The Anatomy of Melancholy

The places. A Latin book title names black bile. (p. 78; DJR-036-06.) Bile is listed beside ulcer and issue as a discharging sore. (p. 80; DJR-036-19.) Black choler figures in the account of temptation. (p. 695; DJR-164-08.)

In this edition. “de atra bile” → “On Black Bile” (DJR-036-06); “bile” → “boil” (DJR-036-19); “Black choler” → “Black bile” (DJR-164-08). “Boil” restores the distinct English sense in the list of sores. “Black bile” renders the humoral term and black choler.

See also. Chirurgery.

Blood and sanguine

Source forms: sanguine

The word. Sanguine means related to blood as a humour. In sanguine melancholy, the adjective qualifies the humoral mixture rather than simply describing an optimistic mood.

In Burton. Burton reports an explanation of unusual intellectual ability through slightly scorched melancholy mixed with blood. He then cites a learned young patient described as sanguine melancholy. The connection with cheerful delirium and inspired activity belongs to the historical account of the mixture; the phrase is not a modern diagnostic label.

The places. Blood enters the proposed explanation of gifted sanguine melancholy. (p. 192; DJR-060-22.)

In this edition. “mixture of bloud” → “admixture of blood” (DJR-060-22); “sanguine melancholy” → “sanguine melancholy” (DJR-060-22). The technical adjective remains, with its humoral basis supplied by the surrounding account.

See also. Humour.

Bowels

Source forms: bowels

The word. Bowels can figuratively mean one’s own children or intimate kin. The bodily term emphasizes their closeness to the person being addressed.

In Burton. Burton condemns people who will extinguish a neighbour’s house fire while ignoring the sexual distress of their own flesh and blood. Their own bowels belongs to this comparison of responsibilities. The following phrase flesh and blood confirms that the referent is family rather than an internal organ.

The places. The failure to recognize one’s children’s distress is compared with neglecting a fire. (p. 205; DJR-063-14.)

In this edition. “their own bowels” → “their own flesh and blood, their very children” (DJR-063-14). The expanded rendering makes the kinship sense explicit while preserving the force of the bodily metaphor.

See also. Affinity and consanguinity; Affection.

Brave

Source forms: brave; bravery; brave array

The word. Brave can mean splendid or finely dressed. Bravery can name finery, and brave array splendid clothing.

In Burton. Burton complains that a writer without wealth, rank or splendid appearance is dismissed despite his qualifications. His discussion of envy makes another person’s bravery an object of resentment, while a poem contrasts the flatterer’s brave array with the scholar’s rags. The selected uses all turn on outward display and its social value.

The places. Splendid appearance influences the judgment of authors. (p. 10; DJR-005-14.) Finery becomes an object of envy. (p. 101–102; DJR-041-10.) The flatterer’s rich clothing contrasts with the scholar’s rags. (p. 133; DJR-047-32.)

In this edition. “polite and brave” → “polished and splendid” (DJR-005-14); “bravery” → “finery” (DJR-041-10); “brave array” → “splendid clothes” (DJR-047-32). These equivalents keep courage from entering passages concerned with appearance and dress.

See also. Honest; Tires and weeds.

Bugbear

Source forms: bugbears

The word. A bugbear is a frightening imaginary being or apparition. It can be invoked to frighten someone or experienced as a feared presence.

In Burton. Burton criticizes adults who scare children with bugbears and hobgoblins, citing lasting effects attributed to such fear. In the symptoms of melancholy, bugbears appear among the visions that a sufferer is convinced he sees. The word connects an instrument of frightening tales with the terrifying content of imagination.

The places. Adults use bogeymen to frighten children. (p. 148 [sequence; printed 144]; DJR-050-41.) Terrifying apparitions occur among reported imagined sights. (p. 182; DJR-058-38.)