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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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The Anatomy of MelancholyTreatment of Despair Through Medicine, Good Counsel, Consolation, and So On.

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Modern English Page · Branch 1049 of 1495

Treatment of Despair Through Medicine, Good Counsel, Consolation, and So On.

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1651 English

708

As they do by an old house that is out of repair, still mend some part or other; so do by thy soul, still reform some vice, repair it by repentance, call to him for grace and thou shalt have it; for we are freely justified by his grace, Rom. 3. 24. If thine enemy repent, as our Saviour enjoyned Peter, forgive him 77 times; and why shouldst thou think God will not forgive thee? Why should the enormity of thy sins trouble thee? God can do it, he will do it.

My conscience (saith Anselm) dictates to me, that I deserve damnation, my repentance will not suffice for satisfaction; but thy mercy, O Lord, quite overcomes all my transgressions.

The gods once (as the Poets fain) with a gold chain would pull Jupiter out of Heaven, but all they together could not stir him; and yet he could draw and turn them as he would himself: maugre all the force and fury of these infernal feinds, and crying sins, his grace is sufficient.

Confer the debt and the payment; Christ and Adam; sin and the cure of it; the disease and the medicine; confer the sick man to the Physician, and thou shalt soon perceive that his power is infinitely beyond it. God is better able, as Bernard enformeth us, to help, then sin to do us hurt; Christ is better able to save, then the Divel to destroy.

If he be a skilful Physician, as Fulgentius adds, he can cure all diseases; if merciful, he will. Non est perfecta bonitas à qua non omnis malitia vincitur, his goodness is not absolute and perfect, if it be not able to overcome all malice.

Submit thy self unto him, as Saint Austin adviseth, he knoweth best what he doth; and be not so much pleased when he sustains thee, as patient when he corrects thee; he is Omnipotent and can cure all diseases when he sees his own time.

He looks down from Heaven upon Earth, that he may hear the mourning of prisoners, and deliver the children of death, Psal. 102. 19, 20. and though our sins be as red as scarlet, he can make them as white as snow, Isay 1. 18.

Doubt not of this, or ask how it shall be done; he is all-sufficient that promiseth; qui fecit mundum de immundo, saith Chrysostom, he that made a fair world of nought, can do this and much more for his part: do thou onely believe, trust in him, rely on him, be penitent and heartily sorry for thy sins.

Repentance is a sovereign remedy for all sins, a spiritual wing to rerear us, a charm for our miseries, a protecting Amulet to expel sins venom, an attractive loadstone to draw Gods mercy and graces unto us. Peccatum vulnus, pœnitentia medicinam: sin made the breach, repentance must help it; howsoever thine offence came by error, sloath, obstinacy, ignorance, exitur per pœnitentiam, this is the sole means to be relieved.

Hence comes our hope of safety, by this alone sinners are saved, God is provoked to mercy. This unlooseth all that is bound, enlightneth darkness, mends that is broken, puts life to that which was desperately dying: Makes no respect of offences, or of persons.

13099.BurtonSource page 708, dagger: “Conscientia mea meruit damnationem, pœnitentia non sufficit ad satisfactionem: sed tua misericordia superat omnem offensionem.” “My conscience has deserved damnation; repentance does not suffice to make satisfaction, but your mercy surpasses every offence.”

13102.BurtonSource page 708, l: “Multo efficacior Christi mors in bonum, quam peccata nostra in malum. Christus potentior ad salvandum, quam dæmon ad perdendum.” “Christ’s death is far more effective for good than our sins are for evil. Christ is more powerful to save than the devil is to destroy.”

13104.BurtonSource page 708, m: “Peritus medicus potest omnes infirmitates sanare; si misericors, vult.” “A skilled physician can cure every infirmity; if merciful, he wills it.”

13106.BurtonSource page 708, n: “Omnipotenti medico nullus languor insanabilis occurrit: tu tantum doceri te sine, manum ejus ne repelle: novit quid agat; non tantum delecteris cum fovet, sed toleres quum secat.” “No incurable illness confronts the almighty physician. Only let yourself be taught; do not push away his hand. He knows what he is doing. Do not merely delight when he comforts you; endure when he cuts.”

13110.BurtonSource page 708, o: “Chrys. hom. 3. de pœnit.” “Chrysostom, Homily 3, On Repentance.”

13112.BurtonSource page 708, p: “Spes salutis per quam peccatores salvantur, Deus ad misericordiam provocatur. Isidor. omnia ligata tu solvis, contrita sanas, confusa lucidas, desperata animas.” “The hope of salvation, through which sinners are saved and God is moved to mercy. Isidore. You loose all that is bound, heal what is broken, illuminate what is confused and give life to what is beyond hope.”

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Treatment of Despair Through Medicine, Good Counsel, Consolation, and So On.

p. 1049

Treat your soul as people treat an old house in disrepair, continually mending one part or another: keep reforming some vice and repairing it through repentance. Call to him for grace and you shall have it, for we are freely justified by his grace, Romans 3:24. If your enemy repents, forgive him seventy-seven times, as our Saviour commanded Peter. Why should you think God will not forgive you? Why should the enormity of your sins trouble you? God can do it; he will do it.

My conscience, says Anselm, tells me that I deserve damnation; my repentance will not suffice to make satisfaction. But your mercy, O Lord, entirely overcomes all my transgressions.

Once, as the poets imagine, the gods wished to pull Jupiter out of heaven with a golden chain, but all together could not move him; yet he could draw and turn them as he pleased. Despite all the force and fury of these infernal fiends and clamorous sins, his grace is sufficient.

Compare the debt and its payment; Christ and Adam; sin and its cure; the disease and its medicine. Compare the sick person with the physician, and you will soon see that his power is infinitely greater than the disease. As Bernard tells us, God is better able to help than sin is to harm us; Christ is better able to save than the devil is to destroy.

If he is a skilful physician, as Fulgentius adds, he can cure every disease; if merciful, he will. Goodness is not perfect unless it overcomes all wickedness: his goodness is not complete and perfect if it cannot overcome all wickedness.

Submit yourself to him, as Saint Augustine advises: he knows best what he does. Be as patient when he corrects you as you are pleased when he sustains you; he is almighty and can cure all diseases when he judges the time right.

He looks down from heaven upon earth to hear the prisoners’ mourning and deliver those condemned to death, Psalm 102:19–20. And though our sins are as red as scarlet, he can make them as white as snow, Isaiah 1:18.

Do not doubt this or ask how it will be done. He who promises is all-sufficient: he who made the clean from the unclean, says Chrysostom; he who made a fair world from nothing can do this and much more on his part. For your part, only believe, trust in him, rely on him, repent and be sincerely sorry for your sins.

Repentance is a sovereign remedy for every sin, a spiritual wing to raise us up again, a charm against our miseries, a protective amulet to expel sin’s venom and an attracting lodestone to draw God’s mercy and graces to us. Sin is the wound, repentance the medicine: sin made the breach, repentance must repair it. However your offence arose—through error, sloth, obstinacy or ignorance—the way out is through repentance; this is the sole means of relief.

From this comes our hope of salvation; by this alone sinners are saved and God is moved to mercy. It loosens all that is bound, illuminates darkness, repairs what is broken and restores life to what was dying beyond hope. It makes no distinction between offences or persons.

13098.The house metaphor makes repentance continuing repair. Burton prints 77. Matthew 18:22 is traditionally rendered seventy times seven in the King James Bible and seventy-seven in some other translations; Burton’s number is retained.

13100.The I is the speaker in the prayer attributed to Anselm, not a new autobiographical statement by Burton. Satisfaction means making adequate amends for sin. The exact prayer and its attribution require collation.

13101.The golden-chain comparison comes from Homer, Iliad 8.18–27. There Zeus issues a hypothetical challenge to all the gods, rather than recounting an actual attempt; Burton’s retelling is preserved. Maugre means despite.

13103.Confer means compare. The sequence draws together legal, biblical and medical analogies. The margin explicitly compares the good effected by Christ’s death with the evil of human sins; Burton’s body gives a broader restatement.

13105.The medical language here is an analogy for divine power and mercy. Burton repeats the Latin proposition in English, and both are retained. Malice means wickedness rather than only personal spite.

13107.Augustine, Exposition of Psalm 102.5, supplies the physician metaphor in Latin: allow yourself to be healed, and endure cutting as well as comforting. Burton’s margin prints doceri, to be taught, where the compared text has curari, to be healed. Both his quotation and body wording remain unchanged. The image asks for patience under divine correction; the source of the verbal difference remains untraced.

13108.Children of death is a biblical expression for those appointed or condemned to die. Burton joins the promise of release to Isaiah’s image of cleansing.

13109.Mundum can mean clean or world, while immundo means unclean. The Latin is rendered according to that verbal contrast; Burton’s following English instead gives a creation-from-nothing paraphrase. Both remain, without making the Latin say nought. The quotation’s exact source is unresolved.

13111.Rerear means raise again; a lodestone is a naturally magnetic stone. The accumulation of medical and protective images belongs to Burton’s religious rhetoric. The printed medicinam has an awkward case form; the intended sense is translated without altering the original.

13113.Safety here means salvation. Provoked means moved or stirred, without the modern implication of anger. The margin adds Isidor, presumably an attribution to Isidore, but gives no title or locator; that identification remains provisional.

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.