ON
RE-READING ‘RELIGIO MEDICI’
C. RAMAKRISHNA RAO, M.A.
It
was Andrew Lang who once said “to write on Izaak
Walton is indeed to hold a candle to the Sun.” The same thing might be said
even of Sir Thomas Browne’s ‘Religio Medici.’
The
moment one closes down Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnets’ he is likely to banish all
thoughts pertaining to Mr. W. H., the Rival Poet and the Dark Lady and begin to
admire at Shakespeare the poet who raised Love to the level of religion and
worshipped it. The people would read Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnets’ day in and day out
for here is “the greatest love poetry” to quote C. S. Lewis. Love in the sense
of Agape, not Eros. Likewise when we come to the end of Browne’s ‘Religio Medici’ we realise in no
time that the author comes nearer to our hearts not because of his vocabulary,
not because of his latinisms but because of his
profound philosophy.
Sir
Thomas Browne who is acclaimed by George Saintsbury
as “the greatest prose writer, perhaps in the whole range of English literature”
was a famous physician before he became a philosopher. His ‘Religio
Medici’ is a confession of his faith. It is not an “Elizabethan lumber room” as
some would make us believe. His views on the problems of life and religion are
contained in this book. Browne wrote this book because “there was raging battle
of sects and churches as obstinate and as confused as the famous conflict in
Spenser where the knights are constantly changing their allies and their
enemies.” This book is an attempt to make his religious opinions clear to his
own mind and to defend himself and his profession against the ancient charge of
impiety.
Browne
may not be a philosopher in the real sense of the term. Surely he is not an
Indian ascetic or Yogi or a follower of the Buddha or of Kant sitting either on
the banks of the Ganges or on the mountain tops having closed the eyes in quiet
meditation and pondering over the world’s ills and problems. But his tolerant
views expressed on religion, his conception of the Universe and the role
assigned to the human spirit in the great drama of existence are enough to
speak of him as a philosopher.
No
other person except a philosopher can have such tolerant views and brotherly
outlook. The book ‘Religio Medici’ expounds a tolerant
view of Christianity. Though he is of the ‘Reformed new-cast Religion’ he is
not vehemently opposed to the Catholic Church for in his view Protestants and
Catholics–both are Christians. He is not so fanatical as to hate even the
infidels. Browne does not hold a man in contempt because his faith is different
from his or because his views do not agree with his own ideas. His firm faith
in Christianity leads him to accept without doubt or question the mysteries and
miracles pertaining to it. He accepts the passage in the Bible as true. He
never questions their veracity or apply his logic. As
Edmund Gosse observed, Browne, like his contemporary
philosopher Pascal, held the realms of Science and Religion as entirely
distinct. Neither Pascal nor Browne allowed science to interfere in the domain
of faith or with the dogmatism of moral ideas. Thus we see an amalgamation of
dual personality in him. The philosopher has obtained his ideas of God from two
books–one the Holy Book and the other Book of Nature. He believes that God
directs our actions though we commonly believe that the events of our life are
determined by destiny. For destiny is nothing but the will of God. He says the
Gunpowder’s plot, the defeat of the Armada and the victory of the
As
a doctor he cures the bodies of his patients with medicines and as a
philosopher he cures their souls with prayers. Browne loves all mankind alike.
To him all are equal and he is charitable to each and all. In the second part
of his ‘Religio Medici’ he advises us to love even
the poor. For he says “who giveth
to the poor lendeth to the Lord.” So we must
love our neighbour for God’s sake. That is true love
and that is the source of all happiness. Like Saint Francis of
Browne
does not believe in the theory of Pythagoras that souls pass into beasts. He is
not afraid of Death like many great people. Browne’s peaceful life was
disturbed occasionally by the death of his children. Out of his ten children
six died right in front of his eyes. He knows full well that Death is certain
and inevitable. So he bore their loss as the inexorable Fate. After the shock at every bereavement he soon regained his normal placidity.
Browne honours the man who hates life. For when men
die the birds and vultures pounce upon them and tear them into pieces. The sight
filled him with disgust as the sight of the slaves at
The
world we live in appears to the philosophers in a different way. Browne the
philosopher regards the world not as an inn to live in but a hospital to die
in. World to him is a mock-show and as Shakespeare, Browne too thought every
man and woman is an actor in it. So in his short span of life man should think
and realise God. Man the microcosm of the Universe,
if he neglects his business it will be provoking the wrath of God. So his aim
should be high. As Emerson said “hitch your wagon to the star,” man should fix
his attention on God. Like
Thus
one finds Browne awakening the earth-bound mortals from their deep slumber to
the realisation of God. As