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About this quote

What does it mean?
When the heavens align, it is time to shut down human senses and stop seeking knowledge.
In plain terms
It is time to close our senses to the world.
What can you take from it?
Accept when to stop seeking external knowledge.

Where it applies

  • aging
  • wisdom
  • contemplation

Putting it to work

  • know limits
  • embrace stillness

Questions to consider

  • When should we stop seeking answers?
  • What are the limits of knowing?

Another view

It suggests halting curiosity is wise in certain contexts.

More from Sir Thomas Browne

  1. Life itself is but the shadow of death, and souls departed but the shadows of the living: All things fall under this name. The Sun itself is but the dark simul…

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  2. To keep our eyes open longer were but to set our Antipodes. The Huntsmen are up in America, and they are already past their first sleep in Persia. But who can …

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  3. Life is a pure flame, and we live by an invisible Sun within us.

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