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 MelancholySource Record

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English Introduction · Branch 1245 of 1495

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The Anatomy of Melancholy: Source Record

p. 1245

Scan 716; printed 604; sequence 616; image block146-source-716.png. All body and nine margins p,q,r,star,dagger,star,dagger,dagger,s. Repeated in in in q and ut ut in Seyssel margin retained. End sentence continues717.

Scan 717; printed 605; sequence 617; image block146-source-717.png. All body and seven margins star,dagger,t,u,star,dagger,x. Burton’s own qualification about honest women retained as author note. Latin and separate English versions retained.

Scan 718; printed 606; sequence 618; image block146-source-718.png. All body and eight marginal notes y,z,a,b,c,d,e,f; e continues along foot of page. Adjacent Ariosto attribution joined with f. Dagger at Livia has no matching marginal entry and is recorded editorially. Last sentence continues719.

Scan 719; printed 607; sequence 619; image block146-source-719.png. All body and ten marginal entries: dagger,star,star,unmarked Chaucer,g,dagger,star,h,star Euripides,detached1.63. Detached number provisionally attached to Martial and explained. Last sentence continues720.

Scan 720; printed 608; sequence 620; image block146-source-720.png. Opening paragraph through These are the ordinary causes of jealousie, which are intended or remitted as their circumstances vary. Only first two margins dagger and i included. Following Member2 Subsection1 heading, descriptor, body and remaining margins excluded for147.

Opening words: Nevisanus lib.4.num.72. Will have barrenness to be a main cause of Jealousie.

Closing words: These are the ordinary causes of jealousie, which are intended or remitted as their circumstances vary.

Passages DJR-147-01 to DJR-147-51

Source page labels: 608–613 (sequence 620–625). Scan pages: 720, 721, 722, 723, 724, 725.

Scan 720; printed 608; sequence 620; image block147-source-720.png. Start at MEMB.2.SUBSECT.1 and descriptor Symptoms of Jealousy. Include following body and margins star Chrysostom and k Vives. Earlier concluding causes paragraph and its margins belong146. Last sentence continues721.

Scan 721; printed 609; sequence 621; image block147-source-721.png. All body and both margins l Propertius and m Aeneas Sylvius. Latin and Burton English Propertius verses retained separately. Last sentence continues722.

Scan 722; printed 610; sequence 622; image block147-source-722.png. All body and five margins n,o,dagger Daniel,p,star Seneca. Daniel excerpt and both Latin and English Seneca verse units preserved.

Scan 723; printed 611; sequence 623; image block147-source-723.png. All body and seven margins star Quran,dagger Plautus,q,r,dagger Dio/Seneca,s,t Sandys. Last Latin sentence continues724. All Latin translated.

Scan 724; printed 612; sequence 624; image block147-source-724.png. All body and nine margins u,x,star,dagger Rhasis,dagger Aristaenetus,dagger Barthius,y,star Dionysius,z Virgil. Printed Tatia and800 retained; end sentence continues725.

Scan 725; printed 613; sequence 625; image block147-source-725.png. Opening continuation through Felix Platerus observat.lib.1.&c.; margins a Ismene,b Augustine,c Phaerus,dagger Caesar included. Following MEMB.3 heading, descriptor, body and margins beginning d Acakius excluded for148.

Opening words: MEMB. 2. SUBSECT. 1.

Closing words: Felix Platerus observat. lib.1. &c.

Passages DJR-148-01 to DJR-148-52

Source page labels: 613–618 (sequence 625–630). Scan pages: 725, 726, 727, 728, 729, 730.

Scan 725; printed 613; sequence 625; image block148-source-725.png. Start at MEMB.3 and descriptor Prognosticks of Jealousie. Include all ensuing body and eight margins d,e,f,star,g,h,i,k, including the long Phaerus and Amestris notes continued at the page foot. Earlier Member2 text and margins excluded as belonging147.

Scan 726; printed 614; sequence 626; image block148-source-726.png. All body and six margins l,m,n,p,q,r. Include bottom continuations of p and notes q,r. Printed date1600 and FelixPater retained. Finish Member3 at Such examples are too common.

Scan 727; printed 615; sequence 627; image block148-source-727.png. All body, Member4 Subsection1 heading and descriptor, and six margins s,t,u,dagger,x,y. Printed buy avoiding retained. Ovid Latin couplet and Ariosto English stanza preserved as distinct units. Last prose continues728.

Scan 728; printed 616; sequence 628; image block148-source-728.png. All body and five margins z,a,b,c,d. Preserve Latin and Burton separate English paraphrases, including the miller verse. Emperor catalogue continues729.

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.