The Works of Sir Thomas Browne Volume III Part 41

I thought I had taken Leave of URNES, when I had some Years past given a short Account of those found at _Walsingham_,[323] but a New Discovery being made, I readily obey your Commands in a brief Description thereof.

[323] _See_ Hydriotaphia, _Urne-Burial: or, A Discourse of the Sepulchral Urnes lately found in_ Norfolk, _8vo._ Lond. _printed_ 1658.

In a large Arable Field, lying between _Buxton_ and _Brampton_, but belonging to _Brampton_, and not much more than a Furlong from _Oxnead Park_, divers _Urnes_ were found. A Part of the Field being designed to be inclosed, while the Workmen made several Ditches, they fell upon divers _Urnes_, but earnestly, and carelesly digging, they broke all they met with, and finding nothing but Ashes, or burnt Cinders, they scattered what they found. Upon Notice given unto me, I went unto the Place, and though I used all Care with the Workmen, yet they were broken in the taking out, but many, without doubt, are still remaining in that Ground.

Of these Pots none were found above Three Quarters of a Yard in the Ground, whereby it appeareth, that in all this Time the Earth hath little varied its Surface, though this Ground hath been Plowed to the utmost Memory of Man. Whereby it may be also conjectured, that this hath not been a _Wood-Land_, as some conceive all this Part to have been; for in such Lands they usually made no common Burying-places, except for some special Persons in Graves, and likewise that there hath been an Ancient Habitation about these Parts; for at _Buxton_ also, not a Mile off, _Urnes_ have been found in my Memory, but in their Magnitude, Figure, Colour, Posture, _etc._ there was no small Variety, some were large and capacious, able to contain above Two Gallons, some of a middle, others of a smaller Size; the great ones probably belonging to greater Persons, or might be Family _Urnes_, fit to receive the Ashes successively of their Kindred and Relations, and therefore of these, some had Coverings of the same Matter, either fitted to them, or a thin flat Stone, like a Grave Slate, laid over them; and therefore also great Ones were but thinly found, but others in good Number; some were of large wide Mouths, and Bellies proportionable, with short Necks, and bottoms of Three Inches _Diameter_, and near an Inch thick; some small, with Necks like Juggs, and about that Bigness; the Mouths of some few were not round, but after the Figure of a Circle compressed; though some had small, yet none had pointed Bottoms, according to the Figures of those which are to be seen in _Roma Soteranea_, _Viginerus_, or _Mascardus_.

In the Colours also there was great Variety, some were Whitish, some Blackish, and inclining to a Blue, others Yellowish, or dark Red, arguing the Variety of their Materials. Some Fragments, and especially Bottoms of Vessels, which seem'd to be handsome neat Pans, were also found of a fine _Coral_-like Red, somewhat like _Portugal_ Vessels, as tho' they had been made out of some fine _Bolary_ Earth, and very smooth; but the like had been found in divers Places, as Dr. _Casaubon_ hath observed about the Pots found at _Newington_ in _Kent_, and as other Pieces do yet testifie, which are to be found at _Burrow_ Castle, an Old _Roman_ Station, not far from _Yarmouth_.

Of the _Urnes_, those of the larger Sort, such as had Coverings, were found with their Mouths placed upwards, but great Numbers of the others were, as they informed me, (and One I saw my self,) placed with their Mouths downward, which were probably such as were not to be opened again, or receive the Ashes of any other Person; though some wonder'd at this Position, yet I saw no Inconveniency in it; for the Earth being closely pressed, and especially in _Minor_ Mouth'd Pots, they stand in a Posture as like to continue as the other, as being less subject to have the Earth fall in, or the Rain to soak into them; and the same Posture has been observed in some found in other Places, as _Holingshead_ delivers, of divers found in _Anglesea_.

Some had Inscriptions, the greatest Part none; those with Inscriptions were of the largest Sort, which were upon the reverted Verges thereof; the greatest part of those which I could obtain were somewhat obliterated; yet some of the Letters to be made out: The Letters were between Lines, either Single or Double, and the Letters of some few after a fair _Roman_ Stroke, others more rudely and illegibly drawn, wherein there seemed no great Variety. _NUON_ being upon very many of them; only upon the inside of the bottom of a small Red Pan-like Vessel, were legibly set down in embossed Letters, _CRACUNA. F._ which might imply _Cracuna figuli_, or the Name of the Manufactor, for Inscriptions commonly signified the Name of the Person interr'd, the Names of Servants Official to such Provisions, or the Name of the Artificer, or Manufactor of such Vessels; all which are particularly exemplified by the Learned _Licetus_,[324] where the same inscription is often found, it is probably, of the Artificer, or where the Name also is in the _Genitive_ Case, as he also observeth.

[324] Vid. _Licet._ de Lucernis.

Out of one was brought unto me a Silver _Denarius_, with the Head of _Diva Faustina_ on the Obverse side, on the Reverse the Figures of the Emperor and Empress joining their Right Hands, with this Inscription, _Concordia_; the same is to be seen in _Augustino_; I also received from some Men and Women then present Coins of _Posthumus_, and _Tetricus_, Two of the Thirty Tyrants in the Reign of _Gallienus_, which being of much later Date, begat an Inference, that _Urne-Burial_ lasted longer, at least in this Country, than is commonly supposed. Good Authors conceive, that this Custom ended with the Reigns of the _Antonini_, whereof the last was _Antoninus Heliogabalus_, yet these Coins extend about Fourscore Years lower; and since the Head of _Tetricus_ is made with a radiated Crown, it must be conceived to have been made after his Death, and not before his Consecration, which as the Learned _Tristan_ Conjectures, was most probably in the Reign of the Emperor _Tacitus_, and the Coin not made, or at least not issued Abroad, before the Time of the Emperor _Probus_, for _Tacitus_ Reigned but Six Months and an Half, his Brother _Floria.n.u.s_ but Two Months, unto whom _Probus_ succeeding, Reigned Five Years.

There were also found some pieces of Gla.s.s, and finer Vessels, which might contain such Liquors as they often Buried in, or by, the _Urnes_; divers Pieces of Bra.s.s, of several Figures; and in one _Urne_ was found a Nail Two Inches long; whither to declare the Trade or Occupation of the Person, is uncertain. But upon the Monuments of _Smiths_ in _Gruter_, we meet with the Figures of _Hammers_, _Pincers_, and the like; and we find the Figure of a _Cobler's_ Awl on the Tomb of one of that Trade, which was in the Custody of _Berini_, as _Argulus_ hath set it down in his Notes upon ONUPHRIUS, _Of the Antiquities of_ VERONA.

Now, though _Urnes_ have been often discovered in former Ages, many think it strange there should be many still found, yet a.s.suredly there may be great Numbers still concealed. For tho' we should not reckon upon any who were thus buried before the Time of the _Romans_, [altho' that the _Druids_ were thus buried, it may be probable, and we read of the _Urne of Chindonactes_, a _Druid_, found near _Dijon_ in _Burgundy_, largely discoursed of by _Licetus_,] and tho, I say, we take not in any Infant which was _Minor igne rogi_, before Seven Months, or Appearance of Teeth, nor should account this Practice of burning among the _Britains_ higher than _Vespasian_, when it is said by Tacitus, that they conformed unto the Manners and Customs of the _Romans_, and so both Nations might have one Way of Burial: yet from his Days, to the Dates of these _Urnes_, were about Two Hundred Years. And therefore if we fall so low, as to conceive there were buried in this Nation but Twenty Thousand Persons, the Account of the buried Persons would amount unto Four Millions, and consequently so great a Number of _Urnes_ dispersed through the Land, as may still satisfy the Curiosity of succeeding Times, and arise unto all Ages.

The Bodies, whose Reliques these _Urnes_ contained, seemed thoroughly burned; for beside pieces of Teeth, there were found few Fragments of Bones, but rather Ashes in hard Lumps, and pieces of Coals, which were often so fresh, that one sufficed to make a good Draught of its _Urne_, which still remaineth with me.

Some Persons digging at a little Distance from the _Urne_ Places, in hopes to find something of Value, after they had digged about Three Quarters of a Yard deep, fell upon an observable Piece of Work, whose Description this Figure affordeth. The Work was Square, about Two Yards and a Quarter on each Side. The Wall, or outward Part, a Foot thick, in Colour Red, and looked like Brick; but it was solid, without any Mortar or Cement, or figur'd Brick in it, but of an whole Piece, so that it seemed to be Framed and Burnt in the same Place where it was found. In this kind of Brick-work were Thirty-two Holes, of about Two Inches and an Half _Diameter_, and Two above a Quarter of a Circle in the East and West Sides. Upon Two of these Holes, on the East Side, were placed Two Pots, with their Mouths downward; putting in their Arms they found the Work hollow below, and the Earth being clear'd off, much Water was found below them, to the Quant.i.ty of a Barrel, which was conceived to have been the Rain-water which soaked in through the Earth above them.

The upper Part of the Work being broke, and opened, they found a Floor about Two Foot below, and then digging onward, Three Floors successively under one another, at the Distance of a Foot and Half, the Stones being of a Slatty, not Bricky, substance; in these Part.i.tions some Pots were found, but broke by the Workmen, being necessitated to use hard Blows for the breaking of the Stones; and in the last Part.i.tion but one, a large Pot was found of a very narrow Mouth, short Ears, of the Capacity of Fourteen Pints, which lay in an enclining Posture, close by, and somewhat under a kind of Arch in the solid Wall, and by the great Care of my worthy Friend, Mr. _William Masham_, who employed the Workmen, was taken up whole, almost full of Water, clean, and without Smell, and insipid, which being poured out, there still remains in the Pot a great Lump of an heavy crusty Substance. What Work this was we must as yet reserve unto better Conjecture. Mean while we find in _Gruter_ that some Monuments of the Dead had divers Holes successively to let in the Ashes of their Relations, but Holes in such a great Number to that Intent, we have not anywhere met with.

About Three Months after, my n.o.ble and Honoured Friend, Sir _Robert Paston_, had the Curiosity to open a Piece of Ground in his Park at _Oxnead_, which adjoined unto the former Field, where Fragments of Pots were found, and upon one the Figure of a well-made Face; but probably this Ground had been opened and digged before, though out of the Memory of Man, for we found divers small Pieces of Pots, _Sheeps_ Bones, sometimes an _Oyster_-sh.e.l.l a Yard deep in the Earth, an unusual _Coin_ of the Emperor _Volusia.n.u.s_, having on the Obverse the Head of the Emperor, with a Radiated Crown, and this Inscription, _Imp. Caes. C.

Volusiano Aug._ that is, _Imperatori Caesari Caio Vibio Volusiano Augusto_. On the Reverse an Human Figure, with the Arms somewhat extended, and at the Right Foot an Altar, with the Inscription, _Pietas_. This Emperor was Son unto _Caius Vibius Tribonia.n.u.s Gallus_, with whom he jointly reigned after the _Decii_, about the Year 254; both he, himself, and his Father, were slain by the Emperor _aemilia.n.u.s_. By the Radiated Crown this Piece should be Coined after his Death and Consecration, but in whose Time it is not clear in History.

Concerning the too nice Curiosity of censuring the Present, or judging into Future Dispensations.

We have enough to do rightly to apprehend and consider things as they are, or have been, without amusing our selves how they might have been otherwise, or what Variations, Consequences and Differences might have otherwise arose upon a different Face of things, if they had otherwise fallen out in the State or Actions of the World.

If SCANDERBERG had joined his Forces with HUNNIADES, as might have been expected before the Battel in the Plains of _Cossoan_, in good probability they might have ruin'd MAHOMET, if not the _Turkish_ Empire.

If ALEXANDER had march'd Westward, and warr'd with the _Romans_, whether he had been able to subdue that little but valiant People, is an uncertainty: We are sure he overcame _Persia_; Histories attest, and Prophecies foretel the same. It was decreed that the _Persians_ should be conquered by ALEXANDER, and his Successors by the _Romans_, in whom Providence had determin'd to settle the fourth Monarchy, which neither PYRRHUS nor HANNIBAL must prevent; tho' HANNIBAL came so near it, that he seem'd to miss it by fatal Infatuation: which if he had effected, there had been such a traverse and confusion of Affairs, as no Oracle could have predicted. But the _Romans_ must reign, and the Course of Things was then moving towards the Advent of CHRIST, and blessed Discovery of the Gospel: Our Saviour must suffer at _Jerusalem_, and be sentenc'd by a _Roman_ Judge; St. PAUL, a _Roman_ Citizen, must preach in the _Roman_ Provinces, and St. PETER be Bishop of _Rome_, and not of _Carthage_.

Upon Reading Hudibras.

The way of _Burlesque_ POEMS is very Ancient, for there was a ludicrous mock way of transferring Verses of Famous Poets into a Jocose Sense and Argument, and they were call'd ?d?a? or _Parodiae_; divers Examples of which are to be found in ATHENaeUS.

The first Inventer hereof was HIPPONACTES, but HEGEMON SOPATER and many more pursu'd the same Vein; so that the _Parodies_ of OVID'S _Buffoon Metamorphoses Burlesques, Le Eneiade Travast.i.to_, are no new Inventions, but old Fancies reviv'd.

An Excellent _Parodie_ there is of both the SCALIGERS upon an Epigram of CATULLUS, which STEPHENS hath set down in his _Discourse of Parodies_: a remarkable one among the _Greeks_ is that of MATRON, in the Words and Epithites of HOMER describing the Feast of XENOCLES the _Athenian_ Rhetorician, to be found in the fourth Book of _Athenaeus_, pag. 134.

Edit. _Casaub._

CHRISTIAN

MORALS,

BY

S^{R} THOMAS BROWN,

OF NORWICH, _M.D._

And AUTHOR of RELIGIO MEDICI

Published from the Original and Correct Ma.n.u.script of the Author; by _JOHN JEFFERY_, D.D.

ARCH-DEACON of NORWICH.

_CAMBRIDGE_

Printed at the UNIVERSITY-PRESS, For _Cornelius Crownfield_, Printer to the UNIVERSITY; And are to be sold by Mr. _Knapton_ at the Crown in St. _Paul's_ Churchyard; and Mr. _Morphew_ near Stationers-Hall, _LONDON_, 1716.

_TO THE RIGHT_ HONOURABLE

DAVID EARL OF BUCHAN.

VISCOUNT AUCHTERHOUSE, LORD CARDROSS AND GLENDOVACHIE, ONE OF THE LORDS COMMISSIONERS OF POLICE, AND LORD LIEUTENANT OF THE COUNTIES OF STIRLING AND CLACKMANNAN IN NORTH-BRITTAIN.

MY LORD,

The Honour you have done our Family Obligeth us to make all just Acknowledgments of it: and there is no Form of Acknowledgment in our power, more worthy of Your Lords.h.i.+p's Acceptance, than this Dedication of the last Work of our Honoured and Learned Father. Encouraged hereunto by the Knowledge we have of Your Lords.h.i.+p's Judicious Relish of universal Learning, and sublime Virtue, we beg the Favour of Your Acceptance of it, which will very much Oblige our Family in general, and Her in particular, who is,

MY LORD,

_Your Lords.h.i.+p's_