James Baquet

    Like Leonardo, Francis Bacon, and others, Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682) was the epitome of the “Renaissance man,” a polymath who mastered both science and religion.

    Thomas Browne was the son of a silk merchant, who died while the boy was young. Browne went to Oxford, and later studied on the continent, taking his medical degree in Holland. At 27, he settled down in Norwich, England, where he practiced medicine for the rest of his life.

    Browne was a man of science, who followed the “new learning” of Francis Bacon, with its emphasis on Renaissance humanism, and especially the scientific method. Nevertheless, he believed — as did most people of his time — in angels and witches. Furthermore, he was something of a mystic, and seems to have been interested in astrology, alchemy, and such discredited systems as physiognomy — the belief that you could determine a person’s character by the structure of his or her face.

    His first published work was the “Religio Medici,” or “The Religion of a Physician,” containing his thoughts on religious matters. Because his beliefs were not exactly orthodox, it was first shared privately with friends, before an edited version was published in 1643. Included in this work are sayings like, “Charity begins at home,” and “Art is the perfection of nature.”

    In 1645, another significant work was published. This was the encyclopedic “Pseudodoxia Epidemica,” sometimes called the “Vulgar Errors.” It was organized from the lowest things — minerals — up through “man” and his works, and examined many false beliefs of the day, using Baconian thinking. Browne applied three tests to every idea. First, did authors of the past support it? Second, did it stand up to reason? And third, was it confirmed by experience?

    In 1671, King Charles II arrived in Norwich for a visit. It was the custom for the king to make someone a knight on such visits. The local mayor recommended Browne be knighted instead of himself. And so Browne became Sir Thomas Browne.

    Browne died in Norwich on his 77th birthday.

    Vocabulary

    1. approved or “normal” (of ideas)

    2. no longer believed

    3. someone given an award by a king

    4. a person who has learned many subjects

    5. the very best, a perfect example of something

    6. the study of the stars

    7. the belief that the stars tell our future

    8. covering every known subject

    9. an outdated form of science that tried to turn lead to gold