Thomas Browne

was born in the County of Middlesex, elected Student of Ch. Ch. in 1620, aged sixteen years, took the degrees in Arts, that of Master being compleated in 1627, made Proctor of the University in 1636, and the year after domestick Chaplain to Archbishop Laud, and Bach. of Divinity. Soon after, he became Rector of S. Mary the Great, called Aldermary, in London, Canon of Windsore in 1639, and Rector of Oddington in Oxfordshire. But upon the breaking out of the grand Rebellion, he being forced from his Church in London by the impetuous Presbyterians, he retired to his Majesty (to whom he was Chaplain) at Oxford: By virtue of whose letters he was actually created Doct. of Div. in Feb. 1642, having then only the profits of Oddington coming in to maintain him. Afterwards he lost all for his Loyalty, lived partly beyond the Seas in the condition of Chaplain to Mary Princess of Orange; at which time he became acquainted with divers learned men in Holland, and suffered equally as other generous Royalists did. After the return of his Majesty, he was restored to what he had lost, kept some of his Spiritualities, especially Windsore, to the time of his death, without any other promotion in the Church. He hath written and published,

A copy of the Sermon preached before the University at S. Maries in Oxon. 24 Dec. 1633, on Psal. 130.4. Oxon. 1634. qu. I have seen a Serm. of his on Joh. 11.4. preached before his Parishiones of Aldermary while he was Chapl. to Archb. Laud. Which Serm. being esteemed a blasphemous piece by the puritanical party of the said Parish, they complained of it to the said Archbish. who, instead of having him punished, was made (said they) Canon of Windsore; and afterwards, when the Archbishop’s Writings were seized on at Lambeth, the Sermon was found lying on his Table: But this I presume was never printed. He hath also written,

A Key to the Kings Cabinet: or, animadversions upon the three printed speeches of Mr. L’isle, Mr. Tate and Mr. Brown (Members of the H. of Commons) spoken at a Common hall in London, 3 July 1645, detecting the malice and falshood of their blasphemous Observations upon the K. and Queens letters. Oxon 1645. qu. The said Speeches were spoken by Joh. L’isle, Zouch Tate and Mr. Browne. Our Author Th. Browne wrot also a treatise in defence of H. Grotius against an Epistle of Cl. Salmasius De posthumo Grotii, published under the name of Simplicius Virinus.—Hag. 1646. in oct. But the said Treatise or Answer I have not yet seen; nor was he known to be the Author of it, till after his death, at which time Isaac Vossius (to whom he had sent a printed copy of it formerly, but never told him who was the Author) found the Manuscript of it, written with his own hand, with a Title page, owning himself therein to be the Author of it.

Dissertatio de Therapeutis Philonis adversus Henricum Valesium. Lond. 1687. oct. Put at the end (under the name of Tho. Bruno) of the interpretation of S. Clements two Epistles to the Corinthians, made by Pat. Junius, Gottifredus Vendelinus and Joh. Bapt. Cotelerius; published by Paulus Colomesius. Our Author Browne also did translate from Lat. into Engl. Camden’s second Vol. of the Annals of Qu. Elizabeth, from the beginning of the year 1589 to the end of 1602: Which Translation bears this Title, Tomus alter & idem. Or the history of the life and raigne of that famous Princess Elizabeth, &c. Lond. 1629. qu. To which Translation our Author Browne added An Appendix, containing Animadversions upon several passages, corrections of sundry errours, and additions of some remarkable matters of the History (before mention’d) never yet printed. He died at Windsore on the sixth day of Decemb. in sixteen hundred seventy and three, and was buried without,1673 and on the south side of, the Kings Free-Chappel there, dedicated to S. George. Over his grave was soon after erected, at the charge of Dr. Isaac Vossius Canon of that Chappel (sole Executor to our Author Browne) a monument of free stone, with a plank of marble thereon, (joyning to the south wall, between two Buttresses of the Chappel) and an inscription engraven upon it, made by the said Vossius: from which I am informed that he the said Browne was esteemed by all that knew him Vir apprimè doctus & eruditus, Criticus acutus, facundus Orator, felix Philologus, Antiquitatum Chronologiaeque cultor solertissimus, Aenigmatum Dilemmatumque conscientiarum dubitantium Oedipus admodum Christianus, &c. One Tho. Browne was elected from Eaton School into Kings Coll. in Cambridge an. 1550. was afterwards Master of Westminster School, Prebendary of the collegiat Church there 1565, Doctor of Div. and a worthy and learned Divine. He wrot a Tragedy called Thebais, and dying in 1584 or thereabouts, was buried at Westminster. What relation there was between this and the former, Thom. Browne, I know not, nor whether he was related to another Thom. Browne, whom I shall mention among these writers under the year 1682.