It is far from clear that Thomas Browne ever considered publishing Religio Medici, his first and most influential work. Written during his medical apprenticeship in the mid-1630s, this essay on the religion of a doctor was (in typical fashion) circulated in multiple manuscripts among friends for seven years until 1642, when Andrew Crooke, an enterprising publisher of controversialist writing, obtained it and printed it anonymously, without the author's permission or knowledge. What Browne would later describe as “a private exercise directed to myself” was an immediate commercial success, and Crooke quickly brought out a second edition. Browne, meanwhile, had wind of a work about to be published by the colourful savant Sir Kenelm Digby, apparently responding to Browne's essay. He immediately set about revising the pirated text for authorised publication in 1643. Together with Digby's...
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Citation: Preston, Claire. "Religio Medici". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 June 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2417, accessed 09 June 2026.]
