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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 14 Self-Love, Vainglory, Praise, Honour, Excessive Applause, Pride…

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1651 English Page · Branch 288 of 1495

Subsection 14 Self-Love, Vainglory, Praise, Honour, Excessive Applause, Pride…

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1651 English

125–126

And who is that mortal man that can so containe himself, that if he be immoderately commended, and applauded, will not be moved? Let him be what he will, those Parasites will overturne him: if he be a King, he is one of the nine Worthies, more than a man, a God forthwith, — edictum Domini Deique nostri: and they will sacrifice unto him, —

divinos si tu patiaris honores, Ultrò ipsi dabimus meritasque sacrabimus aras.

If he be a souldier, then Themistocles, Epaminondas, Hector, Achilles, duo fulmina belli, triumviri terrarum, &c, and the valour of both Scipio’s is too little for him, he is invictissimus, serenissimus, multis trophæis ornatissimus, naturæ dominus, although he be lepus galeatus, indeed a very coward, a milksop, and as he said of Xerxes, postremus in pugnâ, primus in fugâ, and such a one as never durst look his enemy in the face.

If he be a big man, then is he a Sampson, another Hercules: if he pronounce a speech, another Tully or Demosthenes: as of Herod in the Acts, the voice of God and not of man: If he can make a verse, Homer, Virgil, &c. And then my silly weak Patient, takes all these elogiums to himself; if he be a Scholar so commended for his much reading, excellent style, method, &c. he will eviscerate himself like a spider, study to death. Laudatas ostendit avis Iunonia pennas, Peacock-like he will display all his feathers.

If he be a souldier, and so applauded, his valour extoll’d, though it be impar congressus, as that of Troilus, and Achilles, Infelix puer, he will combat with a Giant, run first upon a breach. As another Philippus, he will ride into the thickest of his enemies. Commend his house keeping, and he will beggar himself: commend his temperance, he will starve himself.

——laudataque virtus Crescit, & immensum gloria calcar habet.

he is mad, mad, mad, no whoe with him; ——impatiens consortis erit, he will over the Alpes to be talked of, or to maintain his credit. Commend an ambitious man, some proud Prince or Potentate, Si plus æquo laudetur (saith Erasmus) cristas erigit, exuit hominem, Deum se putat, he sets up his crest, and will be no longer a man but a God.

——nihil est quod credere de se Non audet quum laudatur diis æqua potestas.

3328.BurtonMargin m, page 125: “Quis vero tam bene modulo suo metiri se norit, ut eum assiduæ et immodicæ laudationes non moveant? Hen. Steph.” “Who knows so well how to measure himself by his own measure that persistent, excessive praise will not move him?” Henri Estienne; precise source unlocated.

3329.BurtonDagger margin, page 125: “Mart.” Martial, Epigrams 5.8.1, on a decree of Domitian.

3331.BurtonStar margin, page 125: “Stroza.” Tito Vespasiano Strozzi, Eroticon 4.14.7–8, an inscription praising Borso d’Este. The modern verse translates the excerpt afresh.

3332.BurtonSecond star margin, page 125: “Justin.” Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 2.10, describes Xerxes as first in flight and last in battle. Burton reverses the clauses and substitutes pugnâ for proelio without changing that opposition. This locates the literary characterization, not independent proof of Xerxes’s conduct.

3335.BurtonMargin n, page 125: “Livius. Gloria tantum elatus, non ira, in medios hostes irruere, quod completis muris, conspici se pugnantem a muro spectantibus, egregium ducebat.” “Livy. Carried away by glory alone, not anger, he rushed among the enemy, because, with the walls crowded, he thought it splendid to be seen fighting by the onlookers upon the wall.” Compare Livy 31.24: Philip V attacks at Athens, driven not only by anger but also by glory, non ira tantum sed etiam gloria elatus. Burton’s compressed margin instead excludes anger. The translation follows Burton, and the difference is retained explicitly.

3338.BurtonMargin o, page 125: “I demens, & sævas curre per Alpes. Aude aliquid, &c. ut pueris placeas, & declamatio fias. Juv. Sat. 10.” “Go, madman, and run through the savage Alps. Dare something, and so on, to please schoolboys and become a declamation.” Juvenal 10.166–167; Burton abbreviates and rearranges the second line.

3339.BurtonMargin p, page 125: “In moriæ Encom.” Erasmus, In Praise of Folly, section 3, describes a vain patron raising his peacock crest while a hired flatterer equates him with the gods. This supplies cristas erigit and the comparison with divinity. Burton’s full sentence is not verbatim in the consulted text; its exact intermediary remains unresolved.

3341.BurtonDagger margin, page 126: “Juvenal. Sat. 4.” Juvenal 4.70–71. The comparison text reads “non possit,” cannot, where Burton prints “Non audet,” does not dare.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 14 Self-Love, Vainglory, Praise, Honour, Excessive Applause, Pride…

p. 288

And what mortal man can so restrain himself that extravagant praise and applause will not move him? Whatever he may be, those parasites will overthrow him. If he is a king, he is one of the Nine Worthies, more than a man, instantly a god—“the decree of our Lord and God”—and they will sacrifice to him:—

If you will allow divine honours, We shall gladly grant them ourselves and consecrate the altars you deserve.

If he is a soldier, then he is Themistocles, Epaminondas, Hector, Achilles, “the two thunderbolts of war,” “the world’s triumvirs,” and so on. The courage of both Scipios is too little for him. He is “most invincible, most serene, most richly adorned with trophies, master of nature,” though he is “a hare in a helmet”: a complete coward, a milksop. As was said of Xerxes, he is “last in battle, first in flight,” a man who never dared look his enemy in the face.

If he is a big man, he is a Samson, another Hercules; if he delivers a speech, another Cicero or Demosthenes—as they said of Herod in Acts, “the voice of God and not of man.” If he can write a verse, he is Homer, Virgil, and so on. Then my foolish, weak patient takes all these praises to himself. If he is a scholar praised for his extensive reading, excellent style, method, and so on, he will spin out his own entrails like a spider and study himself to death. “Juno’s bird displays its praised feathers”: like a peacock, he will spread all his feathers.

If he is a soldier, so applauded and his courage so exalted, though the encounter is unequal, like that between Troilus and Achilles—“unhappy boy”—he will fight a giant and be first to charge a breach. Like another Philip, he will ride into the thick of his enemies. Praise his hospitality and he will beggar himself; praise his temperance and he will starve himself.

And virtue grows when praised; Glory has an immense spur.

He is mad, mad, mad; there is no stopping him. “He will endure no rival”: he will cross the Alps to be talked about or to maintain his reputation. Praise an ambitious man, some proud prince or ruler: “If he is praised beyond measure,” says Erasmus, “he raises his crest, casts off the man, and thinks himself a god.” He raises his crest and will no longer be a man but a god.

There is nothing that power equal to the gods Does not dare believe of itself when praised.

3330.“Parasites” are flattering dependants, originally people who dine at another’s expense. The Nine Worthies are the conventional nine exemplary heroes of medieval chivalry. Burton describes praise that turns a ruler into a supposed divinity.

3333.The two Scipios are the Roman military heroes evoked by “two thunderbolts of war”; compare Virgil, Aeneid 6.842–843. “Triumvirs” evokes shared Roman rule. “A hare in a helmet” makes martial display a disguise for cowardice.

3334.Acts 12:22 supplies the acclaim of Herod. Ovid, Art of Love 1.627, supplies Juno’s bird, the peacock. The spider metaphor imagines the scholar spinning his work out of his own body, exhausting himself to sustain praise.

3336.“Impar congressus” and “infelix puer” recall Troilus facing Achilles in Virgil, Aeneid 1.475. Housekeeping means maintaining a generous household and entertaining guests; the passage is about ruinous hospitality, not housework.

3337.Ovid, Letters from Pontus 4.2.35–36. In Ovid, an audience stimulates poetic effort; Burton extends the stimulus of praise to destructive excess.

3340.“No whoe” means no cry of “whoa” will stop him. “Impatiens consortis erit” is Lucan, Civil War 1.92, on power’s intolerance of a partner. The Alpine allusion evokes Hannibal’s campaign and Juvenal’s mockery of its schoolroom afterlife.

3342.Juvenal’s lines concern Domitian’s susceptibility to absurd flattery. “Power equal to the gods” describes the ruler’s elevated position in the satire; Burton’s “does not dare” is preserved in translation.

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.