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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 MelancholySubsection 3 Honourable Objects of Love

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1651 English Page · Branch 689 of 1495

Subsection 3 Honourable Objects of Love

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1651 English

423–424

I have ever loved as thou knowest (so Tully wrote to Dolabella) Marcus Brutus for his great wit, singular honesty, constancy, sweet conditions: and believe it there is nothing so amiable and fair as vertue.

I do mightily love Calvisius, (so Pliny writs to Sosius) a most industrious, eloquent, upright man, which is all in all with me: The affection came from his good parts.

And as S. Austin comments on the 84. Psalm, There is a peculiar beauty of justice, and inward beauty, which we see with the eyes of our hearts, love, and are enamoured with, as in Martyrs, though their bodies be torn to pieces with wilde beasts, yet this beauty shines, and we love their vertues.

The Stoicks are of opinion that a wise man is only fair; and Cato in Tully 3. de Finibus contends the same, that the lineaments of the minde are far fairer then those of the body, incomparably beyond them: wisdom and valour according to Xenophon, especially deserve the name of beauty, and denominate one fair, & incomparabiliter pulchrior est (as Austin holds) veritas Christianorum quam Helena Græcorum.

Wine is strong, the King is strong, women are strong, but truth overcometh all things, Esd. 1. 3. 10, 11, 12. Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, and getteth understanding; for the merchandise thereof is better then silver, and the gain thereof better then gold; it is more precious then pearls, and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her, Prov. 2. 13, 14, 15. a wise, true, just, upright, and good man, I say it again, is onely fair:

It is reported of Magdalen Queen of France, and wife to Lewes 11th, a Scottish woman by birth, that walking forth in an evening with her Ladies, she spied M. Alanus one of the Kings Chaplains, a silly, old, hard-favoured man fast asleep in a Bower, and kissed him sweetly; when the yong Ladies laughed at her for it, she replied, that it was not his person that she did embrace and reverence, but with a Platonick love, the divine beauty of his soul.

Thus in all ages vertue hath been adored, admired, a singular lustre hath proceeded from it: and the more vertuous he is, the more gratious, the more admired. No man so much followed upon earth as Christ himself; and as the Psalmist saith 45. 2. He was fairer then the sons of men.

Chrysostome Hom. 8. in Mat. Bernard Ser. 1. de omnibus sanctis, Austin, Cassiodore, Hier. in 9. Mat. interpret it of the beauty of his person; there was a divine Majestie in his looks, it shined like Lightning, and drew all men to it: but Basil, Cyril. lib. 6. super. 55. Esay. Theodoret, Arnobius, &c. of the beauty of his divinity, justice, grace, eloquence, &c. Thomas in Psal. 44. of both; and so doth Baradius, and Peter Morales, lib. de pulchritud. Jesu & Mariæ, adding as much of Joseph and the Virgin Mary,

———hæc alios formâ præcesserit omnes,

8384.BurtonPrinted page 423, a: “Epist. lib. 8. Semper amavi ut tu scis, M. Brutum propter ejus summum ingenium, suavissimos mores, singularem probitatem & constantiam; nihil est, mihi crede, virtute formosius, nihil amabilius.” Letters, book 8. “I have always loved Marcus Brutus, as you know, for his great intelligence, most gracious character, exceptional integrity and steadfastness. Believe me, nothing is more beautiful than virtue, nothing more lovable.”

8385.BurtonPrinted page 423, b: “Ardentes amores excitaret, si simulachrum ejus ad oculos penetraret, Plato Phædone.” “It would arouse burning love if its image reached our eyes.” Plato, Phaedo, as printed; compare Phaedrus 250d.

8387.BurtonPrinted page 423, asterisk: “Epist. lib. 4. Validissimè diligo virum rectum, disertum, quod apud me potentissimum est.” Letters, book 4. “I love very dearly an upright, eloquent man, which has the greatest weight with me.” The marginal text continues across the bottom of the page.

8389.BurtonPrinted page 423, c: “Est quædam pulchritudo justitiæ quam videmus oculis cordis, amamus, & exardescimus, ut in martyribus, quum eorum membra bestiæ lacerarent, etsi alias deformes, &c.” “There is a certain beauty of justice which we see with the eyes of the heart, love and burn for, as in the martyrs when beasts tore their limbs, although they were otherwise misshapen,” and so on.

8391.BurtonPrinted page 423, d: “Lipsius manuduc. ad Phys. Stoic. lib. 3. dis. 17. solus sapiens pulcher.” Lipsius, Introduction to Stoic Physics, book 3, discussion 17: “Only the wise man is beautiful.”

8392.BurtonPrinted page 423, dagger: “Fortitudo & prudentia pulchritudinis laudem præcipue merentur.” “Courage and practical wisdom especially deserve the praise of beauty.”

8395.BurtonPrinted page 423, e: “Franc. Belforist. in hist. An. 1430.” François de Belleforest, in his history, year 1430.

8396.BurtonPrinted page 424, f: “Erat autem fæde deformis, & eâ forma, qua citius pueri terreri possent, quam invitari ad osculum puellæ.” “He was, however, hideously misshapen, with a face more likely to frighten boys than invite girls to kiss him.”

8397.BurtonPrinted page 424, g: “Deformis iste etsi videatur senex, divinum animum habet.” “Though that old man may appear misshapen, he has a divine soul.”

8399.BurtonPrinted page 424, i: “Fulgebat vultu suo fulgor & divina majestas homines ad se trahens.” “Radiance and divine majesty shone in his face, drawing people to him.”

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 3 Honourable Objects of Love

p. 689

“I have always loved Marcus Brutus, as you know,” Cicero wrote to Dolabella, “for his great intelligence, exceptional integrity, steadfastness and gracious character. Believe me, nothing is so lovable and beautiful as virtue.”

“I love Calvisius dearly,” Pliny writes to Sosius, “a most industrious, eloquent and upright man, which counts for everything with me.” The affection arose from his good qualities.

And as Saint Augustine comments on Psalm 84: “There is a special beauty of justice, an inward beauty, which we see with the eyes of our hearts, love and become enamoured of—as in martyrs: though wild beasts tear their bodies to pieces, this beauty still shines, and we love their virtues.”

The Stoics hold that only the wise man is beautiful. Cato in Cicero’s On Ends, book 3, maintains the same: the features of the mind are far more beautiful than those of the body, incomparably surpassing them. Wisdom and courage, according to Xenophon, especially deserve the name of beauty and entitle a person to be called beautiful; “and Christian truth is incomparably more beautiful,” as Augustine holds, “than the Greeks’ Helen.”

“Wine is strong, the king is strong, women are strong, but truth overcomes all things,” 1 Esdras 3:10–12. “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom and gains understanding; for its merchandise is better than silver and its profit better than gold. It is more precious than pearls, and nothing you can desire can be compared with her,” Proverbs 2:13–15. A wise, truthful, just, upright and good man, I say again, is the only beautiful man.

It is reported of Magdalen, queen of France and wife of Louis XI, a Scottish woman by birth, that one evening, walking out with her ladies, she saw Master Alanus, one of the king’s chaplains, a simple, old, ugly man, fast asleep in a bower, and kissed him tenderly. When the young ladies laughed at her, she replied that she was not embracing and revering his person, but, with a Platonic love, the divine beauty of his soul.

Thus virtue has been adored and admired in every age; a special radiance has shone from it. The more virtuous a man is, the more pleasing and admired he becomes. No man on earth was followed as much as Christ himself; as the Psalmist says at 45:2, “He was fairer than the sons of men.”

Chrysostom, Homily 8 on Matthew; Bernard, Sermon 1 on All Saints; Augustine; Cassiodorus; and Jerome on Matthew 9 interpret this as the beauty of his person: divine majesty shone in his face like lightning and drew everyone towards it. But Basil, Cyril in book 6 on Isaiah 55, Theodoret, Arnobius and others understand the beauty of his divinity, justice, grace, eloquence and so on. Thomas, on Psalm 44, understands both; so do Baradas and Pedro de Morales in On the Beauty of Jesus and Mary, adding as much about Joseph and the Virgin Mary:

She will have surpassed all others in beauty,

8386.Cicero’s letter to Dolabella is Ad familiares 9.14.4–5 in the text consulted, rather than the margin’s book 8. Burton brings the praise of Brutus before the statement about virtue, reversing their order in Cicero. The adjacent Platonic margin recalls Phaedrus 250d, although it prints Phaedo.

8388.Pliny, Letters 4.4.1, addresses Sosius Senecio and praises Varisidius Nepos, then names Calvisius as his uncle. Burton makes Calvisius the object of the praise. That substitution is retained in both columns and identified here.

8390.The passage is Augustine, Exposition of Psalm 64.8, not 84: it describes justice’s inward beauty and the martyrs’ beauty despite bodily suffering. Psalm 64 in Augustine’s numbering corresponds to 65 in common English numbering, so the printed 84 is not explained by that difference. Burton’s locator, English paraphrase and Latin margin remain, including the margin’s additional reference to bodily deformity.

8393.Cicero, On Ends 3.75, calls the wise man more beautiful in mind than body. Augustine, Letter 40, §7 (subsection 4.7), compares Christian truth with Greek Helen while urging Jerome to correct an interpretation; Burton abbreviates the Latin. Lipsius’s and Xenophon’s exact intermediary passages remain uncollated.

8394.The contest about wine, kings, women and truth is introduced in 1 Esdras 3:10–12. Burton’s Proverbs 2:13–15 points instead to the praise of wisdom at 3:13–15; his chapter number is retained. His “pearls” also remains, rather than the “rubies” of the King James text consulted.

8398.This is the anecdote usually told of Margaret of Scotland and the poet Alain Chartier. Burton prints Magdalen and Alanus and calls her queen; these details are retained. Barbé’s historical study, pages 119–120, records the older account and discusses the chronological difficulty that makes it doubtful. “Silly” here means simple or unassuming; “hard-favoured” means ugly.

8400.Burton sets out competing interpretations of Christ’s beauty, bodily and spiritual. Psalm 44 in the Latin numbering corresponds to Psalm 45 in the English numbering. The chain of patristic references, including Cyril’s printed Isaiah 55, and the works of Baradas and Morales remain for detailed collation.

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.