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← ExitThe Anatomy of Melancholy

Reading language

Contextual Lexicon

The word. Charity has the broad Christian sense of love of God and neighbour. It can also name the loving disposition through which another person’s conduct is judged.

In Burton. In the account of divine love, charity accompanies faith, hope and other virtues. Later it governs judgment of those who have died after harming themselves: the possibility of inward repentance supports withholding the harshest conclusion. The term concerns a relation to God and other people, with practical consequences for judgment.

The places. Charity appears among the virtues accompanying divine love. (p. 637; DJR-152-11.) Charity supports a favourable judgment of possible inward repentance. (p. 704–705; DJR-166-06.)

In this edition. “charity it self” → “charity itself” (DJR-152-11); “charity may judge the best” → “charity may judge favourably” (DJR-166-06). Charity is retained for its theological breadth. Restricting it to financial assistance would miss both passages.

See also. Love; Complement.

Chirurgery

Source forms: chirurgicall; scarification

The word. Chirurgery is the older name for surgery; chirurgicall means surgical. Scarification means making small incisions in the skin.

In Burton. Burton places surgical remedies under a separate member. Its discussion includes cupping glasses used with or without scarification and intended to divert humours and relieve bodily troubles. The heading therefore includes procedures understood through the historical theory of evacuation and diversion.

The places. The heading announces surgical remedies. (p. 382; DJR-103-01.) Cupping is distinguished according to whether scarification accompanies it. (p. 383; DJR-103-07.)

In this edition. “Chirurgicall remedies” → “Surgical remedies” (DJR-103-01); “with or without scarification” → “with or without scarification” (DJR-103-07). Surgical gives the familiar equivalent of the heading. Scarification remains a precise procedure term, explained here.

Choler

Source forms: Cholerick; black choler

The word. Choler connects humoral vocabulary with temperament. Choleric may describe a hot-tempered person, with the association of yellow bile; black choler denotes black bile, the melancholy humour.

In Burton. Aretino’s Lucretia describes managing a choleric suitor despite his blustering. In the account of religious melancholy, black choler becomes the devil’s bath and a shoehorn easing the entrance of evil spirits. The first usage characterizes behaviour; the second names a bodily humour employed in a figurative account of temptation.

The places. A choleric suitor is managed through his infatuation. (p. 496; DJR-125-28.) Black choler figures in the account of bodily disposition and temptation. (p. 695; DJR-164-08.)

In this edition. “cholerick” → “hot-tempered” (DJR-125-28); “Black choler” → “Black bile” (DJR-164-08). Hot-tempered expresses the behavioural sense; black bile preserves the particular humour. The adjective black must not be lost.

See also. Humour.

Church patronage

Source forms: advousons; impropriations; simony; church-chopping; lapse

The word. Church patronage gathers terms concerning appointments and revenues. Advowsons are rights of patronage over church appointments; impropriations place church revenues in lay ownership. Simony is the buying or selling of spiritual offices or privileges; church-chopping is trafficking in church appointments. Lapse concerns the loss or transfer of a right of nomination after an appointment is not made in time.

In Burton. Burton’s imagined commonwealth restricts private patronage and provides collective oversight of appointments. His satire later attacks the trade in livings, associates simony with covetousness, and describes a scholar’s fear of a prior lapse affecting an appointment. These terms connect the proposed reform with the abuses and insecurities experienced by scholars seeking a living.

The places. Advowsons are excluded from a proposed appointment scheme. (p. 60–61; DJR-015-41.) Collective patronage replaces private interests. (p. 64; DJR-016-27.) Simony appears among the offspring of covetousness. (p. 114; DJR-043-34.) Trading in church livings is condemned. (p. 138; DJR-048-28.) A previous lapse threatens the right of appointment. (p. 143; DJR-049-38.)

In this edition. “advousons” → “rights of patronage over appointments” (DJR-015-41); “impropriations” → “church revenues appropriated to lay ownership” (DJR-016-27); “Simony” → “simony” (DJR-043-34); “Church-chopping Patrons” → “patrons who trade in church livings” (DJR-048-28); “precedent Lapse” → “prior lapse of the right of appointment” (DJR-049-38). Expanded phrases explain the institutional terms while simony retains its established name.

Chyle

Source forms: Chilus; Chylus

The word. Chyle is the nutritive material produced from food during digestion in the physiological account Burton follows. Chilus is the form used in the cited passage.

In Burton. Burton reports an explanation in which heat and obstruction in the mesenteric veins delay the passage of chyle to the liver or corrupt it into rumbling and wind. The term belongs to a proposed route of digestion and bodily nourishment, here interrupted to explain illness.

The places. Chyle is glossed as the white juice derived from food digested in the stomach. (p. 14; DJR-023-31.) Blocked passage of chyle is named among immediate causes. (p. 176; DJR-057-31.)

In this edition. “Chylus” → “chyle” (DJR-023-31); “Chilus” → “chyle” (DJR-057-31). The modern spelling is retained without replacing the surrounding historical physiology with a modern account.

See also. Concoction.

Clerk

Source forms: Clarkes

The word. Clerk can mean a learned person or scholar. The plural Clarkes has this sense in Burton’s account of princely hospitality.

In Burton. The surrounding examples concern philosophers and men distinguished by learning. Their arrival at court is compared to going to a Lyceum or university, and they are admitted to the ruler’s table. The context therefore identifies learned guests rather than office workers.

The places. Learned men are welcomed at princes’ courts. (p. 139; DJR-048-40.)

In this edition. “famous Clarkes” → “Famous scholars” (DJR-048-40). Scholars states the relevant social and intellectual role without implying clerical employment.

See also. Neoterics.

Clister

Source forms: clister; clisters; clysters

The word. Clister and clyster are spellings of enema, a preparation administered through the lower bowel. Burton uses both spellings within his discussion of evacuation.

In Burton. A merchant’s supposed delusion is attributed to constipation and treated with a clister. In the regimen discussion, clisters appear among measures used when natural evacuation fails. The pharmaceutical classification later places clysters among remedies administered through the lower parts and distinguishes them from suppositories.

The places. An enema is given in a reported case of constipation. (p. 78; DJR-036-07.) Enemas appear among aids to evacuation. (p. 237; DJR-071-28.) The classification distinguishes enemas from suppositories. (p. 382; DJR-102-46.)

In this edition. “Clister” → “enema” (DJR-036-07); “clisters” → “enemas” (DJR-071-28); “Clysters” → “enemas” (DJR-102-46). One modern term covers the spelling variants. The distinction from suppositories and the source’s strong or weak preparations remain intact.

See also. Purging.

Clown

Source forms: clowns

13419.Edited source passages: p. 382 (DJR-103-01); p. 383 (DJR-103-07). Existing edition notes: DJR-103:E06. The claim of rapid relief is attributed to Fernel in the passage. Explaining the procedure does not validate its historical indications.

13420.Edited source passages: p. 496 (DJR-125-28); p. 695 (DJR-164-08). Existing edition notes: DJR-125:E21, DJR-164:E07. DJR-125:E21 supplies the yellow-bile association. DJR-164:E07 identifies the bath and shoehorn as figures and preserves Burton’s qualification as it were.

13421.Edited source passages: p. 60–61 (DJR-015-41); p. 64 (DJR-016-27); p. 114 (DJR-043-34); p. 138 (DJR-048-28); p. 143 (DJR-049-38). Existing edition notes: DJR-015:E24, DJR-016:E12, DJR-043:E29, DJR-048:E22, DJR-049:E32. These are explanations of Burton’s historical institutional vocabulary, not statements about present-day church law. The polemical descriptions remain his.

13422.Edited source passages: p. 14 (DJR-023-31); p. 176 (DJR-057-31). Existing edition notes: DJR-057:E26. The claim is attributed through Montaltus to Galen. Its pathway and explanation of wind are historical propositions, not validated by modernizing the noun.

13423.Edited source passages: p. 139 (DJR-048-40). Existing edition notes: DJR-048:E33. The historical anecdotes remain Burton’s examples of support for learning; the lexical reading does not independently confirm each attribution.

13424.Edited source passages: p. 78 (DJR-036-07); p. 237 (DJR-071-28); p. 382 (DJR-102-46). Existing edition notes: DJR-036:E05, DJR-071:E21, DJR-102:E44. The reported recovery and recommended substances belong to Burton’s historical medical account. This entry explains the term rather than recommending treatment.

13425.Edited source passages: p. 82 (DJR-036-36). Existing edition notes: DJR-036:E26. DJR-036:E26 explains the word and records differences between Burton’s compressed account and Hawkins’s Observations. The lexical explanation does not resolve the climatic claims.