In c onsidering d iseases: Section 1, Member 1. Sections: 1.1.1 .
Their causes. Subsection 1.
Impelling causes: sin, disordered desire, etc.
Instrumental causes: intemperance and all secondary causes, etc.
Sections: 1.1.1.1 .
Or their definition, number, and classification. Subsection 2.
Sections: 1.1.1.2 .
Or of the head or mind. Subsection 3.
As a passing disposition: all disturbances, harmful affections, etc.
Sections: 1.1.1.3 .
Or as settled conditions. Subsection 4.
Mental decay.
Frenzy.
Madness.
Trance.
Lycanthropy.
St Vitus’s dance.
Hydrophobia.
Possession or harassment by devils.
Melancholy: see the outline below.
Sections: 1.1.1.4 .
1324. “Impulsive” names the prompting cause; “instrumental” names the means through which an effect occurs. The distinction links sin to the subsequent account of bodily and environmental causes. Concupiscence is disordered desire, broader than sexual desire alone.
1325. The synopsis prints “Definition, Member, Division.” The modern “number” is an editorial emendation supported by the corresponding chapter heading, “The Definition Number Division of Diseases,” in Part 1, Section 1, Member 1, Subsection 2 (printed p. 6; PDF p. 106). The left column preserves Member.
1326. Plica is the disorder associated with matted or felted hair, often called Polish plait. Dropsy names swelling through accumulated fluid. These are historical groupings within Burton’s outline; “300” is his stated count of bodily diseases.
1327. “Disposition” is contrasted with “habit”: a passing state against an established condition. “Affection” means a state or disturbance affecting body or mind, not specifically fondness.
1328. These historical labels do not map neatly onto current diagnoses. Lycanthropy concerns imagining oneself a wolf; Chorus sancti Viti is St Vitus’s dance; hydrophobia literally means fear of water. “Obsession” means an external assault or harassment by devils, distinguished here from possession.