I could never divide myself from any man upon the difference of an opinion, or be angry with his judgment for not agreeing with me in that from which perhaps within a few days I should dissent myself.
Thomas BrowneNatura nihil agit frustra [Nature does nothing in vain] is the only indisputible axiom in philosophy. There are no grotesques in nature; not any thing framed to fill up empty cantons, and unncecessary spaces.
Thomas BrowneThe heart of man is the place the devil dwells in; I feel sometimes a hell within myself.
Thomas BrowneThere is nothing strictly immortal, but immortality. Whatever hath no beginning may be confident of no end.
Thomas BrowneThere is no such thing as solitude, nor anything that can be said to be alone and by itself but God, who is His own circle, and can subsist by Himself.
Thomas BrowneBy compassion we make others' misery our own, and so, by relieving them, we relieve ourselves also.
Thomas BrowneWe term sleep a death, and yet it is waking that kills us, and destroys those spirits that are the house of life.
Thomas BrowneCharity But how shall we expect charity towards others, when we are uncharitable to ourselves? Charity begins at home, is the voice of the world; yet is every man his greatest enemy, and, as it were, his own executioner.
Thomas BrowneThere are no grotesques in nature; not anything framed to fill up empty cantons, and unnecessary spaces.
Thomas BrowneThat miracles have been, I do believe; that they may yet be wrought by the living, I do not deny: but have no confidence in those which are fathered on the dead.
Thomas BrowneWhat song the Syrens sang, or what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women, though puzzling questions, are not beyond all conjecture.
Thomas BrowneA diamond, which is the hardest of stones, not yielding unto steel, emery or any other thing, is yet made soft by the blood of a goat.
Thomas BrowneLife itself is but the shadow of death, and souls departed but the shadows of the living.
Thomas Browne