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 MelancholyIts Object, God; What His Beauty Is; How It Attracts. the Parts and People…

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Its Object, God; What His Beauty Is; How It Attracts. the Parts and People…

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1651 English

636–637

It is the eye of contemplation by which we must behold it, the wing of meditation which lifts us up and rears our souls with the motion of our hearts, and sweetness of contemplation: so saith Gregory cited by Bonaventure. And as Philo Judæus seconds him, He that loves God, will soare aloft and take him wings; and leaving the earth flye up to Heaven, wander with Sun and Moon, Stars, and that heavenly troop, God himself being his guide.

If we desire to see him, we must lay aside all vain objects, which detain us and dazel our eyes, and as Ficinus adviseth us, get us solar eyes, spectacles as they that look on the Sun: to see this divine beauty, lay aside all material objects, all sense, and then thou shalt see him as he is.

Thou covetous wretch, as Austin expostulates, Why dost thou stand gaping on this dross, muck-hils, filthy excrements? behold a far fairer object, God himself wooes thee; behold him, enjoy him, he is sick for love. Cant. 5. He invites thee to his sight, to come into his fair Garden, to eat and drink with him, to be merry with him, to enjoy his presence for ever. Wisdome cryes out in the streets, besides the gates, in the top of high places, before the city, at the entry of the door, and bids them give ear to her instruction, which is better then gold or precious stones; no pleasures can be compared to it: leave all then and follow her, vos exhortor ô amici & obsecro.

In Ficinus words, I exhort and beseech you, that you would embrace and follow this divine love with all your hearts and abilities, by all offices and endeavours make this so loving God propitious unto you. For whom alone saith Plotinus, we must forsake the Kingdomes and Empires of the whole earth, Sea, Land, and Air, if we desire to be ingrafted into him, leave all and follow him.

Now forasmuch as this love of God, is an habit infused of God, as Thomas holds, 1. 2. quæst. 23. by which a man is inclined to love God above all, and his neighbour as himself, We must pray to God that he will open our eyes, make clean our hearts, that we may be capable of his glorious rayes, and performe those duties that he requires of us, Deut. 6. and Jos. 23. To love God above all, and our neighbour as our self, to keep his commandments.

In this we know, saith John, c. 5. 2. we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. This is the love of God that we keep his commandments; he that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love, cap. 4. 8. and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him; for love presupposeth knowledge, faith, hope, and unites us to God himself, as Leon Hebrew delivereth unto us, and is accompanied with the fear of God, humility, meekness, patience, all those vertues, and charity it self.

12030.BurtonSource page 636, b: “Contemplationis pluma nos sublevat, atque inde erigimur intentione cordis, dulcedine contemplationis, distinct.6. de 7. Itineribus.” “The feather of contemplation lifts us up, and thence we are raised by the intentness of the heart and the sweetness of contemplation. Distinction 6, On the Seven Journeys.”

12031.BurtonSource page 636, c: “Lib. de victimis: amans Deum, sublimia petit, sumptis alis & in cœlum rectè volat, relicta terra, cupidus aberrandi cum sole, luna, stellarumque sacra militia, ipso Deo duce.” “On Sacrificial Victims. The lover of God seeks the heights, takes wings and flies straight to heaven, leaving the earth, eager to wander with the sun, moon and sacred host of stars, with God himself as guide.”

12033.BurtonSource page 636, d: “In com. Plat. cap.7. ut Solem videas oculis, fieri debes solaris: ut divinam aspicias pulchritudinem, demitte materiam, demitte sensum, & Deum qualis sit videbis.” “In the commentary on Plato, chapter 7. To see the sun with your eyes, you must become sunlike. To behold divine beauty, lay aside matter, lay aside sense perception, and you will see God as he is.”

12035.BurtonSource page 637, e: “Avare, quid inhias his, &c. pulchrior est qui te ambit ipsum visurus, ipsum habiturus.” “Greedy man, why do you gape at these things, and so on? More beautiful is he who courts you: you will see him, you will possess him.”

12036.BurtonSource page 637, dagger: “Prov.8.” “Proverbs 8.”

12038.BurtonSource page 637, f: “Cap.18. Rom. Amorem hunc divinum totis viribus amplexamini; Deum vobis omni officiorum genere propitium facite.” “Chapter 18, Rom. Embrace this divine love with all your strength; by every kind of service win God’s favour.”

12039.BurtonSource page 637, g: “Cap.7. de pulchritudine. regna et imperia totius terræ & maris & cœli oportet abjicere si ad ipsum conversus velis inseri.” “On Beauty, chapter 7. You must cast aside the kingdoms and empires of the whole earth, sea and heaven if, turning towards him, you wish to be grafted into him.”

12041.BurtonSource page 637, h: “Habitus à Deo infusus, per quem inclinatur homo ad diligendum Deum super omnia.” “A disposition infused by God, through which a person is inclined to love God above all things.”

12043.BurtonSource page 637, i: “Dial.1. Omnia convertit amor in ipsius pulchri naturam.” “Dialogue 1. Love transforms all things into the nature of the beautiful itself.”

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Its Object, God; What His Beauty Is; How It Attracts. the Parts and People…

p. 954

We must behold it with the eye of contemplation. The wing of meditation lifts us up and raises our souls through the movement of our hearts and the sweetness of contemplation: so says Gregory, quoted by Bonaventure. Philo of Alexandria supports him: Whoever loves God will soar aloft and take wings; leaving the earth, he will fly up to heaven and wander with the sun, moon, stars and that heavenly host, with God himself as his guide.

If we desire to see him, we must put aside all the vain objects that hold us back and dazzle our eyes; and, as Ficino advises, acquire sunlike eyes, spectacles such as those who look at the sun use. To see this divine beauty, set aside all material objects and all sense perception; then you will see him as he is.

You greedy wretch, Augustine protests, why do you stand gaping at this dross, these dungheaps, these filthy excrements? Look at a far more beautiful object: God himself courts you. Behold him, enjoy him; he is sick with love. Song of Solomon 5. He invites you to see him, to come into his beautiful garden, to eat and drink with him, to rejoice with him and enjoy his presence for ever. Wisdom cries out in the streets, beside the gates, on the heights, before the city and at the entrance, bidding people listen to her instruction, which is better than gold or precious stones. No pleasures can compare with it. Leave everything, then, and follow her: I exhort and entreat you, my friends.

In Ficino’s words, I exhort and entreat you to embrace and follow this divine love with all your hearts and all your powers. By every service and effort, seek the favour of this God who loves you so much. For his sake alone, says Plotinus, we must forsake the kingdoms and empires of the whole earth—sea, land and air—if we wish to be grafted into him: leave everything and follow him.

Now, since this love of God is a settled disposition infused by God—as Thomas Aquinas holds, 1.2, question 23—by which a person is inclined to love God above all and his neighbour as himself, we must pray that God will open our eyes and cleanse our hearts. Then we may be able to receive his glorious rays and perform the duties he requires of us: Deuteronomy 6 and Joshua 23, to love God above all and our neighbour as ourselves, and to keep his commandments.

By this we know, says John, 5:2, that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep his commandments. This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love, 4:8; and whoever dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him. For love presupposes knowledge, faith and hope, and unites us to God himself, as Leone Ebreo teaches us. It is accompanied by fear of God, humility, meekness, patience, all those virtues, and charity itself.

12032.Burton attributes the first image to Gregory through a work circulating under Bonaventure’s name, cited as On the Seven Journeys, distinction 6; the precise intermediary remains to be collated. Philo’s flight with the heavenly host has a parallel in The Special Laws 1.207, in the discussion of sacrifices. Burton cites it under the older sectional title On Sacrificial Victims.

12034.Solar eyes expresses a philosophical likeness between the faculty of seeing and its object; compare Plotinus, Enneads 1.6.9, where the eye must become sunlike. Burton’s addition of spectacles makes the metaphor concrete. The sentence continues across the printed page break; “all sense” means sensory perception.

12037.Burton joins an Augustinian appeal to the avaricious with the Song of Solomon’s garden and lovesickness imagery (5:1, 8) and personified Wisdom in Proverbs 8. “He is sick for love” is his devotional application: in Song 5:8 the female lover speaks of her own lovesickness. The closing Latin begins the exhortation attributed to Ficino in the next unit.

12040.The Plotinus parallel is Enneads 1.6.7, On Beauty, on renouncing dominion for the vision of the Good. Burton presents this in Christian devotional language. The Ficino margin prints “Cap.18. Rom.”; its abbreviated title and exact passage remain unresolved. Burton’s English expansion is retained after the independently translated Latin exhortation.

12042.Habit is a settled disposition or capacity, not a repeated routine. The printed Aquinas reference is “1.2. question 23”; relevant discussions of charity are in Summa theologiae II–II, questions 23–24, especially 24.2 on infusion. The reference is preserved rather than silently emended. Deuteronomy 6:5 and Joshua 23:11 command love of God; the combined command concerning one’s neighbour also recalls Matthew 22:37–39.

12044.These sentences combine 1 John 5:2–3, 4:8 and 4:16. Leon Hebrew is Leone Ebreo (Judah Abravanel), author of the Dialogues of Love. Charity here has the broad theological sense of love of God and neighbour, not simply giving money to the poor.

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.