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 2 Education as a Cause of Melancholy.

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Modern English Page · Branch 319 of 1495

Subsection 2 Education as a Cause of Melancholy.

Book Mode

1651 English

149 [sequence; printed 145]

For such parents as do otherwise, Plutarch esteemes of them, that are more careful of their shooes then of their feet, that rate their wealth above their children. And he, saith Cardan, that leaves his son to a covetous Schoolemaster to be informed, or to a close Abby to fast and learn wisdome together, doth no other, then that he be a learned fool, or a sickly wise man.

3698.BurtonSequence page 149, printed 145, i, at the foot: “Perinde agit ac siquis de calceo sit sollicitus, pedem nihil curet. Juven. Nil patri minus est quam filius.” He acts like someone who takes care of his shoe and none of his foot. Juvenal: nothing matters less to a father than his son.

3699.BurtonSequence page 149, printed 145, k, at the foot: “Lib. 3. de sapient: qui avaris pædagogis pueros alendos dant, vel clausos in cœnobiis jejunare simul & sapere, nihil aliud agunt, nisi ut sint vel non sine stultitia eruditi, vel non integrâ valetudine sapientes.” Book 3, On Wisdom: those who give boys to greedy teachers to rear, or shut them in monasteries to fast and acquire wisdom together, achieve nothing except to make them either learned without being free of folly, or wise without sound health.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 2 Education as a Cause of Melancholy.

p. 319

Parents who do otherwise, Plutarch considers, care more for their shoes than for their feet and value their wealth above their children. And the man, says Cardano, who leaves his son with a greedy schoolmaster to be educated, or shuts him in an abbey to fast and learn wisdom together, does nothing but make him a learned fool or a sickly wise man.

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.