October 19, 1605

Sir Thomas Browne (October 19,1605 to October 19, 1682) displayed in his wide curiosity, and learned writing and Christian gentleness characteristics of the best Renaissance thinkers. He was committed to investigating the world, and to first hand experiments.  One instance involved drowning a cat and a mouse at the same time, to learn more about buoyancy. Based on observation and logical thinking he compiled a "massive encyclopedia of human misunderstanding," titled in English, Enquiries into Common and Vulgar Errors.

The phrase in quotes was from a review of The Adventures of Sir Thomas Browne in the 21st Century, by Hugh Aldersey-Williams (2015) which includes this qualification. Browne "believes in the literal truth of biblical fact, including the deity himself; but he thinks we're just not clever enough to understand what that truth means." This sense of proportion is even rarer today than it was in the 17th century.