'Quick and gliding motion' - Sir Thomas Browne on Snakes

 

Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82) held a lifelong interest in the animal kingdom which combined with his pioneering studies in comparative religion and symbolism, makes his observations on snakes well worth noting. 

In his Religio Medici (The Religion of a Doctor pub. 1643) the newly-qualified physician informs his reader that unlike many others, he personally does not react badly in the presence of reptiles. His late Renaissance humanism embraced all living creatures, including the reptilian- 

'I cannot start at the presence of a Serpent, Scorpion, Lizard, or Salamander; at the sight of a Toad, or Viper, I finde in me no desire to take up a stone to destroy them'. [1]

No less than a whole chapter of his encyclopaedic endeavour Pseudodoxia Epidemica (loosely translatable as 'Pandemic of Fake News', first edition 1646) is devoted to the study of vipers.  Browne kept vipers captive to discover exactly how they reproduce in order to dispel myths surrounding their reproduction. He also introduced the word 'viviparous' meaning animals that give birth to live young rather than laying eggs in this chapter. 

He was not always successful in his zoological enquiries - 

'for though we fed them with Milk, Bran, Cheese, &c. the females always died before the young ones were mature for this eruption.........[2] 

His patience was eventually rewarded, reporting -

'..... I had enquired the truth hereof, including Vipers in a glass, and feeding them with Cheese and Bran, I undoubtedly found that the Viper was not delivered by tearing of her bowels; but I beheld the young ones excluded by the passage of generation, near the orifice'.[3]

Browne's 'zoographer' enquiries noted that - 

'the Viper hath but two considerable teeth, and those so disposed, so slender and needle-pointed, that they are apter for puncture then any act of incision. And if any like action there be, it may be only some fast retention or sudden compression in the Orgasmus or fury of their lust'; [4]

Browne frequently names his sources from the contents of his extraordinary library, in this case the physician and natural historian Francisco Redi (1626-97)

'Francisco Redi hath amply discovered in his noble observations of Vipers; from good reasons and iterated experiments affirming, that a Viper containeth no humour, excrement, or part which either drank or eat, is able to kill any: [5]

But by far the greatest 'zoographer' whom Browne admired was the 16th century Italian zoologist, Ulisse Aldrovandi (1525-1605). There can be little doubt that Browne frequently consulted this  Renaissance author, as scholarly analysis of the sources of Pseudodoxia demonstrate. Aldrovandi's Serpentum et Draconium (Of Serpents and Dragons) is one of several books by Aldrovandi listed as once in Browne's library and the Italian zoologist's books continue to be a valuable resource for understanding the relationship between mythology, natural history and scientific inquiry  during the Renaissance period. [6]

Its also in Pseudodoxia Epidemica  that Browne displays his pioneering study of comparative religion. Acknowledging the changing symbolism of snakes in the religious beliefs of various nations, how it unjustly acquired its malevolent reputation through the Judaic tradition, and was once sacred to the Greeks and  later the Romans as a symbol of health,  stating - 

'Surely the destructive delusion of Satan in this shape, hath much enlarged the opinion of their mischief. Which notwithstanding was not so high with the heathens, in whom the Devil had wrought a better opinion of this animal, it being sacred unto the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, and the common symbol of sanity. In the shape whereof Aesculapius the God of health appeared unto the Romans, accompanied their Ambassadors to Rome from Epidaurus; and the same did stand in the Tiberine Isle upon the Temple of Aesculapius'. [7]

In all probability Browne knew  of the Roman's adoption of  the Greek god of health Aesculapius from his reading one of his favourite Roman poets, Ovid, author of the Metamorphoses. 

In Ovid's long poem the myths of ancient Greece are linked by a common theme of transformation. A chaotic universe is subdued into harmonious order, animals turn into stone, men and women are rewarded and punished by gods and goddesses for their deeds to become trees, birds and stars. One of the most influential works in Western culture, Ovid’s Metamorphoses was a valuable source of information and inspiration to poet, painter and scholar throughout the Renaissance. In the 15th and last of his books of poetry Ovid describes how the Greek god of healing Aesculapius appeared in a dream to a Roman consul and gave advice on how to rid the city of Rome from the disease of plague. 

'Then in your sleep, the healing deity appeared, O Roman leader, by your couch, as in his temple he is used to stand, holding in his left hand a rustic staff. Stroking his long beard with his right, he seemed to utter from his kindly breast these words: “Forget your fears; for I will come to you, and leave my altar. But now look well at the serpent with its binding folds entwined around this staff, and accurately mark it with your eyes that you may recognize it. I will transform myself into this shape but of a greater size, I will appear enlarged and of a magnitude to which a heavenly being ought to be transformed.” [8]

Browne's philosophical discourse Urn-Burial (1658) on the funerary rites, customs speculations and beliefs on death and the after-life of various world civilizations and religions, includes an allusion to the Pythagorean belief that snakes can give rebirth to themselves- -

'In carnall sepulture, corruptions seem peculiar unto parts, and some speak of snakes out of the spinall marrow'. [9]

Browne's source for ophic revitalization originates once more from Ovid, who repeated the Pythagorean belief in his Metamorphoses that-

'There are those who believe that when the spine decomposes, interred in the tomb, human marrow forms a snake'. [10] 

Ovid's allusion to snakes formed from spinal marrow must have fascinated Browne. Some twenty years after Urn-Burial among the many curios in Museum Clausum (circa 1678) an imaginative inventory of fictitious, rumoured and lost books, paintings and objects, there can be found the curious exhibit of -

 'The Skin of a Snake bred out of the Spinal Marrow of a Man'. [11]

Browne's study of comparative religion ensured he knew of the symbolic tail-eating serpent known as the Ouroboros which fertilizes, gives birth, feeds and destroys itself, not unlike successive generations of homo sapiens. The symbol of the Ouroboros, the basic mandala of alchemy, originated in ancient Egypt. Adopted by the Greeks, and later by the Gnostics of early Christianity, it retained its vitality as a potent symbol of spirituality until the 17th century, the 'Golden Age' of alchemy. Browne alludes to it in his A Letter to a Friend  (circa 1656) thus - 

'that the Tail of the Snake should return into its Mouth precisely at that time, and they should wind up upon the day of their Nativity, is indeed a remarkable Coincidence, which tho' Astrology hath taken witty pains to salve, yet hath it been very wary in making Predictions of it'. [13]

Some have made particular note of the Ouroboros-like nature of Browne's own life-span, with his dying upon the same date as his birthday. (October 19th)

Antithetical to Urn-Burial in its theme, imagery, truth and literary style, the 'highly hermetic' discourse The Garden of Cyrus focuses upon birth, germination and generation with examples from patterns found in nature. A variety of snake skin designs displaying either decussation or chiasmus (X and Criss-cross patterned) are cited, Browne naming no less than four snake species, including the 'quick and gliding motion' of the so-called ant-hill eating snake - 

'A like correspondency in figure is found in the skins and outward teguments of animals, whereof a regardable part are beautiful by this texture. As the backs of several snakes and serpents, elegantly remarkable in the Aspis, and the dart-snake, in the chiasmus and larger decussation upon the back of the rattlesnake, and in the close and finer texture of the mater formicarum, or snake that delights in ant-hills; whereby upon approach of outward injuries, they can raise a thicker phalanx on their backs, and handsomely contrive themselves into all kinds of flexures: Whereas their bellies are commonly covered with smooth semi-circular divisions, as best accommodable unto their quick and gliding motion'. [12]

In his old age Browne penned a moralistic advisory known today as Christian Morals. Full of spiritual wisdom gathered from a lifetime's observation on the human condition in sickness and health as a physician, Browne utilized snake imagery one last time in advice on how best to behave when confronted with all that is fearful or hated, advocating love no less - 

'While we look with fear or hatred upon the Teeth of the Viper, we may behold his Eye with love'. [14]

Header Artwork - by Ms. Julie Curl with thanks

Notes

[1] Religio Medici Part 2 Section 1

[2] Pseudodoxia Epidemica Book 3 chapter 16 

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid. The 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue  lists Redi but its an Italian book dated 1684 (p. 40 no. 33) so presumably  Browne cites some other source unknown to us ! 

[6] 1711 Sales Auction catalogue page 18 no. 25 Serpent. & Draconium Historia cum fig, Bologna 1640 [7]  P.E Book 3 chapter 28

[8]  Ovid's Metamorphoses Book 8 Book 15 lines 622-744

[9] Urn-Burial (1658)

[10]  Ovid Bk. 15  line 391

[11] Miscellaneous Tract 14 Museum Clausum Rarities Item 12

[12] The Garden of Cyrus Chapter 3

[13] A Letter to a Friend ( circa 1656)

[14] Christian Morals Part 1 Section 28

Books Consulted

Thomas Browne: Selected Writings ed. Killeen OUP 2014

Ovid Metamorphoses  trans. Mary Innes Penguin pub. 1955

The Huntsmen are up in America

'The Huntsmen are up in America, and they are already past their first sleep in Persia'. 

In a closing sentence of The Garden of Cyrus, Sir Thomas Browne juxtaposes global time zones, light and darkness, conscious activity and unconscious passivity, as well as one of the world's oldest civilizations (Persia) with one of its newest (America). This unique blend of polarised symbolism is  reflective of the many polarities which exist between his twin Discourses of 1658. 

Browne's interest in America was fuelled from his reading contemporary eyewitness reports of its vast geographical expanse and rich resources, as well as its zoology and botany. Such reports sparked his perception of America as an exotic land with immense future promise. 

Towards the end of his life he playfully parodied Nostradamus, forecasting that America's wealth might one day necessitate economic protectionism.

'When America shall cease to send out its Treasure,

But employ it instead in American Pleasure'. [1]

In stark relief, the place-name symbolism of The Garden of Cyrus associates  Persia with esoteric wisdom and magic, epitomized by the Persian Magi following a star to Bethlehem. Persia's first ruler Shah Cyrus holds singular distinction as the sole non-Judaic Biblical character named 'God's Anointed' [2]. Browne's comparative religious studies in Urn Burial the darker half of his twin discourses also introduced English readers to Zoroastrianism, the ancient monotheistic faith of Persians.

As a Renaissance humanist Thomas Browne reflected on the psychological roots of war, drawing from his own personal experience after losing his son Thomas in the Anglo-Dutch naval conflict of the 1660s. His short essay 'The Sea-fight' showcases his insight into empire-building and war-driven psychological traits, offering commentary that transcends his era. Its conclusion cautions against excess wealth, envy towards others' prosperity, and the dangers of seeking to impose slavery, warning that such pursuits ultimately lead to disaster and enslavement.

'The cause of this war was that of all wars, excess of prosperity. As wealth arises spirits rise, and lust and greed of power appear; thence men lose their sense of moderation, look with distaste on the prosperity of others, revolve disquiet in their mind, and throw over all settlement, for fear lest their enemies’ wealth be firmly established, they put their own to risk; and finally (as happens in human affairs) fall into slavery when they seek to impose it, and earnestly courting good fortune, experience disaster'. [3]

Sources

Header photo-  American Northrop B-2 Spirit strategic bomber.

[1] Miscellaneous Tract 12  'A Prophecy concerning the Future state of Several Nations'.

[2] See Isaiah 45 -2 Chronicles 36 -Ezra 1-6 and Daniel 10

[3] Naumachia or The Sea-Fight, Latin essay written for Midshipman Thomas Browne b. 1646. Its unclear whether Browne's son was lost in action or at sea. He may have been buried at Clerkenwell in 1667.

Links

Sir Thomas Browne on America

The Majestic Oak

The oak tree features in religion, literature and art as diverse as Greek mythology, the Judaic Old Testament, Roman literature, fairy-tales, numismatics, Sir Thomas Browne's botanical studies and Carl Jung's archetypal psychology.

Central to one of ancient Greece's most revered of oracles, the rustling leaves of the Dodona oak, and later, thin metal strips hung from its branches which tinkled in the breeze, were interpreted as the oracular voice of gods. In the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts, the Golden Fleece is found discovered on an oak tree in a grove sacred to Ares. 

The oak tree was sacred to Roman, Celtic, Teutonic and Druid religious beliefs and associated with the supreme gods of Zeus, Jupiter and Thor, each of whom held dominion over rain, thunder and lightning. It is symbolically associated with lightning and smoke with good reason. It attracts lightning because it roots  itself deep into the earth, has a high water content and is often solitary standing or the tallest in a forest. Each of these factors contribute to the oak tree attracting lightning. Many religious beliefs also associate the oak tree with smoke, perhaps because it sometimes smoulders long after being struck by lightning.

The ancient Celtic Druids worshipped and practised their sacred rites in oak groves, indeed the very word Druid derives from a Celtic word meaning 'knower of the oak tree'. Historical descriptions of Druids can be found in  Roman writers such as Julius Caesar in his 'Commentary on the Gallic Wars'  as well as in the writings of Cicero, Tacitus and Pliny the Elder. However, after the Roman Emperors Tiberius and Claudius brutally suppressed the Druid Orders all mention of oak-tree worshippers disappears from historical record by the 2nd century CE.

Oak trees feature in the Old Testament, notably when Absalom while riding his mule under a great oak has his head wedged between its branches and is suspended between heaven and earth. The elon tree, most often translated as 'oak' is mentioned in the Bible as the first tree encountered by Abram upon entering the promised land, and as the tree under which Deborah, the nurse of Rebecca, was buried. King Jeroboam meets an unnamed prophet who sits under an oak tree, and the prophet Isaiah speaks of 'oaks of righteousness.' [1]

In the fairy tale by the German Brothers Grimm 'The Spirit in the Bottle' (1814) a destitute scholar wanders in a forest where he encounters a dangerous-looking oak, many hundreds of years old. He hears a faint voice calling out from it, "Let me out, let me out!"  Asking where it is, the voice replies, "I am down here amongst the roots of the oak-tree. Let me out! Let me out!" The scholar loosens the earth under the tree, searches among its roots and finds a glass bottle in which Mercurius, the transformative spirit of alchemy is imprisoned.

During the Roman Republic a crown of oak leaves was given to those who had saved the life of a citizen in battle; it was called the "Civic Crown". A superb Roman era agate survives, which is described thus- 

'In one talon, the eagle grasps a palm branch as a symbol of victory, while in the other it holds an oak wreath. This corona civica  or ' civic crown' was an honour awarded to Augustus, granted only to a Roman who had saved the lives of his fellow citizens. This crown of oak leaves hung above the entrance of Augustus on the Palatine, a permanent reminder that he had rescued not just one, but the entire Roman world'. [2] 

The English dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616)  alluded to the civic oak crown in his  'Coriolanus' where Cominius says of the ambiguous titular hero -  

'At sixteen years,

When Tarquin made  head from Rome, he fought

Beyond the mark of others........

He proved best man i' the field, and for his meed

Was brow-bound with the oak'.  

From the 16th century onwards the massive trees that were once abundant throughout Europe became rarer due to the construction and expansion of  naval fleets.  Britain was said to be a nation which was protected by a wooden wall, one which was made of oak. Indeed, the composer William Boyce in 1759 composed the tune 'Hearts of Oak' with lyrics by actor David Garrick. Boyce's melody remains the official march of the British Royal Navy.

A large-scale Naval Fleet however comes with no small environmental cost and each ship represents the clearing of several acres of ancient woodland. By the end of the 1700s the British Royal Navy had swelled to a fleet of three hundred ships and the construction of this number would have taken an estimated 1.2 million oak trees.  Its been calculated that constructing a large, wooden warship such as a Royal Navy ship required around 2,000 to 4,000 mature oak trees, or even up to 6,000. Many of these trees were over 200 years old and were sourced from the woodlands of Europe. In essence, the large-scale National fleets of Spain and later the Dutch and British naval forces, were the primary cause of European deforestation. Today however, England has more ancient oaks than any other European nation. There are an estimated 115  oaks with a circumference of trunk over 9 metres in England and only 96 in the rest of Europe.

The oak tree's biological characteristics of longevity, strength and endurance have frequently been used to represent moral virtues. Because symbols are flexible the oak has been used to symbolize quite different national and individual aspirations. Its leaf can be seen on German coins from the short-lived and fatal to World peace, Third Reich  and the new, enduring Republic, symbolized as planting a sapling oak (below).  

A new British 5 pence coin entered general circulation in October 2025. It features acorns and oak leaves, symbolizing King Charles III's passion for the conservation of Nature. ( below)

The late Renaissance natural historian and literary figure Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82) took a keen interest in oak trees. In his miscellaneous tract, 'Observations on several plants mentioned in Scripture' he demonstrates a prodigious memory and familiarity with the Bible. Over 140 plants are recollected by him. Of the Syrian and Judean oak tree he stated-

 

'Mention is made of Oaks in divers parts of Scripture, which though the Latin sometimes renders a Turpentine Tree, yet surely some kind of Oak may be understood thereby; but whether our common Oak as is commonly apprehended, you may well doubt; for the common Oak, which prospereth so well with us, delighteth not in hot regions. And that diligent Botanist Bellonius, who took such particular notice of the Plants of Syria and Judæa, observed not the vulgar Oak in those parts. [3] 

Browne knew of Absalom's fate  and of the oak being sacred to pre-Christian religions- 

'And therefore when it is said of Absalom, that his Mule went under the thick Boughs of a great Oak, and his Head caught hold of the Oak, and he was taken up between the Heaven and the Earth, that Oak might be some Ilex, or rather Esculus.....And when it is said that Ezechias broke down the Images, and cut down the Groves, they might much consist of Oaks, which were sacred unto Pagan Deities'. [4] 

World-wide thre are many species of oak tree. Browne was one of the earliest of naturalists to recognise that of all plants, the oak supports the greatest diversity of life. More than 500 butterfly and moth species have larvae which feeds on oak leaves. Today its known that more than 100 animal species rely on acorns as a crucial food source. Oak acorns sustain field mice, squirrels, chipmunks and jays. Flycatchers, tawny owls and woodpeckers all build their nests in the oak's crevices; blackbirds and warblers feed off the caterpillars on its leaves. Browne succinctly noted of the Oak's diversity- 

'while almost every plant breeds its peculiar insect, most a Butterfly, moth or fly, wherein the Oak seems to contain the largest seminality',  

Browne was aware of the oak tree's relationship to mistletoe. Mistletoe taps into the oak's vascular system to supplement its own nutrient intake, yet still performs photosynthesis. Browne's description of Druids gathering mistletoe is sourced from the Roman author Pliny's vast work Naturalis Historia. [5] 

'for the Magical vertues in this Plant, and conceived efficacy unto veneficial intentions, it seemeth a Pagan relique derived from the ancient Druides, the great admirers of the Oak, especially the Misseltoe that grew thereon; which according unto the particular of Pliny, they gathered with great solemnity. For after sacrifice the Priest in a white garment ascended the tree, cut down the Misseltoe with a golden hook, and received it in a white coat; the vertue whereof was to resist all poisons, and make fruitful any that used it. 

Grafting of mistletoe involves great patience and time. Browne knew that soil condition and geography determined the growth of missletoe  but like many others, he was unsuccessful in his attempts to graft it.

'The like concerning the growth of Misseltoe, which dependeth not only of the species, or kind of Tree, but much also of the Soil. And therefore common in some places, not readily found in others, frequent in France, not so common in Spain, and scarce at all in the Territory of Ferrara: Nor easily to be found where it is most required upon Oaks, less on Trees continually verdant..... But this Parasitical plant suffers nothing to grow upon it, by any way of art; nor could we ever make it grow where nature had not planted it; as we have in vain attempted by inocculation and incision, upon its native or foreign stock'. 

Browne also wrote of  the tenacity of acorns to germinate and flourish in unlikely places -

'Within a mile of this city of Norwich, an oak groweth upon the head of a pollard willow, taller than the stock, and about half a foot in diameter, probably by some acorn falling or fastening upon it. I could show you a branch of the same willow which shoots forth near the stock which beareth both willow and oak twigs and leaves upon it'. [6]

And allusion to trees in general occurs throughout Browne's discourse 'The Garden of Cyrus or Network Plantations of the Ancients'.  The tree species of Hazel, Lime, Pine, Fir, Fig, Alder, Willow, Maple, Cypress and Sycamore are all mentioned, however appropriately for a Discourse whose theme is gèmination, Generation and growth its the oak and its acorns which are mentioned most. 

Early in The Garden of Cyrus artificial examples of the Quincunx pattern are considered. Laurels woven from oak leaves are proposed as exemplary of the quincuncial pattern -

'The Triumphal Oval, and Civicall Crowns of Laurel, Oake, and Myrtle, when fully made, were pleated after this order'. 

After supplying his reader with artificial examples, the central chapter of the Discourse focuses upon natural examples of the quincunx pattern, including branches of the oak tree -

'And after this manner doth lay the foundation of the circular branches of the Oak, which being five-cornered, in the tender annual sprouts, and manifesting upon incision the signature of a Starre, is after made circular, and swel’d into a round body'.

Browne's symbolism is precise and well-ordered. Trees in general are mentioned in both Urn Burial and The Garden of Cyrus (1658) crucially, in close relationship to the thematic concerns of each respective discourse. The Oak tree in particular is a conjoining symbol which unites his two-in-one discourses. 

In Urn-Burial it is the decaying and dead aspect of trees which is featured, in particular as fuel for the funeral pyre. The Yew tree is named as frequently found in Graveyards. Fallen and fossilized trees are mentioned thus-

'Moore-logs, and Firre-trees found under-ground in many parts of England; the undated ruines of windes, flouds or earthquakes; and which in Flanders still shew from what quarter they fell, as generally lying in a North-East position'.

The oak tree is utilized primarily as a symbol of Time in Urn-Burial. Its with sombre stoicism that Browne declares -  

'Generations passe while some trees stand, and old Families last not three Oaks'.

Together, Time and Space are the metaphysical templates of Browne's literary mandala. In Urn-Burial the oak tree is a symbol of Time and decay, while in The Garden of Cyrus its the living growth and size in dimensional Space of the oak tree which is highlighted -

'That the biggest of Vegetables exceedeth the biggest of Animals, in full bulk, and all dimensions, admits exception in the Whale, which in length and above ground measure, will also contend with tall Oakes'.  

The oak tree's longevity, strength and endurance have invariably been used to symbolize moral and spiritual values in religious beliefs, as well as in art and literature. 

The Swiss psychologist C.G. Jung in his essay 'The Philosophical Tree' analyzes the rich symbolism of the tree in alchemical literature. Jung interpreted the symbolism of the tree as simultaneously representing the growth and development of the psyche, the individuation process, and the connection between the Underworld and spiritual heights. He noted of trees, and of the oak tree in particular - 

'Trees, like fishes in the water, represent the living contents of the unconscious....The mighty oak is proverbially the King of the forest... It is the prototype  of the self, a symbol of the source and goal of the individuation process. The oak stands for the still unconscious core of the personality, the plant symbolism indicating a state of deep unconsciousness  [7] 

Images:

*Top header -  'Old tree, young pigs' (56x66cm) by British artist Peter Rodulfo (b. 1958) 

*  Photo of an oak tree at Dodona, in Epirus in northwestern Greece.

* Fairy tale illustration to 'The Spirit in the Bottle'.

*  Roman Agate of Eagle with palm branch and oak laurel in its talons.

*  Left - 1933 Third Reich One Mark coin and Right - 1950 50 Pfennig Coin, West Germany  

* Photo of 400 year old tree at Woodlands Park, Norwich.

* Photo of oak leaves and acorns 

 

*  Norwich School of artists John Crome's 'The Oak at Poringland' (1818-20) Tate Gallery, London

* 400 year old oak at Earlham park/ UEA Porter's lodge, Norwich

Notes

[1]  Genesis 12 verse 6,  Genesis 18, Genesis 35 verse 8 , 1 Kings 13 and Isaiah 61 verse 3

[2] 'Moneta : Ancient Rome in twelve coins'  by Gareth Harney  pub. Vintage 2024

[3] Although several books by Pierre Belon (1517–1564) are listed as once in Browne's library, Belon's  'Observations on Several Singularities and Memorable Things Found in Greece, Asia, Judea, Egypt, Arabia, and Other Foreign Countries' (1553) is not. However, Browne must surely have consulted Belon's 'Observations  in order to distinguish between different species of Oak in Judea. 

[4] Thomas Browne Miscellaneous Tract 1    Observations on several plants mentioned in Scripture .

[5]  Browne's source here is Pliny's vast work Naturalis Historia book 16 : 95. 

Listed in 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue page 17 no. 13

[6] Miscellaneous  writings pub. Cambridge University Press 1946 ed. G.Keynes

[7] C.G. Jung Collected Works Volume 13 paragraph 194