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 MelancholySection 2. Heroic or Love Melancholy, in Which Consider:

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Section 2. Heroic or Love Melancholy, in Which Consider:

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1651 English

unnumbered [404]

♈ Heroical or Love-Melancholy, in which consider,

Memb. 1. His pedegree, power, extent to vegetals and sensible creatures, as well as men, to spirits, divels, &c. His name, definition, object, part affected, tyranny.

Causes Mem. 2. Stars, temperature, full dyet, place, country, clime, condition, idleness. S. 1. Natural allurements, and causes of love, as beauty, its praise, how it allureth. Comeliness, grace, resulting from the whole, or some parts, as face, eyes, hair, hands, &c. Subs. 2.

Artificial allurements, and provocations of lust and love, gestures, apparel, dowry, mony, &c. Quæst. Whether beauty owe more to Art or Nature? Subs. 3. Opportunity of time and place, conference, discourse, musick, singing, dancing, amorous tales, lascivious objects, familiarity, gifts, promises, &c. Subs. 4. Bawds and Philters. Subs. 5.

Symptomes or signs Memb. 3. Of Body Dryness, paleness, leanness, waking, sighing, &c. Quæst. An detur pulsus amatorius? or Of mind Bad, as Fear, sorrow, suspition, anxiety, &c. An hell, torment, fire, blindness, &c. Dotage, slavery, neglect of business. or Good, as Spruceness, neatness, courage, aptness to learn musick, singing, dancing, poetry, &c.

Prognosticks: Despair, Madness, Phrensie, Death, Memb. 4.

Cures Mem. 5. By labour, diet, Physick, abstinence, Subs. 1. To withstand the beginnings, avoid occasions, fair and foul means, change of place, contrary passion, witty inventions, discommend the former, bring in another, Subs. 2. By good counsel, perswasion, from future miseries, inconveniences, &c. S. 3. By Philters, magical, and poetical cures, S. 4. to let them have their desire disputed pro and con. Impedements removed, reasons for it. Subs. 5.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Section 2. Heroic or Love Melancholy, in Which Consider:

p. 665

Section 2. Heroic or love melancholy, in which consider:

Member 1. Its origin, power and extension to plants and sentient creatures, as well as human beings, spirits, devils and so on. Subsection 1. Its name, definition, object, the part affected and its tyranny. Subsection 2.

Causes. Member 2. The stars, bodily temperament, rich diet, place, country, climate, condition and idleness. Subsection 1. Natural attractions and causes of love, such as beauty, its praise and how it attracts. Good looks and grace, arising from the whole person or particular parts, such as the face, eyes, hair and hands. Subsection 2.

Further causes. Member 3. Artificial attractions and incitements to lust and love: gestures, clothing, dowry, money, and so on. Question: Does beauty owe more to art or nature? Subsection 3. Favourable time and place, conversation, discourse, music, singing, dancing, love stories, sexually enticing sights, familiarity, gifts, promises, and so on. Subsection 4. Procurers and love potions. Subsection 5.

Symptoms or signs. Member 4. Of the body: Dryness, pallor, thinness, sleeplessness, sighing, and so on. Question: Is there a distinctive lover’s pulse? Or of the mind: Bad, such as: Fear, sorrow, suspicion, anxiety, and so on. A hell, torment, fire, blindness, and so on. Infatuation, enslavement, neglect of business. Or good, such as: Smartness, neatness, courage, readiness to learn music, singing, dancing, poetry, and so on.

Prognosis: despair, madness, frenzy, death. Member 5.

Treatments. Member 6. By work, diet, medicine and abstinence. Subsection 1. Resist it at the outset; avoid occasions; use fair means and foul, change of place, an opposing passion, ingenious devices; disparage the former beloved and introduce another. Subsection 2. By good advice and persuasion, drawing on future miseries, disadvantages and so forth. Subsection 3. By love potions, magical and poetic cures. Subsection 4. Allowing lovers to have their desire, debated for and against; obstacles removed; reasons in favour. Subsection 5.

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.