The iniquity of oblivion blindly scattereth her poppy, and deals with the memory of men without distinction to merit of perpetuity.

This sentence comes from Sir Thomas Browne’s prose meditation on mortality and remembrance in the mid-17th century, written in the wake of his encounter with ancient burial urns in Norfolk. In that work Browne reflects on how time effaces human fame as surely as it destroys bodies, and how posterity’s record is shaped as much by accident as by merit. The image of “poppy” evokes sleep and forgetfulness, suggesting oblivion as a natural but morally troubling force that falls indiscriminately on all lives, regardless of virtue, achievement, or the desire to be remembered.

Browne personifies oblivion as an unjust power that “blindly” distributes forgetfulness, like poppy-seed or poppy-draught, over humanity. The “iniquity” lies in its indifference: memory does not reliably preserve what deserves to last, and oblivion does not target only the trivial. The line challenges the consoling belief that merit guarantees lasting fame; instead, historical survival is contingent, subject to chance, fashion, and the fragility of records. Browne’s phrasing also implies a moral critique of how human commemoration works—our monuments and narratives cannot ultimately secure “perpetuity” against time’s leveling force.