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

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1651 English

720–721

Besides, as I have said, this humour is Balneum Diaboli, the divels bath, by reason of the distemper of humours, and infirm Organs in us: he may so possess us inwardly to molest us, as he did Saul and others, by Gods permission; he is Prince of the Ayr, and can transform himself into several shapes, delude all our senses for a time, but his power is determined, he may terrifie us, but not hurt;

God hath given his Angels charge over us, he is a wall round about his people, Psal. 91. 11. 12. There be those that prescribe Physick in such cases, ’tis Gods instrument and not unfit. The divel works by mediation of humours, and mixt diseases must have mixt remedies.

Levinus Lemnius cap. 57. & 58. exhort. ad vit. ep. instit. is very copious in this subject, besides that chief remedy of confidence in God, prayer, hearty repentance, &c. of which for your comfort and instruction, read Lavater de spectris part. 3. cap. 5. & 6. Wierus de præstigiis dæmonum lib. 5. to Philip. Melancthon, and others, and that Christian armour which Paul prescribes; he sets down certain Amulets, hearbs, and precious stones, which have marvelous vertues all profligandis dæmonibus, to drive away Divels and their illusions.

Saphyres, Chrysolites, Carbuncles, &c. Quæ mirâ virtute pollent ad Lemures, Stryges, Incubos, Genios aëreos arcendos, si veterum monimentis habenda fides.

Of hearbs, he reckons us Pennirial, Rue, Mint, Angelica, Piony: Rich. Argentine de præstigiis dæmonum cap. 20. addes hypericon or S. Johns wort, perforata herba, which by a divine vertue drives away divels, and is therefore called fuga dæmonum:

all which rightly used by their suffitus, Dæmonum vexationibus obsistunt, afflictas mentes à dæmonibus relevant, & venenatis fumis, expel divels themselves, and all divelish illusions.

Anthony Musa the Emperour Augustus his Physitian, cap. 6. de Betonia approves of Betony to this purpose; the ancients used therefore to plant it in Church-yards, because it was held to be an holy hearb and good against fearful visions, did secure such places it grew in, and sanctified those persons that carried it about them.

Idem fere Mathiolus in Dioscoridem. Others commend accurate musick, so Saul was helped by Davids harpe. Fires to be made in such roomes where spirits haunt, good store of lights to be set up, odors, perfumes, and suffumigations, as the Angel taught Tobias;

of brimstone and bitumen, thus, myrrha, briony root, with many such simples which Wecker hath collected lib. 15. de secretis cap. 15.

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

p. 1064

Besides, as I have said, this humour is the devil’s bath, the devil’s bathing place, because of the disorder of our humours and the weakness of our organs. By God’s permission he may possess us inwardly to torment us, as he did Saul and others. He is the prince of the air and can assume various shapes and deceive all our senses for a time. But his power has its limits: he may terrify us, but cannot harm us;

God has given his angels charge over us; he is a wall around his people, Psalm 91:11–12. Some prescribe medical treatment in such cases: it is God’s instrument, and appropriate. The devil works through the humours, and diseases with mixed causes must have mixed remedies.

Levinus Lemnius discusses this subject at great length in chapters 57 and 58 of his Exhortation to a Well-Ordered Life. Besides the chief remedy of confidence in God, prayer, heartfelt repentance and so on—on which, for comfort and instruction, read Lavater’s On Spectres, part 3, chapters 5 and 6; Wierus’s On the Deceptions of Demons, book 5, addressed to Philip Melanchthon; and others—and besides the Christian armour prescribed by Paul, he sets down certain amulets, herbs and precious stones, all with marvellous powers for driving away demons, to drive away devils and their illusions.

Sapphires, chrysolites, carbuncles and so on, which have marvellous power to ward off ghosts, witches, incubi and spirits of the air, if the records of the ancients are to be believed.

Among herbs he lists pennyroyal, rue, mint, angelica and peony. Richard Argentine, in chapter 20 of On the Deceptions of Demons, adds hypericum or St John’s wort, the perforated herb, which drives away devils by a divine power and is therefore called the flight of demons:

all these, when properly used as fumigations, resist the torments caused by demons and relieve minds afflicted by demons and poisonous vapours; they expel the devils themselves and all diabolical illusions.

Antonius Musa, the Emperor Augustus’s physician, recommends betony for this purpose in chapter 6 of On Betony. The ancients therefore used to plant it in churchyards, because it was considered a holy herb, effective against frightening visions, protecting the places where it grew and sanctifying those who carried it about them.

Mattioli says much the same in his commentary on Dioscorides. Others recommend skilfully performed music: Saul was helped in this way by David’s harp. Fires are to be lit in rooms haunted by spirits, with plenty of lights, fragrant substances, perfumes and fumigations, as the angel taught Tobias;

fumigations of sulphur and bitumen, frankincense, myrrh and bryony root, with many similar individual ingredients collected by Wecker in book 15, chapter 15 of On Secrets.

13265.Determined means bounded or limited. Saul’s torment recalls 1 Samuel 16:14–23; prince of the air recalls Ephesians 2:2. The Latin phrase and Burton’s separate English restatement are both represented. The passage retains his historical combination of humoral disorder and demonic agency.

13266.Physick means medicine or medical treatment. Psalm 91:11–12 supplies the protecting angels; the wall image also recalls Zechariah 2:5. Burton’s citation embraces a combination of images. The ensuing remedies belong to his historical account, not to present-day medical advice.

13267.The sentence returns to Lemnius; his Exhortation title remains unidentified. Lavater, Of Ghosts and Spirits (1596), III.5–6, pp. 190–195, recommends courage, prayer, fasting and Paul’s armour, supporting the spiritual counsel without verifying the herb and gemstone remedies. Paul’s image is in Ephesians 6:11–17. The printed all before profligandis dæmonibus is repositioned in modern English; both Latin and English repetition remain.

13268.The final condition makes the claim dependent on ancient testimony. Lemures are haunting spirits; stryges can denote witchlike or night-haunting beings; incubi are spirits imagined to oppress sleepers. Historical gemstone names do not map precisely onto modern mineral classifications; carbuncle denotes a glowing red gem.

13269.Perforata herba refers to the perforated appearance of the leaves; fuga dæmonum is a historical name expressing the supposed power to put demons to flight. The catalogue reports the authors’ claims and is not an endorsement of these uses.

13270.Suffitus means fumigation or aromatic smoke. Venenatis fumis is grammatically uneven in the printed sentence; this rendering takes it with the afflictions from which minds are relieved, rather than silently making poisonous smoke a separate recommended agent. The wording is preserved in the original column, with its grammatical uncertainty visible.

13272.The attribution to Augustus’s physician is Burton’s bibliographical claim; authorship and transmission of the treatise require separate collation. Secure means protect. The margin repeats the cemetery-planting claim in Latin.

13273.Accurate means carefully or skilfully executed. David’s playing occurs in 1 Samuel 16:23. Tobit 6 and 8 describe Raphael’s instruction to Tobias and the burning of a fish’s heart and liver; the next list of substances is not the recipe given in that biblical narrative.

13274.Simples are individual medicinal substances, as opposed to compounded preparations. Thus is the Latin noun for frankincense, not the English adverb. Brimstone is sulphur; bitumen is a tarry mineral substance.

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.