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 MelancholyThe Anatomy of Melancholy.

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Modern English Page · Branch 14 of 1495

The Anatomy of Melancholy.

Book Mode

1651 English

9–11

THE ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY.

What it is, With all the Kinds causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, & severall cures of it. In three Partitions. with their severall Sections, members & subsections. Philosophically. Medicinally. Historically. opened & cut up. By. Democritus Junior. With a Satyricall Preface. Conducing to the following Discourse. The Sixt Edition, corrected and augmented by the Author.

Omne tulit punctum, qui miscuit utile dulci.

Oxford Printed for Henry Cripps. 1651 C. le Blon. fe.

Democritus Abderites. Zelotipia. Solitudo. Inamorato. Hypocondriacus.

Superstitiosus. Maniacus. Borago. Helleborus. Democritus Junior.

HONORATISSIMO DOMINO NON MINUS VIRTUTE SUA, QUAM GENERIS SPLENDORE, ILLUSTRISSIMO; GEORGIO BERKLEIO, MILITI DE BALNEO, BARONI DE BERKLEY MOUBREY, SEGRAVE, D. DE BRUSE, DOMINO SUO Multis Nominibus Observando, HANC SUAM MELANCHOLIAE ANATOMEN, JAM SEXTO REVISAM, D. D. DEMOCRITUS Junior.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: The Anatomy of Melancholy.

p. 14

THE ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY.

What it is, with all its kinds, causes, symptoms, prognoses and various cures. In three Parts, with their respective Sections, Members and Subsections. Opened and dissected philosophically, medically and historically. By Democritus Junior. With a satirical preface leading into the following discussion. The sixth edition, corrected and enlarged by the author.

He wins every vote who mingles the useful with the pleasing.

Oxford Printed for Henry Cripps. 1651 Made by C. le Blon.

Democritus of Abdera. Jealousy. Solitude. The lover. The sufferer from hypochondriac melancholy.

The superstitious man. The madman. Borage. Hellebore. Democritus Junior.

To the most honourable lord, most illustrious no less for his own virtue than for the splendour of his lineage: George Berkeley, Knight of the Bath, Baron Berkeley, Mowbray and Segrave, Lord de Braose; his lord, to whom he owes respect on many grounds, Democritus Junior presents and dedicates this Anatomy of Melancholy of his, now revised for the sixth time.

41.The engraved central title is transcribed here as text; its lettering sizes and spatial arrangement appear in the facsimile. Partition is rendered Part in this title; Member remains the book’s formal intermediate division. Democritus Junior is Burton’s authorial name.

42.Horace, Art of Poetry 343. The title engraves miscuit. The following Horatian line explains the combination as delighting and instructing the reader at once.

43.The engraver’s signature is separated by the date and cartouche in the image. Fe. abbreviates fecit, made it. The imprint is part of the original title, not the publication information of this modern edition.

44.These are the first five panel captions, listed in the order used by the Argument: top centre, top left, top right, middle left and middle right. Their spatial arrangement and the astrological and heraldic symbols are preserved in the facsimile.

45.The formal Latin dedication occupies a full leaf in the source; its text is set continuously here. D. de Bruse is expanded as Lord de Braose, and D. D. as the customary presentation and dedication formula. Multis nominibus means on many grounds, not merely by many names. The modernization follows the titles Burton prints without adjudicating their legal history.

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.