The Anatomy of Melancholy

Hyperius, in the first book of On the Reading of Holy Scripture, speaks of the good fortune and success that all physicians desire and hope for in their cures. He tells them that they cannot expect it unless they call upon God with true faith and teach their patients to do the same. Canon 22 of the Lateran Council decreed that they should do so; the Church Fathers have always given the same advice.

“Whatever you undertake,” says Gregory, “let God be your adviser; consult him”—the one “who heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). Otherwise, as the prophet Jeremiah declared against Egypt, “You will use many medicines in vain, for you will not be healed” (46:11).

This is the same advice that Commines, that historian skilled in affairs of state, gives to all Christian princes when describing the disastrous defeat of Charles, Duke of Burgundy. It left Charles profoundly melancholy and sick to the point of death, so that neither medicine nor persuasion could help him. Apparently recognizing Charles's mistake in reversing the proper order, Commines advises all great men in such circumstances to pray first to God with complete humility and repentance, confess their sins, and then use medicine.

This was the very fault for which the prophet rebuked Asa, King of Judah: he relied more on medicine than on God, and the prophet was determined that he should correct it. It is a warning that people of every other rank should also heed. The prophet David observed this precept so carefully that, in his greatest misery and mental distress, he made it his first rule of action.

“When I am weighed down with sorrow, I will think of God” (Psalm 77:3). “Comfort your servant's soul, for I lift up my soul to you” (Psalm 86:4); and in verse 7, “In the day of trouble I will call upon you, for you hear me.” “Save me, O God, by your name,” etc. (Psalm 54:1). See also Psalms 82 and 20. This is the common practice of all good people: when their hearts were brought low with sorrow, “they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress” (Psalm 107:13).

They have succeeded by doing so, as David acknowledges: “You have turned my mourning into joy; you have removed my sackcloth and clothed me in gladness” (Psalm 30:12). He therefore advises everyone else to do the same: “All of you who trust in the Lord, be strong, and he will strengthen your heart” (Psalm 31:24).

Suidas reports, when speaking of Hezekiah, that there was once a great book written by King Solomon, containing remedies for every kind of disease. It was always lying open as people entered the Temple. But Hezekiah, King of Jerusalem, had it removed because their confidence in these remedies made the people complacent and led them to neglect their duty to call upon God and rely on him.

Minucius, that worthy consul of Rome, was so offended with his soldiers that, in a speech, he rebuked their ignorance: in their distress they called upon him more than upon God. This is a common fault throughout the world, and Minucius's speech concerns us all. We rely more on medicine and turn to physicians more often than to God himself.