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Robert Burton

The Anatomy of Melancholy

Name: The Anatomy of Melancholy
Author: Robert Burton

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

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The Anatomy of MelancholyTreatment of Despair Through Medicine, Good Counsel, Consolation, and So On.

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Modern English Page · Branch 1055 of 1495

Treatment of Despair Through Medicine, Good Counsel, Consolation, and So On.

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1651 English

713–713–714

’Tis not thou, but Satans suggestions, his craft and subtilty, his malice: comfort thy self then if thou be penitent and grieved, or desirous to be so, these hainous sins shall not be laid to thy charge; Gods mercy is above all sins, which if thou do not finally contemn, without doubt thou shalt be saved.

No mans sins against the Holy Ghost, but he that wilfully and finally renounceth Christ, and contemneth him and his word to the last, without which there is no salvation, from which grievous sin, God of his infinite mercy deliver us.

Take hold of this to be thy comfort, and meditate withall on Gods word, labour to pray, to repent, to be renewed in minde, keep thine heart with all diligence, Prov. 4. 13. resist the Divel and he will fly from thee, poure out thy soul unto the Lord with sorrowfull Hannah, pray continually, as Paul injoyns, and as David did, Psal. 1. meditate on his law day and night.

Yea but this meditation is that that mars all, and mistaken makes many men far worse, misconceiving all they read or hear, to their own overthrow; the more they search and read Scriptures, or divine Treatises, the more they pusle themselves, as a bird in a net, the more they are intangled and precipitated into this preposterous gulf:

Many are called, but few are chosen, Mat. 20. 16. and 22. 14. with such like places of Scripture misinterpreted strike them with horror, they doubt presently whether they be of this number or no: Gods eternall decree of predestination, absolute reprobation, and such fatall tables they form to their own ruine, and impinge upon this rock of despair.

How shall they be assured of their salvation, by what signes? If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinners appear? 1 Pet. 4. 18. Who knows, saith Solomon, whether he be elect? This grinds their souls, how shall they discern they are not reprobates? But I say again, how shall they discern they are?

From the divell can be no certainty, for he is a lyar from the beginning: if he suggest any such thing, as too frequently he doth, reject him as a deceiver, an enemy of humane kinde, dispute not with him, give no credit to him, obstinately refuse him, as S. Anthony did in the wilderness, whom the Divel set upon in severall shapes, or as the Collier did, so do thou by him.

For when the divell tempted him with the weakness of his faith, and told him he could not be saved, as being ignorant in the principles of Religion: and urged him moreover to know what he beleeved, what he thought of such and such points and mysteries: the Collier told him, he beleeved as the Church did; but what (said the Divel again) doth the Church beleeve? as I do (said the Collier) and what’s that thou beleevest? as the Church doth, &c. when the divel could get no other answer, he left him.

If Satan summon thee to answer, send him to Christ: he is thy liberty, thy protector against cruell death, raging sin, that roaring Lyon; he is thy righteousness, thy Saviour, and thy life. Though he say, thou art not of the number of the elect, a reprobate, forsaken of God, hold thine own still,

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Treatment of Despair Through Medicine, Good Counsel, Consolation, and So On.

p. 1055

It is not you, but Satan’s suggestions, his cunning, subtlety and malice. Take comfort, then, if you are penitent and grieved, or desire to be so: these heinous sins will not be charged against you. God’s mercy is above all sins; if you do not finally reject it, you will without doubt be saved.

No one sins against the Holy Spirit except the person who wilfully and finally renounces Christ and despises him and his word to the end, without which there is no salvation. From that grievous sin may God in his infinite mercy deliver us.

Take hold of this as your comfort, and also meditate on God’s word. Strive to pray, repent and be renewed in mind. Guard your heart with all diligence, Proverbs 4:13. Resist the devil and he will flee from you; pour out your soul to the Lord with sorrowful Hannah; pray continually, as Paul commands; and, as David did in Psalm 1, meditate on his law day and night.

Yes, but this very meditation ruins everything when misdirected, making many people far worse. They misunderstand all they read or hear, to their own downfall. The more they search and read Scripture or theological treatises, the more they bewilder themselves, like a bird in a net, becoming more entangled and plunging into this perverse gulf:

Many are called, but few are chosen, Matthew 20:16 and 22:14. Such passages of Scripture, misinterpreted, strike them with horror; they immediately doubt whether they belong to this number. They construct God’s eternal decree of predestination, absolute reprobation and such tables of destiny to their own ruin, and strike against this rock of despair.

How can they be assured of their salvation, and by what signs? If the righteous are scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and sinners appear? 1 Peter 4:18. Who knows, says Solomon, whether he is among the elect? This grinds their souls. How can they tell that they are not rejected by God? But I ask in return: how can they tell that they are?

No certainty can come from the devil, for he is a liar from the beginning. If he suggests anything of the kind, as he all too often does, reject him as a deceiver and an enemy of humankind. Do not debate with him or believe him; refuse him stubbornly, as Saint Anthony did in the wilderness when the devil attacked him in various shapes, or as the charcoal-burner did. Treat him in the same way.

When the devil tempted him with the weakness of his faith and told him that he could not be saved because he was ignorant of religion’s principles, he pressed him further about what he believed and what he thought of this or that doctrine and mystery. The charcoal-burner said that he believed as the Church did. But what, the devil asked again, does the Church believe? As I do, said the charcoal-burner. And what do you believe? As the Church does, and so on. When the devil could get no other answer, he left him.

If Satan summons you to answer, send him to Christ. Christ is your freedom, your protector against cruel death, raging sin and that roaring lion; he is your righteousness, your Saviour and your life. Though Satan says that you are not among the elect, that you are rejected and forsaken by God, still hold your ground,

13175.Finally means conclusively or to the end, anticipating the definition in the next sentence. The promise retains Burton’s condition concerning the rejection of mercy.

13177.The scan prints No mans sins, a grammatical irregularity rendered No one sins. Hemmingius is Niels Hemmingsen. Burton gives one theological definition of the sin against the Holy Spirit; the exact passage in Hemmingsen remains unresolved. The marginal prayer names the Lord Jesus Christ and ends Amen, details retained in its translation.

13178.Guarding the heart belongs to Proverbs 4:23, not the printed 4:13. The other allusions are James 4:7, Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 1:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and Psalm 1:2. Printed locators remain visible; the note supplies the distinctions.

13179.Burton now raises a difficulty with his own advice: religious reading can intensify distress when interpreted against oneself. Pusle means puzzle or perplex; precipitated means hurled headlong.

13180.Predestination concerns God’s determination of salvation; reprobation concerns exclusion from it. Fatall tables evokes determinations or registers of destiny, possibly the schemes used to set out such doctrine. Burton’s Matthew 20:16 wording is present in the King James tradition but absent from some modern textual traditions.

13181.The reversal challenges the certainty of self-condemnation. Elect means chosen for salvation. Burton gives no biblical locator for the question attributed to Solomon, and its exact source remains unresolved.

13182.The liar from the beginning recalls John 8:44. Anthony’s resistance to demons in different forms is narrated in Athanasius’s Life of Antony, especially sections 8–10. Collier here is a charcoal-burner; the anecdote’s immediate source is not specified.

13183.The story makes refusal to enter an endless dispute a defence against temptation. The circular exchange is deliberately retained rather than supplied with doctrinal answers absent from the source.

13184.The roaring lion is the devil of 1 Peter 5:8. The modern text makes the shifting references of he explicit so that Christ’s protection is not confused with Satan’s accusation. The following Horatian fragment introduces a protective wall.

About This Reading Edition

Robert Burton’s Anatomy ranges across medicine, philosophy, poetry, religion, and everyday life in its inquiry into melancholy. This complete parallel edition pairs the 1651 English text with a close modern English rendering, preserving the three Partitions, Democritus Junior’s address to the reader, verse, and the historical index.

Historical Text and Translation

The historical text follows the sixth edition, printed at Oxford for Henry Cripps in 1651, using the McGill University Library copy. The supplied edition documents missing printed pages 98–99 supplied from another 1651 copy at the Bavarian State Library. Historical folio labels and their irregularities remain visible; web reader numbers identify reflowed passages and do not claim to reproduce PDF pagination.

About Diotimos Editions

Diotimos Editions prepared the close modern English rendering and editorial matter. All 8,755 original and modern passage pairs remain aligned, with verse breaks, italics, continuations, and linked annotations preserved. Burton’s 6,781 historical notes retain their attribution; 6,895 editorial notes remain distinct. The introduction, Note on the Text, contextual lexicon, indexes, source documentation, and bibliography are included. The engraved frontispiece remains available in the original downloads.

Rights

Burton’s historical text is in the public domain. The modern English rendering, introduction, notes, and editorial matter are © 2026 Diotimos Editions and appear with the site owner’s permission. The complete supplied PDF, EPUB, Word, and Markdown files remain available unchanged. The PDF and Word edition preserve the original parallel page layout.