No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer.
Thomas BrowneRead
All things began in Order, so shall they end, and so shall they begin again, according to the Ordainer of Order, and the mystical mathematicks of the City of Heaven.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that everything starts and ends with a sense of order, reflecting a cyclical nature guided by a higher power.
Thomas Browne's quote reflects on the inherent order and structure that governs the universe. It implies that beginnings and endings are not random but rather part of a divine orchestration, where the 'Ordainer of Order' represents a supreme being who establishes this cosmic order. The mention of 'mystical mathematicks' suggests that there is a profound, almost mathematical certainty to the patterns of existence within the 'City of Heaven,' indicating a belief in divine logic and harmony that pervades all life.
Themes
OrderBeginningsEndingsDivineUniverseCyclicalPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on cosmology, one might quote this to illustrate the structured nature of the universe.
More from Thomas Browne
All quotes βContent may dwell in all stations. To be low but above contempt may be high enough to be happy.
Thomas BrowneRead
Thus there are two books from whence I collect my Divinity; besides that written one of God, another of his servant Nature, that universal and public Manuscript, that lies expans'd unto the eyes of all; those that never saw him in the one, have discovered him in the other.
Thomas BrowneRead
To be content with death may be better than to desire it.
Thomas BrowneRead
Life itself is but the shadow of death, and souls departed but the shadows of the living.
Thomas BrowneRead
The long habit of living indisposeth us for dying.
Thomas BrowneRead
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Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men.
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