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 MelancholyDemocritus Junior to the Reader

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Modern English Page · Branch 116 of 1495

Democritus Junior to the Reader

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1651 English

I will conclude in his lines, Si me cognitum haberes, non solum donares nobis has facetias nostras, sed etiam indignum duceres, tam humanum animum, lene ingenium, vel minimam suspitionem deprecari oportere. If thou knewest my modesty and simplicity, thou wouldst easily pardon and forgive what is here amiss, or by thee misconceived.

If hereafter anatomizing this surly humor, my hand slip, as an unskilfull prentise I launce too deep, and cut through skin and all at unawares, make it smart, or cut awry, pardon a rude hand, an unskilfull knife, tis a most difficult thing to keep an even tone, a perpetual tenor, and not sometimes to lash out;

difficile est Satyram non scribere, there be so many objects to divert, inward perturbations to molest, and the very best may sometimes erre; aliquando bonus dormitat Homerus, it is impossible not in so much to overshoot: ——opere in longo fas est obrepere somnum.

But what needs all this? I hope there will no such cause of offence be given; if there be, Nemo aliquid recognoscat, nos mentimur omnia. Ile deny all (my last refuge) recant all, renounce all I have said, if any man except, and with as much facility excuse, as he can accuse;

but I presume of thy good favor, and gratious acceptance (gentle reader) Out of an assured hope and confidence thereof, I will begin.

1309.Burtonp. 78, *: “Quod Probus Persii βιογράφος virginali verecundia Persium fuisse dicit, ego, &c.” Editor: “What Probus, Persius’s biographer, says—that Persius possessed a maidenly modesty—I [say of myself], etc.” The ellipsis is Burton’s. The biographical attribution has not been independently collated.

1311.Burtonp. 78, †: “Quas aut incuria fudit, aut humana parum cavit natura. Hor.” Editor: “[Blemishes] which carelessness has scattered, or against which human nature has insufficiently guarded.” Horace, Art of Poetry 352–353; the antecedent “blemishes” is supplied from the preceding line.

1314.Burtonp. 78, t: “Prol. quer. Plaut.” Editor: An abbreviated reference to the prologue of Querolus, transmitted under Plautus’s name. The passage and attribution require further collation.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Democritus Junior to the Reader

p. 116

I shall conclude with his words: if you knew me, you would not only forgive these jests of mine; you would even think it unworthy that so humane a spirit, so gentle a nature, should have to plead against the slightest suspicion. If you knew my modesty and plain dealing, you would readily pardon and forgive whatever is wrong here, or whatever you have misunderstood.

If, as I go on dissecting this surly humour, my hand slips—if, like an unskilled apprentice, I make too deep an incision, cut through skin and all unawares, cause pain, or cut crookedly—forgive a clumsy hand and an unskilled knife. It is extremely difficult to keep an even tone, a constant course, without sometimes lashing out;

It is difficult not to write satire. There are so many things to distract us, so many inner disturbances to trouble us, and even the best may sometimes err: good Homer nods occasionally. In so much writing, some lapses are inevitable: In a long work, sleep may be allowed to creep in.

But why is all this necessary? I hope no such cause for offence will arise. If it does, let no one recognize anything: we are making it all up. I shall deny everything—my last refuge—take everything back, disown everything I have said if anyone objects, and defend myself as easily as he can accuse me;

but I count on your goodwill and gracious reception, gentle reader. With firm hope and confidence in that, I shall begin.

1310.Scaliger and Cardan are Julius Caesar Scaliger and Girolamo Cardano. The exact source of the quoted appeal remains unlocated. “Simplicity” means plain or unassuming conduct here; it does not mean lack of intelligence.

1312.The dissection metaphor becomes an apology for verbal injury. “Humour” is both the melancholy under examination and, in “surly,” a difficult temperament. Burton presents the book’s possible faults as a novice anatomist’s slips of the knife.

1313.“It is difficult not to write satire” is Juvenal, Satire 1.30. The last two quotations adapt Horace, Art of Poetry 359–360. Burton writes aliquando for quandoque and opere in longo for operi longo; his forms are preserved on the left. The first names Homer as an example of occasional failure, the second excuses lapses in a long work.

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.