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The Huntsmen are up in America
'The Huntsmen are up in America, and they are already past their first sleep in Persia'. In a closing sentence of The Garden of Cyrus, Sir Thomas Browne juxtaposes global time zones, light and...
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The Majestic Oak
The oak tree is featured in religion, literature and art as diverse as Greek mythology, the Judaic Old Testament, Roman literature, fairy-tales, numismatics, Sir Thomas Browne's botanical studies and...
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'Above Atlas his Shoulders' -Thomas Browne's Worldview
The English doctor-philosopher and literary figure Thomas Browne (1605-1682) held a unique view and understanding of the world which is rewarding to explore through the perspective of geography.Its in...
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Paris Syndrome
'He that is weak-legg'd must not fall in love with Rome, nor an infirm head with Venice or Paris'. - Sir Thomas Browne - 'A Letter to a Friend'Paris syndrome is a sense of extreme disappointment and a...
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The phantastical Quincunx in Plato
'The shaping influence of Platonism on Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82) has long been recognized by those attracted to the intangible atmosphere of his mind.'[1] Allusion to the ancient Greek philosopher...
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'Galant and Festive' - Mozart Serenades and Violin Concertos
A recent Harmonia Mundi recording (January '25) by the Munich Chamber Orchestra conducted by Enrico Onofri of the Haffner and Posthorn Serenades invites a closer study of Mozart's galant and festive...
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Jupiter’s brain in a piece of Cytheridian cheese
The English philosopher-physician Thomas Browne (1605-82) possessed refined senses. Along with his perspicacious eyesight and acute olfactory sense he also had a keen sense of taste. His notes on...
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Why the goddesses sit commonly cross-legged in ancient draughts ?
In the concluding chapter of Thomas Browne's hermetic discourse The Garden of Cyrus (1658) the physician-philosopher fires a rapid volley of tricky questions, including -'Why the goddesses sit commonly...
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'A paradise of books' - Dr. Browne's library
In 1671 King Charles II visited Norwich. Accompanying him was the Courtier John Evelyn who wrote in his diary-'My Lord Henry Howard coming this night to visit my Lord Chamberlain, and staying a day,...
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Doctor Browne and the elephant
Elephants are mentioned in each of Sir Thomas Browne's major literary works. A little-known notebook description highlights his zoological interest in elephants, while his proto-archaeological...
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Browne Index
An index to essays (2010-2024) on the late Renaissance humanist, Christian mystic, Hermetic philosopher, Paracelsian physician and Janus-faced sage of Norwich known also as Sir Thomas Browne...
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'the Mathematicks of the neatest Retiary Spider'
Recent media coverage on how the combination of climate warming and global air-traffic are encouraging new, exotic species of spider to inhabit Britain reminded me that observations on spiders are...
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A Browne bookshelf
I've found these books on Thomas Browne to be useful over the decades. From left to right - * Collected Works of Thomas Browne Religio Medici edited by Reid Barbour and Brooke Conti. pub. Oxford...
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'the Theatre of ourselves' : the proto-psychology of Doctor Browne
Because of the multiplicity of his interests, scientific, antiquarian and esoteric, the philosopher-physician Thomas Browne (1605-82) is often termed a polymath but a preciser definition of him, one...
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'Compassion is the physician's teacher' : Gavin Francis - 'The Opium of Time'
The 21st century Renaissance of interest in Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82) continues to flourish with a new, insightful appreciation by the Edinburgh-based doctor Gavin Francis on the seventeenth century...
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Vulcan's Aquarium
In reply to a recent enquiry, what exactly is 'the Aquarium of Vulcan' from which this blog is named, its useful to refer to the Deipnsophistae or 'Banquet of the Philosophers' by the ancient Greek...
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The comic genius of Jan van Haasternen
Celebrating the comic genius of Jan van Haasternen on the occasion of his birthday, with a brief look at his artwork, alongside Dutch 'Golden Age' paintings. Jan van Haasteren (b. February 24th 1936 -...
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'One face of Janus holds no proportion to the other'.
January, the first month of the year, takes its name from the early Roman King Numa (753-673 BCE) nominating it after Janus in his reorganization of the calendar. One of the most ancient and highest...
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'In the bed of Cleopatra' - Thomas Browne's Egyptology
Lasting over three thousand years, the civilization of ancient Egypt has fascinated the minds and imagination of numerous artists and thinkers, not least, the English physician-philosopher Thomas...
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The joy and alchemical play of jigsaws
During the pandemic of 2019-2022 many people worldwide discovered the joy of jigsaws. Faced with restrictions in social activities, house-bound during lockdowns, the opportunity to escape from...
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