Religio Medici, Hydriotaphia (Urn Burial), and A Letter to a Friend

Religio Medici, Hydriotaphia (Urn Burial), and A Letter to a Friend Synopsis

Sir Thomas Browne was a 17th century author who wrote on a wide variety of subjects including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric. He is best known for his work entitled "e;Religio Medici"e;, or "e;The Religion of a Doctor"e;, which is Browne's own spiritual testament and an early example of a psychological self-portrait. Published in 1643, shortly after the author had qualified himself to practice medicine, "e;Religio Medici"e; became a best-seller throughout the European continent and because of its unorthodox views was admonished by the Catholic Church by being placed on the "e;Index Librorum Prohibitorum"e;, or list of prohibited books. While largely an exposition of Christian faith the work meanders into digressions upon alchemy, hermetic philosophy, astrology, and physiognomy. Also included in this edition is "e;Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial, or a Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately found in Norfolk"e; and "e;A Letter to a Friend."e; The first work revolves around the discovery of a Roman urn burial in Norfolk which Browne uses to discuss ancient and current burial and funerary customs and extends to a greater inquiry of man's struggles with mortality. The second, which as written in 1656 and published posthumously in 1690, is a medical treatise of case-histories and witty speculations upon the human condition.

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