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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 1255 of 1495

Source Record

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Source Record

p. 1255

Scan 825; printed 713; sequence 725; image block167-source-825.png. All body and one marginal entry b. Includes the definition of final rejection of mercy, meditation and its possible adverse effect, and the opening assurance against the fear of reprobation. Printed Proverbs 4:13 retained and explained as a mistaken locator for 4:23.

Scan 826; printed 714; sequence 726; image block167-source-826.png. All body and one marginal entry g. Includes the collier dialogue, Horace verse, assurance of election, universal promises and the objection concerning weak signs of faith. Ambiguous this perswasion retained and explained. Printed Ezekiel irregularity and tell all Nations recorded.

Scan 827; printed 715; sequence 727; image block167-source-827.png. Opening two body lines only, completing the preceding paragraph through or at least wish and desire thou maist be. All subsequent body beginning Notwithstanding all this which might be said to this effect, to ease their afflicted mindes and every marginal entry reserved for 168.

Opening words: ’Tis true indeed and all sufficient this, they do confess, if they could repent

Closing words: or at least wish and desire thou maist be.

Passages DJR-168-01 to DJR-168-51

Source page labels: 715–720 (sequence 727–732). Scan pages: 827, 828, 829, 830, 831, 832.

Scan 827; printed 715; sequence 727; image block168-source-827.png. Begins Notwithstanding all this which might be said to this effect, to ease their afflicted minds. All subsequent body and seven marginal entries included. Earlier two body lines belong to 167. Scan spelling minds corrects mindes in the preceding continuation metadata. Discussion of universal grace, election, Curione, Julian and ignorance.

Scan 828; printed 716; sequence 728; image block168-source-828.png. All body and five marginal entries. Includes the catalogue of theological positions, universal restoration and annihilation as distinct proposals, Ovid and the compressed decree formula. Printed Lonicrus, Pelsii and marginal placement retained; unresolved identifications and locators recorded.

Scan 829; printed 717; sequence 729; image block168-source-829.png. All body and two marginal entries. Includes the royal declaration, Erasmus with the qualification concerning impiety, and the return to torment, mercy and justice. Printed and and retained at left and reduced to one and in the modern rendering. Full Hemmingius margin translated.

Scan 830; printed 718; sequence 730; image block168-source-830.png. All body and one marginal entry. Includes affliction, patience, the school comparison and mother image. Latin and separate English restatements retained. Coronet read as a crown, Ecclesiasticus distinguished from Ecclesiastes, and garden/cross conflation recorded.

Scan 831; printed 719; sequence 731; image block168-source-831.png. All body and one marginal entry. Includes Job, Nineveh, penitence, Augustine, Lazarus, bodily illness as analogy and spiritual recovery. Job 39:37 follows Geneva numbering; Matthew 15:14 and printed Augustine Psalm 52 locator retained and explained. Augustine parallel identified as related, not exact verification.

Scan 832; printed 720; sequence 732; image block168-source-832.png. Opening body through though now in heaviness, saith 1 Pet. 1. 6. you shall rejoyce. Includes faith and feeling, patient waiting, contrary workings, Passover and final assurances. No marginal entries on this page. All following body beginning Now last of all to those external impediments, terrible objects reserved for 169.

Opening words: Notwithstanding all this which might be said to this effect, to ease their afflicted minds

Closing words: though now in heaviness, saith 1 Pet. 1. 6. you shall rejoyce.

Passages DJR-169-01 to DJR-169-35

Source page labels: 720–723 (sequence 732–735). Scan pages: 832, 833, 834, 835.

Scan 832; printed 720; sequence 732; image block169-source-832.png. Begins Now last of all to those external impediments, terrible objects. All remaining body included; no margins occur on this page. Earlier body belongs to 168. Natural causes, disordered imagination, Balneum Diaboli and limits on demonic power.

1255

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.