience browne. he's engrossing.

[Ishmael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exquisite style, can't say the same for the content though.

[michal k-c · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven’t believed in miracles since the ex wife left with the kids. Keep the faith fellas. I just want to see my ki ds

[Jackson Cyril]

No review of mine can rival Virginia Woolf's magnificent judgement on Browne, "The tavern music, the Ave Mary bell, the broken urn that the workman has dug out of the field plunge him into the depths of wonder and lead him, as he stands fixed in amazement, to extraordinary flights of speculation as to what we are, where we go, and the meaning of all things. To read Sir Thomas Browne again is always to be filled with astonishment, to remember the surprises, the despondencies, the unlimited curiosities of youth."

[Anand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blessed be the cracked archangel. Religio Medici, his eloquent and learned treatise of being a Christian and a scientist - full of the deep questions of faith that animate us all to the end. Urne Burial, a writing on the discovery of some urns that is suffused with a poetic brilliance that shines best in the last two or so chapters; not as exhilarating as the long-sentence extravaganzas of Religio Medici, but still with that same brilliance.

By loving Browne, I am with Virginia Woolf in that I am "the salt of the earth."

[C. B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are wonderful, and deserve their place as classics of seventeenth-century English literature. I think, overall, I enjoyed Religio Medici best. It's compelling to hear such a brilliant, thoughtful writer set out his beliefs — to hear one person's unique ways around some of the greatest philosophical and theological issues. Urne-Buriall, too, is excellent; it's pervaded by an air of mystery and the sodden earth of antiquity.

[Caspar "moved to storygraph" Bryant]

famously a ridiculous stylist, equally a wonderful expression. I really enjoyed Browne, for a writer I picked up on a whim. a powerhouse of the age

the heart of man is the place the devill dwels in; I feele sometimes a hell within my self, Lucifer keeps his court in my brest, Legion is revived in me.

[Eric Chevlen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Religio Medici and Urne-Buriall by Sir Thomas Browne.

By the usual criteria, Sir Thomas Browne's Religio Medici and Urne Buriall are unarguably classics. They were written in the mid-17 century, and are still in print to this day. They are the subject of ongoing commentary and analysis, and form the subject matter of graduate school courses in English literature.

But there are other criteria by which a book may be judged as a classic, and in at least one of these, these books fail to meet the mark.

If Shakespeare's works, or Bach's, were written today, they would be hailed as high art, unusual in style perhaps, but nonetheless carrying an artistic message to modern man. If Browne's works were published today, I think they would be rejected as unworthy of current interest.

Browne's style of writing is not the limiting factor. True, he writes in long meandering sentences, but (to me, at least) that is a charming style. His 17th century orthography is likewise not a barrier to the reader. No, the bigger problem is that he has little profound to teach.

Religio Medici is a disquisition on Browne's inner microcosm. He considers the tenets of his Christian faith, and finds them wholly reliable, even when not wholly comprehensible. He offers moral lessons based on his faith, but none of these strikes me as particularly novel. In Urne-Buriall, Browne dilates on burial techniques of the ancient and modern world. Both books are choc-a-bloc with references to Classical Greek and Latin literature, many of them opaque to the modern reader.

The maddening thing about Browne's books is that, like proverbial rotten eggs, parts of them are excellent. I found that, just as I was ready to toss the books aside, and not invest good time after bad, Browne would deliver a beautifully wrought insight. For example, in Urne-Buriall, he writes, "To be ignorant of evils to come, and forgetfull of evils past, is a mercifull provision in nature whereby we digest the mixture of our few and evil dayes, and our delivered senses not relapsing into cutting remembrances, our sorrows are not kept raw by the edge of repetition."

Browne is also the ur-source for numerous neologisms in English. The Oxford English Dictionary credits him with introducing more than a hundred words into modern English. Such nouns as "exhaustion," "hallucination," and "suicide," and such verbs as "compensate," "invigorate," and "bisect" were first penned by Browne. Others of Browne's Latinate creations have not been adopted into English. This includes words such as "diuturnity" (long duration) and "absumption" (wasting away).

These books are must reading for someone who want to investigate the development of Christian thought in 17th century England, and the emergence of introspective autobiography in that era. The books might also be useful for someone who wants to wrestle with his own antinomies of Christian doctrine, guided by a man of sincere reflection and thought, but not formal theological training. For most others, I cannot recommend these books.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The long introduction to this short collection ruined it for me. And if you do not want to be ruined also, read no further.

The introduction talks about the author’s “baffling changes in direction and outright contradictions”, his “monumental egotism”, his “disingenuousness”, his “absurd narcissism”, which, the introduction authors write, derived “less from vanity than from literal self-regard.” If this information alone were not enough to undercut Sir Thomas Browne, a medical doctor, and make you wonder why the publisher had bothered to run the presses, the introduction then turns to a discussion of his belief in witches.

The introduction authors first discuss the medical profession’s view of witchcraft in the 17th century, stating that “by the 1640s there were many in England, in the medical establishment and elsewhere, who dismissed these charges [of witchcraft] as grotesque fantasies: people died suddenly and unexpectedly, they said, not because a witch had cast a spell upon them but because they succumbed to a hidden disease.”

But Sir Thomas Browne, it turns out, was not one of these more rational people. Instead, he was nothing if not certain, confirming in writing on more than one occasion the existence of witches. Not only did he firmly believe in witches, he went so far as to give evidence for the prosecution at the trial of two women, Amy Duny and Rose Cullender, who had been charged with witchcraft. Both women were convicted and executed.

Browne admitted that the religion of the doctor (i.e., himself) depends upon the defeat of his reason. “I love to lose my selfe in a mystery,” he writes, dreamily, wistfully. “I learned of Tertullian, It is true because it is impossible.” This did not have me thinking, “what a devout man” but rather, “what a turd.”

Having digested all of this about the Sir, it became difficult for me to treat his writing with any respect at all. I did, however, manage to get through the essay about different types of burial, and I searched for the wonderful writing that was purportedly hiding there. Of course, my context had already changed; I was now skeptical about the whole enterprise.

Here is what I found:

“Metropolis of humidity” refers not to Tokyo in the summertime, but to the brain: Hippocrates.

“Happy are they whom privacy makes innocent, who deal so with men in this world, that they are not afraid to meet them in the next….” Query the scene when Amy and Rose (those two “witches” he testified against) met up with Mr. Browne later.

“But the most magnanimous resolution rests in the Christian Religion, which trampleth upon pride, and sits on the neck of ambition, humbly pursuing that infallible perpetuity …” Etc. etc.

And that was all.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Wow. Wow. No wonder Lord Peter Wimsey toted this book around in his breast coat pocket, or something like that, so far as I recall from Gaudy Night. There were moments of Religio Medici that gave me good pause: they were ravishing. Browne deserves his reputation for masterful style, but in no way is the substance of his meditations any less worthy of note. It felt sometimes as though I were violating his privacy by witnessing the revolutions and circumlocutions of his mind intent upon his faith – so this felt quiet, in a sense, almost surreptitious, in a benign sort of way – but then again, Browne did ultimately authorize a publication. I’d give the first of these essays just a shade off of five stars for a non sequitur here and there – this, in the knowledge that Browne can wind his way through a curlicue, no problem – and probably let Urne-Buriall off easy, though I enjoyed its form and content considerably less.

[Geoff Wyss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virginia Woolf calls Browne the 'first autobiographer,' the first writer to turn his attention inward and consider his own mysteries. You've probably got to pretend there was no Montaigne to say that, but Browne is very much in the line of Montaigne: curious, wide ranging, intimidatingly learned, funny, humble (with an obverse of enormous self-regard), awake, alert. Reading casts a really broad light into The Rings of Saturn, in which Sebald dwells at length on Browne.

[Tom Wascoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Religio Medici is a book that must be read slowly and digested. It was written as someone writing to themselves like when one writes to clarify ones thoughts. Much discussion about religion, science, life, death the afterlife. Even though it was written in the mid 1600's much of the thoughts are relevent for today's reader and thinker.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be dipping into this one for the rest of my life probably.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely worth it. What a strange, wonderful man

[James Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two of the most renowned and enduring pieces of prose from the 17th century in England are Religio Medici and Urne-Buriall, written by Sir Thomas Browne. These works demonstrate Browne's singular intelligence, mastery of style, and profound reflections on faith, life, death, and the human condition. Together, these pieces provide a striking window into the thoughts of a Renaissance man pondering the eternal questions of life and the scientific discoveries of his era. Religio Medici is a profoundly intimate and reflective work that was first circulated in manuscript form before being published in an authorized edition in 1643. It functions as Browne's spiritual autobiography, an open examination of his Christian beliefs as they relate to his work as a doctor. This was a radical undertaking in a century marked by severe religious conflict because it dared to offer a complex, accepting, and frequently contradictory understanding of belief.

Urne-Buriall is a meditation that was published in 1658.ion on mortality, memory, and the futility of human attempts to defy oblivion. The work was prompted by the discovery of ancient burial urns in Norfolk, near Browne's home, leading him to explore diverse funerary customs across history and cultures.

Reading Religio Medici and Urne-Buriall together provides a comprehensive experience of Thomas Browne's unique genius. Both works highlight his eclectic knowledge, his deeply introspective nature, and his unparalleled command of the English language. They are not easy reads, requiring patience and an appreciation for the baroque style and dense allusions. However, the reward is an encounter with a mind that effortlessly traverses the realms of science, philosophy, theology, and poetry, offering timeless insights into the human condition.

For those interested in 17th-century literature, the history of ideas, or simply magnificent prose, these two essays are indispensable. They remain a testament to Browne's enduring legacy as a singular figure in English letters. This is an inspiring work for all who love words and appreciate erudition. That does not take away from the imaginative largesse of Browne's prose. The glossary and notes included in this edition are helpful to all who are not scholars of the history of literature.

[Graychin · Rating 5 out of 5]

2025 Update:

It's been 13 years since I last read Religio Medici and it's as good as I remembered:

"[T]hus is man that great and true Amphibium, whose nature is disposed to live not onely like other creatures in divers elements, but in divided and distinguished worlds."

2012 Review:

This was my first full re-reading of Religio Medici in almost ten years. It’s one of those small books that seems to grow bigger and bigger after you read it. Once you’ve invested yourself in Browne (and his language needs some effort from us today), he takes a permanent and slowly expanding spot on the bookshelf of your brain.

Browne was a seventeenth century physician. He was also a phrase-maker of Shakespearean genius, a philosopher in the tradition of Montaigne, a scientist in the line of Bacon, a mystic in the mold of Thomas Traherne. His religious opinions (religio medici means “faith of a doctor”) are mild and nothing shocking today, though they got him into bad odor with stricter contemporaries.

What’s a revelation for us reading him now are Browne’s fathomless learning, his endlessly-surprising baroque sentences, his inexhaustible fascination with human nature and the natural world, and his incredible gift for pursuing odd lines of thought through crooked passes and into hidden clearings. His mind is constantly moving, sentence to sentence to sentence.

Religio Medici is the place to start if you want to know Thomas Browne, but don’t stop there. Move on to Urne Buriall and The Garden of Cyrus (which are meant to be read together), then Pseudodoxia Epidemica. Find yourself a nice thick volume of his collected works and shelve it between Montaigne’s Essays and Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy.

[غبار · Rating 3 out of 5]

not for nothing did virginia woolf describe thomas browne as "first of the autobiographers" - in "religio medici" he exonerates himself from the "vice" of pride and denies the charge of egotism, but, peering out from the depths of his supreme solipsism, claims to "understand no less then six Languages (...) [to] have not onely seene severall Countries, beheld the nature of their climes, the Choreography of their Provinces, Topography of their Cities, but understand their severall Lawes, Customes and Policies (...) [to] know the names, and somewhat more, of all the constellations in my Horizon (...) [to] know most of the Plants of my Country, and of those about mee". one wonders if there is anything under the sun that escapes the notice of this erudite, near-omniscient savant. i felt like i was steeped in an atmosphere of religiosity, tempered now & then by salubrious doubt, and earnest navel-gazing; reading this was alternately amusing and extremely irritating. "urne-buriall", though, is fantastic. i chose to read this after so many other writers praised the style of browne's prose and cited him as an influence, in the reverent tone with which one speaks of a forefather without whose contributions one's resources and privileges would not exist; it did give me some insight into how w.g. sebald, whose books i love and who alludes to "urne-buriall" in the rings of saturn, might have drawn inspiration from browne's writings.

[Gustavo Pérez · Rating 4 out of 5]

"El método de la caridad consiste en sufrir sin reacción."

"Llevamos en nosotros mismos los portentos que buscamos en el exterior; África entera y sus prodigios se hallan en nuestro interior. Somos una obra de la naturaleza tan intrépida y osada que quien la estudie atenta y sabiamente aprenderá en un compendio la lección con que otros se debatirán a lo largo de escritos diversos e interminables volúmenes."

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Now since these dead bones have already outlasted the living ones of Methuselah, and in a yard underground, and thin walls of clay, outworn all the strong and specious buildings above it; and quietly rested under the drums and tramplings of three conquests: what prince can promise such diuturnity unto his relicks, or might not gladly say,
Sic ego componi versus in ossa velim? Time, which antiquates antiquities, and hath an art to make dust of all things, hath yet spared these minor monuments.”

[Conor]

Not as freaky as I anticipated, but still captivating. Some of his phrases and sentences run like velvet, which makes the occasional sass quite funny. Also the stuff on anatomy made me want to read Donne's Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions (on Boyer's recommendation) even more. The Renaissance prose journey continues, but I'm glad I made this stop.