Brief Lives Book

Written sometime with anecdotes and probably to amuse himself and friends, this book on some 134 personalities (excluding himself covering 108 pages by the editor) has since been read and admired by those bibliophiles as well as voracious readers since his name's been off and on mentioned together with those familiar, vaguely known or unknown men/women of eminent stature, for instance, the first 15 names with their professions should suffice in the meantime:

George Abbot: Archbishop of Canterbury
Thomas Allen: Mathematician
Lancelot Andrewes: Divine
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans: Philosopher and statesman
Isaac Barrrow: Mathematician
Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher: Playwrights
Sir John Birkenhead: Poet and journalist
Sir Henry Blount: Traveller
Edmund Bonner: Divine
Caisho Borough: n/a
James Bovey: n/a
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork: Statesman
The Hon. Robert Boyle: Natural philosopher and chemist
Henry Briggs: Mathematician
Elizabeth Broughton: n/a

After each profession, we would read his/her synopsis written by the editor, then the text itself which might be short or long according to his/her famous or unique deeds as recorded, informed and referenced by the informants or formal publications. However, some might wonder if the biographies in this book are worth reading at all; therefore, I'd like to tell you on two facts, first, they span a two-century timeframe: between the 16th and 17th centuries (back cover) and, two, the material used in this edition has been taken from the real thing, that is, "from fifty volumes in the Bodleian Library at Oxford and from sixteen volumes in the libraries of the Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Society, The Royal Society, the Corporation of London, and the British Museum" (p. 1).

I think there are really some illustrious Aubrey scholars who have written their inspiring reviews on this book or, hopefully, on some biographies from those formidable original volumes kept in the mentioned libraries in England. So it's my idea to write something on only three excerpts I've found originally interesting as follows:

First, around half a century ago I sometime heard some people or teachers comment on some friends' or students' illegible handwriting in terms of its unreadability and mockingly/humorously said in Thai, ลายมือเหมือนไก่เขี่ย (literally translated: This handwriting is like a hen's scratches). I thought it's well said to signify something concrete as a Thai sentence but it was my misunderstanding when I read the Edmund Weller biography and came across this one, "He writes a lamentably poor hand, as bad as the scratching of a hen" (p. 361). So that's it! The Thai phrase might, arguably, have mysteriously been translated from this English one by our anonymous Thai scholars who probably happened to have read this and subtly translated and adopted it to comment on such poor handwriting. It works and is a kind of informally spoken Thai because we can instantly understand how poor it is.

Next, I found this paragraph on Richard Boyle amazingly and incredibly fascinating, something like what you'd expect to read in Ripley's Believe It or Not!:

Master Boyl, after Earle of Cork (who was then a Widdower) came one morning to waite on Sir Jeofry Fenton, at that time a great Officer of State in that Kingdome of Ireland, who being ingaged in business, and not knowing who it was who desired to speake with him, a while delayed him access; which time he spent pleasantly with his young Daughter in her Nurse's Arms. But when Sir Jeoffry came, ... , he civilly excused it. But Master Boyl replied, he had been very well entertayned; and spent his time much to his satisfaction, in courting his Daughter, if he might obtaine the Honour to be accepted for his Son-in-lawe. At which Sir Jeoffry, smiling (to hear one who had been formerly married, move for a Wife carried in Arms, and under two years old) asked him if would stay for her? To which he frankly answered him he would, and Sir Jeoffry as generously promised him he should then have his consent. And they both kept their words honourably. And by this virtuous Lady he had thirteen Children, ten of which he lived to see honourably married, and died a grandfather by the youngest of them. (pp. 138-139)"