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 MelancholyMember 3. Whether It Is Lawful to Seek the Saints' Help in This Disease.

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1651 English Page · Branch 432 of 1495

Member 3. Whether It Is Lawful to Seek the Saints' Help in This Disease.

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1651 English

225–226

Æsculapius of old, that counterfeit God, did as many famous cures; his temple (as Strabo relates) was daily full of patients, and as many severall tables, inscriptions, pendants, donaries, &c. to be seen in his church, as at this day at our Lady of Loretta’s in Italy. It was a custome long since,

——suspendisse potenti Vestimenta maris deo. (Hor. Od. 1. lib. 5. Od.)

To do the like, in former times they were seduced and deluded as they are now. ’Tis the same devil still, called heretofore Apollo, Mars, Neptune, Venus, Æsculapius, &c. as Lactantius lib. 2. de orig. erroris, c. 17. observes. The same Iupiter, and those bad angels are now worshipped, and adored by the name of S. Sebastian, Barbara, &c. Christopher and George are come in their places. Our Lady succeeds Venus (as they use her in many offices) the rest are otherwise supplied, as Lavater writes, and so they are deluded.

And God often winkes at these impostures, because they forsake his word, and betake themselves to the devil, as they do that seek after Holy water, crosses, &c. Wierus lib. 4. cap. 3. What can these men plead for themselves more then the heathen gods, the same cures done by both, the same spirit that seduceth: but reade more of the Pagan gods effects in Austin de Civitate Dei l. 10. cap. 6. and of Æsculapius especially in Cicogna l. 3. cap. 8.

Or put case they could help, why should we rather seek to them, then to Christ himself, since that he so kindly invites us unto him, Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden, and I will ease you, Mat. 11. and we know that there is one God, one Mediator betwixt God and man Jesus Christ, (1 Tim. 2.5.) who gave himself a ransome for all men.

We know that we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. (1 Ioh. 2.1.) that there is no other name under heaven, by which we can be saved, but by his; who is alwaies ready to hear us, and sits at the right hand of God, and from whom we can have no repulse, solus vult, solus potest, curat universos tanquam singulos, & unumquemque nostrum ut solum, we are all as one to him, he cares for us all as one, and why should we then seek to any other but to him?

5033.BurtonPrinted page 225, t: “Greg. lib. 8. Cujus fanum ægrotantium multitudine refertum, undiquaque, & tabellis pendentibus, in quibus sanati languores erant inscripti.” “Whose temple was filled everywhere with a multitude of sick people and with hanging tablets recording the illnesses that had been cured.” The printed abbreviation Greg. is retained; the body identifies Strabo, whose Geography book 8 describes the shrine.

5035.BurtonPrinted page 225, u: “Mali angeli sumpserunt olim nomen Jovis, Junonis, Apollinis, &c. quos Gentiles deos credebant, nunc S. Sebastiani, Barbaræ, &c. nomen habent, & aliorum.” “Evil angels once assumed the names of Jupiter, Juno, Apollo, etc., whom the pagans believed to be gods; now they have the names of St Sebastian, Barbara and others.”

5036.BurtonPrinted page 226, x: “Part. 2. ca. 9. de spect. Veneri substituunt Virginem Mariam.” On Apparitions, part 2, chapter 9. “They substitute the Virgin Mary for Venus.”

5038.BurtonPrinted page 226, y: “Ad hæc ludibria Deus connivet frequenter, ubi relicto verbo Dei, ad Satanam curritur, quales hi sunt, qui aquam lustralem, crucem, &c. lubricæ fidei hominibus offerunt.” “God often overlooks these deceptions when, abandoning God’s word, people run to Satan: such are those who offer holy water, a cross, etc., to people whose faith is unstable.”

5040.BurtonPrinted page 226, z: “Charior est ipsis homo quam sibi, Paul.” “A human being is dearer to them than to himself.” The attribution Paul. is retained; this adapts Juvenal, Satire 10.350, where “them” means the gods.

5041.BurtonPrinted page 226, a: “Bernard.” Bernard.

5042.BurtonPrinted page 226, b: “Austin.” Augustine.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Member 3. Whether It Is Lawful to Seek the Saints' Help in This Disease.

p. 432

In ancient times that counterfeit god Aesculapius performed just as many celebrated cures. His temple, Strabo relates, was full of patients every day, and there were as many tablets, inscriptions, hanging objects and votive gifts to be seen in his shrine as there are today at Our Lady of Loreto's in Italy. It was an ancient custom:

“To hang up one's clothes for the mighty god of the sea.” (Horace, Odes 1.5.)

People were seduced and deceived into doing the same things in former times as they are now. It is still the same devil, once called Apollo, Mars, Neptune, Venus, Aesculapius and so forth, as Lactantius observes in On the Origin of Error, book 2, chapter 17. That same Jupiter and those evil angels are now worshipped and adored under the names of St Sebastian, Barbara and others. Christopher and George have taken their places. Our Lady succeeds Venus, in the many functions they assign to her; the other places are filled in other ways, as Lavater writes, and so the people are deceived.

“And God often overlooks these frauds, because people forsake his word and turn to the devil, as those who seek holy water, crosses and so on are doing” (Weyer, book 4, chapter 3). What more can these men plead for themselves than the pagan gods could? The same cures are performed by both; the same spirit deceives. But read more about the effects produced by pagan gods in Augustine's City of God, book 10, chapter 6, and particularly about Aesculapius in Cicogna, book 3, chapter 8.

Or suppose that they could help: why should we turn to them rather than to Christ himself, when he so kindly invites us to him? “Come to me, all of you who are heavily burdened, and I will give you relief” (Matthew 11). We know that there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5), who gave himself as a ransom for everyone.

We know that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1), and that there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved but his. He is always ready to hear us, sits at God's right hand and will never turn us away. “He alone is willing, he alone is able; he cares for all as though for each,” and “for each one of us as though for that one alone.” We are all as one to him; he cares for us all as one. Why, then, should we turn to anyone but him?

5034.Horace, Odes 1.5.14–16; the transposed printed locator is corrected on the right. Clothes offered after escape from shipwreck become an image for escape from a love affair. Tables are tablets; donaries are votive offerings. The Strabo reference remains for passage-level collation.

5037.On the Origin of Error is book 2 of Lactantius’s Divine Institutes. Burton moves from an ancient account of pagan gods to a Protestant claim about Christian saints. Lactantius is not himself commenting on these later cults; the roles of intermediary and application need collation.

5039.Winkes at means overlooks or tolerates. Augustine’s City of God 10.6 concerns true sacrifice; Burton’s locator for pagan “effects” remains unresolved, along with the precise Weyer and Cicogna references.

5043.The invitation is Matthew 11:28; the ransom follows at 1 Timothy 2:6. “No other name” is Acts 4:12. The marginal sentence attributed to Paul. instead adapts Juvenal 10.350, changing illis to ipsis; its original referent is the gods.

5044.The closing phrase recalls Augustine, Confessions 3.11.19: God cares for each as for that person alone and for all as individuals. Burton reorders and compresses the wording. The preceding Bernard attribution remains untraced. Latin translations and Burton’s English restatement are retained separately.

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.

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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.