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Robert Burton

The Anatomy of Melancholy

Name: The Anatomy of Melancholy
Author: Robert Burton

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

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Member 2 Subsection 1 Religious Melancholy From Deficiency: Those…

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1651 English

688–689

and to this effect of old in Rome, saith Dionysius Halicarnassus, lib.7. when those Meteors and Prodigies appeared in the Ayr, after the banishment of Coriolanus, Men were diversly Affected, some said they were Gods just judgements for the execution of that good man, some referred all to natural causes, some to Stars, some thought they came by chance, some by necessity decreed ab initio, and could not be altered. The two last Opinions of Necessity and Chance, were, it seems, of greater note than the rest.

Sunt qui in Fortunæ jam casibus omnia ponunt, Et mundum credunt nullo rectore moveri, Naturâ volvente vices, &c.

For the first of Chance, as Sallust likewise informeth us, those old Romans generally received; They supposed Fortune alone gave Kingdoms and Empires, Wealth, Honours, Offices, and that for two causes; first, because every wicked, base unworthy wretch was preferred, rich, potent, &c. Secondly, because of their uncertainty, though never so good, scarce any one enjoyed them long: but after they began upon better advice to think otherwise, that every man made his own fortune.

The last of Necessity was Seneca’s tenent, that God was alligatus causis secundis, so tyed to second causes, to that inexorable necessity, that he could alter nothing of that which was once decreed, sic erat in fatis, it cannot be altered, semel jussit, semper paret Deus; nulla vis rumpit, nullæ preces, nec ipsum fulmen, God hath once said it, and it must for ever stand good, no prayers, no threats, nor power, nor thunder it self can alter it.

Zeno, Chrysippus, and those other Stoicks, as you may read in Tully 2. de divinatione, Gellius, lib.6.cap.2. &c. maintained as much. In all Ages, there have been such, that either deny God in all, or in part, some deride him, they could have made a better world, and rule it more orderly themselves, blaspheme him, derogate at their pleasure from him.

’Twas so in Plato’s time, Some say there be no gods, others that they care not for men, a middle sort grant both. Si non sit Deus, unde bona? si sit Deus, unde mala? So Cotta argues in Tully, why made he not all good, or at least tenders not the welfare of such as are good?

As the woman told Alexander, if he be not at leasure to hear Causes, and redress them, why doth he reign? Sextus Empericus hath many such Arguments. Thus perverse men cavil. So it will ever be, some of all sorts, good, bad, indifferent, true, false, zealous, ambodexters, neutralists, lukewarm, Libertines, atheists, &c.

They will see these religious Sectaries agree amongst themselves, be reconciled all, before they will participate with, or believe any: They think in the mean time, (which Celsus objects, and whom Origen confutes) we Christians adore a person put to death with no more reason then the barbarous Getes worshipped Zamolxis, the Cilicians Mopsus, the Thebans Amphiaraus, and the Lebadians Trophonius:

12795.BurtonSource page 688, s: “Varie homines affecti; alii dei judicium ad tam pii exilium, alii ad naturam referebant, nec ab indignatione dei, sed humanis causis, &c.” “People were variously affected: some ascribed it to God’s judgment at the exile of so pious a man, others to nature, and not to God’s anger but to human causes, and so on.”

12797.BurtonSource page 688, second star: “Juv.Sat.13.” “Juvenal, Satire 13.”

12799.BurtonSource page 688, dagger: “Epist. ad C. Cæsar. Romani olim putabant fortunam regna & imperia dare: Credebant antea mortales fortunam solam opes & honores largiri, idque duabus de causis; primum quod indignus quisque dives honoratus, potens; alterum, vix quisquam perpetuo bonis iis frui visus. Postea prudentiores didicere fortunam suam quemque fingere.” “Letter to Gaius Caesar. The Romans once thought that fortune bestowed kingdoms and empires. Mortals formerly believed that fortune alone granted wealth and honours, for two reasons: first, that every unworthy person was rich, honoured and powerful; second, that scarcely anyone seemed to enjoy these advantages continually. Later, wiser people learned that each person shapes his own fortune.”

12801.BurtonSource page 688, unmarked citation: “l.2. Natural. quæst 33.39.” “Book 2 of Natural Questions, chapters 33 and 39.”

12804.BurtonSource page 689, first star: “10. de legib. Alii negant esse deos, alii deos non curare res humanas, alii utraque concedunt.” “Laws, book 10. Some deny that gods exist; others, that the gods care for human affairs; others concede both.”

12806.BurtonSource page 689, second star: “Lib.8.ad mathem.” “Book 8, Against the Mathematicians.”

12808.BurtonSource page 689, dagger: “Origines contra Celsum l.3. vos immerito nobiscum conferri fuse declarat.” “Origen, Against Celsus, book 3, explains at length that your comparison with us is unwarranted.”

12809.BurtonSource page 689, third star: “Crucifixum deum ignominiose Lucianus vita peregrini Christum vocat.” “Lucian, in The Life of Peregrinus, disparagingly calls Christ the crucified god.”

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Member 2 Subsection 1 Religious Melancholy From Deficiency: Those…

p. 1020

So too in ancient Rome, says Dionysius of Halicarnassus, book 7, when atmospheric signs and portents appeared after the banishment of Coriolanus: People were variously affected. Some said these were God’s just judgments for the execution of that good man; some attributed everything to natural causes, some to the stars. Some thought the signs came by chance, others by a necessity decreed from the beginning, which could not be altered. The last two opinions, those of necessity and chance, seem to have had more prominence than the rest.

Some now put everything down to fortune’s chances, And believe the world moves with no ruler, As nature rolls through its changes, and so on.

As for chance, Sallust likewise tells us that the ancient Romans generally accepted it. They supposed that fortune alone bestowed kingdoms, empires, wealth, honours and offices, for two reasons. First, every wicked, low, unworthy wretch was advanced, rich and powerful. Second, these advantages were uncertain: however good they were, scarcely anyone enjoyed them long. Later, on wiser reflection, they began to think differently: that each person made his own fortune.

The last opinion, that of necessity, was Seneca’s doctrine: God was bound to secondary causes, so tied to them and to that inexorable necessity that he could change nothing once decreed. So it stood in the fates: it cannot be altered. God commanded once; he always obeys. No force breaks it, no prayers, not even the thunderbolt. God has spoken once, and it must stand forever: no prayers, threats, power or thunder itself can alter it.

Zeno, Chrysippus and the other Stoics maintained as much, as you may read in Cicero’s On Divination, book 2, and Gellius, book 6, chapter 2, among others. In every age there have been people who deny God wholly or in part. Some ridicule him, claiming they could have made a better world and governed it more orderly themselves; they blaspheme him and diminish him as they please.

It was so in Plato’s time: Some say there are no gods; others, that they do not care for human beings; a middle group grants both. If there is no God, where does good come from? If there is a God, where does evil come from? So Cotta argues in Cicero: why did God not make everyone good, or at least look after the welfare of those who are good?

As the woman told Alexander: if he has no time to hear cases and remedy grievances, why does he reign? Sextus Empiricus has many such arguments. Thus perverse people quibble. It will always be so: some of every sort—good, bad, indifferent, true, false, zealous, double-dealers, neutrals, lukewarm believers, libertines, atheists and the rest.

They insist on seeing these religious sectarians agree and become entirely reconciled before they will join or believe any of them. Meanwhile they think—as Celsus objects, and Origen refutes him—that we Christians worship a person put to death with no more reason than the barbarian Getae worshipped Zalmoxis, the Cilicians Mopsus, the Thebans Amphiaraus, and the people of Lebadea Trophonius.

12796.Compare Dionysius, Roman Antiquities 7.68.1–2, in Cary’s translation: prodigies and sickness prompt rival explanations, divine anger at a citizen’s banishment or chance. This passage supports exile, not Burton’s execution, and does not supply his full list of natural, stellar and necessary causes. Both body readings and the margin’s exile remain unchanged. Meteors can mean atmospheric phenomena generally; Burton’s intermediary remains untraced.

12798.Juvenal, Satire 13.86–88, adapted: Burton alters the order and wording and stops before the specification of day and year.

12800.The passage parallels the opening of the Speech to Caesar transmitted under Sallust’s name, where the saying about shaping one’s fortune is attributed to Appius. The consulted edition labels the work pseudo-Sallust; Burton’s attribution and title are retained.

12802.Secondary causes are the created causes through which events occur. Seneca’s On Providence 5.8 says that God wrote fate and follows it; Burton reverses the order of its closing clauses. Natural Questions 2 discusses fate and thunderbolts. Its otherwise unanchored marginal citation is placed here with the relevant discussion.

12803.The Gellius locator is retained as printed. Burton gathers different philosophical positions and insults into one category of denial; the passage is a polemical survey rather than a neutral history of Stoicism.

12805.Plato, Laws 10.885b, distinguishes denial of gods, denial of their care, and belief that they can be bribed. Burton’s grant both is an incomplete summary, not Plato’s full third position. Cotta is a speaker in Cicero’s On the Nature of the Gods; the compact Latin dilemma is not verified here as a verbatim Ciceronian quotation.

12807.Ambodexters are people who serve both sides for their own advantage. Libertine here carries religious and moral disapproval. The royal petitioner anecdote circulates in several forms; Burton’s attribution to Alexander is retained pending collation.

12810.Origen, Against Celsus 3.34–35, reports and answers this comparison with local heroes or divinities. The margin adds Lucian’s Peregrinus. These are hostile comparisons quoted within a Christian rebuttal, not independent verification of their premises.

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.