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 MelancholySynopsis of the Second Partition.

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Modern English Page · Branch 422 of 1495

Synopsis of the Second Partition.

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1651 English

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4. Averters. Cardans nettles, frictions, clysters, suppositories, sneezings, masticatories, nasals, cupping-glasses. To open the Hæmrods with horsleeches, to apply horsleeches to the forehead and without scarification, to the shoulders, thighs. Issues, boaring, cauteries, hot irons in the suture of the crown. 5. Cordials, resolvers, hinderers. A cup of wine or strong drink. Bezars stone, amber, spice. Conserves of Borage, Buglosse, Roses, Fumitory. Confection of Alchermes. Electuarium lætificans Galeni & Rhasis, &c. Diamargaritum frig. Diaboraginatum, &c.

6. Correctors of accidents, as To procure sleep, and are Odoraments of Roses, Violets. Irrigations of the head, with the decoctions of nymphea, lettice, mallows, &c. Epithemes, oyntments, bags to the heart. Fomentations of oyl for the Belly. Baths of sweet water, in which were sod mallows, violets, roses, Water-lillies, Borage flowers, ramsheads, &c.

Inwardly taken Simples: Poppy, Nymphea, lettice, roses, purslane, henban, mandrake, night-shade, opii &c. or Compounds: Liquid, as Syrups of Poppy, Verbasco, Violets, Roses. Solid, as requies Nicholai, Philonium Romanum, Laudanum Paracelsi.

or Outwardly used, as Oyls of Nymphea, Poppy, Violets, Roses, Mandrake, Nutmegs. Odoraments of Vinegar, rosewater, opium. Frontals of rose-cake, rose-vinegar, nutmeg. Oyntments, alablastritum, unguentum populeum, simple or mixt with opium. Irrigations of the head, feet, spunges, Musick, murmure and noise of waters. Frictions of the head, and outward parts, sacculi of Henbane, wormwood at his pillow, &c.

Against terrible dreams; not to sup late, or eat pease, cabbage, venison, meats heavy of digestion, use bawm, harts-tongue, &c. Against ruddiness and blushing, inward and outward remedies.

♌ 2. Mem. Cure of melancholy over the body. Diet, preparatives, purges, averters, cordials, correctors, as before. Phlebotomy in this kind more necessary, and more frequent. To correct and cleanse the blood with Fumitory, Sene, Succory, Dandelion, Endive, &c.

♍ Cure of Hypocondriacall, or windy melancholy, 3. Mem. Subsect. 1. Phlebotomy if need require. Diet, preparatives, averters, cordials, purgers, as before, saving that they must not be so vehement. Use of peny-royal, wormwood, centaury sod, which alone hath cured many. To provoke urine with aniseed, daucus, asarum, &c. and stools if need be by clysters and suppositories. To respect the spleen, stomack, liver, hypocondries. To use Treacle now and then in winter. To vomit after meals sometimes, if it be inveterate.

2. To expel wind Inwardly taken Simples: Roots, Hearbs, Spices, Seeds Galanga, gentian, Enula, Angelica, calamus Aromaticus, zedoary, china, condite ginger, &c. Peniroyal, rue, calaminth, bayleaves, & berries, Scordium, Bettany, Lavander, camomile, centaury, wormwood, cumin, broom, orange pils.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Synopsis of the Second Partition.

p. 422

4. Treatments that draw the disorder away. Cardan’s nettles, rubbing, enemas, suppositories, sneezing, substances to chew, nasal medicines, cupping glasses. Opening the haemorrhoidal veins with leeches; applying leeches to the forehead and, without making incisions, to the shoulders and thighs. Open sores, boring, cauteries, hot irons at the suture of the crown. 5. Medicines that strengthen the heart, disperse obstructions, and check the disorder. A cup of wine or strong drink. Bezoar stone, amber, spice. Conserves of borage, bugloss, roses, fumitory. Confection of alchermes. The cheering electuary of Galen and Rhazes, etc. Cooling diamargaritum; diaboraginatum, etc.

6. Remedies for accompanying symptoms, such as: To induce sleep, these are: Scents of roses and violets. Rinsing the head with decoctions of water lily, lettuce, mallows, etc. Lotions, ointments and bags applied over the heart. Warm oil compresses for the belly. Baths of fresh water in which mallows, violets, roses, water lilies, borage flowers, rams’ heads, etc., have been boiled.

Taken internally: Simples: poppy, water lily, lettuce, roses, purslane, henbane, mandrake, nightshade, opium, etc. Or compounds: Liquid, such as syrups of poppy, mullein, violets, roses. Solid, such as Nicholas’s Rest, Roman Philonium and Paracelsus’s laudanum.

Or used externally, such as: Oils of water lily, poppy, violets, roses, mandrake, nutmeg. Scents of vinegar, rosewater, opium. Forehead applications of rose-cake, rose vinegar, nutmeg. Ointments: alablastritum and poplar ointment, by themselves or mixed with opium. Rinsing the head and feet; sponges; music; the murmur and sound of water. Rubbing the head and outer parts; little bags of henbane; wormwood at the patient’s pillow, etc.

Against terrifying dreams: avoid late suppers, peas, cabbage, venison and foods that are hard to digest; use balm, hart’s-tongue, etc. Against redness and blushing: internal and external remedies.

Member 2. The cure of melancholy throughout the body. Diet, preparatory medicines, purgatives, treatments that draw the disorder away, heart-strengthening medicines and remedies for symptoms, as above. Bloodletting is more necessary and more frequent in this form. Correcting and cleansing the blood with fumitory, senna, chicory, dandelion, endive, etc.

Member 3. The cure of hypochondriacal, or windy, melancholy. Subsection 1. Bloodletting if necessary. Diet, preparatory medicines, treatments that draw the disorder away, heart-strengthening medicines and purgatives, as above, but less forceful. Using boiled pennyroyal, wormwood and centaury, which alone has cured many. Stimulating urination with aniseed, daucus, asarum, etc., and stools, if necessary, with enemas and suppositories. Attending to the spleen, stomach, liver and regions beneath the ribs. Using theriac occasionally in winter. Sometimes vomiting after meals, if the disorder is long established.

2. To expel wind: Taken internally: Simples: roots, herbs, spices and seeds. Galangal, gentian, elecampane, angelica, aromatic calamus, zedoary, china root, preserved ginger, etc. Pennyroyal, rue, calamint, bay leaves and berries, scordium, betony, lavender, camomile, centaury, wormwood, cumin, broom, orange peel.

4940.“Averters” divert the supposed seat or flow of the disorder; “cordials” strengthen the heart, “resolvers” disperse, and “hinderers” check it. Haemorrhoidal bleeding was treated as an evacuation in this system. “Without scarification” is retained in its printed position despite the compressed syntax. Bezoar is a stone-like animal concretion; the compound names are retained without reconstructing their formulas.

4941.“Accidents” means accompanying symptoms. “Sweet water” is fresh water. “Ramsheads” is transcribed and translated literally; its unusual inclusion in a bath should not be silently converted into a plant name without confirming Burton’s later discussion and cited source.

4942.Requies Nicholai means “Nicholas’s Rest”; Philonium Romanum “Roman Philonium”; Laudanum Paracelsi “Paracelsus’s laudanum.” They are names of compound medicines. The later Culpeper dispensatory lists a Requies preparation. These names do not establish identity with modern laudanum or a single surviving recipe. The Latin opii is rendered opium and Verbasco mullein.

4943.Hypochondriacal melancholy here is an abdominal or “windy” form associated with the organs beneath the ribs, not the modern diagnosis of illness anxiety. The phrase “which alone hath cured many” is left as a claim within Burton’s synopsis. Daucus and asarum remain historical drug names without an asserted exact species.

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.