30 THE NEW SCIENCE AND ENGLISH LITERATURE 



transition, this effort of the mind to measure itself with a new rule 

 of reason and commonsense, this struggle of the imagination to 

 adjust itself to new imagery, which forms the subject of this chap 

 ter. Those men of literary genius who were brought into intimate 

 contact with the new philosophy in its full encounter with the 'tra 

 ditions of ancient faith will here be discussed. 



The transition from the old to the new attitude is well illus 

 trated in the writings of Sir Thomas Browne. The Religio Medici 

 (1635-6) was written under the domination of the "ancient faith " 

 There is found in it a frank avowal of the old spirit of acceptance, 

 the attitude of non-reason against which the new philosophers re 

 volted. "I believe all this (divine mysteries) is true, which indeed 

 my reason would persuade me to be false ; and this I think is no 

 vulgar part of Faith, to believe a thing not only above, but con 

 trary to reason, and against the arguments of our proper senses". 5 

 Besides this quiescence of reason in The Religio Medici there is 

 also the old physical conception of the world. "To make a revo 

 lution every day is the nature of the sun, because of that neces 

 sary course which God ordained it, from which it cannot swerve 

 but by a faculty from that same voice which did first give it mo 

 tion". 6 Astrology, although curiously modified, also finds expression 

 here. "We need not labor with so many arguments to confute 

 Judicial Astrology; for if there be a truth therein, it doth not 

 injure Divinity; if to be born under Mercury disposeth us to be 

 witty; under Jupiter to be wealthy; I do not owe a Knee unto 

 those, but unto that Merciful Hand that hath ordered my indif 

 ferent and uncertain Nativity unto such benevolous Aspects". 7 

 Many of the old beliefs are here in more or less direct form. ' ' For 

 my part, I have ever believed, and do now know, that there are 

 Witches". 8 "I conceive there is a traditional Magick, not learned 

 immediately from the Devil, but at second hand from his Schol 

 ars". 9 "Therefore, for Spirits, I am so far from denying their 

 existence, that I could easily believe, that not only whole countries, 



8 Browne, Sir Thomas, Religio Medici, vol. I, p. 18. 



6 Ibid. vol. I, p. 25. 



7 Ibid. vol. I, p. 30. 



8 Ibid. vol. I, p. 45. 



9 Ibid. vol. I, p. 46. 



