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Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Parallel Edition

Robert Burton

The Anatomy of Melancholy

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

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The Anatomy of MelancholyR

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Facing Pages · Branch 1086 of 1495

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1651 English

unnumbered Table and closing notice

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Rational soul 26

Reading Scriptures good against melancholy 283

Recreations good against mel. 264

Redness of the face helped 397

Regions of the belly 18

Relation or hearing a cause of love-melancholy 452

Religious mel. a distinct species, his object 633. causes of it 642. symptomes 658. Prognosticks 678. cure 680. religion, policy, by whom 646

Repentance his effects 709

Retention & evacuation causes of mel. 78 Rectified to the cure 237

Rich mens discontents and miseries, 116.330,332. their prerogatives 155

Rivals and corrivals 595

Roots censured 69

Rosie cross-mens promises 285

Ryot in Apparel, excess of it, a great cause of love mel. 476.482.483

unnumbered Table and closing notice

The Anatomy of Melancholy: R

p. 1086

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The rational soul. 26

Reading Scripture as a remedy for melancholy. 283

Recreations as remedies for melancholy. 264

Redness of the face relieved. 397

The regions of the abdomen. 18

Accounts of someone, or hearing about them, as a cause of love melancholy. 452

Religious melancholy as a distinct species; its object, 633; causes, 642; symptoms, 658; prognosis, 678; cure, 680. Religion as statecraft, and those who use it so, 646.

The effects of repentance. 709

Retention and evacuation as causes of melancholy, 78; regulated to cure it, 237.

The discontents and miseries of the rich, 116,330,332; their advantages, 155.

Rivals and competing suitors. 595

Roots criticized. 69

The promises of the Rosicrucians. 285

Extravagance and excess in dress as a powerful cause of love melancholy. 476,482,483

1086

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.