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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 MelancholySection 1. Member 1. Subsection 1 the Preface

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1651 English Page · Branch 674 of 1495

Section 1. Member 1. Subsection 1 the Preface

Book Mode

1651 English

410–411

Etsi non ignorarem novos fortasse detractores novis hisce interpolationibus meis minimè defuturos.

And thus much I have thought good to say by way of preface, lest any man (which Godfridus feared in his book) should blame in me lightness, wantonness, rashness, in speaking of loves causes, entisements, symptomes, remedies, lawfull and unlawfull loves, and lust it self, I speak it only to tax and deter others from it, not to teach, but to shew the vanities and fopperies of this heroicall or Herculean love, and to apply remedies unto it. I will treat of this with like liberty as of the rest.

Sed dicam vobis, vos porrò dicite multis Millibus, & facite hæc charta loquatur anus.

Condemn me not good Reader then, or censure me hardly, if some part of this Treatise to thy thinking as yet be too light, but consider better of it; Omnia munda mundis, a naked man to a modest woman is no otherwise then a picture, as Augusta Livia truly said, and mala mens, malus animus, ’tis as ’tis taken.

If in thy censure it be too light, I advise thee as Lipsius did his reader for some places of Plautus, Istos quasi Sirenum scopulos prætervehare, if they like thee not, let them pass, or oppose that which is good to that which is bad, and reject not therefore all. For to invert that verse of Martial, and with Hierom Wolfus to apply it to my present purpose,

Sunt mala, sunt quædam mediocria, sunt bona plura;

Some is good, some bad, some is indifferent. I say farther with him yet, I have inserted (levicula quædam & ridicula ascribere non sum gravatus, circumforanea quædam è theatris, è plateis, etiam è popinis) some things more homely, light, or comicall, litans Gratiis, &c. which I would request every man to interpret to the best, and as Julius Cæsar Scaliger besought Cardan (Si quid urbaniusculè lusum à nobis, per deos immortales te oro Hieronyme Cardane ne me malè capias.) I beseech thee good Reader, not to mistake me, or misconstrue what is here written;

Per Musas & Charites, & omnia Poëtarum numina, benigne lector, oro te ne me malè capias. ’Tis a Comicall subject, in sober sadness I crave pardon of what is amiss, and desire thee to suspend thy judgement, wink at small faults, or to be silent at least; but if thou likest, speak well of it, and wish me good success.

Extremum hunc Arethusa mihi concede laborem.

I am resolved howsoever, velis, nolis, audacter stadium intrare, in the Olympicks, with those Æliensian Wrestlers in Philostratus, boldly to shew my self in this common Stage, and in this Trage-comedy of Love, to Act severall parts, some Satyrically, some Comically, some in a mixt Tone, as the subject I have in hand gives occasion, and present Scene shall require, or offer it self.

8197.BurtonPrinted page 410, p: “Hæc prædixi ne quis temerè nos putaret scripsisse de amorum lenociniis, de praxi, fornicationibus, adulteriis, &c.” “I said this beforehand so that no one should rashly suppose that we wrote about love’s enticements, its practice, fornications, adulteries, and so forth.”

8198.BurtonPrinted page 410, q, with its lower-page continuation: “Taxando & ab his deterrendo humanam lasciviam & insaniam, sed & remedia docendo: non igitur candidus lector nobis succenseat, &c. Commonitio erit juvenibus hæc, hisce ut abstineant magis, & omissa lascivia quæ homines reddit insanos, virtutis incumbant studiis (Æneas Sylv.) & curam amoris si quis nescit hinc poterit scire.” “By censuring human lust and madness and deterring people from these things, and also by teaching remedies: therefore let the fair-minded reader not be angry with us, and so on. This will warn young people to abstain from them more firmly and, abandoning the lust that makes people mad, devote themselves to the pursuit of virtue” (Aeneas Sylvius). “And anyone who does not know love’s cure will be able to learn it here.” The print has curam, “care” or “cure,” in the final clause.

8200.BurtonPrinted page 410, dagger, lower margin: “Catullus.” Catullus.

8202.BurtonPrinted page 410, o, lower margin: “Viros nudos castæ fœminæ nihil à statuis distare.” “For a chaste woman, naked men differ in no way from statues.”

8203.BurtonPrinted page 410, asterisk, lower margin: “Hony Soyt qui maly pense.” “Shame on whoever thinks evil of it.”

8206.BurtonPrinted page 411, asterisk: “Præf. Suid.” Preface to Suidas.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Section 1. Member 1. Subsection 1 the Preface

p. 674

“Although I knew very well that these new additions of mine would perhaps bring no shortage of new detractors.”

This much I thought fit to say by way of preface, lest anyone accuse me—as Godfridus feared in his book—of frivolity, wantonness or rashness in discussing love’s causes, enticements, symptoms and remedies, lawful and unlawful loves, and lust itself. “I speak of it only to censure it and deter others from it, not to teach it”: to expose the vanities and follies of this heroic or Herculean love and “apply remedies to it.” I will treat this subject as freely as the rest.

But I shall tell you; you in turn tell many Thousands, and make this page speak in its old age.

Do not condemn me, then, good reader, or judge me harshly if you still think some part of this treatise too frivolous; consider it more carefully. “To the pure all things are pure.” A naked man is no different from a picture to a modest woman, as the empress Livia rightly said. And “an evil mind, an evil disposition”: it depends on how one takes it.

If you judge it too frivolous, I advise you as Lipsius advised his reader about certain passages in Plautus: “Sail past these as though they were the Sirens’ rocks.” If they do not please you, pass them by; or set the good against the bad, and do not reject everything on that account. For, reversing Martial’s verse and applying it with Hieronymus Wolf to my present purpose:

Some things are bad, some middling, but more are good.

Some is good, some bad, some neither. I say further with him that I have inserted—“I have not shrunk from adding some light and ridiculous things, some marketplace chatter from theatres, streets and even taverns”—some homelier, lighter or comic material, “making an offering to the Graces,” and so on. I ask everyone to interpret it favourably. As Julius Caesar Scaliger begged Cardan, “If I have indulged in a little wit, I beg you by the immortal gods, Hieronymus Cardan, do not take me amiss,” so I beg you, good reader, not to misunderstand me or misconstrue what is written here.

“By the Muses and Graces, and all the poets’ divinities, kindly reader, I beg you not to take me amiss.” It is a comic subject; in all seriousness I ask pardon for what is wrong, and ask you to suspend judgement, overlook small faults or at least remain silent. But if you like it, speak well of it and wish me success.

Arethusa, grant me this final labour.

In any case, I am resolved, “whether you wish it or not, to enter the arena boldly,” like those Elean wrestlers at the Olympic games in Philostratus: to show myself boldly on this public stage and play several parts in this tragicomedy of love, some satirically, some comically, some in a mixed tone, as my subject gives occasion and the scene before me requires or presents itself.

8199.“Tax” means censure. “Heroical” names passionate love; “Herculean” gives it a playfully enormous strength. The marginal extracts combine a defence attributed to Godfridus with material attributed to Aeneas Sylvius. Their exact bibliographical links remain for collation.

8201.Catullus 68.45–46. The page is imagined as an old woman still speaking in years to come: Burton asks readers to carry his words to others.

8204.Omnia munda mundis echoes Titus 1:15. Compare Cassius Dio 58.2.3a in the consulted Xiphilinus excerpt: Livia excuses naked men because a chaste woman sees them as statues. Burton’s margin likewise says statues, but his English says a picture; both remain. His Latin intermediary is unestablished. The French maxim varies the Garter motto. The immediate source of mala mens, malus animus remains uncollated.

8205.Burton explicitly reverses Martial 1.16.1: Martial has “some good” and “more bad”; Burton makes more of the book good. His following English summary does not repeat that numerical contrast; it is preserved separately.

8207.Hieronymus Wolf is cited for the preface to Suidas. “Homely” means plain or familiar; “indifferent” means neither good nor bad. The Graces, Greek Charites, are divinities associated with beauty and charm. Exact references for Wolf, Lipsius and Scaliger remain for collation.

8208.Virgil, Eclogue 10.1. Arethusa is invoked as the pastoral poet’s source of inspiration. Burton uses the opening of Virgil’s last eclogue at the end of his preface.

8209.“Æliensian” is rendered Elean, referring to Elis and the Olympic games; the particular Philostratus passage remains to be established. “Sober sadness” in the preceding paragraph means sober seriousness. Burton ends the preface by describing his changing literary roles.

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.