Thomas Fuller

Thomas Fuller was an English churchman, historian, and wit whose voluminous writings combined deep learning with an irresistible gift for the aphorism. Born in 1608 in Aldwincle, Northamptonshire, the son of a rector, he was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge and entered the church, serving as lecturer at the Savoy Chapel and chaplain to royalist forces during the Civil War. His major works include The History of the Holy War (1639), The Holy State and the Profane State (1642) — which contains hundreds of condensed character sketches and moral observations still quoted today — and the posthumously published The Worthies of England (1662), a county-by-county record of notable English lives. Fuller was known equally for his prodigious memory and his gentle, humorous temperament, rare virtues in an age of bitter religious conflict. He died in 1661, shortly before the publication of the Worthies.

Common Themes