William Osler once wrote that a liberal education may be had at a slight cost of time and money. His method was to delve, half an hour each night, into a few carefully selected classics from his bedside library. Modern self-educators will find this compilation by Keynes an excellent addition to their bedside library, and unquestionably an aid to a liberal education.
Sir Thomas Browne is not an "easy" author, but the comprehension that follows careful reading is a particularly satisfying sensation, somewhat akin to working out a T. S. Eliot poem. And Browne is certainly worth the effort. No thoughtful physician can fail to be, in turn, amused, moved, and enlightened by "Religio Medici." Osler called his copy of this book the most precious in his library.
Browne's style is somewhat spectacular by contemporary standards. But his writings abound in treasures:
Where we desire to be informed, 'tis good