No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer.
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
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.
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.
To be content with death may be better than to desire it.
Life itself is but the shadow of death, and souls departed but the shadows of the living.
The long habit of living indisposeth us for dying.
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Live quietly in the moment and see the beauty of all before you. The future will take care of itself.
Progress in thought is the assertion of individualism against authority.
If the highest things are unknowable, then the highest capacity or virtue of man cannot be theoretical wisdom.
Faith is the function of the heart.