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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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Facing Pages · Branch 1050 of 1495

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

Book Mode

1651 English

708–709

This doth not repel a fornicator, reject a drunkard, resist a proud fellow, turn away an Idolater, but entertains all, communicates it self to all.

Who persecuted the Church more then Paul, offended more then Peter? and yet by repentance (saith Chrysologus) they got both Magisterium & ministerium sanctitatis, the Magistery of holiness.

The prodigall Son went far, but by repentance he came home at last. This alone will turn a wolf into a sheep, make a Publican a Preacher, turn a thorn into an olive, make a deboshed Fellow Religious, a Blasphemer sing Halleluia, make Alexander the Copper-smith truly devout, make a Divel a Saint.

And him that polluted his mouth with calumnies, lying, swearing and filthy tunes and tones, to purge his throat with divine Psalms. Repentance will effect prodigious cures, make a stupend metamorphosis.

An Hauk came into the Ark, and went out again an Hauk; a Lyon came in, went out a Lyon; a Bear, a Bear; a wolf, a wolf; but if an Hauk come into this sacred Temple of repentance, he will go forth a Dove, (saith Chrysostom) a wolf go out a sheep, a Lyon a Lamb.

This gives sight to the blind, legs to the lame, cures all diseases, confers grace, expels vice, inserts vertue, comforts and fortifies the soul. Shall I say, let thy sin be what it will, do but repent, it is sufficient.

Quem pœnitet peccasse pene est innocens.

’Tis true indeed and all sufficient this, they do confess, if they could repent, but they are obdurate, they have cauterized consciences, they are in a reprobate sense, they cannot think a good thought, they cannot hope for grace, pray, believe, repent, or be sorry for their sins, they find no grief for sin in themselves, but rather a delight, no groaning of spirit, but are carryed headlong to their own destruction, heaping wrath to themselves against the day of wrath, Rom. 2. 5.

’Tis a grievous case this I do yeeld, and yet not to be despaired; God of his bounty and mercy cals all to repentance, Rom. 2. 4. thou maist be called at length, restored, taken to his grace as the Thief upon the Cross, at the last hour; as Mary Magdalen and many other sinners have been, that were buryed in sin.

God (saith Fulgentius) is delighted in the conversion of a sinner, he sets no time; prolixitas temporis Deo non præjudicat, aut gravitas peccati, deferring of time or grievousness of sin, do not prejudicate his grace, things past and to come are all one to him, as present, ’tis never too late to repent.

13114.BurtonSource page 708, q: “Chrys. hom. 5. non fornicatorem abnuit, non ebrium avertit, non superbum repellit, non aversatur Idololatram, non adulterum, sed omnes suscipit, omnibus communicat.” “Chrysostom, Homily 5. It does not refuse a fornicator, turn away a drunkard, repel a proud person or shun an idolater or adulterer, but receives all and gives itself to all.”

13117.BurtonSource page 709, r: “Chrys. hom. 5.” “Chrysostom, Homily 5.”

13119.BurtonSource page 709, s: “Qui turpibus cantilenis aliquando inquinavit os, divinis hymnis animum purgabit.” “One who once polluted his mouth with filthy songs will purify his soul with divine hymns.”

13121.BurtonSource page 709, t: “Hom. 5. Introivit hic quis accipiter, columba exit; introivit lupus, ovis egreditur, &c.” “Homily 5. Someone entered here a hawk and leaves a dove; a wolf entered and comes out a sheep,” and so on.

13123.BurtonSource page 709, u: “Omnes languores sanat, cæcis visum, claudis gressum, gratiam confert, &c.” “It heals every illness, confers sight on the blind, the power to walk on the lame, and grace,” and so on.

13125.BurtonSource page 709, dagger: “Seneca.” “Seneca.”

13129.BurtonSource page 709, x: “Delectatur Deus conversione peccatoris; omne tempus vitæ conversioni deputatur; pro præsentibus habentur tam præterita quam futura.” “God delights in a sinner’s conversion; the whole span of life is allotted for conversion; past and future things alike are regarded as present.”

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

p. 1050

It does not repel a fornicator, reject a drunkard, resist a proud person or turn away an idolater. It welcomes everyone and gives itself to everyone.

Who persecuted the Church more than Paul, or offended more than Peter? Yet through repentance, says Chrysologus, they gained both the teaching office and the ministry of holiness, the mastery of holiness.

The prodigal son went far away, but through repentance he came home at last. This alone will turn a wolf into a sheep, make a tax collector a preacher, turn a thorn into an olive tree, make a debauched fellow religious, set a blasphemer singing Hallelujah, make Alexander the coppersmith truly devout and turn a devil into a saint.

And it will make someone who polluted his mouth with slanders, lies, oaths and filthy songs and sounds cleanse his throat with divine psalms. Repentance will bring about extraordinary cures and an astonishing transformation.

A hawk entered the ark and came out a hawk; a lion entered and came out a lion; a bear, a bear; a wolf, a wolf. But if a hawk enters this sacred temple of repentance, it will go out a dove, says Chrysostom; a wolf will go out a sheep, a lion a lamb.

It gives sight to the blind and legs to the lame, cures every disease, confers grace, drives out vice, implants virtue, comforts and strengthens the soul. Shall I say it? Whatever your sin may be, only repent: that is sufficient.

One who regrets having sinned is almost innocent.

All this is indeed true and entirely sufficient, they admit, if they could repent. But they are hardened; their consciences are seared; their minds are reprobate. They cannot think a good thought, hope for grace, pray, believe, repent or be sorry for their sins. They find no sorrow for sin in themselves, but rather delight; no groaning of spirit. They are carried headlong to their own destruction, storing up wrath for themselves against the day of wrath, Romans 2:5.

I grant that this is a grievous condition, yet it need not be despaired of. In his generosity and mercy God calls all to repentance, Romans 2:4. You may at last be called, restored and received into his grace, like the thief on the cross at the final hour; like Mary Magdalene and many other sinners who had been buried in sin.

God, says Fulgentius, delights in a sinner’s conversion and sets no time limit; neither the length of time nor the gravity of sin prejudices God: delay or the gravity of sin does not prejudice his grace. Things past and things to come are all alike present to him. It is never too late to repent.

13115.Entertains means receives or welcomes. The marginal Latin also names an adulterer, omitted from Burton’s English restatement; the fuller list is retained in the translated Burton note.

13116.Chrysologus is distinct from Chrysostom. The Latin names both a teaching office and a ministry; Burton’s following English abbreviates them into Magistery. Both forms remain. The exact Chrysologus passage requires collation.

13118.Publican means a tax collector. Alexander the coppersmith is named as an opponent in 2 Timothy 4:14. Burton’s sequence states repentance’s transforming power; it does not report Alexander’s actual conversion. The Homily 5 citation remains for edition-specific verification.

13120.The marginal Latin speaks of purifying the soul with divine hymns; Burton’s English extends the mouth and throat imagery and adds slander, lying and swearing. Both versions are retained.

13122.Compare Chrysostom, On Repentance, Homily 8.1 (PG 49.336–337), in English translation: the church, unlike the ark, transforms moral choice rather than animal nature. Its final pair is serpent and lamb; Burton has lion and lamb. His printed Homily 5 and all animal pairs are retained. The numbering and Latin transmission remain uncollated.

13124.The catalogue culminates in sufficiency of repentance. The next paragraph immediately raises the objection that the sufferer cannot repent; the present assurance is not the end of Burton’s argument.

13126.Seneca, Agamemnon 243. In the tragedy Clytemnestra speaks of returning to marital fidelity; Burton applies the maxim to repentance. Pene, almost, is essential and is retained.

13127.Burton voices the sufferer’s objection to the preceding assurance. Cauterized evokes a conscience seared into insensibility; reprobate sense means a corrupt or rejected understanding. These are descriptions within the imagined religious complaint, not the editor’s judgement of the sufferer.

13128.The thief is the penitent criminal in Luke 23:39–43. The last hour also anticipates Burton’s later use of the labourers called late to the vineyard. Mary Magdalene appears here in the traditional role of the penitent sinner.

13130.Prejudicate means prejudice or impair a claim. The Latin sentence and Burton’s English restatement are both retained. The precise Fulgentius passage remains for collation; the margin adds that the whole span of life is allotted for conversion.

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.