The Anatomy of Melancholy

Name: The Anatomy of Melancholy
Author: Robert Burton

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

Explore the Lexicon

The Anatomy of MelancholyBy Counsel and Persuasion, the Foulness of the Deed, the Faults of Men And…

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

1651 English Page · Branch 849 of 1495

By Counsel and Persuasion, the Foulness of the Deed, the Faults of Men And…

Book Mode

1651 English

557–558–558

Let thy Mercury-reason rule thee against all allurements, seeming delights, pleasing inward or outward provocations. Thou maist do this if thou wilt, pater non deperit filiam, nec frater sororem, a father dotes not on his own daughter, a brother on a sister; and why? because it is unnatural, unlawful, unfit. If he be sickly, soft, deformed, let him think of his deformities, vices, infirmities: if in debt, let him ruminate how to pay his debts: if he be in any danger, let him seek to avoid it: if he have any law-suit, or other business, he may do well to let his love matters alone and follow it, labour in his vocation, what ever it is.

But if he cannot so ease himself, yet let him wisely premeditate of both their estates; if they be unequal in years, she yong and he old, what an unfit match must it needs be, an uneven yoak, how absurd and undecent a thing is it! as Lycinus in Lucian told Timolaus, for an old bald crook-nosed knave, to marry a yong wench; how odious a thing it is to see an old Leacher! what should a bald fellow do with a combe, a dumb doter with a pipe, a blind man with a looking-glass, and thou with such a wife? How absurd is it for a yong man to marry an old wife for a piece of good.

But put case she be equal in years, birth, fortunes, and other qualities correspondent, he doth desire to be coupled in marriage, which is an honourable estate, but for what respects? Her beauty belike, and comeliness of person, that is commonly the main object, she is a most absolute form in his eye at least, Cui formam Paphia, & Charites tribuere decorem; but do other men affirm as much? Or is it an errour in his judgement?

Fallunt nos oculi vagique sensus, Oppressa ratione mentiuntur,

our eys and other senses will commonly deceive us; It may be, to thee thy self upon a more serious examination, or after a little absence, she is not so fair as she seems. Quædam videntur & non sunt; Compare her to another standing by, ’tis a touchstone to try, confer hand to hand, body to body, face to face, eye to eye, nose to nose, neck to neck, &c. examine every part by it self, then altogether, in all postures, several sites, and tell me how thou likest her.

It may be not she, that is so fair, but her coats, or put another in her cloaths, and she will seem all out as fair; as the Poet then prescribes, separate her from her cloaths: suppose thou saw her in a base beggers weed, or else dressed in some old hirsute attires out of fashion, fowl linnen, course raiment, besmeared with soot, colly, perfumed with Opoponax, Sagapenum, Assa fœtida, or some such filthy gums, dirty, about some undecent Action or other;

The Anatomy of Melancholy: By Counsel and Persuasion, the Foulness of the Deed, the Faults of Men And…

p. 849

Let your Mercury—reason—govern you against all enticements, apparent delights and pleasing temptations from within or without. You can do this if you will. “A father does not dote on his daughter, nor a brother on his sister”: a father does not lust after his own daughter, nor a brother after his sister. Why? Because it is unnatural, unlawful and unfitting. If he is sickly, weak or deformed, let him think about his deformities, faults and infirmities. If in debt, let him ponder how to pay it; if in danger, let him seek to avoid it. If he has a lawsuit or other business, he would do well to leave his love affairs alone and attend to it, working at his calling, whatever it may be.

But if he cannot relieve himself in this way, let him still reflect prudently on both their circumstances. If their ages are unequal, she young and he old, what an unsuitable match it must be, an uneven yoke! How absurd and indecent for an old, bald, crooked-nosed scoundrel to marry a young woman, as Lycinus in Lucian told Timolaus. How odious to see an old lecher! What should a bald fellow do with a comb, a mute dotard with a pipe, a blind man with a mirror—or you with such a wife? How absurd for a young man to marry an old woman for a share of property.

But suppose her age, birth and wealth are equal to his, and her other qualities correspond. He wishes to be joined in marriage, which is an honourable condition—but for what reasons? Her beauty, presumably, and her bodily grace: that is usually the chief attraction. She is a perfect beauty, in his eyes at least, “to whom the Paphian goddess gave beauty, and the Graces grace.” But do other men say as much? Or is his judgment mistaken?

Our eyes and wandering senses deceive us; With reason overpowered, they lie.

Our eyes and other senses commonly deceive us. Perhaps, even to you, on closer examination or after a short absence, she is not as beautiful as she seems. “Some things appear to be what they are not.” Compare her with another woman standing beside her; that is a touchstone for the test. Compare hand with hand, body with body, face with face, eye with eye, nose with nose, neck with neck, and so on. Examine each part separately, then all together, in every posture and different position, and tell me how you like her.

Perhaps it is her clothes, not she, that are so beautiful; put another woman in them and she will seem just as beautiful. As the poet therefore prescribes, separate her from her clothes. Imagine seeing her in a poor beggar’s dress, or in some old, shaggy, unfashionable outfit, dirty linen and coarse clothing, smeared with soot and grime, scented with opopanax, sagapenum, asafoetida or other such foul-smelling gums, filthy and engaged in some unseemly activity.

10717.Mercury becomes an image for the lover’s own reason. “Soft” means weak or lacking firmness, and “vocation” a calling or occupation. Burton’s absolute statement about incest is part of his moral argument, not an empirical claim established by this edition.

10719.Lucian’s On Wishes is also called The Ship or The Wishes. The Latin margin calls Timolaus’s nose simum, “snub,” whereas Burton’s English says “crook-nosed”; both readings are retained. “A piece of good” means some property or wealth. In the consulted dialogue Lycinus mocks Timolaus’s wish for magical powers and universal attractiveness, rather than recounting a proposed marriage. The surrounding analogies require separate collation.

10720.“Absolute” means complete or perfect. Paphia, the goddess of Paphos, is Venus; the Charites are the Graces. The unmarked Latin line is translated without supplying an unverified author. Burton asks whether desire has distorted the lover’s judgment.

10722.The lines occur among the Fragmenta Petroniana, in the poem beginning Fallunt nos oculi. It goes on to compare a tower’s changing appearance at a distance, illustrating the unreliability of the senses. Burton quotes only the opening two lines.

10723.A touchstone tests precious metal and here means a test of quality. “Confer” means compare and “sites” positions. The Latin qualification, “some things appear and are not,” concerns deceptive appearances; the modern version makes the implication explicit.

10725.“Weed” means clothing, “hirsute” shaggy or rough, and “colly” soot or grime. The gums are named historically without prescribing their use. Ovid’s Remedies for Love includes advice about clothing and inspecting the beloved’s faults; Burton greatly expands the degrading catalogue.

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.