Church music Quote by Thomas Browne
““There is a musicke where-ever there is a harmony, order or proportion; and thus farre we may maintain the musick of the spheares; for those well ordered motions, and regular paces, though they give no sound unto the care, yet to the understanding they strike a note most full of harmony. Whatever is harmonically composed delights in harmony; which makes me much distrust the symmetry of those heads which declaime against all Church musicke... Even that vulgar and Taverne Musicke, which makes one man merry, another mad, strikes in mee a deepe fit of devotion, and a profound contemplation of the first Composer; there is something in it of Divinity more than the eare discovers. It is an Hieroglyphicall and shadowed lesson of the whole world, and Creatures of God, such a melody to the eare, as the whole world well understood, would afford the understanding. In briefe it is a sensible fit of that Harmony, which intellectually sounds in the eares of God.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: Pseudodoxia Epidemica, 1646
Harmony in music reflects cosmic order; even discordant sounds hint at divine design, revealing deeper truths beyond surface noise.
In simple terms: Music mirrors universal harmony and divine insight.
Listen for deeper patterns beyond the melody.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- listening to classical
- analyzing rhythm
- meditative practice
- appreciating discord
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What does discord teach you about harmony?
- How does music influence your worldview?
Harmony may be subjective; cultural bias can limit interpretation.