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Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Parallel Edition

Robert Burton

The Anatomy of Melancholy

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

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The Anatomy of MelancholySource Record

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English Introduction · Branch 1214 of 1495

Source Record

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Source Record

p. 1214

Passages DJR-088-01 to DJR-088-44

Source page labels: 313–317 (sequence 321–325). Scan pages: 421, 422, 423, 424, 425.

Scan 421; printed 313; sequence 321; image block87-source-421.png. Begins Ignatius Loiola the founder of the Jesuits. Earlier opening completion belongs to087. All later body and all14 margins belong to088: dagger Ribera,d,asterisk Suetonius,dagger Diodorus,e,asterisk Ovid,asterisk Virgil,f,dagger Corpore,g,h,dagger Pliny,dagger Chrysostom,asterisk Chytraeus. Last note continues across full footer. Sentence joins engraven on next page; catchword excluded.

Scan 422; printed 314; sequence 322; image block87-source-422.png. Complete body and all7 margins: i,dagger Cicero,k,l,m,n,o. Final his is a catchword; the actual his wife begins423. Illness gives way to the discussion of low birth. Awkward Latin non tam mari quam praelio, sensus and nobilitate retained and explained.

Scan 423; printed 315; sequence 323; image block88-source-423.png. Complete body and all10 margins: dagger Sat.Menip,p,q,r,s,asterisk Gresser,t Horace,u,dagger Exodus,x. Body t at nobiliorem corresponds to asterisk Gresser, not the following t Horace. Last grace is catchword; sentence continues on424.

Scan 424; printed 316; sequence 324; image block88-source-424.png. Complete body and all8 margins: y,z,dagger masque,dagger AeneasSylvius,a,b,c,dagger Giovio. Final Aurelius is divided across424/425; catchword lius excluded, body completion included. Nations and claims of merit versus hereditary honour preserved as Burton’s argument.

Scan 425; printed 317; sequence 325; image block88-source-425.png. Opening body through and why then should baseness of birth be objected to any man? Only five margins belong to088: d OlausMagnus,dagger Seneca,dagger Cardano,e Machiavelli,asterisk ScaligerExercises265. Later body begins who thinks worse of Tully for being Arpinas, an upstart? Later margins and footer continuations belong to089. Whole page read for boundary context; prepared426/427 images not yet read.

Opening words: Ignatius Loiola the founder of the Jesuits,

Closing words: and why then should baseness of birth be objected to any man?

Passages DJR-089-01 to DJR-089-50

Source page labels: 317–321 (sequence 325–329). Scan pages: 425, 426, 427, 428, 429.

Scan 425; printed 317; sequence 325; image block88-source-425.png. Begins who thinks worse of Tully for being Arpinas, an upstart? Earlier body and top five margins through Scaliger Exercises 265 belong to 088. All later body and six marginal containers belong to 089: dagger Machiavelli, asterisk Bale continuing into footer, dagger Giovio, dagger Curtius, dagger Bodin, dagger Aeneas Sylvius. The complete footer is included. Final is is a catchword; actual is on 426 included in the joined sentence.

Scan 426; printed 318; sequence 326; image block88-source-426.png. Complete body and all five margins: g Ecclesiasticus, dagger Cujus possessio, y Aristippus/Bacon corresponding to body h, asterisk Polynices, i Stuckius. Printed terra filius and blotted outs retained and explained. Final huma- joins nitatis on 427; catchword excluded.

Scan 427; printed 319; sequence 327; image block88-source-427.png. Complete body and all seven margins: k Sabinus, l Lemnius, asterisk Horace, asterisk Jerome, dagger Nihil fortunato, m Claudian, asterisk Sesellius. Printed Claud. l 9 in Eutrop. checked against enlarged crop and retained. Member 2 ends here. Signature Ss and catchword Memb. excluded.

Scan 428; printed 320; sequence 328; image block89-source-428.png. Complete body from the Member 3 heading and all eight margins: n Menander, o Gualther, p Apuleius (body marker resembles q), q Peter of Blois, r Bernard, dagger Cardano, s Lucian, dagger Seneca. Greek checked in enlarged crop. Peter of Blois reads ex onere metiens; irregular final clause preserved pending collation. Final acc- joins cording on 429; catchword excluded.

Scan 429; printed 321; sequence 329; image block89-source-429.png. Body through the higher they are elevated, the more grievously depressed. All twelve margins belong to 089: asterisk Chrysostom, dagger Juvenal, u Saturnalian Letters, x Vos quidem, y Et quota pars, dagger Seneca with repeated in, z Et diis similes, a Flammas, b Omnium oculis, c Horace, d Boethius, asterisk Aeneas Sylvius. Final body line For the rest of his prerogatives which wealth affords, starts 090 and continues on 430. Catchword as excluded.

1214

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.