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

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

Modern English Page · Branch 957 of 1495

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

Book Mode

1651 English

639–640

In a word, as Seneca concludes, Religio Deum colit, superstitio destruit, superstition destroyes, but true Religion honours God. True Religion, ubi verus Deus vere colitur, where the true God is truely worshipped, is the way to Heaven, the mother of all vertues, Love, Fear, Devotion, Obedience, Knowledge, &c. It rears the dejected Soul of man, and amidst so many cares, miseries, persecutions, which this world affords, it is a sole ease, an unspeakable comfort, a sweet reposal, Jugum suave, & leve, a light yoke, an anchor, and an Haven.

It addes courage, boldness, and begets generous spirits: although tyrants rage, persecute, and that bloudy Lictor or Serjeant be ready to martyr them, aut lita, aut morere, (as in those persecutions of the primitive Church, it was put in practise, as you may read in Eusebius and others) though enemies be now ready to invade, and all in an uproare, Si fractus illabatur orbis, impavidos ferient ruinæ, though heaven should fall on his head, he would not be dismaid.

But as a good Christian prince once made answer to a menacing Turke, facilè scelerata hominum arma contemnit, qui dei præsidio tutus est: Or as Phalaris writ to Alexander in a wrong cause, he nor any other enemie could terrifie him, for that he trusted in God. Si Deus nobiscum, quis contra nos?

In all calamities, persecutions whatsoever, as David did, 2 Sam. 2. 22. he will sing with him, The Lord is my rock, my fortresse, my strength, my refuge, the towre and horn of my salvation, &c. In all troubles and adversities, Psal. 46. 1. God is my hope and help, still ready to be found, I will not therefore fear, &c. ’tis a fear expelling fear; he hath peace of conscience, and is full of hope, which is (saith Austin) vita vitæ mortalis, the life of this our mortall life, hope of immortality, the sole comfort of our misery:

otherwise as Paul saith, we of all others were most wretched, but this makes us happy, counterpoising our hearts in all miserie; superstition torments, and is from the Divell, the author of lies; but this is from God himself, as Lucian that Antiochian Priest made his divine confession in Eusebius, Author nobis de Deo Deus est, God is the author of our Religion himself, his word is our rule, a lanthorn to us, dictated by the holy Ghost; he playes upon our hearts as so many harp-strings, and we are his Temples, he dwelleth in us, and we in him.

The part affected of superstition, is the brain, heart, will, understanding, soul it self, and all the faculties of it, totum compositum, all is mad, and dotes: Now for the extent, as I say, the world it self is the subject of it, (to omit that grand sin of Atheisme) all times have been misaffected, past, present, there is not one that doth good, no not one from the Prophet to the Priest, &c.

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

p. 957

In a word, as Seneca concludes, religion worships God; superstition destroys him: superstition destroys, but true religion honours God. True religion, where the true God is truly worshipped—where the true God is worshipped in truth—is the road to heaven and the mother of all virtues: love, fear, devotion, obedience, knowledge and so on. It raises the dejected human soul. Amid the many cares, miseries and persecutions this world affords, it is our sole relief, an inexpressible comfort, a sweet repose, an easy and light yoke, a light yoke, an anchor and a harbour.

It gives courage and boldness, and fosters noble spirits. Though tyrants rage and persecute, and the bloodthirsty lictor or officer stands ready to make martyrs of them—sacrifice, or die, as was practised in the persecutions of the early Church, described by Eusebius and others—though enemies are about to invade and everything is in uproar, if the shattered world falls upon them, its ruins will strike them unafraid. Though heaven should fall upon his head, he would not be dismayed.

As a good Christian prince once answered a threatening Turk, whoever is safe under God’s protection readily scorns the wicked weapons of men. Or as Phalaris wrote to Alexander, though in an unjust cause, neither he nor any other enemy could frighten him, because he trusted in God. If God is with us, who can be against us?

In every calamity and persecution he will sing with David, 2 Samuel 22:2–3: The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my strength, my refuge, the tower and horn of my salvation, and so on. In all troubles and adversities, Psalm 46:1, God is my hope and help, always ready to be found; therefore I will not fear, and so on. It is a fear that drives out fear. He has peace of conscience and is full of hope, which is, says Augustine, the life of mortal life, the life of this mortal life of ours: hope of immortality, the sole comfort of our misery.

Otherwise, as Paul says, we would be the most wretched of all people. But this makes us happy, steadying our hearts amid every misery. Superstition torments us and comes from the Devil, the father of lies; but true religion comes from God himself. As Lucian, the priest of Antioch, declared in his sacred confession in Eusebius, God himself is our authority concerning God: God himself is the author of our religion. His word is our rule and our lantern, dictated by the Holy Spirit. He plays upon our hearts as upon so many harp strings; we are his temples, he dwells in us, and we in him.

The part affected by superstition is the brain, heart, will, understanding, the soul itself and all its faculties—the whole composite being: all is mad and deluded. As for its extent, as I say, the whole world is subject to it. To leave aside that great sin of atheism, every age, past and present, has been afflicted: there is no one who does good, not even one, from the prophet to the priest, and so on.

12067.Compare Seneca, On Clemency 2.5.1: religion honours the gods, whereas superstition violates them. Burton changes the plural gods to God and uses destruit, “destroys”; the modern renders his text, not a corrected Seneca. The easy yoke recalls Matthew 11:30. Burton’s separate Latin definitions and English restatements remain in sequence.

12069.A lictor was an attendant of a Roman magistrate, here cast as an officer enforcing persecution. The command is to offer sacrifice or die. Horace, Odes 3.3.7–8, has singular impavidum, “him unafraid”; Burton uses plural impavidos, then returns to a singular Christian believer in his English expansion. The verse is embedded in prose in the source and remains so here.

12071.The unnamed Christian prince’s reply and the precise letter attributed to Phalaris remain to be identified. The Letters of Phalaris circulated under the ancient tyrant’s name; Burton acknowledges the injustice of his cause even while borrowing his confidence. “If God is with us” recalls Romans 8:31.

12073.The source prints “2 Sam.2.22”; the song begins at 2 Samuel 22:2–3, supplied in the modern column. The following paraphrase combines Psalm 46:1–2. A horn symbolizes strength or deliverance. The Augustinian marginal reference to Psalm 3 is retained, pending exact collation of the phrase concerning hope.

12075.“Most wretched” recalls 1 Corinthians 15:19. Lucian is the Christian presbyter of Antioch, not the satirist. Eusebius, Church History 9.6.3, records his defence without this declaration in the checked Greek-derived translation. The Latin is attested in Acta Sanctorum, January I, pp. 362–363, in the account headed “Ex Ruffino, et mss.” This establishes a Latin-tradition parallel, not Burton’s precise edition or the speech’s verbatim authenticity. His English gloss follows the Latin.

12076.Burton returns to the anatomy’s conventional questions: which part is affected and how widely the condition extends. “No one who does good” recalls Psalm 14:3 and Romans 3:12; “from the prophet to the priest” recalls Jeremiah 6:13. This joins biblical phrases rather than quoting one continuous passage.

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.