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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 MelancholySubsection 9. the Rational Soul

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1651 English Page · Branch 160 of 1495

Subsection 9. the Rational Soul

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1651 English

SUBSEC. 9. Of the Rational Soul.

In the precedent Subsections I have anatomized those inferior faculties of the soul; the Rational remaineth, a pleasant, but a doubtful subject (as one termes it) and with the like brevity to be discussed. Many erronious opinions are about the essence and original of it; whether it be fire, as Zeno held; harmony, as Aristoxenus; number as Xenocrates; whether it be organical, or inorganical; seated in the brain, heart or bloud; mortal or immortal; how it comes into the body.

Some holde that it is ex traduce, as Phil. 1. de Animâ, Tertullian, Lactantius de opific. Dei cap. 19. Hugo lib. de Spiritu & Animâ, Vincentius Bellavic. spec. natural. lib. 23. cap. 2. & 11. Hippocrates, Avicenna, and many late writers; that one man begets another, body and soul: or as a candle from a candle, to be produced from the seed:

otherwise, say they, a man begets but half a man, and is worse then a beast that begets both matter and forme; and besides the three faculties of the soule must be together infused, which is most absurd as they hold, because in beasts they are begot, the two inferior I meane, and may not be well separated in men. Galen suposeth the soul crasin esse, to be the Temperature it self;

Trismegistus, Musæus, Orpheus, Homer, Pindarus, Phærecides Syrus, Epictetus, with the Chaldees and Ægyptians, affirmed the soul to be immortal, as did those Britan Druides of old. The Pythagorians defend Metempsychosis, and Palingenesia, that soules go from one body to another, epotâ prius Lethes undâ, as men into Wolves, Beares, Dogs, Hogs, as they were inclined in their lives, or participated in conditions.

— inque ferinas Possumus ire domus, pecudumque in corpora condi.

Lucians Cock was first Euphorbus a Captaine:

Ille ego (nam memini) Trojani tempore belli, Panthoides Euphorbus eram,

a horse, a man, a spunge. Julian the Apostata thought Alexanders soul was descended into his body: Plato in Timæo, and in his Phædon (for ought I can perceive) differs not much from this opinion, that it was from God at first, and knew all, but being inclosed in the body, it forgets, and learnes anew, which he calls reminiscentia, or recalling, and that it was put into the body for a punishment,

and thence it goes into a beasts or mans, as appeares by his pleasant fiction de sortitione animarum, lib. 10. de rep. and after 10000. yeares is to returne into the former body again,

1728.Burtona. “Velcurio. Iucundum & anceps subjectum.” Velcurio: a pleasant and doubtful subject.

1730.Burtonb. “Goclenius in Ψυχολ. pag. 302. Bright in Phys. Scrib. l. 1. David Crusius, Melancton, Hippius Hernius, Levinus Lemnius, &c.” Goclenius in his Psychology, p. 302; Bright in his Physics; Scribonius, book 1; and the other named authorities. The printed grouping “Hippius Hernius” is retained without supplying punctuation or resolving the names.

1732.Burtonc. “Lib. an mores sequantur, &c.” Galen’s work on whether the dispositions of the soul follow the bodily temperament.

1734.Burton*. “Cæsar. 6. com.” Caesar, Commentaries, book 6. Compare Gallic War 6.14 on the Druids and the passage of souls into other bodies.

1735.Burtond. “Read Æneas Gazæus dial. of the immortality of the Soul.” Aeneas of Gaza’s dialogue on the immortality of the soul.

1737.Burton*. “Ovid met. 15.” Ovid, Metamorphoses, book 15.

1739.Burtone. “In Gallo. Idem.” In The Cock; the same author. The marginal wording is retained.

1741.Burtonf. “Nicephorus hist. lib. 10. c. 35.” Nicephorus, History, book 10, chapter 35.

1743.Burtong. “Phædro.” In the Phaedrus.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 9. the Rational Soul

p. 160

Subsection 9. The Rational Soul

In the preceding subsections I have dissected the lower faculties of the soul. The rational faculty remains: a pleasant but uncertain subject, as one writer calls it, to be discussed with the same brevity. Many mistaken opinions concern its essence and origin: whether it is fire, as Zeno held; harmony, as Aristoxenus thought; or number, as Xenocrates maintained; whether it depends on bodily organs or is independent of them; whether it is seated in the brain, heart or blood; whether it is mortal or immortal; and how it enters the body.

Some hold that it is propagated from the parent, including Philip in book 1 of On the Soul; Tertullian; Lactantius in chapter 19 of On the Workmanship of God; Hugh in On the Spirit and the Soul; Vincent of Beauvais in the Mirror of Nature, book 23, chapters 2 and 11; Hippocrates; Avicenna; and many recent writers. One person begets another, body and soul: the soul is produced from the seed as one candle is lit from another.

Otherwise, they say, a person begets only half a person and is worse off than a beast, which begets both matter and form. Moreover, all three faculties of the soul would have to be infused together. This they consider utterly absurd, since in beasts the two lower faculties, which I mean here, are begotten, and in human beings they cannot properly be separated. Galen supposes the soul to be the bodily temperament itself.

Trismegistus, Musaeus, Orpheus, Homer, Pindar, Pherecydes of Syros and Epictetus, along with the Chaldeans and Egyptians, affirmed that the soul is immortal, as did the ancient British Druids. The Pythagoreans defend transmigration and rebirth: souls pass from one body into another after first drinking the water of Lethe. Human beings thus become wolves, bears, dogs or pigs, according to the inclinations they had during their lives or the traits they shared with those animals.

We may pass into the dwellings of wild beasts And be lodged within the bodies of cattle.

Lucian’s cock was first Euphorbus, a captain:

I was Euphorbus, son of Panthus, In the days of the Trojan War—for I remember.

Then a horse, a man, a sponge. Julian the Apostate thought Alexander’s soul had descended into his body. Plato, in the Timaeus and Phaedo, differs little from this opinion, so far as I can see: the soul came originally from God and knew everything, but once enclosed in the body it forgets and learns anew, which he calls recollection or remembering; and it was placed in the body as a punishment.

From there it passes into the body of a beast or a human being, as appears in his delightful fiction about souls drawing lots in book 10 of the Republic; and after ten thousand years it is to return to its former body again.

1729.“Original” means origin. “Organical” and “inorganical” concern dependence on bodily organs, not the modern distinction between organic and inorganic matter. The ensuing catalogue reports positions as Burton groups them; it is not a verified history of each philosopher’s doctrine.

1731.Ex traduce means by propagation or transmission from the parent, the theory called traducianism. “Phil.” is expanded as Philip, conventionally Melanchthon. Burton’s inherited attribution of On the Spirit and the Soul to Hugh is retained; this and the individual references await collation.

1733.Matter and form name the constituents of a living being in the Aristotelian account. “Infused” means introduced into the body as a separately created soul. Crasin esse means to be the mixture or temperament; “temperature” here is the bodily constitution, not a thermometer reading.

1736.Metempsychosis is transmigration of souls; palingenesia, rebirth. Lethe is the water of forgetfulness. Burton combines traditions about rebirth, forgetfulness and resemblance between human and animal character. Trismegistus means Hermes Trismegistus.

1738.Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.457–458. Burton prints domus and corpora where the consulted Latin text has domos and pectora. His wording is retained and translated, including “bodies.”

1740.The verse is Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.160–161, spoken by Pythagoras about his earlier life as Euphorbus. Burton prints Ille ego where the consulted text has ipse ego. His surrounding reference to Lucian connects two treatments of the transmigration story; it does not make this Latin verse a quotation from Lucian.

1742.The scan reads “spunge,” retained as “sponge.” Lucian’s Cock includes Euphorbus, Pythagoras, Aspasia and Crates, then a king, pauper, satrap, horse, jackdaw and frog. The consulted Fowler translation does not establish Burton’s sponge or his shortened sequence; its immediate source remains unresolved. Julian is the emperor called “the Apostate” in Christian tradition. Reminiscentia means recollection.

1744.Burton combines Platonic narratives. De sortitione animarum refers to the allotment of lives in Republic 10’s myth of Er. Timaeus describes souls allotted to stars and subsequent rebirth according to conduct. Phaedrus 248e–249a, cited for the ten-thousand-year interval, describes return to the soul’s place of origin, not specifically its former body. These parallels do not establish every detail of Burton’s composite account.

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.

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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.

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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.