The Anatomy of Melancholy

The places. The apothecary makes a medicinal compound. (p. 230; DJR-070-02.) Chemical preparations are praised by Mattioli. (p. 372; DJR-100-44.)

In this edition. “confection” → “compound” (DJR-070-02); “Chymicall Confections” → “chemical preparations” (DJR-100-44). Compound and preparations express the pharmaceutical sense without implying confectionery.

See also. Receipt; Tables.

Confer and conference

Source forms: conference; confer

The word. Conference can mean conversation. Confer can mean either to converse or to compare; its object and construction distinguish the senses.

In Burton. Conversation is recommended as nourishment for the troubled mind. In the consolation for discontent, conferring oneself with others means comparing circumstances. The love discussion uses confer with the beloved for conversation, then confer hand to hand for comparing appearances. Similar wording thus serves both social exchange and deliberate examination.

The places. Continual conversation is proposed as mental nourishment. (p. 283; DJR-081-30.) People neglect to compare their circumstances with others’. (p. 310; DJR-087-17.) A lover struggles to avoid conversation with the beloved. (p. 551; DJR-135-24.) Comparison of appearances is offered as a test. (p. 558; DJR-136-47.)

In this edition. “continuall conference” → “continual conversation” (DJR-081-30); “confer themselves with others” → “comparing ourselves with them” (DJR-087-17); “confer with them” → “converse with them” (DJR-135-24); “confer hand to hand” → “Compare hand with hand” (DJR-136-47). Conversation, converse and compare follow the separate actions in the passages. Conference does not require a formal meeting.

See also. Action; Conversation; Intention and remission; Impertinent.

Conscience

Source forms: conscience

The word. Conscience concerns moral judgment and obligation. To make conscience of something is to regard it as a matter of moral scruple; a scrupulous conscience is troubled by excessive doubts.

In Burton. The account of despair connects a scrupulous conscience with a melancholy constitution. Elsewhere making conscience of nothing describes moral insensibility, expressed through the image of searing. The accusation that someone never made conscience of wrongdoing belongs to a sustained rhetorical catalogue. The same vocabulary can therefore describe burdensome doubt or the absence of restraint.

The places. Scrupulous conscience is linked with bodily constitution. (p. 695; DJR-164-09.) Seared consciences are accused of feeling no scruple. (p. 690; DJR-163-01.) Making conscience of wrongdoing appears in an accusatory address. (p. 711; DJR-167-18.)

In this edition. “Conscientia scrupulosa” → “A scrupulous conscience” (DJR-164-09); “make a conscience of nothing” → “feel no scruple about anything” (DJR-163-01); “never mad’st any conscience” → “never had any scruple” (DJR-167-18). Scruple makes the idiom explicit, while scrupulous conscience retains the name of the troubling moral condition.

See also. Reason; Faith and assurance; Synderesis; Satisfaction; Venial sin; Temptation.

Consent and essence

Source forms: consent; by essence; by consent; Essence

The word. By essence means that a disorder originates in the affected part itself. By consent means that it affects that part through sympathy or communication with another part; consent here is physiological connection rather than agreement.

In Burton. Burton compares the mind’s harmful effects on the body with bodily disease affecting the soul by consent. The symptom classification then distinguishes illness originating in the head from a brain affected through another part. The latter account traces the disturbance to the womb and its supposed vapours. The pair identifies proposed origins and routes of affection.