is the fashion in this country? Who shall still appoint what shall be discoursed (talked of), what presumed, and no "furder?" Lastly, who shall forbid and "separat" (disperse) all idle resort (gatherings), all evil company? These things will be, and must be; but how they shall be "lest" (least) hurtful, how “lest" enticing, here consists the grave and governing wisdom of a state.

7. TRUTH IN HUMAN FORM.

(FROM THE SAME WORK.)

TRUTH indeed came once into the world with her divine Master, and was a perfect shape 2 (form), most glorious to look on; but when He ascended, and his apostles after him were laid asleep, then "strait" arose a wicked race of deceivers, who, as that story goes of the Egyptian Typhon with his conspirators, how they dealt with the good Osiris, took the virgin Truth, hewed her lovely form into a thousand pieces, and scattered them to the four winds. From that time ever since, the sad friends of Truth, such as durst appear, imitating the careful search that Isis made for the mangled body of Osiris, went up and down gathering up limb by limb still as they could find them. We have not yet found them all, nor ever shall do, till her Master's second coming; he shall bring together every joint and member, and shall mould them into an immortal feature3 (form) of loveliness and perfection. Suffer not these licensing prohibitions to stand at every place of opportunity, forbidding and disturbing them that continue seeking,* and [us] that continue to do our obsequies to (i.e. by gathering up the limbs of) the torn body of our martyred Saint (i.e. Truth). We boast our light; but if we look not wisely on the sun "it self," it smites us into darkness. Who can

(1) See note 2, p. 170.

(2) Shape, form. The former word is A.S., the latter Lat. The shape of a thing is the actual form presented to our eyes; the form is the ideal pattern sometimes realised, sometimes not, in the outward shape. The reference here is to the form or beauty (which is another meaning of forma) of virtue, as embodied in our

Saviour.

(3) Feature. See note 7 122

(4) Seeking. There is probably a reference here to a religious party of the times, who called themselves "Seekers," i.e. seekers after truth. Sir Henry Vane the younger was considered the founder of it.

(5) Smites us, &c. We are reminded here of Milton's expression in "Par. Lost," iii. 388:

"Dark with excessive bright thy skirts appear;

[and

discern those planets that are oft combust,' and those stars of brightest magnitude that rise and set with the sun, until the opposite motion of their orbs bring them to such a place in the firmament, where they may be seen evening or morning? The light which we have gained was given us, not to be ever staring on, but by it to discover onward things more remote from our knowledge.

8. REVIVAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM IN

ENGLAND.

(FROM THE SAME WORK.)

and

FOR, as in a body, when the blood is fresh, the spirits pure vigorous, not only to vital, but to rational, faculties (not only for bodily, but for mentul exercises), and those in the acutest and the pertest (liveliest) operations of wit and subtlety, it argues in what good plight and constitution the body is; so, when the cheerfulness of the people is so sprightly up, as that it has not only wherewith to guard well its own freedom and safety, but [somewhat] to spare, and to bestow upon the solidest and sublimest points of controversy and new invention, it "betokns" us not degenerated, nor drooping to a fatal decay, but casting off the old and wrinkled skin of corruption, to outlive these pangs and wax young again, entering the glorious ways of truth and prosperous virtue, [which are] destined to become great and honourable in these latter ages. Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks. Methinks I see her as an eagle "muing "2 (renewing) her mighty and also of Gray's, who, applying the conceit to Milton's own condition, says that he

"Blasted with excess of light,

Closed his eyes in endless night."

(1) Combust, literally burnt up, a technical term in old astronomy to denote that the planet is in conjunction with the sun, and, therefore, lost in its light. The meaning is the same as is expressed by "rising and setting with the sun." We can only see the planets when they are in opposition-away from the sun.

(2) Muing, or mewing, fr. Fr. muer (wh. fr. Lat. mutare), to change, alter, transform, transfigure; hence, to change, or cast the skin, feathers, &c., or to moult, which is a corrupt spelling of moute, or mute, fr. low Lat. muta, the disease or illness experienced by birds when changing their feathers. In this passage (which has often been misunderstood) there appears to be a covert reference to this disease. The meaning may, perhaps, be thus given:-The puissant nation has already had a "mighty youth," but has for a time been laid aside, while a tranforma

youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full midday beam; purging and unscaling her long abused sight at the fountain itself of heavenly radiance; while the whole noise of timorous and flocking birds, with those also that love the twilight, flutter about, amazed at what she means.

SIR THOMAS BROWNE,

1. THE BOOK OF NATURE.

(FROM "RELIGIO MEDICI," PUBLISHED IN 1642).

THERE are two books from whence I collect my divinity. Besides that written one of God, [there is] another of his servant,

tion, pregnant with larger power, was going on. The "eagle " puts off its youth, and wakes up to full maturity. With renewed power of sight, it gazes undazzled at the sun of liberty-the radiant beams not only not blasting, but purifying and strengthening the eyes which undauntedly meet them; while the noisy troop of timid, gregarious birds, keeping together for safety, and those, too, whose nature it is to haunt the gloom, flutter about, unable to understand even, much less to imitate, the unchecked daring of their king.

(1) Abused, i.e. abused or misused, as long as it was hindered from looking at the sun.

(2) Noise. In the early writers, this word means both music in general, and also a set or company of musicians. In the first sense, Milton ("At a Solemn Music ") speaks of the music of heaven as "that melodious noise;" in the second sense, Shakspere (" 2nd Pt. Henry IV"):

"And see if thou canst find Sneak's noise: Mistress

Tearsheet would fain hear some music."

(3) "Rich in various knowledge, exuberant in conceptions and conceits; contemplative, imaginative, often truly great and magnificent in his style and diction, though too often big, stiff, and hyperlatinistic."-Coleridge.

"His style is not flowing, but vigorous; his choice of words not elegant, and even approaching to barbarism as English phrase; yet there is an impressiveness, an air of reflection and sincerity in Browne's writings, which redeem many of their faults."-Hallam, Lit. of Europe, ii. 517.

Browne has also been charged with euphuism; but it is easy to see that his faults of style-whatever they may be-are his own. He has little or none of the brilliant antithesis, nor, it may be added, of the lucidity of Lylie. We may be thankful, that though an artist, he was not a legislator, in language, and that it was out of his power to impose upon us such words as conglaciate, incrassation, dilucidate, indigitator, farroginous, ariolation, lapidifical, and reminiscential evocation.

Nature, that universal and public manuscript that lies expansed unto (unfolded before) the eyes of all. Those that never saw him in the one have discovered him in the other: this was the Scripture and theology of the heathens-the natural motion of the sun made them more admire him than its supernatural station (standing still) did the children of Israel. The ordinary effects (phenomena) of nature wrought more admiration in them than, in the other, all his miracles. Surely the heathens knew better how to join (connect) and read these mystical letters than we Christians, who cast a more careless eye on these common hieroglyphics, and disdain to suck divinity from the flowers of nature. Nor do I so forget God as to adore the name of nature; which I define not, with the schools, to be the principle of motion and rest, but that straight and regular line (law), that settled and constant course, the wisdom of God hath ordained [for] the actions of his creatures, according to their several kinds. To make a revolution every day is the nature of the sun, because of that necessary course which God hath ordained it; from which, by a faculty from (power conferred by) that voice which first did give it motion, it cannot swerve. Now this course of nature God seldom alters or perverts; 3 but, like an excellent artist, hath so contrived his work, that, with the self-same instrument, without a new creation, he may effect his obscurest designs. Thus he sweeteneth the water with a wood, preserveth the creatures in the ark, which (creatures) the blast of his mouth might have as easily created (i. e. created after the deluge); for God is like a skilful geometrician, who, when more easily, and with one stroke of his compass (compasses) he might describe or divide a right line, had yet rather do this in a circle

(1) Hieroglyphics. A word most happily employed in this connection. The various phenomena of nature offer to the cultivated eye a sacred language, represented, however, not by alphabetical characters, but by hieroglyphical symbols, or pictures of ideas.

(2) Faculty (fr. Lat. facultas, capability, power) generally means in the sing. a power of doing some special thing; in the pl., active powers of mind or body. Facultas was no doubt originally the same as facilitas, and the English faculty borrows somewhat of the meaning of facility, as denoting not only power to do, but to do easily; hence, we speak not only of a man's having the faculty of writing well, but of his having, generally, faculty, a distinct quality, and deserving of a distinct name.

(3) Alter, pervert. To alter is to give another direction to a thing; to pervert, to turn it in the opposite direction, and with a view to entirely change its original course or destination, and hence to corrupt.

(4) Wood. See Exod. xv. 25.

or longer way, according to the constituted and forelaid (meviously appointed) principles of his art. Yet this rule of his he doth sometimes pervert (entirely change) to acquaint the world with his prerogative, lest the arrogancy of our reason should question his power and conclude he could not. And thus I call the effects (phenomena) of Nature the works of God, whose hand and instrument she only is; and, therefore, to ascribe his actions unto her is to devolve the honour of the principal agent upon the instrument-which, if with reason we may do, then let our hammers rise up and boast they have built our houses, and our pens receive the honour of our writings. I hold there is a general beauty in the works of God, and therefore no deformity1 in any kind of species or creature whatsoever. I cannot tell by what logic we call a toad, a bear, or an elephant ugly, they being created in those outward shapes and figures which best express the actions of their inward forms' (nature); and having passed that general visitation (scrutiny) of God, who saw that all that he had made was good-that is, conformable to His will, which abhors deformity, and is the rule of order and beauty. There is no deformity but in monstrosity;2 wherein, notwithstanding, there is a kind of beauty— Nature so ingeniously contriving the irregular parts as (that) they become sometimes more remarkable than the principal fabric. To speak yet more narrowly, there was never anything ugly or misshapen but the chaos; wherein, notwithstanding, to speak strictly, there was no deformity because no form, nor was it yet impregnate by the voice of God (impregnated, quickened into life). Now, nature is not at variance with art, nor art with nature, they being both the servants of His providence. Art is the perfection of nature. Were the world now as it was the sixth day, there were yet a chaos. Nature hath made one

(1) Deformity, inward form. By "inward form," Browne means the ideal tyve or mould framed by God, and embodied in the outward shape. (See note 1, p. 115.) If, therefore, the animal duly represents this divinely-contrived type, it cannot be taxed with deformity or departure from the proper form. Deformity is departure or difference, not from any concrete individual's form, but from the abstract form of the species.

(2) Monstrosity. This distinction appears just. A monstrosity is a departure from the typical form, and yet it may have a "kind of beauty;" double flowers, as double pinks, stocks, cherry-blossoms, &c., are monstrosities in the strict sense of the term.

(3) There were yet a chaos, i.e. inasmuch as if man had not been created, art could not have existed, and art is the perfection of nature-a text on which a long discourse might be written.