BROWNE, THOMAS. - English physician and writer, b. in London on 19 Oct. 1605, d. at Norwich in 1682. In his spirit he combined science and superstition, faith and reason, preciosity of style and minute erudition, modernity and the Middle Ages. An admirer of Dante, he considered himself invested with a universal mission of salvation.
To this end he made use of the results of his studies carried out at Montpellier, Padua and Leiden, giving in *Religio medici* (1643) expression to his religious conscience and an interesting document of psychological observation. The book enjoyed singular success, but on account of a certain ambiguity it was placed on the Index. In *Pseudodoxia epidemica* he attempted to dispel popular errors, while he himself believed in the influence of witches, two of whom he had condemned to death in 1664. *The Garden of Cyrus* and *Urn Burial* bear witness to his skill as a stylist and his taste as an erudite scholar. *Christian Morals* was published posthumously. He belonged to the Reformed Church.