Pseudodoxia epidemica
by Thomas Browne · first published 1650
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Pseudodoxia Epidemica or Enquries into very many received tenets and commonly presumed truths, also known simply as Pseudodoxia Epidemica or Vulgar Errors, is a work by Thomas Browne refuting the common errors and superstitions of his age. It first appeared in 1646 and went through five subsequent editions, the last revision occurring in 1672. The work includes evidence of Browne's adherence to the Baconian method of empirical observation of nature, and was in the vanguard of work-in-progress scientific journalism in the 17th century scientific revolution, though he refers to his work as an en
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Pseudodoxia Epidemica is dense, strange and delightful. Probably my favorite chapter is on the Amphisbaena [1] (a serpent with a head on both ends), which Browne dismisses as basically being too weird to exist. Then he can't…
on “A Bestiary of Sir Thomas Browne” ↗One really nice thing about Pseudodoxia Epidemica is that you don't have to read it cover to cover. You can pick it up, read the bit about whether “a Diamond is made soft, or broke by the blood of a Goate”, or what he has to say about Pope Joan (a woman…
on “Seven books I keep close because I love them” ↗…Christianity strangled the human spirit for so long. As I understand it, particularly for the bizarre natural sciences stuff, a lot of this is actually _Aristotle's_ fault, not Christianity's. Adding the Pseudodoxia Epidemica to my list of things to read if I ever have infinite time.
on “Seven books I keep close because I love them” ↗