Volume 1

The works of Sir Thomas Browne : including his unpublished correspondence, and a memoir / edited by Simon Wilkin.

  • Thomas Browne
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The works of Sir Thomas Browne : including his unpublished correspondence, and a memoir / edited by Simon Wilkin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

    64/612
    that he hath very rarely been known to have been overcome with any of them. The strongest that were found in him, both of the irascible and coneupiscible, were under the controul of his reason. Of admira- tion, which is one of them, being the only product, either of ignorance, or uncommon knowledge, he had more, and less, than other men, upon the same account of his knowing more than others ; so that though he met with many rarities, he admired them not so much as others do. He was never seen to be transported with mirth, or dejected with sadness; always cheerful, but rarely merry, at any sensible rate, seldom heard to break a jest; and when he did, he would be apt to blush at the levity of it: his gravity was natural without affectation. His modesty was visible in a natural habitual blush, which was increased upon the least occasion, and oft discovered without any observable cause. They that knew no more of him than by the briskness of his writings, found themselves deceived in their expectation when they came in his company, noting the gravity and sobriety of his aspect and con- versation ; so free from loquacity, or much talkative- ness, that he was something difficult to be engaged in any discourse; though when he was so, it was always singular, and never trite or vulgar. Parsimonious in nothing but his time, whereof he made as much im- provement, with as little loss as any man in it, when he had any to spare from his drudging practice, he was scarce patient of any diversion from his study ; so impatient of sloth and idleness, that he would say, he could not do nothing.8 8 do nothing.'] Here Dr. Johnson lias In his papers left behind him, which omitted the following passages:— were many, nothing was found (hat was