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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 1228 of 1495

Source Record

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Source Record

p. 1228

Closing words: many thousands took notice of this fact, for it was done in the midst of Greece.

Passages DJR-114-01 to DJR-114-42

Source page labels: 438–442 (sequence 446–450). Scan pages: 546, 547, 548, 549, 550.

Scan 546; printed 438; sequence 446; image block113-source-546.png. Begin Sabine in his Comment on the 10th of Ovids Metamorphosis, at the tale of Orpheus, telleth us of a Gentleman of Bavaria. Include remaining body and margins y,z only. Exclude Menippus and t,u,x already in113. Venus tale continues on547.

Scan 547; printed 439; sequence 447; image block113-source-547.png. Complete body and nine margins a,dagger,b,c,d,e,f,g,h. Finish Venus ring story, Phlegon, fallen angels, travellers and Herodotus, Lipsius. Last sentence continues on548.

Scan 548; printed 440; sequence 448; image block114-source-548.png. Complete body and five margins i,k,l,m,n. End Subsection1, begin Subsection2 heading, Virgil fragments, love and destruction, disease catalogue. Preserve verse fragments separately.

Scan 549; printed 441; sequence 449; image block114-source-549.png. Complete body and nine margins dagger,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r. The extended Latin catalogue begins. Distinguish margin Philosophis from body At hunc; retain printed Euristium and Beventinus. Printed n/o references are crossed. Last sentence continues on550.

Scan 550; printed 442; sequence 450; image block114-source-550.png. Opening body through nolo quem diutius hisce sordibus inquinare. Include nine margins s,dagger,t,u,x,y,dagger,z,dagger. Exclude I come at last to that Heroicall Love and Fonseca asterisk and later margins reserved for115.

Opening words: Sabine in his Comment on the 10th of Ovids Metamorphosis, at the tale of Orpheus, telleth us of a Gentleman of Bavaria,

Closing words: nolo quem diutius hisce sordibus inquinare.

Passages DJR-115-01 to DJR-115-64

Source page labels: 442–447 (sequence 450–455). Scan pages: 550, 551, 552, 553, 554, 555.

Scan 550; printed 442; sequence 450; image block115-source-550.png. Begin I come at last to that Heroicall Love. Include five final margins: asterisk Fonseca, a, dagger Tertullian, b, c. Exclude prior Latin catalogue and its nine margins already in114. Cupid sentence continues on551.

Scan 551; printed 443; sequence 451; image block115-source-551.png. Complete body and nine margins: asterisk Plutarch, d, asterisk Lucretius, dagger Fonseca, dagger Horace, e, dagger Simonides, f, dagger Geryon. Preserve independent Latin and English verse. Plutarch mirror sentence continues on552.

Scan 552; printed 444; sequence 452; image block115-source-552.png. Complete body and eight margins: asterisk Propertius, asterisk Plutarch, dagger Petronius, dagger Aretino, asterisk Broughton, g, dagger Leo, dagger Catullus. End-page Helies is a catchword; next-page body supplies it once.

Scan 553; printed 445; sequence 453; image block115-source-553.png. Complete body and ten margins: dagger Euripides, h, dagger Plautus, asterisk Cyprian, dagger Pliny, i, k, l, m, n. One Pliny marginal note has two body daggers; preserve first literally and anchor one footnote at second. Final Amor nobilis continues onto554.

Scan 554; printed 446; sequence 454; image block115-source-554.png. Complete body and thirteen margins: o,p,q,r,s,t,u,x,y at side and z,a,b,c at foot. Page misprinted246 corresponds to446. Read sited and extruso from enlarged body; printed Gnastivinus retained. Sentence continues on555.

Scan 555; printed 447; sequence 455; image block115-source-555.png. Opening body through ideoq; recte melancholicus appellatur. Concupiscentia vehemens ex corrupto judicio æstimativæ virtutis. Include marginal e only. Exclude Member2 Subsection1 heading, subsequent body and f onward, reserved for116.

Opening words: I come at last to that Heroicall Love, which is proper to men and women, is a frequent cause of melancholy,

Closing words: Concupiscentia vehemens ex corrupto judicio æstimativæ virtutis.

Passages DJR-116-01 to DJR-116-57

Source page labels: 447–451 (sequence 455–459). Scan pages: 555, 556, 557, 558, 559.

Scan 555; printed 447; sequence 455; image block116-source-555.png. Begin at Member2 Subsection1 heading; include subsequent body and marginal f,g,dagger,asterisk,dagger,h. Exclude preceding body and marginal e belonging to115. The sentence ending longo continues on556; omit catchword procul-. Planetary glyphs enlarged and read: Mars, Venus, Mercury, Mercury; later Moon and Mercury.

1228

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.